A BRIDGE TOO FAR
CGIII
17N
Legion playing the British
Back again for another fun (and stress) filled adventure, this time messing up the picturesque streets of Arnhem.
Having just returned from a tour of the Arnhem and Nijmegen area, including the museums, cemetery and Hartman Hotel, I was very interested in replaying this CG. JP and I have played this through before, with my SS maintaining the integrity of history; it was a close fought battle and one I personally think JP gave up too soon. We re-started immediately but I was suffering from “ASL-overplaying disorder” and spat the dummy big time, surrendering in Turn 2 of the first CG Date! The time has come to not only wipe away this disgrace but also to put to the test my ideas for the British defence of Arnhem.
And so, without further ado, I present for your edification and delight… CGIII of A Bridge Too Far with Legion as the noble British (aka ‘Good Guys’) and JP as the dastardly German commander (aka ‘Bad Guys’).
Reinforcements
3x Para Pltns
12x 648, 3x LMG, 3x PIAT, 2x 8-1, 9-1
2x Glider Pltns
8x 458, 2x LMG, 2x LtMTR, 8-0, 9-1
2x Engineer Pltns
6x 648, 2x LMG, 2x FT, 4x DC, 9-1, 8-1
+ Col Frost, a 10-2
In Turn 1 I shall receive the set reinforcements
2x Jeep, 9-2, 2x 228, 57L AT, 76*MTR(dm)
This is all a bit of a no-brainer. With the points I have, and considering the fact that these points cannot be ‘kept’ for re-use, I have to buy as much as I can.
Objectives
The engineers will attack the convoy, the Glider Pilots will take territory and carry the MTRs (dm) and the Paras will hunt down the Germans and also grab territory.
I MUST grab the most important blocks (H, I, J and L) whilst thinking about denying or taking the secondary objectives of Blocks K, N, O, P and S. In the last game, as the Germans, I saw that the British couldn’t hold the central Block K without having a damn good exit strategy and I did a lot of damage to the British as they tried to hold on here. To grab and hold K I will also need O&P and I am not sure I can get all this within the first turn, they can come later… so, for now, be vewy qwiet… its German-hunting season.
The Game
TURN 1
Not much to say, there’s no fighting of course, and much movement. I must rush in to set my guys up for the ambush, to take territory and not allow him to pop off any starshells. I have claimed Block A by the end of the turn (naturally this claim is not valid until the refit phase [see R9.605] – but for ease of description is shall write it like this).
He brings on his convoy making it only as far as the third crossroad (Q3).
TURN 2
Beginning with the claiming of the B Block I am starting to get into place. I have moved a glider crew and Lt MTR to what I shall call Block j5 (J5) once I have dug a foxhole – this is because it will be a place that I can interdict possible reinforcements with an AT or drop SMOKE or MTR rounds if needed. The rest of my guys are pretty close to being into place. I have brought the Jeeps with the AT and 76*MTR to the upper area of Block H (J4, I5), which will give me many opportunities for the next games set up.
Now I have the concern of having too much time before the convoy makes it to the ambush site (H/I17, J/K16). Waiting for them here are 4 stacks in building hexes (H16, I18, J15, K17), with 2MMC, a leader and either a FT or a PIAT in each stack. This will give me 12 attacks total for the 4 vehicles; there should not be any survivors after THAT!
Wire has been exposed at crossroads near the river (O21)
TURN 3
I start off with the taking of Block E and F. The outer Blocks are essential as most of them are entry points for the German counterattacks. As the German player last game I was aware that it is in entering the board that they are the most vulnerable to attack from defending British. Likewise, when the Brits are pushed they can retreat through the buildings and across the streets to the next Blocks much easier than the Germans who will have to manoeuvre their AFVs (their main form of attack) with the constant awareness of terrain and hidden PIAT, A-T mines and AT Guns. An opponent cannot claim a Block until ALL the strategic locations in it are taken OR it is free from defenders – just like in the real battle Cat-and-Mouse strategies will be the winner for the Poms here!
