Building the Arnhem Bridge Perimeter - Part One

The Ambition

This is an ambitious project, and so will take a while to come to fruition, but the plan is to build the British Perimeter at the Arnhem Road Bridge in 15mm. ( or that part of it that will fit on a 6 x 4 table). A Kickstarter earlier this year provided most of the building files, albeit some need quite a lot of work to print correctly.

I was twelve when "A Bridge Too Far" was released at the cinema, and immediately become fascinated with Operation Market Garden, even if at that age I didn't really understand much of what had happened. Over time I slowly built a collection of books covering predominantly the actions of  the British 1st Airborne Division at Arnhem, Oosterbeek and the surrounding areas.  In 2012/13 I worked on the Market Garden module for the Combat Mission computer game (as an unpaid volunteer) and designed and built maps covering the Arnhem Road Bridge, the entire Oosterbeek Perimeter as well as the Johanna Hoeve and Dreijenseweg area for the game. 

Oosterbeek in the Combat Mission editor and in game

During this time I gathered further resources from the web and so am now very excited with the, hopefully, imminent release of the Market Garden Handbook for CoC given this is ground I have looked at in detail before.

The Arnhem Road Bridge perimeter is well known by anybody with a passing interest in the subject, but only existed from about 20.00hrs on Sunday 17th September 1944, when the first British units arrived there, until late evening on Wednesday 20th September when British resistance at the bridge effectively ended. The last armed resistance is quoted as having ended at 05.00hrs on the Thursday morning - three days and nine hours after the first men had arrived at the bridge. (Middlebrook, 1994)

There are a great many drawings and photos of the bridge area but this video I found a little while ago gives a great sense of the layout and will help greatly with the project although it covers an area larger than I will be able to do.

3 minute video - Arnhem Bridge Perimeter by Secander Raisani

I could not find the original source for this map, but it is watermarked Gelders Archief and looks to show the maximum extent of the perimeter

Using Google Maps to establish a ground scale I was able to establish an area that can be covered using a 6' x 4' table and overlaid this on the map from Middlebrook. Scale is approximately 1/100

The red box and green boxes are both 6 x 4, with the green being the area I intend to actually cover although I will have to tinker with edges somewhat.

To date I have printed the bridge support, towers and staircases together with all the buildings immediately to the east and west of the overpass and this has allowed me to establish the ramp dimensions and its fit on the table. The only real disappointment is that the iconic girder arch will not actually feature on the table as this falls outside of the area I can cover.

Next up is to get the Van Limburg Stirum School printed (building no 26 on the map above) so I can start work out how to create the road ramp and surrounding area.

I have no idea how this table can, when complete, be played in CoC, but that's a problem for another day.

 Reference

Middlebrook, M. (1994) Arnhem 1944 - The Airborne Battle. 17-26 September.

British Airborne Heavy Support - Market Garden

 

With the release of the Market Garden Handbook hopefully within the next few months I've spent time this week completing some British Airborne Support. They have, by virtue of being airborne, a limited range of integral heavy support options, with the two most obvious options for Market Garden being the QF 6-pdr and 17-pdr anti tank guns. For the parachute battalions these guns were provided by separate air landing anti-tank batteries from the Royal Artillery with these units being delivered by glider.

1st Airlanding Anti-Tank Battery RA provided four troops of anti-tank guns in support of 1st Parachute Brigade. A, B and C Troop supported 1st, 2nd and 3rd Parachute Battalions respectively. These troops each consisted of four 6-pdr anti-tank guns and so in theory each parachute battalion would have four guns in direct support. D Troop consisted of four 17-pdr guns and provided support at brigade level.

2nd Airlanding Anti-Tank Battery RA supported 4th Parachute Brigade in an identical manner.

The three airlanding battalions that made up 1st Airlanding Brigade each had two integral anti-tank platoons with four 6-pdr's in each platoon for a total of eight guns per battalion.

In addition an ad hoc third anti-tank battery was created. This comprised of P and Z Troop from 1st Airlanding Anti-Tank Battery and F Troop from 2nd Airlanding Anti-Tank Battery. P and F Troop had four 17-pdr's each while Z Troop had four 6-pdr's. This group was under command of Divisional HQ.

In total 1st Airborne Division had fifty two 6-pdr's and sixteen 17-pdrs due to fly into Arnhem on the eve of Market Garden. These guns provided a potent anti-tank force, but this was dependent on all elements successfully landing and joining with their respective units. 

Each anti-tank gun was flown in as a single glider load with its towing vehicle and crew. The 6-pdr was a modified version designed to fit into a Horsa glider along with an airborne jeep and an immediate supply of ammunition. The 17-pdr was carried by the larger Hamilcar glider, along with a cut down Morris C8 Mk III AT Tractor and ammunition. In theory this meant a gun could move out and deploy or fight immediately after landing. 

