Tactics in 'They Shall Not Pass'
Day Four: February 24, 1916
By Doug McNair
March 2007

The Germans’ last chance to hit the French with overwhelming numbers comes in today’s installment of my They Shall Not Pass replay.

As Day 3 of the Battle of Verdun ended, the central German advance had pushed the French back to their third and final trenchline, and the German east flank was advancing as the French were pulling in their own to reinforce the center. But the German west flank had been repulsed numerous times with heavy losses, the western shoulder of the German bulge was spread thin, and French reinforcements had begun streaming onto the battlefield from the south.

The Germans must break the French center or turn one of their flanks ASAP to prevent the French reinforcements from hitting them in the western shoulder and stopping their advance.

Turn 4: February 24, 1916

a) Weather Phase

The weather stays good, which is good for the Germans but also for some of the incoming French reinforcements, which will be able to move farther in the Breakthrough Movement Phase.

b) German Organization Phase

All German units are in supply, though some of the lead 3rd Corps units south of the woods near Louvemont have nearly outrun their HQ, and are at the very end of their 10 movement point offroad supply line.

The two demoralized German 7th Reserve Corps units on the battered western German flank STILL fail to rally, significantly lowering the chances of the Germans making a breakthrough there. The demoralized German pioneer unit with the aforementioned lead 3rd Corps units near Louvemont also fails to rally, so one fewer stack of German units will get to move in the Breakthrough Movement Phase.

The Germans apply their three replacements to the other 3rd Corps Pioneer unit, plus two infantry units of 7th Reserve Corps (they’re going to give it one last try).

c) German Bombardment Phase

The Germans have to throw all they’ve got at the last French trenchline, which means they can’t spare a lot of forces to screen the west flank of their advance. That west flank will be filled with French reinforcements very soon if they’re allowed unrestricted strategic movement on the roads, so German corps-level artillery fires interdiction at the road hex that crosses the third trench just north of Vacherauville.

One of 18th Corps’ artillery units rolls a 3, which is under its fire strength of 5 and successfully interdicts the hex. Then the commander of the long-suffering 7th Reserve Corps notices that with 3rd Corps infantry having cut the road northwest of Louvemont, the redoubtable French units holding him back in the western trenches are tracing their supply line the long way: overland to the road north of Vacherauville, south on the roads through Verdun, northeast on the road through Fleury, and finally offroad to the French HQ in the fort at Douamont. There’s only one other road that crosses the trench northwest of Vacherauville, so if he can interdict that hex the entire French west flank be unable to trace an offroad supply line of 10 movement points or less, and will be out of supply later in the turn! He orders his one corps artillery unit to fire interdiction at that hex, and he rolls a 4, which is exactly what he needs! All of a sudden there’s hope for his fading reputation. . . .

Keeping going with a good thing, the German heavy offboard artillery fires interdiction at the trench hex northeast of Vacherauville to make double-sure that no French reinforcements can get north of the third trench this turn. It’s a good thing the offboard arty fired, because it’s the only German artillery with a strength of 6. It rolls a 5, just barely under its strength, and successfully interdicts the hex.

With the western approaches sealed off, the rest of the larger-caliber German artillery barrages the French. The 18th Corps fires its second corps-level artillery along with an offboard heavy artillery shot at the French infantry unit blocking the fork in the road northwest of Louvemont. It only rolls a 2 for an M result, but the low-morale unit from the French 72nd Reserve Corps (which is not so tough outside the trenches) rolls an 8 and fails the morale check to become demoralized.

Then 3rd Corps puts both of its corps-level artillery plus the last heavy offboard artillery shot into the French infantry and 51st Reserve Division artillery unit in the hex where the third trench ends, just northwest of Douamont. The attack rolls a 5 on the 11-14 column (after the -2 trench penalty), scoring an M1 result, but the units get +1 morale bonuses for being in a trench. Unfortunately, both fail their morale checks, and the French center is in much danger now.

The last barrage is by 5th Corps’ artillery and the German Naval Battery, hitting a French infantry unit holding the road in the woods northeast of Douamont. But the attack rolls only a 1, so for once, the German artillery is ineffective, and all is not lost for the last French line of defense.

d) German Movement Phase

Seventh Reserve Corps rushes the trenches once again, confident the French will flee once they go out of supply later this turn. Then the three German corps to the east move south to hit the final French line of defense, but doing so thins out their flanks, forcing them to spread out and hit the French lines at six different points rather than making a concentrated attack. Still, the attack all along the line pins down two French artillery units so they can’t fire support, and will hopefully maximize the chances of a breakthrough somewhere. The German HQs and divisional artillery scramble to keep up with their advancing units.

e) German Assault Phase

As always, German 7th Corps starts by making yet another assault on the French western trenches. The two remaining pioneers of 7th Corps hit the westernmost trench hex and their nemesis, the French 324th Reserve Infantry Regiment (which has been holding them back all this time).