Most importantly I have decided to ditch the initial plan completely and attack the convoy this turn! My reasoning for this is not entirely based on a whim (though that is a part of it!) but also due to time constraints. Whilst my ambush location is a good one, certain to kill him off, it is also going to be 2 more turns until it is finished, and I just don’t have that time! I need Blocks and I need dead Germans…So I am attacking straight away whilst the convoy is moving along the side of Block H (from O8 to P5)! Part of the reason I have been able to do this is because I have been careful to not get ‘channelled’ by either the ambush (setting aside just 2/7th of my force for it) or the terrain. I feel the Brits are too easily moved into certain directions in this early part of the CG, and I have tried to avoid the roads and use the cloaking counters’ movement rates to my best advantage. My main attack will be through Blocks J/K anyway and so that is where the bulk of my force is; to claim Block H all I need to do is clear out hexrow O – and I have sent a large amount of dummy cloaking counters (CCs) and a ¼ of my force along a broad front to achieve this aim.
My moves have been fairly successful with an extended line of troops essentially running all the way down hexrow N. One unit about to enter Block J drew a starshell attempt and the first shot of the game from a HIP unit in the crossroads orchard (O15).
There is no Defensive Fire to rain on my parade but I am not so shy when it comes to Advancing Fire. My initial shots ring out from Block I (N16) to ELR break the exposed unit (O15). The convoy attack begins very well leaving the first truck (O8) a burning wreck, (KIA 7-0, 658 and LMG). The next truck (O7) is also taken out and the 2x MMC passengers are both broken in the attack and in the end only a 658 escapes. With this attack the first Integrity Base Level is lost but there is no ELR punishment (yet). My third attack is not so successful, just breaking it’s target’s 2x MMC passengers (O6). The final vehicle in the convoy (P5) however, suffers a dramatic end with a nasty roll from another stack (N4) turning it into a burning wreck with the loss of 5CVP (8-1, 658 and the truck, as well as an MMG for free) and another 15BPV. With that ending the Advancing Fire I can say that the gamble to break with my initial plan has been a success!
His routs are the usual Night Low Crawls but I still have some targets to CC after my Advance (killing a truck, 658 and 447 and causing his ELR to drop a level to [3]2).
This Turn has cost him his convoy and all its troops bar a 658 routing adjacent to my units. Though most of his troops have lost their No Move counters due to the raging fires from the burning wrecks I am very happy with the way things are going. I have all but claimed half the board, the most important Blocks and have started to thrust into Block J towards K, and his ELR has already dropped and it might go down another level if I can force him to fight. So far, so good!
JP starts off with a vengeance (literally); using the burning wreck’s light to fire from his ATG (S7) and 2 stacks (S8) at one of my stacks (8-1,2x 648, 2x LMG, 458, Lt. MTR (dm)) hiding in the remains of his convoy (O7) – resulting in the breaking of a 648 and the 458 – damn! This is only made worse by a HIP 658, PSK unit who has been hiding in Open Ground (P6), this guy opens up and CR’s the broken MMC’s and breaks the last MMC – ARG!
My starshells are not brilliant (no pun intended) but able to do the job, illuminating all but 2 of his known locations. At least they seemed to slow down 1 of his reinforcement groups entering from the top of the map (ended up in V2), his other guys come in along the Block Q/R road.
The few successes of Defensive Fire come when I reduce some broken conscripts to a HS and strip the ? with my first shot at his guy behind the wire in Block J (P20), only a 7-0 seems to be in here… Other MCs are passed when I shoot from a SMOKE filled hex (O6) at some PSK toting guys (S8) and when a 16FP attack with a 1MC result (from O4) is passed with the help of the 9-2 officer (s6)! Finally I have to gun down his routing HS (P14) to make myself feel better about the whole thing. This has not been a good turn for me; it started well but finished poorly!
