[France 1940] Sedan (1) - May 13, 1940

Unternehmen Fall Gelb - Guderian's Breakthrough.
Western Front By: jdrommel - Last update: 01/02/2010
Axis Player: Allied Player:
x6 x6 x4 x6
first You play first    


Historical Background:
French General Staff thought it was impossible for tanks to cross the massif of the Ardennes. Because of that assumption, French forces were completely surprised when, on the evening of May 12, General Guderian and his Panzer Divisions appeared before the river Meuse and Sedan. The town was only defended by the 55th Infantry Division of General Lafontaine, which was a weak division made up of reservists with little weaponry. On May 13, with sirens screaming, German Stukas bombed the French defensive positions. The bombing lasted until 4 p.m. before infantry crossed the Meuse with rafts. At the same time, German artillery and Panzers fired at all known casemates that were in range. Soldiers of the Infantry Regiment GrossDeutschland, the 1st Schützen Regiment and the 1st Kradschützen Battalion soon reached the south bank of the Meuse and entered the forest of the Marfée that evening. The first pontoon bridges were constructed, allowing reinforcements to flood the Marfée. On the French side, the 55th Infantry Division was disorganized and the infantry started to panic from the German air raids and the force of the sudden assault. The Meuse was crossed and nothing more could be done to stop the Panzer advance.
The stage is set, the battle lines are drawn, and you are in command. The rest is history.

Briefing:
Axis player [Germany] : 6command cards, you move first.
Allied player [France] : 4 command cards.
Abreviations - IRGD: Infanterie Regiment GrossDeutschland.
147°RIF : 147th Fortress Infantry Rgt - SchRgt.1 : Schützen Rgt.1 (Motorized infantry of 1.PzDivision)
11°BM : 11th Machine-guns Battalion - KrSchBat.1 : kradSchützen Bataillon.1 (Motorcraft battalion)
45° RAD : 45th Artillery Rgt of the 55th Infantry Division - AR.73 : Artillerie Rgt.73 (Artillery of 1.PzDivision).

Conditions of Victory:
Allied player : 6 medals.
Axis player : 6 medals with at least one medal got by a German unit leaving the board by the hexagon with the Exit token "Vers Chémery".

Special Rules:
- Air rules are optional: If used, give the Axis player one Air Sortie card, and shuffle the other one in the deck, at game start. If the Allied player draws one of these cards (or the Air Power card), he must discard it and draw another card instead.
- Use "Blitz" rules (Action 15).
- Use "Collapsible Rafts & Boats" rules (Action 5) for all German infantry units.
- Use "Specialized Units" rules (Troop 2) for 1st Kradschützen Battalion.
- The French 75mm gun in the bunker can only shoot in the left section of the map.
- The Axis player can build pontoon bridges, use "Pontoon Bridge" rules (Terrain 33).

- "Panic" rules : Each loss due to an Air Power card or a Strafing Action also counts as a flag that may not be ignored.

Scenario Bibliography:
- Magazine Historica hors-série n°51 - Sedan 1940.
- Album Mémorial "Blitzkrieg à l'Ouest" - Ed. Heimdal.
- 39-45 Magazine n°50 - Panzers sur la Meuse.
- "Sedan mai 40" - Claude Gounelle.

Warning:
Please note that this scenario was not approved by Richard Borg or Days of Wonder, so you have to check yourself about playability, potential gaming issues, etc.

Set-up Order
1
1
1
11
6
14
13
5
3
3
4
2
5
1