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What Will Germany Do To Win In 1940 in WW2 Online?
by Dryfear

What, indeed? Germany at the beginning of WW2 had the best army in the world. Bombarded by fascist propaganda, the young boys of Germany grew up thinking about nothing else but laying down their lives for their Fuhrer's 1000 year Reich. How dangerous is a man when he thinks he is superhuman, one of the master race, and believes it with all of his heart? The Germans had swept through Poland, and put the final nail in the coffin thanks to an unlikely ally in Russia. This was not enough, of course, as Hitler understood the smallness of this victory. Poland was not a power in the world, and did not have an army, air force, and navy large enough to prove an accurate test of his own forces. No, Poland was a primer, and the true test would be France.

France in 1940 was a leader in many areas. Their armies were modern and were on par with Germany's in terms of size and strength. French medium tanks were much better equipped than their German counterparts, infantrymen however did lag a little as French equipment had not changed since WW1. The French Air Force was was strong, again nearly as strong as Germany's, but their equipment was suspect. New plane designs like the Dewoitaine D.520 were, in fact, good strong aircraft for that period, but were too few in number to match Germany's front line fighter, the ME-109. The French navy totally outclassed Germany's, in size and strength, but France knew that any war with Germany would not be fought at sea. But France relied too much on the war doctrine of WW1, and would soon fall prey to this defensive minded way of thinking.

Germany used superior tactics, strategy, and surprise to win the Battle of France in 1940. The war with Poland showed that their new ideas of modern warfare had proved correct, and that any foe could be beaten using this new technique. Germany knew that it needed three things to make this new kind of warfare work. One, total control of the air over ones enemies. Two, achieving fast, lightning quick, and deep thrusts into the enemies rear with panzers and mobilised troops. Three, total and complete surprise.

One, total control of the air. In the opening days of the Battle of France, the German Luftwaffe destroyed hundreds of French planes on the ground and in the air. French planes could not match the superiority of the Luftwaffe veterans of the Spanish Civil War and Poland. The French did give a good accounting of themselves in some aerial battles, but overall, it was too little too late. Germany had destroyed too many aircraft in the beginning days of the Blitzkrieg, and France would never recover. German dive bombers and level bombers supported infantry actions all along the front, acting as flying artillery, which were radioed to wherever they were needed by Luftwaffe personnel on the ground. Air superiority was gained in the critical first few days, and was needed, as the German bombers were, to be learned later on in the war, very defenseless and very slow.

Two, using the new Blitzkrieg tactics. Germany found that by spearheading assaults with panzer regiments to bust through an opponents line, they could cut supply lines, quickly take control of key bridges, cities, etc., and create sheer havoc behind an enemies front line. Germany used the Ardennes forest in the Battle of France to hide nearly all of their panzer divisions, a forest the French thought was unpassable to armored forces. Germany proved France wrong, and with a feint to the north, drawing French and British troops that way, Germany countered to the south, through the Ardennes with a quick thrust behind and into the back of those same troops. German panzer divisions quickly took key bridges and quickly cut supply lines. Most French forces were so surprised to see the Germans moving so quickly that they surrendered rather than fight. The French army was not a match for the German Army because of misallocation of armor, and the fact that they fell right into Germanys hands by overstretching their forces by putting reserves into one massive move to the north. The French had even built up a massive defensive structure called the Maginot Line, just south of the Ardennes. This structure held even more men who could have been used to defend the 2 attacks further north, but Germany had plans for these men, and had the 1st Army attack the Maginot Line with a small force to pin these men down and keep them from acting as reserves. The French Army was cut to pieces, and the British Expeditionary Force could only retreat to Dunkirk, and across the Channel to lick its wounds and wait for Germany.

Three, total and complete surprise. Germany's new tactics totally threw French leaders off guard. The way in which they used their panzers and Luftwaffe had never been seen before. Their choice of using the Ardennes as a sort of backdoor entrance, as mentioned above, was totally overlooked by the French. France thought that any war with Germany would be a defensive, long drawn out trench war, just like WW1. They had not learned the lessons in the interim years of 1919-1938.

So, what does Germany do in a virtual war with France. They have no surprise element, because everyone knows what they did. They can't use blitzkrieg tactics, because the Allies are sure to use them to counterattack.

Total control of the air? With so many pilots having thousands of hours of online flight sim training flying for the Allies as well as the Axis, I don't think this can be counted on either. So, just what do they do? France will expect a feint to the north, attack the Ardennes, and pull all forces out of the Maginot Line in a quick and massive counterattack to Germany's initial blow. So, what do they do?!?!?1 Do they strike elsewhere first? Do they give up? No...Germany cannot rely on intimidation and surprise. What Germany has to rely on are quick thinking and innovative new leaders to create a new attack plan that, although staying true to the lessons learned in WW2, differs slightly from true history.

What I think that Germany should do is feint through the Ardennes this time, sending infantry loaded up with AT guns into the forest just waiting for French armor. A feint to the north again would make the Allies think that all would be going as planned, just like history. But, this wouldn't be so. The real attack would be a massive assault on the Maginot Line, using paratroopers to land behind the French fortifications, quickly enter, and dispense with any resistance. Then the paratroopers could open up the way for the main force to cut through and drive on to Paris. This is of course a very simplified attack plan, and who knows if it would work, as I'm not even an armchair general. What I am trying to say is, however, Germany must use new tactics online to offset the knowledge that all the players will have. Using the same old plan will fail in my opinion, and will lead to a quick German loss.