DAR: Arnhem Bridge Defense (Mord vs DC)

[Darknight (DC)]

Overall Situation at approximately 0640 hrs, September 18^th, 1944

[PanzerMiller]

Amazing DAR, Darknight...wow...

 

I can't believe how lethal your troops have been with those PIATs...close-range flank shots are taking an incredible toll...

 

Keep up the good work!

[Darknight (DC)]

0641 hrs                Cpl Reading’s team along Kade Straat fires on some German light armour moving along towards the town, which betrays  their position to the Panther V on the Bridge; fire from the tank cuts down Pvt Burns and sends the others diving for better cover.  Meanwhile, at the Tram Depot, Pvt Witherspoon, the sole remaining member of No 3/1 ATG, begins to care for his mates; Pvt Witherspoonm despite his own wounds received during the recent shelling and continued exposure at his position, works like a demon to save his friends’ lives. 

 

Pvt Burns (No5 Platoon) falls to machine gun fire from a German tank on the Bridge

 

Pvt Witherspoon (No3/1 ATG) works to save the lives of his fellow gunners near the Arnhem Tram Depot

Edited June 22, 2015 by Darknight (DC)

[Darknight (DC)]

0642 hrs                Pvt Witherspoon manages to stabilize two teammates when he is forced to seek cover by more incoming fire from the Bridge, until a fateful HE shell explodes nearby, killing him instantly, along with all of the other casualties on the ATG team.  Cpl Reading’s team (No5 Platoon) continues to draw fire and take casualties from the German Panther V, which seems reluctant to press any further into Arnhem, appearing satisfied with its somewhat safer position alongside the concrete bridge structures.  Without their close armour support, the German troops, though brave, are inevitably cut down in a hail of fire from the South Stafford positions on either side of the Nijmeegseweg.

 

Pvt Witherspoon (No3/1 ATG) dies a hero, attempting to save the lives of his fellow gunners

 

With all the death and destruction ahead of him, the Panther V can't be faulted for taking advantage of a relatively safe vantage point from which to survey Arnhem

 

German SS troops press on to the northern bridge exits…

…and make another attempt to secure a toehold in the town…

 

…getting an MG42 into action on the embankment

[Darknight (DC)]

0643 hrs                The Panther V tank on the Bridge begins moving again, giving Cpl Reading (No5 Platoon) a chance to evacuate his casualties.  Tank fire from the south bank of the Rhine continues to pound the houses along Oost Straat, turning some of the structures into rubble.  Cpl Mackerrell (No12 Platoon) becomes a casualty during the firefight with the Germans on the embankment.

 

Buildings becoming rubble along Oost Straat

 

Cpl Mackerrell becomes a casualty in the park near the milk factory

 

Forced to seek cover amongst the bodies of his fallen comrades, a lone German gunner fires his MG42 on elements of No12 Platoon in the park

[John Kettler]

Darknight(DC),

 

A tour de force DAR, which I'm devouring! The overhead view icons look like game counters to me. Are they something you created specifically for the DAR? Do the 6 pounders have APDS? They certainly should, since it was standard issue for British 6 pounders shortly before D-Day. The British had so much APDS they provided 8-10 rounds for every American 57 mm at Normandy. I'd think APDS would make even life for a Panther unpleasant, though I don't have the numbers handy.

 

Regards,

 

John Kettler

[Heinrich505]

Darknight,

  A really telling screenshot where the German MG gunner tries to conceal his position amidst the dead and wounded.  What a battle!

 

Heinrich505

[Darknight (DC)]

Sorry about the delay....lightning strikes in the area fried my motherboard and knocked out all my cable/internet services.

 

John - The overhead counters are a from the tokens project that Mord and I worked on for CMFI a while ago, to be used for DARs, AARs, Mission Briefings, whatever.

I whipped these tokens up specifically for this battle.

