Sep I 14

The British dig fieldworks to shield Lille. The French improvise a line from the BEF to Arras and back to the Ardennes. The 4^th Army starts to retreat out of their isolated state in the Ardennes while the rest of the French armies in the south pull back to form a more secure line and send some troops to the north.

The French and British attack the forward Hv Cav divisions and push them back. The total losses are 12 German and 4 Saxon Manpower Points versus 3 French Colonial and 5 Equipment Points.

The Germans advance on Maubeuge and follow up on the retreat near Metz. The 1^st Army attacks Maubeuge and begins to wear down the defending French forces. An attack by 3^rd Army in the Ardennes results in two Saxon Corps routing back to the German – Belgian border. The attack on the isolated French 5^th Army also results in the German 3^rdArmy being stopped, but the French 5^th Army had to use its last Resource Point for its defense. The German 5^th Army attacks the French 5^th Corps at Jarny and routs it, capturing the iron ore fields but activating the Verdun garrison.

The losses for the reaction combat phase are 14 German and 8 Saxon Manpower Points with 1 Equipment Point. The Entente lost 26 French Metro, 7 French Colonial, and 23 Equipment Points.

Tom: I had some success with my limited counterattacks but the loss of Jarny and the impending loss of the French 5^th Army in isolation makes the vision bleak. I have to learn to garrison everywhere behind my lines to protect me from his cavalry. I did have the supply depots garrisoned, but the loss of the St. Quentin factory to a cavalry exploitation move really hurts. The good news is that the factory at Nice looks to be well-protected for now.

During the Central Powers production phase, two resource points are spent to repair the Liege and Namur coal fields. The Liege coal field will be operational in July 15 and the Namur coal field in January 15.

The 1^st Army overruns Maubeuge and continues its drive on Paris. The 2^nd and 3^rd Armies reach the other side of the Ardennes while the rest of the armies close up on the French forces.

The BEF is attacked and exchange results decimate the remaining divisions. The French 5^th Army is destroyed in the Ardennes. This hammers the French morale by 33 points! The remains of the French 4^th Army is forced out of the Ardennes. The German 5^th Corps barrages Verdun with little effect. The French 6^th Corps defends to the north of Verdun throwing back two German Corps with no losses, but the French rout to the south of Verdun and one of the forts is captured. An attack by the Bavarian 6^th Army is stopped by the French 1^st Army with heavy French losses to the south of Nancy.

The total losses for the Germans are 50 German Manpower and 34 Equipment Points. The Entente losses are 35 British Manpower, 48 French Metropolitan, and 37 Equipment Points. In addition, the Entente have lost 3 French Colonial Manpower, 52 French Metropolitan Manpower, and 39 Equipment Points in isolated units (French 5^th Army and the Maubeuge garrison) since the start of the game.

The Entente armies react on either flank, but the center of their line near Longwy does not. The BEF pulls back behind Lille, preparing to shift back to Amiens. The southern flank pulls out some troops to send to the center of the line around Verdun to help hold that area. A single counterattack on the German 10R Corps results in the loss of a division for the Germans. A total of 13 German Manpower and 9 Equipment Points were lost.

Carl: My objective to cause the French to lose a NW level and destroy the effectiveness of the BEF has been reached. The destruction of the French 5^th Army is now complete and I have come out of the other side of the Ardennes in good shape. My hope for a good counter-offensive push in the south to capture Nancy and several of the fortresses is progressing just as fast as the French are consolidated their line to send more troops north. The Schlieffen Plan is now complete and I must begin to worry about the Belgian army. This could slow down my drive towards Reims and Paris, but I have few worries about a strong Entente counter-offensive in the north. The northern French coal fields are far more important to me than the Entente. The supply of resource points are decreasing rapidly, I took the chance to get the Liege and Namur coal fields repaired and it did not really pay off. I may regret the resource points later.