Arnhem 'Tiger' Route - OOB

As mentioned previously, I've been working on a mini-campaign for BKCII based upon an article in WS&S Issue 74, namely the 5th Platoon Scenario by Richard Clarke (p 38). Whilst this is more of a skirmish action and for Chain of Command, it is pretty easy to tweak it for a larger scale action.

Reference Books

For more background reading to get a better understanding of the early phase of the Day One landings, I have consulted the following:

'A Bridge Too Far' by Cornelius Ryan

'It Never Snows In September' by Robert Kershaw

Osprey 'Operation Market-Garden 1944 (2) The British Airborne Missions' by Ken Ford

All provide plenty of useful info and so, based upon these, I have come up with the following OOB for both sides:

British 3rd Battalion, 1st Parachute Brigade

1 x CO (CV8)

3 x HQ (CV8)

9 x Paratroopers (3 with PIAT upgrades)

1 x MG

1 x 3" Mortar

1 x 6pdr ATG + tow

This is Lt-Col Fitch's Battalion that advanced along 'Tiger' route from the landing zones. Normally in BKCII the British Airborne Commanders have higher CV ratings, but I have reduced these slightly as historically their performance lacked a certain 'va va voom' on Day One.   

SS Panzergrenadier Ausbildungs-und-Ersatz Battaillon 16, 9th SS 'Hohenstaufen'

1 x CO (CV9)

3 x HQ (CV8)

9 x Waffen SS (classed as Heer Conscripts but deduct one die when rolling for suppression/fallback)

2 x MG

2 x 81mm Mortar

1 x 120mm Mortar

1 x 50mm ATG + tow

1 x Sd Kfz 250/9

1 x Sd Kfz 250/10

1 x Pz IV

This is based upon SS-Kapitan Krafft's 'Kampfgruppe' that famously reacted quickly to the landings, halting the Airborne advance almost at the start. Sources are not clear on the exact OOB, other than it consisted of the 2nd, 4th & 9th Kompanies, with some saying the 2nd & 4th were Infantry Kompanies and the 9th the Heavy Weapons Kompanie, the latter which formed the Battalion Reserve. I have chosen that for BKCII they are all Infantry Kompanies with any Heavy Weapons already assigned out to them.

As they were a Training Battalion, I have classed them as Heer Conscript in terms of stats, thus giving them slightly less firepower than normal, as they were understrangth at this time. However they fought exceptionally well, so have classed them as Waffen-SS, which deducts one die when rolling for suppression or fallback.

In Ryan's book, there is mention that Krafft had a new experimental weapon at his disposal, a multi-barrelled rocket propelled launcher capable of throwing over sized mortar shells. This was not a Nebelwerfer, but witness accounts describe the scream and impact of these oversized mortars. With no other information to go on, I have simply given the 'Kampfgruppe' a 120mm Mortar to reflect this weapon.

Quite quickly armoured elements of the 9th SS 'Hohenstauffen' began to arrive to support Krafft's kampfgruppe as and when they became available. AA guns on half-tracks were certainly used early on and other light guns too, before heavier AFV's began to arrive, most likely in the form of Pz IV's. These certainly bolstered Krafft's defence and aided them in performing a fighting withdrawal as their positions threatened to be out flanked.

Next up will be the first action of the mini-campaign.

TTFN.