[Darknight (DC)]

0644 hrs                The Panther V tank on the Bridge fires several rounds at a building lining the Eusebiusbinnensingel from which Pvt Vipont’s 3-man team (No7 Platoon) is firing at the German infantry; one of the shots douses Pvt Vipont with flying shrapnel and sends the rest of the team scrambling for cover.  Then the armoured beast lets up the pressure on No7 Platoon because new thorns have popped up in the form of Pvt Nicolson (No5 Platoon) and Pvt Elder (No11 Platoon).  Pvt Nicolson’s squad has made its way to the upper floors of a building behind the Panther V from where a PIAT round to the left side of the turret re-focuses the panzer’s attention.  At the same moment, from the far side of the Bridge along the Eusebiusbuitensingel, Pvt Elder has fired a round at the same tank, striking the right side of the turret.  The tank reverses and begins searching for its assailant as Pvt Nicolson hurriedly attempts to reload the weapon.  With a single shot left, Nicolson squeezes the shot off just a little too early and it misses the Panther V by less than 6 inches, which leaves the squad squarely in the sights of the now-traversed turret.  A heavy armoured car takes aim at No 1/1 MG from No2 MG Platoon, which has been firing on the Bridge from the far side of the Eusebiusbuitensingel for most of the morning, severely wounding Pvt Richmond whose position is taken up by Pvt Heverly.  The armoured car then begins firing on Pvt Elder’s position, ultimately wounding the intrepid para.  Nos10 & 12 Platoons also take casualties from the intense fighting at the embankment.

 

Pvt Vipont’s team (No7 Platoon) firing on advancing enemy troops

 

Panther V turret as viewed by Pvt Nicolson (No5 Platoon) as he lines up a PIAT shot

 

A matter of inches…the PIAT round misses the Panther V turret by a very narrow margin (and ends up landing in the Tram Depot)

 

Pvt Richmond manning the No 1/1 MG from No2 MG Platoon is wounded by fire from an armoured car but the gun will soon be back in action yet again

[Darknight (DC)]

0645 hrs                Staring down the barrel of the alerted Panther V on the Bridge, with all AT ammo used up, Pvt Nicolson’s team hastily vacates their building for another strongpoint.  The Panther disappears into its own smokescreen as team from No5 Platoon dashes for a building lining the Westervoortse Dijk.  Panzer fire from the south shore has demolished most of the buildings standing along Oost Straat in the No12 Platoon area, with continued fire now passing through the husks (and directly over Pvt Pitcairn’s head) and onto the embankment before detonating.  Another heavy armoured car makes a valiant attempt to support his infantry on the embankment but stops directly in the sights of Cpl Ramsay’s No3/3 AT Gun located near the Gasworks; Ramsay’s team had been covering the overpass from the Bridge into Arnhem all morning and this was a golden opportunity to pitch in, which they do by putting consecutive shots through the vehicle and knocking it out of action.  This appears to be the final push for the moment, as the Germans have exhausted their strength.

 

Realizing they are starting down a Panther V at point blank range, Pvt Nicolson’s squad (No5 Platoon) rushes to vacate their position near the Bridge

 

A No5 Platoon squad dashes to another strong point, as a nearby Panther V tank vanishes into a cloud of smoke

 

The buildings along Oost Straat have taken a beating

 

A heavy armoured car attempts to support the German infantry near the embankment

 

Cpl Ramsay (No3/3 ATG) directs fire onto a German vehicle on the overpass from Arnhem Bridge

[Heinrich505]

Darknight,

  That is an amazing shot of Pvt. Nicholson looking directly at the camera with the panther gun pointing right at him from above on the bridge.  I can almost hear him saying FRAACK THIS, get out!  Brilliant screenshot!

 

  It is captured moments like this that really highlight this amazing game. 

 

 

Heinrich505

[Darknight (DC)]

Epilogue:  The 2^nd South Staffords have won a Minor Victory at the Arnhem Bridge; they were able to hold the entrance to the town, at least for now, and inflicted significant losses on the Germans attempting to storm the town.

