Neerpelt (Zone F) - Allied Strategy

At first glance the Allied player appears to have a nearly unbeatable position. He has the elite Guards Armored Division, one brigade of the 50th Infantry Division, and powerful artillery. Zone F has the unique ability of being able to activate in addition to any other Allied Area on the map (or the UK Box) - a "free" Double Impulse every single impulse so long as the Allied player doesn't declare a Double Impulse somewhere else on the map. The five German battal Ions defending Neerpelt are a weak lot, with the best units having a Defense Value of only "3."

Despite all this the Allies are working on a very tight timetable, and although the German defenders in Neerpelt are individually weak, as a group they can absorb a lot of punishment. While the Allied player will almost always be able to contest Valkenswaard on D-Day, there is at least a fair possibility he will run out of units gaining or attempting to gain control of the Area, leaving Eindhoven and its bonus VP out of reach. There is also the chance a poor roll will unexpectedly end the D-Day Daylight Phase and "rescue" the German player. If this happens early in the turn, the Allied player may wish to surrender the Advantage and force a re-roll because D-Day may be his only chance of accomplishing certain goals.

The D-Day Artillery Bombardment Phase consists of a mandatory 14:4 Barrage by the XXX Corps artillery. Even dice will flip all five German defenders to Spent. The Allied player can accept flipping only four, or even only three. Less than three is probably unacceptable. The Allied player should use the Advantage to re-roll the Barrage in this situation. If after surrendering the Advantage the re-roll of the opening Barrage is more successful, the Allies may be able to seize the Advantage back by eliminating at least three of the Neerpelt defenders in a single impulse later in the turn. The XXX Corps Ground Assault Phase requires at least one unit of the Guards Division to assault after the initial Barrage.

Assuming the opening barrage has flipped at least three German units (and probably all five) the Allied player's XXX Corps Ground Assault Phase should consist of an attack by one Guards armor battalion and one Guards mechanized infantry battalion, supported by the Guards artillery to get the Divisional Integrity Bonus. This will give the Allies an Attack Value of 11 versus a German Defense Value somewhere between 4 and 6.

Allied tactics during the September 17th Daylight Phase will be dictated by how many casualties they inflict during the initial assault, and whether the German player decides to retreat to Valkenswaard or continue defending in Neerpelt. The Allies can neither afford to put the Guards at risk making weak sing le-battal ion attacks nor to use most of the division clearing Neerpelt. Neerpelt must be taken with the minimum number of units possible, leaving enough strength to gain control of Valkenswaard and, hopefully, make at least one attack on Eindhoven.

Should the chance present itself to attack Eindhoven on the first turn, do it. All the Allies need do to earn the bonus Victory Point is contest the city, and even a Stalemate can achieve this. A Victory Point is worth the risk of disrupting a single unit. If the Allies actually control Eindhoven at the end of D-Day, XXX Corps is well ahead of schedule. Another option altogether is to bypass Eindhoven, following the road net east and then north, leaving the city to be mopped up later by reinforcements like the 43rd Infantry Division.

Play Balance. If the Allies find it is too difficult to attack Eindhoven on D-Day because the German player blows up the Dommel bridge and there isn't time to successfully repair it before the Daylight Phase ends, prohibit the German player from attempting bridge demolition between Eindhoven and Valkenswaard on D-Day.

Neerpelt - German Strategy

The Germans' objective here is to fight a delaying action. In the short term they want to deny the Allies the D-Day bonus VP for reaching Eindhoven. In the long term, especially if playing the Extended Game, they would like to have some of the units in Neerpelt survive to fight another day. Ideally the Allied player will be forced to use up all or nearly all of his units capturing Neerpelt and Valkenswaard, leaving him few if any with which to Assault Eindhoven. An important decision will be whether to retreat north to Valkenswaard or stand and fight it out in Neerpelt. Each choice has its advantages - the decision will be influenced by the overall situation on the map. If things go poorly for the Allies, and two or more units remain Fresh in Neerpelt after the XXX Corps Ground Assault Phase, stand and fight. The Allied player will only need two units to get the Divisional Integrity Bonus, but every unit used fighting to clear Neerpelt is one less unit that can be used against Valkenswaard and Eindhoven.

Defending forward also gives the Allied player reason to hesitate when allocating his air bombardment, as a Mistaken Attack in Neerpelt could be a real disaster. On the other hand this strategy does leave German units in range of the Guards Division's artillery. The Allied player can repeatedly bombard Neerpelt at 6:4, though at the cost of using up precious impulses. Should the opening Barrage by XXX Corps be unusually ineffective, and the Allied player declines to spend the Advantage to force a re-roll, defending forward in Neerpelt might impose greater delay on the Allies than falling back.

Typically, however, most if not all of the German units in Zone F will be Spent by the opening bombardment and then suffer casualties from the initial assault. If this is the case, leave a single "Disrupt 2" unit in Neerpelt and retreat the rest to Valkenswaard. The impact this has on the Allies is twofold.

First, it puts German units out of range of artillery bombardment.

Second, it also puts them out of range of artillery support, meaning the Allied player must now Assault with three units if he wants the Divisional Integrity Bonus. The Allied player can opt to make single unit attacks into Valkenswaard, but each such attack uses up another impulse and has a greater chance of failing since the Attack Value is lower. Valkenswaard may also be reinforced by the 7/16(-) that sets up in Heeze, and those three extra Casualty Points may impose just enough delay to keep Eindhoven safe on D-Day. If the Allied player attacks Valkenswaard and only manages to contest it, that is the optimum time to attempt demolition on the Dommel river bridge leading into Eindhoven.

If the bridge is destroyed, the Allied player must repair it if he wants to Assault the city. Unless the Screaming Eagles have gotten into Eindhoven from the north (unlikely) the D-Day Daylight Phase may well end with the Allies trying to get the bridge fixed.

Play Balance. If XXX Corps is breaking out of Neerpelt too quickly, flip the Guards artillery unit Spent along with the XXX Corps artillery during the D-Day Artillery Bombardment Phase. If the Allies are successfully contesting Eindhoven too often on D- Day, treat the Dommel as a river for purposes of bridge repair and calculating the Defense Total during an Allied Assault.

Strategy In Monty's Gamble: Market Garden

Overall Situation
Neerpelt (Zone F): Allied and Axis Strategies
101st Airborne Sector: Allied and Axis Strategies
82nd Airborne Sector: Allied and Axis Strategies
First Airborne Sector: Allied and Axis Strategies
Historical Campaign Scenario