National Review - France

[Der Leiter]

INTRODUCTION

The French Army provides some interesting units, with some tanks that are very powerful in early war games, but quickly become obsolete. Their infantry ranges from very good to very bad, and they have a decent commander. So far of the minor nations the French seem to be able to the best balanced army.

VEHICLES

The French Heavy Tank, the Char B1-bis is a monster in early war games, but rapidly loses effectiveness in later war games. In early war games its 5/5 defence is hard to defeat, and its two attacks can decimate enemy units. In later war games its defence is fairly average, and its anti-tank attacks are sub par; requiring it to close to point blank for a decent shot. If you're playing early games they are quite useful, but for later ones I'd recommend the Somua.

Comparatively, the Somua S-35 remains a decent tank all through the war - it isn't too costly (Compared to a Panzer III for 1 point it's faster, has +1/+1 defence, and has +1 AT dice at long range - which makes a fair difference. However it doesn't have Smoke Screen, has less AI dice, and is undermanned). Its 10/8/7 attack is enough to threaten larger tanks at close range, and its speed of 4 gives it the maneuverability to get there. The Somuas are great medium tanks for your French Army in all periods.

The Renault R-35 is France's light tank. It's even slower than their heavy tank, has the worst attack dice of the three, and is fairly ineffective against infantry. Its saving grace is that it is only 9 points for a defence 4/4 tank, which makes them cheap to field in numbers. In early war games they are extremely tough and can stand head-to-head with most other nations' tanks of the time. In later war games though the Renaults quickly become obsolete, as the 4/4 defence isn't enough anymore, the speed is terrible, and the dice are ineffective against heavy tanks. Trench Crossing can be especially useful when using obstacles to block bridges, as the Renaults can still freely cross the rivers; for more see under obstacles.

COMMAND

The Bold Captain is a reasonable commander throughout the war, with a decent cost for +2 initiative and a good command ability. His CA is fairly offencive in nature, and works quite well with MAS Rifles advancing in the city for a 5/5 defence 3+ cover against defencive-fire. A French Army should have at least one Bold Captain for his initiative alone.

INFANTRY

The MAS 7.5mm Rifle has no better firepower than a regular infantry such as a Mauser or SMLE, but is vastly improved with the Urban Combat SA. Unfortunately there are only two maps in particular where the MAS can make good use of their SA; one standard map (Urban Combat) features the objective in a town hex, another has town hexes close to the objective (Half and Half, making it useful approximately 1/3 of the time. However, the MAS cost no more than similar infantry meaning you aren't paying any extra for a potentially wasted ability.

There's no particular reason to field Free French Infantrymen, unless it's for a scenario. They are identical to SMLE/Canadian Infantry/Mausers, and the same cost as the MAS but without Urban Combat.

The Lebel 86M93 Grenadier with its restricted range of two and no close assault value has minimal use. In early war games if you manage to make it to extremely close ranges you have a chance against the low defence units; 41% chance of disrupting a defence 2, but it drops rapidly to 11% and 1% when you increase the defence of the target. The Lebel is completely useless against heavier tanks as well, whereas the MAS, and even the Free French, can at least attempt to move in and close assault them.

OBSTACLES

Barbed Wire and Tank Obstacles are best used to channel your enemy into choke points, by blocking off critical points such as bridges, clear terrain between forests, and the like. As mentioned above, the Renault can become quite useful if there's river involved, as you can block the bridges off but still maintain mobility across them.

Minefields can be difficult to use, and can often be best placed early to block points and waste your opponents time - eg if he's channelling his units into an area away from your obstacles then slap a minefield down in front, now he has to redirect his units. Another good use is to trap enemy units in the open between other obstacles and/or your own units, though this is often not quite as effective.

Pillboxes are the MAS' best friend. In city hexes this increases their cover save to a disgusting 2+, making them extremely difficult to remove. These are excellent in either defencive games, or in situations where you're sure you can get to the pillbox first, but since the French infantry are slow and have no transports you have to be careful that the enemy can't take over your positions first - if your opponent is using cavalry or motorcycles keep the pillboxes close to your side.

