France, 1915, and the French army sets out to break the German line. This is the account of a Great War Spearhead game pitching two French divisions against a defending German division as we test some alternative preliminary bombardment rules. I played this as a solo game, and I tended to gloss over some of the detail in order to test How would the attackers fare against the defence?
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| The battlefield with the forces deployed, the French on the left in the photo |
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| The French attack sees the weight of the attack focused on their right |
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| More on the right |
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| The French left waiting for the whistle to 'go over the top' |
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| The defenders feel very thin on the ground, one of the bunkers |
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| German defenders occupying a French village incorporated into the front line |
The French preliminary bombardment begins.
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Suppressed German companies, victims of the French bombardment
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| Gaps in the wire from the French bombardment. Note that some of the French wire has been cut by the German counter bombardment |
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| French attackers suppressed by the German counter bombardment |
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| On the French right, very little of the German wire remained uncut |
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| In the centre large areas of the German wire remain, and the attacker are hung up on the wire |
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| Some French attackers in the centre make it into the German lines |
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| French preplanned artillery fire begins to fall as the French infangtry rush forward |
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| In the centre the attacking infantry are confronted with a solid barrier of wire |
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| The intensity of fire builds |
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| On gthe French right the attackers move forward as their preplanned barrage falls on the defenders |
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| In the centre all hell has broken loose |
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| The French left seen from behind the German lines |
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| At the end of the first turn.. the French attackers on the right have taken serious casualties |
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| The French second wave on their right steps off |
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| In the centre the second wave masses, but the attackers are still hung up behind the German wire |
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| The French left trying to push into the German lines |
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| The French left seen from behind the German lines |
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| The French left breaks into the German lines |
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| Assaults on defending nGerman companies |
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| At the end of turn 2, French on the left |
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| The German regiment on their left defending against the French right flank attack breaks and flees |
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| Remnants of the German defenders on their left fleeing |
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| The French centre still hung up |
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| The French left has broken into the German right |
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| The German right flank regiment held a battalion in reserve, and these troops move forward to the high ground behind their line to halt then French breakthrough |
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| The extent of the French breakthrough on their right (bottom of the phot) is apparent |
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| A firefight underway on the French left (German right) |
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| The German lefty/French right as the French infantry storm forward |
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| French infantry beyond the German front line |
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| French attackers in the centre have penetrated the German wire |
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| Fierce fighting towards the German right |
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| Preplanned French artillery falls on the edge of the forest behind the German left, catching some of the advancing French infantry |
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| French pre-planned fire falls on the german defenders on their right, opposing the French left (upper part of the photo) |
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| The French left flank attackers under fierce fire |
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| The French centre |
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| The French left again seen from the German position |
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| The German reserve had been committed at the end of turn 3, and advances against the French breakthrough |
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| The French right flank breakthrough as they move forward to take the woods behind the German line. The last of the German left flank defenders can be seen in the lower part of the photo fleeing through the woods towards the bottom of the photo |
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| The centre, with the attackers still stalled by the uncut German wire. Some French companies have managed to break into the German lines |
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| The centre - slow progress |
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| The French attackers are pinned down in their newly captured German trenches |
At this stage there will be a fierce fight for the wooded area behind the German left opposing the French right flank breakthrough. The German reserve regiment commitment was vital to holding the line. The French left flank attack is likely to be held as the localised German reserve brings fire down on any French attempt to move out of the German lines.
Any further French attack will need to await a regrouping as a new artillery fire plan is developed.
