Highway to the Reich 2011: Turn 002 - 1400 Sep 17, 1944 (played 2011-06-29)

OVERVIEW of Turn 002

From the Allied perspective, Turn 2 could hardly have been better. The Guards Armored Division expanded it's infiltration of the German positions a bit and only suffered 1 loss. In the 101st Airborne's zone, the Germans blew the bridge at Veghel and the Zon bridge was preserved. This was the opposite of what occurred in real life. Further north, elements of the 82nd Airborne Division are about to seize both ends of the Nijmegen bridge. This is a major accomplishment which did not occur until much later in the actual battle. North of the Rhine, the British have occupied most of the major road crossings and are working their way into Arnhem.

XXX Corps (Map D)

Turn 2 began with an artillery barrage that was disappointingly ineffective (from an Allied perspective). The Germans only suffered 2 losses.

The Allies continued to infiltrate the German positions, but much more cautiously because the Germans started shooting at them.

Map D - Overview at the end of Turn 2

15*19iii Regiment stranded and stalled

Guards Armored main effort in the center

Welsh Guards/GA crawling forward as the Germans retreat

101st Airborne (Map C)

Units of the 101st moved to their objectives. The highway bridge over the Zuid-Willems Canal at Veghel was blown up, but the railway bridge to the west and the secondary road bridge to the east were captured intact. German reinforcements made their first appearance.

Map C - Overview at the end of Turn 2

Along the Wilhelmina Canal, near Zon, one of the German Flak units was destroyed and paratroopers reached the bridge. It was not blown, but 9th SS Panzer units are blocking the crossing.

Wilhelmina Canal at Zon

Further down the canal, the 506th Regiment of the 101st is working its way towards the bridges near Best. The German Flak unit there managed to undisrupt itself, so it is able to delay that advance.

(Note: Steve made the Bomb Markers to help us keep track of the bridge demolitions. All eligible bridges start with a Bomb Marker to indicate that the bridge has note been tested yet. Once an Allied unit is adjacent to a bridge, the German Player rolls for demolition and the Bomb Marker is either removed or replaced with a Destroyed Bridge Marker, depending upon the outcome of the roll.)

Wilhelmina Canal, near Best

And the lead elements of the German 59th Infantry Division arrived on the scene.

59th Infantry on the move

82nd Airborne (Map B)

This was a good turn for the 82nd Airborne. The 508th regiment eliminated one of the blocking German units, allowing two battalions to enter Nijmegen. An Anti-Tank (AT) unit in Travel mode actually crossed the highway bridge and now occupies the Fort on the other side of the Waal River. The 505th Regiment has the responsibility of securing the drop zones. They set up a perimeter and worked to eliminate the German units occupying the high ground south of Groesbeek. The 504th Regiment is testing all of the remaining bridges over the Maas-Waal Canal and the Maas River. The only dark spot for the Allies in this sector is in the Grave area. The German Flak Units undisrupted themselves before the advancing paratroopers could get to them. What's worse is that the German Player managed to get on of them in Supply, so they are a real menace.

Map B - Overview at the end of Turn 2

Nijmegen

South end of the Maas-Waal Canal

Grave

1st Airborne Division / Arnhem (Map A)

The Turn opened with the 3rd Battalion of the 1st Para Regiment disrupted and in jeopardy from German 9th SS Panzer Division tank units (KG Harder). This problem was mostly alleviated when the Allied Player successfully removed the Disruption from the main stack. The German Player then dispersed most of his units. During the first Allied Movement Phase, things proceeded normally with the British advancing on Arnhem, except for the AT units. They had all been placed in Travel mode before the end of Turn 1. With the retreat of KG Kraft and the advance of KG Harder into Arnhem, all of the roads north of Arnhem were wide open. Allied AT units occupied several key crossings and were poised to occupy more. During the German Phases KG Harder pulled back somewhat in response to this threat. KG Kraft continued its retreat west. The Allied AT units then blocked all of the highway approaches into Arnhem while the rest of the 1st Airborne Division continued the advance on Arnhem from the west.