From Normandy to Berchtesgaden
Introduction
: This is a SASL Historical Campaign recreating the campaign of the 101st
Airborne Division’s part of the Liberation of Western Europe. You will find 9 Monthly/Bi-Weekly Missions
from June 1944 to April 1945.
-General :
Use 17 Solitaire Campaign rules.
17.21-24 are NA (see per campaign).
-Campaign
structure : Monthly Missions.
-Composition
[US#52/39]: Leader x 4, 747 x 10, 337 x 3, 127 x 6, 50.cal HMG, MMG x 2,
60mmMTRM2 x 3, BAZ x 3.
-ELR : 5
-Special :
v
v Command structure
o o Company commander : Lieutenant
Meehan
o o 1st Platoon : Lieutenant
Winters
o o 2nd Platoon : 2nd
Lieutenant Welsh
o o 3rd Platoon : 2nd
Lieutenant Matthews
Well
trained and prepared 2/506th PIR commanded by Lt-Colonel Strayer
jumped around the area of St-Mere Eglise in order to block German units and
free the few roads leading to Utah beach.
Being a night drop and heavy Flak made drops extremely dispersed and confused. CO Lieutenant Meehan and most of his HQ were
KIA in the drop. Lt. Winters collected
a group and made a successful assault on an 88 FlaK Battery* shelling the
beaches.
Type : Take
the Highway (5)
Mapboard
selection : do not roll on A8e
Initial
mapboards : Roll on A9 Farmland with a
–1 DRM. Rotate the N arrow 90° to the
right. Place each mapboard as such that a Road Network (13.231) exists from
north to south.
Weather :
EC are Moist with no Wind at start.
Night rules
are in effect. NVR is 5 with Full Moon
and Scattered Clouds
Mission End
: To determine Mission length divide by four (FRU).
Enemy ELR :
2 Germans are Lax, US are Stealthy.
Enemy AC :
2
There is a
+1 DRM on the A1 Table.
There is an
additional +1 DRM on tables G2, G7 and G8.
658 on the G2 table are 548 instead.
MSR 3 : All
Grain and Brush are flooded terrain.
Treat these hexes as Inherent fordable river (Level –1) with no
current. Roads therein are treated as
elevated (Level 0, per B5.). US
Personnel unit landing in a flooded hex are subject to E9.42 as though it were
a shallow stream. BAZ landing in a
flooded hex are eliminated.
MSR 4 :
Friendly units enter by Airdrop (E9.) but the Wings have no pre-designated Drop
Point. Instead, Random Selection
(E9.12) must be used to determine the final Drop Point for each wing. Friendly
RE 35-36 will enter by Airdrop as 747 units on a dr > 2. Aerial Range (E.5) Applies to Activation
(3.3 & 5.32).
MSR 5 :
Civilian Information is in effect (Friendly Country).
MSR 6 :
There is no FBE untill a DR of 2 < than the current game turn is rolled,
after which north becomes FBE. Decline
any Friendly RE reinforcements needing a FBE (or any flank attacks) until then.
No refit
allowed between Mission 1 and 2
*
Ambrose mentions 88 FlaK while the DVD shows and mentions 105 howitsers
With Lt
Winters taking command of Easy Company, 2nd Battalion was moving
towards Carentan but met fierce resistance from 3.Fallshirmjäger Regiment and
it had taken them considerable time to take the town. General Taylor commanded the battalion to take position in front
of the town and assault the German line.
Before the Americans could move Von der Heydte’s troops counterattacked
and Fox and Dog companies had to pull
back leaving Easy in an very exposed situation. SS, FJ and tanks moved in on the company from all sides. McGrath was ordered by Lt Welsh to fire his
Bazooka at the incoming armor. The
private shouted and repeated “Lt, you are going to get killed” but managed to
get a nice belly shot anyway. When
things looked desperate companies F and D reappeared and later on 60 Sherman
tanks of 2nd Armored Division and elements of 29th
Division came in relief and the Germans were thrown back.
Type :
Besieged (5)
Mapboard
selection : Use A9 Farmland with a-1 DRM.
Initial
mapboards : FBE is North.
Sequence :
Friendly setup restrictions is NA for the FBE
Weather :
EC are Moderate with no Mild Breeze from the southwest.
