Games PC CLOSE COMBAT II-A BRIDGE TOO FAR User Manual

A Bridge Too Far

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Your Guide to Microsoft Technical Support

If you have a technical question about Microsoft A Bridge Too Far, see the following brief descriptions of the support options available from Microsoft Technical Support. For more information, please visit Microsoft Technical Support Online at http:// www.microsoft.com/support.

Self-Help Tools to Find Answers Your self

http://www.microsoft.com/support/ Microsoft Technical Support Online uses innovative features such as Troubleshooting

Wizards and a technical Knowledge Base to help you access the most relevant technical information and resources to answer your support questions.

Direct Assistance with a Microsoft Technical Engineer

Standard No-Charge Support

If you still need answers to your technical questions, Microsoft offers unlimited nocharge support for retail versions of this product.

To receive your Standard No-Charge Support, in the U.S., please call (425) 635-7008, 6:00

A.M. to 6:00 P.M. Pacific time, Monday through Friday, excluding holidays. In

Canada, please call (905) 568-3503, 5:00 through Friday, excluding holidays. In the U.S. and Canada, you can also submit your support question via the Internet with Web Response. For more details, go to Microsoft Technical Support Online at http://www.microsoft.com/support.

After-Hours Support

If you require support after normal business hours, you can purchase Pay-Per-Incident Support as follows:

In the United States, for a fee of $15US per incident, please call (800) 936-5600 or (900) 555-2400, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, including holidays. In Canada, for a fee of $45CDN plus tax per incident, please call (800) 668-7975, 5:00

P.M. Pacific time, 7 days a week, excluding holidays.

Note

Support fees for the 800# calls will be billed to your VISA, MasterCard, or

American Express credit card. Support fees for the 900# calls will appear on your telephone bill.

Note

The services and prices listed here are available in the United States and

Canada only. Services and prices outside these countries may vary. Microsoft Technical Support is subject to Microsoft’s then-current prices, terms, and conditions, which are subject to change without notice.

A.M. to 5:00 P.M. Pacific time, Monday

A.M. to 9:00

Document No. X03-17108 0897

Contents

A Bridge Too Far i

iv Quick Start: Roadmap to Glory vi Y our Theater of War

Chapter 1: Introduction 1

1 The Game 2 Gearing Up for Gameplay

Chapter 2: Preparing for Battle 3

3 System Requirements 3 Installing A Bridge Too Far 4 Setting Options 4 Starting A Bridge Too Far 5 Choosing the Type of Action 6 Choosing Sides 6 Choosing Level of Difficulty 6 Customizing Level of Difficulty 7 Choosing a One-Player or

Two-Player Game

7 Starting the Battle

Chapter 3: On the Battlefield 8

8 Reviewing Y our Objective 8 Surveying the Battlefield 9 Deploying Units 10 Starting the Battle 10 Issuing Orders 11 Interpreting Order Dots 13 Using Y our Weapons Effectively 15 Taking Prisoners and Rallying Separated Soldiers 15 Using Bridges 17 Ending a Battle

Chapter 4: Using the Toolbar and

Monitors 18

18 The Toolbar 19 Battle Monitors 20 Soldier Monitor: Details 24 Identifying Battlefield Elements

Chapter 5: Fighting Operations and

Campaigns 26

26 Reviewing Your Objectives: Operations 26 Reviewing Your Objectives: Campaigns

27 Managing Resources 28 Operation Screens 28 Campaign Screens 28 Starting an Operation or Campaign 29 Checking Your Pre-Combat Status 30 Choosing Resources 32 Fighting the Battles 32 Debriefing Screen 33 Choosing a Cease-Fire Period 34 Allocating Supplies for Sectors

(Campaigns Only)

36 Viewing Details of Soldier Status

Chapter 6: Designing Your Own

Scenarios 39

39 Starting Battlemaker 40 Choosing a Map 41 Editing Victory Locations 42 Setting Requisition Points 43 Setting Resources 44 Saving Your Custom Scenario 44 Playing Your Custom Scenario 44 Giving the Battle to Another Player

Chapter 7: Tactics and Strategy 45

45 Using Units Effectively 50 Battlefield T actics 53 Campaign Strategy

Chapter 8: Playing Two-Player

Games 57

57 Types of Connections 58 Starting a Two-Player Game 59 Using the Net Status Bar 59 Communicating with Your Opponent

Chapter 9: History 60

60 Situation Report 60 Plans, Politics, and Logistics 65 Operation Market-Garden

Index 82

Quick Start: Roadmap to GloryQuick Start: Roadmap to Glory

Quick Start: Roadmap to Glory

Quick Start: Roadmap to GloryQuick Start: Roadmap to Glory

This manual, Boot Camp, and Help provide information on how to best lead your troops when playing A Bridge Too Far. But if you just want to jump in and start fighting, here’s how.

Double-click the icon to launch the game.

Choose a battle by clicking the Battles tab. In the list of battles that appears, click the one you want to play.

Deploy your troops by

clicking a unit and dragging it to a new location in your deployment zone—the unshaded portion of the map. Repeat for the rest of your units. (Note: You move entire units, not individual soldiers.)

Click Begin to go to the combat screen.

Start the battle by clicking

Begin!

Issue orders to a unit by rightclicking any soldier in the unit and clicking a command on the drop-down menu. (Note: You issue orders only to entire units, not to individual soldiers.)

If the order requires that you designate a position or target, drag the line to this location.

To initiate a cease-fire, click the button showing a hand raised in a “halt” position. The battle ends when your opponent agrees to the ceasefire. If your opponent does not agree, you still want to stop fighting, and you are willing to concede the map, click the button showing a white flag.

Your Theater of War

The following map of Holland shows the major components of Operation Market-Garden. The operation spans three sectors, which appear on the map as large squares. The Allied paratroopers initially drop in the Eindhoven sector. The operation proceeds northward through the Nijmegen sector, followed by the Arnhem sector.

The smaller squares on the map show the operations within each sector, and the dots within the smaller squares represent the individual maps—battles—within an operation.

Nijmegen Sector

The Island

Nijmegen Crossing

Arnhem Sector

Oosterbeek Arnhem Relief Effort

Arnhem Bridge Polish Drop

Nijmegen Bridge

Groesbeek

Heights

Eindhoven

Sector

Veghel

Schijndel

Son

Chapter 1

Introduction

September 17, 1944

Chapter 1: Introduction 1

The skies of Holland fill with parachutes, and three divisions of Allied paratroopers begin landing on Dutch soil. Their objective: seize and hold major bridges along a 60-mile corridor stretching from Eindhoven to Arnhem. Meanwhile, British armored units attack north toward Eindhoven. Their objective: cross the captured bridges, flank the German defenses, and take the first stride in a race across the North German Plain to Berlin—and the end of World War II in Europe. Operation MarketGarden has begun.

The Germans are taken by surprise but quickly rally. Aided by several strokes of luck, including capturing a copy of the Allied battle plan, the Germans derail the operation’s timetable. These delays place the paratroopers in jeopardy , especially those dropped around Arnhem. If the armored units don’t reach them soon enough, these paratroopers will have gone “a bridge too far.”

The Game

A Bridge Too Far offers real-time action that mak es the battlefield come alive with the sights and sounds of war. Your men in the trenches behave like real soldiers—they react realistically to the stress of combat and are affected by their fatigue level, ability, physical and mental condition, and other factors. Depending on these factors, your men may respond immediately to your orders, take time to respond, or not respond at all. However, your soldiers’ reactions are not out of your hands. Your ability to take control and make timely decisions determines whether, and how quickly, your men respond to orders.

In addition to battlefield tactics, A Bridge Too Far adds a strategic layer . You are faced with the challenge of managing a limited set of resources, particularly if you are playing the Allied side. In the actual Operation MarketGarden, the Allies outdistanced their supply lines, while the Germans retreated into theirs. Regardless of which side you play, you need to plan an overall strategy, evaluate your status throughout the game, and decide how to best allocate your resources.

When you play the game, your short-term decisions affect your long-term success. Information about supplies, troop morale, health, equipment, and which maps you control is

In 1922, German advisors to the Soviet Union are interested to learn of an aerial “first”: an infantry force successfully parachutes from an airplane. Although the German Air Force (Luftwaffe) soon begins training paratroops, the airborne arm of Germany’s military starts running at full speed only when Major General Kurt Student takes command.

Student combines the old and new to forge an impressive force. For the old, he employs proven equipment and training techniques, along with existing aircraft capable of carrying paratroops. For the new, Student develops specially designed gliders that can carry artillery, vehicles, and heavy supplies.

“Where is the Prince who can afford so to cover his country with troops for its defense, as that 10,000 men descending from the clouds, might not, in many places, do an infinite deal of mischief before a force could be brought together to repel them?”—Benjamin Franklin, American statesman, publisher, and inventor, 1784

2 A Bridge Too Far

Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt (center) is reinstated as Commander in Chief West (Oberbefehlshaber West) just two weeks before Operation Market-Garden begins.

carried over to the next battle. And any map you win doesn’t remain under your control indefinitely; your opponent can launch a counterattack and take it back from you. You may be forced to retreat and fight for it again.

You are in control of the scope and complexity of your game. You can start simple—with individual battles—and then progress to operations, campaigns, and finally, the game’s Grand Campaign. You can also design custom scenarios for battles. For example, you can set up a battle in which you are surrounded and outnumbered but have a greater amount of firepower and more-experienced infantry units than your opponent.

Gearing Up for Gameplay

A Bridge Too Far is a complex game with many features you may want to learn about. Chapter 2, “Preparing for Battle,” explains installation procedures and options you can choose prior to actually

playing the game. Chapter 3, “On the Battlefield,” explains the mechanics of the game from the standpoint of a single battle, while Chapter 4, “Using the Toolbar and Monitors,” describes the information you need to successfully monitor and command your forces.

When you have gained enough e xperience to take on new challenges, move on to Chapter 5, “Fighting Operations and Campaigns.” Chapter 6, “Designing Your Own Scenarios,” tells you how to create custom scenarios, while Chapter 7, “Tactics and Strategy,” helps you win battles as well as operations and campaigns. Chapter 8, “Playing Two-Player Games,” explains how to set up a game against an opponent over a modem, local area network (LAN), or the Internet.

“That 2 Battalion [1st Parachute Brigade, British 1st Airborne] held on for as long as it did is one of the epic tales of the Second World War. That it was required to do so is one of its sorriest blunders.”—John Ellis, author of

Force

Brute

Online Help

Online Help is not just this manual in electronic form. It provides additional reference material, historical information, and tips you can use to best plan your winning strategy.

Boot Camp

To get you started with commanding troops, A Bridge Too Far provides Boot Camp, an online tutorial for learning basic battlefield skills. These topics provide an excellent way to become familiar with the game before risking your men in battle.

Chapter 2: Preparing for Battle 3

Chapter 2

Preparing for Battle

Before you move onto the battlefield, you need to install the game and get it running. You can also set options to determine the game’s look and feel as well as what type of game you want to play.

System Requirements

To run A Bridge Too Far on an IBM-compatible computer, you need:

• Personal computer with a Pentium

 90 or higher processor

(Pentium 133 recommended), 16 megabytes (MB) of RAM, at least 45 MB of available hard disk space, a 4×-speed CD-ROM drive, and a video card that supports 800 × 600 resolution or higher and 16-bit color.

• Microsoft

or Windows NT

 Windows 95 operating system version 4.0 or later,

TM version 4.0 or later.

• Microsoft Mouse or compatible pointing device.

• Headphones or speakers.

• 28.8 modem for head-to-head play.

To run A Bridge Too Far on a Macintosh

® computer, you need:

• Power Macintosh personal computer, 16 megabytes (MB) of

RAM, at least 40 MB of available hard disk space, a 4×-speed CDROM drive, and a video card that supports 800 × 600 resolution or higher at “Thousands of colors.”

• System 7.5 operating system or later.

• Apple Mouse or compatible pointing device.

• Headphones or speakers.

• 28.8 modem for head-to-head play.

Installing A Bridge Too Far

Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery is the author of the Operation MarketGarden plan.

To install A Bridge Too Far on an IBM-compatible computer 1

Insert the game CD into the CD-ROM driv e . Setup will run automatically .

Note

If Setup does not start, run Setup.exe from the Windows direc-

tory on the CD.

From the screen that appears, click Install. When Setup is complete, the Play button becomes av ailable.

4 A Bridge Too Far

“This is a tale you will tell your grandchildren, and mightily bored they’ll be.”—Lieutenant General Brian Horrocks, Commander, British XXX Corps, summarizing Operation Garden to a delighted audience of subordinates on September 16, 1944

“To have the United States at our side was to

me the greatest joy. ...

All the rest was merely the proper application of overwhelming force.” —Winston Churchill on the United States entering World War II in December 1941

To install A Bridge Too Far on a Macintosh 1

Insert the game CD into the CD-ROM driv e .

Go to the Mac folder and click Install.

Setting Options

You can specify options and preferences to give A Bridge Too Far the look and feel you want.

To begin setting game options

Press F8. Or, on the combat screen’s toolbar, click Options. (For more information on using the combat screen, see Chapter 3, “On the Battlefield. ”) The Options dialog box appears.

Use the check boxes in the Options dialog box to adjust the following game options:

• Sounds, such as gunfire and soldiers’ voices.

• Music.

• Game videos.

• Screen resolution. (You can make the combat screen fill your entire

screen, hiding all battle monitors.)

Note

A game area size of 800 × 600 is recommended. However, if you

have more powerful hardware, you can consider a higher setting.

• Whether trees appear on the combat screen. (If you have a slower

machine, remove trees for better performance.)

• Whether soldiers killed in action appear on the combat screen. (If you

have a slower machine, remove soldiers killed in action for better performance.)

Game Speed

Game speed affects how quickly the game progresses in real time. If you set it to a slower speed, your men will move slower, giving you more time to think about your tactics. If you set it to a faster speed, action on the screen will be faster.

To adjust game speed

In the Options dialog box, in the Game Speed box, select either Fastest, Fast, Medium, or Slo w.

Starting A Bridge Too Far

After you start the game, the Command screen, shown in the following figure, and the Quick Help box appear. Quick Help gives you a brief introduction to the game and your objectives.

To start the game

Double-click the A Bridge Too Far icon. In W indows 95 or Windows NT, you can also click Start, point to

Programs, point to Microsoft Games, and then click A Bridge T oo Far.

Choosing the Type of Action

You can play four different types of action in A Bridge Too Far.

Boot Camp

Bridge Too Far .

Battles

carryover of supplies. You can play any individual map from Operation Market-Garden, or you can create custom battles. For information on how to customize battles, see Chapter 6, “Designing Your Own Scenarios.”

Operations

sectors of battle, each with a specific objective, such as a bridge or landing zone. For more information on operations, see Chapter 5, “Fighting Operations and Campaigns.”

Campaigns

game, or the Grand Campaign, which is fought on all three fronts simultaneously. For more information on opera tions and campaigns, see Chapter 5, “Fighting Operations and Campaigns. ”

Interactive examples and explanations of A

Warfare conducted on individual maps with no

Sets of linked maps from any of the three

All opera tions for any individual sector in the

Chapter 2: Preparing for Battle 5

“... from the moment the overwhelming industrial capacity of the United States made itself felt in any theater of war, there was no longer any chance of ultimate victory in that theater ... tactical skill could only postpone the

collapse ... .”—Field

Marshal Erwin Rommel after his defeat in North Africa

Norway April 9, 1940 In the first airborne operations

in history, German airborne forces land on strategic targets in Denmark and Norway. In Denmark, airborne troops quickly secure the military airfield near Aalborg. In Norway, paratroops secure the Oslo airport, the military airfield at Stavanger, and an important railroad junction near Dombas.

By securing the airport and airfields, the Germans ensure superiority in the air, which severely hampers Allied efforts. While both sides score victories on the ground, the Allied efforts wane when the Germans launch their attack against France, Belgium, and Holland on May 10. By June 10, the Allies have evacuated their forces from Norway.

6 A Bridge Too Far

To choose the type of action

“Whether or not America enters the war is a matter of indifference

... .”—Adolf Hitler to

Benito Mussolini June 21, 1941

“It is bluff. They can make cars and refrigerators, but not aircraft.” —Reichsmarshall Hermann Göring in regard to American industrial capabilities in 1941

On the Command screen, click one of the following tabs: Boot Camp, Battles, Operations, or Campaigns.

To choose the specific game you want to play

In the game description box beneath the tab, click the Boot Camp topic, battle, operation, or campaign you want to play.

–or– In the saved games box in the left-center portion of the screen, click

the saved battle, operation, or campaign you want to play.

Choosing Sides

To choose the side you want to play

To switch between Allies and Germans, click Player Side.

Choosing Level of Difficulty

You can determine the relative strength of both sides, regardless of whether you choose one-player or two-player mode.

Recruit

strength, morale, and supplies. However, you can still lose the game if you don’t plan carefully.

Veteran

historically .

Your side is given every advantage in

The sides are balanced as they were

Allied paratroopers begin loading into American C-47s. Known as the Skytrain to the Americans and the Dakota to the British, this plane is the workhorse of Allied transport aircraft.

Hero

Your side is initially at a disadvantage in strength and, in campaign mode, has far fewer resources available.

Custom

You define the difficulty level more

specifically, as described in the following section.

To choose the level of difficulty

T o c ycle through the four levels, click Difficulty.

Customizing Level of Difficulty

If you choose Custom as your level of difficulty, you can adjust additional options of gameplay.

Strength

adjust each separately.

Units always obey order s

do.

Units are fearless

Allied and German strength is not interdependent. You can

Your units will obey whate v er you tell them to

Your units will not panic regardless of their situation.

Chapter 2: Preparing for Battle 7

Enemy soldiers are always visible

Enemy units will always appear on your screen. Normally , A Bridge Too Far gives you a limited—but realistic— view of the battlefield. Enemy soldiers that your troops have not noticed will not appear, although you can sometimes spot the smoke of their guns.

Enemy intelligence is always av ailab le

You will receive all information on the enemy just as you do for your own teams. For more information, see “Gathering Intelligence,” in Chapter 4, “Using the Toolbar and Monitors.”

To customize the level of difficulty 1

To cycle to Custom, click Difficulty.

Click Set Custom.

In the Custom Difficulty Level dialog box, shown in the following figure, click the check box corresponding to the option or options you want.

Note

It is assumed throughout this manual and Help that none of these

custom options have been set.

“If we do our stuff properly and no mistakes are made, then I believe that Germany will be out of the war this year.” —Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery, Commander, Allied 21st Army Group, two months before Operation Overlord in Normandy

Choosing a One-Player or Two-Player Game

In a one-player game, the computer is your opponent. In a two-player game, you fight another player over a modem, local area network (LAN), or the Internet. For more information on two-player games, see Chapter 8, “Playing T w o-Player Games.”

To choose a one-player or two-play er game

To switch between the two options, click Players.

Starting the Battle

Now that you have selected and customized the type of game you want to play, you are ready to march onto the battlefield. For information on how to command your troops, see Chapter 3, “On the Battlefield.”

To start playing the game

Click Begin.

8 A Bridge Too Far

“If you see a white plane it’s American, if you see a black plane it’s RAF. If you see no planes at all it’s the Luftwaffe.” —German soldier on the Western Front, 1944

Chapter 3

On the Battlefield

This chapter provides information on the mechanics of gameplay. It describes how to survey the battlef ield, deploy your units and issue orders to them, use your weapons, and destroy bridges.

However, remember that playing A Bridge Too Far inv olv es mor e than just mechanics. To best use the material in this chapter, study the corresponding sections in Chapter 7, “T actics and Strategy.” Also, be sure to learn how to use the information coming back from the field, as explained in Chapter 4, “Using the Toolbar and Monitors.”

This chapter does not cover information on playing battles within the context of an operation or campaign. If you are playing either of these larger scales of warfare, see Chapter 5, “Fighting Operations and Campaigns,” after you absorb the material in this basic chapter .

Reviewing Your Objective

Your objective is to contr ol the map. You must capture all of a map’s victory locations and be able to hold them until the enemy offers a cease-fire, flees, or retreats off the map. For more information on victory locations, see “Victory Loca tions,” later in this chapter.

Surveying the Battlefield

When you click Begin! the combat screen appears. The following figure sho ws an example of one of the combat screens in the game. Some areas of the combat screen appear either dark or light gray . The dark gray areas are enemy-controlled and the light gray areas indicate neutral territory . The unshaded area is the portion of the map that you currently control. After you start the battle, the shading disappears.

You can zoom in or out of the map, as well as scroll to different areas of the map. It is a good idea to zoom out prior to deploying troops to see a complete picture of the map and determine potential areas of strength and weakness.

To zoom in

On the toolbar, click the zoom-in button (magnifying glass with a plus sign).

To zoom out

On the toolbar, click the zoom-out button (magnifying glass with a minus sign).

T o scroll through the map

Chapter 3: On the Battlefield 9

Move the mouse to the right, left, top, or bottom edge of the screen. You can also use the arrow keys to scroll.

Victory Locations

Victory locations are buildings or terrain elements of strategic importance. They are designated by the symbol of the side that controls them—a star for Allies and a cross for Germans. If both sides are currently engaged in battle for a particular victory location, half of each flag is shown. You need to fight for the victory locations belonging to the other side and replace their symbol with yours.

A victory location has either primary , secondary, or tertiary importance. The larger a victory location’ s name appears, the more points it is worth relative to other victory locations. A primary victory location is worth four times more than a tertiary victory location, and a secondary two times more than a tertiary.

Buildings and Terrain

Most maps include a number of buildings as well as natural terrain features such as hills, ditches, and foliage. Multistory buildings are indicated by numerals (2, 3, or 4) that represent the number of floors in the building.

Use terrain to your best advantage. For example, controlling the high ground and occupying multistory buildings is usually a preferable position. It makes scouting easier, offers better fields of fire, and is more difficult to attack—and easier to defend and keep secure. For more information on using terrain, see “Using Cover ,” in Chapter 7, “Tactics and Strategy.”

