Panzer Grenadier: 1940 — The Fall of France
Developer’s Preview, Part Two
By Doug McNair
July 2009

I’m back from Historicon and slowly recovering from the two-day drives each way. My brain’s not quite up to the next development project yet, but I can at least give folks a peek at the next 10 scenarios in 1940: The Fall of France.

Scenario Eleven
Spearhead
14 May 1940, Haut-le-Wastia, Belgium

On May 13, 5th Panzer Division crossed the Meuse north of Dinant and sent infantry probes westward to expand the bridgehead and secure strategic objectives. Haut-le-Wastia was one such objective: a tiny village on the edge of a plateau overlooking the road to Anthée. French forces defended the village all day long, and 1st Groupement de Reconnaissance was ordered in as reinforcements. But German air attacks kept them away and the village fell that night. Gathering reinforcements under cover of darkness, they counterattacked at dawn on the 14th.

Conclusion

Several AMR33 and P16 armored cars supported the dragoons attacking from the west. Many of the Germans retreated to the center of the village but were quickly surrounded, and were finally forced to surrender when their ammunition ran out. By 0730 hours the fighting died down and the French commander radioed his victory message to 9th Army HQ ... and was immediately ordered to retreat since German tanks were now reported as having crossed the Meuse.

Developer’s Commentary

A short one-map scenario representing one of the earliest French counterattacks during the 1940 campaign. I added rules for increasing visibility after sunup, and cut the game to 12 turns since the historical battle was over by then anyway. The Germans have superior morale but lots of town hexes to cover while the French have superior numbers, so I kept the VP schedule flat: one VP per enemy step destroyed and two VPs per town hex controlled at the end of play.

Scenario Twelve
Expanding the Bridgehead
14 May 1940, West of the Meuse, near Dinant, Belgium

The day had well begun for the French: Their successful early morning counterattack at Haut-le-Wastia had endangered the whole German bridgehead on the Meuse. But 5th and 7th Panzer Divisions had been ordered to merge their two separate toeholds on the left bank and expand their control to the west. The German engineers had worked all night and thrown two pontoon bridges across the Meuse: one to the south of Houx and another one at Bouvignes. But neither bridge was strong enough to support heavy panzers, so the main burden of expanding the bridgehead fell to the poor, bloody infantry.

Conclusion

The French were in high spirits due to their successful counterattack that morning, and several French units attacked the narrow German bridgehead aggressively. But coordination between them was poor, and one battalion of the 39th Infantry Régiment was encircled and crushed after retaking the Surinvaux woods on the heights above the river. Meanwhile, the Germans sent 2nd Battalion of 7th Schützen Regiment toward Onhaye, a village four kilometres to the west of Dinant. The battalion met little resistance, so Rommel followed them with the main body of his force. Riding in a tank, he was lightly wounded when his column came under anti-tank fire after pushing too far into an area held by 5th Régiment de Dragons Portés. But the Germans took Onhaye along with all the other hastily-formed French strongpoints in the area. By evening, the German advance was running wildly ahead of schedule and the shattered French XI Corps had to be dismantled.

Developer’s Commentary

A large scenario with a mixed French force attacking the German bridgehead on the Meuse, even as the Germans are trying to expand the bridgehead. Per previous scenarios I gave the French CAV and DRG units 8/6 morale and 7/6 to all the rest. Cut the game to 26 turns and went with victory conditions that reward the Germans for clearing towns west of the river while rewarding the French for holding towns and killing German steps.

Scenario Thirteen
Lords of Steel
14 May 1940, Between Chémery and Connage, South of Sedan, France

The motto of 7th Bataillon de Chars Légers was "Seigneur Suis" (loosely translated: “Who da Man?!”). It was equipped with the rare FCM36 light tanks, which had impressive armor protection but were armed with the old 37SA18 gun that couldn’t do much damage to German main battle tanks. The battalion’s 3rd Company was ordered to attack the Sedan bridgehead, and on May 14th the tanks began their slow advance up the winding road to Connage on the way to Sedan.

