The position of the 82nd Airborne (Maj. Gen Ridgway) on the west was cause for far greater concern than the 101st, both to Ridgway and the Allied command. Landing on the edge of the assembly area of the German 91st Division, it met more determined opposition in the early stages. It suffered from scattered drops, which left two regiments unable to assemble and carry out their mission. -- Cross Channel Attack

Success at Ste Mare-Eglise was dur in part to the exceptionally good drop of the 505th Parachute Infantry northwest of the city. -- Cross Channel Attack

[We position the drop of the 82 ndin hex 17A:0712, astride the Contentin peninsula. This is closer to the original planned drop zone around St. Sauveur le Vicomte than the actual drop. The plan was changed at a late date to position the 82 nd closer to UTAH Beach, after German anti-airdrop defenses in the area became known. A good argument can be made that the drop should actually be in 0711 on UTAH itself, but edging the 82 nd into 0712 does makes good game sense. It also captures the flavor of the airborne troops dropping inland from the.beaches and leaves the US VII Corps in good position to both cut the Contentin peninsula and capture Cherbourg in the Jun II turn.]

The 82nd faces units of the 91st Air Landing and 243d Divisions plus elements of a panzer "training" battalion using captured French tanks, particularly R-35s.

The 82nd is carried by 8x C-47 and 2x CG-4A (US) 17A:0712:

Disruption modifiers are net -4 for the parachute units, -3 for the glider unit. The 505th Parachute Infantry lands undisrupted. The 325th Glider Infantry lands disrupted; the 507th and 508th Parachute Infantry are badly disrupted.

Exploitation phase. Two tank battalions and a motorized AT battalion land and join the amphibious tank battalion already ashore to advance west into 17A:0712. There, the three 2-1-10 Tank IIs combine to a 5-3-10 6th Armored Group. Although this forfeits a point of absolute strength, it gains a point available in a single RE and in the close quarters, stacking is all important. The 82nd does not assemble as this would leave the resulting unit disrupted. At the end of the exploitation phase, the hex contains:

1x 5-3-10 Arm X 6
1x 1-2-10 mot AT II 899
1x 3-5 Glider III (disrupted) 82/325
1x 3-5 Para III 82/505
2x 3-5 Para III (badly disrupted) 507,508
1x 5* Para XX HQ (badly disrupted) 82

Battle for Normandy Europa as History

The Players
The Plans
The Game (Allied June I 1944 Turn) Set Up
The Game (Allied June I 1944 Turn) Combat: Douve and Carentan
The Game (Allied June I 1944 Turn) Combat: Merderet Valley
The Game (Allied June I 1944 Turn) Combat: Utah Beach
The Game (Allied June I 1944 Turn) Combat: Omaha Beach
The Game (Allied June I 1944 Turn) Combat: Gold and Juno Beach
The Game (Allied June I 1944 Turn) Combat: Sword Beach
The Game (Axis June II 1944 Turn)
The Game (Allied and Axis Jul I 1944 Turn)
The Game Poised for a Breakout