West Wall - Holland 44

[MikeJ19]

Here is the situation in the East

[MikeJ19]

Around Eindhoven, supply to many of the units is an issue, which will mean that today is going to focus more on consolidating my gains and destroying the pocket of Germans in the centre of the Corps’ area.

Intelligence reports show German units to the North, around Nijmegen and Arnhem. I have seen little or no indication of movement South by the two SS Pz Divs.

1 AB Div is due to withdraw in four days, so where possible I will be attacking with them.

I would like to expand my bridge head towards Oirschot, so that I have room to be pushed back if the Germans attack here.

Finally, I need to keep moving my artillery North. Right now, they can not provide support to the crossing areas.

[MikeJ19]

The situation west of Eindhoven.

[MikeJ19]

Here is the developing situation in the West

[MikeJ19]

As the sun rises on the 22nd of September, Monty is quite happy with the progress of his forces. He is starting to think about the next steps.

[MikeJ19]

Here is the situation in the East.

[MikeJ19]

Here is the situation for XXX Corps

[MikeJ19]

Operation Orchard is complete...

[MikeJ19]

The Canadians, Brits and Poles are success in the Breskens pocket. Thanks to some ill advised German attacks, I am way ahead of my timetable. I had not even planned to start operations here for another day or two.

[MikeJ19]

Planning

As the current operations are almost done, I’m looking at what next for the three Corps in 2nd Br Army.

I’m thinking that the Maas River will be my next objective, with each Corps grabbing a crossing site as shown. Getting these objectives will get me half way through Holland and cutoff any German units in the Southern half.

Given the current supply situation, and it will get worse in five days when it drops by 5%, I will need time to build some supply. I will also need to rearrange some of my units.

XII and XXX Corps are well positioned for their objectives. VII Corps will have to shift North to be in a good starting location.

I will also need to consider flank protection for VIII Corps. I have the Dutch Bde and a Belgium Bde will arrive in a couple of days. So they will be tasked with flank protection.

Another Br Div arrives on 26 Sep, and it will reinforce VIII Corps. I’m not sure where I will employ the 82nd AB. I need to to study the battlefield and get some more Int reports.

In the mean time, I want to finish off the destruction of the Germans that have been cut off.

I’m thinking right now of the operation starting on 1 Oct.

[MikeJ19]

My attacks on the 22nd.

[MikeJ19]

The 22nd was a fairly uneventful day. Yes, I launched a bunch of attacks, but most were against units that were cut off from supplies and, in some cases, surrounded. Today, will be a similar approach.

The Germans launched a half dozen attacks. I do not see any defence line being created at the moment. The have moved units around in the Breskens pocket, and I think that there are lots of Germans in the Nijmegen region. Otherwise, I’m not really sure what they are planning.

I will keep pushing with 1st Cdn Army in cleaning up the Breskens pocket. The German units there are all out of supply, so this is going to be easier than I anticipated, but it will take more time. In a couple of days, I will start looking at the Operation (Vitality) to clear the northern part of the Scheldt.

The 2nd Br Army will continue to mop up and build up supplies. I have to be careful as the 1st AB div pulls out in a couple of days.

[MikeJ19]

Here is a look at two units and their supply over three turns...

[MikeJ19]

The situation on the 24th.

[MikeJ19]

Another fairly quiet day. The 1st Cdn Army continues to roll up the Germans in the Breskens Pocket. They have taken out most of the Southern defence line and will soon be working on the western line. The Germans launched a bunch of attacks mostly around Antwerp and some in the SW corner.

The 1st AB has pulled out – along with the special forces units. I got good results from the British paras, but brought the special forces units in too late. Oh well. The Pol AB Brigade will be withdrawn in a couple of days.

Over the next few days, I will be getting the 49th Inf Div and the 7th (US) Armd Div. They will help me move North.

The biggest issues that I’m having at the moment remains supply. I have lots of openings in front of me, but my units are low on supply. So, I will continue with the regrouping and little movement – except in the West.

[MikeJ19]

You have to love these results

[MikeJ19]

Yesterday, I made some more progress in the West, started regrouping units – which can be hard. I wish that the formation units were easier to find/see.

The Germans continued their attacks near Antwerp and in the SE corner – they managed to destroy an Para Bn. Otherwise, they did more damage to themselves than to the Allied units. The Germans appear to have a good reserve in the Nijmegen/Arnhem area. I want to keep a watch on their movement.

The 49th Inf Div has arrived in the South. I will move them up to prepare for my renewed offense in a few days. They are slated to join VIII Corps in the East.

I have been pulling the 101st out of the battle area. Well, some of them. There are a bunch of paras with 1 movement pt. So I will leave them in Holland. The ones with more movement points, will head to the coast and a return to England to rest and recover. I will use them again once they are fully rested.

Thinking ahead to my next Operation, I’m pretty sure that the 82nd will be used in the XXX Corps sector, with an attempt to seize a further crossing over the Waal River.

Supply remains a big issue for most of my forces. They will remain fairly quiet again today.

[MikeJ19]

I forgot to mention that one of my units got a little mixed up and decided to blow up a bridge!!! Damn. At least it is in a city with another bridge.

[MikeJ19]

I saw an opportunity and grabbed part of the road from Breda to Antwerp and noticed that Breda was almost empty. So, the 7th Armd sent a Brigade to check it out and sure enough the town was available for me to grab. The combination of cutting this road and some moves North of Antwerp have cut supplies to all the Germans outside the city.

In the Breskens pocket, once again the 1st Cdn Army launched some very successful attacks and more of the German units were destroyed. There are a lot of units along the coast – they will be difficult to take out, but they are unsupplied.

I continue to regroup my Brigades and will start moving them into position for the next operation soon.

For the first time in a while, the Germans have moved some new troops into the area. They have moved units North and East of Hellmond.

[MikeJ19]

Morning all,

I have a physio appt this morning, so more gaming time than normal before work...

Planning has been going on at 21st Army Group HQ for Operation Greenhouse. Here is a look at the current plan:

Supply remains the greatest concern for me. It is causing all my units lots of problems.

Recent moves by the Germans may slow down VIII Corps breakout, but otherwise, things look good. So, no major change to the original plan.

Timing of the three attacks is something to think about. Right now, I will likely start with XXX Corps and XII Corps attacking on the 1 Oct. VIII Corps will commence on 2 Oct. This may get the Germans moving to respond to the initial attacks
Before VIII Corps starts.