Scheldt '44 Market Garden (expanded) Allied AAR - settled for a Draw turn 69

[ComradeP]

I've never played Market Garden '44, but 1st Airborne capturing and holding the Arnhem bridge isn't going to happen with or without a supply hex. The Germans pack a pretty serious punch near Arnhem, and it's easy to move additional forces to the area. A 387 Men para or 512 glider battalion isn't going to last long against prolonged direct fire.

The size of the 1st Airborne perimeter is the main limiting factor in the two games where I'm playing this scenario as the Axis. If 1st Airborne holds more terrain, it's more difficult for the formation to hold any part of the perimeter but it takes longer to clean up.

There's also the somewhat curious situation that the fighting in the southern half of the map tends to favour the Allies in terms of progress on the flanks compared to history as the Germans lack the units to hold the area. I overestimated German capabilities in that area. Contrary to my usual practice of analysing a scenario prior to playing it, I was mostly improvising during the opening of this game. I didn't play it blind, but I didn't check German strength thoroughly.

The fighting in the northern part of the map favours the Germans. The Driel ferry is down at the start of the scenario, whilst it was actually in place until the arrival of Polish units. The rail bridge was also only blown up when 1st Airborne attacked it. On the other hand, the ferry between Huissen and Loo was destroyed by the ferryman and was in the water in two pieces during the operation. The ferry at Pannerden was badly damaged.

Full hex ferries and full hex bridges and hexside ferries/bridges work differently, and the impact on the scenario can be quite big. Hexside rail bridges are light in the scenario, but full hex rail bridges support any kind of unit moving across it in T-mode. Hexside ferries require units to be broken down. Full hex ferries can be used by combined units.

Similarly, engineer units with boats can ferry combined units up to the stacking limit into a water hex provided you move units as stacks. If an engineer unit with boats is adjacent to 3 water hexes, it can move all infantry battalions in a division across a river in just 3 turns (stacks move into 3 water hexes, stack moves to hexes on other side of the river, second batch of stacks move into the water hexes during the same turn, second batch moves to the hexes on the other side of the river) , or even 2 depending on unit size and stacking limit. Those engineers are busy beavers.

When 82nd Airborne makes a concentrated push towards Nijmegen, it's difficult to stop, but it can't both attempt to save 1st Airborne and secure the Nijmegen area.

The initial division Von Tettau units are weak, but they only need to be present to act as an anvil for the hammer of the combined SS and Heer forces engaging 1st Airborne. The NCO School and training units are also pretty good. Moving them to the area between Rhine and Waal will make it very difficult for the Allies to evacuate 1st Airborne.

In a team game where I'm controlling Axis forces around Arnhem currently at turn 20, 1st Airborne isn't really going anywhere, but the Germans are still too weak to make a strong push along the perimeter. That the hammer will be coming down soon is a certainty, however.

In another game, I'm playing a forward defence as the Germans and though casualties are pretty stiff for Division Erdmann and some other units, Allied progress is limited. I've lost 2 companies of Fallschirmjaeger that pushed too far near Eindhoven, but the withdrawal has been more or less orderly otherwise. 1st Airborne was knocked out on September 20th and German units in the area moved to 's Hertogenbosch by train. Both 101st and 82nd Airborne have lost several companies, but nothing dramatic yet.