WARGAMESOSD

Holland 44 Page 1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

wargames.wilkey.org.uk

The Nijmegen Bridge (not Arnham!) held by the US 82nd Airbourne
Operation Market Garden, September 1944
Arnham and Nijmegen Bridges


Arnham and Nijmegen, held by the Brits and Poles (1st Airbourne) and the US 82nd Airbourne - 23 September PM (Turn 19)
Operation Market Garden was a failed World War II military operation fought in the Netherlands from 17 to 25 September 1944. It was the brainchild of Field Marshal Sir Bernard Law Montgomery and strongly supported by Winston Churchill and Franklin Roosevelt. The airborne part of the operation was undertaken by the First Allied Airborne Army with the land operation by XXX Corps of the British Second Army. The objective was to create a 64 mi (103 km) salient into German territory with a bridgehead over the River Rhine, creating an Allied invasion route into northern Germany. This was to be achieved by seizing a series of nine bridges by Airborne forces with land forces swiftly following over the bridges. The operation succeeded in liberating the Dutch cities of Eindhoven and Nijmegen along with many towns, creating a 60 mi (97 km) salient into German-held territory limiting V-2 rocket launching sites. It failed, however, to secure a bridgehead over the Rhine, with the advance being halted at the river.

Market Garden consisted of two sub-operations:

Market – an airborne assault to seize key bridges, and;
Garden – a ground attack moving over the seized bridges creating the salient.

The attack was the largest airborne operation up to that point in World War II.
Near Helmond


Helmond was a key city on the road to Overloon and Venray, both key towns to be captured by the Allies
The illustration shows the British 30th Corps (buff counters), the US 101st Airbourne (green counter) and
Dutch allies (orange counters). The Axis are the blue and black counters. Turn 16 - 22nd September PM
The operation made massive use of airborne forces, whose tactical objectives were to secure the bridges and to allow a rapid advance by armored ground units to consolidate north of Arnhem. The operation required the seizure of the bridges by airborne troops across the Meuse River, two arms of the Rhine (the Waal River and the Lower Rhine), together with crossings over several smaller canals and tributaries. However, this large airborne force contrasted with the ground forces being light with only one corps moving north of Eindhoven, XXX Corps. XXX Corps took along 5,000 vehicles full of bridging equipment and 9,000 sappers.
The race to the Lower Rhine

The British 30th Corps (buff counters) and the US 101st Airbourne (green counters) race to cross the Lower Rhine
at a ferry crossing point, guarded by the Axis security unit (blue counter) - Turn 18 - 23 September AM
Game Mechanics

Time Scale: Game Turn: 3 turns per day (AM, PM & Night)
Map Scale: 2 km per hex
Unit Scale: Company to Brigade
Players: Two - Medium complexity
Solitaire Suitability: Medium complexity
Playing Time: 60 hours (campaign game)

Main Scenario & variants

1) Campaign scenario (20 turns)
2) The short game (11 turns)

 

468 die-cut counters
2 map sheets
1 rules booklet
2 player aid cards
1 setup card

Game Strategy

Classic hexagonal game play.

Game published in 2017 by GMT and designed by Mark Simonitch