Tweet
Commander,
You have been assigned the all important task of expanding our bridge head at Ludendorff Bridge. Our capture of this vital bridge has allow Supreme General Eisenhower to move up his operational plans by two weeks. However, the Germans plan to see this bridge destroyed, as doing so is vital to their defensive organization. To achieve this mission, they have deployed two Karl-Gerät Siege mortars. We assume that this will make up the backbone of their counterattack against the bridge, since a single hit from that 540mm mortar will destroy the bridge entirely. Your mission is to use all available forces to capture or destroy those mortars, whilst also defending the bridge from direct German attacks. It is a tricky dilemma we find ourselves in, don't hesitate to designate subordinates to doing other tasks. God speed Commander.
Signed,
Gen. Courtney Hodges
9th Armoured Division, 1st Army
General,
Your failure to destroy Ludendorff Bridge is unacceptable. Der Fuehrer has mandated that its destruction takes precedent on the Western front. General, this must be done with speed and ferocity to prevent the Americans from having a sizeable beachhead on our side of the Rhine. OKW has issued you with two Karl-Gerät Siege mortars as well as freed up several armoured platoons to take part in this counterattack. Der Fuehrer is also considering deploying our wunderwaffe to destroy the bridge. General, the eyes of Germany are upon you.
Signed,
Gen. Erich Brandenberger
7th Army
After defeating the Germans in the Battle of the Bulge in January 1945, the allies went back onto the offensive to push into German proper. The main thrust into Germany would come from the north in the Benelux countries. The main tactical problem faced by allied military planners was crossing the Rhine river, since they knew they couldn't rely on pre-war bridges being intact. However, this changed when on March 7, lead elements of the 9th Armoured Division discovered Ludendorff Bridge intact, even though the Germans had rigged it with some 2800Kg of explosives and attempted to blow it. The Americans quickly captured the bridge, allowing them to get a foothold on the Eastern bank of the Rhine a full two weeks before Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery's Operation Plunder, the planned crossing of the Rhine, would start. The quick deployment of forces (5 divisions total) across the bridge meant that the Germans didn't have time to organize a proper defence. During the period between March 7 and March 17, the bridge would endure constant bombardment from the Germans. This coupled with months of bombardment by the allies led to its collapse on the 17, but by that time several other bridges had been constructed. The Germans would employ many weapons to destroy the bridge, most notably: two Karl-Gerät siege mortars, the new Arado Ar 234B Blitz turbojet bomber, and the V2 Rocket. The capture of the bridge intact allowed Eisenhower to move his plans for ending the war up two weeks, especially since he had 5 complete divisions to work with across the bridge. These divisions threatened the Ruhr region, which was known as Germany's industrial heartland. Now whether or not the capture of Ludendorff Bridge affected the length of the war is still debated, but it is widely agreed that without the bridgehead, such rapid advances into Germany could not have been made.
This is a preview into a scenario that is currently in the works. Unlike Kalhkin Gol or Legoman132's Checkpoint Encounter, this scenario will require a large collection of American and German vehicles as well as buildings and terrain. Since it will contain so many pieces and scale is unlike anything typical games will be, I am going to recommend that this be played with 4 players in two person teams. This will divide the objectives of each team evenly and will better reflect on the command structure likely present during the battle. Both teams will need to both attack and defend key positions on the board, with the bridge being the German target and the big guns being the targets of the Americans. Each side is presented with its own challenges to defeat the other. The Germans have the issue of needing to destroy the bridge ASAP, but only having 14 turns to do so. The Americans have the option to wait out those 14 turns, but runs the risk of the Germans having a better chance at succeeding to destroy the bridge. Ultimately, it will be the players that decide what strategy to adopt to defeat their opponent.
Scenario aside, I would very much like this to be a community project. I am working out a design for the Karl-Geräts and tanks such as the M4, Panzer IV, etc will be the basis of these forces, but I think it would be great if others submitted their own designs for parts of the game. Some potential ideas would be designing the Arado Ar 234Bs used, I've seen photographs of Jagdpanthers being used, diverse structures, the bridge itself. If you're anything like myself, and building isn't exactly your strong suit, you can contribute ideas. Things for secondary objectives, battlefield layouts, stats for things people create, etc all could fall into this category.
One last thing. For the sake of organization, unless your posting about something you have created for the scenario, be it a model, objective, or idea, please use the comment section of that post you refer to. This will ultimately help me put together rules, models, and maps into a complete scenario faster than usual. I will come up with a "deadline" once I can gage how much support this gets from creators.
Onwards to Victory!