 

 

 

The tragic price of warfare as seen in the destruction along the Nijmeegseweg near the Van Limburg Stirum School

 

SS panzer crew cut down trying to find cover near the Eusebiusbuitensingel after being forced from their burning tank

 

Final resting place of an SS reconnaissance vehicle crew who died east of the bloody embankment fighting

 

Dead and dying SS Panzergrenadiers strewn along the northern exit from Arnhem Bridge near the bloody embankment

 

View of the carnage along the Nijmeegseweg from a “B” Company observer at St Walburgis Church

[Darknight (DC)]

The telltale signs of destruction that would be visible to Sgt Fox from St Eusebius Cathedral

 

 

Journal of Sgt James FOX:           

September 18^th, 1944 was a high point for the 2^nd South Staffords; we had just repulsed the Nazis as they attempted to break into Arnhem Town from the Bridge, our morale was still very high and our casualties were manageable.  We lost 27 good, brave men that dreary morning, while fighting desperately to push back the German thrust; they will always be remembered for their sacrifice.  Most of our wounded were recovered and evacuated to a couple of buildings along Markt Straat; they were made as comfortable as possible by the battalion medics, who were assisted by several townsfolk.  The plumes of black, greasy smoke rising into the sky were easily visible from my vantage point in the Cathedral tower and gave a solid indication of the losses inflicted on our enemy.  The Germans had no choice but to pull back from the north side of the Bridge and our scouts report that they have begun entrenching on the south shore of the Rhine.  A little later we were able to send a few scouting parties onto the embankment in order to secure the area and afterwards about two dozen German casualties were brought into the makeshift hospital and treated.

 

In the bigger picture, the 1^st Para Division was able to set up an irregular perimeter in the Arnhem/Oosterbeek region, which is holding for now but beginning to see more pressure as the Germans begin coordinating their counter-attacks.  As casualties mount and ammunition dwindles, we will find it more difficult to hold the perimeter.  All hopes rest with XXX Corps’ rapid advance and relief of our positions…the longer this takes, the more I fear for our future.

 

 

Sgt James Fox was killed as the defence of Arnhem began to collapse on Sept 20^th, 1944; he was last seen leading a team of 3 other men to try to scrounge extra ammunition as supplies had run out.  Sgt Fox’s journal was returned to his family by RSM Bruce Duncan after the war, when he was liberated from a German prisoner-of-war camp by Canadian troops in April 1945.

Edited June 25, 2015 by Darknight (DC)

[Heinrich505]

A profound epilogue.  Very nicely done.

 

 

Heinrich505

[Warts 'n' all]

A brilliant series, I've really enjoyed it following through to the end.

 

@ Heinrich .... My old girlfriend used to own a restaurant that played host to veterans from the battle every September, none of them would ever have said "FRAAK". Perhaps you're not allowed to use the word that they actually used, which strikes me as a bit sad.

Edited June 25, 2015 by Warts 'n' all

[Heinrich505]

Warts n all,

   Had to laugh on that one.  Perhaps "BLIMEY" would have been more appropriate.     Yeah, I didn't use the actual term.

 

  I would have loved to sit in at the table and listen to the stories the old guard must have told at your old girlfriend's restaurant...if they opened up with a stranger in the midst, that is. 

 

  My father-in-law rarely ever spoke about Korea before his death.  I got him to open up a little bit towards the end.  He always hated bugles, the US ones from reveille at basic, and the Chinese ones from Korea.

 

  A friend of mine's father once gave up a small glimmer of some of his wartime memories at an awards dinner.  He was one of the Navy men ordered into the sunken battleships at Pearl Harbor to recover the dead sailors, days after the fires had been put out.  I literally had chills run up my spine as he described the gruesome tasks in an altogether un-dramatic, clinical, and pragmatic manner.  It was just a job to do, orders for an terrible task.  He tried to play it down but I could see how much it still affected him, fifty-four years later.  I don't think he'd even told his son (my friend) before this dinner, judging from my friend's facial expression.

 

  He never recorded any of his memories, so his son and I are the ones who remember and pass those memories on.  What a terrible business that was.   

