August 20, 1914: Getting around in Belgium

[MengJiao]

In what seems to be Dennis Showalter's last book (written with the Robinsons, a pair of retired Us Army Colonels)
The German Failure in Belgium, August 1914, the thesis is that the German turning movement through Belgium failed to accomplish its main objective which was to roll up the left flank of the allied forces.  The argument is that the strategic stalemate that ensued after the Battle of the Marne was inevitable once the Germans failed to locate and overwhelm the BEF by August 23rd.  This critical failure and this critical moment are ascribed to the critical failure of German reconnaissance (eg. 3 out of 5 Zeppelins shot down, Cavalry ineffective, lack of radios, etc. etc.) along with logistic chaos on an epic scale.
Having defeated all of my friends in Junior High School as the French in Avalon Hill's 1914, I can say the Germans did well to survive their foray as well as they did.  There's no need to be quite so harsh about the Germans' problems in Belgium.  It's true that German forces apparently burned enough villages and killed enough Belgian civilians to cause a German Cavalry division commander to shoot himself in disgust, but maybe the overall bad idea of warfare was more of a shock in 1914.
Anyway, let's look at some details of the situation on August 20 and its overall outcome.  So if we look at this map and the deployment of the the German 1st army in the midst of Belgium and its fortresses, we can see that if we take Brussels as the main rail center for German logistics, the game places the extreme boundary of anything like reasonable supply, at the line of question marks that starts just east of Dunkerque.  Not unexpectly, the western front as it solidified after the race to the sea, follows the line of fieldwork markers that I have placed to the east of the extreme limit for supply from Brussels as a railhead.
So I'll build a scenario on the basis of this logistic situation and the positions of forces on the 20th as the Germans slow down to deal with things and bring up more cavalry divisions from the south:

[bobarossa]

It would be nice if you started off these AAR's with what game (system) you are using.  That does not look like my AH 1914 map or pieces unless the game has been heavily updated!  Also can't find a railroad line on that map.  I recall worrying that I would use up all the sheets that you used to mark railroad repairs and fort destruction on. 

[MengJiao]

It would be nice if you started off these AAR's with what game (system) you are using.  That does not look like my AH 1914 map or pieces unless the game has been heavily updated!  Also can't find a railroad line on that map.  I recall worrying that I would use up all the sheets that you used to mark railroad repairs and fort destruction on. 

  Ooops!  sorry.  This is Vuca Simulations Nach Paris.  The rail lines are the roadlike lines on the map.  Roads are not shown except where they might be the only way to traverse some very rough terrain.

  The game uses all kinds of markers to track rail repairs.  I've just set Brussels as the railhead for this scenario...plus -- thankfully not like Avalon Hill's 1914 -- there are markers for each fort.

[MengJiao]

Anyway, let's look at some details of the situation on August 20 and its overall outcome.  So if we look at this map and the deployment of the the German 1st army in the midst of Belgium and its fortresses, we can see that if we take Brussels as the main rail center for German logistics, the game places the extreme boundary of anything like reasonable supply, at the line of question marks that starts just east of Dunkerque.  Not unexpectedly, the western front as it solidified after the race to the sea, follows the line of fieldwork markers that I have placed to the east of the extreme limit for supply from Brussels as a railhead.
So I'll build a scenario on the basis of this logistic situation and the positions of forces on the 20th as the Germans slow down to deal with things and bring up more cavalry divisions from the south:

So by the end of the 25th...Namur is pretty shot up.  As Buelow directed, that's how 2nd army will clear the way for 3rd army to cross the Meuse above Namur.
Plus, Antwerp is masked and the cavalry is assembling to go around the allied left.  Two new German army-level forces are coming up toward Antwerp:  the Belgium HQ for besieging Antwerp and the 7th army, leaving the southern end of the German line and coming up to the allied left.
The allies had incredible luck digging in and well...a lot of the divisions dug in.  A proto-sixth army force is taking shape north of the BEF which is north of Maubeuge.  Historically, sixth army's first actions were around Peronne on the 29th of August. 

[MengJiao]

The allies had incredible luck digging in and well...a lot of the divisions dug in.  A proto-sixth army force is taking shape north of the BEF which is north of Maubeuge.  Historically, sixth army's first actions were around Peronne on the 29th of August. 

But, dug-in or not, 2nd army punches across the Sambre.  The French launch a couple of attacks to cover their retreat, but it looks like the Germans are on a roll:

[MengJiao]

The allies had incredible luck digging in and well...a lot of the divisions dug in.  A proto-sixth army force is taking shape north of the BEF which is north of Maubeuge.  Historically, sixth army's first actions were around Peronne on the 29th of August. 

But, dug-in or not, 2nd army punches across the Sambre.  The French launch a couple of attacks to cover their retreat, but it looks like the Germans are on a roll:

Allies are shipping troops out of Antwerp and other northern ports while hanging on for the moment down south.

[MengJiao]

Allies are shipping troops out of Antwerp and other northern ports while hanging on for the moment down south.

  August31: The hot weather and some allied attacks slow the Germans

[MengJiao]

Allies are shipping troops out of Antwerp and other northern ports while hanging on for the moment down south.

  August31: The hot weather and some allied attacks slow the Germans

  But...boom, boomBOOM, September 3rd, 1st 2nd and third armies attack!::

[MengJiao]

But...boom, boomBOOM, September 3rd, 1st 2nd and third armies attack!::

  September 6th -- 2nd army is advancing and has beaten up the BEF pretty bad.  Elsewhere, things are going back and forth:

[MengJiao]

But...boom, boomBOOM, September 3rd, 1st 2nd and third armies attack!::

  September 6th -- 2nd army is advancing and has beaten up the BEF pretty bad.  Elsewhere, things are going back and forth:

  And the on the 7th, the BEF stops 2nd army while up north 1st and 7th armies make progress:

[MengJiao]

And the on the 7th, the BEF stops 2nd army while up north 1st and 7th armies make progress:

  Well...hmmm...Antwerp may fall early, but despite shifting the advanced guard of 7th Army to the North early,
the Germans are not making it to the line where the Western Front ended up in 1915...and as of 9th September, ammo is running low and everybody is starting to dig in.

  So, next, the weird moment when historically 5th Army attacked the flank of 2nd army (saving the BEF which was trying to survive after Le Cateau) and 6th army made its debut. -- yes, the historical 29th of August and its aftermath up north.  Next time on Table Top AARs.