Author	Schoenwulf
Method	Solo
Victor	Draw
Play Date	2021-09-08
Language	English
Scenario	FaoF010

Battle: in mid-afternoon of May 13, 1940, units from Grossdeutschland IR were attempting to cross the Meuse River near Sedan, but they ran up against a well-entrenched French position manned by troops from the 55th Division d’Infanterie. By 1600, the first German platoon had crossed the river and was disrupting the French right. On the French left, German artillery and MG42 fire had weakened the defenses, but the German engineers were shell-shocked and unable to assist in crossing the Meuse. The Germans continued crossing against the French right and slowly compromised the defenses there using two engineering groups to assist in the crossings. One was forced to retreat from the river while the other had difficulty transporting large groups. By 1745, the Germans had established a strong bridgehead on the French right but failed to cross as many units as they had hoped.

Analysis: This scenario is a single map, 12-turn scenario with VP’s based solely on enemy unit morale reduction or elimination. As is typical for these blitzkrieg scenarios, the Germans have an extensive unit and FP advantage, while the French enjoy strong defensive positions across a major river. Only about half the map is actually in play,and there are many town hexes for protection as the Germans advance. Since all the bridges are blown, the Germans need to get engineers in position under fire and provide as much adjacent morale bonus as possible to keep them healthy while German troops try to cross. Suppression of French FP is critical since crossing must happen fast; the only steps that count as VP’s are those on the French side of the river. At game end, the French still retained 16 undemoralized steps on their side of the river, and the Germans had 15 undemoralized steps. There were two active assaults at game end and two engineers still in the river, with the final result being a draw. This is a great small scenario for introducing many concepts in the game, e.g. casemates, entrenchments, major river crossings, OBA , armor, & indirect fire. All of this on basically half a map and only 12 turns!