Second in my little Arnhem/Operation Market trilogy is the 82nd Airborne at Nijmegen, specifically the Groesbeek Heights on 18th September. I've run this before using NATO Brigade Commander, but this time I'll do it with One Hour WW2. The original scenario is from the Command Decision 'Market Garden' scenario book.
Briefly, Gavins division landed without much incident on the 17th but had to capture six bridges as well as the Groesbeek Heights. All the important objectives were captured including the major bridge at Grave, but the 82nd didnt have the strength to overcome the defenders at Nijmegen. The latter were reinforced by the 9th SS recce battalion on the the night of the 17th which (astonishingly) had driven over Arnhem bridge just before Frosts battalion got there.
On the 18th further reinforcements were due to be flown in, as well as Brownings entire 1st Allied Airborne Army HQ. The Germans meanwhile had got their act together and organised a major counterattack against the landing zones east of Nijmegen.
Battlefield from the south. The Groesbeek Heights are the wooded rise to the left with the small village of Groesbeek in the centre. Kranenberg is to the north and Mook to the south. The waterway is the Maas-Waal canal, and the Reichswald and German border is off to the right. There is a flooded area in the top right, otherwise the area id dotted with fields but little else. The drop zones are marked with gliders, one in the top left and one just east of Groesbeek.
The Germans win if they capture Mook, Kranenburg and both DZs (but not Groesbeek, although it is certainly critical ground).
On Groesbeek itself we just have A and B companies of 1/505th PIR. They are spread out in two detachments to cover more ground. Each detachment only has three hits and 1 combat dice, but if they combine back into a full unit, they become Veteran with seven hits and 2D6.
They have excellent artillery observation from up here though. Jerry commanded these.
In Kranenburg we have C and weapons companies of 1/508th PIR. These are veteran heavy infantry. I actually made a mistake in the briefing and they should be dug in at either A4 or B3, as they cant actually see anything from the town due to the fields! I gave the US the option of moving them. John commanded these.
Closer view of Groesbeek.
In reserve we have two batteries of 75mm pack howitzers with four fire missions each. It is less than 24 hours since the drop, so supply isn't an issue for them yet. The defence will rely heavily on these...
We also have the other two companies of 1/508th, a veteran leg infantry unit, plus the only divisional reserve available to Gavin, the 307th Para Engineer battalion. Another leg infantry unit with a bonus at close range. The reinforcements will turn up on turns 3 and 4 from the west, hopefully in the nick of time.
Finally we have two jeep supply columns, one no doubt driven by James Caan. As with the artillery, plenty of supplies for now, and no real opportunity for the Germans to interdict it yet. Terry is overall CO, and gets to run the artillery, logistics and the 307th.
Rolling on from the east, we have the mighty 'Korps Feldt', a roughly divisional size formation hastily cobbled together from fortress and training units in the area. Like KG von Tettau west of Arnhem, the Corps HQ would become the command centre for all the random junk units thrown into this sector. Operational command devolved to Colonel Rasch, playing by John B in this game.
This is the edge of the Reichswald and the German border and Westwall are not far behind, as is the arms depot at Kleves. The forest provided excellent cover for the assembly of troops and largely protected their supply lines. Allied intelligence originally misplaced II SS Panzer Korps at Kleves - which was of course the original German plan, 9th SS was largely ready to move to refit there on the 17th, the perils of Ultra intercepts. They remained concerned about a heavy armoured attack from this direction for some time.
In the north we have KG Hermann, comprising Heer NCO Schule Julich (an NCO training school) and Landschutzen 254, a home defence battalion. The NCO trainees are a regular leg infantry unit and the Landschutzen are a poor light infantry unit with only five hits and reduced firepower at long range as they have few/no heavy weapons. Mark commands KG Stagard.
In the centre we have KG von Furstenburg with Landschutzen II/6, yet another home defence battalion but reinforced with a few armoured vehicles irl some armoured cars and armed halftracks. I could have modelled this as two units but instead did it as a poor quality heavy infantry unit. This is commanded directly by the CO, John, and can conduct a flank march around the marsh. A typical rotten German trick.
