Panzer, MaaAARsch ! An (almost) historical AAR

OKW Hauptquartier Wünsdorf - 1940, May the 2nd - 1000
Meeting between GeneralOberst von Brauchitsch, Chief of the OKH, and General Franz Halder, Chief of the General Staff.

- "General Halder. I just spoke with GeneralOberst Keitel. It has been confirmed...
- When ?
- As planned : Friday, May the 10th. H-Hour 0500 !
Is everything ready ?
- Some units need to reach their starting position but yes, we are ready.
- I know you're not enthousiastic about this, General Halder, even less since the Führer decided to choose von Manstein's plan.
- It's a risky bet, Herr GeneralOberst.
- Risky or not, orders are orders and we have to follow them. Let's review the plan before issuing orders to all HeeresGruppen Commanders.
- In its last draft, the goal of 'Fall Gelb' is to punch a hole in the ennemy lines in the Ardennes region and to achieve a sudden and massive breakthrough up to the Channel coasts in the region of Le Havre.
Doing this, we intend to separate the belgian and dutch forces from the french ones and, in the same time, to trap all forces that the Brits and the Frenchs might have sent in Belgium and/or the Netherlands.

Our forces engaged in the battle totalize nearly 1.5 million men regrouped within 3 Army Groups :


- North, the HeeresGruppe B under GeneralOberst von Bock, 345.000 men within 31 divisions (2 motorized, 3 armored).


- Facing the Ardennes, the HeeresGruppe A under GeneralOberst von Rundstedt, 511.000 men within 45 divisions (5 motorized, 7 armored)


- In the south, the HeeresGruppe C under GeneralOberst von Leeb, 227.000 men within 19 divisions (1 motorized)


and the OKH General Reserve led by myself, right behind the HeeresGruppe A. 366.000 men within 35 divisions.

It represents a fighting force of 130 divisions, among them 10 are armoured and 8 motorized.


The air support will consist of the aircrafts of the Luftflotte 2, General Kesselring, and the Luftflotte 3, General Speerle. All together, nearly 3.800 airplanes (1400 fighters Me-109, 400 heavy fighters Me-110, 1400 bombers He-111 or Do-17, 600 Ju-87 'Stukas') and 600 transport aircrafts Ju-52.


As you can see on the map, the main blow and the ensuing drive to the sea will be delivered by the HeeresGruppe A. It differs from the original plan where the HeeresGruppe B was to be given the main role. Most of our strategic reserves will be commited to support the thrust of the HeeresGruppe A, which will advance in 2 columns.

The right column will be formed with the 4. Armee and with the 2. Armee (OKH Reserve) right behind it.

The 4. Armee will have to reach the Channel coasts as quickly as possible, to take control of the ports and to establish bridgeheads over the Seine river between Paris and the coast.
The 2. Armee will have to establish defensive position and some bridgeheads over the Marne river, between Paris and Reims.


The left column consists of the 12. Armee, with the 16. Armee behind it. After having crossed Luxemburg and Belgium, both Armies wil turn left and face south to provide flank cover to the 4. and 2. Armeen.


This main assault will be spearheaded by the PanzerGruppe of General von Kleist and the XV. AK (mot) of the 4. Armee.


The 9. Armee (OKH Reserve) will follow the advance to secure communication lines and to provide support if required.



In the north, the Heeresgruppe B will provide a third column with its 6. Armee, reinforced with the XVI. AK (mot) of the Army Group reserve.

It will move through the Maastrich Gap towards Turnhout, Antweerpen. Its goal is to take Brussels and to secure the port of northern France and Belgium. In the same time, it will also provide flank cover to the advance of the 4. Armee.


The 18. Armee will have to take care of the Dutchs all by itself. But, as you can see, the Luftwaffe has planned some airborne assault on strategic points which should help our ground forces and pave their way.
The 7. Flieger-Division and the 22. Luftlande-Division will secure the Rhine bridges in the region Rotterdan-Utrecht as the Sturm-Regiment and the FJ-Regiment 'Hermann Göring' will take care of the belgian fort of Eben-Emael (Liege) and some bridges over the Meuse river.


