DAR: Arnhem Bridge Defense (Mord vs DC)

[Darknight (DC)]

0624 hrs                Pvt Hill’s mortar team catches the attention of one of the Panthers on the Bridge and a direct hit eliminates the entire team.  Fire is exchanged between several of the 2^nd Staffs MG teams and the enemy vehicles backing up on the Bridge; with bullets whizzing around the area, a head raised above an armoured plate or window ledge could prove fatal, as was the case for Sgt Bell’s MG operator.  Along the Eusibiusbinnensingel, Pvt Mason of No7 Platoon sees an opportunity to fire his PIAT at a German armoured car but the round falls a few metres short. There are German casualties strewn about the exit paths from the Bridge but many more have been spotted to rushing to replace these losses…control of the Bridge is almost lost and there is no real answer to the Panthers that are inevitably headed in our direction.

 

Pvt Hill’s team didn’t stand a chance against this monster

 

Sgt Bell’s No 1/1 MG from No2 MG Platoon scrambles after the loss of their gunner

 

Pvt Mason (No7 Platoon) attempts a shot at the German vehicles on the Bridge

 

Carnage at the northern exit from the Bridge

[Darknight (DC)]

0625 hrs                Sgt Bell seized the Vickers and got it operational again, laying down a heavy fire on the German vehicles stalled at the edge of the Bridge.  Then, Pvt Mason, after a short and a long shot, scores a direct hit on the foremost German armoured car causing it to brew up.

 

Pvt Mason hopes the 3^rd time is the charm, as the Germans have spotted his position and are beginning to direct suppressive fire on the building

 

The PIAT round lobs onto its target and there’s an explosion…but did it have any effect?

 

It’s a perfect shot and the explosion is followed by a plume of dark, greasy smoke

[Darknight (DC)]

Overall Situation at approximately 0625 hrs, September 18^th, 1944

[Darknight (DC)]

0626 hrs                As often happens in war, the most inspiring leaders tend to lead by example, putting themselves directly into harm’s way; in this grand tradition, Sgt Bell was critically wounded while placing accurate Vickers fire on the advancing German halftracks.  Sgt Bell’s actions were instrumental in halting the initial push, buying time and space for his fellow paras to re-deploy and significantly hinder the enemy advance.

 

 

0627 hrs                Astride the Bridge deck, Pvt Pitcairn of No12 Platoon, “C” Company, is awaiting an opportunity to use his PIAT, knowing that he will only likely get a single shot before his position draws the fire of every nearby German vehicle; he stalks an armoured car and a troop carrier, trying to line up a good angle.  The line of German vehicles spans the width of the Rhine and it will inevitably spill over into Arnhem.

 

Pvt Pitcairn (No12 Platoon) carefully weighs his chances for a successful shot

 

The Germans dominate the Arnhem Bridge itself but have still to break into the town

[Darknight (DC)]

0628 hrs                The Germans, now identified as Nazi SS troops, appear to deploy a smoke screen on the Nijmeegseweg north of the Bridge.  Pvt Miller, the scout from No8 Platoon positioned in a house along the Nieuwe Kade, radios positive identification of at least four (4) Panzer V Panther tanks among the German AFVs.  Pvt Pitcairn (No12 Platoon) finally finds the right opportunity and puts a PIAT round into the nearest SS troop carrier, causing a huge explosion and exodus of soldiers from the demolished vehicle; Pitcairn then turns his attention to the nearby armoured car but the intended round explodes harmlessly on the cement side of the Bridge.  At the same time that Pvt Pitcairn was stalking the vehicles on the Bridge, Pvt Melville (No6 Platoon) brings his 2” mortar into action, laying rounds in the same vicinity as the halftrack that was just eliminated; it is possible that the exploding mortar rounds might mask the PIAT rounds from the nearby enemy troops.  Meanwhile, Pvt Mason (No7 Platoon) repositioned into a new building along the Eusebiusbinnensingel and was presented with the clear target of a German StugIII; after firing wide of the vehicle, the second attempt looks to be more dangerous. 