When your soldiers take a building, they control all floors of the building. They hav e the advantages of the highest floor while guarding the ground floor against attacks.

Deploying Units

The computer initially deploys your troops for you. Although the default deployment may be satisfactory, you may want to change it to fit your own battle plan.

T o move your units to a starting position

Drag your units to the location you want. You can position your troops only on the unshaded areas of

the map. If you attempt to drop units on a shaded portion, they snap back to their original position.

You usually issue orders after the battle starts, but you can issue one preliminary order for each team during deployment.

Holland May 10, 1940 German airborne troops leap into

combat for the second time as part of Operation Sicklestroke— the German attack on France, Belgium, and Holland. As in Norway, relatively small forces achieve success by subduing strategic targets. A gliderborne force lands on the Belgian fortress at Eben Emael, blasts its way through the roof, and forces the garrison to surrender. The capture of this fort crumples the Belgian line.

As a result of the German’s airborne successes, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill orders the creation of a parachute unit “on a scale equal to five thousand.”

“There is no longer anything we can do. Every shot we fire now is harming ourselves, for it will be returned a hundred-fold.”—Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, Commander, German Army Group B, in July 1944, on the Allies’ massive advantage in men, machines, and materiél

10 A Bridge Too Far

“I have temporarily changed my basic plan of attacking both north and east in order to help Montgomery seize tremendously important objectives in the northeast.”—General Dwight Eisenhower, Supreme Commander of Allied Troops, in a letter to General George Marshall, U.S. Chief of Staff, in August 1944

For information on issuing orders, see “Issuing Orders,” later in this chapter . If you don’t issue a preliminary order, all teams are automatically in Hide mode, and all vehicles are in Defend mode.

To issue an initial order

Follow the procedure described in “Issuing Orders,” later in this chapter. Only one order can be issued per team prior to starting the battle. Issuing a

second order cancels the first order.

Starting the Battle

To start the battle

On the toolbar, click Begin!

After you start the battle, the shaded portions of the map become available. After this point, you cannot drag your troops to new locations; you must issue orders to reposition them, as explained in the next section.

Issuing Orders

In A Bridge Too Far, you use a menu to issue any of three types of orders: those that initiate movement (Sneak, Move, and Move Fast), those that

require a target (Fire and Smoke), and those that have your units hold their ground and dig in (Defend and Hide).

In England the thunder of aircraft engines disrupts church services; in Holland the formations roar across the sky for nearly three hours.

Any order you issue remains in effect until your unit carries it out completely. If you issue a new order before the first one is completed, the first order is canceled and the new one is carried out.

Note that you issue orders to an entire unit, not to individual soldiers.

T o issue an order 1

In Windows, right-click any soldier in the unit

to which you want to issue an order. The orders menu appears.

On the Macintosh, use

On the menu, drag to the order you want and click it.

If the order requires you to designate a position or target (Sneak,

OPTION+CLICK and hold.

Move, Move Fast, Fire, or Smoke), click the location on the combat screen where you want the order to take place or end. An order dot appears, as explained in the following section.

T o change an order y ou’ve already issued

Issue a new order, using the procedure for issuing orders described previously. The original order is countermanded.

T o cancel an order

Issue the Defend order.

Chapter 3: On the Battlefield 11

Defend is the default state.

T o change the target or destination of an order

Drag the order dot to a new location.

Using Keyboard Shortcuts

You can use keyboard shortcuts to issue orders, set options, get Help, and pause or stop the game.

Key(s) Order/Command

Z Move X Move Fast C Sneak V Fire B Smoke N Defend M Hide

Arrow keys Scroll the map during battle

CTRL+G Expand game area CTRL+T Remove trees CTRL+K Remove KIA soldiers CTRL+A Quit a battle ALT+F4 Exit F1 Help F3 Pause F8 Set game options

“... grotesque improvisation on a grand scale.” —Colonel General Kurt Student, Commander, German First Parachute Army, on assembling his force in September 1944

“The danger of new reverses ... can be removed only by speeding up the dispatch of the reinforcements that have repeatedly been requested.”—Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt, German Commander in Chief West, writing to OKW in September 1944

Interpreting Order Dots

After you issue an order, an order dot appears on the map to remind you which order you issued. The following table shows orders and the corresponding colors of the order dot. (Because the Defend order is in effect by default, no order dot appears for this order.)

Order Color

Move Blue Move Fast Purple Sneak Y ello w Fire (Shoot) Beige (for indirect fire)

Red (for target fire)

Smoke Gray Hide Green

(For information on indirect fire and target fire, see “Using Your Weapons Effectively,” later in this chapter.)

12 A Bridge Too Far

“Until the middle of October the enemy could have broken through at any point he liked with ease, and would have been able to cross the Rhine and thrust deep into Germany almost unhindered.”—General Siegfried Westphal, Rundstedt’s Chief of Staff, referring to the state of German defenses in September 1944

Moving your Units (Sneak, Move, Move Fast)

The Sneak, Move, and Move Fast orders designate the speed of movement as well as how alert your troops are to danger around them as they move.

Sneak is your troops’ slowest and safest rate of movement. Sneaking soldiers crawl to their destination, stick to the best cover, watch carefully for signs of the enemy, and try to avoid detection. When the unit reaches its destination, the Hide order is in effect by default.

If you give a Sneak order to move a unit to an enemy location, they will crawl to the location and hide.

Move is the normal movement rate. When issued a Move order, the unit attempts to reach the destination while watching for, and defending against, possible attack. When the unit reaches its destination, the Defend order is in effect by default.

If you give a Move order to move a unit to an enemy location, they will try to get close and shoot it out with the enemy.

Move Fast is the maximum movement rate. Soldiers moving fast are less concerned with attack than they are with getting to their destination. This order is most effective when a unit has cover fire from one or more units.

Soldiers given a Move Fast order run to their destination.

A “stick” of 18 American paratroopers inside a C-47 on their way to Holland. Paratroopers often carried their own body weight (150 το 200 pounds) in equipment and supplies.

If you give a Move Fast order to move a unit to an enemy location, they will assault and try to engage the enemy in hand-to-hand combat.

T argeting (Fire, Smoke)

Fire and Smoke are the targeting orders. If you attempt to lay a smoke screen or fire on a target that you can’t reach, the order is ignored. Most infantry other than mortar units cannot throw smoke grenades farther than 30 meters.

Because the targeting orders are important ele-

ments of the game, make sure you are fully informed on how and when to use your weapons. For more information, see “Using Your Weapons Effectively,” later in this chapter, and the effectiveness chart on the back of this manual.

Digging In (Defend, Hide)

Defend and Hide are your “dig-in” orders. Defend tells your men to take cover and stand their ground. They will return fire as necessary, although they may decide to take the offensive on their own.

Hide tells members of a unit to keep their heads down at all cost. This is particularly valuable when your unit is out of ammunition or too injured

Crete May 20, 1941 German airborne forces (7th Paratroop

Division, XI Fliegerkorps) land on the island of Crete. The largest German airborne operation of the war is preceded by four days of bombing. On the morning of May 20 landings take place near Máleme and Caneá, followed by afternoon landings at Rétimo and Herákloin. The battle for the island quickly becomes a battle for the airfields; unless the Germans can secure an airfield, they will not be able to resupply and reinforce the paratroops already on the ground.

The fighting on the first day is fierce; the forces and weapons are fairly equal. At Rétimo and Herákloin the Allies succeed in holding the Germans at bay; at Caneá the Germans are driven inland. However, at Máleme the luck of war turns for the invaders.

The day’s bitter fighting has left the airfield at Máleme a wasteland. During the night, a New Zealand battalion is withdrawn from its position; its commander is, through no fault of his own, unclear on the overall tactical picture. The Germans quickly seize the initiative at daylight; Colonel General Kurt Student quickly seizes the battle by changing his plan to fit the conditions. Student shifts all the resupply and reinforcement flights into the captured airfield at Máleme.

Chapter 3: On the Battlefield 13

The Germans build their strength by flying in the 5th Mountain Division. This force helps defeat an Allied counterattack at Máleme; by May 23 the Germans are landing artillery to pound the lighter-armed Allies and flying in fighter aircraft to cement their superiority in the air. By the next day, the Allies are being gradually pushed back. The Germans continue to reinforce and resupply (both by air and sea), while the Allies fight with what supplies they have.

By May 27, both Caneá and Suda are in German hands and the now-disorganized Allied forces are moving toward evacuation points. By June 1 the last Allied resistance ends. While the Allies evacuate nearly 19,000 men, losses are heavy; over 21,000 are killed, wounded, missing, or captured.

German losses are much lower. Out of the 23,000 men Student sends into battle, only 7,000 are killed, wounded, or missing. But despite the relatively low number of casualties, the percentage killed (nearly 5,700) is unacceptable to Hitler; consequently, he forbids any further airborne operations. However, Student is allowed to continue recruiting and training airborne units. The Allies considered any airborne units they faced to be formidable opponents.

to be of much use to you in the current battle. If they still have ammunition, your men will fire only if fired upon or if enemy soldiers pass very close to their hiding place. Hide is the default order at the beginning of the battle, although no order dot appears unless you specifically give the Hide order.

Using Your Weapons Effectively

Your supply of ammunition is finite, particularly if you are fighting as the Allies. You’ll want to evaluate which targets are worth shooting at before you open fire.

A Bridge Too Far has two types of fire: target and area. You use target fire when you want to hit a specific enemy target. You use area (suppres-

14 A Bridge Too Far

“Both Antwerp and Rotterdam are highly vulnerable to mining and blocking. If the enemy succeeds in these operations, the time it will take to open [these] ports

cannot be estimated. ...

It will be necessary for coastal batteries to be captured before approach channels to the river route can be established.”—Admiral Sir Bertram Ramsay, Commander in Chief, Naval Operations, SHAEF, to Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery, Commander, Allied 21st Army Group, on September 3, 1944

sion) fire at an entire area, not just one object. The pointer becomes a crosshair for target fire and a circle for area fire. Mortars, which fire indirectly, can only use area fire.

Determining Range

Range is the distance from a weapon to a target. Most weapons diminish in effectiveness as the distance increases. Some weapons, such as smoke and hand grenades, can be used only at very close range. If you try to target an area out of the effective range of your weapon, the order will be ignored.

Weapons have different range capabilities. When you issue a Fire order, a range indicator (in meters) appears at the end of the fire line. The color of the range indicator tells you if you are in range: green = good, yellow = adequate, red = bad, and black = out of range.

Using the Line of Sight

The color of the line tracing to the target indicates your team’s view of the target.

Bright green Dark green

the target or is firing through obstructions.

Red

The unit cannot fire through the obstruction; the order will be

ignored.

The unit can see the target.

The unit cannot clearly see

T o determine range and line of sight

Issue the Fire order, and then point to the target. A read-out (in meters) appears about the target, and the color-coded

line indicates the line of sight.

Using Indirect Fire

When you’re using weapons such as mortars, you may see an orange line instead of a red or green line stretching to your target as you point to it. This tells you that it is indirect fire—that you are lobbing the explosive at your target instead of firing at it directly. An orange order dot appears on the combat screen above the target for mortars. With indirect fire, accuracy depends on the experience of your team, as well as whether it can actually see the target from its position.

Using Suppression Fire

You don’t have to hit a target directly; suppression fire can be effective at sapping enemy morale. As you concentrate fire in an area, it starts to turn red. The heavier the fire, the greater the suppression effects on any enemies in the area. Make sure you don’t move your own soldiers into an area that is being actively suppressed, as they too may get shot.

Chapter 3: On the Battlefield 15

Checking Status of Teams

Before issuing a Fire order, you can check the position of your soldiers on the combat screen to make sure they are ready to use their weapons:

• A prone soldier can throw a grenade only one-third its

normal range.

• A soldier must be crouched or standing to fire a bazooka or

Panzerschreck.

• A crawling soldier cannot fire any weapon. Soldiers who are moving also have limitations:

• A moving soldier cannot fire weapons that require setup to

fire, such as a machine gun or mortar.

• A moving soldier cannot load his weapon unless it is a semiautomatic or automatic weapon, and he cannot reload (put a new clip in) any weapon.

You can also check the soldier monitor to see if a team still has its loader and assistants. Any weapon aided by a loader has a higher rate of fire and requires less time to reload than a weapon handled by just one man. Likewise, any weapon aided by assistants has greater accuracy than one without. For information on the soldier monitor, see Chapter 4, “Using the Toolbar and Monitors.”

North Africa November 8, 1942 The Allies launch Operation

Torch—the invasion of French North Africa. On November 12, a combined air and seaborne assault captures the port city of Bône, Algeria. Four days later, another airborne assault captures Souk el Arba, Tunisia. The British 1st and 3rd Parachute Brigades, and the U.S. 509th Parachute Regiment, all take part in the action.

Taking Prisoners and Rallying Separated Soldiers

When enemy soldiers surrender to you, they become your prisoners. They stand in place and do not participate in the battle.

To get enemy soldiers to surrender, you can try bracketing or surrounding them with suppression fire and then move into close range for an assault.

Soldiers can get separated from their units. A soldier may r ejoin his group without encouragement if given enough time. To encourage a separated soldier to rally with his original team, you can move the team closer to him.

Using Bridges

Bridges are especially important in A Bridge Too Far because the riv ers in Holland are too cold, deep, and swift to ford on foot.

The action you take toward bridges differs greatly depending on what side you choose to play. Only the German army can demolish a bridge and only the Allies can build one.

“... composed entirely of elderly gentlemen who hitherto had been guarding the north coast of Holland and had never heard a shot fired in anger.”—Colonel General Kurt Student, Commander, German First Parachute Army, describing the German 719th Division guarding the north bank of the Scheldt Estuary when the British captured Antwerp on September 4, 1944

16 A Bridge Too Far

Securing and Repairing Bridges (Allies Only)

If you are playing as the Allies, your progress is severely delayed when the Germans demolish a bridge. To keep a bridge from being destroyed, gain control of both sides.

If you are playing an operation or campaign, you can “repair” a bridge. You do not have to do anything for this to happen; just wait until the next battle. A pontoon bridge is built in place of the bridge that was destroyed.

Blowing Bridges (Germans Only)

If you are playing as the Germans, destroy a bridge only as a last resort. After the bridge is blown, you will be forced to retreat while the Allies repair the bridge.

The demolition timer determines when you can demolish a bridge. This timer counts down from the beginning of the battle. After it hits zero, the Blow Bridge button is active (your explosives are fully wired and authorization to blow the bridge has been received). Allied fighting forces can see the timer counting, but they cannot use the Blow Bridge b utton. Note that if the Allies control any of the bridge approaches, the bridge may not successfully blow. If it fails to blow, the timer will increment by one minute. After a minute passes, you can try to destroy the bridge again.

After you have successfully blown a bridge and the ba ttle has ended, a message appears telling you to leave the battlefield. Because the Allies have overwhelming air and artillery superiority, holding an exposed bridge position is too dangerous.

If a bridge is repaired, you can try to retake it and destroy it again.

To blow a bridge (Germans only)

Wait until the demolition timer counts down to zero, and then click Blow Bridge.

Sicily July 9/10, 1943 Allied airborne forces next saw action

during Operation Husky—the invasion of Sicily. On the night of July 9/10, 1943, the U.S. 82nd Airborne Division, commanded by Lieutenant General Matthew Ridgeway, is to drop on targets behind the American landing beaches. At the same time, the British 1st Airborne Division, commanded by Lieutenant General Frederick Browning, will float down on targets behind the British landing beaches.

The airborne forces enjoy both success and failure. High winds cause the American paratroopers to be widely scattered. Assembly is difficult, and while some objectives are not secured, the paratroopers do disrupt the German and Italian defenders. Although the British paratroopers land successfully, they lose one-third of their gliders; many are released too soon (by inexperienced pilots) and crash at sea. However, once on the ground, all the airborne forces acquit themselves well.

Chapter 3: On the Battlefield 17

Ending a Battle

A battle ends either when both sides press the cease-fire button, one side flees, or neither side has any soldiers on the map left alive or able to fight. Howev er, you can signal that you are willing to end a battle at any time. When both you and your opponent agree to a cease-fire, each side retains the territory it took during the battle, although neither side wins the map.

If your opponent does not agree to a cease-fire, you can either stay and fight, retreat, or flee. When you retreat, you do not surrender your teams; you just issue orders for them to move off the map. When you flee, the game ends immediately. The computer calculates the teams kept or lost, and the enemy takes control of the entire map.

After you end the battle, the Debriefing screen appears. For information on this screen, see Chapter 5, “Fighting Operations and Campaigns.”

To signal that you are willing to disengage

On the toolbar, click the cease-fire button (which shows a depiction of a dove).

The battle ends when both sides have clicked the cease-f i re b utton.

To retreat without surrendering

“I consider we have now reached the stage where one really powerful and full blooded thrust toward Berlin is likely to get there and thus end

the German war. ... In my

opinion the thrust likely to give the best and quickest results is one via the Ruhr.”—Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery, Commander, Allied 21st Army Group, writing to General Dwight Eisenhower, Supreme Allied Commander, on September 4, 1944

Use the Move command to move your teams off the right or left edge of the map.

To end the battle and surrender

On the toolbar, click the flee button (which shows a white flag).

T o quit the game after you cease-fire, retreat, or flee 1

On the Debriefing screen, click Command Screen.

On the Command screen, click Quit. You can also quit using

ALT+F4.

To stop a battle

In W indows, press CTRL+A. The battle stops and is not saved.

18 A Bridge Too Far

Pre-Battle T oolbar

Chapter 4

Using the Toolbar and Monitors

A Bridge Too Far provides two-wa y communication with your troops. Yo u send them orders, and they keep you up-to-date on their situation and condition as well as provide information on the enemy. Your troops’ means of communication are the toolbar and the game’s battle monitors.

The Toolbar

The toolbar provides you with various types of information about your troops while you are fighting a battle.

Before you click Begin! to start a battle, the toolbar provides only preliminary information, as shown in the following figur e. After you start the battle, the toolbar shows its full range of data.

Battle T oolbar

“[You must] supervise the refitting and rehabilitation of the 9th and 10th SS Panzer Divisions ... slowly disengage from the battle and immediately head north.”—Field Marshal Walter Model, Commander, German Army Group B, to Lieutenant General Wilhelm Bittrich, Commander, II SS Panzer Corps, at Model’s headquarters near Liège on September 4, 1944

To view a summary of a particular team

Point to the team, either in the team monitor or on the map.

To get a summary of an enemy unit

Click or point to the unit. Information appears in the soldier monitor.

Team Summary

On the left of the toolbar is the team summary . This summary consists of the following information:

The bars at the far left of the toolbar indicate the team’ s degree of experience: no bars = no experience; 5 bars = highly experienced.

To the right of the bars is the team type, such as AB Rifle or Mortar. Beneath the team type is the order the team is currently following. If the

text is green, the team is following the orders you issued. Red text indicates the team is intentionally acting against the command you issued due to battlefield conditions. White text indicates you have issued no commands to the team or the command you previously issued has been completed.

Chapter 4: Using the Toolbar and Monitors 19

Team’ s effectiveness against personnel: green = good, red = bad, and

black = none.

Team’s effectiveness against tanks: green = good, red = bad, and

black = none. The boxes under AP and AT indicate the health of each man on the team.

Troop Status Bar

The Troop Status bar shows the current health of all your troops as a whole (not just the team you’re pointing to). The bar is green at the beginning of a game, indicating good health. As men are wounded, the bar turns yellow; as killed, red.

Information from the Field

You can use the toolbar to get immediate feedback about a number of states and abilities applying to each soldier. However, you can track only one state at a time. The indicators use color as a guide to status: green = good, yellow = functional, and red = useless.

To choose a state to track

Click Info, and then drag to the state you want to track.

“I’ll tell you what I’ll do, Monty. I’ll give you whatever you ask to get you over the Rhine because I want a bridgehead ... but let’s get over the Rhine first before we discuss anything else.” —General Dwight Eisenhower, Supreme Commander, SHAEF, to Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery, Commander, Allied 21st Army Group, at their meeting on September 10, 1944

Battle Monitors

You use the four monitors below the toolbar to tra ck detailed information: team information, soldier information, messages, and maps. (If you have set your screen resolution to 1,024 appears.) The following figure shows the battle monitors.

Using the Team Monitor

The team monitor displays the team type, its current order, and a summary of its overall health. The color-coding of the text is the same as that in the

Team Monitor

× 768, the spyglass monitor also

Soldier Monitor

Message Monitor

Map Monitor

20 A Bridge Too Far

“While agreeing with your conception and fullblooded thrust toward Berlin, I do not agree that it should be initiated at this moment to the exclusion of all other maneuvers.”—General Dwight Eisenhower, Supreme Commander, SHAEF, writing to Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery, Commander, Allied 21st Army Group, regarding Montgomery’s singlethrust plan

“The object is to lay a carpet of airborne troops down over which our ground forces can pass.” —Lieutenant General Frederick Browning, Commander, British I Airborne Corps, to the officers responsible for planning Operation Market on September 10, 1944

team summary , described earlier in this ch apter. The plus sign (+), indicating overall health, uses the same scheme as that in the toolbar: green = good, yellow = functional, red = useless.

To get information on a team

Click the team.

To go to that team on the map

Double-click the team in the monitor .

Using the Soldier Monitor

The soldier monitor gives information on each soldier in the selected team. Each field in the soldier monitor can display one of a large number of

different states and conditions. For a listing of all possible settings in the soldier monitor, see the next section, “Soldier Monitor: Details.”

If you are viewing information on an enemy team, the monitor may sho w blanks or question marks in some areas. This means that your men have not been able to determine certain information about the enemy. To get more enemy intelligence, see “Gathering Intelligence, ” later in this chapter.

