The Great War exploded in the summer of 1914 as Germany marched into Belgium, sweeping aside Allied forces in pursuit of the crushing victory they expected with their finely tuned, but heavily modified, Schlieffen Plan. The German army then pushed on into France and as its columns closed in on Paris, victory seemed a foregone conclusion. However, defying all odds, the weary French and British made an about face and counterattacked along the Marne, defeating the Schlieffen Plan and halting the German advance.

The 1914 campaign in France would be the opening act of a gruesome war that would not end until 1918, a war which would end with the overthrow of many of the monarchs in Europe, and consume the lives of over eighteen million people. The First World War would mark the end of the Napoleonic old European order, and would be the catalyst for an even greater struggle known as World War II.

France '14 is the first title in a new series entitled First World War Campaigns. This series attempts something that has never been attempted before: to cover all the major campaigns of World War One, with units going down to battalion level. The history of the war itself is often plagued by inaccurate stereotypes and assumptions, and this series attempts to dispel them and bridge what is otherwise a relatively empty wargaming void in history.

 The First World War Campaigns series also seeks to demonstrate the evolution of warfare between the Napoleonic period and the Second World War by demonstrating the evolution of weapons and tactics: it will show the rise of tanks, poison gas, assault infantry, and airpower. If you like Panzer Campaigns or the Napoleonic Battles series, then First World War Campaigns will help complete your wargaming experience!