From: Steve Sickels Subject: All Quiet...strategy musings i set up the initial full campaign again using Ted Raicer's suggested British and French defensive deployment. Its a good setup, it protects the vital targets that are close to the front trenches and offers weak deployment where if the Germans attack, they will punch into nothing but a lot of vacant territory, devoid of meaty morale hexes. So....after perusing the allied front i wondered if a total German offensive could knock out either the French or the British in 1 to 2 turns. So, mind you this is solitaire but a few things about it might be useful in a purely theoretical manner. I massed ALL the German units, all the stoss and all the regular infantry divisions except for a dozen 4-4's into a front from Arras to Ypres in an attempt to flatten the British. There is NO STRATEGIC RESERVE for the Huns. Anyway after 2 completed couplets and into the third, horrendous casulties on both sides, there has been NO breakthrough. The British are contracting, the Belgium and French armies expanding. The French have broken through the Germans lines near Rheims but there is little to garner. The French are also railing a whole new army north to take position from Arras on south. The thing of it is, the British are still three units stacked all along the line and still holding but i am thinking that this is the third couplet, maybe after the next German attack that the whole British line should fall back so as to preserve itself and let the German attack outrun itself. it will be hard to do that and give up the offensive and defensive shifts for fire combat which have made losses high for the Germans (who although losing lots, have definately greater strenght still in the battle zone) So that is the dilema, i guess i think that in this case its better to retain control of the initial trench line and cause great casulties UP UNTIL THE POINT at which the defender is at 2-4 steps per hex, then i think its better to retreat during the next NP movement phase. Just wondering if others follow this or do they retreat immediately and let the German onslaught overextend? The only thing about the later course is that the British don't have a lot of running room in Flanders. I think they will be done and the game over UNLESS the next couplet is the last (i think on a 5 or 6) and the next turn is WET. By committing ALL the Germans to the fight in one offensive area, they stand a better chance of winning the war than multiple, successive offensives. REMEMBER, either the British OR the French have to reach zero morale, not both of them. Well, thanks for reading, love to hear comments. (this game is fun!!!!!) steve "sausage grinder" sickels From: Philipp Klarmann Subject: Re: All Quiet...strategy musings (long!) Now for something completely different... actual consim stuff: I personally think after having played 3 games ftf (2 as German player, 1 as Allies) that the big chance for the German player lies in one concentrated offensive. Look for a point, where the French or the British are weakest. I prefer to hammer the French, because they lose more Morale and have to lose 2 points per HQ activation. But then, they have a higher start level.... depends on your focus of attack. Where to attack? - I think a direct attack on Paris is no option. Unfavourable terrain, many rivers, rough and you need every unit to make the breakthrough... maybe too costly and you cannot put many troops against the British troops (BTW, only recently I understood that the word Britian on the back of the rulebook is a typo...always wondered about that word) - The terrain south of Reims is favorable, but you need the BIG breakthrough to make it. The objectives are far away and when you dont attack the weakest British spot in a separate SMALL offensive, he will rail every single division he can spare south. But... if you have a strong Strategic Reserve (which is possible if you attack only on a narrow front) of about 12 Stosstruppen divisions, you can always threaten the British. That forces him to leave at least the victory hexes near the frontline heavily guarded. I personally believe that the German player can NOT be stopped from reaching a hex about 2 or 3 hexes west of the frontline. - The attack on the British. Well, if you do it as Steve(?) did it, it can work. But think about reserves! The attack by the French is normal, but hell... what can they achieve? No VP hexes near. They need the tanks (which they dont have on Turn 1 to make the breakthrough and really threaten the German player. It is better to rail a few divisions north and put them between the battered British. Always remember as the German player: You dont need to attack 20 hexes on the first turn. 10 or 15 is just ok and plan ahead. How many VP hexes to you need with average VP die rolls? Can you make it? In my game as the Allied player, the attack against the British line came and he managed to get into Dunkirk (well, 7 couplets, damn the die). But he has only got me down to 13 Morale points. He needs at least an A hex or a B and C hex (BRITISH of course!!) to kick them out of the war. But now, the French have railed 6 divisions north. A true nail biter. Attack the Canadians, when you are strong. They are hard to replace. So, barrage them, suppress the Counterbarrage with Bruchmueller and a plane, pray for a hit. If he stacked them as 3 units - Kaboom! If he stacked them as 2 units - ATTACK with a 22 point stack of Stoss. Get him out of the trenches ASAP. You cannot afford to attack 3 couplets the trenches. Too costly. More to follow on this gem, Philipp Last played: Stalingrad Pocket II, Great War in Europe (second loss as the Allied in 1914... will I ever see 1915?), All Quiet on the Western Front? -- ------------------------------------------------------------------ Philipp Klarmann Ploeck 91 69117 Heidelberg Deutschland +49 6221 184627 PGP available ------------------------------------------------------------------