At the far left of the soldier monitor is an insignia that indicates the team leader’s rank. The higher ranked a soldier is, the more likely that soldier can keep his men from panicking and can rally other soldiers near him. Also, the higher the rank, the larger the range in which soldiers are affected by that leader.

To the right of the insignia is the soldier’s name and current action. The color of the text showing the action provides the same information as that in the toolbar, as described earlier in this chapter.

To the right of the soldier’s name is his function in the team. Beneath the team function is a graphical display of the soldier’s we apon, followed by the name of the weapon and its ammunition type. Above the weapon information are indicators showing the physical state, emotional state, and fatigue level of each soldier.

To get information on an individual soldier in a team

Click the soldier.

Soldier Monitor: Details

The soldier monitor shows several aspects of y our men’s states and conditions. The following tables show all the possible values for these different aspects.

Chapter 4: Using the Toolbar and Monitors 21

Current action Description

Moving Soldier is moving. Resting Soldier is too tired to do anything but rest. Loading Soldier is loading his weapon. Aiming Soldier is aiming his weapon or waiting for

loader to finish loading.

Firing Soldier is firing his weapon. T aking Co v er Soldier is looking for better cover. Assaulting Soldier is moving forward and firing. On Watch Soldier is looking for targets. Holding Fire Soldier has loaded weapon and sees a target

but chooses not to fire.

Suppressed Soldier is suppressed by enemy fire (takes

cover) but will still fire.

Pinned Soldier is pinned down by enemy

fire; hides more than he shoots.

Cowering Soldier is pinned down but rarely

fires and refuses to move.

Routed Soldier is running away from the battlefield. Panicked Soldier is panicked and is seeking

cover out of sight of the enemy.

Unjamming Soldier is trying to clear a jammed weapon. Assisting Soldier is assisting another soldier with a

crew weapon.

Firing/T arget Soldier is firing at a specific target. Firing/Area Soldier is firing at an area or location. Firing Blind Soldier is firing at a target he cannot see. Out of Ammo Soldier is out of ammunition. Can’t See Soldier cannot see target. Friend Block Soldier’s line of f ire is blocked by friendly

soldiers.

Gun Broken Soldier’s gun is damaged. No T arget Soldier cannot see a target at which to fire. Crawling Soldier is cra wling toward cover or destination. Ambushing Soldier is ambushing the enemy. Hiding Soldier is hiding from the enemy . Bad Shot Soldier has a shot that is a waste of ammunition. In Building Soldier (mortar team) is inside building and

cannot fire.

No Weapon Soldier has no usable weapon.

“The OKW will henceforth often be no longer able to meet demands, however urgent and justifiable, for air, armor, and artillery support, even when enemy superiority is overwhelming. Any shortage of weapons, therefore, must be made good by strengthening the morale of the troops.” —Oberkommando der Wermacht, August, 1944

“Owing to the reduced hours of daylight and the distances involved, it would not be possible to consider more than one lift per day ... casualties would result from pilot and crew fatigue.” —Major General Paul Williams, Commander, U.S. IX Troop Carrier Command, responsible for Operation Market’s air operations, commenting on the number of drops that can be made on D-Day

22 A Bridge Too Far

Current action Description

“... a narrow corridor through ... swampy heath, all the way to Arnhem ... a single two-lane highway, bounded immediately by small, open cultivated fields hedged in by poplar trees and surrounded by drainage ditches. Occasionally the road ran past thick pine forests. Up the road the Irish Guards would lead XXX Corps on a front two tanks wide.”— page 417

“... the British ... seem ignorant of the significance Arnhem has for the

Fatherland. ... [Arnhem

represents] the gateway to Germany, and I did not expect the Germans to leave it open.”—Major General Stanislaw Sosabowski, Commander, Polish 1st Parachute Brigade, recalling his assessment of Operation Market-Garden

Brute Force

Repairing Soldier is repairing his weapon. Can’t T arget Target is outside the gun’s firing arc. Conserving Soldier is running low on ammunition so he’s

conserving it.

Too Close Soldier is too close to the target to fire. Separated Soldier is separated from his team. Stunned Soldier has been stunned by the concussion

effect of a grenade or other explosi ve, and can take no actions.

Function in team Description

Leader Leader of an infantry team. Assistant Assists the driver of a vehicle and fires bow

machine gun or is second in command on an infantry team.

Soldat German infantryman. G.I. American infantryman. Cmdr . Commander; leader of a vehicle team. Driver Driver of a vehicle. Gunner Fires v ehicle’s main weapon. Loader Loads v ehicle’s main weapon.

Ammo type Description

AP Armor piercing. HE High explosive; used ag ainst inf antry, light

vehicles, and structures.

HEA T High explosive, antitank; used against tanks, tank

destroyers, and motorized artillery . Not ef fective against infantry in the open but can be ef fective against infantry in structures.

Smoke Smoke shells or grenades. SP Special; includes canister and high-velocity AP.

Physical state Description

Healthy (green Physically able to obey all commands. background)

Hurt (yellow Soldier is slightly wounded; able to background) physically obey orders at a reduced level of

performance.

Incap. (orange Incapacitated; soldier is severely background) wounded and unable to obey commands.

Dead (red background) Soldier is dead.

Chapter 4: Using the Toolbar and Monitors 23

Emotional state Description

Berserk (red text on Soldier will sacrifice personal safety black background) to attack the enemy.

Fanatic (orange text on Soldier is slightly irrational and takes black background) chances to be a hero.

Heroic (yellow text on Soldier fights aggressive ly and is capable black background) of heroic acts.

Stable (black text on Soldier is emotionally stable. green background)

Panic (black text on Soldier is emotionally unstable and must red background) be rallied to become effectiv e.

Routed (black text on Soldier is running away from the battlef ield. red background

Fatigue level Description

Rested Soldier is well rested. Winded Soldier is temporarily out of breath but will

recover quickly if gi ven a chance to rest.

Fatigued Soldier is so tired that his performance is

affected.

“It was absolutely impossible to get them to face the realities of the situation; their personal longing to get into the campaign before it ended completely blinded them.”—Major Brian Urquhart, Chief of Intelligence, British I Airborne Corps, commenting on state of mind among the officers planning Operation Market

Using the Message Monitor

The message monitor displays the messages you receive from the field. The panels at the top represent the priority of the information coming in. Red is highest priority and white is lowest.

To select the unit that sent a particular message

Click the message.

To filter out certain messages

Click the colored panel at the top of the message monitor corresponding to the messages you want to filter out.

For example, to see messages only of the highest priority (red), click all four panels other than the red panel.

Using the Map Monitor

The map monitor provides a quick way to jump around the map. This monitor is constantly updated to show you the positions and dispositions of known units and victory locations. Your troops appear blue, and enemy teams are red.

Originally developed for use against aircraft (FlaK 18-37, FlaK41), the German 88mm gun achieves lasting fame as a tank killer. It is the main gun on the Tiger tanks and JagdPanther tank destroyer.

24 A Bridge Too Far

The first lift of Operation Market-Garden is remarkably successful; over 70 percent of the gliders and 80 percent of the paratroopers land safely.

To view a particular portion of the map

Click the area on the map monitor you want to see on the combat screen.

The combat screen repositions to show that area.

Using the Spyglass Monitor

The spyglass monitor shows a scaled-down version of the current map. To bring a different part of the map into view on the combat screen, point to the part of the map you want displayed.

The spyglass monitor appears only if you have set your screen resolution to 1,024

× 768 or

greater.

Identifying Battlefield Elements

As a battle progresses, you’ll want to get information or reminders about what you see

on the battlefield.

Identifying Units and Sides

You can zoom out or use the map monitor to see details of the battlefield. You can also determine any team’s name and a summary of its condition.

To determine the name of a unit

“Everyone sat nonchalantly, legs crossed, looking bored. I wanted to say something about this impossible plan, but I just couldn’t. I was unpopular as it was, and anyway who would have listened?”—Major General Stanislaw Sosabowski, Commander, Polish 1st Parachute Brigade

Point to the unit on the map. The unit becomes outlined in white, and the team’s name appears

above the unit. A summary of its condition appears in the left portion of the toolbar.

To see more information

Click the unit on the map, and look in the team monitor.

Identifying Previous Orders

Through the course of battle, you issue many orders. Each order (other than the Defend order) is represented on the combat screen as an order dot. As the map fills with order dots, you’ll want to keep track of which orders you issued to your units.

Chapter 4: Using the Toolbar and Monitors 25

To determine which unit was issued the order

Right-click the order dot you want to find out about. The unit associated with that order is selected. You can also click and hold the order dot to determine the unit assigned

the order.

To determine the order currently in effect for a unit

Click the unit. A line traces out to the order dot that the unit currently has in effect.

Gathering Intelligence

Information about your opponent’s troops—whether the y are healthy or incapacitated, whether they’ve surrendered or are pinned—can help in your battle decisions.

Your men will hav e more information at the end of a battle than at the beginning simply because they have had more time to observe the enemy. The longer you observe them, the more you will learn. Two ways you can gather more intelligence is to control the high ground—hills and multistory buildings—or to send a scout ahead.

Some teams are much more effective at gathering intelligence than others. Scouts can see more than most units, and tanks, because of their limited vision, have the poorest ability to gather information.

Using Sound Cues

The sounds around you on the battlefield help you gauge what is happening. A Bridg e Too Far supplies a variety of sound cues. Each weapon has its own sound. When troops are assaulting a victory location, they radio in their intentions. As a unit’s morale begins to drop, they tend to shout in panic and not listen to your orders. A recording and description of each sound heard in the game can be found in Sound Gallery in Help.

Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt is relieved of his post as commander of German forces in the West on July 4, 1944, less than one month after the Allies land in Normandy. In what Field Marshal Erwin Rommel called “a blood-letting,” the Allies slowly expand their beachhead. Hitler orders a last-man defense; both Rundstedt and Rommel find themselves at odds with this order. However, after both Kluge and Model prove incapable of stopping the inevitable Allied advances, Hitler reinstates Rundstedt.

Although Rundstedt does not play a direct role in the Market-Garden fighting, the field marshal’s indirect roles are nonetheless important. First, he brings his administrative expertise, professional bearing, and solid strategic vision to a headquarters reeling from Kluge’s fatalistic failures and Model’s seat-of-the-pants style. Second, and perhaps more important, he facilitates the movement of reinforcements and replacements (such as they are) to the field of battle.

“... its weakness seemed to be the assumption that the Germans would put up no effective resistance. ... I simply did not believe that the Germans were going to roll over and surrender.”—Major Brian Urquhart, Chief of Intelligence, British I Airborne Corps, regarding the Allied assessment of the German forces in Holland

26 A Bridge Too Far

Chapter 5

Fighting Operations and Campaigns

“There it is, and we’re going to do it with one.”—Brigadier General James Gavin, Commander, U.S. 82nd Airborne Division, responding to the assessment that the 82nd’s objectives required two divisions

“[I] was looking forward to some peace and a chance to get my laundry done.”—Lieutenant Gustav Sedelhauser, Administration Officer, German Army Group B, after Field Marshal Walter Model decides to have group headquarters operating in Oosterbeek by September 15, 1944

Operations, sector campaigns, and the Grand Campaign add new layers of challenges to those you have already faced on the battlefield. These larger scales of warfare are collections of individual battles in which the result of each battle sets the stage for the next one.

If you find yourself defending or attempting to take a map more than once, you’ll see that buildings destroyed previously are still in rubble. Pock marks from mortars, shells, and grenades will still mar the ground. The amount of ammunition you have will slo w ly decrease until you resupply the area.

Previous battles also affect the quality of your troops. Units that ha ve received a lot of replacement soldiers to fill out their ranks will not fight as well as a team that has been fighting together for several ba ttles. As soldiers survive battles, their experience will increase, their choices will be better, and their ability to fight as a cohesive unit without panicking will improve.

Reviewing Your Objectives: Operations

Winning operations involves all elements of winning individual battles and adds a new priority: time. At the end of each day, you receive a total of points reflecting how many maps you control. Each map has a fix ed number of points, as follows:

10 points = regular map (no key strategic landmarks) 20 points = landing zone 30 points = road 40 points = bridge

If neither player controls a particular map, each player receives points according to a percentage of the victory locations each controls.

Reviewing Your Objectives: Campaigns

A Bridge Too Far offers two types of campaign play. Sector campaigns give you command over one sector of the battle. The Grand Campaign extends your authority over all three fronts at once.

In both types of campaigns, your success is based strictly on the progress of XXX Corps. If you are playing the Allies, you are judged by how much

Chapter 5: Fighting Operations and Campaigns 27

faster and farther you can move XXX Corps north than the actual Corps of Operation Market-Garden and whether you can secure the Arnhem bridge. If you wait too long to support your paratroopers in Arnhem, you doom them to the increasing forces of the Germans.

As the Germans, you are judged by how effectively you can hold or even push back the Allied attack. If you wait too long to eng age the Allies in a serious offensive, you risk losing control of the bridges before you can destroy them, and you miss the opportunity to push the Allies back to Belgium.

All campaigns in A Bridge Too Far last 10 days. For information on the challenges you face in each operation and how best to allocate your resources, see “Campaign Strategy” in Chapter 7, “Tactics and Strategy.”

Managing Resources

In operations and campaigns, you have a reserve force in addition to the units you are actually using in battle. You need to decide when to use them and which types of units to call in. In a campaign, you can resupply operations at the end of each day to increase ammunition and available reserves.

By September 1944, German industrial capacity is unable to keep up with the demands of the armed forces. Fighting a three-front war would drain any economy; an economy being bombed day and night had no hope of keeping up.

A cursory review of production statistics makes the German situation clear. By 1944, German production of crude oil was 2.4 percent of Allied production. Throughout the war years (1939–45), German production of the basic machines and materiél of war lagged far behind Allied production. Germany produced only 20.6 percent as many tanks and self-propelled guns as the Allies, 19.6 percent as much artillery, 11.2 percent as many mortars, and 14.2 percent as many machine guns.

Perhaps the most telling production statistic is military trucks. The United States

alone produced over 2,400,000 trucks compared to Germany’s 346,000; many of Hitler’s “motorized” divisions relied on horses as the main source of transport. This disparity in transportation resources led John Ellis to write: “Many battlefields have been cited as being particularly significant in Germany’s defeat in the Second World War. Not the least of them should be Detroit.”

Manpower statistics also show the disparity of riches between the Germans and the Allies. Manpower shortages become critical for the Germans: The fighting in Normandy (June 6 to July 23) cost the Germans over 117,000 casualties, yet no more than 20,000 replacements exist. During the same time period, the Allies landed over 20 divisions (280,000 men).

“There was a dangerous mixture of ennui and cynicism slowly creeping into our lives. We were trained to a fine edge and I knew that if we didn’t get into battle soon, we would lose it. We were ready and willing to accept anything with all the ‘ifs’.”—Major General Robert Urquhart, Commander, British 1st Airborne Division, on the mind-set at British headquarters during the planning of Operation Market

28 A Bridge Too Far

Operation Screens

“My problem was to get enough men down on the first lift, not only to seize the main bridge in the town itself, but also to guard and defend the drop zones and landing areas for the succeeding lifts. To seize the main bridge on the first day, my strength was reduced to just one parachute brigade.”—Major General Robert Urquhart, Commander, British 1st Airborne Division, recalling his tactical considerations in capturing the Arnhem bridge

“We are being so badly led from above that I can no longer carry out senseless orders. I have never been a robot and I don’t intend to become one.”—Lieutenant General Wilhelm Bittrich, Commander, II SS Panzer Corps, explaining his disobedience of Hitler’s “insane” fight-to-thelast-man orders to Field Marshal Erwin Rommel during the Normandy fighting

When you play an operation, you use fiv e screens. The following table shows the purpose of each screen. The subsequent sections in this chapter provide more information on how to perform each of the tasks listed.

Screen Purpose

Briefing Provides information on the map you will fight for

next and the overall status of the operation.

Requisition Allows you to customize your forces by pulling from

your reserves.

Deployment Provides an opportunity to deploy your troops

prior to battle.

Combat Acts as the battlefield for the game. Debriefing Gives the previous ba ttle’s outcome and choices

for cease-fire periods.

Campaign Screens

When you play a campaign, you use six screens. The following table shows the purpose of each screen. The subsequent sections in this chapter provide more information on how to perform each of the tasks listed.

Screen Purpose

Briefing Provides information on the map you will fight fornext

and the overall status of the operation.

Requisition Allows you to customize your forces by pulling

from your reserves.

Deployment Provides an opportunity to deploy your troops

prior to battle.

Combat Acts as the battlefield for the game. Debriefing Gives the previous battle’s outcome and

choices for cease-fire periods.

Supply Provides basic information on the campaign

and allows you to divide supplies among the operations.

Starting an Operation or Campaign

To start a campaign 1

On the main screen, click either the Operations or the Campaigns tab.

In the game description box, double-click the operation or campaign you want to play.

–or– In the saved games box, click the name of a saved game.

Chapter 5: Fighting Operations and Campaigns 29

Click Begin! The Briefing screen appears.

Checking Your Pre-Combat Status

After you choose the operation you want to play , the Briefing screen, shown in the following figure, appears to give you information on the battle you are about to fight. The Brief ing screen also gives the status of the entire operation.

“There was nothing else to do but accept the risks and plan for them. I was left with no choice.”—Major General Robert Urquhart, Commander, British 1st Airborne Division, explaining the battle plan he conceived for the 1st Airborne

The upper-left portion of the screen contains a listing of all operations in a sector. The operation you are about to play appears highlighted. The map on the right side of the screen highlights the sector and operation you are fighting.

To the right of the operation names are small squares representing the individual battles in the operation, with the next battle to be fought highlighted. Green boxes indicate maps you have secured, while red ones belong to your opponent. The letters with these boxes indicate any strategic landmarks of the battle: R = road, B = bridge, and LZ = landing zone. Landing zones have key importance because their control determines whether the Allies can resupply that operation by air. For more information, see “Selecting Air or Ground Supply,” later in this chapter.

The Briefing screen also provides information on requisition points for the operation and sector, as well as the date, time, and description of the battle ahead.

“There, in the photos, I could clearly see tanks— if not on the very Arnhem landing and drop zones, then certainly close to them.”—Major Brian Urquhart, Chief of Intelligence, British I Airborne Corps, recalling the reconnaissance photographs he received in the days before Operation Market-Garden

30 A Bridge Too Far

“I wouldn’t trouble myself about those if I were you. They’re probably not serviceable at any rate.”—Lieutenant General Frederick Browning, Commander, British I Airborne Corps, when presented with reconnaissance photographs by Major Brian Urquhart

“Yeah, we know that, Lieutenant, but what country are we droppin’ on?”—Private Philip Nadler, 504th Regiment, U.S. 82nd Airborne Division, when an officer points to the bridge at Grave

After you are done reviewing operation status

Click Continue. The Requisition screen appears.

Choosing Resources

You use the Requisition screen to select the units you want to use in the upcoming battle.

“[I was] struck with horror at the plan to blast through the German resistance on a one-tank front.”—Lieutenant Colonel Giles Vandeleur, Commander, 2nd Battalion, Irish Guards Armored Group, recalling his thoughts during the Operation Garden briefing on September 16, 1944

After a battle ends, units automatically recover or are replenished. However, they are not necessarily brought back to full strength.

If two teams each have less than 25 percent of their soldiers left alive, they may be combined into one team.

Determining the Number of Points Availab le

Requisition points represent your ability to bring reserves to the front. The number of points you can use appears on the right portion of the Requisition screen.

Sector

A reserve of points that can be used by any operation in the

sector.

Operation

Points assigned specifically to that operation.

Viewing Available Teams

The left side of the Requisition screen, under Active Teams, shows your player teams—the troops you were preassigned or that you previously requisitioned. (If you have played battles in the operation and taken

Chapter 5: Fighting Operations and Campaigns 31

casualties, the screen shows only surviving troops.) The right side, under Team Classification, gives information about the available reserves—the troops, guns, and vehicles you can requisition. This section includes the number of each unit available and the cost in requisition points for each unit.

Reserves are limited in type and number and have realistic historical constraints. Teams are categorized as either infantry or support. Infantry teams are fighting forces with hand-held weapons that don’t require any setup. Support teams have weapons that require a crew. Regardless of the number of points you have available, you are limited to nine infantry slots and six support slots.

If you are playing as the Allies, you do not have any tanks available until you connect with XXX Corps.

Teams are also categorized by army type and nationality. The teams that are available to you depend on the side you have chosen to play.

Just as a real commander doesn’t know the exact quality of new recruits, you won’t know a new unit’s exact morale and experience. Only a range is given until the team joins your forces and appears on the left side of the Requisition screen.

T o get more information on an available unit

Point to the unit. Information about the unit and its strategic uses appears

on the lower-right portion of the screen.

None of the German divisions that fight during Operation Market-Garden go into action at full strength. All German units are lacking transportation and fuel; thousands of vehicles are destroyed in the Normandy Campaign and resulting breakout. The last 20th-century army to rely heavily on horses saw a vast number slaughtered in the Falaise Pocket, further reducing mobility.

Neither of the panzer divisions fighting at Arnhem are at anything close to full strength. When the fighting starts on September 17, 1944, both the 9th SS and 10th SS Panzer Divisions are at 20 percent to 30 percent strength. Given the British 1st Airborne’s lack of antitank weapons and the power of what little strength the Germans have (Tiger tanks), these depleted divisions are strong enough to stop the Red Devils.

T o view all units for a specific team type

Click either the Infantry or the Support tab.

T o view all units for a specific nationality

Click the German, American, British, or Polish tab.

Adding Reserves

When you select a unit to add to your forces, that unit moves from the Available Teams column to either the Infantry or Support column of the player teams area. The number in the Number Available column decreases accordingly, as does your number of requisition points.

T o add a unit to your player teams

Click the unit. The unit moves to the player teams area of the screen, and a green bar

appears at the left of your new team.

