Breaking the Crust, Market Garden, 1944

 After the Battle for Best, there seemed to be some general enthusiam for doing some sort of linked Market Garden campaign, so I rolled right back to the XXX Corps breakout from the Neerpelt bridgehead. I'd actually run this scenario before (see https://tgamesweplay.blogspot.com/2019/08/breaking-crust.html) but had always been slightly puzzled by the CD scenario setup. I finally realised it started after the XXX Corps preliminary bombardment, which was why the 6th Luftwaffe Penal Battalion and one of the of the 6th FJR battalions were missing.

I revised the OBs back to the correct historical ones (based on 'It Never Snows in September' by Kershaw) and added the poor speed bump battalions to Kampfgruppe Walther.

Jerry. John. Tom and Tim C took the Irish Guards Battlegroup, and Tim G, Simon and Pete KG Walther. Tom had expressed a particular interest in leading an armoured breakout, so commanded 2nd Irish Guards at the front of the column. John had 3rd Irish Guards, Tim had 2nd Devonshires and Jerry was in overall command as JOE Vandeleur, aka Micheal Caine. Not a lot of people know that.

For the Germans, Simon had HG Hoffman (1st FJR) along the road, Pete had 6th FJR holding the woods to the west and Tim had SS KG Heinke drawn from 9th and 10th SS Panzer Divisions holding the east. Tim was standing in for Walther as overall CO.

Battlefield from the south. Borkel to the east, Petter to the west and Valkenswaard just off the north edge of the map over the stream. The Neerpelt bridghead is just off the southern edge and the leading elements of Irish Guards Group are at Kolonie.

2 Irish Guards, 3 Irish Guards and 2 Devonshires packed into the assembly area, flanked by Guards Armoured Divisional Artillery. Directly facing them are III/6FJR and 6 Luftwaffe Penal Battalion strung out in a long 'speed bump'.

The rest of 6FJR around Petter. These troops had high morale but relatively poor training as they were padded out with new conscripts. This was the combat debut of my new PP Fallschirmjagers, a whole regiment of them!

SS Heinke around and south of Borkel. The main element was a pair of panzergrenadier companies  from 9th and 10th SS grouped under 19th SS PGR and what remained of 10th SS Panzerjager Abteiling with fifteen Jagdpanzer IVs. KG Hoffman (1st FJR) is holding the main road in depth backed up a company of 10th SS engineers at the bridge to Valkenswaard.

SS Jagdpanzer IVs in Borkel, motorised engineers at the bridge and Tims HQ.

The action opened at 1355 with the sky black with aircraft! Well, I had the models so.... 

Dakotas, Mitchells, Spitfires, Typhoons. Sadly my metal Mosquito was a bit to unsteady on its flight stand and I didn't want to risk carnage on the tabletop. 'If only I'd once had such resources at my disposal' as Kurt Student observed as the air armada flew overhead.

The Dakotas droned away, and at 1400 hours a 300 gun bombardment opened up, coupled with massed airstrikes from fighter bombers and medium bombers. I'd already warned the Germans what was going to happen so they weren't too depressed. The bombardment obliterated the German front line and suppressed everybody else.

The original CD scenario starts after the bombardment has been fired, but I thought it would be more fun to represent it as you don't get many chances to field a penal battalion, even if only for one turn!

The Irish Guards then motored on behind a rolling barrage fired by the entire divisional artillery. This was pre-programmed and lifted one hex row per turn. We've all seen that scene in the film. 'Driver advance!'

A slightly alarming view for the SS Panzergrenadiers.

2nd Irish Guards rolled up the road behind the barrage, the infantry dismounting from the back of the tanks when they entered the woods. 'This is the wide part' (JOE Vandeleur/Micheal Caine).  The Germans opened fire with their AT guns but they were suppressed by the barrage and the fire was ineffective.

3rd Irish Guards formed up and set off cross country in the direction of Borkel. The SS opened fire with mortars and inflicted some losses on the lorried infantry.

Rather than hang around trading shots with the Germans, 3IG just rolled right over their positions. The Germans fell back disorganised to the next ridge, but not before inflicting heavy losses on the British tankers from their entrenched positions with infantry AT weapons. Ouch. The SS were rated as veterans so very dangerous, but with fairly average morale.

