By Matthew Craig
I managed to get a game of Donner und Blitzen in on Sunday with one of my game groups, and we ended up playing French versus Germans in 1940.
When we play DuB as a group, we like to alternate early war and late war years to keep it fresh - and 2025 is a early war year! So why not start in France with a German panzer division driving through rugged terrain towards a major river? I broke out the beautiful terrain boards made by friends of mine, unearthed the old toolbox of Micro Armour - and we were off!
This game was actually part of a mini-campaign and during the previous game (first picture), the Germans pushed through heavily forested terrain on their way to the river. A French DLC (Division Légère de Cavalerie) fought a stubborn delaying action, but could not hope to completely stop the panzertruppen.
In this game, the Germans were looking to close up on the river and bounce a crossing for the future breakout, the French DLC and a Reserve Infantry Regiment looking to contain the Germans as long as humanly possible.
During set up and deployment, the French stationed the Reserve Infantry Regiment of three battalions along the river, guarding each of the crossings. This included trying to guard the major city in the center (astride the river) with one battalion in a defense that more resembled a series of outposts rather than a continuous line. The Reserve Infantry Regiment artillery was stationed off board.
The French DLC (minus some losses from the previous days fighting) kept the majority of their formations on the safe side of the river to corset stiffen the reservists. The only exception was the motorized infantry who were still roughly a kilometer forward of the river, holding a small village as a road block. Their position also resembled a series of outposts concentrated around the road network. The French DLC artillery was dispersed along the front line to add some direct area fire punch.
The Germans chose to concentrate their forces on either side of the village, committing one panzer battalion to each wing. Their aim was to pinch off and eliminate the french forces forward of the river and drive on the river crossings on either side of the city.
During the first game turn, the Germans accomplished much of what they intended to do on their side of the river, smashing into the French motorized infantry and causing 50% casualties by the end of the game turn.
The French DLC caused some losses in reconnaissance armored cars to the Germans, but not much else. It was not a good turn for the allies, who had not decided which German pincer was the more dangerous of the two. They chose not to shift any DLC reserve formations up or down the river.
During the second game turn the Germans tried to call for Luftwaffe strikes on the city to silence French 75s, but no avail! the French were spared attacks from Bf110s for now...
Still, the drive was on, and the Germans closed right up to the river line defenses held by the french reservists (with a little friendly goading by the french players). To the south of the city the French were cleared from the west riverbank and German motorized infantry was edging across the bridge. French 75mm fire harassed their flank the whole time, knocking out German 75mm LEIG artillery guns and an HMG platoon. North of the city, the French still held both sides of the bridge, but the reservists were sorely pressed by tanks attacking directly into their positions in large numbers.
On the third game turn turn the Germans tried to call for Luftwaffe once again and they failed to answer. Maybe the French air force was keeping them away? The Germans, realizing the days gaming was almost up, had to go for broke at both bridges and proceeded to do so by firing everything they could in first stationary fire.
Because the French still held both sides of the bridge in the north after first stationary fire, the Germans knew they would not be crossing there and so the action turned south to the other bridge where each side held one end. In the movement phase the Germans put the bulk of a panzer battalion across, right into the teeth of the french defenses. A company of German infantry crossed as well but none made it alive.
The French DLC sent in cavalry units to counter attack the tank and drive them back across the river, but it was to no avail. Most of the French were shot down in the charge, the survivors being forced to retire in front of the German armor. In the end the Germans successfully crossed to the south of the city. No doubt, they would switch the bulk of their forces over to the south of the city and aggressively expand the bridgehead in future game turns.
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