A Bridge Too Far HASL

Paul_RS

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Gents,

I've been completing some long overdue ASL Admin and was browsing the scenarios for ABTF. IIRC the scenarios were based upon the scenarios from the GSTK module from HoB. I was asking myself why I hadn't really played this module as much as I perhaps should have done. Then I spotted the King Tigers and it all came flooding back..

On the 24th/25th of September 1944 s.Pz.Abt.506 detrained at Zevenaar, approximately 7 miles East of Arnhem. 2 Companies were sent to Aachen and 2 to Arnhem. the 9th and 10th SS Pz divisions each received 1 company each and the tanks were deployed to Oosterbeek (1 was destroyed in the subsequent action) and Elst (2 were destroyed along with 2 Jagd Tigers (the latter by fighter bombers) that anecdotal evidence suggests may have been deployed with the company at the time.

Elst is South of the Neder Rhine so the tanks would have more than likely used the Arnhem bridge to get there as all Allied resistance at the bridge had ceased on the 21st Sept, 3/4 days before the tanks arrived in Zevenaar.

No evidence of King Tigers fighting at the bridge, suggest replacing the King Tiger with a early Tiger 1's from KG Hummel. Plenty of evidence to support that order of battle.
 
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Honza

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GSTK has a lot more KT than ABTF. In ABTF there may be two max.
 

bprobst

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IIRC the scenarios were based upon the scenarios from the GSTK module from HoB.
Yes and no. I believe that HoB's research for GSTK heavily informed ABTF, but the scenarios are mostly not really that similar, so far as I can see.

Stuff about Tigers
I remember Russ Bunten discussing the use of King Tigers when the module was first published. He was aware of the pro- and con- arguments based on the information available at that time (ca. 2000). I remember not being convinced by his arguments, but ultimately, it doesn't matter. The scenarios were designed and tested using those King Tigers. If you want scenarios featuring regular Tigers instead, I suggest that you design them and playtest accordingly. Arbitrarily replacing King Tigers with Tigers in any published scenario is probably asking for trouble.

It would be a shame if ABTF is considered "the last word" on Arnhem scenarios. Of course finding an interesting situation that could be set on that game's map but not already depicted by existing scenarios could be tricky. You don't want to just duplicate what's been done before, you want to find a new angle or approach. Just replacing one counter with another is not only not very imaginative, but also not very sensible.
 

Justiciar

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I purchased "Theirs is the Glory" at the Arnhem Museum when I visited Arnhem as part of the ASL tourney once held there. As best I recall in the film, [edited, having checked the film: Panthers not T / KT]. The film is well worth your time, filmed in Arnhem not long after the battle, and with many 'actors' who were actually participants in the battle proper. [deleted]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theirs_Is_the_Glory

See also After the Battle issue 58 for a detailed review of the film.
 
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Proff3RTR

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I would doubt JagdTigers During Market Garden. found this and it was in jan 45 that the Jagd Tiger first saw combat

The first unit to be equipped with the Jagdtiger was schwere Heeres-Panzerjäger-Abteilung 653 (s.Pz.Jäg.Abt.653). The unit had previously fought during kursk and in Italy with Elefants, but the number of operational Elefants had dropped to the level of just one company.

S.Pz.Jäg.Abt.653 was intended to be deployed during the Ardennes offensive, but did not reach the front in time to see any action. The unit was then assigned to 17. SS-Panzer-Grenadier-Division "Götz von Berlichingen", with the intension of deploying it during the Nordwind offensive. Due to mechanical problems, however, only three Jagdtigers were operational at the start of the offensive.

On 9 January 1945, three Jagdtigers of 1. Kompanie (1st company) saw the first action with 17. SS-Pz.Gren.Div. around the city of Rimling. One Jagdtiger, tactical number 134, was knocked out by a Bazooka through the side armor, which detonated the ammunition, killing the crew. In the following weeks, the Jagdtiger of s.Pz.Jäg.Abt.653 continue to support 17. SS-Pz.Gren.Div., including support fire against bunkers. Reports on the Jagdtiger were very favorable, with several Allied bunkers being destroyed, and one Medium Tank, M4 reported as destroyed. The day after, the unit received orders to support 10. SS-Panzer-Division "Freundsberg".
 
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