TACTICS

Like most minor nations, the French will be outdated and slow in standard games (the Somua being an exception). Fortunately their tanks have a high defence so will hopefully be able to move in and support your infantry's advance. French infantry supported by the Bold Captain, or the Bold Captain himself, are great for overrunning hexes; 5/5 defence units that if in the city get 3+ cover, means the enemy will have a hard time stopping you with defencive fire as your troops move in. Obviously this doesn't work so well against Hand-to-Hand or Flamethrower units.

Against high defence units (vehicles such as Tigers, or infantry such as SS) you simply have to concentrate your firepower as best as you're able to. Try to take the objective as soon as you can, and support the advance of your troops. Expect to take heavy loses, but if you persist you should have a decent chance.

The French are lacking certain key units, such as long ranged anti-infantry units (MGs, Mortars) and antitank guns which can make battles more difficult against the tougher major powers. In early games the French are quite powerful and you can succeed if you are aggressive, but in later games you have to be much more careful as nearly all your units are outclassed.

The French currently have no aircraft and no AA, making them fairly vulnerable to air attacks. Indeed, they don't even have a unit that serves as a makeshift AA (such as the PPSh, SS-PG, etc). Either disperse your MAS to ward off them off and attack if they get to close, or largely ignore them; though don't put units in vulnerable positions that the aircraft can capitalize on.

[Der Leiter]

ARMY BUILDS

France 1940 Defencive Build (80 Points)
Perhaps one of the more popular scenarios for the French Army, has them on the defence during the Battle of France; holding out the objective while the Germans (or perhaps Italians) invade. For these scenarios remember the key is to delay your opponent NOT defeat him. Baker-2 is your best friend; it has the town hexes for your MAS, limited access for your obstacles to block, and River Hexes for Renaults to pass if you necessary. Fully 2/3 of the maps use Baker-2, though the Urban Combat configuration has it set up in reverse to what you'd prefer.

1x Char B1-bis
3x Renault R-35
1x Bold Captain
7x MAS Rifle
2x Minefield

14 Units / 80 Points

The unit limit is a constant constraint on building, as generally in a defencive game the more infantry the better. However the obstacles are also very useful for slowing your opponent down, so it can be a tough decision. This army makes use of France's high defence tanks, and digs in with a large number of infantry. I'd recommend the core of the infantry defence the objective, with only perhaps a 1 or 2 farther out. It will be up to the tanks to slow down / snipe at advancing enemy units.

France 1940 Standard Build (100 Points)
This build makes use of the faster Somuas to attempt to secure the objective or harass key enemy units first, while the slower bulk of the army moves in. Again it uses a fair number of tanks to make use of their superior defence, but also uses a fair number of infantry.

1x Char B1-bis
2x Somua S-35
2x Renault R-35
1x Bold Captain
8x MAS Rifle

1x Pillbox OR Minefield

France 1940 Offencive Build (120 Points)
Contrary to what seems to be popular belief, the French weren't always on the defencive in 1940, and in fact they launched several counterattacks. They just happened to be largely ineffective. In AAM an offencive French army has a major problem - its lack of speed. Somuas are useful because of their speed, but they cannot deal with infantry on their own. Chars become important as they have the speed and firepower to deal with both armour and infantry threats. Infantry are still a necessity to secure the objective, and the Bold Captains Elan CA becomes very useful.

3x Char B1-bis
2x Somua S-35
1x Bold Captain
6x MAS Rifle
2x Barbed Wire

15 Units / 120 Points

Although it mat seem odd to have obstacles in the attacking force, they can be useful to disrupt your opponent's movement behind his defences. The Barbed Wire can be more useful to cut off retreat from advanced infantry forces.