There is also KG Greschick, with Luftwaffe Fortress Battalion 17 and the infamous Stomach and Ear battalion, comprising veterans with stomach wounds or hearing wounds - many of the latter being almost completely deaf, which made hearing orders hard. I rated both of these as poor light infantry, and the Stomach and Ear battalion needs a 3+ to move each turn. These will be commanded by Tim on Wednesday, but on Tuesday are split between Mark and Jim.
Finally we have KG Hermann with NCO School Wehrkreis VI and Ersatz Bn 39. As with KG Stargard, I made the NCOs regular leg infantry and the 39th Div training battalion poor light infantry. Jim commanded these.
There is also the 'Corps' support elements, a pair of horse drawn wagons. Due to the cover of the forest and proximity of heavy Flak concentrations, there isn't any interdiction of these. The only motorised element in the entire formation is Johns HQ with a small staff car.
There isn't any artillery support, although a battalion of Soviet 152mm howitzers arrived on the 19th, and later in the battle, 10th SS Panzer Artillery Regiment was in range of Nijmegen after moving across the Rhine.
Korps Feldt opens with KG Stargard and Herman busily marching along the roads to Kranenburg and Mook respectively. Still too far away for the US to see them.
Next turn the Germans continue to advance and KG Greschick enters the fray. Oberst Rasch has seemingly directed them on a southerly axis.
In the north, KG Stargard continue to advance down the road but spread out into the fields east of Kranenburg as dug in US Paras are spotted.
In the south Jerry consolidates his scattered companies into one unit, and brings down artillery fire on the road approaching Mook, which delays the Germans even if it doesn't inflict many losses.
KG Herman deploys and advances out of the barrage. KG Greschick also shakes out into combat formation. So far the Stomach and Ear battalion have been behaving admirably.
Things are looking a bit hairy in the north. KG Stargard infiltrates around the US flank and takes Kranenburg, while KG von Furstenburg makes an appearance. The US shell the road and shoot up Lanschutzen 254 in Kranenburg, inflicting two hits.
US reinforcements enter the fray, the other two companies of the 508th and they make it to the ridgeline overlooking Kranenburg. The US are very fortunate and manage to eliminate the Germans in Kranenburg (the Paras three two 5s and a 6!) while shelling KG von Furstenburg. Things are looking slightly better for the US here now, although Kranenburg is still German controlled.
In the south waves of Germans threaten to swamp Jerry. Mook is captured and the LZ overrun. The Germans make use of their ample logistics to reorganise one of the battered infantry units while the US continue to fire at everything in sight.
In the north the Germans opt to focus on Johns entrenched battalion rather than reoccupying Kranenburg, and combined fire manage to inflict a couple of hits.
But in the south the 307th Para Engineers arrive in the nick of time. The road to Mook is covered by fire, so instead they march along the tracks in the woods and take up position northwest of Mook. The German units in the open are suffering from US artillery and small arms fire, and one becomes disorganised. The Stomach and Ear battalion chooses this moment to stop moving.
A/B/508th move into Kranenburg, retaking the village.
The Germans go for broke and NCO School Julich assault C/W/508th. The Germans inflict enough losses to disorganise the paras but the assault is repulsed and the NCOs fall back. The assault will prevent the US reorganising next turn, but against elite entrenched troops, you really need to be in a position to conduct multiple assaults over a few turns.
In the south things settle into a familiar pattern of firing and units reorganising, neither side gaining the upper hand. Luftwaffe Fortress Bn 17 actually manages to push up onto the heights, outflanking Jerrys paras. The Stomach and Ear battalion still steadfastly refuses to move though.
This persists for a couple of turns, although the Ear battalion finally manages to move west of Mook. So far the Germans are unable to capitalise on outflanking the paras as they can't get enough fire superiority to make an assault worthwhile. The US keep disrupting their units with artillery strikes.
A rather battered KG von Furstenburg seems to be heading south though.
In the far north the US have fortified Kranenburg, this obviously keeps the village safe, but it effectively ties up a US unit doing nothing as it cant see anything from there.
To keep the pressure up, KG von Furstenburg moves onto the landing zones while one of Jims units reorganises. The rest keep up relatively ineffective fire against the US.