 

 

Heinrich505

[para]

Brilliant

[Warts 'n' all]

@ Heinrich.... If my memory serves me correctly most of the Red Berets I met over in The Netherlands were from Yorkshire. They enjoy a scrap, even with their own neighbours, let alone "The Jerries".

[Bulletpoint]

I'd hate to be "that guy", but... heck, I AM that guy

 

"Panther V" should probably be "Panzer V".

 

And now with this absurd nitpicking off my chest, my main message: Very nice and tensely written. Has a real "war movie" feel to it. the tension first and then absolute hell as the fanatic nazi hordes close in.

 

I wasn't surprised to see the Brits win this one though, as the setup just seemed like an absolute meatgrinder for the Germans.

[Darknight (DC)]

Well, I don't think think I 'won' exactly, since this was an extremely difficult objective for Mord.

In real life, the Germans paid a high cost for trying to cross the Bridge on the 18th, so this battle resembles that to a degree.

I think that with a little more time (and lots more smoke), the fighting could have ended up house-to-house.

Edited June 26, 2015 by Darknight (DC)

[Mord]

Yeah, from what little I remember about the actual battle the outcome felt fairly close to real life. As far as CMBN goes, if you take a couple pounds of hamburger and call it Germans, and then take an industrial fan turn it on high and call it the British, then start chucking the meat into the blades you'll get an idea what it felt like fighting this.

 

I don't think the battle itself was as hard as the fight I had with the engine limitations when it comes to bridges. This being my first ever fight on a bridge I had no clue it would be as finicky and fiddly as it was. I had a helluva a time trying to keep my guys from bunching up because the action spots only allowed placement in the center right or center left lanes of the bridge. After I got used to that I figured maybe face commands would have guys move to the edges like they do in buildings or along walls but It just didn't seem like I could get that to happen. Ideally I wanted men on both sides of the bridge looking out over the town in over watch while I moved others forward.

 

My smoke screen probably came too late to make a difference because I spent the first half of the crossing in dread that DC was gonna hammer me with mortars. I was loathe to move much up, especially my very finite mortar squads, before I knew what kind of hell march they were in for. He basically did the opposite of what I had expected, which was to make me pay for every step my guys took from either rifle fire and/or zeroed in mortars. No, the actual death-fest was waiting on the far side. And you'd be surprised with all that lead flying how very few spots I actually had. I was going crazy trying to figure out where all those broadside vehicle kills were coming from. My dudes had almost no sight to the left or right of the bridge even with their high vantage point.

 

On my side of the river I had set a heavy overwatch on my left flank that consisted of a platoon of PZ Grens, a couple Panthers and a couple armored cars in case his plan was to wail me all the way across. Like wise, on the right I had about four pieces of armor and a couple of teams to cover the crossing from there. Not that I think it would've made a whole lot of difference to my outcome but it did tie up my assets and cost me precious time once I knew the bridge was safe. It took about six turns to get everything sorted out and heading across the river to support the slaughter I was enduring. He completely outsmarted me on the setup.

 

It was a bit frustrating fighting the bridge mechanics but I did enjoy the challenge of trying to get my guys off the pavement and into the town. LOL At one point in the game I felt I'd have a personal victory if I could have one squad or vehicle down in the grass by the last turn.

 

Great AAR DC, you have a flair for it. Only criticisms I have is 1.) You needed to lose. And 2.) More screen shots next time. You can never have too many screenies!

 

 

Mord.

[sburke]

Yeah if there was one item I had to select to fix (not a new feature) it would be bridges.  I tend to totally shy away from them even when I want them on a map.  They just seem to be cursed with movement and pathing issues.

 

Just be glad you didn't get into the town Mord.  At close range the paras are even tougher

[Mord]

I was surprised that I killed/wounded as many as I did...when I was playing I was like man, I really suck. And then I read the AAR and was like, cool, DC's made me sound halfway competent.

 

Yeah, after seeing what he had left, getting off the bridge, as hellish as it was, would've been like jumping out of the frying pan and into a volcano. Apparently the fight to exit was just a warm-up.

 

 

Mord.

Edited June 29, 2015 by Mord