I’ve bitched about my Fall of France (FoF) game with Tim, but I am now compelled to report it.
As usual with this site, the graphics will be less than ideal, a condition due in equal parts to my ambivalence towards pushing the boundaries of computer literacy and reliving a wargaming hell.
I was able to figure out how to get screenshots on my ancient Dell Windows 8 machine. However, the screen shots of the JET board are just that; a shot of what is on the screen. The JET mapboard takes up more than the screen, so the graphic evidence of this debacle will be from north of Frankfurt. That’s OK, because that it is where most of the carnage occured and is continuing to occur. We are now in the Allies Jun II turn, and things are looking very grim for the Allies. But….. we must start at the beginning.
The Germans have extremely powerful air and ground units. The screenshots show only the top unit in the hex. But, below that scary surface, lies even more panzer divisions, supported by motorized units, lots of motorized flak and artillery.
One revelation was how tough the German infantry stacks were. Three 8-8 infantry, paired with artillery represents a lot of combat power.
Allied units are solid, but lack mobility, flak and supporting units.I shudder when I think about the German’s powerful ground attack air assets used to support these armored and infantry forces.
Then, there are the historically based operational rules. They create a difficult framework for the Allies to work within.
The Germans start off with an invasion turn, which includes all normal Europa turn phases except the exploitation phase.
The Allies do have a reaction phase. However, this is scripted because most northern French units and those of the BEF must enter Belgium to occupy the Dyle River Line, setting up the historical “Sickle Cut”.
While Dutch and Belgian units can move during this Allied reaction phase, they cannot enter enemy zones of control.
With the Allies sucked into Belgium, the Germans start the regular May I turn.During the Allied player May I turn, no unit in an enemy ZOC (Zone of Control) can move, and all British or French units have their movement factors halved.
The Allies are further hampered by the inability of their combat / motorized units to attack a full-strength or move using full movement during their exploitation phase until the beginning of the June I turn. This reflects a lack of mechanized doctrine.
To make things even worse, during the May I turn any French non-mech/motorized unit has to retreat two hexes rather than one if it has fought an attacking German force with at least one panzer division.
One other note about the graphics. As I mentioned, JET is a real marvel. However, it cannot do several things within the rules as written Europa framework. The result is that you have to tweak things, and the file you forward may have a heading (found in the upper left hand corner of the screen) that isn’t quite accurate. An example: You cannot fly CAP (Combat Air Patrol) during the Initial Phase. You have to cheat, and “fool” the machine by forwarding to your Movement Phase, where it is allowed. So, on the files shown, the heading on the screen may show “German Movement Phase”, when in fact the file really reflects the Allied Initial Phase. Confused….good…..misery needs company…..and the weight of Tim’s advance has had me in a daze since early May.