In the south, the Heeresgruppe C has no role to play in the initial phase, beside fixing enemy forces. But as soon as our breakthrough in the Ardennes will be achieved, it will launch two offensives against the Maginot line.

'Tiger', in the Saare, will be done by the 1. Armee. Its goal is to break through the Maginot line in Sarreguemines and to advance SW towards Charmes.


In the same time, the 7. Armee will launch 'Kleiner Bär' in the south, breaking through the Maginot line at Colmar and then moving NW towards Epinal.
Once both armies met, the french forces in the region of Strasbourg will be trapped.
- Sieht gut aus, General Halder.
- On paper, Herr GeneralOberst... only on paper. All depends on how fast we're going to break down the bolts of Vervier and Luxemburg...

misterbean said:

as always, very thorough and detailed. I never did learn just how Heeresgruppe C managed to break through the Maginot Line. If it is historically accurate (which I don't doubt for a second), it would be fabulous to see it happen. Whenever I do it, I just use one of Alexander the Great's tricks: take 'em out one province at a time, slowly massing forces as I go. It does allow for a higher escape rate (if that is the right phrase), though.

Click to expand...

Actually, it was a monster work, almost as big as 'Barbarossa' (1.5 million troops here compared to the 1.8 million troops for 'Barbie' In-Game). With few exceptions/modifications here and there (mostly due to the game mechanic or scale), it is historically accurate. The real pain in the b... was to track the armored trains and NbW detachments !!!

The HG C depicted OoB is the RL one for the 1. Armee. Concerning the 7. Armee, it received later on some divisions as reinforcements in order to execute 'Kleiner Bär'. Both sectors planned to be attacked In-Game are the historical ones.
Actually, 'Tiger' and 'Kleiner Bär' have been launched very late in the campaign (14th and 15th June - Paris fell on 14th). Because they're not "high in colour", it's quite hard to find detailled documentation on them. For french-speaking, I would recommend the book "Offensive sur le Rhin" (from Roger Bruge), describing 'Kleiner Bär' with a lot of details. I haven't check for an english translation.
Despite outnumbering the french troops almost 10 to 1 in both sectors, progress have been very slow and very costly. If these operations succeded it's only because the Frenchs withdrew. At that time, Guderian was driving like crazy towards the Swiss border and was already in their back.

For my part, I don't like to "nibble" one province at a time. Too slow and, sometimes, too costly. I grant you that in some cases, there's nothing else to do and the ol' Alexander knew his job after all...
I'd rather attack from "strong to the weak", dislocating the enemy defenses and achieving encirclements. Once trapped, enemy divisions are gone forever as, like you pointed out right, when you just push them back, you'll have to fight them again the day after.
On the other hand, attacking throughout the front continiously is an operative strategy which has been proven positive by the Allies in 1918. Though choice to make...

Let's see now what's going to happen in this game...

LoftenHenderson said:

great update!

Click to expand...

Thanks for your interest. I know you look forward to more action... Soon to come !!!
Until now, I never paid attention to your signature... Did you read the book "Epitoma Rei Militaris" ?

MC5 said:

Gotta say amazing detail and love the graphics you are making.

Click to expand...

Welcome onboard !
I'm glad to see you like my work. Needless to say that such an update takes quite a long time to make...

Send your Panzers onward to Paris!

Click to expand...

Engines are already running !

Forster said:

I usuall find that it's tough going in the maginot line until the French pull most of their units out. Even using fotress buster commanders and luftwaffe assets, all you seem to do is where down your units. Once France has pulled out all but the last unit is when I usually try an attack. Although, in the early stages of the attack on France, it is sometimes advantageous to attack to fix French units in place, you should usually cut off the attack before your units get depleted.

Click to expand...

