Holland '44

[judgedredd]

Damn - Arnhem is going to fall soon. Frost took a beating

[BanzaiCat]

Red Devils about to get jackhammered, eh?

[Sir Slash]

I'm waiting to see how you're going to get them out of this one JD. 

[judgedredd]

So the Red Devils did survive a brutal onslaught. The fight following the above image was a German attack. The Germans had 3-1 odds and rolled a 1 resulting in the Paras being marked as engaged

However, it didn't last and on turn 5 (a night turn ) on September 18th, they were destroyed.

I'm not doing great and I put it down to me personally - I've played the Germans much better than I have the Allies. I've not really embraced the time scale and difficult job the Allies had. I've not protected by landing zones properly nor have I spaced my units out properly. I hardly used breakdown units which I perhaps should have to protect various areas - drop zones and bridges. Without using breakdown units, it's hard (read impossible) to cover the area you need to.

Here's an example. The turn record says on Turn 6 says 30 Corps reaches Grave.


As you can see (though not clearly because the name is covered up), at the start of Turn 6 30 Corps is only at Eindhoven.


They have all this way to go to get to Grave - and that ain't happening on Turn 6...and unlikely to happen on Turn 7 either.


The 82nd does have a good grip at the moment on Nijmegen. If they can hold onto it, who knows...30 Corps might smash through into Arnhem.


Of course, it'll be too late for the 1st Airborne who are already collapsing into an ever smaller circle.

[BanzaiCat]

That's a lot of SS coming after them...

I don't think I'd be prone to break down units, either. I'd much rather have them whole and at full strength, but that'll be something I should consider when I get my copy to the table.

[bob48]

And neither 9th or 10th SS were at anything like full strength at the time.

[judgedredd]

That's a lot of SS coming after them...

I don't think I'd be prone to break down units, either. I'd much rather have them whole and at full strength, but that'll be something I should consider when I get my copy to the table.

Who doesn't want strong defensive units - trouble is you've got a fair amount to do. For example, the 82nd has got a considerable number of bridges to run for  on the first turn to try and get that first turn bonus. You're almost forced to breakdown units to create ZOC Bonds which are impenetrable.

I just know - looking at the map just now - I've got gaps where I shouldn't have and it's because I didn't break down units.

Look at the 101st area between Veghel and Son...the units at Veghel are out of supply because they can't trace a route to their supply depot (which is depleted now anyway) or all the way back to the 30 Corps entry area. I can't help but think if I'd split a unit or two, I could've prevented that road being closed and therefore keep them in supply.

Anyway - it's a bloody cracking game. Lots of little things to think about.

There's a couple of things I've not got - even after reading and re-reading

• Returnees
• Replacements

I have read and re-read and I just don't get it.

The other thing - which I get but have to keep looking up because it's pretty complex - is combat modifiers. Doubling here, halving there, halving some because they're not the same unit, not doubling because it's a vehicle...there's alot to take in. A single combat (depending on the number of units, type of units and mix of forces) can take me some time to work out.

But....................having said all that, it's superb.

[judgedredd]

And neither 9th or 10th SS were at anything like full strength at the time.

The armour shift makes up for their lack of strength 

[Sir Slash]

That looks to be a tough nut to crack alright Dredd. This should be interesting. 

[thecommandtent]

Granted I've only played my copy once and its been awhile but I remember always feeling the pressure to push my units up the highway and never quite get historical results because I was to busy chasing down German units instead of later my later infantry units mop up.  I also don't remember using breakdown units but I feel like after understanding the ZOC Bond rules better it help me position my airborne units to control more areas or at least stop the German units from cutting through and isolating my units.

[judgedredd]

Granted I've only played my copy once and its been awhile but I remember always feeling the pressure to push my units up the highway and never quite get historical results because I was to busy chasing down German units instead of later my later infantry units mop up.  I also don't remember using breakdown units but I feel like after understanding the ZOC Bond rules better it help me position my airborne units to control more areas or at least stop the German units from cutting through and isolating my units.

I fell into exactly that trap. I never made it. 1st Airborne was wiped out and 30 Corps fell way short.