You have been assigned the all important task of expanding our bridge head at Ludendorff Bridge. Our capture of this vital bridge has allow Supreme General Eisenhower to move up his operational plans by two weeks. However, the Germans plan to see this bridge destroyed, as doing so is vital to their defensive organization. To achieve this mission, they have deployed two Karl-Gerät Siege mortars. We assume that this will make up the backbone of their counterattack against the bridge, since a single hit from that 540mm mortar will destroy the bridge entirely. Your mission is to use all available forces to capture or destroy those mortars, whilst also defending the bridge from direct German attacks. It is a tricky dilemma we find ourselves in, don't hesitate to designate subordinates to doing other tasks. God speed Commander.
Signed,
Gen. Courtney Hodges
9th Armoured Division, 1st Army
General,
Your failure to destroy Ludendorff Bridge is unacceptable. Der Fuehrer has mandated that its destruction takes precedent on the Western front. General, this must be done with speed and ferocity to prevent the Americans from having a sizeable beachhead on our side of the Rhine. OKW has issued you with two Karl-Gerät Siege mortars as well as freed up several armoured platoons to take part in this counterattack. Der Fuehrer is also considering deploying our wunderwaffe to destroy the bridge. General, the eyes of Germany are upon you.
Signed,
Gen. Erich Brandenberger
7th Army
After defeating the Germans in the Battle of the Bulge in January 1945, the allies went back onto the offensive to push into German proper. The main thrust into Germany would come from the north in the Benelux countries. The main tactical problem faced by allied military planners was crossing the Rhine river, since they knew they couldn't rely on pre-war bridges being intact. However, this changed when on March 7, lead elements of the 9th Armoured Division discovered Ludendorff Bridge intact, even though the Germans had rigged it with some 2800Kg of explosives and attempted to blow it. The Americans quickly captured the bridge, allowing them to get a foothold on the Eastern bank of the Rhine a full two weeks before Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery's Operation Plunder, the planned crossing of the Rhine, would start. The quick deployment of forces (5 divisions total) across the bridge meant that the Germans didn't have time to organize a proper defence. During the period between March 7 and March 17, the bridge would endure constant bombardment from the Germans. This coupled with months of bombardment by the allies led to its collapse on the 17, but by that time several other bridges had been constructed. The Germans would employ many weapons to destroy the bridge, most notably: two Karl-Gerät siege mortars, the new Arado Ar 234B Blitz turbojet bomber, and the V2 Rocket. The capture of the bridge intact allowed Eisenhower to move his plans for ending the war up two weeks, especially since he had 5 complete divisions to work with across the bridge. These divisions threatened the Ruhr region, which was known as Germany's industrial heartland. Now whether or not the capture of Ludendorff Bridge affected the length of the war is still debated, but it is widely agreed that without the bridgehead, such rapid advances into Germany could not have been made.
This is a preview into a scenario that is currently in the works. Unlike Kalhkin Gol or Legoman132's Checkpoint Encounter, this scenario will require a large collection of American and German vehicles as well as buildings and terrain. Since it will contain so many pieces and scale is unlike anything typical games will be, I am going to recommend that this be played with 4 players in two person teams. This will divide the objectives of each team evenly and will better reflect on the command structure likely present during the battle. Both teams will need to both attack and defend key positions on the board, with the bridge being the German target and the big guns being the targets of the Americans. Each side is presented with its own challenges to defeat the other. The Germans have the issue of needing to destroy the bridge ASAP, but only having 14 turns to do so. The Americans have the option to wait out those 14 turns, but runs the risk of the Germans having a better chance at succeeding to destroy the bridge. Ultimately, it will be the players that decide what strategy to adopt to defeat their opponent.
Scenario aside, I would very much like this to be a community project. I am working out a design for the Karl-Geräts and tanks such as the M4, Panzer IV, etc will be the basis of these forces, but I think it would be great if others submitted their own designs for parts of the game. Some potential ideas would be designing the Arado Ar 234Bs used, I've seen photographs of Jagdpanthers being used, diverse structures, the bridge itself. If you're anything like myself, and building isn't exactly your strong suit, you can contribute ideas. Things for secondary objectives, battlefield layouts, stats for things people create, etc all could fall into this category.
One last thing. For the sake of organization, unless your posting about something you have created for the scenario, be it a model, objective, or idea, please use the comment section of that post you refer to. This will ultimately help me put together rules, models, and maps into a complete scenario faster than usual. I will come up with a "deadline" once I can gage how much support this gets from creators.
Onwards to Victory!
Comment