 

Pvt Pitcairn (No12 Platoon) scores a direct hit on the SS troop carrier…

 

…and also makes an unsuccessful attempt on the armoured car

 

Pvt Melville’s mortar team (No6 Platoon) launches rounds towards the Bridge deck

 

Pvt Mason (No7 Platoon) launches a second PIAT towards the German Stug

 

Does Pvt Mason have the range? Will the Stug survive?

[Darknight (DC)]

0629 hrs                Pvt Pitcairn (No12 Platoon) doesn’t get a chance to take another shot, as the armoured car races out of the danger area, though there is no suppressive fire directed on their building; it is possible the Germans are still completely unaware of their presence.  Pvt Mason isn’t so lucky…after witnessing his shot go wide again, his position is raked with fire from the assault gun and Pvt Mason is killed.  There is also a heavy smoke screen building on the northern exit from the Bridge, a sure sign that the Germans are going to make another attempt to break into Arnhem.

 

The smoke screen heralds a renewed effort by the determined Germans

[Heinrich505]

Darknight,

  Your screenshots are great and the accompanying narrative is keeping us right there alongside the lads. 

 

  Nerves of steel for the boys on the side of the bridge, taking flank shots at the vehicles passing by. 

 

  You've got a regular nail-biter going on.

 

Heinrich505

[Darknight (DC)]

0630 hrs                The smoke does indeed mask the German movement into Arnhem; vehicles can be heard but no direct sightings.  Troops are eventually seen emerging from the smoke to the eastern side of the Nijmeegseweg, with an armoured car making for the Eusebiusbuitensingel and Oost Straat.  At the same time, with vehicles advancing on the Bridge, Pvt Pitcairn (No12 Platoon) observes a Panther from his position and places a PIAT round into its turret; this did not kill the tank, which reversed and sprayed Pitcairn’s position with MG fire.

 

The Germans succeed in getting some troops off of the Bridge

 

Pvt Pitcairn stalking a Panther V

 

A direct hit on the turret…not a kill but hopefully some damage and maybe even panic, which could cause a traffic jam on the Bridge

[Seedorf81]

I still can remember the excitement I felt as a boy when I was reading Cornelius Ryan's "A bridge too far" for the first time.

 

This DAR gives me an even greater thrill.

 

Thanks Darkknight, it's real fun watching this. 

[Darknight (DC)]

0631 hrs                As the Germans began to appear on the Nijmeegseweg, Sgt Macaulay of No2 MG Platoon brings his 2/1 MG into action, killing several troopers as they emerge from the smoke.  Meanwhile, Pvt Pitcairn decided to vacate his position near the Bridge and report back to his CO, Lt Maceachen, but as he makes his way through the back gardens, he can hear the sounds of a firefight in the middle of the No12 Platoon position.  A German heavy armoured car audaciously rushed the buildings holding half of the platoon but was scared off with point-blank fire from 3^rd Section, which was scattered among several houses.  Several other German AFVs begin to maneuver off the main road and attempt to break into the town.

 

Sgt Bell’s No 2/1 MG from No2 MG Platoon fires on SS troopers as they emerge from the smoke screen

 

Carnage on the Nijmeeseweg

 

Pvt Pitcairn repositioning from the house astride the Bridge…the battle has come to him

 

Cpl Pentland’s team from 3 Section, No12 Platoon firing down into the German Heavy Armoured Car from point blank range

 

A German recce AFV speeds across the Westervoortse Dijk and into the middle of the No12 Platoon position along Oost Straat

 

The German vehicle retreats back across the Westervoortse Dijk while under fire from Cpl Macdowall’s team

[Darknight (DC)]