Concerned by the prospect of the disorganised panzergrenadiers being overrun, the Jagdpanzers moved up in support.

The Devonshires moved on either side of Kolonie, while Jerry set up his HQ in the village.

Over in  the east, the Jagdpanzers got in the first shot and the remaining 3 IG Shermans went up in flames. The survivors fell back to reverse slope positions out of sight of the Germans. One group of Devonshires accompanied by a squadron of 15/19 Hussars moved up in support. 

Back on the main road, 2IG managed to knock out the AT guns with direct fire but were then appallingly unlucky and failed their morale test to assault the handful of surviving FJ. Meanwhile the barrage rolled on northwards over the rest of KG Hoffman.  

Heinke moved up and rallied the disorganised panzergrenadiers, covered by the Jagdpanzers who took up hull down positions. 

Over in the west, all was quiet on the 6th FJR front although the other group of Devonshires located minefields south of Petter. (the whole front between the woods was lightly mined)

Back on the main road, 2IG sorted themselves out, as as the barrage rolled away, the RAF put in an appearance as the first flight of Typhoons swooped down.

KG Hoffman suffered some losses from the air attack but remained in good order.

It was fairly obvious where the main allied effort was now, so 6th FJR began to redeploy. II/6FJR moved east from Petter, and I/6FJR side stepped to replace them.

2 Irish Guards now called down both 25 pdr Regiments and another airstrike on KG Hoffman, followed by an armour/infantry assault down the road. This spread death and destruction among the dug in German paras, but they  calmly stalked the Shermans with their Panzerfausts and knocked several tanks out. A bloody melee now raged over the road junction.

Further west, the Devonshires and II/6FJR bumped into each other in the woods and exchanged small arms fire to little effect.

2 IG finally mopped up the last of the FJ, but not before losing yet more tanks in close combat. Only one German unit between them and the road north though. 

The Devonshires had the worst of the firefight with the FJ and fell back in disorder. Jerry moved up to help rally them. Fortunately another two companies had moved up to plug the gap. I/6FJR fortified Petter, while II/6FJR assessed its chance to cut the main road.

With British tanks suddenly behind them, the Jagdpanzers turned about and rumbled off towards Borkel.

The Irish Guards turned right off the main road and met the Jagdpanzers in the fields outside Borkel in close range combat. The British tanks outpaced their infantry and a bloody close range tank battle ensued

To general hilarity, this resulted in the complete destruction of both sides. Ouch! Tim was now holding Borkel with just his HQ, while two angry companies of Irish Guards infantry eyed them up from the edge of the woods.

Back on the main road however, Jerry chivvied the Devonshires into shape. Two companies moved to block 6FJR, while the rest formed up to resume the advance, led off by 15/19 Hussars in their Cromwells.

Further north there was a loud bang as the SS engineers tried to demolish the bridge to Valkenswaard, just as another flight of Typhoons lined up on them.

The Devonshires column piled up the road, supported by the entire divisional artillery and the Typhoons. This was too much for the SS who fled, but not before knocking out some of the leading Cromwells with panzerfausts. The road to Eindhoven was iopen!

The Irish Guards infantry advanced cautiously towards Borkel, covered by more air strikes, but Heinke (Tim) held them off with a steely eye and his Luger.

As dusk fell, the Devonshires protecting the flank won the firefight with 6FJR and the disheartened paras fell back in disorder. There was just enough time for 15/19 Hussars to roll over the stream into Valkenswaard and settle down for the night.

Over in Borkel, with the main allied column well on its way and their armour lost, it was time for the SS to pack up into their lorries and head off the block the road again a bit further north.

While over the west, 6th FJR still held Petter in strength. Pete mounted his HQ up and moved forward, and there were various amusing exchanges about the ability of Kettenkrads to do wheelies.

So as night fell we'd achieved a spookily historical result. XXX Corps had just made it to Valkenswaard, but 19th SS PGR and 6th FJR were in good enough shape to block the road further north at Aalst and make the British do it all again tomorrow. At one point I thought it was all over for the British when 3 IG was crippled assaulting 19th SSPGR, but in the end massed artillery and airpower was just enough to tip the balance and they made it up the main road.