WARGAMESOSD

The Fall of France (1)


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

wargames.wilkey.org.uk
Turn 2 (May II 1940)

The Battle of France, also known as the Fall of France, was the German invasion of France and the Low Countries during the Second World War. On 3 September 1939 France had declared war on Germany, following the German invasion of Poland. In early September 1939, France began the limited Saar Offensive. By mid-October, the French had withdrawn to their start lines. In six weeks from 10 May 1940, German forces defeated Allied forces by mobile operations, conquering France, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands, ending land operations on the Western Front. The German operation was called 'Case Yellow'.

The illustration above shows the invasion of the low countries, Netherlands (orange tiles) Belgium (green tiles), France (blue tiles) BEF (buff tiles) and Axis (grey/green & black (SS) tiles).

To the south of Belgium
In Fall Gelb (Case Yellow), German armoured units made a surprise push through the Ardennes, and then along the Somme valley, cutting off and surrounding the Allied units that had advanced into Belgium to meet the expected German invasion. British, Belgian and French forces were pushed back to the sea by the German armies and the British evacuated the British Expeditionary Force (BEF), French and Belgian troops from Dunkirk in Operation Dynamo.
Large panzer divisions move forward from the West Wall

Fall Rot (Case Red) was the plan for the second phase of the conquest of France by the German Army and began on 5 June 1940. It had been made possible by the success of Fall Gelb (Case Yellow), the invasion of the Benelux countries and northern France in the Battle of France and the encirclement of the Allied armies in the north on the Channel coast. Powerful forces were also to advance into France.

All commentary above courtesy of Wiki Commons

Game Mechanics

Time Scale: 2 weeks per turn
Map Scale: 16 miles per hex
Unit Scale: Division
Players: Two - Advanced complexity
Solitaire Suitability: High complexity
Playing Time: 80 hours

Main Scenario & variants

1) Historical scenario (10 game turns)
2) French mobilization and reinforcements
3) British forces on the continent
4) Belgian mobilization and reinforcements
5) Dutch mobilization and reinforcements
6) Swiss armed forces and reinforcements
7) French Unit Breakdown Chart

 

2040 Die-Cut Counters
2 map sheets
1 rules booklet
1 chart set
1 One Europa VIII Supplement
1 die

Game Strategy

Classic hexagonal game play.

Game published in 1981 by GRD and although only two maps, the game play is difficult due to the number of stacks in play. The playing time above reflects the setting up and putting away times, which are extensive