And that's exactly what I intend to do. As it was IRL, the Maginot Line is a formidable obstacle (for the little history, the major forts of the CORF only surrendered when France capitulated) and even if a frontal attack, with proper air support, has a good chance of going through, it's a way too costly in matter of MP. With most of the units for 'Barbarossa' already in the building queue, I'm now down to 40 MP...
'Tiger' and 'Kleiner Bär' are only there to give the coup de grâce when everything is already "played".

Jagdpnzr said:

Gorgeous, just simply a pleasure to look at.

Click to expand...

I'm glad to see you're enjoying it. After all, being entertaining, as well as informative, is the purpose of this AAR.

KLorberau said:

Very nicely detailed and interesting OOB. I love the way you show each army, subunits, and "reserves". Looking forward to the actual assault.

Click to expand...

You, blood thirsty, you !!! Anyway, your wish will be granted. The Battle of France will start very soon...

PS: I also usually dont attack the Margionet line due to the fortifications until the French start to pull out.....Way too costly in most of my games. ....

Click to expand...

You're right. As I wrote before (see above), a frontal attack of the Maginot Line is not only costly in matter of MP, but also in matter of time (which is as important during Fall Gelb). Besides, the achieved breakthrough isn't decisive at all and the french AI has all the time it needs to withdraw in good order.

But for whatever reason I usually can't get the French to capitulate until sometimes 3-4 months....frustrates the heck outta me....

Click to expand...

So far I could figured out in most AARs or MP Games, most players, in manual control, are running variants of the so-called 'Schlieffen's Plan'. Basically, an attack which is going to take the Netherlands first, then Belgium, then France. Obviously, it takes longer than attacking all 3 in the same time.
Furthermore, doing this allows the AI to present you a continuous front all the time. Although you're pushing AI back, "nibbling" it and eventually winning, all that takes time... this damned 3 to 4 months.

The 'Sichelschnitt' I try now doesn't bring the same results as IRL, of course. But, IF successfull, it allows to break the continuous front the AI will try to maintain. Basically, I'll end up with HGr. B fighting against the Belgians and the Dutchs, as the HG. A and C are facing France. Instead of conducting 3 battles one after the other, I "just" have to run 2 simultaneously. It saves time and since it was planned like this from the very beginning I don't have a problem with the repartition of my forces.

misterbean said:

my personal record for the surrender of France was in FtM3.05. Luckily enough, it was the very campaign I was using for 'Take Two'. going from memory, I think I had them in 6 or 7 weeks.

edited: that one lasted from 10 May to 21 july. Must have my campaigns crossed.

Click to expand...

I've just finished playing 10th to 14th of May and, of course, I had to read the 'Fall Gelb' part of your AAR ([post=13243122]German Tutorial Take 2[/post])... A must read, I have to point out !
More or less, we're using the same plan (Long live von Manstein !), IMHO the only one if ones wants to get rid of France really fast.
Could you tell me how much divisions (per Army/Army Group) you're using for Fall Gelb ?

I've also noticed that we slightly differ on our operational use, which is always interesting to watch :
- Holland : In your tutorial, I haven't seen any motorized or armored units attacking the Netherlands as I use some (9. PzD, 1. Kav.-Div, SS-VT and SS-LAH) to exploit the numerous gaps the dutch defense offers. Doing this allows me to use less troops of HG B in Holland and more in Belgium.
- Paratroopers : I rather use my 2 divisions in Holland and leave the 2 rgts taking care of Eben-Emael (Liege) and Namur.
As IRL, I also drop them from day 1 (May the 10th) so that the fights are almost over when my land troops arrive and they just have to walk through the positions newly taken by my paratroopers (à la "Market-Garden").
- Schwerpunkt Vervier-Luxemburg : I figured out we have the same level of Operational Level Organization (1942).
It seems you're using the "Soviet" doctrine i.e. infantry assault (5. Armee) followed by armored exploit (1. PanzerArmee).
I've done that before but now, in the case of a well-defended province (like Vervier), I rather use combined-arms assault, commiting infantry divisions AND half of my armored divisions (1 or 2 Panzer-Division(s), depending on the panzerkorps), leaving the other half, and my motorized infantry divisions, doing the exploit.
Experience showed me that the first "blow" is much stronger, progress into the province are faster and I still could easily and quickly exploit with the remaining armored/motorized forces. By the time the exploitation phase has begun, my first wave armored divisions are again ready to fight.