Conclusion

Followed by too-cautious infantry, the lead French tank was soon immobilized by a German anti-tank gun hidden in the woods along the road. The tanks pressed on as more German AT guns opened fire, but eventually their progress slowed to a snail’s pace since they had to keep stopping to allow their infantry to catch up. When the armored column reached Connage, two more tanks were immobilized by German AT guns on the heights above the town. Then German tanks appeared in the village streets, and a short fight erupted at close range between two platoons of FCM and a handful of Panzers plus a monster self-propelled gun. The French caught the worst of it, and only three French tanks escaped back to French lines.

Developer’s Commentary

This is a relatively small, one-board scenario in which a French combined-arms force attacks a village held by a small Grossdeutschland force but then must hold it against a strong German counterattack. Here the widely varying French troop quality is a major factor, with their tanks having average morale but their supporting infantry having only a pathetic 6/5. I had to let it run the full 20 turns listed in the original design, because the lower-morale French will need time to kick out Grossdeutschland and then dig in to prepare for the assault of the panzers and engineers.

Scenario Fourteen
A Quiet Village
14 May 1940, Grand-Leez, Northeast of Gembloux, Belgium

It only took an hour for the engineers of 4th Panzer Division to clear a breach in the line of Cointnet anti-tank obstacles just wide enough for the panzers to pass through one by one, single-file. Such a slow procession would have made a juicy target for Allied ground-attack aircraft, but none ever showed up. Once past the obstacles, the Panzers entered open fields and charged toward Gembloux. Waiting for them at the edge of a wood were some hidden rearguard forces of the retreating 2nd Division Légère Mécanique.

Conclusion

Fire from French anti-tank guns and hidden tanks in the Bois de Grand Leez put a brutal halt to the advance of 36th Panzer Regiment. Neither air support nor artillery fire could silence the French, and the infantry of 33rd Schützen Regiment remained pinned in the fields and meadows. A furious tank battle developed while the Germans tried to bypass the French positions. More French tanks came into view on the road from Sauveniere, but Lt. Krause (commanding Section 2 of the German pioneers) stopped their advance by destroying 4 French tanks with an AT gun and then personally throwing a demolition charge under the French command tank. But then several Panzers bogged down in the marshy terrain, and more tanks were lost on both sides until the French finally withdrew.

Developer’s Commentary

A quick, one-board slugfest in which a German combined-arms force tries to take a town from a French combined-arms force with morale equal to their own. The Germans do have big advantages in firepower and numbers, so I kept the VP schedule flat: one VP for each enemy step eliminated (tanks count double, trucks don’t count) and two VPs for each town hex that is under friendly control at the end of play.

Scenario Fifteen
Delaying Action
14 May 1940, Walhain St-Paul, North of Gembloux, Belgium

The 3rd Division Légère Mécanique had retreated from the Jandrain armor cauldron back to the Wavre-Gembloux road. During that withdrawal, part of the division fought 5th Panzer Regiment at Thorembais while Captain de Beaufort’s escadron of the 2nd Cuirassiers stopped at Walhain some hundred meters east of the main road to Gembloux. In this fluid situation, the panzers were outrunning their infantry support and ignoring flank security.

Conclusion

The French brigade HQ at Walhain was suddenly surrounded by Panzers, and the Somuas of the 2nd Cuirassiers engaged them. In the village a Pz IV knocked out three French tanks at close range, and while the Germans claimed seven more French tanks destroyed they ended up backing off due to their exposed forward position. In the middle of the afternoon de Beaufort’s tanks pulled back under orders, having lost ten tanks at Walhain. It was time for the 3rd Division Légère Mécanique to withdraw and let the infantry take care of the defense of France.

Developer’s Commentary

A short scenario in which both sides have nothing but tanks, with the Germans entering on the north edge and trying to exit from the south edge while the French try to stop them. This one was tough to balance, because most of the German tanks can’t damage the French S35s, and will want to just avoid the French and head for the south edge. So to keep them from doing just that, I let half the French units set up hidden. That way the French will get some shots at the Germans before they start dodging. To compensate, I lengthened the game to 12 turns so the Germans can take circuitous routes to avoid those French they can see.

Scenario Sixteen
Early Morning at Stonne
15 May 1940, Stonne, South of Sedan, France

On a long ridge south of Sedan sit the woods of Mont-Dieu and a little hilltop village called Stonne. They were directly in the path of Guderian’s motorized infantry expanding the Sedan bridgehead across the Meuse. As French forces crumbled before Guderian’s advance, 3rd Division d’Infanterie Motorisée and 3rd Division Cuirassée de Réserve were hastily sent to restore the line and occupy the heights at Stonne.

