1914_0822_02s: Lanrezac, the Defiant - FWWC 01 France '14

In the Sambre-Meuse bend, near Charleroi, Belgium, 22nd August 1914: With reports flooding in that there were close to half a million Geman troops moving through Belgium in some 19 total corps, it was becoming increasingly obvious to General Lanrezac and his Ve Armée that the Germans were performing a massive flanking maneuver. Despite Lanrezac's continuous warnings, Joffre was not convinced and issued vague orders that Lanrezac should only be concerned with assisting the French offensive in the Ardennes. However, in defiance of Joffre, Lanrezac ordered his Ve Armée to march north into the Sambre-Meuse bend in order to oppose any crossing by the Germans between Charleroi and Givet. By August 20th, the day the Germans captured Bruxelles, Lanrezac's exhausted troops were moving into their positions. On August 21st, reports came flooding in that the Germans were in dangerous proximity and that they had already established a bridgehead across the Sambre. The gravity of Lanrezac's situation became painfully obvious, and on the 22nd he ordered an early morning attack to destroy the German bridgeheads. It was at this moment that the Germans attacked south resulting in a great and desperate clash along the Sambre River as two German armies struggled to completely consume Namur and crush the salient occupied by the French. Lanrezac's defiance would ultimately save the entire French Army from being outflanked, and finally force Joffre to abandon the doomed Plan XVII. [Size: medium] *See the notes document for information on scenario design decisions and historical notes.