82nd Airborne Sector - Allied Strategy

The Basic Game is really a "race for Nijmegen" above all else. As in history the All-Americans have a lot of things to accomplish, but Nijmegen is the ultimate goal. In most games the FLAK Tower in Nijmegen will be Fresh after the Air Bombardment Phase, meaning the US units will lack the Movement Factors to assault the city on D- Day. If so, concentrate on expanding the US perimeter and surrounding Nijmegen on the west, south, and east.

During the Airborne Landing Phase capture Beek with a battalion of the 508th Regiment and the Groesbeek Heights with a battalion from the 505th Regiment. Activate a battalion of the 504th in Overasselt and attempt bridge seizures of the Hatert, Malden and Grave bridges. If the paratroopers fail to seize the Grave bridge, use the 2/504 to assault the Grave FLAK Tower at 4:2. Hopefully one action or the other will give the Allied player control of this important bridge. At some point during D-Day an assault should be launched against Wyler as the defense here is likely to be as weak as it will be the whole game.

The optimal attack would be two battalions of the 508th supported by the 376th Artillery Battalion, to gain the Divisional Integrity Bonus. If the Germans reinforce Wyler with units stationed in Cleve, think about conducting an Air Bombardment against the Area to soften it up.

If Nijmegen's FLAK Tower has been flipped Spent during the Air Bombardment Phase, the Allies have an opportunity to attack the city on D-Day. Make no mistake, such an attack is still very much a gambit. They will need to move one battalion, preferably from the 505th, to the Groesbeek Heights during the Airborne Landing Phase. Beek should still be occupied by part of the 508th to cut off the city from the east. Capturing Arnhem is the Allies' first priority, so they will need to activate part of 1st Airborne to occupy it during Impulse 0 of the Daylight Phase.

Since the Germans can't move during their first impulse, but can move thereafter, the Allied might want to declare a Double Impulse on Impulse 0 to both occupy Arnhem and assault Nijmegen with one battalion at 4:5 or with two at 5:5. Another variation of this assault would be to have all three parachute battalions of the 508th fan out to Beek, the Groesbeek Heights, and Mook d uring the Airborne Landing Phase, then assault Nijmegen during the Daylight Phase with the entire 505th regiment at 7:5 (gaining the Divisional Integrity Bonus for using three units).

Using the entire 505th in this manner entails some risk, as only Spent units will be defending Beek and Mook, leaving them vulnerable to a counterattack from Cleve if the weather changes. There would also be no opportunity to assault Wyler on D-Day. A final cost to consider is that the Allies will not be able to activate XXX Corps in Zone F during such a Double Impulse.

Play Balance. To better reflect the initial surprise, as well as the fact that Allied units landed on both ends of the Grave bridge simultaneously, treat the Maas River as a canal for purposes of bridge seizure and assault on D-Day only.

82nd Airborne Sector - German Strategy

Wyler and its VP are vulnerable on the first game turn. Units in Cleve should be sent to reinforce the Area as soon as is practical. One or two battalions should be enough to prevent the Allies from gaining control with a single attack out of Groesbeek. Too many Spent units will tempt the Allied player to use Air Bombardment. The German player wants to avoid disruptions because his refit capacity is limited and because Fresh units have the ability to Infiltrate into adjacent Alliedcontrolled Areas. If the FLAK Tower in Nijmegen was flipped Spent by the opening bombardment, an early move during the Daylight Phase ought to be to reinforce it with the 9SS Reconnaissance Battalion in Oosterhout.

Competent Allied play will see Beek fall during the Airborne Landing Phase. If the weather changes on D-Day, and there are no Allied units in Wyler, the German units in Cleve can assault Beek. If the units in Cleve have already been committed, the 9SS Reconnaissance Battalion can assault Spent Allied units in Hatert, Beek, or the Groesbeek Heights.

If the German player manages to retake Beek on D-Day and open a route to the reinforcements and supply originating in Zone C, the Allied player is in major trouble. Even recontesting Beek on D- Day is potentially damaging. German units in Beek can refit to Fresh with a Depot placed in Wyler, and then regroup to Nijmegen during the Regroup Phase. If the Allies have a firm hold on Beek, however, the German player shouldn't count on holding Nijmegen for the entire game.

It looks tempting. The city has a +4 TEM. By moving SS units over the Ferry Crossings at Pannerden, it would appear that the Germans can get enough units into Nijmegen to hold it through the 20th. This will usually prove to be a mistake. First, the panzer units can't use the two ferries until September 19th. Second, while units may use the Ferry Crossings at Loo and Pannerden, Depots cannot. If the Allies cuts off Nijmegen from the west, south, and east, and Arnhem is Allied controlled, refitting German units in Nijmegen will be very expensive since the only source of supply will be Depots placed in Pannerden. Third, unless Arnhem has been recaptured, the German player will lack the units to defend both Nijmegen and Oosterhout. He must choose one or the other.

As soon as XXX Corps arrives in strength, Nijmegen is nearly impossible to hold. Once the Allies can get the XXX Corps artillery unit in range, they can Barrage the city at 14:8, or bombard it repeatedly at 7:8 or 8:8 if supported by the Guards Divisional Artillery. And of course if the weather is Clear the city may also be subjected to Air Bombardment. After softening up the defenders with bombardments, British and American units can combine in one powerful assault that will almost surely eliminate whatever German units are in the city.

If there are three or more German units in Nijmegen, the Allied player has the opportunity to take back the Advantage and/or get modifiers to their Sunset DR. Another problem is that if the Germans put too many units into Nijmegen and leave Oosterhout weakly defended, the Allies can potentially isolate the city by launching a River Assault into Oosterhout. Because of this the north shore of the Waal usually has to be given a higher priority than Nijmegen.

The German player's best bet is probably to hold Nijmegen with the 9SS Reconnaissance Battalion and the city FLAK Tower. This gives the city a solid initial Defense Value of 11 yet puts only two units at risk. The Germans should use any other available units to set up as strong a defense in Oosterhout as they can and be prepared to hold the Area as long as possible. If the Germans can clear Arnhem, they will likely have extra units that can move south to help with the defense of Oosterhout or set up a fallback position in Elst, assuming the Poles haven't landed in Elden, of course.

The grim reality is that once the Allies have control of Hatert, Beek, and the Groesbeek Heights, the only realistic chance of holding Nijmegen for the duration of the Basic Game will be as a result of XXX Corps not being able to position enough Fresh units to capture the city by September 20th. Infiltration and assaults into Areas south of the Maas will make it costly for Zone F Depots to supply units north of the river. Infiltration and assaults against Groesbeek and Mook may force the Allied player to divert part of XXX Corps to help defend or even recapture them.

Play Balance. Allow Spent and Disrupted German units in Zone C to Refit for free.

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