Arnhem: Deelen Option - German view...

[Yakstock]

I noticed Mark started a thread on Deleen so I will do a parallel one- I will wait until we are finished to check his thread out as it will be better for my narrative to not know his thoughts – not to mention it will preserve the game in progress…

I don’t have any early pictures but the first one here is at 1900 hours on day one. My primary objective was to try and put up as many blocking forces as I could to allow me time to set up some type of perimeter around the bridges. I quickly realized on this scenario too much was hitting me too fast, and ended up throwing in what I could when it came in.

There was never an option in my mind of trying to assault the landing zone, so I did not even try. I did however try and block the woods between the airfield and the bridges.

At this point I was fairly satisfied with my lines, but had just been surprised by the presence of the Poles attacking from the south. I had no idea they would be here this early and in that direction. Somehow I had it in my mind it would all come from the airfield until 30 corp arrived. I quickly decided to use some newly arrived troops to try and eliminate the Poles so I could focus on the northern approaches. Being threatened north and south was not a good position to be in. I used artillery to delay the poles while I planned my attack.

More to come…

[Yakstock]

This picture shows the 10th SS Panzer Recon Bn attacking a company that was headed to the bridge. This group was very isolated and lacked the force to reach the bridge, but I wanted to slam it hard before attacking the poles. The 10th would do this for me and then head across the bridge to hit the Poles.

[Yakstock]

This picture is at 0621 hours on day 2. The good news at this point is that the Poles were scattered to the winds and made useless. For the balance of the game until 30 corp arrives, I can stop worrying about my southern flank.

The other bit of good news is that the rail bridge is held firm – not even threatened. This will allow me to focus on the town.

The bad news, as you can see from the picture, is that my lines are infiltrated everywhere. I commend my troops however as they hold firm in place despite overwhelming odds.

[Yakstock]

0400 on Day three is probably one of the bleakest. As you can see I am getting overwhelmed across the city. The bridge is in sight for the allies and little is in the way. Here is where my opponent could have sealed my fate. If he had successfully blocked the roads into town, I would have lost the bridges. I was able to keep a road into town to the east and west and this allowed the foot soldiers to work into the city and help bolster the defense.

[Arjuna]

Ah yes the old maxim "Isolate, Neutralise, Eliminate"...ignore it at your peril.

Thanks for sharing us your perspective Gary.

[Yakstock]

About this same time I was starting to deal with the main North South road out of Arnhem. Many of my reinforcements are on foot, and travel to the battlefield is long and tiring. Some of the forces come in from the north of Arnhem. I could march them around the opposition, but this will take much time and tire them out creating more of a delay. I decide I must push through a corridor from the North of Arnhem. This becomes a very interesting part of the battle.

At first, the allies block this area effectively and I get frustrated by my inability to open this roadway. But eventually I realize I am drawing a great deal of forces away from Arnhem central, and I realize this is a good thing. If they are fighting here, then it will help my ability to defend and clear the town.

This image shows some of the blocking forces. Many of my reinforcements are artillery units which do not actually have to make it to the town to be effective.

[Yakstock]

Here is a good shot of the overall battle at this time (day 4 – 0900). Reinforcements are arriving finally from the west and the approach is still open. The blocking force north of Arnhem is still holding me up, but as I said before – appears to be drawing forces from the town.

Arnhem itself has dissolved into pockets of battles. These can be seen in green outline in the image. At this time I am still after clearing the town, but my thoughts are starting to turn towards the hells highway area…

[Yakstock]

Here is an image early on day 4 showing 30 corp’s line of advance. You can see the VP objectives line the approach. I start to send troops to key blocking points as I figure about day 4 into day 5 is the likely arrival time.

[Yakstock]

Later in day 4 you can see I have started to populate the key blocking positions for the upcoming 30 corp.

As I think about this part of the battle, I need to continue to delay at blocking points and continue to dig in as reinforcements come in. Once they are dug in, the front line can fall back to the next line. In addition, I have to keep my opponent contained. There is a vast network of roads and paths that once he gets to them he can approach Arnhem from many directions.

In the mean time, I must clear Arnhem.

[Yakstock]

By early on day 5 I am starting to see a stable front line in Arnhem. I have pushed more reinforcements than I would like (versus sending them to fight 30 corp) but I have to clear the town. The key objective north of the main bridge is still not in my control at this point and I need the VP’s from it.

[Yakstock]

It has BEGUN!! 30 corp has arrived – 0940 on day five…. I have no where near the troops I would like to have blocking their path, but many are racing to the scene. In the mean time I lay down a tremendous barrage on the advancing troops. Until they can disperse it is a killing field…I will stop here for now, but it gets to be great fun in the coming sessions as 30 corp fights to relieve Arnhem. What a blast this game is…

[Rooster]

I am enjoying this quite a bit - thanks to you and Mark for the effort. Just a quick question: Are you taking these screenshots during play? There is no way to take shots from a saved file unless your opponent is also "in game." Right?

[Yakstock]

We take them during play. You are correct, you need to have your opponent playing in order to take pictures.

[Yakstock]

By mid day on day five you can see the allies are starting to fan out. Although my opponent had some recon push through my defensive lines to the east, he does not appear to follow it up with any show of force. The bulk of the allied forces continue to be focused up the main highway area. I have established multiple lines of defense and I am able to continually delay 30 corp through the use of blocking forces and artillery.

At this point, 30 corp has yet to hit my first main line of defense. The more I delay my opponent the more I see the victory meter edging my way. The longer I hold objectives along the main road, the more points I accumulate. I feel the tide has definitely turned at this point and feel more confident I can clear Arnhem and hold the bulk of 30 corp back. Time will tell.