West Wall - Holland 44

[MikeJ19]

Finally, here is option 3.

[MikeJ19]

After looking at the three options, the young staff officer was not very happy. There must be a better way. That night, he dreamt of a fourth option. He quickly added it to the briefing heading to the commander.

[MikeJ19]

Decision

I’m going with option 4, the last minute addition. It gives me the best chance to keep the Germans off balance. It also gives time for the Canadians and Poles to get better supplied.

With the staggered start times, I hope to pull the German reserves eastward. If later, they head westward, all the better.

Once my ground forces have linked up with the AB Divs, the paras will be pulled back to new airfields ready for the next set of airborne attacks.

I need to ensure that I have good flank protection as I push forward.

Right now, I think it is in my best interest to keep the bridges up, so I do not intend to attack them. However, if I see an opportunity to trap, isolate or slow down the 1st Pz Korps, I may destroy some bridges.

I need to make sure my engineer units are forward in the lines of march so that I can build/repair bridges as required.

Here is a look at XXX Corps plan

[MikeJ19]

Here is a look at XII Corps plan - even though they will not cross the start line until D+2.

The 1st Canadian Army will rest and build supply over the next few days. I will bring the 52nd Div across to Belgium to be ready for their attack.

[700851McCall]

It's a fair few years since I played this last but I seem to remember that you don't get any airlift capacity on some turns. I could be mixing it up with another scenario but you might want to check if that is the case or not otherwise it might upset your plans.

[MikeJ19]

McCall,

Thanks, I will have to pay attention that is for sure. I've just finished the first two turns and, obviously, I had air transports.

Have a good day.

[MikeJ19]

This is the first time I have had to conduct airborne operations. I tried a couple of air drops in friendly territory just to see the mechanics. The first thing I realized is the I need to ensure that I have my fighters on Air superiority missions. After that I figured out how to load, move and drop the units.

I had to play a bit with the sea transport to figure it out as well. Nothing earth shattering, but still something new.

As morning breaks on D+2 (19 Sep) I have had success in linking up XXX Corps and 1 AB. That was fun. Here is a view of the situation near Eindhoven.

[MikeJ19]

A little to the West, XII Corps, and the 101st are itching to get involved. There has been little change in front of XII Corps, so the planes are loading and the Corps is about to launch Operation Orchard!

[MikeJ19]

A quick snap shot - from space - of the Breskens pocket. I was surprised by the aggressive nature of the German defence in the pocket.

[MikeJ19]

I've started moving VIII Corps that is on XXX Corps East flank.

[MikeJ19]

My more limited operation Market Garden continues

[MikeJ19]

Operation Orchard has also begun.

[MikeJ19]

German actions in the Breskens pocket has resulted in changes to my plan...

[sapper32]

Liking your AAR MikeJ19 you have inspired me to play it again myself after maybe 8 years.

[kipanderson]

Mikej19, hi,

thanks... nicely presented AAR[:)].

Congratulations, great report.

All the best,
kip.

[MikeJ19]

Sapper32 and kipanderson,

I'm glad you are enjoying the AAR. It is fun to do and, as I have said before, it really helps me slow down and think the game through rather than racing into the next set of moves.

If you see that I am missing something or have a good idea, let me know.

All the best,

[MikeJ19]

An opening for me and a concern...

[warspite1]

ORIGINAL: MikeJ19

Sapper32 and kipanderson,

I'm glad you are enjoying the AAR. It is fun to do and, as I have said before, it really helps me slow down and think the game through rather than racing into the next set of moves.

If you see that I am missing something or have a good idea, let me know.

All the best,

warspite1

I see we are of the same mindset! [:)] I don't seem to have the discipline to try and think things through unless I'm writing out ideas, and plans - and I have no memory so unless it's written down I can't for the life of me remember what unit was where and why

If you fancy a game of this scenario then just let me know [8D]

[MikeJ19]

Warspite,

I think that in the Fall, I will have time to play against real people. It would be fun to play against you.

One of the big reasons I like gaming is thinking about the situation. I find the problem solving in these games very enjoyable and it really works my brain, which is a good thing.

I'm impressed with the community on this site. I like that a lot of people jump in with comments and support.

Have a great day!

[MikeJ19]

After four days of battle, things are progressing well. I have secured the main crossings that I wanted to grab and I have destroyed a large number of German units.

I’m facing supply issues with XXX Corps and with the 2nd Cdn Div. For XXX Corps, that means that I will halt for the most part today with some of the follow on units trying to clear out the German units that I have cut off. The 2nd Cdn Div is in a defensive posture and I can not take them out of the line, so they are going to dig in and hope that helps.

The Pol AB Brigade is ready to join the fray. I’m thinking of using them either just to the East of XXX Corps or in the Breskens pocket to assist in slowing down the Germans trying to leave the pocket by cutting some of their supply. I was not intending to deal with the Breskens pocket for another couple of days, but the opening along the coast and the German breakout attempt is speeding up my timetable. Also, the Pol AB Brigade will be withdrawing in a week, so I need to use it.

The decision is that I will use them in the West at the top end of the pocket to cut supply to all of the defenders. That will also make it easier for me to link up with them.