Invasion of France
Allied numbers
[I didn't know what the real size of Allied armies was in September 1941, but I am already a little bit further in the game, so I think showing the following information to the readers is justified.]
All things considered (the distribution of forces, redeployed troops etc.),
by October 1941 the Allies outnumbered me almost 2-1 in France. They definitely had a proper strategic reserve...
September-October
Fighting for air superiority was intense. The Allies had the numbers and the Germans had the quality. Unfortunately, we had too few fighters to win that battle and from October to late November 1941 the Allies clearly ruled the skies, while most of German planes were being reinforced.
Brussels finally fell on 13th of October 1941 and our troops could be redeployed to other fronts which were in desperate need of more manpower. The Allies managed to bring enough forces in order to slow down our advance considerably. The terrain was very favourable to the defenders, with forests and rivers obstructing the possible ways of getting to inner France.
Also, I made a strategic mistake and let the AI control my forces for almost a month. I thought that the war was won by then, but I was clearly wrong and was forced to take direct control of the army eventually.
November-December
In November the situation was good, but there was a risk of stalemate. We clearly controlled most of northern France, but Paris was not under siege and even one province in Belgium (Bastogne) was still in Allied hands.
We couldn't risk war of attrition, as the time favoured the Allies. The combined industrial power of the Allies was greater than that of Germany's (it was especially true when we take AI bonuses into account) and there was also the risk of Polish or Soviet attack in the East.
We managed to isolate a small part of the French army in the northern-western region of France and we used our submarines to destroy convoys supplying the enemy forces there. It's hard to objectively judge the efficiency of that operation, but our submariners definitely sunk many French convoys and French divisions defending the region lacked supplies, so the operation was declared a success.
The encirclements
In order to keep the initiative in our hands we concentrated our mobile forces near Reims and attempted to
encircle Allied defenders in the Ardennes. The plan was tricky, as we needed to
drive as far as Metz. However, an encirclement was still our best chance of overcoming the serious obstacle the Ardennes region was.
In
western France we decided to achieve a breakthrough and attempt an encirclement of Allied forces defending the coastal areas. Even if the operation failed, it would still draw the attention of Allied troops and keep them busy.
Finally, it was decided that the French capital had to be encircled, too. A powerful armoured thrust was made in order to isolate the French defenders of Paris.
The plan was going well and it was clear that the forces defending Paris would be surrounded by the end of November. The importance of that achievement was hard to overestimate.
Our mobile troops reached Metz on 21th of November and the
Allied forces in Ardennes were finally encircled. In order to widen our operational possibilities an assault on northern part of the Maginot line was performed, which eventually allowed us to link our troops on the Siegfried line with the invading army.
It was clear that the siege of Paris would last for a long while. The defenders were well-supplied and Allies had air superiority, which meant that the French capital could be properly defended. Still, this siege had to end sooner or later in Axis favour, right?
-------------
Plan A
An ambitious plan was made by German leadership with the intention to end the war quickly by a massive encirclement in central part of the front. Should the operation succeed, a bulk of Allied forces would be encircled and Axis victory would be secured. Unfortunately, it had little chance of realisation as the Allies were very strong there and
the operation had to be cancelled.
Plan B
Therefore, we had to settle with less ambitious but still beneficial option - a smaller encirclement in the eastern part of France with the intention to strengthen German dominance in the region.
The operation was declared a success by
early December. The prospects for an encirclement of the Maginot Line also looked good. Moreover, the province of Bastogne have finally been taken. Therefore,
Belgium was fully conquered.
-------
In the western France the Allies were very strong, but German forces still managed to create another encirclement near the coast. Another brick in the Allied defence line was broken.
In the eastern France the Germans were by now clearly dominant and
the Maginot Line was encircled on 12th of December. It would still take a while before the pocket could be cleared of Allied defenders, but it was evident that the Allies were on the losing side.
Fall of Paris
On 15th of December the French leadership decided to surrender Paris to the German hands. However, the local commander refused to comply and the battle lasted for three more days. On
18th of December Paris fell and the lengthy siege was finally over.
Therefore, it is now only a matter of time before the Allied forces in France are beaten...