“... keep going like hell.”—Lieutenant General Brian Horrocks, Commander, British XXX Corps, briefing his subordinates on Operation Garden, September 16, 1944

32 A Bridge Too Far

Trading Reserves

“We seemed to be violating Napoleon’s maxim about never fighting unless you are at least 75 percent sure of success ... we were leaving 75 percent to chance ... if the slightest thing went wrong—a blown bridge, stiffer German resistance than anticipated—we’d be off schedule.”—Major Beelaerts van Blokland, Chief of Staff, Dutch Princess Irene Brigade, recalling his objections to the Operation MarketGarden plan

“This mighty spectacle deeply impressed me. I thought with reflection and longing of our own airborne operations ... if ever I’d had such means at my disposal. Just once, to have this many planes!”—Colonel General Kurt Student, Commander, German First Parachute Army, watching the vast Operation Market air armada from his headquarters near Nijmegen on September 17, 1944

After each battle, you’ll want to gauge the health and morale of your units and see which ones should be replaced with fresh reserves. When you return units to the divisional reserves, you receiv e additional requisition points to use for new resources. However, e xisting units are not worth as much as new ones. For example, you can retire your AB Rifle unit for 3 points, but a fresh AB Rifle unit may cost you 7.

If you are still in the process of assembling your forces, you can move resources back and forth between the player and available sides of the Requisition screen without affecting requisition points. New units don’t actually join your division until you complete your requisition, as described in the next section.

To retire a unit

Click the unit. The unit moves back to the Available T eams column.

Completing Y our Requisition

After you have finished assembling your forces, you are ready for battle. If you haven’t used all of y our requisition points, they will remain in the

reserve pool.

To complete your requisition and start fighting

Click Continue. The combat screen appears.

To discard your choices and return to the Command screen

Click Cancel.

Fighting the Battles

You fight the battles in an operation or campaign just as you would individual maps. For more information on fighting battles, see Chapter 3, “On the Battlefield. ”

Debriefing Screen

When a battle ends, the Debriefing screen, shown in the following figure, appears. This screen giv es you general information on your status at the end of the battle and, if you are fighting an operation or campaign, going into the next battle. It also provides buttons to specify options and to move you to different screens in the game.

Chapter 5: Fighting Operations and Campaigns 33

The Debriefing screen shows the following information.

Outcome

A brief description of the battle’s outcome, the effect it has on

the next battle, and your current score.

Victory Locations

Lists the victory locations in the most recent battle and which side currently controls each one. The following colors indicate the value of the victory location: red = primary , white = secondar y, and blue = tertiary.

“Unless a man has been through these fighterbomber attacks he cannot know what the invasion

meant. ... Not until

they’ve wiped out every-

thing do they leave. ...

Ten such attacks in succession are a real foretaste of hell.”—

Force

, page 366, describing the effect of rocketfiring Typhoon fighterbombers

Brute

Casualties

Totals destroyed or taken in the most recent battle, broken into

the following categories: infantry, armor, guns, and vehicles.

Medals

Total number of medals awarded to your soldiers in the most

recent battle.

Status

Your overall status for an operation or campaign.

Choosing a Cease-Fire Period

When you end a battle, your troops regroup. You and your opponent then choose how long each of you wants to regroup before starting the ne xt battle. The longer you wait, the more reinforcements you receive, but the more you delay your progress.

You can choose to wait either one hour , f our hours, or se ven hours. If the normal time delay takes you past the last daylight hour, your only option is to wait overnight.

“Don’t forget my cigars.”—German officer racing out of the Tafelberg Hotel in Oosterbeek to Lieutenant Gustav Sedelhauser, Administration Officer, Army Group B Headquarters, as the British 1st Airborne Division lands nearby on September 17, 1944

34 A Bridge Too Far

“They almost got me! They were after my headquarters!”—Field Marshal Walter Model, Commander, German Army Group B, to General Wilhelm Bittrich, Commander, II SS Panzer Corps, after Model flees Oosterbeek for Bittrich’s headquarters in Doetinchem on September 17, 1944

The waiting period used by the game is the shortest time period chosen by either player. If you choose to wait one hour, and your opponent chooses four, the game waits one hour.

The following table shows the percentage of your daily points you gain and supplies (ammunition) you lose with each waiting period. Note that the Points gained column applies only to the side that chose the shortest cease-fire period.

Selection Points gained Supplies lost

1 hour 0 10% 4 hours 15% of daily 5% 7 hours 30% of daily 5% Overnight Remainder of daily 5%

To choose a cease-fire period

On the Debriefing screen, click either Overnight, 1 Hour, 4 Hours,

or 7 Hours.

Retreating

If you are pushed off the map during battle and forced to retreat, you get a 10 percent bonus of requisition points for the next battle because your supply chain was shortened.

Not every glider landing is successful. Here, American paratroopers tend to comrades injured after a hard landing.

Playing the Next Battle

After you have chosen a cease-fire period, you are ready to play the next battle.

To play the next battle

On the Debriefing screen, click Play Next Battle.

Allocating Supplies for Sectors (Grand Campaigns Only)

At the end of each day, you use the Supply screen, shown in the following figure, to allocate supplies for the next day’s fighting.

Chapter 5: Fighting Operations and Campaigns 35

To the right of each sector are boxes representing individual battles in each operation, with the next battle to be fought highlighted. As on the Briefing screen, green boxes indicate maps you have secured, while red ones belong to your opponent. The letters with these boxes indicate any ke y strategic landmarks of the map: R = road, B = bridge, and LZ = landing zone.

You use the remaining sections of this screen to distribute requisition points and select the type of supply , as described in the next two sections.

Distributing Requisition Points (Grand Campaigns Only)

“If we are to believe these plans and are to assume that the Arnhem bridge is the true objective, why were not troops dropped directly on the bridge?”—Field Marshal Walter Model, Commander, German Army Group B, to his staff when they receive copies of the Operation Market plans from Colonel General Kurt Student, Commander, German First Parachute Army, on September 17, 1944

Within a sector, you have a fixed pool of supplies to divide among the operations. You’ll need to determine which operations face the greatest challenges and are in most need of new troops and supplies.

The far right of the Supply screen shows the points for each operation; the Supply column shows the current supply levels.

Selecting Air or Ground Supply (Grand Campaigns Only, Allies Only)

A Bridge Too Far reflects two ways of sending units to ba ttle: air and road. Only road supply is available to the Germans, because they had no air

supply ability during the historical Operation Market-Garden. Howe ver, they have unlimited road resupply, while you, as the Allied commander, have a tougher time getting resources to your troops:

“It looked like we could get out on the wings and walk all the way to Holland.”—Captain Neil Sweeney, U.S. 101st Airborne Division, commenting on the Operation Market air-fleet on September 17, 1944

36 A Bridge Too Far

“Are you hung over from last night?”—Lieutenant Gustav Sedelhauser, Transportation and Administration Officer, Army Group B Headquarters, to the field officer reporting gliders landing near Oosterbeek on September 17, 1944

• If XXX Corps has not arrived at the map on which you’re fighting, as indicated on the map, you cannot use ground supply, b ut you can use air drops.

• On any one day, you can choose only one sector to be supplied by air. Furthermore, you can supply a sector by air only if you have secured that sector’s landing zone.

Only road supply is available to the Germans, because they had no air supply ability during the historical Operation Market-Garden. Howev er, they have unlimited road resupply, while you, as the Allied commander, have a tougher time getting resources to your troops:

To select the sector to be supplied by air

On the Supply screen, in the area at the right of the sector names, click Air for the sector to be supplied by air.

Viewing Details of Soldier Status

“It was incredibly quiet. Unreal.”—Major General Robert Urquhart, Commander, British 1st Airborne Division, remembering the first few minutes after landing on September 17, 1944

You use the Details screen to follow the progress of indi vidual soldiers. This screen, shown in the following figure, tra cks your most recent battle, as well as all the previous battles.

To view the Details screen

On the Debriefing screen, click Details. You can see only one side at a time. To switch between them, click

Player Side.

Chapter 5: Fighting Operations and Campaigns 37

Condition Statistics

The first column of statistics is health. This chart is a summary of each soldier’s war record while under your

command. To the far left is each soldier’s rank followed by his surname. The chart is organized first by health status and then by decreasing rank. Your soldiers can have four possible health states.

Soldier is healthy and in fighting condition.

Soldier is slightly wounded, but still able to fight with diminished

capacity .

Soldier is incapacitated for the rest of the campaign.

KIA

Soldier was killed in action.

The chart also shows whether the soldier has surrendered.

FLAG

Soldier surrendered to enemy.

Ability Statistics

The next group of indicators shows your soldiers’ abilities. If your soldier has increased or decreased in a particular ability due to the most recent battle, an up or down arrow appears in the corresponding box.

Leadership Physical Condition (Health)

without tiring quickly and ability to withstand injury .

Mental Condition

experience. Because this ability is part of an individual soldier’s degree of intelligence and is unaffected by experience, it never changes throughout the game.

Ability to lead and rally units.

Ability to perform on the battlefield

Ability to react swiftly and to learn from

“... the taking and securing of the Arnhem bridge is of decisive importance.”—Lieutenant General Wilhelm Bittrich, Commander, II SS Panzer Corps, in orders issued to his command on September 17, 1944

While German commanders from Rundstedt down to field officers fear an Allied airborne attack, none take any practical measures against paratroop landings. As one German commander noted, the obvious buildup of British armored forces south of the MueseEscaut Canal was the primary worry. Still, several bridges between the canal and Arnhem are prepared for demolition; a contingency against the expected armored thrust by British XXX Corps.

Experience

Experience gained by the soldier (fiv e bars = elite; no bars = conscript). Experience will only increase, but the speed of increase is determined by his ability to learn (mental condition) and his performance in battle.

Morale

Ability to withstand the effects of the battlefield and still fight

effectively.

38 A Bridge Too Far

“... the only military objective I could think of with any importance was the Arnhem bridge.” —Major Sepp Kraft, Commander, SS Panzer Grenadier Training and Reserve Battalion, on seeing the British 1st Airborne landing near Wolfheze

Kill/Performance Statistics

The next grouping of information totals the kills for each of your soldiers by battle (top number in the square) and total for the campaign (lower number) as well as their performance. Occasionally , your soldiers act on their own, brav ely or cowardly. The top number in the next column is their actions of cowardice or bravery for the most recent battle; the lower is their total for the campaign.

Field Marshal Walter Model, Commander, German Army Group B, refuses to allow the destruction of the road bridges at Nijmegen and Arnhem. He wants them saved for a German counterattack.

Major General Robert “Roy” Urquhart, Commander, British 1st Airborne Division. Operation Market-Garden is his first experience commanding airborne troops in action.

Chapter 6: Designing Your Own Scenarios 39

Chapter 6

Designing Your Own Scenarios

Along with its realistic combat model and real-time action, A Bridge Too Far gives you the opportunity to create your o wn battlefield scenarios. You can customize the maps on which you stage your battle and adjust both the mix and the numbers of troops on both sides of the battlefield.

For example, you can design a challenging battle in which one side has a lot of light, inexperienced infantry units, and the other has infantry units that are small in number but heavy and more experienced. You can define one single victory location to be defended by a single large force, or you can define many small victory locations, requiring that you spread out your forces to defend them. By adjusting these different elements of warfare, you can create a wide range of scenarios for testing your skills as a commander.

Starting Battlemaker

The utility for designing your own scenarios in A Bridge Too Far is called Battlemaker. If you know which battle you want to use as a basis for your new scenario, you can select it from the list of battles provided with the game. You can also choose a custom scenario that you or another player previously designed, and customize it further.

After you start Battlemaker, the Battlemaker Main screen appears, as shown in the following figure.

“The only way this airborne assault can be defeated is to strike hard within the first 24 hours.”—Field Marshal Walter Model, Commander, German Army Group B, in asking Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt, Commander in Chief West, for immediate reinforcements

40 A Bridge Too Far

To start Battlemaker

“I think I’ll go and have a look for myself, Charles.”—Major General Robert Urquhart, Commander, British 1st Airborne Division, to his chief of staff when no information reaches headquarters during the fighting on September 17, 1944

“One moment we were marching steadily towards Arnhem; the next, we were scattered in the ditches.”—Sergeant Major Harry Callahan, 3rd Battalion, 1st Parachute Brigade, British 1st Airborne Division, on his unit’s march toward Arnhem

On the Command screen, click the Battles tab.

In the list of battles provided with the game, click the battle you want to edit, and then click Battlemaker.

–or– In the list of previously defined custom scenarios, click the battle you

want to edit, and then click Battlemaker.

Choosing a Map

Although you choose a map to edit when you start Battlemaker, you can browse through other available maps after you’ve started the utility and choose a different one if you want. You can either select a map from a set of thumbnail sketches on the Battlemaker Maps screen, shown in the following figure, or you can select the name of a battle in a list on the same screen.

To choose a map from thumbnail sketches 1

On the lower-center portion of the screen, click Select Map. The Battlemaker Maps screen appears, showing thumbnail sketches

of the available maps.

Click the map you want, and then click Continue.

Chapter 6: Designing Your Own Scenarios 41

To choose a map by battle name 1

Click Select Map.

In the lower-right portion of the Battlemaker Maps screen, click Select by Battle. (This button toggles between Select by Map and Select by Battle.)

In the list of battles that appears, select the battle you want to customize. A thumbnail sketch of the battle map appears to the left of the list.

Click Continue.

Editing Victory Locations

Victory locations are listed in the upper-right portion of the Battlemaker Main screen.

Victory locations also appear on the map as redbordered boxes. When you click the name of a victory location, the corresponding box on the battle map is outlined in yellow.

You can move , delete, or add victory locations. Note that when you define a new victory location, you assign it a value of primary, secondary, or tertiary. These values come into play when neither you nor your opponent are able to control an entire map. The percentage of the map you control is determined by the values of the victory locations you control. A primary victory location is worth 40 points, a secondary is worth 20, and a tertiary is worth 10.

To begin editing victory locations

On the center-right portion of the screen, click Victory Locations.

To move a victory location

On the map, drag the victory location to a new position.

To add a new victory location 1

Click the place on the map where you want the new victory location.

In the dialog box that appears, next to Location Name, type a name for the new victory location.

Next to Location V alue, click either Primary Objective, Secondary Objective, or Tertiary Objective.

Allied gliders crammed into their landing zone during Operation MarketGarden.

“I thought whoever held these houses held the bridge.”—Captain Eric Mackay, Royal Engineers, on selecting four houses on the east side of the Arnhem bridge’s northern ramp

42 A Bridge Too Far

To delete a victory location

“... all hell seemed to be let loose. The sky lit up, and there was the noise of machinegun fire, a succession of explosions, the crackling of burning ammunition, and the thump of cannon. A wooden building nearby was wreathed in flames, and there were screams of agony and fear.”—Colonel John Frost, Commander, 2nd Battalion, 1st Parachute Brigade, British 1st Airbornce Division, remembering the fighting at the Arnhem bridge on the night of September 17/18, 1944

Click the victory location you want to delete, and then click Delete. The victory location disappears from both the map and the listing.

Editing Deployment Zones

Each map in A Bridge Too Far consists of Allied, German, and neutral deployment zones. You can use Battlemaker to redistribute territory as you choose. For example, if an area of the map is currently controlled by the Allies, you can give control of that area to the Germans instead.

Battle maps on the Battlemaker Main screen are divided into tiles. Each tile contains an indicator that shows which side can deploy in that tile:

Blue dot = Allied deployment zone. Red dot = German deployment zone. No dot = neutral zone.

To edit deployment zones 1

To set the map mode to the side to which you want to assign territory, click either Allied Deployment, German Deployment, or Neutral Deployment.

Click the tile on the map you want to reassign. The tile’s indicator shows its new designation, according to the side you chose in step 1. For example, if you assigned a former Allied tile to the Germans, the dot in the center of the tile changes from blue to red.

Note

If you want to reassign a large number of tiles, you can drag

over them instead of individually clicking each one.

If you want to assign territory to another side, repeat step 1 by selecting a new side, and then repeat step 2.

Setting Requisition Points

You can use Battlemaker to select the number of requisition points allotted to each side at the beginning of the battle. These points affect how many and what type of units make up reserve forces for each side.

To assign the number of requisition points 1

Click Edit Points.

In the boxes that appear, enter the number of points you want to assign to each side.

The new point values appear in the lower portion of the screen.

Chapter 6: Designing Your Own Scenarios 43

Setting Resources

Using Battlemaker, you can customize the type and number of units you want on your or your opponent’s side.

When you choose to edit forces, the Battlemaker Forces screen appears, as shown in the following figure. This screen is a modified version of the Requisition screen used when you fight operations and campaigns. It lists available troops, basic information about them, and what was preselected for you based on history. You can add or remove these units from your or your opponent’s troop list.

All unit types are available to you from the Battlemaker regardless of which map you choose to play.

To select which units will fight in the battle 1

Click Edit Forces.

Choose the side whose forces you want to edit. To choose the Germans, click the tab showing the German flag. To choose the Allies, click any of the other tabs.

On the Battlemaker Forces screen, click units to add them to or delete them from troop lists. (For more information on how to use this screen to requisition troops, see “Choosing Reserves,” in Chapter 5, “Fighting Operations and Campaigns.”)

“We fought to gain inches, cleaning out one room after the other. It was absolute hell.”—SS Squad Leader Alfred Ringsdorf, remembering the fighting at the Arnhem bridge during the night of September 17/18, 1944

44 A Bridge Too Far

“Our orders were not to fire. If we came to close combat we were to use knives and bayonets. But that trench knife seemed mighty short, so I used my Tommy gun.”—Private Ray Johnson, U.S. 82nd Airborne Division, on his unit’s advance toward the Nijmegen bridge on September 17/18, 1944

Saving Your Custom Scenario

When you save your custom scenario, you assign it a name to appear in the listing of previously defined custom scenarios on the Command screen’s Battles tab.

To save a custom battle 1

On the Battlemaker Main screen, click Save Changes.

In the boxes provided, type a name and description for your battle scenario.

Playing Your Custom Scenario

Your new map will be listed in the saved games box on the Command screen. You play the customized battle just as you would any other battle.

To play your custom battle

Click the name of your new map, and then click Begin.

Giving the Battle to Another Player

Your custom battles are saved in the \games\battles folder on y our hard drive. If you want to give your battle to another player or copy it to another computer, just copy the battle from your computer and paste it into the \games\battles folder on the other computer.

When the other player starts A Bridge Too Far, the custom battle will appear in the saved games box on the other player’s Command screen.

The Dutch resistance was one of the best organized and most effective in Germanoccupied Europe. The Allied refusal to use this valuable resource contributed to the failure of Operation Market-Garden.

Individual units did obtain valuable help from the Dutch resistance. When elements of the 82nd Airborne capture a telephone office, they learn that the telephone

system is at their disposal. A Dutch engineer devised a system that enabled certain numbers to be used without German knowledge. At one point, paratroopers are able to telephone engineering units to specify the bridging equipment needed at the front. The phone system also provides Operation Garden commanders their first news from Arnhem—that the British 1st Airborne is in trouble.

Chapter 7: Tactics and Strategy 45

Chapter 7

Tactics and Strategy

Both tactics and strategy are important elements of A Bridge Too Far. Tactics refers to how you use your units in combat. Good tactics help you drive your opponent from the map and win battles.

Howev er, tactics alone won’t win an operation, a sector campaign, or the Grand Campaign. Strategy—the way you manage your forces to secure your side’s major objectives—comes into play when you take on these series of battles. You striv e toward victory by making your best decisions about when and where to allocate your finite set of resources.

Using Units Effectively

You manage sever al different types of units in A Bridge Too Far. Each has its own set of strengths and weaknesses. The following sections describe the best ways to use each type of unit.

Using Infantry

Though seemingly humble when compared to big guns and heavy armor, your infantry are the primary components of your force. Because these are the teams that take and hold victory locations, their actions determine whether you win or lose a battle.

Infantry teams are effective in assaults and hand-to-hand combat. Because of their low cost and high numbers, infantry are the most expendable of your teams. Howev er, don’t waste them in assaults on enemy tanks; they are useless against armor .

When you deploy your infantry teams, spread them out. If your teams are too close together, you may suffer heavy losses from mortars and artillery. And, if one team panics, those in close proximity may panic too.

Use short moves to protect your teams. Orders to move long distances not only increase fatigue; they also invite your opponent to assault the moving team’s flank. If you have a long distance to travel, try dividing your course into segments, and then issue the Move or Move Fast orders to travel these short distances.

For tips on how to assault and defend against enemy infantry, see “Flanking,” “ Ambushing, ” and “Suppression,” later in this ch apter.

Using Tanks

Tanks are the lions of the battlefield, capable of killing anything they encounter. However, their poor visibility makes them easy prey for antitank (AT) weapons, particularly when an AT team is hidden in dense

The fighting around Arnhem and Oosterbeek ranges from woods and fields to city streets. By the time Operation Market-Garden is over, much of Arnhem and Oosterbeek lays in ruins.

46 A Bridge Too Far

terrain. Clear the battlefield with your infantry before moving your armor into combat.

Tanks have both strong and vulnerable areas. Allied tanks have powerful frontal and side armor, but weak rear armor and a weak gun. German tanks have strong guns but penetrable side and rear armor. They are also slower to maneuver. However, German tanks are generally superior to Allied tanks and will beat them in a head-to-head fight. If you are fighting as the Allies, use either flanking tactics or numerical superiority (pit two or three of your tanks against one of theirs).

If you want a tank to retreat, use the Move command. The tank will drive in reverse, keeping its strong front armor facing the enemy. Do not use the Move Fast command, which will make the tank turn around and expose its rear armor to enemy fire.

For more information on defending against tanks, see “Using Antitank Weapons” and “Using Higher Elevations,” later in this chapter.

