Turn 007 - 0200 Sep 18, 1944 (played 2011-08-17 & 08-24)

OVERVIEW of Turn 007


So now it's the early morning of Monday the 18th.  The Guards Armored division linked up with the Americans at the blown bridge at Son and the Welsh Guards moved up to rescue the situation near Best.  Elsewhere, the Allies didn't do much except to move to better their positions.  In the Arnhem area the Germans eliminated another British Anti-Tank battery strong-point and brought in reinforcements from the 10th SS Panzer division to try to force a crossing of the Ijssel River east of Arnhem.


XXX Corps (Maps C&D)


This was primarily a movement Turn for the Guards Armored division.  The lead elements of the Guards Armored crossed over from Map D to Map C.  Due north of Eindhoven, the Coldstream Guards are prepared to cross the Wilhelmina Canal on bridge a little bit east of the blown highway bridge at Son.  Their main purpose is to defend the crossing while a bridge engineer repairs the highway bridge.  The Welsh Guards moved up the highway running northwest out of Eindhoven and are ready to cross the Wilhelmina Canal on the highway bridge southeast of Best.  The Irish Guards are a few miles behind them in Eindhoven, northwest and west of the city center.  The Grenadier Guards moved into a parking position south of the city, so that the GA's big Anti-Tank guns could move into position to start reducing the German entrenchment in the center of the city.  The remainder of the unengaged GA units moved up the highway as far as they could.  The GA HQ is now about a mile north of Valkenswaard, three miles south of Eindhoven.


The 32nd Infantry brigade completed its encirclement of the retreating SS Infantry.  Given average dice rolling, it will take 3-4 Turns to eliminate these units.


And finally, in the northeast corner of Map D, the 15*19 Tank Regiment is stalled in front of Geldrop.  They eliminated the German infantry there, but a lone Tank unit from the 9th SS Panzer division is in the town blocking their advance.


The remaining German SS Tank units and units from the action at Grave moved to cover the canal crossings on the east side of the map.

GA Coldstream Guards make contact with 101st Airborne at Son

Welsh Guards come to the rescue at Best

Guards Armored in Eindhoven

GA 32nd Infantry Brigade trapping SS Infantry

15*19th Tank Regiment hung up at Geldrop

SS Tank units covering the east side of the canal

Map D - Start Line to Eindhoven at the end of Turn 7

101st Airborne (Map C)


The 506th Regiment held its ground between Best and the divisional Supplyhead, and got pounded for it by the German artillery in Best.  The rest of the division had a quiet night.  The 501st Regiment continued to re-position itself in order to get a second battalion north of the canal at Veghel.


Except for the units heading south from Grave and the artillery at Best, there wasn't any German activity in this sector.

Veghel

Map C - Eindhoven to Veghel at the end of Turn 7

82nd Airborne (Map B)


This sector couldn't be more boring, and that's the way the paratroopers of the 82nd like it.  They eliminated the last German Flak unit in Nijmegen.  A couple other companies fired at the last Flak unit on the Maas-Waal Canal.  That was it for combat.  There was quite a bit of movement as the division tried to prepare for a potential German incursion from the east.

Grave

No Germans in Nijmegen

The 82nd Airborne's Drop Zone at Groesbeek

Map B - Grave to Nijmegen

1st Airborne / Arnhem (Map A)


One of the Heavy Weapons companies of the 1st Parachute Brigade finally eliminated the German Flak units on the south side of the highway bridge.  Now the British occupy both ends of the bridge.


The Germans continued to bring in reinforcements and now have the British position covered on all sides, although there are still gaps in their lines.  The 10th SS Panzer division arrived east of Arnhem and is attempting to force a crossing over the Ijssel bridge there.  The 9th SS Panzer division eliminated the second British Anti-Tank strong-point northwest of Arnhem and began moving into the forest.

Miscellaneous SS units approach the British landing zones from the west

9th SS Panzer division pushes forward north of Oosterbeek

10th SS Panzer division arrives east of Arnhem

Map A&B - Arnhem area at the end of Turn 7

CONCLUSION


We finished Turn 7 before lunch and played most of Turn 8 after lunch.  


The Victory Point totals at the end of Turn 7 are:
Allies - 215
Germans - 100

Turn 006 - 2200 Sep 17, 1944 (played 2011-08-17)

OVERVIEW of Turn 006


Night has fallen over the battlefield.  That means that visibility is reduced to 2 hexes for all units.


