Protect your HQs and garrison them at all times. Neither player can afford to lose HQs - this is especially true for the French west of the FDL and the German player in the Metz area. When I'm playing I will regard possibly losing 3-4 divisions as an acceptable risk if you can take out an enemy HQ in a vital area.

Attack, attack, attack - this game has a CRT that favors attackers so don't forget it.

You can move reduced units out of supply without losing any steps unless you stack them. This is a valuable tactic for the German who can send reduced cavalry units on what may be suicide missions but can hold up French units racing for the front line.

German cavalry units are much better than the French as they have double the defensive value - it's easier to move them ahead of infantry as they have a better chance of surviving than French cavalry, especially as they can often retreat before combat. The Allies have very few cavalry units west of the FDL line early on which makes the German cavalry even safer.

Look at the CRT With any CRT that uses 2xD6 the most common result will be 7 - the 2-1 column is the lowest one where the odds of getting a favorable result are more than 50%. That doesn't mean don't attack otherwise, but bear it in mind if your losses are heavy.

If a unit needs 12 MPs to get somewhere make sure you put it in reserve so it's guaranteed to get that many - this is especially relevant for the Allies.

French infantry (unless in reserve) cannot overrun in the exploitation phase (unless the target unit has no ZOC) the German player can bear this in mind when planning his defenses.

Use those trains - they can be useful in shifting units in an emergency from one area to another. The German player especially needs to make use of trains to push his units towards Paris as quickly as possible.

The German player knows when he has to withdraw units - turn 6 - so if he is going to, then he must plan which units he is going to pull out well in advance. If the Germans are doing well and think Paris is a possibility, then the 5 VPs you lose for ignoring the requirement do not matter. I also think that giving up 5 VPs for ignoring this requirement is a bargain and I never withdraw them - you will have the use of 6 units for 19 turns which can almost certainly gain you 5 VPs from somewhere else.

Don't depend upon terrain too much, as units you think safe can become trapped. An easy mistake to make is to put an HQ unit on a fortification unit and think it's safe - it's not! This is especially true of German HQs in Metz.

Your opponent is not allowed to look through your stacks of units so don't let them!

Remember where those enemy HQs are - especially if you are going after them! Don't put HQs on the top of a stack - it sounds obvious but how many players remember this? The German player needs to beware of the French player putting lots of units into reserve in one area - it probably means a big push is coming so it may pay the German player to think about the "no retreat" option and convert retreats into losses. This also means that the French player can do this to fool the Germans.

If you're playing the Germans and going after mob centers make sure there are still units to appear there. Mob point H can quite often be captured by German cavalry early in the game but there's not a lot of point, as no units appear there after Allied turn 2.

Keep HQs as close to the action as possible. The reconstitution rules mean that changing a die x2 for when eliminated units re-appear to a die x3 can make a huge difference.

It's nearly always better to use a HQ to reconstitute a unit rather than refit a reduced one if you have a choice. Even a reduced unit has a ZOC which instantly restricts the movement of enemy units.

Overruns are not easy in this game but a few timely ones before a big assault can be game breakers. The Allied player has less opportunity for these but they are still possible.

The French player must keep other HQs within range of Foch to make use of his special reconstitution ability.

A crafty trick for both players is to keep a cavalry unit near the bottom of a stack - this can pay dividends when the enemy has a cavalry unit that they were expecting to retreat before combat, and now it has to stand and fight.

Don't forget that cavalry units can retreat before overruns as well as before combat - this is not stated in the rules but Dean agreed with it in a question.

Trenches are an important choice for the German player I would have to be doing really badly to consider them, as they probably benefit the French player more than you. If you are under real pressure in the Center it may be worthwhile to start them, but probably only if you still think you can take Paris - otherwise it will make things more difficult for the Germans if they are going for a points victory.

Conclusion

To sum up, this is a great game which can go either way. I hope the notes above will help both players to get more from the game. It certainly does not fit the normal pattern of WW1 battles as the play is so open. And it's great fun - enjoy!

Drive on Paris Wargame Strategy

Introduction
The Germans
The Allies
General Tactics