Dr.Juzzy Posted May 8, 2002 Share Posted May 8, 2002 Hello everyone - Admiral Keith has kindly posted my new historical scenario 'der Hexen Kessel' at the Scenario Depot. If you fancy defending lower Oosterbeek during Operation MARKET GARDEN then give it a whirl: Lining the road south from The Hague, the residents of Rijswijk clutched their little orange flags expectantly as the administrative personnel of the German Armed Forces Command and members of the NSB (the Dutch National Socialist Party), seizing bicycles and lorries and loading their possessions into handcarts or baby carriages, fled the Netherlands in panic. Precipitated by the Allied seizure of Antwerp only 20 miles from the Dutch border, the events of Tuesday September 5th 1944 or - as it would later be called 'Dolle Dinsdag' ('Mad Tuesday') - would mark the highpoint of the German retreat in the West. From the suburbs of Rijswijk in the West to the leafy boulevards of Arnhem in the East, Liberation would remain a distant hope. Despite suffering catastrophic loses during their French odyssey, the Westheer would rally as the Allied advance stalled. By the 13th of September, under the command of 'the Führer's fireman Generalfeldmarschell Model, German forces would be in a position to hold a defensive line in-depth south from Antwerp along the Albert and Meuse-Escaut canals to Maastricht. The War would go on. As the shattered remnants of the German Seventh Army retreated eastwards from the debacle of the Falaise Gap, so the Allies accelerated away from their supply depots in Normandy. Whilst 1st Canadian Army cleared the vital ports of Le Havre, Boulogne, Calais and Ostend, the British 2nd Army with the US 1st and 3rd Armies swung east liberating Paris on the 24th August, Brussels on the 3rd September and Antwerp on the 4th September. Ceding command to General Dwight D. Eisenhower on the 1st September, Field Marshall Bernard Montgomery stubbornly reiterated his advocacy of a single-thrust into Germany through Belgium and into Holland, arguing that logistical supplies could not be sustained for all three army groups over a distance of over three hundred miles. Preferring his 'broad-front policy' but facing growing political pressure from home and abroad as well as the impending supply crisis, Eisenhower compromised and placed Lt. Gen. Lewis Brereton's First Allied Airborne Army at Montgomery's disposal. On the 10th September Montgomery issued orders for Operation 'MARKET-GARDEN'. MARKET-GARDEN required 1st Allied Airborne Army to assist British 2nd Army in a rapid advance from the Meuse-Escault Canal on the Beglian-Dutch border to Nunspeet on the Zuider-Zee before turning east into the Ruhr, industrial heartland of Germany itself. Operation 'MARKET' entailed the dropping 3 airborne divisions - the British 1st and the US 101st and 82nd - in an airborne 'carpet' capturing the canal and river crossings between Eindhoven in the south and Arnhem in the north. Of these, Maj. Gen. Roy E. Urquhart's 1st Airborne Division and Gen. Stanislav Sosabowski's 1st Polish Independent Parachute Brigade would get the prize, the final road and railway bridges over the Lower Rhine at Arnhem. With this accomplished it was hoped that the War could be over by Christmas. On a bright, sunny Sunday afternoon 7 days later, elements of the British 1st Airborne Division dropped onto its Landing Zones on Renkum Heath, 6 miles west of Arnhem. Of the three battalions of the 1st Parachute Brigade that set off along code-named LEOPARD, TIGER and LION routes east, only Col. John Frost's 2nd Battalion would successfully reach their ultimate objective, the road bridge over the lower Rhine at Arnhem. Repeated attempts to relieve Front's beleaguered force by the 1st and 3rd Battalions, reinforced by the 2nd South Staffordshires and the newly arrived 11th Battalion, were met with fierce and skilful German resistance as ad hoc formations were slotted into an effective blocking line on the principal routes into Arnhem, the Utrechtesweg and the Onderlings. The arrival of Major Kurt Kuehne's Sturmegeschütz-Brigade 280 on Tuesday, 19th September effectively ended any further hopes of a British advance. Losing 1 fifth of its total strength in the streets on the banks of the Rhine, the remnants of 1st Airborne Division fell back on the relative calm of the wealthy suburbs of Oosterbeek, now the centre of 1 Airborne's Divisional HQ. Battered and bewildered, the men of South Staffs and 1, 3 and 11 Para fell back along the lower road in an 'orderly disorder' to the positions of the 1st Airlanding Light Regiment Royal Artillery in western Oosterbeek. Rallied by the Light Regiment's commander, Col. Sherriff Thompson, the airborne soldiers turned to face their pursuers. Attacked from all sides, Urquhart desperately improvised a finger-shaped defensive perimeter around the 1st Airborne's HQ in the grounds of the Hartenstein Hotel. If they could only hold here, then XXX Corps may still be able to force a crossing of the Rhine and MARKET GARDEN might not have been in vain. As these weary men moved into the Divisional area and dug themselves in to the sandy soil and gardens of what was fast becoming the eastern side of the perimeter they strained their ears for the clank of tank tracks, the Germans would not be long coming. If you download it, review it As always, all feedback greatly appreciated! Enjoy, Justin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMplayer Posted May 8, 2002 Share Posted May 8, 2002 I may be wrong but I think you're supposed to write 'Hexenkessel' together as one word. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr.Juzzy Posted May 8, 2002 Author Share Posted May 8, 2002 Is this true? Could someone help us out here, German never did come easily to me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clubfoot Posted May 8, 2002 Share Posted May 8, 2002 I can't stress this enough... BIG FUN! This is a fantastically balanced, aesthetically superior scenario. Play it now! It's a tough row to hoe for both sides. And that's a good thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andreas Posted May 9, 2002 Share Posted May 9, 2002 Originally posted by Justin5471: Is this true? Could someone help us out here, German never did come easily to meYep, one word. Like Donaudampfschiffahrtsgesellschaftskapitaenspatentsausgabestellendirektionsassistentenwarteraum. Sorry mate, did not pick up on that one before. drinks friday 1830, the ususal place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cameroon Posted May 9, 2002 Share Posted May 9, 2002 Played and reviewed and may I say *whew*. I'm no tactical expert, but I do ok. The AI can really press you on this one. I need to hand out some medals (some posthumous unfortunately), one squad had 38 confirmed KIA and was DEFINITELY a strong point for the right side of the Allies' defense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thin Red Line Posted May 9, 2002 Share Posted May 9, 2002 It is displayed as ''fictionnal'' at the Depot. Is it historical or fictional ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr.Juzzy Posted May 9, 2002 Author Share Posted May 9, 2002 Hello chaps and many thanks for your kind comments. der hexenkessel one word? Aahhhh...now that might also be like the Welsh town of: Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwyll-llantysiliogogogoch I'll be there Friday if I can! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr.Juzzy Posted May 9, 2002 Author Share Posted May 9, 2002 Oh and by the by its a historical not fictional scenario, slip of the tongue at Keith's end (he's a busy man don't you know). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stoffel Posted May 9, 2002 Share Posted May 9, 2002 ha,good game! With my review you should make it into the dog house:) btw Dutch word for the title is: Heksenketel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr.Juzzy Posted May 10, 2002 Author Share Posted May 10, 2002 A Dutch title? Excellent, I might well adjust it and pester Keither some more. Seriously, thanks for the review, much appreciated. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. I'll be posting another one soon called Joe's Bridge. Its got Irish Guards in it, so any useful Irish words or phrases would be gratefully apprecaited! Top of the morning to you (and other sad cliches). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jtcm Posted May 11, 2002 Share Posted May 11, 2002 Played against AI (Germans, +1 +25%) Tactical vitory, 669 (213) to 327 (100) AAR * * * * * * * * * * * * Strong attacks through covered terrain on both flanks. Two plt pushed forward on left to attempt spoiling attack, lost insufficient recon. Advance defence with Glider plt on left, enemy armoured elements destroyed Gammon bombs PIAT and 6 pd ATG. 2 plt reinforcements thrown into firefight on left flank. Infiltrated enemy light MG element destroyed. Heavy losses taken, enemy infy SS destroyed Co strength estimated, enemy reinforcements advancing. Right flank long range 6 pd fire destroyed 2 SPGs. Strong enemy infy attack under fire from advanced light batty 75 mm, delay. Contact made with 64 Med Reg RA, highly effective 4.5 in fire brought to bear on enemy advance, also 75 mm fire. Enemy armour destroyed by 17 pd 6 pd fire. Enemy infantry SS Pioneers overran 75 mm battery, advance plt; repelled heavy losses, esp. when 11 Bttn reserve thrown into fight. effective flanking fire from plt in advanced position in centre. Enemy reinforcements on left flank beinging enfilade fire to bear. Advance OPS in centre(2 in mortar park + CO; snipers clear fields fire) overrun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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