Using Armored Cars

Armored cars are light tanks on wheels. Although they lack the strong armor to take on antitank weapons or enemy tanks, their speed and low cost make them useful for scouting.

Because these vehicles have long-range firepower but are vulnerable at close range, you need to keep them at a safe distance from enemy firepower.

Using Halftracks

Halftracks are lightly armored trucks armed with mortars, machine guns, flamethrowers, and light infantry guns. They offer the same offensiv e

The handling—or mishandling—of intelligence before and during Operation Market-Garden is unfortunate in light of the operation’s failure. The 21st Army Group’s final intelligence assessment—the assessment on which the Operation Market and Operation Garden planners depended—was for the most part inaccurate. The Allies had accurate data in hand but either dismissed, discarded, or misinterpreted the information.

Perhaps the most crucial high-level information is Hitler’s order, intercepted by British Intelligence, that the banks of the Scheldt Estuary be held to the last man.

This order makes German intent clear to the Allies. Given the importance of Antwerp as a port for landing Allied materiél, and the fact that Antwerp (as a port) is meaning-

less unless the banks of the Scheldt Estuary are cleared, it seems obvious what Montgomery’s primary objective should have been.

The largest omission in Allied intelligence is not discovering the evacuation of the German Fifteenth Army. Over 85,000 men, along with thousands of vehicles and guns, are ferried from Breskins to the South Beveland Peninsula without the Allies discovering the evacuation.

The Dutch resistance provided timely and accurate information on the disposition and deployment of German troops in Holland. In early September, they report that the Germans are retreating in disarray. Within days they report that the Germans are no longer retreating, that the Germans

Chapter 7: Tactics and Strategy 47

firepower as infantry units carrying these we apons, along with greater speed and mobility. But because of halftracks’ thin armor, they are no match for enemy tanks or antitank weapons.

Like armored cars, halftracks have long-range firepower but are vulnerable at close range. Even infantry can immobilize these vehicles if they come too close.

Using Assault Guns

Assault guns are tanks without turrets. Because they are heavily armored, you can use them like tanks, except they have limited fields of fire.

You need a strong antitank weapon to defeat an assault gun. However, they are easily approached from the side or rear, and their lack of a turret makes them easy for an antitank weapon to trap.

Using T ank Destroyers

Tank destroyers are excellent antitank weapons, but their thin armor is a liability in a head-to-head battle with an enemy tank. Some tank destroyers have turrets and some don’t; those without are easily trapped by antitank weapons.

Sending Out Scouts

“Everywhere you looked, men were firing from scattered positions, often mistakenly at their own side ... the British fired flares pinpointing our positions and cut our group to pieces. Fifteen men in my platoon were killed in less than five minutes.”—Master Sergeant Emil Peterson, Reich Work Service, describing the fighting near the Arnhem bridge during the night of September 17/18, 1944

To flush an enemy out of hiding in dense terrain, send a reconnaissance or a low-quality, depleted team to scout the area.

Be careful not to involve reconnaissance teams in battle. Because they are usually smaller teams with short-range weapons, they cannot hold a front

are reinforcing, and that Model’s headquarters has moved to Oosterbeek. The Allies believe the Germans are in disarray, not because of information provided by the Dutch resistance, but from their own observation and reconnaissance. Unfortunately, the Allies do not believe the Germans are reforming and reinforcing in Holland.

Another omission is the lack of photoreconnaissance of the whole route between Eindhoven and Arnhem. Such reconnaissance might have located many of the German antitank positions that caused XXX Corps so much grief; as such, it might have speeded the drive to Arnhem.

The aerial reconnaissance of the Arnhem area showed the railroad and road bridges

but somehow missed the ferry running between Driel and Heavedorp. Securing this ferry would have enabled the British to cross the Rhine to the west of Arnhem and perhaps attack the Arnhem road bridge from both sides.

The most crucial operational level mistake is the dismissal of the aerial reconnaissance photographs showing German tanks near Arnhem. Major Brian Urquhart, intelligence chief for British I Airborne Corps, was considered an excellent officer who provided uncommonly accurate intelligence assessments. This makes the dismissal of his objections by both Lieutenant General Frederick Browning (I Airborne Corps commander) and Major General Roy Urquhart (1st Airborne Division commander) all the more puzzling.

48 A Bridge Too Far

on their own. After you’ve exposed the enemy’s position, you can flank them.

Don’t send scouts into open terrain. They are likely to get pinned in an indefensible position.

Defending Against Enemy Scouts

If you detect enemy scouts moving through your territory, try one of the following tactics:

• Ambush the scouts and then deploy your troops to new locations.

• Order your troops to hide, let the scouts pass by, and then attack the

infantry following the scouts.

Using Machine Gun Teams

The primary function of machine gun teams is to support the infantry. Use them to suppress your opponent before launching an assault. Cover any areas the enemy might use to advance his troops.

Machine guns offer good penetration ratings (the ability to shoot through cover), and their high rate of fire makes them ideal for suppression. Use them any time the enemy is in your line of sight. However, be careful when your teams are close to the target you are shooting; they may be injured or killed by friendly fire.

Portable pontoon bridges similar to the one pictured are used to cross the Wilhelmina Canal near the village of Son.

Don’t order a machine gun team to move as part of an assault. Their fatigue levels will rise and their fire will be less accurate than that of a well-rested, more mobile team.

Defending Against Machine Guns

If you are being attacked by a machine gun team, lay down a smoke screen to obscure your advance and then engage the machine gun team in hand-to-hand combat. It’s difficult to beat a machine gun team in a firefight.

Using Mortar T eams

Mortar teams are most effective when enemy teams are in open terrain, among trees, and in wooden buildings. These weapons have a high rate of fire and are very useful when the enemy is not in your line of sight. You can also use them to lay down smoke to protect your infantry’s advance.

As with machine gun teams, avoid moving mortar teams as part of an assault. Their fatigue levels will go up and their effectiveness will lessen.

Some tips for using mortars are:

Chapter 7: Tactics and Strategy 49

• Mortar teams run out of ammunition quickly; manage them wisely.

However, when a team has no ammo left, you can send them to the front line to use their smoke grenades and carbines.

• Mortars are long-range weapons. Because of the trajectory of the

shell, mortars are useless at close range.

Defending Against Mortars

If you are attacked by a mortar team, try to determine the location of the enemy mortar team and fire your own mortars at that area. Y ou can also lead an assault against your opponent’s team.

Using Snipers

Snipers are deadly when the enemy has to cross a large open area. A sniper in deep cover can usually fire several shots before the enemy sees him. When he is found, pull him out of the line of fire and hide him in a new place. Snipers avoid shooting if they risk giving their position away, although they will shoot if being assaulted.

Snipers prefer to shoot at leaders. Howev er, don’t rely on snipers too heavily; unlike your infantry teams, they cannot claim control of victory locations.

If you are attacked by a sniper, try to locate the source of the fire, use suppression fire to pin him, and then order your troops to charge or surround him.

Using Antitank T eams

“British paratroopers have landed here, west of Arnhem. We have no idea of their actual strength or intentions. American airborne forces have secured [two] lodgments. ... Simultaneously, Montgomery’s forces have attacked north from the Meuse-Escaut Canal. My belief is that the object is to split our forces. In my opinion, the objectives are the bridges. Once these are secured, Montgomery can drive directly up to the center of Holland and from there into the Ruhr.”—Lieutenant General Wilhelm Bittrich, Commander, II SS Panzer Corps, briefing Major General Heinz Harmel when the latter returns from Berlin in the early morning hours of September 18, 1944

Your only defense against enemy tanks are antitank (AT) guns, your own tanks, and AT teams. You can’t win a battle without these teams. Position them wisely and defend them well. Keep your AT teams spread out; if you deploy them too closely, one shell can wipe out all of them.

Ambushing a tank is the best approach in case you miss with your first shot and your opponent has a chance to return fire. To ambush a tank, allow it to pass by, and then fire at its weak points—usually the side or rear. Antitank weapons are usually ineffective against the tank’s strongest parts.

To minimize the likelihood of the enemy using AT weapons on your tanks, use your infantry to disable your enemy’s AT teams and defenses before sending your tanks into battle.

For more information on tanks, see “Using Tanks,” earlier in this chapter.

Using Heavy Guns

Although guns are primarily antitank weapons, they are also lethal against infantry and long-range targets. Because they can’t be moved after they are deployed, make sure you set up your guns in a protected location with a good line of sight.

50 A Bridge Too Far

To defend against a gun, don’t group up and don’t hide in buildings. Spread out in a field, cautiously approach to within grenade range, and then charge the gun.

Using Flamethrower Teams

Use flamethrowers when you absolutely need to destroy a particular target. After moving your troops to a safe location, use flamethrowers to make an area impassable due to heat and fire. You can also use flamethrowers to attack a strong defensive location, tightly grouped infantry, and even tanks.

If you decide to use a flamethrower in an area where low supplies are a concern, use your flamer early while you still have fuel.

Flamethrowers are the most deadly teams but also the most vulnerable. They consist of only one or two soldiers carrying large quantities of flammable liquid. When you are attacked by a flamethrower, your best options are either to fire at the flamethrower or get out of the way. If you do shoot at a flamethrower, keep your distance. If the flammable liquid is hit, it may explode and severely injure or kill anyone nearby.

Battlefield Tactics

“We felt quite pleased

with ourselves. ...”

—Private James Sims, British 1st Airborne Division, of the feeling among the Red Devils holding the north end of the Arnhem bridge on the morning of September 18, 1944

“[Bullets] whizzed through shattered windows, chopped up floorboards, and we dodged as many flying splinters as we did actual bullets.” —Lance Corporal Arthur Hendy, British 1st Airborne Division, recalling the fighting at the Arnhem bridge

Whether you are fighting an individual battle, a sector campaign, or the Grand Campaign, your goal is to win on the battlefield. The following sections provide information to help you take maps and defeat your opponent.

Using Cover

Cover provides both concealment and protection, which are related but not identical concepts. Concealment hides you from the enemy; protection keeps you from getting injured or killed. Some terrain, such as high grass, can hide you effectively but still leave you vulnerable to enemy fire.

In general, the more powerful the weapon, the greater the degree of protection you’ll need. For example, a wooden building can shield you from rifle fire, but a .50cal. MG bullet can penetrate w ooden walls. However, a stone building can withstand all weapons except the largest guns (75mm or greater).

You can use four types of cover in A Bridge Too Far, each providing varying degrees of concealment and protection.

Linear cover: walls, trenches, gullies

enemy fire coming perpendicular to the line of cover, but poor concealment and protection from parallel fire.

Light cover: high grass, b ushes

protection from enemy fire.

Medium cover: trees, crests, embankments

gives almost no cover from the side or the rear.

Provides good protection against

Provides good concealment, but very poor

Protects from the front, but

Chapter 7: Tactics and Strategy 51

Heavy cover: buildings, f o xholes

Offers excellent protection and conceal-

ment from multiple angles. Some tips for using cover are:

• Make use of cover whenever you can. Avoid getting pinned in cover

that provides poor concealment and protection.

• If you are attacked by an enemy who is using good cover, move your

troops to equal or better terrain, or flank the enemy.

Using Higher Elevations

Higher ground—multistory buildings and hills—has several advantages:

• A better overall view of the battlefield.

• A better line of sight.

• More protection from enemy fire.

It also has some disadvantages. You are an easy target for long-range weapons, and you are more visible to the enemy. Remember, if you can see them, they can see you.

When you are attacked from higher ground, move your troops to a higher elevation to minimize the enemy’s line-of-sight advantage.

Tanks are vulnerable from above. Try to shoot at a tank from a position as much directly above it as possible (a three-story building is ideal).

“... aim right under the gables and shoot meter by meter, floor by floor, until each house collapses.”—Major General Heinz Harmel, Commander, German 10th SS Panzer Division, giving orders to his tank and gun crews on September 19, 1944

Ambushing

Setting an ambush is a much more effective way of killing the enemy than just engaging them in a regular firefight. Use ambushing when your opponent doesn’t know your location. Deploy your troops in good cover and order them to hide. When the enemy is exposed and within close range, fire on them. (If the enemy comes within 30 meters, your troops will fire on their own.)

If you are caught in an ambush and can’t find cover, rush the enemy. Although you have been caught by surprise, your opponent has moved very close to you and is easy to hit.

Using Suppression

You don’t need to hit enemy soldiers to drive them from a position. Suppression—firing at the enemy to keep them from firing back—can reduce morale and effectiveness enough to make them panic and run. Also, because the return fire from a suppressed enemy is minimal, you can send in a team to assault them.

Elements of British XXX Corps move through the rubble-strewn streets of Nijmegen.

52 A Bridge Too Far

“The Germans had decided to shell us out of existence. [It was like] lying in a freshly dug grave just waiting to be buried alive.”—Private James Sims. British 1st Airborne Division, on the German fire at the Arnhem bridge on September 19, 1944

Although you can use any weapon for suppression, machine guns and mortars are especially suited to this task.

Suppression fire is a good choice when your opponent has good cover, which reduces your chances of killing him. (Limit use of suppression when supplies are low; it consumes a lot of ammunition.)

Well-planned deployment is the best defense against suppression. Although you’ll generally want to spread your teams out, place them close enough to each other to offer countersuppression or protective fire if the enemy attempts an assault on the suppressed team. If your team is in a vulnerable situation, move them out of the line of fire before the unit sustains heavy casualties.

Some tips for using suppression are:

• When your machine gun teams are firing at fixed targets, switch targets

at regular intervals to maximize the effect of suppression fire.

• The more intense the suppression fire, the closer safe terrain must be

for a team to move to that terrain.

Flanking

Flank the enemy—attack from the side or the rear—when you outnumber him on a wide front. Divide his attention by providing suppression fire while moving your flanking teams into position, and then attack.

Before flanking, study the battlefield. Flanking is less effective when your enemy is well protected from all sides, such as in a building. Furthermore, if the enemy outnumbers you, he can flank your flanking teams.

Using Smoke

Use smoke to provide cover for an assault or retreat, especially on open terrain.

Some tips for using smoke are:

• When you provide covering smoke, issue your troops the Move Fast

command.

• Fire into any smoke that the enemy creates.

• Mortar weapons do not require a line of sight. Use them on troops

covered by smoke.

Using Tanks as Screens

Move a tank between you and the enemy when advancing on open terrain and when the enemy is centralized. Avoid using a tank as a screen in congested terrain or narrow city streets; this invites flanking.

If you are attacked by an enemy using a tank as a screen, you can either defend yourself by killing or immobilizing the tank with antitank weapons, or you can flank the attacking infantry.

Attacking Crews in Vehicles

Chapter 7: Tactics and Strategy 53

A crew in a vehicle that is buttoned up—that is, the entire crew is inside the vehicle—cannot easily spot enemy teams. If a vehicle is fired upon, its crew will button up, which makes them vulnerable to sneak attacks.

Crews that need to be exposed to fire the vehicle’s main weapon are easy targets for small-arms fire.

Rallying Separated Soldiers

To get a soldier who has become separated from his group to rejoin a team, move your leader closer to him. The better the leader, the better the chance that the soldier will join the team.

A soldier may rejoin his original group without encouragement given enough time.

Promoting Morale and Cohesion

Good morale and cohesion are essential for good performance. Troops with bad morale may not listen to their leader and might eventually run from the battle. You can do the following to improve your troops’ morale:

• Keep them busy. Inactive troops (those who haven’t received an order

for more than 30 minutes) may become restless and act on their own.

• Allocate sufficient teams to a maneuver.

• Avoid isolating teams unless it’s strategically advantageous.

• Minimize the likelihood of death or injury.

• Don’t order a team to move or fire if their condition is not conducive to

the order. For example, if you order a fatigued team to move fast for a long distance, you will sacrifice their effectiv eness.

• Keep your troops away from areas with a lot of friendly dead or

wounded soldiers.

Campaign Strategy

“I knew we had reached them because the Americans, taking no chances, halted us with warning fire.”—Corporal William Chennell, Irish Guards Armored Group, on linking up with the U.S. 82nd Airborne Division near Grave on September 19, 1944

“It was the best, most effective fire I have ever seen. Starting from the rooftops, buildings collapsed like doll houses. I did not see how anyone could live through this inferno. I felt truly sorry for the British.”—Private Horst Weber, SS Grenadiers, remembering the German tank and artillery fire at the Arnhem bridge on September 19, 1944

Campaigns add a new strategic layer to the challenge of winning maps. You need to determine the best actions at different points in the game. For example, you need to determine when it’s best to retreat and save your teams, and when you should sacrifice troops and press on. You also need to know when to use and when to save your supplies, especially if you are playing as the Allies.

The following sections describe the different operations in the game and provide basic guidelines for how to approach these operations, for both Allied and German players.

Arnhem Bridge

If you are playing as the Allies, you’ll have a fairly easy battle until September 18. You should be able to pr ess on all the way to the Arnhem

54 A Bridge Too Far

After being held off by the Germans, then held back by their commanders, Allied tanks finally roll across the Nijmegen bridge toward Arnhem.

“I was surprised to discover upon my arrival that we did not have the Nijmegen bridge. I assumed it would be in airborne hands by the time we reached it and we’d simply sweep on through.”—Major General Allan Adair, Commander, Guards Armored Division, recalling the situation when he arrived at Grave on September 19, 1944

Bridge map. But if you take too much time, the

Germans will accumulate reinforcements and make

this map more difficult. Whether you delay or not,

though, you’ll meet heavy German resistance at the

Arnhem rail bridge.

If you’re playing as the Germans, push hard to

make sure the Arnhem rail bridge blows, even if it

means sacrificing your troops. You’ll get more

troops each day starting on the 18th, with a major

reinforcement on the 20th. Fight hard to clear the

British off the Arnhem Bridge map.

Oosterbeek

If you are playing as the Allies, delay as much as you can. Because you won’t be able to hold the landing zone for very long, don’t expend too much effort trying to keep it. The terrain is very poor, defensively. Slowly fall back. Hopefully, by the time you reach the Oosterbeek Cauldron map, the Poles will have linked up with you and provided fresh resources. Expect a big assault once Arnhem falls. The Germans will get more troops to try to push you back to the river.

As the Germans, you’ll have a difficult time mounting an offensive for the first few days. Don’t sacrifice too many troops until September 19, when you’ll have a large enough force to defeat the British. After the 19th, this should be a battle of attrition as long as you were able to blow the Arnhem rail bridge and stall the Polish drop at Driel. If you failed at either of these objectives, the British will receive more replacements, especially if the Arnhem rail bridge is up and XXX Corps arrives.

Arnhem Relief Attempt

If you’re playing as the Allies, don’t expect a great deal of success, no matter what you do. Because the Germans are getting plenty of reinforcements and the British are getting nearly none, you’ll quickly get pinned down and be forced to retreat. The best you can do is take and hold the West Approach map. This will give the Arnhem Bridge troops muchneeded supplies and reinforcements, and the Germans will have a tough time forcing them out.

If you are playing as the Germans, don’t let the Allies make it to the last map. If they do, the battle in Arnhem itself will be much more difficult. However, it should be fairly easy to hold off the Allies. T r y to lure them into overextending their attack as much as possible so they’ll have fewer troops to add back into the Oosterbeek operation.

Polish Dr op

As the Allies, the landing should be easy, as should taking the town of Driel. The Polish will run into very heavy resistance in the farmlands and

Chapter 7: Tactics and Strategy 55

could potentially lose Driel. Take care not to lose everything while taking the farmlands. Wait for XXX Corps to help force the Germans out and link up with the Oosterbeek operation.

As the Germans, hold at all costs. After XXX Corps arrives, you won’t have much chance to hold your position. Inflict as many casualties as you can as you fight to the last man.

Groesbeek Heights

If you are playing as the Allies, you’ll have the upper hand early and should try to hold the Groesbeek landing zone for as long as possible to ensure resupply. The Germans will continue to get stronger and may force the Americans off the landing zone map into Groesbeek Town. If you lose this operation before the Nijmegen bridge has been taken, the Germans will gain many more reinforcements at the bridge site.

As the Germans, if you can command the Heights, you can block the road XXX Corps uses. If you can get to the Heights before XXX Corps reaches Nijmegen, they will hav e to fight you for the high ground, further delaying their progress.

Nijmegen Bridge

If you are fighting as the Allies, you’ll have a very difficult time taking the bridge. And if the northern end is held by the Germans, you won’t be able to take it at all. Once XXX Corps arrives, it will be a war of attrition where the Germans can continue to hold up XXX Corps as long as they hold the north end of the bridge.

As the Germans, you should be able to defeat the AB troops if they try to press the attack prior to the arrival of XXX Corps. After the Corps arrives, force the Allied player to root out every one of your units at a high cost in troops. If the Allies lose this map, even winning the next one won’t help their overall objectives.

Nijmegen Crossing

As the Allies, you can fight this operation only if XXX Corps reaches Nijmegen Bridge. If this operation succeeds, the Germans at the Nijmegen bridge will be cut out of supply and eventually wither away from the relentless Allied attacks. It should be easy but bloody. Don’t lose too many troops before the bridge is taken.

If you are playing as the Germans, you have a lot of territory to work with. Use it. Inflict as many losses as you can on the first two maps, and then pull back. Facing an intact German force on the last map may be more than the Allies can handle.

Many in the First Allied Airborne Army are afraid the war will end before they get a chance to fight. There is pressure from Washington, D.C. for American airborne forces to be used; there is also pressure from the airborne commanders themselves. Everyone, it seems, wants their unit to be the one to reach Berlin and get credit for crushing the Germans.

The pressure under which the airborne army has operated also contributes to the gung-ho attitude permeating airborne headquarters. Since Operation Overlord in June, 17 airborne operations have been planned only to be canceled at the last minute—nearly one per week. The paratroopers are beginning to suffer morale problems from the continual pressure of preparing for operations that never take place.

