OPERATION MARKET-GARDEN is published by Third Millenia and was designed by Vernon Jay Stribling. This game has captured much of my interest lately because of the unique game situation it presents. It is very much like STALINGRAD in that one player must strike out across the board to take a territorial objective but then again there are differences. Tile game has few pieces and is a much more fluid battle, as the German player cannot build stonewall defenses to stop the Allies. And the game only runs ten turns, so it is short and relatively easy to play. It all makes for a fast moving game that really won't be decided until it's all over - which is the sort of game I enjoy playing. GERMAN STRATEGY The Germans cannot possibly hold a cohesive, strong defensive line. His initial forces are rather dispersed and he has to cope with greater Allied ground forces Allied paratroopers, and massive Allied airpower. So his strategy will be radically determined by how he sets up the containment area. There are two possibilities: spread your units thin to cover the front, or group them in strong forces, leaving a large section very weakly held. I am still not sure as to which approach is optimum, because both have their difficulties. The whole problem revolves around the nature and effect of rivers in the game. Attacking across a river hexside halves your attack factor. And although the game uses the traditional AH type of zone of control, the ZOC does not extend across the river hexside. Then in regards to movement across the rivers, only infantry, paratroops, and "rabble" units may cross - all other types must cross by means of a bridge. The final feature concerning rivers is that armor, mechanized infantry, and anti-tank units may not attack across river hexsides. This means that when the German is defending behind a river, a vacant hex on the German side of the river is an opening for the American attack, as all the American has to do is send some infantry across the river (who would then be stopped by the ZOC). So rivers aren't rea11y a major defensive obstacle because of the scarcity of German units and the abundance of American infantry. It does present a problem to armor, as armor has to have a bridgehead created for it before it can cross over, but the infantry can do this without too much trouble. The German containment forces fall short of being able to cover the entire front. Three units short, to be exact. The setup will usually see the holes in the line near Maastrict. Because the victory conditions call for the Allies to reach the north end of the board, the Maastrict area is farthest away and therefore least valuable. Also, because of the fork in the river just north of Maastrict, the area is not very good for armored operations, so leaving this area weak is not all that bad. The German player should make sure that he has ZOCs covering every hex of the river so the American cannot breakout immediately, no matter what kind of defense he uses. The Allies will strike the Borkel area, mainly because of the bridge across the river there, which will allow the armor to get into action. I'll deal with just how this attack will take place later. Other Strategy The other strategy, concentration of forces, would see the major grouping between Turnhout and Borkel, on the west side of the containment. The Maastrict area would be held by the weak 3-9 "rabble" units, and the area east of Borkel before the river bends should be held more strongly, but still risking as few units as necessary. This strategy could be disastrous if the American can attack your concentration of forces and get away with it, but usually the American will go for the easier prey. In regards to long range defense, the German cannot afford stand-up combat, because the American can usually punch his lights out and continue north with resistance considerably lessened. The German is in a situation which dictates almost guerilla-like tactics of delaying and harassment. Despite the fact that the rivers are not the best defensive terrain around, they are the major terrain feature of the board and can be used to delay armored movement. Delaying armor may not seem so important in the average game, but the "armor attack rule" in this game, in which the odds of an attack with armor are increased one column, make it more imperative for the German to keep away from armor, as he hardly has enough anti- tank equipment to offset the armor advantage. Placing units before rivers will slow the allied approach (because their ZOC is unimpeded) and placing units behind rivers effectively negates the armor attack rule. Garrisoning the West Wall does not impede the American advance, so the German units in the West Wall should be stationed near Venlo, with the two "rabble" units near Goch. These units are best used west of the West Wall to delay the Allies. The rabble units are used to bolster the Nijmegen/Cleve/Goch triangle. One or both of the 4-4 armored units may be used east of the Wall in case the American decides to breach the West Wall and flank German resistance. The part of the Wall east of Venlo is a good area to hold because the Allies cannot get around the Wall where it almost touches the east edge of the board. Paratroops and Allied air power will be the most frustrating obstacles for the German. Pray for bad weather! It stops paradrops, cuts supply to any paraunits which cannot trace a supply line, and stops Allied air power. It's also a good idea to mop up parachute units as quickly as possible, because if they are allowed to run free in the "backfield" they could help surround units being attacked, or they could be holding a crucial road that you need to move reinforcements down. The Nijmegen/Cleve/Goch triangle is probably the best defensive terrain on the board since the area is wooded, plus the