The US smash von Furstenburg with massed artillery fire. This however leaves three good order German units in contact with Jerry's paras - will they be able to capitalise on it? With that cliffhanger at the end of turn 8, we broke for the night. Tim will be joining us for tomorrow, taking over KG Greschick, which amazingly is relatively unscathed.
Overnight the John issued new orders to the Germans to hold onto their gains now they were in a winning position. In practice this basically involved them sitting there and shooting at the US, while the US shot back. The US artillery advantage was now becoming more apparent and two German units became disorganised.
The Germans rallied the disorganised units and shot up the Americans - who also had a unit go disorganised. Naturally they just reorganised it. I suggested the Germans might want to assault it to prevent it reorganising but they seemed rather reluctant.
Much the same thing happened in the north as Mark and John duelled across the fields. The Germans in the open fields being at something of a disadvantage to the dug in elite US paras!
This tit for tat exchange continued for some time, the US had a cunning plan up their sleeve however.
In the north the 1/508th began to counterattack eastwards, with superior quality, numbers and artillery support, the remains of KG Stargard were soon looking distinctly shaky. They were reduced to one hit and disorganised.
In the south however the Germans finally made a concerted effort to shift the US away from the LZ objective. KG Herman managed to disorganise Jerrys paras, and Tims Luftwaffe Fortress battalion charged them! I suspect the last time the hastily armed Luftwaffe ground crews had fixed bayonets was in basic training...
However with the combat bonus for assaulting a disorganised enemy AND double attack for a flank attack, they rolled just enough hits to overrun the Paras. Jerrys men dispersed into the woods and the Germans overran their foxholes.
Terry was having none of this. All the US artillery landed on the unfortunate Luftwaffe men (woods don't provide cover against artillery) and the 307th counterattacked them behind the barrage.
The Lyftwaffe proved no match for the veteran parachute engineers and they were soon all heading back towards the Reichswald. The Americans reoccupied Jerrys vacated position, nicely positioned to simply march straight on the LZ, which Jim had unaccountably declined to defend.
In the north Mark didnt have much option but to reteat. The barrage slowed him up but by moving down the road he managed to break contact. The 1/508th followed up as fast as it could. Just two turns remaining, would the Americans take the road exit?
Mark fell back down the road the objective, planning to sell his life dearly. The Fuhrer would be most displeased if the Americans crossed the border into the fatherland.
With the American line shrinking, the Stomach and Ear battalion infiltrated into the woods, threatening the US HQ which fell back towards Kranenburg. If only the Germans had done that a turn earlier as they had numerosu opportunites to move up into the woods.
KG Herman still hunkered down around Mook.
In the north half of the 1/508th continued the pursuit of KG Stargard.
While the other half wheeled south, linked up with the Para Engineers and re-occupied the LZ covered by a heavy artillery barrage! KG Herman seemed rather stunned by this development.
The Stomach and Ear Battalion made its activation roll but only had enough movement to reach the outskirts of Kranenburg. It still counted as controlled by the US.
Despite being supported by the entire US artillery, the assault on KG Stargard failed (they had been resupplied the previous turn) and the Paras bounced back disorganised.
But in the south, KG Hermans attempt to retake the landing zone failed in bloody chaos. 1/508 was left disorganised on the LZ, but the attacking Germans were scattered to the four winds. With three objectives in American hands, it was a win for the 82nd Airborne.
Well, that was an exciting end to the battle. Things suddenly opened up again after the mid-game slogging match, and the outcome broadly reflected real life where the Germans did overrun the LZs but were eventually sent packing with heavy losses by US counterattacks. The US had been biding their time to counterattack at a favourable moment, and had meticulously managed their artillery and logistic resources to keep the guns firing as much as possible.
Jim noted rather sheepishly that he hadn't even noticed there was another objective next to his troops at Mook. Real life fog of war! Stars of the day have to be the Stomach and Ear Battalion though, who despite their disadvantages, managed to advance the furthest of all the German units and with the least casualties.
That was great fun to run, and the players seemed to enjoy themselves. Everyone likes an Arnhem game don't they? I've got one more in this trilogy covering the 101st, and then another planned trilogy for Operation Garden, the ground component. All in good time though, more ACW games to go and we still haven't finished with Gazala yet.