Conclusion

The French did not have enough time to establish proper defensive positions at Stonne before Grossdeutschland regiment attacked at dawn on May 15th. After an initial artillery barrage, German soldiers climbed the steep slopes followed by panzers on the winding road. Five German tanks were destroyed by French 25mm guns and Panhards, but the rest wreaked havoc in the streets and the French quickly abandoned the village. But then French armored reinforcements arrived and counterattacked along with some of the infantry that had retreated. The Germans resisted fiercely, and held off the French infantry while destroying several H39 tanks. Only the arrival of several huge B1-bis tanks later that morning would turn the tide against the Germans.

Developer’s Commentary

The first of many scenarios taking place in and around Stonne. I added a board to the north so the Germans don’t enter right on top of the French, and had to start the scenario at dawn rather than pre-dawn because if it really takes seven turns for the French tanks to show up there won’t be any French infantry left in Stonne for them to reinforce. The French infantry who start in Stonne can’t possibly hold the town by themselves since the Germans have higher morale and more than three times their firepower, and the French tanks can’t take the town back if the infantry are all dead or demoralized by the time they get there. So I put the burden of victory on the Germans, saying they win if at the end of play both hexes of Stonne plus all 40-meter hill hexes are free of undemoralized French units. Any other result is a French victory.

Scenario Seventeen
Piercing the Iron Line
15 May 1940, Perbais and Ernage, North of Gembloux, Belgium

The soldiers of 1st Division d’Infanterie Motorisée had spent an uneasy night in Perbais, a village north of Gembloux. Though well dug-in and fortified, they could sense German troops crawling toward them in the dark and cutting through their barbed wire barricades. When day dawned, the Stukas came and German troops attacked all along the line. Meanwhile south of Ernage, the main French strongpoint was the Sart-Ernage farm which bristled with mortars, machine guns and anti-tank guns (including the powerful 47mm APX). The test of strength began.

Conclusion

The Germans had underestimated French strength at Perbais due to insufficient reconnaissance the previous day. The infantry of 3rd Panzer Division attacked at 0915 hours, but without armor support they became bogged down under heavy French artillery fire. The arrival of armored reinforcements plus more air support finally opened a gap in the French lines, and as the Germans reached the railway line most of the French units in Ernage were forced to fall back. This left the flanks of the neighboring French units exposed, and Perbais fell somewhat later. But German casualties were mounting, and the frustrated and exhausted assault troops were eventually halted by rumors of counterattacking French tanks. They even began to retreat from Perbais, causing German commanders to send more reinforcements there. Meanwhile back in Ernage, a lone French company was still holding out, causing the Germans to send more tanks and infantry across the railway and deep towards the already burning Sart farm and the village of Cortil-Noirmont. But a final French counterattack restored their lines, forcing the German spearhead to fall back beyond the railway. The French First Army had held its own against all odds.

Developer’s Commentary

I cut the game to 24 turns and simplified the German reinforcement rules to keep the German player from getting dice-whipped. Added a strong 47mm APX unit to the French order of battle since the intro says they had them. Just getting units off the west edge isn’t quite enough here; the Germans need to force a gap in the line others can exploit. So I went with victory conditions reflecting that:
German Major Victory: At the end of play there is a corridor at least five hexes wide running from the east edge to the west edge that is free of undemoralized French combat units.
German Minor Victory: At the end of play the German player controls more town hexes than the French player.
French Minor Victory: At the end of play at least 20 German steps have been eliminated (tanks count double, trucks don’t count).
French Major Victory: The German player fails to score a Major or Minor Victory.

Scenario Eighteen
The Iron Line: South
15 May 1940, Gembloux, Belgium

The Germans had launched two attacks on the railway line at Gembloux on the 14th, and both times the Moroccans holding the line had rebuffed the Master Race with ease. So the next morning, the Germans ruined a magnificent sunrise by sending in a flight of Stukas to pour loads of bombs into the Moroccan lines. Soon afterward, the tanks and infantry of 4th Panzer Division attacked in much greater numbers than they had the day before. But the French artillery got the jump on their German counterparts, silencing the enemy guns and depriving the Pioneers of the covering fire they’d need to push through the railway obstacle.

