101st Airborne Sector -Allied Strategy

Allied decisions for the Screaming Eagles will be heavily influenced by the status of German units in Son and Best after the Air Bombardment Phase. On the one hand the Allied player does not want to see bridges along the main highway to Nijmegen destroyed, as this will impede the progress of XXX Corps northward.

On the other hand the Allied player would like to secure his western flank by controlling or at least contesting Best as quickly as possible. The Allied player must also balance the desire to seize Areas north of St. Oedenrode with his capacity to refit from a single depot. In order to look at these competing priorities this analysis is divided to examine Allied strategy both north and south of St. Oedenrode.

Six battalions land in St. Oedenrode during the Airborne Landing Phase. If at least four of the six land Fresh, there may be a chance to capture Best on D-Day. During the Airborne Landing Phase the Son FLAK Tower should be attacked with a single battalion at 4:3. Eliminating the Son FLAK Tower with a single unit during the Airborne Landing Phase will expand the options open to the Allied player during the rest of the September 17th Turn. If the Son FLAK Tower is not eliminated, but both it and the two units that set up in Best are Spent, activate at least three units to get the Divisional Integrity Bonus, use one Movement Factor to assault and Overrun the defense in St. Oedenrode, and then use the remaining three Movement Factors to assault Best at 7:3. If Fresh units in Best are preventing an Overrun assault out of St. Oedenrode, the Allies can use an Air Bombardment to get everything in the Area Spent and reduce the number of Casualty Points it can absorb as well.

This focus on Best will come at the expense of attempting to reach Eindhoven from the north on D-Day. A single unit Assault during the Airborne Landing Phase that fails to eliminate the Son FLAK Tower gives the German player an 83% chance of successfully destroying the bridge over the Wilhelmina Canal. If Eindhoven rather than Best is the Allied player's D-Day objective, he should assault the Son FLAK Tower with three units rather than one immediately upon landing. This will earn the Divisional Integrity Bonus and yield an assault of 7:3. If the FLAK Tower is eliminated, the German player will have only a 50% chance of blowing up the bridge leading to Woensel, should he choose to attempt it.

If this bridge is intact at the beginning of an Allied impulse, the Allied player should send a battalion across the canal to Woensel immediately. If the FLAK Tower in Eindhoven was flipped Spent during the Air Bombardment Phase, a single battalion can be sent against the city immediately, assaulting at 4:4. If Fresh, the FLAK Tower can be subjected to Air Bombardment to make an assault from the north possible. The Allies will probably fail to eliminate the Eindhoven FLAK Tower, but it's worth risking a single battalion because if the 101 st controls Eindhoven on D-Day it will mean a clear path north for XXX Corps on the 18th.

Another positive benefit of at least contesting Eindhoven from the north is that it will alter the retreat priority of German units in Valkenswaard. Instead of being able to retreat north from Valkenswaard into Eindhoven, units will have to retreat eastward to either Geldrop or Heeze. If the Allied player ignores Best on D- Day he must still contest the city at some point, or risk German units infiltrating out of Best into St. Oedenrode.

During the Airborne Landing Phase the 1/501 dropping in Dinther can move to either Uden or Veghel, or remain where it is. If it stays put during the Airborne Landing Phase, it can move through Uden and enter Veghel during an Assault Impulse. This will help save supply during the Refit Phase should the Allied player wish to Refit the unit. If the 1/501 doesn't refit on the 17th it can Regroup to Eerde and refit on the 18th instead. The 2/501 and 3/501 in Eerde have several choices.

During the Airborne Landing Phase the units could split off and seize Schijndel and Breugel, although this will be expensive to resupply since the division's depot will almost certainly have to be placed in St. Odenrode. If the Son FLAK Tower is assaulted with a single unit, and the assault is a Failure, one of the units in Eerde should activate to make bridge seizures, rolling for the bridges on the boundaries with St. Oedenrode and Veghel. If the roll on the Veghel bridge fails, the 1/501 battalion in Dinther should move to Veghel to prevent any bridge demolition attempt.

101st Airborne Sector - German Strategy

If Best does not fall on D-Day, it must be reinforced during the second game Turn with the 59th Infantry Division reinforcements that appear in Tilburg. Best is worth a Victory Point so every reasonable effort should be made to hold it. Each impulse the Allied player devotes to capturing Best is one less impulse used to reach his ultimate objective, the Rhine. The Allied player cannot afford to devote excessive time, units, and supply trying to capture Best. If Best is not captured by the end of the September 18th, the VP is probably safe, as the Allied player will almost certainly be forced to turn his attention north on the 19th and 20th.

Once the Allies have successfully contested Best, a demolition attempt should be made on the canal bridge between Best and Acht since doing so prevents Allied armor in Zone F from activating and reaching Best in a single Assault Impulse. Should the Allies fail to contest Best on either the 17th or 18th, units in the Area ought to attempt to infiltrate into St. Odenrode, particularly if the Weather is Overcast.

If an opportunity presents itself to attempt infiltration from Schijndel into Eerde after the Guards Division has passed through on its way north, take it. Forcing the Allied player to devote time to remove the roadblock, or even better blocking the placement of his supply depots during the Refit Phase, is worth the risk of disruption to a few units. It may also be possible to seriously distract the Allied player with the units of the 107th Panzer Brigade. If the weather on the 19th is Overcast and there is an Area containing only Spent Allied units within reach, think about counterattacking Allied units in Grave or Zeeland, if Spent, are especially vulnerable due to the low +1 TEM in those Areas.

If the main highway is strongly held by Fresh units, the Germans can opt to regroup the 107th to Gemert on the 19th and attempt to infiltrate into Veghel on the 20th as part of a bid to contest 6 VP worth of Allied-controlled VP Areas. Another possible use of the 107th would be to move it from Velno to Goch on the 19th, Refit to Fresh, Regroup to Gennep, and either Infiltrate or Assault into Mook on the 20th.

Play Balance. If the Allies tend to capture Best too often, place the 59/1034 Regiment in Tilburg, and the independent "March" battalion in s'Hertogenbosch, to start the game.

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