Enemy ELR :
4
There is an
additional –1 DRM on the A1 Table
MSR 2 : There is a -2 drm on the DYO
Fortifications Pts Table
MSR 3 and
4 are NA
MSR 6 :
Read as : All non-RE S? enter along the
south, east or west edge by random determination.
MSR 9 : G2
Table can activiate any of these squads at any time. Non-658 are SS on a subsequent dr of < 3 (treat 467 as 447
then). Any generated vehicles are
automatically SS.
MSR 10 : On
a DR of 3 < than the current game turn is rolled the Friendly player
automatically gets RE 64 in addition to any normal RE.
Refit twice
as per 17.91
101st
Airborne Division’s part of Operation Market Garden to get a bridgehead over
the Rhine was to allow the 30th British Corps to get over the
numerous rivers blocking the road to Arnhem.
2nd Battalion jumped near Son to make sure the bridges were
kept intact. After the jump E company
closed in on the bridge over the only to find in explode right in front of them. Once the area was cleared British engineers would place their own
bridge.
Type :
Airlanding (19)
Mapboard
selection : Do not roll on A8d
Initial
mapboards : Take 3 boards in configuration A.
Roll on A9 Farmland with a –1DRM for the easternmost and westernmost
boards. Middle board is 40.
Weather :
EC are Moderate with a Mild Breeze from the northwest.
Enemy ELR :
3
Enemy AC :
2
There is an
additional +1 DRM on tables G2, G7 and G8.
S?
Placement : Place S? as per 4.1 case d only.
Sequence
: Do not roll for VPO on the
westernmost board. Board 40 has a
minimum of 2 VPO (see MSR 7).
MSR 2 and 5
are NA
MSR 6 : G2
Table can activiate any of these squads at any time. Non-658 are SS on a subsequent dr of 1 (treat 467 as 447 then).
MSR 7 : A
two lane wooden bridge exists on board 40 following the table below
|
Dr |
Bridge |
|
1-2 |
I2-I3 |
|
3-4 |
Q2-Q3 |
|
5-6 |
BB3-BB4 |
Each bridge
hex is a VPO hex (which count as number of VPO for that board. Upon activation of a S? with a LOS (NA when
activated S? is the last S? on the bridge or when no S? are on the bridge) on
one of the S? on the bridge hexes roll one die. A roll of > 2 activates a 338 Assault Engineer HS and the S?
in the bridge hex contains a Set DC.
The enemy unit will immediately try to detonate the Set DC as per
A23.7. The blown bridge remains a VPO
for the enemy but with a + 2 drm on the A10b table.
After
the failure of Operation Market Garden 101st Airborne Division took
up position along the Rhine. From time
to time the Germans sent out patrols over the river. In one such instance some German elements were spotted near a
crossroads by a night patrol of Easy.
In the morning Winters led the attack only to find a whole company of
SS. The Germans were completely
surprised and cut down. Easy called
over the radio for OBA “Krauts in the
open, fire for effect”. Not much longer
German artillery responded but the infiltration was completely eliminated at
the cost of 1 dead and 22 wounded.
Winters was promoted Battalion XO with Lt. Heyliger taking over the
company.
Type :
Cautious Advance (1)
Mapboard
selection : Do not roll on A8d
Initial
mapboards : Take 2 boards : Board 7 and roll on A9 Farmland with a –1DRM for
the eastern board. Then rotate the
north arrow 90° to the left. FBE is
east and south, EBE is north No new
mapboards can be created
Weather :
EC are Wet with a Mild Breeze from the East and Overcast.
Enemy ELR :
4
S?
Placement : Place S? on the west of hexrow Q south of the river as per 4.1 a)
and c) (regardless of terrain but with range as per A6g).
Sequence
: ENEMY controlled VPO are on the
western side of the boards south of the river.
Friendly units set up within 12 hexes from the eastern board edge south
of the river.
Mission End
: Roll at the end of game turn 5.
MSR 2 read
the table as
dr result
≤ 2 No effect
3 ENEMY RE 33
≥ 4 Activate {A6f} 88 FlaK Guns west of
hexrow Q of board 7 north of the river in the nearest (in hexes) hex to the
FRIENDLY unit which is closest to the EBE (other guns are set up in the second
nearest hex, roll if more than one possibility).
MSR 3 : All
activitated Enemy units are SS (treat 467 as 447 then).
