France 40 - Turns 1 to 4

Yesterday Richard and I started played GMT's France 40 game.  It uses the same mechanics as the Normandy 44 and Ukraine 43 games and so was easy to get in to.

I was France.

 The game starts with the German breakthrough at Sedan, May 13.

 It's a case of the French shuffling units to hold a front line.

Each turn is a classic Move/Combat pair.

Bothe the movement and combat systems have elegant extensions

 providing for overruns and breakthroughs.

 A determined defence holds Charleville, for now...

 End of Turn Two and French are rushing reinforcements to the front.

Overlapping Zones of Control create bonds that can be hard to penetrate.

 Charleville falls and the Germans are across the River Meuse in strength.

Losses have been light, with most combats resulting in retreats.

End of Turn Four, May 16 (each turn is a day).

The Germans keep pushing West, but the French keep regrouping to block them.

A number of French units are bogged down (the GQG counters) due to High Command confusion.

But note the arrival of De Gaulle (top left hand corner).

The Dyle Line is holding (just off the picture on the right hand side) 

We are about forty percent of the way through the Sickle Cut scenario.