The Guards Armored achieved its breakout.  The Welsh Guards ended the day in the suburbs of Eindhoven and the 15*19 regiment was looking for a way across the river at Geldrop.  The Germans continued to punish the Americans in the vicinity of Best.  However, the Americans did finally capture Grave.  Up north, the Germans continued to receive reinforcements and worked to eliminate the outlying British strong points.


XXX Corps (Map D)


The Turn began with leaders of the main body of the Guards Armored division (GA) on the outskirts of the last heavily forested area before Valkenswaard and the Welsh Guards just outside of Valkenswaard itself.  Through a combination of artillery fire, Close Assault and German retreats, the GA cleared the entire area of German units except for one company of German paratroopers who were left to block the highway on the north edge of the forest.  The Irish Guards cleared a path on the left and are now mostly in the clear.  The Grenadier Guards are moving up the highway and the Coldstream Guards went into Travel Mode and followed the Welsh Guards through Valkenswaard.


The Welsh Guards took the lead and eliminated the German independent paratroop HQ that was the only defender in Valkenswaard.  The rest of the German defenders moved to Eindhoven and to block the British 15*19 regiment that was threatening their east flank near Geldrop.  With the German defenders out of the way, the Welsh Guards moved up the highway and stopped just short of the Eindhoven city center.


On the British left (west) flank, the 32nd Infantry Brigade finally managed to get around the German defenders and has them trapped.

GA 32nd Infantry brigade surrounds German SS survivors from the Start Line

Main body of the Guards Armored pushing through to Valkenswaard

Welsh Guards in Eindhoven on the center left and 15*19 regiment blocked by Germans near at Geldrop

Map D - Start Line to Eindhoven at the end of Turn 6

101st Airborne (Map C)


The 506th regiment of the 101st Airborne is in a bad position.  They are getting pounded by the massed German artillery around Best.  Ordinarily you would retreat in the face of such concentrated force.  However, that would expose the 101st's Drop Zones and Suppyhead which would be a total disaster.  So the Americans have to tough it out until either the British GA division arrives, or morning when the next batch of air-landed reinforcements arrives.


The central sector of the 101st's area of responsibility was quiet.  But in the north, German units that had participating in the skirmish near Grave began to move south.  So more units from the 501th regiment were sent north to Veghel to prepare for this potential threat.

Best

Making preparations at Veghel

Map C - Eindhoven to Veghel at the end of Turn 6

82nd Airborne (Map B)


The Americans of the 504th regiment finally captured Grave.  Immediately afterwards, the Germans began disengaging and heading south.  Elsewhere, the process of eliminating the German Flak units continued.

Grave

The Nijmegen and the 82nd's Drop Zone at Groesbeek

Map B - Grave to Nijmegen at the end of Turn 6

1st Airborne / Arnhem (Map A)


The Germans continued to receive reinforcements and hammer away at the British Anti-Tank batteries placed outside the main British defensive line.

West of Arnhem

Arnhem

Map A - Nijmegen to Arnhem at the end of Turn 6

CONCLUSION


The German inflicted heavy damage on the Americans at Best and Grave.  However, they didn't make any progress at all in the Arnhem area.  With the American capture of Grave and the advance of the Guards Armored division into Eindhoven, the Allies came out on top this Turn.


The Victory Point totals at the end of Turn 6 are:


Allies - 179
Germans - 94


We finished this turn so quickly that we played half of Turn 7 also - but more on that in the next post.

Turn 005 - 2000 Sep 17, 1944 (played 2011-08-03)

OVERVIEW of Turn 005


There are no special rules in effect for this turn.


The XXX Corps continued its advance up the highway and neared a breakout.  The 101st Airborne continued to take a pounding as the Germans reinforced with artillery.  The skirmish around Grave continued and the 1st Airborne lost a key defensive position to a well executed surprise German counter-attack.


XXX Corps (Map D)


Once again, the Germans on the west (left) flank continued their retreat, pursued by the 32nd Infantry Brigade of the Guards Armored (GA) division.


The Germans continued their tactic of retreating in front of the main mass of the advance and no units were eliminated.  The British occupied the last two entrenchments on or near the road south of Valkenswaard while advancing on both sides of the next patch of forest straddling the main road.


On the right, the Welsh Guards achieved a breakout by blowing through a battalion of the German 7th Parachute Division.  (See the tactical detail of this action in the previous post.)  The 15*19 Tank Regiment raced up the side of the map, threatening to by-pass the entire German position, but was blocked by a single Anti-Tank battery.

