Author	Schoenwulf
Method	Solo
Victor	France
Play Date	2021-08-22
Language	English
Scenario	FaoF008

Battle: As the Germans moved west under cover of darkness on May 13, 1940, a small contingent from the German 3rd Kradschützen Kampfgruppe found and crossed a small footbridge over the Meuse near Houx and held a tenuous bridgehead west of the river. They were quickly reinforced by both 5th and 7th Panzer Divisions that moved west across a 3 Km front towards the river. The west bank was being covered by elements of the French 5th Division d’Infanterie Motorisée and 18th Division d’Intanterie that were firmly entrenched or covered by woods and buildings. At 0345 hours, the advance German units were spotted and quickly took cover in some buildings near the footbridge. The Germans held the bridgehead, but the 5th Panzer Division took a beating in doing so. An hour later, the 7th Panzer Division began moving units across the river about 5 km north, while engineers were now also assisting units of the 5th Panzer Division to cross near the footbridge. By 0700 hours, the Germans had turned the French north flank and began a push on the south flank, but the French center across the Meuse from the main part of the town held firm. French artillery was particularly accurate causing both casualties and disarray in the German ranks. Throughout the day, the Germans made very slow progress against stubborn French resistance, but the French defenders stood their ground. The day ended with the French essentially surrounded by the Germans, but still holding their own and holding back the advance of the two Panzer Divisions for another day.Analysis: This scenario is a 2-map, 26-turn scenario that has about 1/3 of its turns played in darkness. This provides a good opportunity for the substantial German force to advance with 1-hex visibility in play. The French are able to set up their front line close to the Meuse in most spots except for one area that contains a footbridge already crossed by a handful of German units. They are also given good cover by either towns, woods or the option to dig in and have enough units to establish a fairly strong front. The primary weakness is that the French infantry lack the FP of the Germans by a 3-5 disadvantage, so they can’t create very strong FP groups. The darkness plays to the French strength at first since the Germans have to close to one hex to spot them. Advance is critical for the Germans as they need to control a significant number of town hexes on both maps for a Major Victory; thus, bridging the river with several engineer platoons is key to the blitzkrieg. Two factors helped the French to victory, an unusual number of early FOW rolls and some 2’s, 3’s & 12’s rolled at just the right time. In fact, it was extraordinary how many times the Germans had significant assault advantages but rolled 7’s while the French had 2,3, or 12; the Germans were losing steps to this, while the French passed their morale checks, e.g. an assault at 9-1 odds with the French receiving no effect and the Germans getting an M2 with all their 9-point units becoming demoralized when checked! The French artillery had some similar rolls, while the German artillery was comparatively ineffective. In the end, the Germans only managed to get one tank in play across the river, and it was their Panzer II instead of one of the more powerful armor units. All in all, it was either a bad day for the Germans, or a very good one for the French. The Germans lost 36 steps to the French 37, so that was quite close. They also controlled 11 of the 12 town hexes on Map 29 and one on Map 26, so they were close to a Minor Victory; however, this ended as a French Major Victory, as the Germans had lost > 20 steps and did not control a majority of town hexes west of the river. The scenario was a fun one to play, gave the feel of the historical situation, and is better balanced than would appear from this playthrough.