TURN 4
Again things begin with a flourish, will it stay that way though? I manage to dig a foxhole (J4) and even more miraculously rally the 8-1 leader and remaining 648 from the stack that got hammered last turn (routed to N7). My starshells all fall in the right places! Spooky…
I Opp Fire with a 12FP covering stack in Block I (N20) so I can try to charge his Block T outpost (P22) with a HS. Other results start with the wounding and breaking of his ranking 9-2 officer and a 658 MMC (S6) a very valuable victory there! A vengeful pot shot with the newly rallied 8-1, 648 at their tormentors (658, PSK – Q6) causes a CR – but the 2MC is passed.
Movement is spent pouring through the holes in his starshells and defence. The Germans are not gifted with many troops at the beginning of this CG and I have dealt with a fair number of them already – but I am wary of HIPs, so I send dummy CC’s first. I manage to make it as far as the 2nd main building in Block K (T10), and I send guys skirting around likely setup areas in Block I to get into positions in Block J from where I can stop his reinforcements should they move much closer.
My movements at the end of this phase have left me with control of half the board and strong inroads into Blocks I, J and K. This advantage is reinforced with the wounding and ELRing of an 8-0 leader (S12) and the breaking of the 658 with him leaving me with an entry point into the ramp section. I have not concentrated on killing his broken units this turn, but more on the opening of a corridor into the necessary Blocks, the mopping up can come when his broken units are surrounded and his mobile forces are withdrawing.
Poor JP, the very first shot of the round is boxcars with the AT Gun, he loses it and with it the best chance he had to hold me out! Man that sucks (honest! I hate it when that happens). At least this stops me getting use out of it. My starshells illuminate his broken units and AT, the Block K defence is in serious trouble and is unlikely to last very long… but I am unable to get good flares down to hold his Block P/R reinforcements at bay. Naturally he pulls back as much as possible, a general withdrawal. With the exceptions being that most of his Block N reinforcement group are coming to try and save Block K.
I score a 1,1 hit on the only visible unit in Block J/L, a 7-0 officer (R20), but the bugger HOBs to become an 8-0 Hero!
Then I blast away with my units (5 attacks in all) at the AT Gun location (S7) and only with the third and final shots am I able to make a hit that sticks enough to CR a 658 and kill the crew through CR. My last attack of the turn is from my ‘frontline’ unit hiding in the only non-burning wreck (O7) he barely hits a 658 (S6) but the 1MC is a total failure due to the low ELR and he ends up as a broken 548. It was not a fun start, but the end of this Defensive Fire phase has left him with just 2x 658, 1x 348 and a single unbroken leader Known in Block K – and a lot of broken units who will not be able to run far in the dark!
With the exception of the HIPs lurking out there it looks as though my run towards and new frontline along Blocks J/L and K is clear.
Turn 4 Status
Yellow – No Control Points
Blue – Water
Black – German Nominally Controlled
Red – British Nominally Controlled
Purple – Uncontrolled
TURN 5
Not the best omens for this turn, he is able to rally some of the units he has in the Block K Rout-House (T6), which will make it too strong to charge now without taking casualties (unless he fails to get starshells or can be tempted to waste shots at dummies). Even worse than that is my abysmal placing of my own starshells, I manage to illuminate everything – except his units! BAH!
Without any Prep to distract us (it is attack time!) I can go straight for the movement. In the vitally important Blocks J/L I claim more strategic locations and set up to cut off the few escaping units (R21(0)). Unfortunately crossing the wide ramp road on the way to Block K a HIP stack (8-1, 658, LMG – R2) opens up and kills 2 MMC with Frost (R9) from a 1KIA result – a great result for him, terrible for me! I have gone from totally on top to being in danger of not only failing to take Block K, but also of failing to kill his broken units. Luckily the actual Defensive Fire Phase is totally useless as he borrows my DR for a while (please anytime you want JP!).
For Advancing Fire I get 2 nasty shocks – the 1st is when I hammer him totally, I just could not miss… my joy was complete until I got shock #2… I had forgotten to start the log file! Arrrgggg!