France Standard build (100 Points, Any Year)
Finally there's the French 'Any Year' build. It's severely handicapped due to the lack of high AT values, and because the only ranged anti-infantry comes from your tanks (and isn't particularly effective). High defence infantry and vehicles will be very difficult to overcome and require you to concentrate firepower on them. Use the Chars as the backbone of your assault, with the Somuas flanking around. Barbed Wire & Minefields are to channel them, to or away from key areas.

2x Char B1-bis
2x Somua S-35
1x Bold Captain
6x MAS Rifle
2x Barbed Wire
2x Minefield

15 Units / 100 Points

SUBSTITUIONS

Since the French tanks are all rare, getting the numbers needed can be difficult. Even getting 6 of an infantry can be hard for some, so here's a list of suggested alternatives, though they may require you to change the numbers on some of the units. Also note that while I'm not particularly a fan of minefields, they points and unit limits often worked out that if I wanted obstacles it would require using the minefields (or pillboxes):

Char B1-bis: Valentine II, or M4A1 Sherman for late wars.
Somua: T-70 is very similar.
Renault: Valentine II, Somua
MAS: Free French, SMLE, Canadian Infantrymen, Lebel Grenadiers (not recommended)

SECTIONS, PLATOONS, COMPANIES

INFANTRY

25 Points - French Rifle Platoon (1939 - 1940)
1x Bold Captain
4x MAS Rifle
2x Lebel Grenadier
For a Defencive Platoon replace one MAS with 2 Barbed Wire and a Tank Obstacle.

25 Points - French Company HQ (1939 - 1940)
1x Bold Captain
3x KMT MG
(Max 1 per two French Rifle Platoons)

25 Points - Free French Rifle Platoon (1941-1942)
1x Bold Captain
1x Bren
4x Free French Infantrymen

25 Points - Free French Platoon (1943 - 1945)
1x Bold Captain
1x BAR
1x Bazooka
3x Free French Infantrymen

VEHICLES

Max 1 Section per 100 Points

25 Points - Light Tank Section (1939 - 1940)
3x Renault

25 Points - Medium Tank Section (1939 - 1940)
2x Somua R-35

25 Points - Heavy Tank Section (1939 - 1940)
1x Char B1-bis

[Der Leiter]

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[nlentz88]

Great analysis!

[polish_horsy]

I find the Somua to be very weak when confronted with Elites, Panzer III's, and German snipers in early games. That headshot is just brutal on the Somua when the Germans have inititive.

[spacepope]

With undermanned, the Souma is a punching bag as soon as it gets headshotted or disrupted! It's really the only alternative though, and it does have good attacks.

[Stojakovic]

Great review! HBF should hire you to do stuff like this in their little cyber mag.
You are the best AAM critic/analyst out there.

[Hum_35711]

Good Review. You should have national reviews for every country.

[Der Leiter]

Originally Posted by polish_horsy

I find the Somua to be very weak when confronted with Elites, Panzer III's, and German snipers in early games. That headshot is just brutal on the Somua when the Germans have inititive.

Despite its performance against PzIIIF/PzIVDs, I still believe the Somuas to be quite useful. It has good odds of at least damaging the target in return (at worst 50% at long range). The Panzer IV D and Sniper are brutal against most units, though yes the Sniper will completely shut down the Somua if it goes first. Unfortunately the French have no fast infantry or light AFVs to deal with snipers at this time, so either move up your infantry (and hope they don't get slaughtered), move in force with your tanks, or don't move into range/arc of the sniper when he's going first (if you can help it).

Originally Posted by Hum_35711

Good Review. You should have national reviews for every country.

Thanks. I already have for every major and minor country (see my links), but the French are the only ones updated with Set IV. Eventually I'll get the rest done, but nations like Germany and the US are especially long, and have so many army variants... I definately won't list them all, but just a few scenario specific ones and perhaps a standard force or two.

[Le Poilu]

Der Leiter, what are your thoughts on French North Africa 1942 80- or 100-point builds? Assume for the sake of verisimilitude that the Char is no longer available.