“There’s only one way to take this bridge. We’ve got to get it simultaneously—from both ends.” —Brigadier General James M. Gavin, Commander, U.S. 82nd Airborne Division, discussing the Nijmegen bridge with other officers on September 19, 1944

56 A Bridge Too Far

The Island

If you are playing as the Allies, you don’t have the Airborne to clear the way for XXX Corps. Instead, the Corps needs to proceed on their own along a raised, exposed roadway with polder—tracts of low wetlands—on either side.

If you are playing as the Germans, your forces are relatively small, but then you have only one point of assault. This is your last chance to stop XXX Corps from reaching Arnhem or Oosterbeek prior to the German counterattacks finishing them off.

Veghel

“I began to believe that we might be dropping into Holland to reinforce a defeat.”—Major General Stanislaw Sosabowski, Commander, Polish 1st Parachute Brigade, recalling his thoughts prior to flying to Holland

“All we could do was gaze in stupefication at our friends going to inevitable death.”—Reverend G. A. Pare, Chaplain, Glider Pilot Regiment, British 1st Airborne Division, describing the division watching the third lift at Arnhem on September 19, 1944

This operation should be easy for the Allies until German armor appears in a counterattack on September 22. A second counterattack occurs on the 23rd, but you should be able to hold them off.

As the Germans, you don’t have much chance to keep the bridge or town from being taken but you do want to inflict as many casualties as possible. You’ll launch your counterattack against the troops that remain. Because you need to launch the counterattack before Allied reserves arrive, make the best use of your time to gain ground.

Son

As the Allies, you’ll have a very hard time taking the Son bridge before it blows. After XXX Corps arrives, they can mop up any remaining resistance. On September 20, a very large German counterattack will threaten the Son bridge. That afternoon, the British armor reinforcements will arrive to repulse the attack and secure the Son bridge.

As the Germans, you should be able to blow the bridge by saving your units from Son Town and using them to beef up the defense of the bridge. If your forces are relatively numerous and healthy, try to hold the Allies off at Son Town. After XXX Corps comes to repair the bridge, wait for your strong counterattack force to arrive, and try to retake the bridge so it can be blown again. If your forces are not strong enough for that, try to prevent XXX Corps from receiving supplies by holding at least part of the Son Bridge map.

Schijndel

The Schijndel operation is fairly evenly balanced. The Allies have the advantage until the Germans receive new supplies on September 18. The Allies win the advantage back when XXX Corps arriv es on the 19th. The Germans regain their edge on the 23rd, but the Allies are again the tougher force on the 24th.

Chapter 8: Playing Two-Player Games 57

Chapter 8

Playing Two-Player Games

In one-player mode, your opponent is a computer’s artificial intelligence program. Two-player mode pits you against a foe that may be even more challenging than the computer: another human being.

You can find opponents, chat with other A Bridge Too Far players, and take advantage of easy-to-use Internet matchmaking on the Microsoft Internet Gaming Zone. For more information, go to the following Web site: http://www.zone.com.

To set up a two-player game without using the Internet Gaming Zone, you and your opponent need to decide who will host and who will join. In most cases, the joiner will need the host’s IP address. You can exchange your TCP/IP addresses with your opponent through e-mail or a second phone line.

Types of Connections

You can use any of four types of connections to play A Bridge Too Far. Both the host and the joiner must use the same type of connection. Certain types of connections have special requirements for protocols and modems.

Close Combat TCP

To use this type of connection for a two-player game

on a Macintosh (Macintosh-to-Macintosh or Macintosh to a computer running Windows-based software), the TCP/IP protocol must be installed on both computers.

DirectPlay TCP

To use this type of connection for a two-player game in

which both computers are running Windows-based software, the TCP/IP protocol must be installed on both computers.

DirectPlay Modem

To use this type of connection for a two-player game

over a direct modem connection in which both computers are running Windows-based software, both players must have 28.8-speed modems.

DirectPlay Serial

To use this type of connection for a two-player game in

which both computers are running Windows-based software, they must be connected by serial ports using a NULL modem cable.

Many German units that fight during Operation Market-Garden comprise whatever military personnel are available.

“It was thought that a display of tanks would probably cause the enemy to withdraw.”—Official report, British Grenadier Guards, explaining the assault on the Nijmegen bridge on September 19, 1944

58 A Bridge Too Far

Starting a Two-Player Game

“I was thinking clearly, but we had had nothing to eat and no sleep. We were limited to one cup of water daily, and everyone was wounded.”—Captain Eric Mackay, Royal Engineers, assessing the bridge defender’s situation at the end of the day on September 19, 1944

“As we left the outskirts of Arnhem, I knew somehow we wouldn’t be going back.”—Private Walter Boldock, 3rd Battalion, 1st Parachute Brigade, British 1st Airborne Division, after his unit’s advance toward the Arnhem bridge was stopped by heavy German fire on September 19, 1944

The procedure for starting a two-player game differs depending on whether you’re the host or a joiner.

T o host a two-player game 1

If you are playing over the Internet, connect to your Internet service provider.

On the Command screen, click Players to switch to Two Players, and then click Connect.

The Two Player Options dialog box appears.

In the Your ‘Net’ Name box, type a name you want to use throughout the game.

This name appears in messages that either you or the game itself sends to your opponent.

Click Host Game, and then click a connection type, as explained in the previous section.

If you chose either a DirectPlay Modem connection or a DirectPlay Serial connection, fill in the dialog box that appears.

Click OK.

As you would for a one-player game, choose a battle, operation, or campaign; choose a side; choose a difficulty level; and then click

Begin!

The host’s Begin! button is available only after the client accepts the settings.

To join a two-player game 1

If you are playing over the Internet, connect to your Internet service provider.

On the Command screen, click Players to switch to Two Players, and then click Connect.

The Two Player Options dialog box appears.

In the Your ‘Net’ Name box, type a name you want to use throughout the game.

This name appears in messages that either you or the game itself sends to your opponent.

Click a connection type, as explained in the previous section, and then click Join Game.

If you chose a DirectPlay Serial connection, fill out the dialog box that appears.

If you chose a TCP/IP connection, in the Host IP Address box, enter the host’s IP address.

Click OK, and then click Begin! to accept the host’s settings.

Chapter 8: Playing Two-Player Games 59

Using the Net Status Bar

After you have connected with your opponent, the net status bar, shown in the following figure, appears. This box shows information on your connection, provides a way to communicate with your opponent (as explained in the next section), and allows you to disconnect from the game.

The net status bar always appears while you are connected, no matter what part of the game you are viewing. In the combat screen, the net status bar appears in the left portion of the toolbar. In all other screens in the game, the box appears in the lower-left portion of the screen.

To disconnect from a two-player game

On any screen in the game, in the net status bar, click Disconnect.

Communicating with Your Opponent

You can send messages to or receive messages from your opponent at any time during the game. The first line of a new message sent across the network appears in the net status bar. You can then bring up a chat window to view the rest of the message and, if you want, to reply to that message.

“Your boys are hurting up there at Arnhem. You’d better go. It’s only 11 miles.”—Colonel Reuben Tucker, Commander, 504th Regiment, U.S. 82nd Airborne Division, speaking to British officers near Nijmegen on September 20, 1944

The game itself also sends you messages to keep you informed of your opponent’s actions. F or example, if your opponent proceeds to a new map, you receive a message from the game telling you about this change.

T o see an entire message

In the net status bar, click Chat Window. A chat window appears on the screen, displaying the message.

T o send a message 1

If the chat window is not already on your screen, in the net status bar , click Chat Window .

A chat window appears on the screen.

Type your message, and then click Send. To close the chat window, press

ESC.

“Jim, never try to fight an entire corps off one road.”—Lieutenant General Brian Horrocks, Commander, British XXX Corps, to Brigadier General James Gavin, Commander, U.S. 82nd Airborne Division, on September 20, 1944

60 A Bridge Too Far

The nearly vertical angle of the mortar tube in this picture indicates how close the target is to these Red Devils.

Chapter 9

History

Situation Report

September 1, 1944

On all major fronts—Russia, Italy , Southern France, and Northwest Europe—the German Army is being pushed back. Mostly, German units

continue to fight well and, while they are often now in retreat, there are no routs. The once mighty Wehrmacht is simply running out of men, materiél, and machines. The industrial centers of Germany are being hit every day by armadas of Allied bombers. Their resupply routes and equipment, both road and rail, are under almost constant attack by Allied aircraft. Most senior German officers know the war’ s end is near, but Adolf Hitler and his inner circle are determined to fight on.

The Allies ha ve hit full stride in the production of the machines of war . Ships, airplanes, tanks, guns, and the materiél to support them are being produced and shipped in astounding numbers. The North

Atlantic, once under the control of packs of German submarines, is now for all intents an “American and British pond.” There is a cornucopia of the implements of war being produced and shipped to Europe. However, getting this wealth of materiél to the front lines is another matter.

Plans, Politics, and Logistics

August 23, 1944

U.S. General Dwight Eisenhower, charged with commanding a coalition army, favors a broad-front strategy: He plans to maintain constant and equal pressure along a thousand-mile front. British Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery , overall commander of all ground forces, favors a singlethrust strategy: He wants a 20- to 40-division force to smash through the shell of the German defenses and drive across the North German Plain, the industrial heart of Germany, to end the war before Christmas.

The Supreme Commander is willing to give Montgomery’s 21st Army Group the majority of the Allies’ supplies under one condition: Montgomery must capture a port city. The growing supply problem makes the port city of Antwerp a great prize. It is one of the world’s finest deepwater ports; it has hundreds of acres of cranes, wharves, warehouses, dry-docks,

Chapter 9: History 61

“... I knew I had no more chance of reaching them [the men at the Arnhem bridge] than I had of getting to Berlin.”—Major General Robert Urquhart, Commander, British 1st Airborne Division, on his decision to contract his perimeter on September 20, 1944

Operation Market’s successful delivery of the men, machines, and materiél of the first lift to the drop and landing zones is a huge logistical success. Over 4,700 aircraft— transports, bombers, fighters, fighterbombers, and gliders—are used on the first day.

Over 1,400 bombers pound targets along the Eindhoven–Arnhem corridor during the early morning hours. At 0945 hours, the transports

and tow planes pulling their gliders begin taking off from 24 airfields in England. Nearly 1,500 fighters and fighter-bombers provide protection all along the route.

By 1200 hours, the entire first lift is in the air. At least 20,000 men, over 500 vehicles, over 300 field and antitank guns, and nearly 600 tons of supplies are winging toward Holland.

62 A Bridge Too Far

“I was given the bare bones of a scheme, with only a few hours to develop a plan.”—Major General Stanislaw Sosabowski, Commander, Polish 1st Parachute Brigade, on the challenge he faced when notified the brigade’s drop and landing zones had changed on the morning of September 20, 1944

“Who’s failing in their job? Not us!”—Lance Corporal Gordon Spicer, British 1st Airborne Division, summarizing the feelings of the Arnhem bridge defenders when surrender seemed inevitable on September 20, 1944

sluice gates, and locks. Capturing the city and port facilities, and clearing the Scheldt Estuary , will solve the Allied supply problems in one strok e.

September 4, 1944

Belgium

Elements of British XXX Corps race into Antwerp. Still, the port can’t be used until the banks of the Scheldt Estuary (54 miles long and 3 miles wide at its mouth) are cleared of German forces.

Montgomery has assured Eisenhower that the 21st Army Group can clear the Scheldt Estuary and make the drive around the West Wall. However, in one of the greatest missed opportunities of the war, the British pause in Antwerp and do not clear the Scheldt Estuary. This not only makes Antwerp useless as a port but allows the German Fifteenth Army to escape and join the defense of the German Homeland.

East Prussia

Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt, after four days of waiting, is summoned for an audience with Adolph Hitler and reinstated as Commander in Chief West. Rundstedt has no illusions; he knows the situation is hopeless. Rundstedt believes the war will be o v er in a matter of weeks, but his Prussian military background has taught him to carry out his orders, so he starts the journey to his new headquarters at K oblenz.

General Kurt Student, founder of Germany’s airborne forces, receives a phone call at 1400 hours from Hitler’s operations chief, Gen. Alfred Jodl. Student is commander of the newly formed First Parachute Army, Jodl tells him. As commander, he is responsible for mobilizing his army; they are to be deployed along the Albert Canal.

Holland

In the north, Lt. Gen. Wilhelm Bittrich (based on Field Marshal Walter Model’s orders) has diseng aged his II SS Panzer Corps from the front line and moved its two divisions, the 9th and 10th SS P anzer Divisions, to the fields and forests around Arnhem to rest and refit.

September 10, 1944

Belgium

Eisenhower flies to Montgomery’s headquarters near Brussels. The field marshal proposes Operation Market-Garden; he wants to use the First Allied Airborne Army to seize a series of bridges along a roughly 60-mile corridor from Eindhoven to Arnhem in Holland (Operation Market). The bridge at Arnhem, over the Lower Rhine, is the real prize: the gateway to Germany.

Once the airborne units begin landing, British XXX Corps will driv e through the corridor and across the captured bridges (Operation Garden).

Possession of the Arnhem bridge will give Montgomery—and the Allies—the crossing needed to flank the West Wall and roll up the German flank and open the way to Berlin.

Eisenhower is impressed with the bold and imaginative plan, agreeing to it with some conditions: The airborne operations can go ahead, but the drive into the Ruhr River valley must be a part of the broad-front advance. Moreover, the entire operation must be conducted as soon as possible. Finally, clearing the banks of the Scheldt Estuary must remain a primary objective.

England

Lieutenant General Lewis H. Brereton, commander of the Allied First Airborne Army, holds the first planning meeting for Operation Market. More than 25 officers cro wd into Brereton’s office to hear General Browning’s briefing on Montgomery’s plan. After Browning briefs the group, Brereton tells the officers that major decisions must be made immediately—the planners have only seven days.

The logistics of Operation Market are both immense and intricate: The plan calls for three and one-half airborne divisions to be dropped at strategic points along a 60-mile corridor in Holland. These divisions are to secure major river and canal crossings, ov er which the XXX Corps tanks are to sprint in the race to flank the West Wall. Montgomery assures anyone who will listen that the operation can be completed in two days.

Chapter 9: History 63

“Arnhem entirely in enemy hands. Request all possible steps [to] expedite relief. Fighting intense and opposition extremely strong. Position not too good.”—Major General Robert Urquhart, Commander, British 1st Airborne Division, in a message to Lieutenant General Frederick Browning, Commander, British I Airborne Corps, on September 20, 1944

During Operation Overlord (Allied invasion in Normandy), the airborne forces landed at night; the cover of darkness afforded the Allies the advantage of surprise but also hindered assembly of paratroopers on the ground. Brereton decides on a daylight drop: The benefits of accuracy in the drop and landing zones, along with the resultant quick assembly of troops, outweighs the lack of surprise a daylight drop involves.

The corridor is divided into three sectors. The U.S. 101st Airborne Division (Screaming Eagles), commanded by Maj. Gen. Maxwell D. Taylor, is assigned the southern sector—a 15-mile corridor between Veghel (north) and Eindhoven (south).

The division’s objectives are a major canal bridge over the Willems Canal, another major bridge crossing the Wilhelmina Canal, and nine other bridges along the corridor at St. Oedenrode, Best, and Eindhoven.

The 101st Airborne’s major landing area is centered in the sector—just over 1 mile from Son. Taylor does not want a repeat of Operation Overlord, where his division was spread over miles of Normandy’s swamps

Even though the Germans have few reinforcements and even fewer ways to move them to the front, they are able to bring more troops into the fighting around Arnhem than the Allies.

64 A Bridge Too Far

Major Sepp Kraft, commander of the SS Panzer Grenadier Training and Reserve Battalion, is livid when told he must move his headquarters. For five days, Oosterbeek’s Tafelberg Hotel has served as Kraft’s headquarters; his three companies billeted in Oosterbeek must also move. At first he refuses; why should an SS major move his headquarters?

The officer arguing with him smiles and tells Kraft there is no choice: Field Marshal Walter Model is moving German Army Group B headquarters into the hotel. An unbowed Kraft moves his headquarters to Wolfheze, a small village northwest of Oosterbeek; his companies bivouac in the surrounding country. Unwittingly, Kraft has placed his unit on the eastern edge of the British 1st Airborne’s landing and drop zones—and directly in the Red Devils’ path to the Arnhem bridge.

and farms. Two regiments are to land at this site, while the third regiment will land at two smaller landing areas north and west of Veghel.

The U.S. 82nd Airborne Division (All-American), commanded by Brig. Gen. James M. “Jumping Jim” Gavin, is assigned the middle sector. This 10-mile-long and 12-milewide area encompasses the division’s objectives. One objective is to capture two bridges at Grave: One is the giant road bridge over the Mass River; the other is one of four road or railway bridges over the Maas−Waal Canal. Another objective is the road bridge in the center of Nijmegen. The 82nd’s final objective is the Groesbeek Heights, high ground just east of Groesbeek that dominates the surrounding countryside; securing the heights secures control of the roads conver ging on Nijmeg en.

Gavin selects landing zones as near to the objectives as possible. He selects three landing zones near the Groesbeek Heights. The 508th and 505th Regiments will land in these zones; the 508th is to secure the bridge at Nijmegen, while the 505th is assigned to securing the heights. Gavin’s other regiment, the 504th, has two landing zones: one east of Grave and one just west. One company will land near the west end of the Grave bridge and try to secure the bridge in a coup de main.

“I have never seen a more gallant action.”—Lieutenant General Frederick Browning, Commander, British I Allied Airborne Corps, after observing the first wave of U.S. 82nd Airborne paratroopers crossing the Waal River in assault boats on September 20, 1944

The British 1st Airborne Division (Red Devils), commanded by Maj. Gen. Robert E. “Roy” Urquhart, is assigned the northern sector— the Arnhem road and railroad bridges. The Arnhem road bridge is the key to the whole operation. If it is secured, the Allies can roll across into Germany and then on to Berlin. While Urquhart has commanded (with distinction) under fire in Africa, the Middle East, and Italy, Operation Market will be his initiation as commander of an airborne force in combat.

The 1st Airborne has a simple objective: secure the great road bridge over the Lower Rhine at Arnhem until XXX Corp’s Operation Garden tanks roar across into Germany.

In selecting drop and landing zones, Urquhart lacks hard lessons learned by Taylor and Gavin in Normandy and selects landing zones 6 to 8 miles from Arnhem. With landing zones so far from the objective, and because the Red Devils must hold on the longest, the 1st Airborne must commit a larger proportion of its force to defending their landing zones than the 101st or 82nd.

Assigned to assist the Red Devils is the Polish 1st Parachute Brigade, commanded by Maj. Gen. Stanislaw Sosabowski. This unit will be dropped south of the 1st Airborne on D Plus 2.

One factor bothers all three division commanders. Only a portion of Operation Market’ s men, materiél, and machines can be landed on D-Day. None of the commanders relish going into combat with less than a full complement of men and equipment.

Howev er, overriding all the planning for both Operation Market and Operation Garden is the same refrain from intelligence sources: The Germans are beaten and disorganized. When a young British intelligence officer produces air reconnaissance photographs showing the II SS Panzer Corps tanks around Arnhem, the tanks are dismissed as “inoperable.” The intelligence officer is then ordered to take a medical leave.

September 16, 1944

Belgium

At 1100 hours, Lt. Gen. Brian Horrocks, the popular commander of British XXX Corps, meets with the officers of his command to brief them on Operation Garden. He tells the audience that while Operation Market will open the corridor to Arnhem, XXX Corps will mak e Operation Garden a success by blasting through the German lines and driving through the corridor. There is to be no pause in the advance—“Keep going like hell,” Horrocks tells his officers.

Holland

Throughout the Allied planning period, German strength in Holland increases. The Fifteenth Army’s men, along with elements of the di visions retreating ahead of the Allied advance, have been fed into the defenses in Holland. Field Marshal Walter Model, demoted to commander of Army Group B when Rundstedt is reinstated as commander in the west, has moved his headquarters to Oosterbeek, just west of Arnhem. This move displaces Maj. Sepp Kraft’s SS P anzer Grenadier Training and Reserve Battalion; Kraft now bivouacs his units in the w oods near Wolfheze. These units are camping in the woods adjacent to the fields the 1st Airborne Division plan to use as drop and landing zones.

Operation Market-Garden

Sunday, September 17, 1944

0800 Hours

Bombers from the U.S. 8th Air Force hit antiaircraft batteries and other targets along the intended air routes.

0945 Hours

The first of over 2,000 transports, tow planes, and gliders begin thundering into the clear blue sky over England. C-47s carrying paratroopers take off and form into 45-plane serials (formations); Halifax, Sterling, and Albermarle bombers pull nearly 500 gliders laden with paratroopers, equipment, and supplies up into the air.

Chapter 9: History 65

“... I had no intention of doing anything until I was absolutely sure that it was lost.”—Major General Heinz Harmel, Commander, 10th SS Panzer Division, remembering his thoughts on destroying the Nijmegen bridge while watching the U.S. 82nd Airborne’s assault on September 20, 1944

“Everything seemed to pass through my mind all

at once. ... What is the

most urgent, most important action to take? It all came down to the bridges ... if Bittrich had been in my shoes, he would have blown the main bridge.”—Major General Heinz Harmel, Commander, 10th SS Panzer Division, recalling what he thought as he watched British tanks crossing the Nijmegen bridge on September 20, 1944

66 A Bridge Too Far

1230 Hours

The pathfinders—paratroopers assigned the task of marking the drop and landing zones—begin floating down onto the drop and landing zones.

1253 Hours

“The hardest thing to bear was the feeling that we had just been written off.”—Private James Sims, British 1st Airborne Division, remembering the feeling shared by the surrendering British paratroopers at the Arnhem bridge on September 20, 1944

The transports carrying the 101st Airborne run into intense flak. But the IX Troop Carrier Command pilots hold their planes on course and complete their missions.