The REAL Advancing Fire was a bit of a letdown after the ‘dream’ turn; in fact the only successes from the vast majority of my many shots was the final elimination of the impertinent HS routing away from the burning wrecks (Q6), and the death of a wounded 7-0 caught in a British sandwich (T11). With the final shot of the Phase I took a pop at the newly exposed unit in the orchard at the top of the ramp (R2) from the upper story stack of a 9-1, 2x 648, 2x, LMG (O4(1)) and hit; the 2MC ELR-ed the 8-1 there.
My advances are to consolidate my positions, I feel OK with the Blocks I have taken and feel that I would only have to capture Blocks S&T to really make this a big success and Block P or R would be mega-bonuses!
My 10-2 (Q10) rallies immediately (phew). He doesn’t Prep, rallies none of his breaks and all my starshells illuminate targets without compromising me! Amazing!
Unfortunately I finally find the nasty surprise that I had feared; one that he has been waiting for ages to spring on me. A unit had been HIP in a cellar (O11) and now is running rampant in Block H. While this is a bother and might divert necessary units from their respective tasks I am not too stressed, Block H was uncontrolled at game start and will remain that way if I cannot hunt these guys down. It is a question of losing time hunting him down, or losing time searching every nook and cranny of each Block. If I were JP I would have used these guys for an ambush and killed units, as territory is not the be-all and end-all of this CG. As it turned out, the moving unit Jitter Fired from a 6,6 and then this DR called a SAN that wounded a concealed 6+1 (W15)! As for the general tone of his movement I think “Retreat” might be the best name for it!
Defensive Fire is mixed in its results… I manage to kill a heroic 8-0 and the dummies with him (S22) with one of my FT (T20) – this should open the door to Block S and T. However, I am unable to kill a broken SS unit standing right in front of my position in Block K (U12) and I confess that this is annoying. I manage to put a stop to the 8-0 in the orchard at the end of the ramp (S2) as well as scoring an ELR CR on the 658 with him – that will be the end of those boys – though it took 4 separate attacks to get this result. His leaders are getting slaughtered, something that might make up for the lack of MMC casualties I am causing.
TURN 6
I start what is possibly the last turn with a foxhole being dug in the grassy ramp zone (P7 – now Block ra). Unfortunately he manages to rally his units in Block K (T6) and this makes claiming this Block impossible without lucky SAN intervention!
The turn begins to improve when his newly arrived AC (R21) is turned into a wreck by a fairly average PIAT shot in Prep Fire… this is not the sort of mistake I think he will want to do much – driving AFVs within range of the Brits and shutting down (though he made a mistake with the LOS I think)! PIATs might be rubbish but against such flimsy vehicles they can still hurt!
I move with the intention of trying to stop his men from getting out of Block K (he is strong there, but I need him weak elsewhere) and I send back quite a few men to deal with the new threat of the rogue unit in my Block H. By attempting to get a FT in position to attack the pillbox I reveal an upper story HIP in Block J (T20) – I CR/disrupt him in Advance, and as a result the German ELR drops again to (2)1. I surprise another HIP as a HS moves through Block S (Q22) surely that would have to be about the end of his hidden units; though he should have one in every eligible Block!
I think getting the pillbox this scenario is important, so I shall go for that with a DC carrying 648 (to act as a threat for the next game) and the FT if I can get him in position. A major move (9-1 and 3x MMC with LMGs) through the orchard at the top of the board to wipe out the routing HS (T1) and make him think twice about keeping a unit in the excellent building (U2) at the top of Block N goes well and it will help later. As I know he will try to move units in though this Northern side in the next game I want to make him either move around me (thus buying me more time), or try to move through me! I am also heading (with dummies) towards Block R, this is to make him think twice about leaving it to cover Block S. I have a major attack forming on the vital Block P too, with a FT in position to blast away at his 658 MMC (W15) – the FT scores a break in Advance. By spreading himself thin and using HIP to the max he has managed to slow me down but cannot hold against a major thrust towards any Block (except K where he has the majority of his forces).