Guards Armored Advance

German defensive preparations along the main road from Valkenswaard to Eindhoven

Map D - Start Line to Eindhove at the end of Turn 5

101st Airborne (Map C)


The northern and central sectors of the 101st Airborne's position were completely quiet.  In the south around Best, however, the battle raged on.  The fighting itself was limited to exchanges of mortar and artillery fire as both sides sought to optimize their positions.  The Germans upped the stakes and danger level by relocating the artillery from the 180th Infantry division, that had been garrisoned in Eindhoven, to the center of their position in Best.  The 101st is faced with the prospect of even heavier casualties in the Turns ahead.

Best

Map C - Eindhoven to Veghel at the end of Turn 5

82nd Airborne (Map B)


Units from the 504th, 505th and 508th Regiments of the 82nd continued their efforts to eliminate the German Flak units along the Waal River and the Maas-Waal Canal and destroyed the Flak unit in Malden.  After that the 3rd Battalion of the 504th rushed off towards Grave to reinforce the rest of its regiment.


The battle for Grave continued.  Both sides exchanged heavy weapons and artillery fire.  Once again, the Americans failed to eliminate the German Flak unit occupying the Grave City hex.

The 82nd Airborne quietly goes about it's business

The struggle for Grave continues

Map B - Grave to Nijmegen at the end of Turn 5

1st Airborne / Arnhem (Map A)


This should have been another quiet Turn in the north while the Germans awaited their reinforcements.  But the British got greedy and chased after an exposed German HQ.  This allowed the Germans to capture the British Anti-Tank unit surrounded by Dike hexsides on the main road north of Arnhem with a beautifully executed assault.

North of Arnhem

West of Arnhem

Map A - Arnhem area at the end of Turn 5

CONCLUSION


The successes of the British XXX Corps in the south were more than offset by the loss of a key British strong-point north of Arnhem, the failure of the Americans to capture Grave and the looming disaster for the 101st Airborne at Best.  The Germans won this turn.


The Victory Point totals at the end of Turn 5 are:
Allies - 143
Germans - 79

Turn 005 - Tactical Highlight (played 2011-08-03)

This post is a detail of the encounter between the Welsh Guards armored regiment of the British GA Division and the 1st battalion of the 16th regiment of the German 7th Parachute Division.  The Welsh Guards are driving up the right (east) flank of the main British advance and the German paratroopers are blocking their advance into Valkenswaard.  Valkenswaard is about halfway between Eindhoven and the Start Line and has some important road junctions.  The rest of this post will break down this battle Phase by Phase.



1.  Allied Command Phase.  In this phase the Allied player (me) determines the supply status of all Headquarters (HQ) units, attempts to remove disruption, places airstrikes and performs construction activities.

Turn 5 - Start and Welsh Guards HQ supply determination

The picture above shows the relative positions of the forces.  The Welsh Guards regiment is subordinate to the Guards Armored (GA) divisional HQ.  So it has to trace supply to that HQ or the Allies ultimate supply source, which is the south edge of Map D.  A subordinate HQ such as this has 8 Movement Points (MPs) to get to a supply source.  Using Travel Mode on a Trail costs 1/4 of a MP and on a Road costs 1/8th of a MP.  Using the road indicated, it is apparent that the Welsh Guards HQ is indeed in supply.


I had some Airstrikes to burn.  They are pretty useless with the rules as written.  But in this case I can use them to fix the Germans in place (so they don't run away).  This is because if Steve puts the targeted units into Travel Mode in the next Phase, they will probably suffer a hit and become disrupted.


There aren't any Disrupted Allied units involved in this little battle, and there is no Construction (like bridge repair) either.  So this concludes the Allied Command Phase.

2. German Mode Phase.  In this Phase the German Player can make voluntary mode changes to all of his units.  In this instance, Steve did not make any changes.

Turn 5 - at the conclusion of the German Mode Phase

3. Allied Conditional Fire Phase.  What makes it "conditional" is that units which fire in this Phase may not move in the next Phase. 

Turn 5 - Allied 1st Conditional Fire Phase

I want to move my armor, so the only fire I choose to execute is with the artillery, as shown above.  Two of the artillery units attack the German Para unit on the right.  That attack is within their range of "2" and the attacks have a Combat Effectiveness of "8".  That is devastating for units in Concentrated Mode and the German unit suffers a Strength Point loss of 4, and is dispersed.  The third artillery unit in the stack doubles its Range and halves its Effectiveness to attack the other German para unit with a Combat Effectiveness of "5".  That attack results in a loss of one Strength Point and the unit is dispersed.  That concludes this Phase.