Because the Germans poured all their infantry replacements into the 7th and also commit one divisional artillery unit, the attack is at abase odds of 4-1. But the French respond once again with their own divisional artillery and drop the odds to just 1-1. Nevertheless, a roll of anything but 1 will inflict a hit on the French, forcing them to take a step loss or retreat, and a 4 or better will score two hits and force the French to retreat, letting a pioneer unit exploit the gap. The Germans roll . . . a 1, taking three hits and scoring none. The lead pioneer unit dies, and two German infantry units take step losses (wiping out the just-arrived replacements) since the lead units in Samogneaux can’t retreat away from the French.

With nothing left to him but to die gloriously in battle, 7th Reserve Corps’ commander rushes forward to hit the elite French Chasseur unit screening the French divisional artillery that has made his life unbearable. The Chasseurs get no artillery support and are out of the trench, so the three German units attack them at 5-1 odds. They roll a 5, scoring four hits and wiping out the Chasseurs before they can retreat. Having gained some measure of revenge, 7th Reserve’s commander decides not to shoot himself.

Farther to the east, two German infantry units from 7th Reserve and 18th Corps attack a half-strength French infantry unit holding the only other second-line trench hex occupied by the French. Not taking any chances this time, one of 18th Corps’ artillery units supports the attack, and it goes in at 4-1 odds after the trench penalty. That guarantees at least two hits against the half-strength unit, which will wipe it out no matter the roll.

The roll of 2 inflicts two hits on each side, which kills the French unit while doing a step loss to one German unit and forcing both to retreat. But that breaches the French line east of the western flank, and with said western flank soon to be out of supply, the French will have to think hard about finally abandoning the western trenches. 7th Reserve’s commander demands the immediate return of the Prussian helmet and riding crop that he earlier cast off in despair.

Three hexes to the southeast, the Germans attack the demoralized French infantry unit holding the roadblock at the fork northwest of Louvemont. With all French artillery in the area pinned down, the French get no support, and the attack is at 10-1 odds even with no German artillery support. The Germans roll a 6 and wipe out the French with no damage to themselves, and since both attacking German stacks contain pioneer units, they advance two hexes through the vacated hex (leaving a unit behind there). That will let them rush the third trench in the Breakthrough Movement Phase, and try to force the surrender of the half-strength demoralized units there in the French Organization Phase.

Next the Germans attack the French XXX Corps artillery and a 51st Reserve Corps infantry unit in the hill/trench hex just south of Louvemont. The units are undemoralized and this is a very high-value target (the pioneer with the attack will be able to make a major breakthrough if it succeeds), so 3rd Corps and 18th Corps (who both have units in the fight) throw three divisional artillery units into it. The attack adds up to 35-5 or 7-1, but the trench and the hill drop it by three columns to 4-1. The Germans roll a 2, scoring just two hits on each side. The French take both hits as step losses and hold the trench! The infantry unit dies but the artillery survives, and the German pioneer takes a step loss and all the Germans retreat north one hex. The line holds!

Next, the Germans attack the two demoralized infantry and artillery units in the trench just west of Douamont. The Germans are all from 3rd Corps, which has shot off all its artillery, but the French pour in support from 14th Division’s artillery since they don’t want the just-repulsed German pioneer unit rushing in to take the trench during the Breakthrough Movement Phase. The attack comes off at only 1-2 odds, and the German roll of 3 inflicts one hit while taking three. The French take the step loss and hold the line, while the Germans take two and retreat one hex northward. The line holds again!

Next, German 5th Corps attacks the French infantry regiment in the woods on the road two hexes northeast of Douamont — the one that failed to break morale under the barrage. All French artillery that is eligible to fire support this phase has done so, and with support from a German divisional artillery unit the attack goes in at 4-1 odds. But the Germans roll only a 1, scoring two hits and allowing the French to retreat one hex after taking a step loss.

The Germans also take two hits, and with the last two attacks having been repulsed, they’ve got to show some territorial gains. So, two German infantry units take step losses, and one German unit advances into the woods hex (leaving behind another to protect its rear from French units to the east), cutting the road northeast of Douamont and thus impeding the French player’s ability to pull in his right flank.

Farther north, 5th Corps attacks an out-of-supply French infantry unit that’s been surrounded by German ZOC and stuck in a trench/woods hex since last turn. They hit it from both sides with artillery support at 4-1 odds, and even though they roll a 2 for two hits per side, that’s enough to destroy the French unit permanently since it can’t retreat away from German units. The Germans take a step loss and retreat to avoid the other one.

Finally, two German infantry units attack a half-strength French unit in the trench at the road-junction town of Bezonveaux — but German 5th Corps solidifies its underwhelming reputation by rolling a 1 on the 3-1 column, inflicting one hit and taking three. The French unit skips into the next trench hex southward, while each German unit takes a step loss and retreats north.