Conclusion

The German tanks joined the fray far too soon and French heavy artillery, minefields and well-situated anti tank guns wreaked havoc in their ranks. Squad leader Louis Brindejonc commanding one of the 25mm AT guns claimed 7 Germans tanks that morning. More brilliant commanders and simple soldiers lost their lives near the terrible sunken railway before the tanks retreated and another wave of Stukas was called in at 1030 hours. The German infantry continued the assault alone, and at a high price in men and machines they successfully infiltrated the railway to move into the fields beyond it. They were eventually joined by forces diverted from the heavy fighting near the railway station at Gembloux, once the Germans figured out there was no way they could dislodge the Moroccans from there. By noon the French forces had lost seven complete sections in numerous close assaults, but the counterattack to restore their line was ready for launch.

Developer’s Commentary

I had to lengthen the game to 24 turns because this is going to be one big town assault against an enemy with equal morale and an equal number of leaders. The only advantage the Germans have is tanks, but town terrain will give the Moroccans plenty of column shifts in their favor on defense. They do have a lot of town hexes to cover so that’s one thing the German tanks can exploit, moving through gaps in the Moroccan lines to take town hexes behind them. Still, most movement will be slow, so I kept the VP schedule flat.

Scenario Nineteen
Hard Enough
15 May 1940, Stonne, South of Sedan, France

The Germans were still holding out in Stonne at 1000, so the French sent in a second counterattack to retake the village. The French tanks followed the tracks left by the first wave to ascend the ridge to the plateau.

Conclusion

As the French tanks advanced on the village, German soldiers sniped at the oncoming French infantry from the top of the village’s water tower. A hail of AT shells immobilized or destroyed several French tanks, and the French infantry eventually chose to bypass the village through the western woods. They captured a position in the western part of Stonne, and as the Germans fought to repel them the French tanks closed the pincers on the village. Soon, most of the Germans could be seen running and driving away from the deadly heights. This was a serious failure for the Grossdeutschland Regiment, and its first retreat since the beginning of the war.

Developer’s Commentary

Too hard. There’s no way a numerically-inferior force can push a dug-in, higher-morale force out of a hilltop town with no off-board artillery support. So I upped French numbers and gave them off-board artillery to give them a chance of reproducing the historical result, lengthened the game to 16 turns to give the French tanks time to wear the Germans down, and skewed the VP schedule in favor of the French.

Scenario Twenty
Early Montcornet
15 May 1940, Montcornet, France

The small crossroads town of Montcornet was of special strategic importance since it lay at the nexus of the Reims, Laon and Vervins roads. The German “sickle-cut” plan had confused French forces as to the real objectives of the attack, throwing them into disarray as they moved hither and yon to cope with a ubiquitous enemy. Some motorized elements of the 2nd Division Cuirassée de Réserve were shifting positions around Montcornet when they met a recon column from 6th Panzer Division closing on the town.

Conclusion

Around 17:00, Lt-Col von Esebeck’s column was approaching Montcornet from the east just as a detachment from 17th Bataillon de Chasseurs Portés was approaching the town from the north. Spotting the Germans, the French formed a defensive line around the railway station at the north edge of the town. The combined attack of the German motorcyclists fording the small river and the tanks of the 6th Panzer firing from the rear eventually wore-down French resistance. Combat ended around 20:00 with heavy French losses: 3 officers, 9 NCOs and 45 chasseurs wounded or killed and ten 25mm guns lost along with their trucks.

Developer’s Commentary

Here’s a one-board scenario where mobile forces from both sides enter the board to fight for a town held by a small force of French reserve units. The Germans have armor while the French do not, but the French units coming to the rescue have high morale and effective AT support, so it will be a close fight. Players score one VP for each enemy step eliminated (tanks count double, trucks don’t count), two VPs for each town hex that is under friendly control at the end of play and three VPs if the bridge hex is under friendly control at the end of play.

That covers it for the second set of 10 scenarios. Tune in next time for the next 10, which cover more of the German attacks on the railroad line around Gembloux, further fighting at Stonne, fighting on the roads near the Mormal forest at Jolimetz, and the earliest counterattacks by DeGaulle’s 4th Division Cuirassee de Reserve.

1940: The Fall of France is arriving soon. Order now!