The Advancing Fire goes relatively well with a lot of his positions being taken down. My FT in particular are effective and Frost leads the shot that breaks the rogue conscript in Block H, he will be easy to mop up now. CC claims a disrupted unit and thereby removes all opposition in Block L; my FT here (T20(0)) is free to start working on the pillbox. I close in on Block P with a number of units; my other FT in particular has a clear shot at the quivering wounded 6+1 and the broken 658 (X14) that are ‘holding’ this block. I also have units in K and near O to make sure these Blocks remain uncontrolled; I will still need a particularly rabid SAN to get the opposition out of these areas! I have a Unit in R Block and am still poised to hold S and T… just 1 more turn… (though 2 would be VERY nice)!
JP’s turn starts with a flurry of Rallying… and then pulling out! There is not any Prep Fire, most of his front line units are broken or exposed to too much FP to try that. His movement is definitely showing a lot of motion towards Block P, he is in mortal danger in this Block and has pulled many units back to try and secure it. The Germans are suffering almost every turn from straying results, and these are really messing things up for him, the Brits are really the masters of the night in this CG and must always use it to the fullest advantage.
I wipe out the conscript in Block H… and finally cement my claim on this Block. I also incinerate the broken SS MMC in Block P (X14) and disrupt the wounded 6+1 there with an admittedly freakish FT blast. The FT fun continues with the exposure of a pair of dummies in the Pillbox (R21). I disrupt a conscript in the Block T CC (Q22), and of all my shots I only miss with my final one from the upper orchard (Q2) at the mass of troops remaining in Block K (T6) – it is certainly a lot more fun being on the dishing out end of low DRs but as this is one of my pet hates (freak runs of low DRs) I can sympathise with JP at this moment! To really top it off, he has finally dropped another ELR, and now sits on (1)0, any break is an ELR failure from now on!
I also calculate that there must be 1 more conscript within 3 hexes of R22… in the cellars perhaps? Shall have some more time to find out, as the end of game roll is a big ‘6’!
TURN 7
Eek! It just does not stop for poor JP, I am able to dig a foxhole (Q2) on my first attempt, and thereby gain ‘Block Orchard (or)’ as a setup area. This left the other 2MMC and the leader in this hex free to fire at his unit covering this sector, a 1,1 means an ELR break (ELR is now 0) and I have a chance to exploit this new opening – if I can move fast enough! I lob a minimal amount of starshells, as I now have to run to stop him claiming Blocks.
I move through the cellars of the area within 3 of R22 and the missing conscript is soon found in Block S on the ground floor (U22). A jeep heads to the Ramp Block (P6) so that I can launch a mobile attack on his uncontrolled blocks next turn, and I reinforce Block P with a FT (he is next to the broken 5+2 ready to annihilate him this turn!). I rush past Block P with an 8-0, and 658 DC to draw effective fire from his defender in Block R after an initial cloaked 648 moving adjacent to him failed to draw a shot and can now pounce in CC (I very rarely do something THIS risky, but it is also important to make any opponent fear ALL ? and cloaking counters, and what better time to take the risk than when totally desperate!).
I 100% needed to get a single unit into Block N, and the only one I had with the MP available was the final Cloaked unit I moved; but as soon as he saw where I was going with him JP would have fired with wide road & FFNAM/MO – I did not have a good chance (I also thought this defender was a 447 LMG, he was actually a 658 LMG), so although my leader and engineer unit are broken I do manage to get through to Block N, this will be enough to leave this Block uncontrolled.
The top part of the board is absorbing units, I have 4 MMC and a 9-2 within 1 hex of my foxhole (Q2) here – one of the only benefits of this game going any longer would be that these guys might be able to nab some of the small areas up here. One of my other moves is to DASH a FT past a smoke grenade to get into Block S – his conscript here might stop me taking the block, but at least I can keep it uncontrolled for the time being!
Defensive Fire is of little use to him; most of my units, even when illuminated are deep behind orchards or in buildings.
Advancing Fire manages to wipe out the 5+2 in Block P of course, but I achieve nothing else, my FT in Block S fires at the conscript’s gunflash but misses with a 9: close to B#… too close!