MSR 4 : US
RE 31-34 is in effect before start. OBA
comes as 81mm MTR Battalion OBA
MSR 5 : No
German vehicle can be generated (A1 Table Treat as if Foonote 4 is in effect). Reroll for any German RE involving vehicles.
MSR 6 : All
Gun results come as 81MTR and all fortifications come as foxholes.
MSR 7 : All
German units will Panic in the first Player Turn.
The
Rhine formed the major line but elements of the 1st British Airborne
Division still probed over the far side of the river. On 23 October Easy company was ordered to get over the river and
return the Red Devils to the lines. The mission was accomplish without to much
trouble. Lt. Heyliger, however, was shot on 31 October by accident by a guard
and Lt Dike had to take over command.
Type :
Rescue (non standard)
Prevailing
Attitude : Hold (see MSR 4)
Mission
Tables :
|
Enemy SAN
dr |
Result |
Friendly SAN dr |
Result |
Enemy AC dr |
Result |
Friendly
AC DR* |
Result |
RE’s dr |
Result |
|
≤ 2 |
6 |
≤ 2 |
5 |
≤ 4 |
2 |
≤ 4 |
3 |
≤ 4 |
2/3 |
|
3-4 |
5 |
3-4 |
4 |
≥ 5 |
3 |
6-8 |
4 |
≥ 5 |
3/4 |
|
≥ 5 |
4 |
≥ 5 |
3 |
|
|
≥ 9 |
5 |
|
|
Mapboard
selection : See below
Initial mapboards
: Take 2 (horizontal placed) boards : Board 7 (No islands nor bridges exist) in
the south and roll on A9 Farmland with a –1DRM for the northern. FBE is south, west and east south of the
river. EBE is north, west and east north of the river. No new mapboards can be created.
Weather :
EC are Wet with no Wind at start.
Enemy ELR :
3
VPO
Locations : There are no VPO locations in this Mission.
S?
Placement : Place Enemy S? as per 4.1 cases a and b north of the river. Then take 10 yellow colored S? as Friendly
S? and place them within 5 hexes of each other and ≥ 3 hexes from any
Enemy S? north of the river.
Sequence
: Friendly units set up south of the
river. Friendly side starts first.
Mission End
: The Mission ends immediately when the last Friendly unit leaves the FBE.
VP Schedule
Mission
Special Rules
1. There is
a -1 drm to the colored die of each DR on Table A11.
2. There is
a + 1 DRM to each enemy activation on Table A1 and a + 2 DRM on any friendly S?
activation. No Friendly SPG or Gun can
be activated ; reroll these results. Friendly S? can be activated by Enemy and Friendly units.
3. Friendly
S? have a Hold Attitude and when activated come as British personnel : 648/338
squad/HS (EXC. Roll for leaders and SW) and are under the American player’s
control the player turn after activation.
4. Enemy S?
have a Hold Attitude until all Friendly S? are activated. When that occurs, all Enemy S? change to
Advance Attitude for the remainder of the Mission. Treat Friendly units as VPO (S9.25).
5. No
Friendly units can be evacuated off the FBE until all Friendly S?-generated
units have been evacuated.
6. Night
rules are in effect with Half Moon and No Clouds. NVR is 4.
7. RE
generated Flank attacks are NA. Reroll
any of these RE’s.
8. The
Friendly side is conducting a River Assault (EXC. Add 96PP of Large Rafts
[which have an inherent driver] to the OB)
Just one
refit allowed after Mission 5
Replace one
randomly determined leader by a 6+1
With the
German 5th Panzer Army overrunning the American positions in the
Ardennes the Screaming Eagles were send in to defend Bastogne, a crucial
crossroads right in the way of the German advance. The town was quickly encircled and the Germans assaulted the
cold, hungry and low on ammo Yanks.
Type :
Enemy offensive (9)
Mapboard
selection : Do not roll on A8e
Initial
mapboards : Roll on the table below.
|
DR |
Board |
|
2-3 |
w34 |
|
4-5 |
w32 |
|
6-8 |
w5 |
|
9-10 |
w36 |
|
11-12 |
w47 |
FBE is
west.
Weather :
EC are Snow with Ground Snow, Overcast and a light Breeze from the Northwest.
Enemy ELR :
4
MSR 3 and 4
are NA
7. Friendly
units suffer from Ammunition Shortage.
8. Germans
have Winter Camouflage, Americans do not.