In addition to the anti-tank guns 1st Airborne also had its own artillery. This was provided by 1st Airlanding Light Regiment RA which was organised into three batteries each with eight 75mm Pack Howitzers. The 75mm gun could fit into a Horsa glider along with an airborne jeep, an ammunition trailer and four of the crew. A second glider carried the remainder of the crew, a second jeep and two further ammunition trailers. Each trailer carried 45/46 rounds and so upon landing, in theory, each gun would have 125 rounds of HE available for immediate fire missions (together with six AP rounds and six Smoke rounds). The inclusion of the AP rounds indicates that the howitzer firing over open sights was allowed for, and there is at least one recorded instance of this at Arnhem ( F Troop at Oosterbeek ). I am hopeful that the Handbook will introduce this gun into the game.

QF 6-pdr (5 crew) + JL     - 4 support points

QF 17-pdr (5 crew) + JL   - 6 support points

75mm Pack Howitzer       -  TBA

All models are FDM printed from free STL files available on the web. Crew figures are from Peter Pig, being a mix of the British Para gun crew, 3" mortar team and Late War British standing gun crew. 

7th Armoured Division - My themed CoC British force

                                                       

7th Armoured Division - the famous Desert Rats. 

Formed in North Africa just before the start of WW2 they are not only famous for their actions as part of the Eighth Army, but also for landing on the Normandy beaches and then fighting all the way across NWE ending the war at Hamburg whose surrender they accepted on 3rd of May 1945. Every schoolboy in the UK of a certain age knows this story and of the famous red Jerboa. 

Alongside the armoured units a  key element of 7th AD was 131st Infantry Brigade which served with the division from late 1942 until the end of war. Also known as the 131st (Queen's) Lorried Infantry Brigade this unit comprised of three battalions from the Queens Royal Regiment -1/5 Queens, 1/6 Queens and 1/7 Queens. The latter two battalions were replaced in the Division in November 1944 by 2nd Bttn Devonshire Regiment and 9th Bttn Durham Light Infantry respectively. 1/5 Queens Royal Regiment however continued to serve with the Division through to the end of the war. 

Back in the Eighties I served ten years as a Territorial Army infantry soldier as a member of 5th Battalion the Queens Regiment  - 5 Queens - a successor to 1/5 Queens Royal Regiment when the Queens Regiment was established in 1966. For most of my time with the battalion it was NATO roled, meaning we trained to fight in West Germany against the Soviet Army should they every cross the Inner German Border. While I never served in 7th Armoured and so am not a Desert Rat, I was a proud Queensman and for this reason my British units in game, where possible, all wear the markings of 7th Armoured Division and my core platoon is from 1/5 Queens.

This weeks reinforcements

 Ordnance QF 17-pounder

Coming in at a cost of six support points is the 17 pdr anti-tank gun. This has a crew of five and is commanded by a Junior Leader.

Gun was FDM printed in nine parts to allow a nice clean print with base details scratch built from plastic sheet and scraps.

The crew are a mix of the Peter Pig British Late War anti-tank gun crew and standing gun crew, with the JL being from the Late War Company Commanders pack.

This weeks reinforcements

Razvedchiki

Four support points worth of Russian Scout Section. Peter Pig figures as always, with a bit of green stuff added to cover the high boots and bulk the amoeba suits. Terrific figures which I really enjoyed painting.

In games terms a section of Razvedchiki can be purchased as a support option in addition to the main platoon being fielded. This scout section comprises of a Junior Leader with a SMG and two teams each of three men with SMGs. As such one pack of Peter Pig scouts is sufficient for the section.

The section costs four support points and has an enhanced version of the Razvedchiki National Characteristic - when located in or behind cover the section can act as a Jump Off Point (JOP) for any other Infantry Units at the cost of two CoC Points. This strikes me as a very powerful tool in the Russians armoury. 

Final Count Down - Game aid

Its the FINAL COUNTDOWN da-da-da da,

Having got the Final Countdown rules wrong (again) in our last game, it's apparent that Matt and I have a blind spot here. 

Once the Final Countdown has started the game will end if either player rolls three or more 6's on their command dice. If this does not happen, then once the countdown is complete the threshold drops to two or more 6's being rolled. (The game does not end as soon as the countdown is compete). We are consistently forgetting both of these requirements.

The rules are simple, so its not a matter of understanding, rather it is of remembering the correct procedure. In order to overcome this issue and to retrain the memory muscle I knocked up a quick game aid / aide memoire.  While this could have been done on paper or laminated card I went for something with a bit more presence to encourage its use until we get the rules sorted in our heads.