6 weeks is my objective : I'd love to have an official surrender by June 22nd !!! I've done once by June 23rd but usually, I need to wait until July.

Sorry, I should have specified "in the historical context of Fall Gelb"... which means, starting on May the 10th and attacking simultaneously France, Belgium and the Netherlands (otherwise, it wouldn't be neither fair nor funny).
All that, if possible, in 44 days only (May the 10th to June the 22nd) !! Playing Germany, it's quite hard to lose ; the challenge, here, is to go "historical" i.e. fast.

Of course it is possible to break through the Maginot Line but to what cost... Speaking for myself, I don't see the point of losing 1 or 2 week(s), with a casualty ratio of 10 to 1 (at best), losing planes org, just to pierce a tiny hole in the M-Line.
That leaves us with 2 possibilities solely, either "Schlieffen" or "von Manstein".

... about not using any arm/mot in the netherlands: the simple truth is that I came up short about 2 divisions to keep to my intent of having 2 divs on the frontline in France in every province between Sedan and Boulogne. So I figured I could use the opportunity to show that, in most cases, a good infantry army does not NEED any armour per sé. they just help speed things up.

Click to expand...

Interesting to see how close your OoB and mine (actually not mine, rather the historic one) are. The main difference lies mostly in the number of divisions of the General Reserve. Once again, I have to say you've done a great job with your tutorial.

For my part, as long as I can keep at least one "armored fist" (i.e. PanzerGruppe), I'd rather use some motorized units among infantry formations/Armies. But as you pointed it out right, we haven't always the required number of these units and choices/compromises have to be made.
I particularly like those small mot. brigades like the Leibstandarte, GD and such. Ideal to "sneak", to exploit a gap or to pave the way without commiting larger armored formations.

Hauptquartier der ErsatzsArmee, Leipzig - 1940, May the 10th - 0900
Meeting between General Fromm, Befehlshaber der ErsatzsArmee and General von Oven, General Inspekteur der ErsatzsInfanterie.

- "Mein Lieber von Oven, it has begun : since 0500 this morning, our troops have crossed the borders of the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxemburg.
- Well... It's not like it would have been a big surprise, gell ?
- I would prefered to have a little bit more time before all that. We just completed the invasion of Denmark and Norway and we're running thin on troops over there. When will the occupation forces be ready ?

- Herr General. We've been able to send some service and command units but the coastal-defense brigades and divisions won't be ready before the end of June... at best ! Besides, we'll still have to ship them over there. As far as I know, the Royal Navy is still present in the area and our supply convoys are suffering from it. At least 2 freighters sunk since the beginning of the month.
- It's not really our concern, mein lieber von Oven ; it's up to Raeder and Göring. I just hope they know their job...
- At least, Herr General, Reichsminister Funk und Todt seem to know theirs.
- We're lucky on that point. Have you seen the bunch of divisions we've been ordered to set up ?
- Yeap... Mobilizations waves 10 to 15. All together 60 divisions !!! Not counting 3 new Gebirgsjäger-Division...
- And some armored, motorized and other security or rear-area units...

- I focus on the divisions of the 13 and 14th waves since they're planned for occupation duty in France. But as you can see, they won't be ready before this summer... And we also have to take care of the new Army.
- You're doing great, von Oven. Keep up the good work !"


Hauptquartier des OKH, Frankfurt-am-Main - 1940, May the 11th - 2300
Meeting between GeneralOberst von Brauchitsch, Chief of the OKH, and General Franz Halder, Chief of the General Staff.