4. Allied Conditional Movement Phase.  Now the Allies can move any unit that didn't fire in the previous phase, which in this case is everything but the three artillery units.  Each unit can be moved up to the limit of its movement allowance of 4, but it has to be executed in one movement.  It is not allowed to move a unit a portion of its movement allowance, move another unit, and then come back to the first unit and use the remainder of its movement.  So it is important to sequence movement in a way that maximizes your capabilities.  This is especially important when executing Close Assaults.

Turn 5 - 1st Allied Conditional Movement Phase

The first order of business is to move one of the Anti-Tank units (in the lower right) belonging to the Guards Armored division forward one hex and drop it out of Travel Mode.  Now it can observe for the GA divisional artillery, which is off the picture to the southwest.


Now for the first Close Assault.  One of the Tank units in the 2nd row of the advancing column moves forward as indicated in the picture above, attacking the German Para unit on the right.  This unit suffered four Strength Point losses from the artillery attacks in the prior phase, so it has a current Strength of "2".  It is so weakened that it is no longer effective against armor, so there is no Opportunity Fire.  The attack is resolved at 2-1 odds with an Close Action Value of "8" and the German unit is eliminated.  The attacking Tank unit occupies the hex held by the German unit.  That opens things up a little on the right side, so a second British Tank unit from the stack moves forward and occupies the Woods hex adjacent to the German artillery.


Next, the dispersed and damaged Tank units in the lead on the left move left one hex to get out of the way of the units behind them.  I don't want to use them in the attack because they are not at full strength.  They are in a Town hex which has a Stacking Limit of 12, so an attacking stack can't move through them.


Now it's time for the second Close Assault.  The three Tank units in the 2nd row of the advancing column on the left move forward in a stack as indicated in the picture above, attacking the German Para unit on the left.  This unit suffered one Strength Point loss from the artillery attack in the prior phase, so it has a current Strength of "5" and is dispersed.  It is able to Opportunity Fire with a Combat Effectiveness of "2", but there is no result.  The attack is resolved at 2-1 odds with an Close Action Value of "7" and the German unit is Disrupted and must retreat one hex.  The attacking Tank units occupy the hex held by the German unit.


Finally, the remaining units advance as far as they can.  I noticed that the Welsh Guards HQ was within the German Artillery unit's Range of 5.  Headquarters units are extremely vulnerable to fire combat because they are not permitted to disperse.  They take extra damage instead.  So I retreated this HQ one hex to lessen the risk.


The airstrikes placed during the Allied Command Phase are now resolved, and the German Headquarters unit is disrupted.  That means that it can't move or provide supply to the units that belong to it.


5.  German Conditional Fire Phase.  Because all of the German units are now out of supply, Steve chose not to fire and risk Depletion.


6.  German Conditional Movement Phase.  Only the German Heavy Weapons company was able to move and Steve chose not to move it.

Turn 5 - at the conclusion of the 1st German Conditional Movement Phase

7.  Allied Free Fire Phase.  Because I have a spotter now (the Anti-Tank unit in the Woods with the designation "GAxx"), I can call in the Guards Armored divisional artillery (not visible in the picture above).  The German Artillery and Heavy Weapons units are just within range.  I have six attacks with a Combat Effectiveness of "9".  The result is that both German units are eliminated. The only other attacks available now are the Tanks in the lead on the left attack into the Disrupted German Para unit with a Combat Effectiveness of "7".  None of those attacks do any damage.


8.  German Command Phase.  This is just like the Allied Command Phase (Step1), except that it is the German Player performing the actions.  Steve successfully removed the disruption from his Headquarters, but not the Para unit.  Now his units are in supply again.


9.  Allied Mode Phase.  In this Phase the Allied Player can make voluntary mode changes to all of his units (similar to Step 2 for the Germans).  I concentrated the dispersed Tank unit and that was it.



10.  German Conditional Fire Phase.  There are no opportunities for German fire.


11.  German Conditional Movement Phase.  Only the German Headquarters was able to move and Steve chose not to move it.

Turn 5 - at the end of the 2nd German Conditional Movement Phase

12.  Allied Conditional Fire Phase.  The remaining German units are out of range of the divisional artillery, and I chose not to fire with any of the units from the Welsh Guards.