Advance really gives me little option either, but the Cloaked 648 enters H-to-H in Block R (BB16) with an ambush and gets the kill, again the DR was close, but close is all it takes. Poor JP has had to hear me complain about the dicebot for so long, but this game really has really given me so many DRs as a total gift! I think he might prefer it when I am complaining; at least then I am not rolling stupidly low!
There is not much to say about the German Turn 7, I pop starshells all along the front line, but he is now in full retreat; with the inability to re-take Block P or R and with no chance of maintaining control in N & S, he can only run. The only targets I have are the conscripts in Block S, but with FT and IFP I can only manage a PIN result and a Hot SAN that breaks a HS in Block N. What is FAR more damaging is the end of game dr that takes us to Turn 8 – I would be willing to end it I guess, as he will take a lot of losses from Escape rolls, but I think he would not accept, and anyway, now I can make a grab from Block S and some more of the smaller periphery Blocks.
TURN 8
With no starshells or Prep this is going to be a turn that is decided by his illumination rolls; as I shall be trying to kill the remaining defenders in Block K (just a wounded 9-2 and 348 now), the conscript in Block S and also grab the Blocks Q and M. As it stands he will be pushed to the fringes of the map and we might both be battling for control of Block N for some time to come (N, O and P are the prime OBA spotting sites for the Germans).
I grab Block M and also send a unit around the top flank of Block N to stop him running across the road towards Block U. I also do a massed rush on the remaining hold-out in Block K (T6) – this building is Fortified and the wounded 9-2 and the 348 in it manage to break 1 MMC and PIN another before I get 2 more MMC and a 9-1 and 10-2 near it. I think JP had made a mistake with the B23.922 ruling, as a HS in this building was not enough to stop me barging in – so he self-broke and ran! I charge the Block S conscript with an AMing FT MMC and a HS from Block T – he does not take the easy kill on the CX road-running HS and then misses against the FT unit… the 24FP makes him pay with a disruption (his ELR has dropped to 0, any break on a conscript is immediate disruption). A SAN gets a hit on a broken 658 in Block O to really sink the boot in.
Another tough turn for the German Garrison.
For his turn (the final turn of the game) I pretty much bugger up all my attempts to interdict his running forces with a bunch of errant star-shells. I do have the illumination to get shots on the final broken guys that stand between me and control of K&O though and make them pay, securing Block K and S but failing to kill the HS encircled on the top floor of a Block O building (W10). He has run most of his men to the outskirts of the now uncontrolled Block N.
Aftermath
The frenzy of Escape rolls leads to more casualties with JP losing 2 HS in the rout. I managed to have 3 MMC escape successfully.
German Losses
17MMC and 7 leaders! – Slammed, but there is a LONG way to go!
British Losses
3.5MMC – Quite a hit, but still tolerable in consideration of the result
Captured SW
Malfunctioned 50L AT – destroyed
PSK, LMG x2
Conclusion
Well, without the most excellent 2 extra turns that took the game to Turn 8 I would have been looking a little sick, with these 2 extra turns I have managed to just about take all the territory I could have hoped for by the end of 18AM!
As I mentioned early on, the ambush on the convoy was a new one for me… I have always banked on the kill happening along the road that runs next to Block I, but this way I have saved so much time and done far more damage to his defenders.
I am not totally convinced that I managed to kill enough of his MMC, though I ripped into his leaders (he appears to have rolled very badly for them too). Every British player needs to make killing German MMC a priority – they are like yeast, you let a few escape and they start multiplying!
The main joy though is his loss of control of Block N and O – these Blocks are essential to the German player! They are the prime locations for his OBA and gun positions. Obviously the Blockhouse is important too as it guards the whole of the ramp… now I have to just sweat it out till I can get some AT support!
Game End Status
BLOCK CONTROL
German U, V, W, X, Y, Z
British A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, P, Q, R, S, T, Blockhouse, J5, L0, ra (Q7), or, (R1)
Uncontrolled N, O
Yellow – No Control Points
Blue – Water
Black – German Controlled
Red – British Controlled
Purple – Uncontrolled