1300 Hours (H-Hour)

In the 101st Airborne’s sector , nearly 7,000 Screaming Eagles float down toward zones in the Eindhoven sector. Virtually all of them land safely; however, 13 gliders carrying some of the 101st’ s jeeps, antitank weapons, and supplies are lost.

In the 82nd Airborne’s sector , most of the paratroopers and gliders land safely and are soon in action or moving toward their objectives.

In the 1st Airborne’s sector, more losses are suffered, but still most of the men and equipment are landed safely .

Operation Market is off to a good start. The v ast majority of men ha v e landed safely and, despite the loss of some equipment, the Allied paratroopers feel confident they can hold on until XXX Corps arriv es in 48 hours.

Communications prove to be a major problem during all phases of Operation MarketGarden. Several times during XXX Corps’ drive to Arnhem, communications between the Irish Guards Armored and the Royal Air Force (RAF) ground support aircraft is lost. This silence slows the drive toward Arnhem by forcing the British to deploy infantry rather than using rocket-firing Typhoon fighter-bombers to clear the way.

At Arnhem, the communication problems are twofold. First, the radios supplied to the British 1st Airborne Division don’t work, for the most part, although communication between the landing zones and bridge defenders is established as the battle drags on. A tenuous connection is also made between 1st Airborne and British I Airborne Corps headquarters (near Nijmegen) by way of England. Because the battalions moving toward Arnhem cannot communicate with division headquarters, or each other, the

fact that Colonel Frost’s battalion reaches Arnhem by marching along the undefended river road never reaches the rest of the Red Devils. This information, along with securing the Driel-Heavedorp ferry, might have changed the battle in favor of the British.

Perhaps the single most devastating communication failure is between the 1st Airborne and ground support aircraft; the Red Devils are unable to call in air strikes that might have turned the tide of battle in their favor. As it was, the Germans were able to employ armor with impunity from the air. More than one German panzer commander stated after the war that Allied air attacks were the single biggest factor in preventing organized armor counterattacks on the Western Front. To surrender such a potent weapon proved devastating to the Red Devils at Arnhem.

1315 Hours Vught

Colonel General Kurt Student, commander of the German First Parachute Army , stares up at the grand formations roaring overhead and immediately deduces the Allied intent: captur e the bridges at Eindhov en, Gra v e, and Nijmegen. This fits together with the b uildup in Allied traff ic south of the Maas−Scheldt Canal.

1330 Hours Doetinchem

The commander to the II SS Panzer Corps, Gen. Wilhelm Bittrich, recei v es a report tha t airborn e forces are landing at Arnhem and Nijmegen. Bittrich believes the airborne forces are trying to isolate the Fifteenth Army so British armor can dri v e into Germany . He orders the 9th Hohenstaufen to a ttack and secure Arnhem and the bridge, while the 10th Frundsberg is to advance south to Nijmegen.

The immediate defense of Arnhem falls to SS Maj. Sepp Kraft. His SS Panzer Grenadier Training and Reserve Battalion is bivouack ed in the woods near Wolfheze. Kraft can see British paratroopers landing just a few hundred yards from his headquarters.

Kraft quickly surmises that the only objective of any military importance is the Arnhem bridge and organizes his unit to defend the roads leading to Arnhem.

Chapter 9: History 67

Paratroopers of the 101st and 82nd Airborne Divisions fight to keep the road to Arnhem open until they can be relieved by XXX Corps.

1345 Hours Grave bridge

Lieutenant John S. Thompson’s 17 paratroopers land slightly in adv ance of the rest of Company E (504th Regiment, 82nd Airborne); Thompson’ s unit is less than one-half mile from the west end of the Grave bridge. It takes Thompson’s men less than an hour to secure one of the 82nd Airborne’s primary objectives.

1400 Hours Wolfheze

Major Anthon y Deane-Drummond, a 1st Airborne signals officer, listens as the radio signals being sent by the advancing brigades are fading. The brigades are less than 2 miles away and already some units have f aded out completely . The 1st Airborne’s units cannot communicate with each other or the advancing XXX Corps. Communication failures play a major role in the coming battle.

“Tell Bittrich. They’re over the Waal.”—Major General Heinz Harmel, Commander, 10th SS Panzer Division, to II SS Panzer Corps headquarters after Harmel is unable to destroy the Nijmegen bridge on September 20, 1944

68 A Bridge Too Far

“You can’t imagine anything more unsuitable for tanks: steep banks with ditches on each side that could be easily covered by German guns.”—Major General Allan Adair, Commander, Guards Armored Division, remembering the road between Nijmegen and Arnhem

“Our situation reminded me of the early American West, where small garrisons had to contend with sudden Indian attacks at any point along great stretches of vital railroad.”—Major General Maxwell Taylor, Commander, U.S. 101st Airborne Division, summarizing his division’s attempt to secure its 15mile long sector

1415 Hours

−−

Dutch

−

Belgian Border

−−

Near the Dutch−Belgian border, the thousands of vehicles and men that comprise the Operation Garden force—Lt. Gen. Brian Horrocks’ XXX Corps—wait for word to advance. Lt. Col. J.O.E. “Joe” Vandeleur’s Irish Guards Armored Group will lead the giant column.

As the Irish Guards wait in their tanks and armored vehicles, the 30minute artillery barrage that precedes Operation Garden begins. At 1435 hours, the first tanks begin to advance as the artillery barrage beg ins “walking” ahead of the lead tank. The commander of the lead squad radios that the advance is going well.

Then voices yell over the radios; oily black smoke smears the blue Dutch sky. The German gunners have let the barrage roll ov er them, even let the first few tanks pass, before emerging from their shelters and opening f i re. In minutes, nine disabled or burning tanks block the road to Eindhoven.

Lieutenant Colonel Vandeleur calls in air support from rocket firing Typhoon fighter-bombers and orders an armored b ulldozer to clear the way. Infantry deploy and move ahead to root out the German gun crews as the Typhoons unleash their rockets. Soon the advance be g ins to mov e again—but more slowly than e xpected.

General Brian Horrocks estimated that XXX Corps would reach Eindhoven, 13 miles beyond the breakout point, in 2 or 3 hours. By nightfall on Operation Garden’ s f i rst day, they have driven just 7 miles.

1425 Hours Veghel

The 101st Airborne captures the four bridges at Veghel almost as soon as they land. At St. Oedenrode, the highw ay bridge is quickly secure d. Units heading for the secondary bridge at Best run into heavy German fire. As elements of the 506th Regiment move within hand grenade range of the bridge at Son, the Germans blow it up.

About the same time, the Germans are the beneficiary of a stroke of luck. A briefcase, found in a crashed glider, is brought to Col. Gen. Kurt Student. Inside are the Operation Market-Garden plans: the landing zones, the objectives, the time tables. The plans end any indecision on Student’s

part: “[The plans] showed us e v erything. ... I knew exactly what to do.”

The commander of the First Parachute Army orders units to defend the bridges.

1430 Hours Doetinchem

Chapter 9: History 69

Field Marshal Walter Model, commander of Army Group B, arrives at General Bittrich’ s II SS P anzer Corps headquarters to hear Bittrich’s theory on Allied strate gy. The airborne forces are intended to isolate the Fifteenth Army while British armor dri ves for the Rhine. Bittrich tells Model the bridges at Nijmegen and Arnhem should be immediately destroyed. Model disagrees, “The bridges are not to be blown.”

1530 Hours Oosterbeek

The three battalions of the 1st Airborne’s 1st Parachute Brigade continue moving toward the Arnhem bridge along three routes. There is only sporadic resistance at first, but by 1630 hours two of the three battalions are halted by fire from SS Maj. Sepp Kraft’s grenadiers and lead elements of the 9th Hohenstaufen. Only the 2nd Battalion, commanded by Col. John Frost, continues to advance toward the bridg e; Frost’s men are following a secondary road while the others follow major arterials.

The situation grows more confused as the Red Devils come under more German fire and radio communication proves to be impossible. Major General Urquhart sets out to get firsthand information but instead is trapped in the attic of a house and is out of contact with the rest of the division for nearly two days.

1800 Hours Oosterbeek

Colonel Frost’s battalion reaches the railroad bridge just west of Arnhem. As a team of his paratroopers sprints forward, the Germans detonate the charges wired to the bridge. Disappointed, the battalion continues east toward the main Arnhem bridge.

1900 Hours Arnhem

The 9th SS Panzer’s reconnaissance battalion roars across the Arnhem road bridge to scout the roads to Nijmegen for Allied paratroopers. The column makes a deliberate sweep on both sides of the highway all the way to Nijmegen but f inds nothing.

The movement of the German panzer divisions in Arnhem was slowed in the first few hours of the battle. Lieutenant General Wilhem Bittrich, commander of II SS Panzer Corps, has ordered the 9th SS Panzer Division to return to Germany. Before the 9th Hohenstaufen departs, Bittrich orders its commander, Lieutenant Colonel Walter Harzer, to transfer many of his tanks and vehicles to Major General Heinz Harmel’s 10th SS Panzer Division.

Harzer knows the equipment he gives up will never be replaced, so he has guns and other equipment removed from tanks and vehicles because of “damage.” Harzer reasons he can’t give Harmel damaged equipment. Consequently, when the battle starts, not only must Harzer’s engineers get tanks, self-propelled guns, and armored cars unloaded from the train, they must also put much of the equipment back together before it is deployed.

“I can just imagine the Germans sitting there, rubbing their hands with glee, as they see us coming.”—Lieutenant Colonel Giles Vandeleur, Commander, 2nd Battalion, Irish Guards Armored Group, discussing the prospect of crossing “the Island,” the elevated road between Nijmegen and Arnhem on September 21, 1944

70 A Bridge Too Far

“We had come all the way from Normandy, taken Brussels, fought halfway through Holland, and crossed the Nijmegen bridge. Arnhem and those paratroopers were just up ahead, and almost within sight of that last bloody bridge, we were stopped. I never felt such morbid despair.”—Lieutenant John Gorman, Guards Armored Division, on being stopped near the village of Elst on September 21, 1944

1930 Hours Arnhem

Captain Eric Mackay , leading a small group of Ro yal Engineer s, reaches the Arnhem bridge. The moder n three-span bridge and its ramps stretch 2,000 feet from the city side (north) to the country side (south) of the Lower Rhine. Mackay’ s force takes up positions just east of the br idge’s north ramp; the men ready themselves for the assault on the bridge. Within 30 minutes Colonel Frost and his men begin to arrive, taking up positions on the west side of the ramp. Then the Red Devils rush the bridge; Mackay’s engineer s use a flamethro wer and light off the explosives the Germans have brought out to wire to the bridge. The explosion tears through the German defenders; firing as they run, the paratroopers try to cross to the south side.

Fire from the German positions on the south side of the bridge is heavy and accurate. The Red Devils are dri v en bac k—b ut the Br itish no w secure their hold on the north end of the Arnhem bridge .

Mackay’s little for ce secures a group of b uildings on the east side of the bridge’ s approach; from their positions the engineers can co v er the str eets leading up to, and under, the bridge, along with the northern ramp and the bridge itself.

The Red Devils fight on even when buildings come down on their heads. Here a team armed with a Bren gun (foreground) and Sten gun (second from right) fight from the ruins of a Dutch house.

Frost’s force takes up positions in the buildings on the west side of the bridge; these men will cover the approaches from the west.

Nijmegen

Elements of the 82nd Airborne approach the bridg e in Nijmegen through dark and silent streets. Then, the sound of German machine gun bullets ripping through the air and 20mm cannon shells exploding all around greets the All-American paratroopers. Captain Gräbner’s reconnaissance force has finally found the Allied paratroopers. The Americans are pinned down.

2300 Hours Terbor g

Field Marshal Walter Model receives a long and startling radio message from Col. Gen. Kurt Student: Student has captured the Allied plans for Operation Mark et-Garden. Model refuses to belie v e the plans are authentic. Still, Model is too cagey to discount the plan entirely; orders are sent out to every a v aila ble antiaircraft unit naming the time and place of subsequent Allied troop and supply drops. This proves to be one of the best orders the field marshal issues during the next se v en days.

2330 Hours Arnhem

Major General Heinz Harmel returns to Arnhem after a nearly 12-hour drive from Berlin. Lieutenant General Wilhelm Bittrich briefs Harmel; the II SS Panzer Corps commander tells the 10th SS Panzer commander that the British have landed airborne forces west of Arnhem and an undetermined force is holding the north end of the Arnhem bridge. There has been contact with the enemy at Nijmegen; Harmel is to take his 10th Frundsberg, proceed south, and secure the bridge in Nijmegen. Bittrich then tells Harmel that Lieutenant Colonel Harzer’s 9th Hohenstaufen will attack the British west of Arnhem.

At the end of the first day of Operation Market-Garden, there has been success and failure. Both the 101st and 82nd Airborne succeeded in capturing primary objectives; ho we ver, both must fight off German counterattacks to hold their objecti v es and the 82nd still must secure the Nijmegen bridge. British XXX Corps only covered half the distance from the jumping-off point to Eindhoven, but all are hopeful the pace can be picked up the ne xt day . At Arnhem, the 1st Airborne has a hold on the Arnhem bridge, and the hope of getting the rest of the division to the bridge on Monday .

Monday, September 18, 1944

0000 to 0600 Hours Arnhem

Throughout the early hours of the second day of Operation

The wreckage of two British 3-ton trucks near Nijmegen had been posted with a helpful sign by British sappers: KEEP ON THE ROADS. VERGES NOT CLEARED OF MINES. However, the verges were not mined, but the sign kept many truck drivers from moving onto the verges to let tanks and troops through. The result was traffic jams that took many hours to unsnarl. Throughout Operation Garden, bottlenecks continually developed near Valkenswaard and Eindhoven, restricting the movement of the columns moving north.

Market-Garden, British paratroopers trickle into the positions at the north end of the Arnhem bridge. After spending a night of fighting, Mackay , Frost, and their men are tired and hungry, but they are determined to hold on. If all goes according to plan, XXX Corps tanks will relieve them by the end of the day.

0700 Hours Wolfheze

It has been a sleepless night for the Red Devils defending the drop and landing zones. They are under almost constant attack all night long. Lieutenant General Hans von Tettau, commanding a force of defense and training units, attacks from the west; Lieutenant Colonel Harzer’s 9th Hohenstaufen pounds the 1st Airborne from the east. There is no word at the landing zones from Major General Urquhart. Radio communication remains impossible for the most part, although a tenuous link is established with Colonel Frost at the bridge. All the British paratroopers wait hopefully for the day’s airborne reinforcements and resupply; all gaze hopefully south for the sight of Horrock’s XXX Cor ps tanks.

Chapter 9: History 71

“... every gun on the ground seemed to be aimed at me.”—First Lieutenant Stefan Kaczmarek, Polish 1st Parachute Brigade, remembering the drop of his brigade on September 21, 1944

72 A Bridge Too Far

0930 Hours

“Where the hell is the air support? We were told in the afternoon we couldn’t have any for our attack toward Arnhem, because all the available air effort had to go for the Poles. Where was it now? The weather? Nonsense. The Germans flew; why couldn’t we?”—Captain Roland Langton, Irish Guards Armored Group, watching the unescorted Polish airdrop over Arnhem from his position near Elst on September 21, 1944

Arnhem

Captain Gräbner’s r econnaissance force, alerted to the presence of the British paratroopers at the Arnhem bridge, plans to charge across the bridge and subdue the reportedly lightly armed paratroopers. At first, it appears Gräbner’s plan will succeed, but when Gräbner’s lead v ehicles are destroyed, the attack falters. Captain Gräbner, presented with the Knight’s Cross by Lieutenant Colonel Harzer the day before, is among the dead.

Valkens waar d

The tanks of the Irish Guards Armored Group start crawling toward Eindhoven. Many are anxious to advance as quickly as possible, but they’ ve been held up to let engineers move their bridging equipment up the two-lane road. The column moves along steadily until four 88mm guns and several machine guns stop the British.

Four hours later the lead elements finally pass through Eindhoven and reach the destroyed Son bridge. It is now 1900 hours on D Plus 1, and XXX Corps is still 32 miles from Arnhem.

Nijmegen

While the 82nd Airborne has successfully secured

bridges at Grave, Heuman, and Honinghutie, the

paratroopers are still fighting to capture the

Nijmegen bridge and protect their drop and landing

zones. In the midst of the fighting Gavin receives a

message: The day’s reinforcement and supply drops

have been delayed until 1400 hours.

It is estimated that more than 10,000 Dutch civilians are killed or wounded during the fighting of 1944−45.

1400 Hours

Holland

Again the clear blue sky over Holland is darkened

by seemingly endless serials of Allied transports,

bombers, and gliders. Of the 450 gliders assigned to the 101st’ s landing zones, 428 land safely.

Major General Taylor’s force is bolstered by the nearly 2,700 men he adds to his ranks, along with much-needed vehicles and ammunition.

Of the 454 gliders assigned to the 82nd’s landing zones, 385 land safely, delivering almost 1,800 artillerymen, 177 jeeps, and 60 guns. The 252 B24s lumber over the drop zones at 50 to 800 feet, each attempting to drop 2 tons of supplies. While Brigadier General Ga vin’s paratroopers retrieve 80 percent of their supplies, Taylor’s men recover less than 50 percent.

Over the 1st Airborne’s drop zones, the sky is f illed with para chutes and gliders—and concentrated German fire. The landing zones are covered by

machine gun, mortar, and artillery fire. The situation is chaotic but, by some miracle, most of the paratroopers survive to take positions on the 1st Division’s perimeters. Howev er, the vast majority of supplies falls into the waiting hands of the Germans.

Later that afternoon, Model visits Bittrich. The SS General tries again to convince the Field Marshal that the Nijmegen bridge must be destroyed before the Allies get across. Model is adamant, “The answer is no!” Model has ordered Col. Gen. Kurt Student’s 1st Parachute Army to hold the allies south of Nijmegen; now he orders Bittrich to secure the Arnhem bridge in 24 hours.

1800 Hours Arnhem

At the bridge, Colonel Frost has waited vainly for reinforcements all day. The fighting around the north end of the bridge has been vicious and personal; often small groups of men fight from room to room in burning houses, ruined gardens, and the streets themselves. Frost pins his hopes on the expected drop of the 1st Polish Parachute Brigade scheduled for the next morning. With this concentrated force landing south of the bridge, the Allies can attack from both ends and even link up with the rest of the Red Devils.

Tuesday, September 19, 1944

Chapter 9: History 73

“I was told that it was absolutely vital to impress Horrocks and Browning with the facts that the division had ceased to exist—that we were merely a collection of individuals hanging on.”—Colonel Charles Mackenzie, Chief of Staff, British 1st Airborne Division, on the mission given him by Major General Robert Urquhart on September 22, 1944

0400 Hours Oosterbeek

Four battalions of the 1st Airborne continue fighting their way toward the Arnhem bridge. All are stopped well short of their objective; however, some units advance far enough to free Maj. Gen. Roy Urquhart from his hiding place.

Urquhart is quickly apprised of the situation by his subordinates. He immediately realizes that the Polish drop zone, surrounded by German armor, will be a slaughterhouse. He radios a warning to corps headquarters; the message is never receive d, but it is already moot. For the second consecutive day fog covers most of the airfields in the English Midlands.

0645 Hours Son

Behind schedule by 36 hours, Lt. Col. Vandeleur’s Irish Guards Armored Group begins rolling across the Bailey bridge thrown up by the Royal Engineers. Finally, the armored column makes the kind of progress that Montgomery envisioned; by 0830 hours, the Irish Guards link up with Brigadier General Gavin’s All-American 82nd Airborne at Grave.

“A British breakthrough must be halted at all costs.”—General Wilhelm Bittrich, Commander, II SS Panzer Corps, to his forces guarding the Nijmegen September 21, 1944

−−

−Arnhem road on

−−

74 A Bridge Too Far

Major General Heinz Harmel selects a British prisoner, Sergeant Stanley Halliwell, to cross into the British perimeter to request that Colonel John Frost and Captain Eric Mackay surrender their forces. Harmel knows his casualties have been heavy; he knows that British casualties have to be heavy, too. Halliwell comes through the perimeter under a flag of truce and explains what Harmel wants; Frost gives Halliwell a message for the commander of the 10th Frundsberg: “Go to hell.” Halliwell tells Frost: “If it’s all the same to you, Colonel, I’ll stay. Jerry [the Germans] will get the message sooner or later.”

“The last thing we wanted to be was alarmist, but I felt I had to do something to effect relief— and effect it immediately.”—Major General Robert Urquhart, Commander, British 1st Airborne Division, on his division’s situation on the morning of September 22, 1944

1200 Hours Grantham Airfield

The fog covering the Midland’s airfields refuses to dissipate. Major General Stanislaw Sosabowski receives new orders—a 24-hour postponement.

1400 Hours Best

The battle for the bridge near Best is finally won by Taylor’s 101st, reinforced by British tanks. While the Allies are winning at Best, German tanks attack the Bridge at Son. Taylor leads the only available reinforcements—his headquarters unit—into the battle. The Germans are stopped just short of the bridge.

1530 Hours Nijmegen

Lead elements of XXX Corps and the 82nd storm toward the road bridge near the center of the city . The attack is stopped by determined German fire; the battle rages until after dark, when

the Allied force digs in to w ait for daylight. Now Brigadier General Gavin decides the only w ay to capture the bridge

is to attack it from both ends. The only way to do this is to force a crossing somewhere along the river using assault boats. The assault is scheduled for 1300 hours on September 20.

Arnhem

Colonel Frost now realizes that without relief from XXX Corps his Red Devils will be buried—dead or ali v e . At 1800 hours, two 60-ton Tiger tanks prowl slowly onto the bridge, blasting away at almost point-blank range. Still, the Red Devils keep fighting back. As evening comes on, it seems to Frost that the entire city of Arnhem is ablaze.

Wednesday, September 20, 1944

0700 Hours Grantham Airfield

Major General Stanislaw Sosabowski learns that the drop zones for his Polish parachute brigade have been mov ed to the village of Driel. He has a few hours to revise his plan of attack.

