Interactive History: Arnhem, September 1944
Yeah I know you get killed with them atm, Alternate Histories, Interactive Histories, etc. I kinda like these, but never got around playing in it (since you have to be a member) so I got around writing my own.
It's based on Market Garden, don't blame me for historical incorrectness, I did this first chapter mainly by hard, and for the first paragraph I use what are historical words.
Anyway I think some of you know some things about Arnhem, if you don't it doesn't really matter, it's not like you need to know anything about it.
If, for through some strange missunderstanding you are getting interested in the battle I can always recommend you some books to read.
In this interactive you "play" as Major-General Robert "Roy" Urquhart, commander of the British 1st Airborne Division at Arnhem. I'm going to throw you into battle pretty quickly. But the first chapter is only the planning of the operation.
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It’s the 10th of September and it’s a nice autumn day, it doesn’t rain, it’s nice weather, warm even. But still you have to sit inside. Inside to learn more about the new plan, a big plan, a plan to change the face of war.
“And Roy, you get the prize, Arnhem Bridge and you hold it,” speaks Lieutenant-General Browning slowly.
“For how long,” you ask.
“Well Monty assured me that 30 corps can do the 63 miles in 2 to 3 days. Once 30 corps crossed the bridges they’re going to turn east, right in to the industrial heartland of Germany, the Ruhr … oh and we’re going next Sunday”
“7 days?”
“Why not? The sooner we go, the better. We’ve got them on the run.”
Walking back to Divisional HQ you discuss the operation with Brigadier Lathbury, your second in command.
“So Gerald, what do you think, 7 days, do you think we can do that?”
“Well we’ve never done it before, but the Hun is on the run, this mission can’t be too difficult, next to that our 16 earlier operations have all been cancelled, because the ground force was already there.”
“We need to make sure we get the troops safely into Arnhem though. All the earlier drops failed miserably, in Sicily and in Normandy airborne troops landed all over the place. There was no order. And next to that, we need 3 lifts to get us into Arnhem. The two divisions further south have priority over us, they need to take the bridges before 30 corps reaches us.”
Later on you that evening you already have to start planning the operation.
We have three possible landing zones:
LZ1 is at the south of Arnhem, it’s a swampy terrain, split up by one or two dykes used for roads. It doesn’t have any trees, so it’s ideal for parachute landings, but because of the swampy soil glider landings are out of the question in this area, so you will need to find another LZ specially for gliders.
LZ2 is a bit north of Arnhem, just south of the Veluwe forest. It’s mainly hilly terrain and relatively close to Deelen airport, were German fighter aircraft and flak is placed. It’s has scattered trees all across the possible LZ and therefore isn’t fully suited for glider landings.
LZ3 is far west of Arnhem, it’s the best LZ you can get. It’s flat, has no trees whatsoever and is ideal for glider and parachute landings. It’s 8 miles west of Arnhem and can’t be any closer as the terrain between Oosterbeek and Arnhem is too small for massive landings, you would however be able to land only a small force there on the first day only.
Next to the problem of the landing zones you have the problem of the limited aircraft. Arnhem Bridge needs to be taken on the first day, after that the Germans will find out what your target is, but since you can only fly in half the division on the first day you can’t use all men to take the bridges, since you also need to defend the landing zones. That leaves you with the following choices.
Attempt a night drop. Night drops have one main advantage, you fly in more or less undetected. It will take quite some time before the Germans even know you’re there.
Fly in the first drop early on day 1 and start the second drop directly after that one. This will make sure you have the entire British 1st Airborne in on the first day, only the Poles, and maybe some little remains of the division will come on day 2.
Have one drop a day, this is slower, but will make sure you get all the support from the Airforce. They will lose loads of planes in the first drop and need a night to repair them, having two drops on one day can therefore be risky as you might get men separated from their units as some could be flown in and some couldn’t.
Last but not least you have to decide what to take with you. You have the Reconnaissance Squadron, that can be equipped with either light tanks, as they were used in Normandy, or with jeeps. Light tanks have the advantage of their firepower, but take space. Space that would otherwise be needed for the heavy 17 ponder anti-tank guns. RS can also be equipped with jeeps with twin Vickers machine guns, as sometimes used by SAS, these are fast and make sure you have a quick reaction force. And you could always opt for not bringing the RS at all, they take space, space that can be filled with ammo, food and other essentials.
1. Which landing zones will you use
A. LZ1, the paratroops directly south of the bridge and the gliders between Arnhem and Oosterbeek
B. LZ2, directly north of Arnhem
C. LZ3, Far west of Arnhem
2. At which times will you have the drops
A. Drop 1 at night of day 1, Drop 2 late afternoon of day 1, Drop 3 at day of day 2
B. Drop 1 in the early morning of day 1, Drop 2 directly after that one in the afternoon, Drop 3 somewhere in the afternoon of day 2.
C. Drop 1 at midday day 1, Drop 2 at midday day 2, Drop 3 at midday day 3.
3. What will you bring as additional troops
A. Light tanks
B. Jeeps
C. No troops, but supplies
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