- Na, General Halder... Any news now ?
- Jawohl, Herr GeneralOberst. We've received the first accurate reports.
- And ?
- So far, so good, Herr GeneralOberst.
- Let's see that... Holland first.
- Well... The 2 divisions of the Luftlandekorps succeded to reach their objectives. The 7. Flieger-Division seized Rotterdam and the 22. Luftlande-Division captured Utrecht and the bridges over the Rhine.

The 22. LLD is currently subjected to heavy dutch counter-attacks but General von Sponeck is fully confident he can hold his positions until our ground troops arrive. The Luftwaffe is currently airlifting the required supplies.
- How long for our ground troops to come ?
- The dutch positions at Nijmegen have been completely wiped out. Diettrich and his SS attacked too early, as usual, but the 9. PzD is moving forward and should reach Ede tomorrow night.
Arnhem has been taken and the 1. Kavallerie-Division is rushing towards Apeldoorn with the SS-VT right behind it. Once there, the 1. Kavallerie-Division will move north to Zwolle and Hausser will move west towards Amersfoort. Doing this, we're going to by-pass the Ijssellinie and the bulk of the dutch Army, 6 divisions, will get stucked between them and the X. AK attacking from the east.
- I like that ! What happens on the front of the 6. Armee ?
- Nothing, Herr GeneralOberst. The XVI. AK (mot) has reached Venlo without meeting any resistance and it's now rushing towards Eindhoven. The 6. Armee is following in its wake, through Venlo and Maastricht.
- But I thought we had spotted enemy defenses in Eindhoven ?
- Yeap but the Luftwaffe took care of that... It's gone by now.
- Impressive ! What's the situation of the HeeresGruppe A ?

- The resistance is much stronger than expected, mostly in Vervier. Obviously, the Belgians have been waiting for us...
However, they didn't expect our airborne attack on their fort of Eben-Emael and on the Meuse bridges. These air assault have completly disorganized their defense and they prevent the arrival of their reinforcements.
The belgian service and command units in Hasselt are subject to heavy air attacks and it is to believe that by the time the XV. AK (mot) reach them, they won't be able to oppose any kind of resistance.
Further south, in Luxemburg, the combined attack of the 12. and 16. Armee, spearheaded by elements of the PanzerGruppe 'von Kleist', has been successful. Unfortunatly, due to massive traffic-jams, we won't be able to reach Luxemburg before tomorrow morning.
I told you, Herr GeneralOberst, that the terrain wasn't suited for tanks. Reaching the Meuse at Dinant on May 15th, like Guderian and von Manstein planned it, won't be possible !
- Don't lose your temper, General Halder. Let's see what's going to happen..."


GefechtsStab des XIX. Armeekorps (mot), Luxemburg - 1940, May the 12th - 1100
General Guderian, CO XIX. Armeekorps (mot) meets Generals Kirchner and Veiel, COs 1. and 2. Panzer-Divisionen.

- "Herr General. They're gone !!!
- Who are gone, Kirchner ?
- The gouvernment... They left the city just before we arrived.
- Not my concern. I was told to take the city, I've done it. What happens next is something for politicians.

We have to move on ; time is our worst enemy, meine Herren !
- Zu Befehl, Herr General. But we need some time to reorganize our divisions and to refuel. Our units are scattered in- and outside the city. It's a real mess !
- I'm aware of that, Veiel. Anyhow, the infantry units of the 12. and 16. Armee won't be there before tomorrow at best. In the meantime, get your divisions ready.
Schaal and his 10. Panzer-Division are on their way. I'll send him and the GD-Regiment towards Arlon. You two will follow as soon as possible.
- What about Bastogne, Herr General ?
- That's for Reinhardt and his XXXXI. AK (mot). His 6. Panzer-Division is about to reach Luxemburg too and it will then move to Bastogne. The IR. 900 (mot) will do the same.
Meine Herren, 4 Panzer-Divisionen in a city... Make sure your traffic regulation units have the proper intructions : priority to the units moving west !!! Do I make myself clear ?
- Jawohl, Herr General.
- Move !!!"