0632 hrs                Bullets are flying in all directions, like angry bees buzzing around a hive; Cpl Macdowall is killed instantly as he peers through a window to assess his Section’s situation.  Several teams, including a nearby 2” mortar from No12 Platoon, begin to concentrate on the Heavy Armoured Car, but it is No11 Platoon’s Pvt Elder who delivers the killing shot with his PIAT and then finishes off the crew with a second round dropped in their midst.  The Stug reappears from the smoke near the schoolhouse, spraying the building with MG fire which kills Pvt Inglis.  A Panther V also makes its presence known at the northern end of the Bridge when it lobs a shell into the St Walburgis Church Tower, eliminating Cpl Liming’s entire 1/2 MG team.  This is evened out when the 1/1 MG from No2 MG Platoon (Sgt Bell’s Vickers) returns to the action; Pvt Richmond has now manned the gun, despite small fires that have begun burning in the surrounding walls, unloading a steady stream of hot death at anything that moves off the Nijmeegseweg.  Meanwhile reports are radioed to HQ that large numbers of SS troops are on the south side of the Bridge moving northwards.

 

Cpl Macdowall slumps back against the wall, blood spurting from a head wound

 

Pvt Elder (No11 Platoon) knocks out a German Armoured car

 

Cpl Liming’s Vickers (No 1/2 MG, 1^st MG Platoon) goes silent

 

Pvt Richmond (No 1/1 MG, 2^nd MG Platoon) gets his Vickers back into the action

 

Large numbers of SS troops are spotted beginning to move across the Bridge from the south side

[Darknight (DC)]

0633 hrs                Pvt Pitcairn (No12 Platoon) makes a dash for the building on the corner of Oost Straat and Westervoortse Dijk, the same structure where a severely wounded Cpl Macdowall had to be abandoned.  While a teammate attempts to stabilize Macdowall’s wounds, Pvt Pitcairn eliminates a German on the embankment, then turns his attention to the StugIII; a direct hit on the rear of the Stug knocks it out of action.  With a single PIAT round left, Pvt Pitcairn spots a Panther V on the Bridge heading for the town exit and puts his final round into the side of its turret. In the No5 Platoon position near Kade Straat, Pvt Nicolson makes his way to the upper floors of his building and searches for a target on the Bridge.  Pvt Nicolson spots a halftrack and stops it in its tracks with a well-placed PIAT round; outside his window he can hear the Panther V moving nearby.  An enemy halftrack that maneuvered its way off the Nijmeegseweg in the smoke and headed towards the Eusebiusbuitensingel finds the area too hot, as it becomes the target of various small arms fire, abruptly turns towards the schoolhouse and heads deeper into Arnhem.  As the halftrack remounts the Nijmeegseweg, Cpl Grey’s team from No9 Platoon suddenly opens fire from the rear of the school, though the Germans probably had no time to think about, let alone react to, this threat as Cpl Larrington’s No4/2 ATG has a clear shot at the AFV and puts two rounds through its hull…there are no German survivors.

 

Pvt Pitcairn (No12 Platoon), after eliminating a nearby SS trooper, takes aim at the rear of the StugIII astride the Nijmeegseweg…

 

…and another German AFV takes a direct hit

 

Pvt Pitcairn appears unstoppable, now taking a shot at his earlier nemesis, the Panther V, and scoring a hit on the turret

 

On the other side of the Bridge, Pvt Nicolson of No5 Platoon takes aim at a passing halftrack…

 

…and turns the vehicle into a burning wreck

 

Cpl Larrington’s No4/2 ATG fires on the German halftrack near the schoolhouse

[Darknight (DC)]

0634 hrs                Lt Maceachen’s No12 Platoon HQ on Oost Straat comes under fire from German armour on the south side of the Rhine, and Cpl Mackerrell’s section in the woods near the Milk Factory begins taking casualties from the Panther tank that has moved off the main highway.  Another German halftrack moves north on the Nijmeegseweg and makes a fatal stop in the sights of Cpl Maclellan’s No3/1 ATG, which is positioned in the Arnhem Tram Depot.  The leading Panther V tank moves off the Bridge and fires on several positions along the Eusebiusbuitensingel, causing some casualties among Cpl Packer’s Bren team (No 9 Platoon); the explosion is narrowly escaped by Cpl Gibbs from the Battalion Pioneer Platoon, who chose the same instant to dash across the open ground towards the schoolhouse, looking for a shot with his PIAT.  Meanwhile, individual German survivors have begun to seek cover on the west side of the main roadway…one of the soldiers dart in front of a light recce car forcing it to halt briefly, which makes the vehicle a stationary target for Cpl Larrington’s ATG.