13.  Allied Conditional Movement Phase.  So here is the payoff.

Turn 5 - 2nd Allied Conditional Movement Phase

Disrupted units have no Strength, no Effectiveness and their Morale is current Morale - 3.  So essentially, any unit can Close Assault a disrupted unit with 100% chance of success.  The top unit (only) of the lead stack on the left Close Assaulted the disrupted German Para unit and eliminated it.  Then 3 Tank units from the middle stack moved up the railroad (dotted line) and Close Assaulted the German HQ as shown in the picture above.  The HQ's Opportunity Fire had no result and the Close Assault resulted in a disruption and retreat.  The German HQ retreated as shown by the blue arrow.  The last attack was carried out by the Tank unit on the right that started in the Woods hex and was automatically successful (shown in green).  Now all of the German units have been eliminated.


Finally, all of the remaining Allied units moved to the railroad and moved north along it to the limit of their Movement Allowances.  The lead unit of the Welsh Guards ended the Turn two hexes from the center of Valkenswaard.

Turn 5 - at the conclusion of the 2nd Allied Conditional Movement Phase

14.  German Free Fire Phase.  There are no German units.


15.  Bookkeeping.  Performed at the end of each Turn.  Victory Points are calculated.


CONCLUSION


This battle demonstrated all of the important game mechanics.  In addition, it showed how devastating the combination of massed artillery and tanks can be against infantry - especially in open terrain.

Turn 004 - 1800 Sep 17, 1944 (played 2011-07-28)

OVERVIEW of Turn 004

The only remaining special rule is that all of the Allied paratroopers are automatically in supply until the end of this turn.

The XXX Corps advance continued while the fight near Best intensified and a new struggle developed near Grave.

XXX Corps (Map D)

On the west (left) flank, the Germans continued their slow and steady withdrawal.  The Allies used the space created by the first German movement phase to pull out the 15*19 independent tank regiment and replace it with the 32nd Infantry Brigade of the Guards Armored division.

In the center and east, a couple more German units were eliminated by the massed fire of the Guards Armored divisional artillery.  This created a larger gap that sped up the pace of advance and infiltration.  As the infiltration continued, the Germans withdrew the remaining mobile units in the third row of entrenchments to the last row, leaving behind a single static Flak unit in the second row to stem the tide.  That unit was eliminated by fire in the Allied Free Fire Phase.  The Turn ended with the Allies regrouping and moving forward in preparation for an attack on the last entrenchment directly on the highway.

On the east flank (right), the Welsh Guards tank regiment took advantage of the gaps created by artillery and advanced up to the retreating German paratroopers.  In the pictures below, you can see the 15*19 Regiment, that started the Turn on the east flank, in Travel Mode moving in behind the Welsh Guards.

Behind the lines, German units moved to create new strong-points to delay the Allied advance.

32nd Guards Infantry brigade takes over in the west

Guards Armored advance in the center and east

German build-up in Eindhoven

Map D - Start Line to Eindhoven at the end of Turn 4

101st Airborne (Map C)

With the main highway bridge blown at Zon and the crossings secured at Veghel, all of the action centered around the German counterattack towards the 101st's drop zone.  The Americans finally destroyed the last German Flak unit in the Broken hex on the south end of the German line and used their numerical superiority to infiltrate the German positions, forcing them to pull back.  Heavy casualties were inflicted by both sides with the Americans losing at least 6 Strength Points and the Germans losing their Artillery and Heavy Weapons units plus some damage on their only Headquarters.

The battle near Best

Map C - Hell's Highway from Eindhoven to Veghel at the end of Turn 4

82nd Airborne (Map B)

While the 505th Regiment patrolled the drop zone and the reduced 508th regiment crossed the highway bridge at Nijmegen, the 1st and 2nd batallions of the 504th tried desperately, and unsuccessfully, to eliminate the Flak unit in Grave before a large counter-attack exploded in front of them.

The 505/82 Regiment enjoys peace and quiet in the drop zone

The calm before the storm at Grave

Map B - Grave to Nijmegen at the end of Turn 4

1st Airborne / Arnhem (Map A)

Another relatively quiet turn in the North.  The only combat was the destruction of KG Kraftt via artillery and direct fire, followed by a Close Assault.  After that attack, the units of the Air Landing Brigade rushed to their positions on the front line north of Arnhem.  The Germans advanced towards Arnhem from the northeast.

The Air Landing brigade rushes to the front after eliminating KG Kraftt

A front develops north and east of Arnhem

Maps A & B - Nijmegen to Arnhem

CONCLUSION

We performed the End-of-Turn procedure and that ended play for the day.

The Victory Point totals at the end of Turn 4 are:

Allies - 108

Germans - 56

The Allies awarded numerous sharpshooter medals as an above average number of 2's, 3's and 12's were rolled throughout the operational area.