rivers in the area can help out. If the Allies grab this area before you can get to it (early in the game), destroy the Para units as quickly as possible, and hold down the area with a few units to prevent future drops. This area is very important to your defenses, and allowing the Allies to take it will seriously hinder your chances of winning. The most northerly part of the containment area is 32 hexes away from the North Sea, whereas Maastricht is 48 away from the northern edge of the board. Considering the average Allied movement allowance is 5, the Allies will have to move toward the North Sea and quickly, for they must get there by turn 9 in order to win the game. Therefore, for the German to grab a turn or two through delay will give his forces enough time to make a strong stand on the last few turns in order to keep the Allies from breaking through. Keep the roads out of the allied hands, for they double his rate of advance and make your defensive task much more difficult. AMERICAN STRATEGY The American player must be aggressive. He only has ten turns to move north, which means he must move quickly. This means that on the first few turns crushing all German resistance will be crucial. If a goodly percentage of the German force is not destroyed on turn one at the containment area, then the Allies stand a good chance of losing the game. Paratroops should be used in a tactical and not a strategic role. The bulk of the first turn paradrops should be used in the containment area in order to destroy the German forces. These units can be used in two ways. If dropped outside of enemy ZOC and then moved, they may be used to support the attack if necessary. Another, perhaps more useful, tactic is landing directly in German ZOC. Units that do so may not attack, so they will most assuredly survive and force the German units to attack, possibly at poor odds. Take the Borkel area. You need the road to get your armor across the river. If you use engineers to build bridges, use them as sparingly as possible. You'll soon be north, and in order to get across the three rivers just south of the Arnhem/Utrecht line you're going to need some of those engineers. Much of what I said for the Germans can be simply transferred into the Allied strategic considerations, so I'll keep this short. The Nijmegen/Cleve/Goch triangle should be taken by paratroops on the first turn. Possibly just with one or two units at Nijmegen. Preferably two, for this key city prevents armor traffic to Grave, unless the German wishes to take the detour all the way to Utrecht. It will gain the breakout force some time to destroy more German units. Seek a balance. You must get north by turn nine, so don't waste time moppingup bypassed German units if you can help it. Also, remember that in the early stages of the game it is more important to destroy German units than to move north, because you don't want to give him enough material to adequately defend the river line. Bypass the West Wall - taking it costs too much time. If Maastrict is heavily defended in the early game you'll have little chance here. If it is not heavily defended, you'll be wasting your time what precious little you have. Use your airpower. Especially valuable is interdiction. If the German leaves an area open, or if you have collapsed a section of the front through combat, use interdiction to seal off reinforcements. Sometimes it will happen that the German does not have some forces in immediate tactical reserve (more due to attrition than stupidity), and will not be able to hold road lines that cross one or more rivers, meaning the Allied armor can move north very quickly. Finally, never stop pushing, if you do you'll lose. A key to snatching defeat from the jaws of victory would be to neglect to use your airpower and paratroops correctly. The German will be constantly under the gun; but give him one turn and you've probably given him the game. CONCLUSION This is one of the best Third Millenia games available. It is short in playing time relatively simple, and provides a relaiively balanced and exciting play situation. OPERATION MARKET- GARDEN is available from Third Millenia, 465 Woodland Hills, Philadelphia, Mississippi, 39350 for $5.00 Finally, there are a number of rules problems in the game. The clarifications for those are as follows: 1. Movement through cities and towns may also be performed at the road rate for units entering the hex on a road. 2. Armor, Mechanized Infantry, and Reconnaissance units may move into a woods hex by road. If they remain in the hex, they may not attack, and defend at half strength. 3. When Allied air force units are attacking German ground units (whether independently or in conjunction with Allied ground units), they cannot be lost through combat, and only Allied ground units take casualties (if any). 4. Air force pieces (p.8): All three functions may be performed in a single turn; but each piece may only perform one function per turn. 5. Non-infantry/paratroop/rabble units need not stop when moved adjacent to a river. They simply may not cross a nonbridged river hexside. 6. The unnamed city between Eindhoven and Utrecht is Vught. 7. Units that begin their turn in enemy ZOC may move out if they wish. 8. Units may not move directly from one enemy ZOC into another enemy 70C. 9. Pieces not in supply and that begin their turn in enemy ZOC must either move out of enemy ZOC or have a supply line opened in that turn. If neither can be done, the unit is eliminated. 10. If a supply line is opened to an unsupplied unit in enemy ZOC, the previously unsupplied unit may not attack in that turn. Back to Table of Contents -- Panzerfaust #64 To Panzerfaust/Campaign List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1974 by Donald S. Lowry This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com