 

No12 Platoon HQ, "C" Company takes a beating

 

Cpl Maclellan (No3/1 ATG) takes out a German AFV

 

The German Panther tank squashes any SS casualties that cannot move out of its path on the Nijmeegseweg

 

Cpl Gibbs’ narrow escape

 

A German Light armoured car halts to avoid a fellow soldier crossing its path…

 

…and is a sitting duck for Cpl Larrington’s ATG

[Heinrich505]

Darknight,

  All this action is dizzying - my head is spinning.  The Horror....The Horror...

 

  This is crazy stuff.  Those PIAT boys are out of control. 

 

   Are you targeting for your troops, for the most part, or are you letting them choose targets of opportunity?  When I played a similar scenario as Germans - Frosty Welcome - the AI gave me fits.  Those Brit Paras were beasts.  I had to blast them out building by building and even then I wasn't completely sure they were knocked out or had tactically ghosted to the next building until I ran my nervous and broken troops into the smoldering buildings and found bodies or empty rooms.

 

Heinrich505

[Darknight (DC)]

They are, for the most part, targeting on their own....I have armour-cover arcs set but that's about it.

The same with the ATGs, they are on armour-cover arcs but without specific targets.

I've got some of the Vickers teams firing at area targets at different points (like the Hell Corner where the Germans streamed off the Bridge onto the embankment),

and the 2" mortars were point or area targets (though I think the No12 platoon mortar chose to fire on its own).

 

I feel kind of bad because Mord has mentioned that the Bridge movement paths are less than ideal, which has caused him some problems...I also did not expect my PIATs to be this effective, though the ranges are really close.  I was expecting a much heavier concentration of smoke, as that was very effective for getting troops off the Bridge and maybe some more 'recon-by-fire' than actually took place....there are literally hordes of SS troops on that Bridge, so I may yet run out of ammo.

[Darknight (DC)]

0635 hrs                At the Tram Depot, Cpl Maclellan spots a Panther V tank, which stops in a straight line-of-sight with his AT Gun; as nervous seconds tick by, the gun is carefully aimed for a flank shot at the tank, which rotates its turret to face the rear, towards Oost Straat.  The Panther turns out to be preoccupied with the building sheltering the heroic Pvt Pitcairn (No12 Platoon), placing an HE shot into the position. The No3/1 ATG team doesn’t miss, managing a direct hit on the tank’s hull.  As the panzer crew bails out, the No4/3 ATG under Cpl Cooper drives a shot through the tank’s turret, immediately followed by another shot from the No3/1 ATG; the two ATG teams put a total of 6 shots through the Panther V before it literally explodes, blowing the turret off of its ring.

 

A Panther V blasting away at No12 Platoon positions near Oost Straat

 

No3/1 ATG crosses their fingers and takes a careful shot at the Panther tank

 

The Panther is struck in the upper right hull…is it enough?

 

The panzer crew bails out as No4/3 ATG fires

 

The Panther is struck 6 times between the two ATGs before a huge explosion blows the turret off its ring

[Darknight (DC)]

Overall Situation at approximately 0635 hrs, September 18^th, 1944

[para]

Excellent DAR loving it

[c3k]

Top notch! Gotta get this one stickied...

[Darknight (DC)]

0636 hrs                No5 Platoon Scouts observe a Panzer IV firing on targets along Oost Straat, the centre of No12 Platoon position. The building on Oost Straat housing No12 Platoon HQ collapses under the bombardment, forcing the Lieutenant Maceachan and his XO to dig their radio operator, Pvt Holmes, from the debris.  On the west side of the Bridge, off Kade Straat, Pvt Nicolson returns to the upper floors of his building to search for more German vehicles.  With incoming mortar rounds dropping on the roof, the upper floors filled with a claustrophobic mix of smoke and debris, Pvt Nicolson finds a window overlooking the Bridge as a Panther V tank rumbles past; Nicolson puts a round into the beast and dives for cover as several vehicles begin spraying his position with fire.

