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    Here is a quote from one of my youtube subscribers named Wilson… what do you think?

    My group has a house rule that is called the maginot line, no land troops may go from western germany to france on the first turn.


  • The Maginot Line only protected the border between France and Germany.  There was no Maginot Line on the border between France and Belgium, so there’s nothing there that would prevent German troops in the Holland/Belgium map zone from rolling into France.  (In fact, that’s exactly why Germany attacked through Belgium: to flank the Maginot Line.)  In order for this house rule to make sense, you would have to change the starting set-up so that there were no German troops in Holland/Belgium, paired with a rule saying that the Germans can’t go through the French/German border at all but must instead attack via Belgium/Holland.  Alternately, you could pretend that France had in fact extended the Maginot Line all the way to the English Channel (as it started to do at one point, too late to have any affect), but in this case you’d be talking about an alternate-history scenario.


  • Just to follow up: upon re-reading the original post, I realized that it wasn’t (apparently) talking about preventing the Germans from entering France from Belgium/Holland, just from Germany itself.  That sounds better than the way I first understood it.  The “on the first turn” part implies that they can enter on the second turn, which implies that the Maginot Line has been neutralized by that point.  I’d say that, provided that there are German forces in the France map territory, this would be all right.  The Germans did in fact successfully attack the Maginot Line from the rear once they were in France.

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    Right, Germany can still use mechanized infantry and armor to attack France. What this will do is force the German player to use his infantry and artillery in Belgium-Holland to join the attack if he wants to preserve his armor and save Normandy for turn 2. This would also encourage some German players to use  mobile units to attack Southern France if they don’t do so already.


  • Hey Folks,

    I think the main problem with any kind of “Magino-Line-Rule” might be, that it completely alters the balance of the game in favour of the Allies. If Germany can only use her ground forces in Holland and the 4 Mot.Inf from Western Germany allong with her Luftwaffe to capture Paris on turn one, there is either the risk that France survives the first attack on Paris (and gets to buy 6 more infantry) or a greater part of the Royal Navy will survive G1.
    (Okay, maybe this won’t be a problem since it will balance the game more than any additional income or set-up for the Allies. :-D)

    Greetings,
    Lars

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    @The:

    Hey Folks,

    I think the main problem with any kind of “Magino-Line-Rule” might be, that it completely alters the balance of the game in favour of the Allies. If Germany can only use her ground forces in Holland and the 4 Mot.Inf from Western Germany allong with her Luftwaffe to capture Paris on turn one, there is either the risk that France survives the first attack on Paris (and gets to buy 6 more infantry) or a greater part of the Royal Navy will survive G1.
    (Okay, maybe this won’t be a problem since it will balance the game more than any additional income or set-up for the Allies. :-D)

    Greetings,
    Lars

    I think I would still attack 111, and 110 with air and attack france with eligable German units to “soften France” so that Italy can mop up Paris. The important issue is wether or not France has a legitamate opportunity to spend their 19 IPCs… that is what could unbalance the game.


  • Out of curiosity, did Wilson (the poster) explain what the objective of, or rationale for, his house rule was?  Knowing what it tries to accomplish would give a basis for judging how successful it might be.

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    @CWO:

    Out of curiosity, did Wilson (the poster) explain what the objective of, or rationale for, his house rule was?  Knowing what it tries to accomplish would give a basis for judging how successful it might be.

    No, it was a short post and the only thing I left out was a question asking if I thought it was “fair”.


  • France WILL still fall.

    Germany has 4 Infantry, 2 Artillery, 6 Tanks, and 4 Mechanized Infantry that can hit Paris.

    4 Infantry, 2 Artillery, and 3 Tanks from Holland Belgium, 4 Mechanized Infantry from Western Germany, and 3 Tanks from Greater Southern Germany.

    34 ATK with 16 Units versus 26 DEF with 12 Units.

    Just means that some German Tanks might be taken as casualties.

    You could also be a bit more assured and send the Tactical Bomber from Poland as well.


  • @Ryuzaki_Lawliet:

    France WILL still fall.

    Germany has 4 Infantry, 2 Artillery, 6 Tanks, and 4 Mechanized Infantry that can hit Paris.

    4 Infantry, 2 Artillery, and 3 Tanks from Holland Belgium, 4 Mechanized Infantry from Western Germany, and 3 Tanks from Greater Southern Germany.

    34 ATK with 16 Units versus 26 DEF with 12 Units.

    Just means that some German Tanks might be taken as casualties.

    You could also be a bit more assured and send the Tactical Bomber from Poland as well.

    Any Maginot Line Rule should also include the French/Italian border IMO. This section was known as the Alpine Maginot line, and had many fortifications along with natural mountain range defenses. The French defenses on the Italian border held the Italians at bay until the the armistice was signed and Vichy was set up.

    So IMO the 3 tanks from Southern Germany shouldn’t be able to attack France through Italy either. Those 3 tanks going through West Germany into France would also hit the Maginot line.

    Maybe instead of saying German (axis) units can’t go through the Maginot Line, the rule should give any attacking ground units -1 for all rounds of battle that cross the Maginot line (West Germany/France, and Northern Italy/France or S France). That way those units could still invade, but wouldn’t be as effective because they are facing more resistance. Yes you would have some inf with no attack value, but could still be taken as a casualty. If that proves to harsh (which I think it might), then maybe have all attacking ground -1 only for the first round of battle when attacking through the Maginot lines.

    So if the Germans were to back out after a couple rounds, the Italian units would also be -1 in attack when they go for Paris.

    This could also be a good lead into a Vichy Rule

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