0730 Hours Arnhem

The British paratroopers holding the north end of the Arnhem bridge are now defending smoldering ruins; there are no more than 300 men able to

return the German fire. Hundreds of wounded fill the cellars. There is little ammunition and almost no food and water, but the Red Devils are grimly determined to fight on.

0800 Hours Oosterbeek

Chapter 9: History 75

Major General Urquhart reaches a painful decision: He must pull his perimeter in around the just-discovered ferry at Heveadorp. Then the soon-to-arrive Polish brigade can be ferried across to consolidate a bridgehead on the north bank of the Rhine. This means abandoning the Red Devils at the bridge, which weighs heavily on Urquhart, but the 1st Airborne’s commander realiz es he has too few men to reach the bridge.

1100 Hours Groesbeek Heights

The German counterattacks intensify all along the corridor. Field Marshal Walter Model now has the bulk of the Fifteenth Army—over 80,000 men, 500 guns, and 4,500 vehicles—to feed into his counterattacks. In the 82nd’s sector the Germans again advance out of the Reichswald and threaten to overwhelm his forces. In a seesaw battle that lasts all day, Gavin’s forces finally prevail.

Throughout the day, Major General Harmel is scouting the area between Nijmegen and Arnhem. He quickly realizes that there is only one road that will support tanks without breaking up—the Arnhem−Nijme g en road. In many places the road is elevated 12 feet above the surrounding fields. But Harmel has no artillery in place, which makes clearing the Arnhem bridge imperative.

1250 Hours

“In effect, I planned the withdrawal like the collapse of a paper bag. I wanted small parties stationed at strategic places to give the impression we were still there, all the while pulling downward and along each flank.”—Major General Robert Urquhart, Commander, British 1st Airborne Division, describing his evacuation plan for September 25, 1944

Grantham Airfield

As the Dakota transports rumble to life and begin warming up, a RAF officer climbs aboard the lead plane; the officer tells the stunned Major General Sosabowski that the Midlands are fogged in again—the drop of the 1st Polish Parachute Brigade is postponed another 24 hours.

1300 Hours Nijmegen

One mile west of the railroad bridge at Nijmegen, paratroopers of the 82nd’s 504th Re giment pr epare to cross the 400-yard-wide Waal River. In the face of heavy fire, the fi rst w ave of troopers cross the river, storm over a 20-foot-high dike, and then subdue a German fort. The second wave

Every time the XXX Corps’ drive toward Arnhem stalls, infantry is deployed in an effort to “keep going like hell.”

76 A Bridge Too Far

“All at once I realized I was across. I simply could not believe I had gotten out alive.”—Major George Powell, British 1st Airborne Division, after crossing the Lower Rhine during the evacuation of the Red Devils

“The air plan was bad. All experience and common sense pointed to landing all three Airborne Divisions in the minimum period of time, so that they could form up and collect themselves before the Germans reacted. All three Divisions could have been landed within the space of twelve hours or so, but First Allied Airborne Army insisted on a plan which resulted in the second lift (with half the heavy equipment) arriving more than 24 hours after the Germans had been alerted.”—A post–Market-Garden report prepared by the Royal Air Force

rushes the railroad bridge; attacked from both sides, the German defenders break and run.

As the defense of the railroad bridge collapses, the defenders of the road bridge begin to give way, too. Soon, XXX Corps tanks begin to chase the retreating Germans across the bridge.

1600 Hours Nijmegen

Major General Harmel can see British tanks rolling onto the Nijmegen bridge. He gives the order for the bridge to be destro yed—but nothing happens. As Harmel and his staff start to retreat before the onrushing tanks, he orders every a vailable gun moved and sited on the Nijmegen− Arnhem road.

At the northern end of the Nijmegen bridge, British tankers blast the last remaining obstacles—two 88mm guns—and the road to Arnhem, only 11 miles away, now seems open. It is now 1915 hours.

But the British tanks do not advance. The 82nd’s officers and men are exasperated at the delay. But the British will wait almost 18 hours to refuel, refit, and wait for the infantry to come up.

1800 Hours Arnhem

The bridge defenders surrender or try to escape through the German lines. A final radio message is sent out from the bridge defenders. It never reaches any Allied forces, but it is picked up at 9th SS Panzer headquarters: “Out of ammunition. God Save the King.”

Thursday, September 21, 1944

1100 Hours Nijmegen

The Irish Guards finally begin their driv e toward Arnhem. Just past the village of Bemmel—halfway to Arnhem—the Germans open fire. Again, the lead elements of the column are hit and stopped; again the entire column grinds to a halt.

Oosterbeek

The men of the 1st Airborne are surrounded. Urquhart knows annihilation of his force is imminent; he sends a patrol to secure the ferry landing. The troopers brave machine gun and mortar fire to get to the riverbank and then fight their way back to report the ferry is gone; an errant shell has sliced the cable and the ferry drifted downstream.

1700 Hours Driel

After three delays, the Polish 1st Parachute Brigade finally lifts of f for Arnhem. When they reach the drop zone, they float down through swarms of bullets and exploding shells. The Poles manage to f ight their way to the river; but Maj. Gen. Stanislaw Sosabowski realizes there is no way to help the 1st Airborne.

Friday, September 22, 1944

0530 Hours Nijmegen

Two reconnaissance troops of XXX Corps set out on secondary roads for Driel. They reach Oosterhout and turn north; by 0800 hours, they reach the village on the south bank of the Lower Rhine. The Market and Garden forces are finally linked—albeit tenuously.

0830 Hours Nijmegen

The British 43rd Infantry Division finally starts its adv ance along the Nijmegen−Arnhem road. An hour later, the advance is stalled. It takes the 43rd the rest of the day to slog the remaining 5 miles to Oosterhout and Driel.

1200 Hours

Chapter 9: History 77

As the 1st Airborne’s situation deteriorates, the Red Devil’s pride grows. Acts of courage become commonplace; wounded men stay on the line. Everyone works at keeping morale up in the face of the nearly constant combat. On Sunday morning (September 24), an artillery officer and two gunners begin marching around their position singing military songs. Soon the woods resound with the voices of British soldiers.

Veghel

German armor formations fling themselves at the Screaming Eagles along Hell’s Highway. While Major General Taylor’s 101st is able to stop the Germans, the threat to the corridor slows the drive to Arnhem.

1600 Hours Driel

At 2100 hours, Major General Sosabowski starts ferrying his men across the river in groups of six, using rubber rafts. A German parachute flare illuminates the river; machinegun fire rips through the night. When Sosabowski calls the operation off in the early morning hours of Saturday, only 50 men are across.

78 A Bridge Too Far

Saturday, September 23, 1944

0200 Hours

Driel

A small group of men struggle to get two amphibi-

ous vehicles to the Lower Rhine’s edge. The roads

leading to the river have been plowed into quag-

mires by artillery and mortar rounds. A heavy mist

hangs over the struggling men. Finally, a few yards

from the water, both vehicles slide into the ditch

and can’t be budged. Another effort to save the 1st

Airborne has failed.

1300 to 1700 Hours

Doetinchem

Roughly 2,600 men (out of nearly 10,000) escape to the safety of the south bank of the Rhine. The remainder are either dead or captured; the 1st Airborne is finished as an effective fighting unit.

Field Marshal Walter Model orders “a quick finish” to the Red Devils because the 9th SS Panzer Division is needed ag ainst XXX Corps to the south.

Lieutenant Colonel Harzer’s 9th Hohenstaufen has the British 1st Airborne surrounded. But the narrow streets of Oosterbeek constrict tank mobility , and every time the British lines contract the Red Devils redouble their efforts.

Elst

Bittrich meets with his subordinate in charge of preventing the British from moving up the Nijmegen−Arnhem road. Bittrich is assured that the road can be held for another 24 hours.

1600 Hours Oosterbeek

As with previous supply drops, the one on this day succeeds in dropping Allied supplies into German hands. Ammunition is running very low for the British.

Veghel

The 101st Airborn e, supported by British tanks, once again drives the Germans back from Hell’s Highwa y. Once again, the columns move north along the corridor.

2000 Hours Oosterbeek

Major General Urquhart reports that the perimeter remains unchanged but thinly defended; one good German push may end the fight.

Sunday, September 24, 1944

0700 Hours Oosterbeek

The light of morning reveals a ruined landscape. First light also signals the morning mortar barrage that the British have come to expect. The Red Devils know what to e xpect ne xt, too—combined infantry and armor attacks. The question on ev ery mind inside the 1st Airborne’s perimeter: How long?

1800 Hours Driel

Elements of the British 43rd Infantry Division are to cross the Lower Rhine, but with only enough men to help withdraw the 1st Airborne Division. At 2130 hours, the force moves into position, but the assault boats fail to arrive. By the time they do arrive and are assembled, it is 0200 on Monday , September 25.

Chapter 9: History 79

“[It seemed] that for once Horrocks’ enthusiasm was not transmitted adequately to those who served under him and it may be that some of his more junior officers and NCOs did not fully comprehend the problem and the importance of great speed.”—Major General Robert Urquhart, Commander, British 1st Airborne Division, writing after the war on the performance of XXX Corps during Operation Garden

By Sunday, September 24, 1,300 casualties are crammed into cellars inside the 1st Airborne’s perimeter. The facilities for taking care of them are rudimentary, and by Sunday, these facilities are regularly hit by artillery and mortar fire. By 0930 hours, the division’s chief medical officer, Dr. Graeme Warrack, decides to try to arrange a temporary truce to evacuate the wounded.

Major General Urquhart, 1st Airborne’s commander, grants his permission, but tells Warrack to tell the Germans that the evacuation is by no means the first step toward surrender. Along with two liaison officers and a white flag, Warrack starts toward the German lines.

The 9th SS Panzer Division’s chief medical officer, Major Egon Skalka, agrees with Warrack, but he too must have permission from the division commander. The small party sets out for Lieutenant Colonel Walter Harzer’s headquarters; a telephone

call alerts the commander they are on the way. Both Harzer and Lieutenant General Wilhelm Bittrich, Harzer’s superior, agree to the truce; the firing is to stop for two hours starting at 1500 hours.

At the appointed hour, the firing gradually dies away. A convoy of German vehicles comes through the lines and begins ferrying British and German wounded back to German medical facilities. After nearly 500 wounded are evacuated, gunfire breaks out sporadically; the Poles especially can see no reason to cease firing at the hated Germans. Nor is it easy for the medical personnel to shoo some combative German soldiers back through the lines.

When the cease-fire ends at 1700 hours, the din of battle roars to life again. Many soldiers are relieved to resume fighting; they find the silence disquieting. As one British soldier remembered: “Everything had returned to normal, and I could orient to that.”

80 A Bridge Too Far

2330 Hours Oosterbeek

Major General Roy Urquhart, commander of the British 1st Airborn e Division, sends the following message: “Urquhart to Bro wning. Must warn you unless physical contact is made with us early 25 Sept. consider it unlikely we can hold out long enough. All ranks now exhausted. Lack of rations, water, ammunition and weapons with high of ficer casualty rate. Even slight enemy offensi v e action may cause complete disintegration. If this happens all will be ordered to break toward the bridgehead if anything rather than surrender. Any movement at present in face of enemy impossible. Have attempted our best and will do so as long as possible.”

Monday, September 25, 1944

0200 to 0900 Hours Driel

As elements of the 43rd Infantry begin crossing the Lower Rhine, German fire tears through the flimsy fleet. Of the 420 men who start across, only 239 reach the north bank of the Rhine; it is too few men to establish a solid link with Urquhart’s paratroopers. It does not take Urquhart long to reach a decision. Just after 0800 hours, he decides that the evacuation will take place tonight.

“... a most attractive personality [ but with] a very, very limited brain from a strategic point of view ... [ he was] a very good Supreme Commander, as a field commander he was very bad, very bad.” —Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery, Commander, Allied 21st Army Group, commenting after the war on his commander, General Dwight David Eisenhower

Urquhart plans to have a fe w men keep up a masking fire while the remainder slip away. Glider pilots acting as guides will lead the paratroopers to the ferry landing, where an evacuation fleet of small boats will take the Red Devils across the Rhine.

2100 Hours Oosterbeek

A massive artillery barrage lights up the sk y over the 1st Airborne’s position. Shells from XXX Corps guns across the river pound the German positions around the Red Devils’ perimeter .

Near the ferry landing, the evacuations be gin. A German flare goes up, illuminating the evacuation fleet. Within one hour , half of the boats are destroyed, but the evacuation continues past dawn.

By midmorning the evacuation is o v er, and so is Operation MarketGarden. Allied casualties exceed 17,000; German casualties are between 13,000 and 15,000. The Allies are unable to force a crossing of the Lower Rhine; the Market-Garden corridor remains salient until early 1945.

British casualties are 13,200. Of Major General Urquhart’s original 10,000-man force, only 2,163 paratroopers make it to the south bank of the Rhine; over 1,200 are dead, and 6,600 are missing, wounded, or held

Chapter 9: History 81

prisoner. Hor ro cks’ XXX Corps loses 1,500; other British ground units lose 3,900 in supporting attacks. What is left of the British 1st Airborne Division returns to England; the war is over for the Red Devils.

American casualties are nearly 4,000. Major General Taylor’s 101st Airborne Division loses 2,100; Brigadier General Gavin’s 82nd Airborne Division loses 1,400; and the IX Troop Carrier Command and other air crews lose over 400. Both the Screaming Eagles and All-Americans will remain at the front lines until December.

“He got so damn personal to make sure that the Americans and me, in particular, had no credit, had nothing to do with the war, that I eventually just stopped communicating with him. ... I was just not interested in keeping up communications with a man that just can’t tell the truth.”—General Dwight David Eisenhower, Supreme Commander, SHAEF, commenting after the war on his subordinate and originator of Operation Market-Garden, Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery

82 A Bridge Too Far

Index

A Bridge Too Far

game described 1 installing 3 introduction 1 quick start iv starting game 4

system requirements 3 Ability statistics 37 Action, current, described

(table) 21 Action type, choosing 5 Active Teams listing 30 Adair, Allan 54 Adding

reserves 31 units to teams 31

victory locations 41 Air supply 35 Allied forces

colors 23

evacuation from Norway 5

securing, repairing bridges 16

selecting air or ground

supply 35

star symbol 9 Allies

choosing side 6 Ambushing 51 Ammunition

conserving 13

types (table) 22 Antitank teams 49 Area, expanding game

resolution 4 Armored cars, using 46 Arnhem bridge

relief attempt 54

strategy 53 Assault guns 47 Attitudes of soldiers, status 37 Awards, bravery, injury 38

Battle flow, introduction 1 Battle monitors 19 Battlefield

identifying elements 24 tactics 50

Battlemaker

thumbnail sketches 40 utility, using 39

Battles

choosing map by battle

name 41 deploying units 9 designing 39 ending 17 getting information from

field 19 giving to another player 44 identifying previous orders 24 objective 8 playing custom 44 saving custom 44 starting 7, 10 surveying battlefield 8 taking prisoners 15

Begin! button 10 Bittrich, Wilhelm 37,

49, 62, 67, 69, 71

Blow Bridge button 16 Blowing bridges 16 Boldock, Walter 58 Boot Camp described 2 Brereton, Lewis H. 63 Bridges

blowing 16 pontoon (photo) 48 securing, repairing 16 strategic landmarks 29 using 16

Briefing screen

campaigns 28 operations 28 reviewing operation status 29

Buildings and terrain 9

C47 transport aircraft 6 Callahan, Harry 40 Campaigns

allocating supplies for

sectors 34

distributing requisition

points 35 duration 27 fighting, introduction 26 reviewing objectives, winning

points 26 selecting air or ground

supply 35 starting 28 strategy 53 types 26

Cars, armored 46 Casualties 33 Casualties, Operation Market-

Garden 80

Cease-fire 17, 33 Chat window 59 Chennell, William 53 Choosing

cease-fire period 33 difficulty level 6 maps 40 one- or two-player game 7 resources 30 sides 6 soldiers’ states to track 19 type of action 5

Churchill, Winston 4 Close Combat TCP 57 Cohesion, promoting 53 Colors

map monitor 23 message monitor 23 order dots (table) 11 orders 18 range 14 sectors 35 sides 23

Index 83

Combat screen

campaigns 28 operations 28 shaded areas 8 surveying battlefield 8 viewing with spyglass

monitor 24 Command screen 5 Commands

keyboard shortcuts 11

Communicating with

opponents 59 Communication problems,

Operation Market-

Garden 66 Completing requisitions 32 Condition statistics 37 Connection types 57 Copying battles to other

computers 44 Cover

types 50

using 50 Cross symbol 9 Cues, sound 25 Customizing difficulty level 6

Dakota transport aircraft 6 Deane-Drummond, Anthony 67 Debriefing screen

campaigns 28

described 32

operations 28 Defend order 10, 12 Defending

against enemy scouts 48

against machine guns 48

against mortars 49

against suppression 52 Deleting victory locations 42 Deploying battle units 9 Deployment screen

campaigns 28

operations 28 Deployment zones, editing 42 Designing battles 39 Details screen described 36 Determining number of points

available 30

Determining weapon range 14 Difficulty levels

choosing 6

customizing 6 DirectPlay 57 Disconnecting from two-player

game 59

Displaying messages from the

field 23

Distributing requisition

points 35 Dots, order 11 Driel, taking town 54 Dutch resistance 44

Editing

deployment zones 42 forces 43 victory locations 41

Eisenhower, Dwight

Belgium strategy 62 main strategy 60

Emotional state of soldiers

(table) 23 Enabling sounds and videos 4 Ending battles 17 Expanding game area

resolution 4 Experience indicator 37

Fatigue level of soldiers

(table) 23 Filtering messages 23 Fire order 12

and moving soldiers 15 and prone soldiers 15 determining range 14 line of sight 14

loader and assistants 15 Flamethrower teams, using 50 Flanking enemy 52 Franklin, Benjamin 1 Frost, John 42, 69, 73

Gameplay mechanics 8

Games

choosing

difficulty level 6 sides 6

type of action 5 copying 44 deploying units 9 disconnecting from two-

player 59 ending 17 expanding game

resolution 4 gearing up for 2 issuing orders 10 music, turning on and off 4 one- or two-player 7 playing two-player 57 removing killed soldiers 4 reviewing objective 8 scope 2 sounds, turning on and off 4 speed, setting 4 starting 4 starting battles 7 starting two-player 57 videos, turning on and off 4 weapons See Weapons

Gathering intelligence 25 Gavin, James M. 55, 64, 74 German

attack on France, Belgium,

Holland 5 economy 27

German forces

colors 24 cross symbol 9

Germans, choosing side 6 Göring, Hermann 6 Gräbner, Captain 72 Grand Campaign 26 Green toolbar text 18 Groesbeek Heights, strategy 55 Ground supply 35

Halftracks 46 Hardware requirements 3 Harmel, Heinz 51, 71, 76 Harzer, Walter 69, 79

84 A Bridge Too Far

Health, status 37 Heavy guns 49 Hell’s Highway 77 Help

online 2 Sound Gallery 25

Hendy, Arthur 50 Hide order 10, 12 High ground, advantages of 9 Higher elevations, using

strategically 51 History summarized 60 Hitler, Adolf 6, 25 Holland map 61 Horrock, Brian 65, 68 Horses 31 Hosting two-player game 58

Identifying

battlefield elements 24 previous orders 24

units, sides 24 Improving performance 4 Infantry

teams 30

using 45 Information

Debriefing screen 32

from the field 19

getting more about units 31

on toolbar 18 Installation 3 Intelligence, gathering 25 Internet Gaming Zone 57 Interpreting order dots 11 Introduction

fighting operations and

campaigns 26 tactics and strategy 45 to gameplay 8

Irish Guard 68 Island, strategy 56 Issuing orders 10

Jodl, Alfred 62 Johnson, Ray 44 Joining two-player game 58

Keyboard shortcuts 11 Kill/performance statistics 37 Kraft, Sepp 38, 64, 65

Landing zones 29, 55 Leadership indicator 37 Levels, difficulty

choosing 6

customizing 6 Line of sight 14 Loaders 15 Locations, victory 41 Logistics 60

Maas-Waal Canal 64 Machine guns

defending against 48

teams, using 48 Mackay, Eric 41, 58 Makay, Eric 70 Managing resources 27 Map monitor, using 23 Maps

buildings and terrain 9

choosing 40

controlling 8

Holland vi, 87

jumping around 23

Operation Market-Garden vi

point count 26

scrolling through 8

victory locations 9

zooming in and out 8 Medals 32 Medals statistics 38 Mental condition indicator 37 Message monitor, using 23 Messages, seeing chat 59 Microsoft Internet Gaming

Zone 57

Model, Walter 38, 39, 62, 64, 65,

69, 70, 75, 78

Monitors

battle 19

map 23

message 23

Monitors (continued)

soldier 20 spyglass 24 team 20

Montgomery, Bernard 3, 7

attack strategy 60 proposes Operation Market-

Garden 62

Morale

indicator 37

promoting 53 Mortar teams, using 48 Mortars 14

defending against 49

Move Fast order 10−11 Move order 10−11

Moving

units 11

victory locations 41 Music, turning on and off 4

Nationalities, viewing all available

units 31 Net status bar, using 59 Nijmegen

bridge, strategy 55 crossing, strategy 55

North Atlantic situation 60

Oberkommando der

Wermacht 21 Objective of game 8 One-player games, choosing 7 Online Help 2 Oosterbeek, strategy 54 Operation Husky 16 Operation Market-Garden

communications problems 66 conclusion, casualties 80 first proposed 62 map (figure) vi, 61

situation report 65 Operation Overlord 63 Operation Sicklestroke 9 Operation Torch 15 Operations

Games PC CLOSE COMBAT II-A BRIDGE TOO FAR User Manual

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User Manual