Meanwhile, Cpl Aldrich senses the opportunity to attempt a rescue of his men that were wounded near the Nieuwe Kade, dashing along the Bridge footings to their last known position.

 

Lt Maceachan’s HQ (No12 Platoon, “C” Company) along Oost Straat

 

A lone German Panzer IV firing on the buildings along Oost Straat while plumes of smoke rise above Arnhem

 

Pvt Holmes is buried in the rubble of the collapsing building that had housed No12 Platoon HQ

 

Mortar shells rain down on the building in which Pvt Nicolson (No5 Platoon) is sheltering

 

A German Panther V begins firing at a building containing elements of No7 Platoon

 

Despite the choking dust and debris around him, Pvt Nicolson (No5 Platoon) tries to get a visual on any German vehicles crossing the Bridge

 

The SS Panzer crew bails from their Panther V after being struck by Pvt Nicolson

[sburke]

Despite the choking dust and debris around him, Pvt Nicolson (No5 Platoon) tries to get a visual on any German vehicles crossing the Bridge

It is scenes like that which fire me up about this game. Nice shot and commentary DC

[Darknight (DC)]

0637 hrs                No5 Platoon are forced to seek cover as Pvt Nicolson’s building and the surrounding area near Kade Straat experience a methodical mortar barrage of their position.  Elements of No12 Platoon are similarly forced to keep their heads down due to shelling, though Pvt Pitcairn is successfully able to stabilize Cpl Macdowall’s head wound, which ultimately saves his life.  Meanwhile, the indomitable German troops continue to press for a bridgehead in the town despite the machine gun and small arms fire that showers the Bridge like a heavy rain.

 

Pvt Pitcairn attempts to tend to the severely wounded Cpl Macdowall

 

The shelling of No5 Platoon’s position as seen by No7 Platoon on the other side of the Eusebiusplein

 

The congested, Hell-ish view of the north side of the Arnhem Bridge which greets the SS soldiers ordered to continue their advance

[Darknight (DC)]

0638 hrs                Cpl Maclellan’s No3/1 ATG becomes the focus of several German armoured vehicles, all firing from the Bridge; Maclellan is severely injured in one of the blasts, while his No1 gunner is killed outright, sending the rest of the team to ground.  The German soldiers on the Bridge press on past their fallen comrades, desperately attempting to seize a foothold on the north shore.

 

The No3/1 ATG comes under accurate fire from the Bridge resulting in several casualties among the crew

 

German infantry pushes on past wounded or dying comrades and smoking vehicle wrecks which litter the Bridge deck

[Darknight (DC)]

0639 hrs                Cpl Aldrich’s team succeeds in rescuing their fallen comrades from near the Nieuwe Kade and prepare to make their way back to a secure point held by Pvt Nicolson.  The No3/1 ATG all but ceases to exist as another HE tank shell lands a direct hit on the gun.

 

Cpl Aldritch’s remaining team tending to casualties

 

No3/1 ATG receives a direct hit with an HE shell and, for all intents and purposes, ceases to exist

[Darknight (DC)]

0640 hrs                The Germans begin to move additional heavy armour across the Bridge, obviously in preparation for a renewed assault on the town, while the No1/1 Vickers guns of both 1^st & 2^nd MG Platoons continue to sweep the northern exit from the Bridge, dominating the ground across which the Germans must advance.  Meanwhile, Pvt Higgins, the sole remaining member of Cpl Smith’s No1/2 Vickers team, returns to the schoolhouse and tries to rescue as many casualties as he can from the wrecked room.

 

Another Panther V tank begins advancing towards the Bridge exit

 

Pvt Higgins works desperately to save wounded team members in the schoolhouse

 

Pvt Higgins tends to the wounds of his fellow para while a Panther tank burns outside the window