Hauptquartier der 4. Armee, Bittburg - 1940, May the 13th - 1400
General von Kluge, CO 4. Armee, leading the attack on Vervier.

- "Brennecke ! Could you tell me what's going on over there !!! Why aren't we advancing ?!!
- Herr General, we're confronted to a fierce resistance ; the Belgians have 4 divisions in Vervier and they don't intend to let us through. However, according to the last reports of General Strauss, leading the II. AK, cracks in their defense started to appear and the 8. PzD is exploiting these gaps. My opinion is that they'll soon begin to withdraw.
- I guess, they've heard about the fall of Eben-Emael.

- The fort has fallen, Herr General ?
- Yeap. This morning at 0800, the garrison surrendered to our Fallschirmjäger and the bridges over the Meuse have been taken intact, all but one.
A british division, identified as the 54th East-Anglia, is currently trying to counter-attack but General Süssmann is confident he'll be able to hold until our troops arrive.
- That's sure good news for General Hoth and his XV. AK (mot) !
- Surely ! The Luftwaffe has done a terrific job and the belgian positions in Hasselt have been completely destroyed. Hoth can now drive to Liege and Namur."


Hauptquartier der 18. Armee, Bocholt - 1940, May the 14th - 1200
General von Küchler, leading the offensive against "Festung Holland".

- Mein lieber Marcks, we've got them by the balls !
- That's my opinion too, Herr General. I just received the last report from General Student. The 7. Flieger-Division and the 22. Luftlande-Division have begun their attack against Amsterdam. Hausser has reached Amersfoort yesterday morning and he will join the attack as soon as he had reorganized his troops.

Furthermore, PanzerZug 5 has reached the outskirts of Breda and it's paving the way for the 9. PzD. I hope General Hubicki has brought his bathing suit ; the way he goes, one more day and he will be in Dordrecht...
- Let's keep serious, Marcks. What about the "Enschede Pocket" ?
- Fully closed, Herr General, and we've got 6 dutch divisions in the bag. Further north, PanzerZug 4 has reached the sea at Leeuwarden.
- Make sure no escape is possible.
- That's why we sent the 1. Kavallerie-Division to Steenwijk. The main problem is that our advance is very fast and our infantry divisions have a hard time to follow the motorized troops...
- Not a new issue, nicht wahr, Marcks...? We've seen that in Poland already."


Hauptquartier der HeeresGruppe A, Koblenz - 1940. May the 14th - 2300
GeneralOberst von Rundstedt meets General von Sodenstern, his Chief of Staff.

- "Na, von Sodenstern ? Still thinking that our Panzer can't cross the Ardennes forest ?
- Herr GeneralOberst, with due respect, we aren't even half-way to our FIRST objective : the Meuse river. I grant you that the Belgians collapse in Vervier occured sooner than I expected but the hard part is still to come. Besides, they're withdrawing in good order.
- You have absolutly no idea of how mechanized warfare works, mein Lieber.

See...! During the night, the IR 900 will take position in Bastogne and will cut off their retreat. Further south, the 10. PzD and the GD-rgt will reach Arlon.
Try to reach General von Kleist and tell him to throw the 10. PzD onto Longuyon. From there, it will be able to attack Sedan from the SE while the rest of the XIX. AK (mot) will attack from the East.
And get me General Speerle, from the Luftflotte 3, on the phone : I need him to focus his air attacks on the triangle Philippeville-Dinant-Sedan. I want my Panzer on the other side of the Meuse and I want them over there fast !!!
- Zu Befehl, Herr GeneralOberst.
- One last thing : get General Halder on the phone and tell him he can start to move the reserves forward, mostly the 2. Armee.
- So soon ? Don't you think we should wait until we've actually achieved our breakthrough, Herr GeneralOberst ?
- If I'm not mistaken, it's just a matter of days and I don't want to wait 10 days for the reserves to come to be able to exploit. Dismiss !"