Quickly printed, painted and on the table ready for use.

Files can be found here for download

AAR - Probe at the Crossroads

The Probe

Having discussed the design of this table in an earlier post, diaries aligned and Matt and I played this mission last night. I was attacking with a plucky British infantry platoon, while Matt was defending with a devious and cunning German infantry platoon. We had previously rolled for Support Points, where I had gained six SP and Matt two (plus a further point due to his force rating of -1).  On a previous play through of this mission,again as British Infantry, I had purchased a Dingo armoured car and RAM Kangaroo, so this time with fewer points I wanted to go with a very different strategy in the hope that Matt might think I would try something similar again. 

• Infantry Section  5 SP
• Replen Point      1 SP 
  

My plan for the force was to use two sections to advance and engage Matt in the hope he would think that my main effort and concentrate his forces against them, and then bring on the third and the surprise fourth sections in the hope they could move quickly and freely to achieve the required objectives of capturing a German JOP and exiting one section from the enemy's table edge before game end. 

At game start when rolling to determine the axis of advance I was lucky enough to roll low meaning I would be attacking across the table - a shorter distance to have to traverse in order to exit the map than length ways.

With the direction of attack known my plan formalised as the following. 

• Two sections to move and occupy the buildings at the main crossroads and go firm with the hope Matt would deploy at least two sections against them.
• After a slight delay to draw Matt in, then commit the remaining two British sections on the left and move up through the orchard with one section to exit the map and the other to capture the closest JOP.

Neither of us were particularly happy with the placement of our respective JOP - but as they say, war is hell. 

The first few phases saw the British deploy their first platoon as planned and advance as far as the crossroad before coming under fire from a German section deployed from their central JOP. With the deployment of the second German section near the crossroads I brought on the second British section and double timed on the left flank up to the Suze farmhouse (hence the shock). At this point the dice gods abandoned me and for the next few phases I was only able to undertake limited actions. 

This included bringing on the Plt Sgt and the third British section while first section moved into the "L" shaped building and second section moved through the Suze farmhouse and into the small orchard (The wall on their right is high and so they are shielded from the two German sections).

Things were not happening as quickly as I would have liked and Matt played the first of his full CoC dice (being required to play two as soon as they become available to end two turns and start the final countdown).

With Matt only able to see and fire at first section they were taking the full fire from the two German sections, steadily incurring shock and casualties including the Junior Leader. 

British section was "inside" the building, but placed behind for ease of casualty removal

He did however also deploy his third section to guard his last JOP, facing the MG42 towards the orchard wall and left flank, and the rifle team back towards the main crossroads, while I was able to exit second section off the German table edge and so complete the first of the two objectives.

With a full CoC dice I was able to move the JOP on the left flank and push it up to the Suze farmhouse and then immediately deploy my forth section, which I think did catch Matt somewhat by surprise. However I was not able to relive the pressure on first section, and they were now down to four men, broken and carrying a shed load of shock. Matt then ordered Handgranaten! and overrun the section taking the surviving three men prisoner. At this point Matt played his second full CoC dice to end the second turn and start the final countdown, with eight phases to be played before game end. 

I now belatedly deployed my 2" mortar and placed smoke on the crossroads to protect third squad from the German section now in the "L" shaped building. With only a few phases left I now had to start pushing my luck. With two German sections in the centre my only option was to continue with my original plan and see if I could capture the German JOP on the left. Having seen the success of Matts Handgranaten! attack I decided to have fourth section throw their grenades over the high wall at the MG42 team in an attempt to whittle that section down before trying for the JOP. In order to hit the team I needed to roll 11/12 on the 2D6. Amazingly one grenade did hit causing casualties and shock to the MG team. Having retained the next phase I was able to bring on my Replen point and gain a further two grenades for fourth section, with the third thrown again hitting and eliminating the MG team. The platoon commander also deployed and joined fourth section in order to increase their chances of being able to move and close on the JOP.  Third section under the command of the Plt Sgt was using concentrated fire from the Bren on the rifle team and then having those rifles that could bear also fire with decent success.

And so with two phases remaining this was the position, and I was ready for a last minute rush onto the JOP by fourth section. The hope was I would be able to move them onto the JOP and win the close combat, however with a fence and hedge to cross before being able to move into the ploughed field the dice gods were not kind and fourth section ended up along the hedgerow facing the JOP, but able to move no further when the game ended. 

Game End

Victory for the Germans and Matt played a blinder being tenacious in defence. He had spent his three support points on a panzerschrek team, and so my plan to avoid vehicles did pay some dividend. In retrospect I should have used second section to try for the JOP, as they would have had more time to do so, with fourth section moving to exit the map. Live and learn. 

Photos by Matt