At the end of the German Assault Phase, the only German breakthrough is westward down the road to Vacherauville, but since that town has units in the trenches, the French lines hold!

f) German Breakthrough Movement Phase

The 72nd Reserve Corps’ one surviving pioneer unit can’t move anywhere productively, so it stays put at the French west flank. The 18th Corps’ two pioneer units would love to move southwest to demand the surrender of demoralized German units in the trenches, but there’s a problem. There’s a demoralized French Chasseur unit in the trenches there, and if it recovers morale (not a bad possibility with its high morale and a +1 bonus for being in a trench), it can jump out and whip behind the Germans, since it treats all enemy ZOC as Weak ZOC (much easier to move through). That means it can cut their supply lines, which would be death given that there will soon be two fresh French divisions double-timing it up the road. So, they pull back to protect their flanks. The one undemoralized pioneer unit of 3rd Corps leads its units south to put ZOC in the trenches and slow the expected retreat of the French XXX Corps artillery south of Louvemont, and the Germans end their half of the turn right about where they started it, but having taken massive losses for the little bit of ground gained.

g) French Organization Phase

All units of the French west flank are out of supply due to German interdiction fire on the roads north of Vacherauville, but all other French units are in supply. The French Chasseur in the trench north of Vacherauville does indeed rally (good thing the Germans stayed back), and so does a French infantry unit in the hill/trench hex to the east, and the 51st Reserve Division’s artillery in the last trench hex northwest of Douamont. The infantry with the artillery fails to rally.

Then the French 153rd Division appears on the road south of Verdun, and the French put their one replacement into the French infantry unit that pulled back from German 5th Corps’ uninspiring attack in the woods northeast of Douamont.

h) French Bombardment Phase

All French artillery barrages the enemy — even XXX Corps, since the ZOC from the German units next to it will make it impossible for the slow-moving corps artillery to pull back more than one hex. The Left Bank artillery and XX Corps artillery both roll low and miss, but the rail gun rolls a 5 and gets an M result on the a stack of two reduced-strength German units that got bloodied attacking the trenches northwest of Douamont. Both fail their morale checks and become demoralized, meaning they won’t be able to take replacements if they fail to rally. Then XXX Corps artillery rolls a 5 on the German stack that's pinning it down, and the M result causes the pioneer unit and one infantry unit there to roll 11s and become demoralized!

i) French Movement Phase

Since being out of supply cuts movement allowances in half, the units in the western trenches can’t escape back to French lines if they pull out of the trenches. So, they stay where they are, hoping to sell their lives as dearly as possible and render the German 7th Reserve Corps combat-ineffective.

The recovered Chasseur from Vacherauville moves east to reinforce the French infantry unit in the hill/trench hex to the east, and to get into a position where it can cut through the German central lines later. Then French 37th Division dashes north from Bras using strategic movement, and elite Zouaves and Tiralleurs pile into the trench line (or positions just behind it) from Vacherauville to a point two hexes southwest of Louvemont. Then 153rd Division uses strategic movement to head northeast to Fleury, where one unit stays behind and two stacks of one elite infantry and one Chasseur each split northeast and northwest.

The French XXX Corps HQ retreats from Douamont fort to Fleury, thus getting on a road and shortening the offroad supply line to the units at the western trench. The infantry unit northwest of Douamont Fort pulls into it, and two reduced-strength French units retake the trench at the road junction town of Bezonveaux while another French infantry unit pulls back south to a woods/slope hex northwest of Vaux to re-establish the thin French east flank line.

j) French Assault Phase

The lines are still filling in, so the French wait on the counterattack.

k) French Breakthrough Movement Phase

The two stacks with Chasseurs from 153rd Division move north from Fleury to take up positions southeast and southwest of Douamont, forming a secondary line of defense south of the trench and fort there.

l) Mutual Recovery Phase

All artillery flips, and the turn ends.

At the end of Day 4, the brave stand of the thin French lines has hurled the Germans back with heavy losses, and with French reinforcements within striking distance, the tipping point may be very near.

The Germans have captured seven towns and done 30 step losses to the French while taking 25, so that gives them four victory points thus far. If that doesn’t change, the French will win a minor victory, so the Germans need to find ways of racking up more VPs fast before increasing French numbers stop their advance.

Weak and out-of-supply units on both French flanks may yield at last to let the Germans take more towns, and killing those units while using replacements to recover lots of German steps may get the Germans more VPs for lopsided casualties. Also, the one section of the French line that hasn’t filled with reinforcements stretches six hexes from the hill south of Louvemont to the fort of Douamont. If the battered German 3rd Corps gets lots of replacements, it may be able to take the town and the fort, and that plus taking towns on the flanks would give the Germans two or three more VPs. Also, bypassing the trench west of Douamont is possible since the artillery in the hex south of Louvemont exerts only weak ZOC. That could even let German units attack and blow a hole in the center of the French reinforcements. But that would stretch their front line very, very thin.

They may not be able to pull it off without calling in the 121st Infantry Division as a reinforcement. That would lose them a VP, but now that the Germans control all the roads north of Louvemont, the 121st could quickly fill in gaps in the German lines and allow the advance to press forward. And if German artillery can demoralize or cut the supply lines of enough French units, the arrival of the 121st could even tip the balance back in the Germans’ favor and get them the final breakthrough they’ve been waiting for.

Will it? Tune in next time and find out!

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