The
German offensive had been stopped and Bastogne dislodged. The Allied forces pressed hard on the German
troops and 506th PIR assaulted the elements of 9. Panzerdivision in
Foy northeast of Bastogne. The assault
was over a mile of open ground and once there Lt Dike was reluctant to push on
and the company began taking losses. Winters appointed Spiers of Dog Company to
take over. He pressed on and personally
made contact with the reduced I Company which assaulted from the flank.
Type :
Forward (Non standard)
Prevailing
Attitude : Hold
Mission
Tables :
|
Enemy SAN
dr |
Result |
Friendly SAN dr |
Result |
Enemy AC dr |
Result |
Enemy RE
dr |
Result |
Friend RE
dr |
Result |
|
≤ 4 |
5 |
≤ 3 |
4 |
≤ 2 |
3 |
≤ 3 |
2/3 |
≤ 3 |
3/4 |
|
≥ 5 |
4 |
≥ 4 |
3 |
≥ 3 |
4 |
4 |
3/4 |
4-5 |
4/5 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
≥ 5 |
4/5 |
6 |
5/6 |
Mapboard
selection : Place 3 horizontal boards.
N
Initial
mapboards : Roll on A9 Village for the northern board. On A9 Farmland with a –1 DRM for the central
board. Roll on the table below for the
southernmost board.
|
DR |
Board |
|
2-3 |
w34 |
|
4-5 |
w32 |
|
6-8 |
w5 |
|
9-10 |
w36 |
|
11-12 |
w47 |
Weather :
EC are Snow with Ground Snow and Overcast and a Mild Breeze from the West. FBE
is south, EBE is north.
Enemy ELR :
3
VPO Locations
:
S?
Placement : Place Enemy S? as per 4.1 cases a and d (regardless of terrain) on
the northern board.
Sequence
: Determine VPO {A6g}for the northern
board only.
Friendly
units set up southern board. Friendly
side starts first.
Mission End
: At the end of Game Turn 8 and at the end of each turn thereafter, perform a
dr. If the result is £ 1 the Mission ends
immediately. There is a –1 drm for
every turn completed after turn 8.
VP Schedule
Mission
Special Rules
1. There is
a –1 DRM to each enemy activation on Table A1.
2. All
Enemy units are Wehrmacht.
3. Add a
heroic 9-2 to the Friendly Side.
4. Germans
have Winter Camouflage, Americans do not.
Roll only
for Leader replacement between Missions 7 and 8.
With the
Battle of the Bulge drawing to its close
SS-Reichsfûhrer Himmler launched his “Nordwind” offensive in the Alsace
in northeastern France. Instead of
being pulled back for R&R the 101st Airborne was put into the
line once more. Little was known on the
German forces on the northern side of the Moder river. Men of Easy were sent over the river at
night with the objective of taking prisoners.
The men carried out the mission but not without some more regrettable
losses.
Type :
Prisoner Hunt (non standard)
Prevailing
Attitude : Hold (see MSR )
Mission
Tables :
|
Enemy SAN
dr |
Result |
Friendly SAN dr |
Result |
Enemy AC dr |
Result |
RE’s dr |
Result |
|
≤ 3 |
5 |
≤ 2 |
5 |
≤ 4 |
3 |
≤ 4 |
2/3 |
|
4-5 |
4 |
3-4 |
4 |
≥ 5 |
2 |
≥ 5 |
3/4 |
|
6 |
3 |
≥ 5 |
3 |
|
|
|
|
Mapboard
selection : See below
Initial
mapboards : Take 1 board : Board 23 (horizontal, number east) N. FBE
is south, EBE is north. No new
mapboards can be created. The canal is
flooded and has no bridges.
Weather :
EC are Moist with no Wind at start.
Enemy ELR :
3
VPO
Locations : There are no VPO locations in this Mission.
S?
Placement : Place Enemy S? as per 4.1 case a) north of the canal.
Sequence
: Friendly units set up south of the
canal. Friendly side starts first.
Mission End
: At the end of Game Turn 6, and at the end of each turn thereafter, perform a
dr. If the result is £ 2 the Mission ends immediately.
VP Schedule
Mission
Special Rules
1. There is
a -1 drm to the colored die of each DR on Table A11.
4. Enemy S?
have a Hold Attitude until the first Enemy Unit is captured. When that occurs, all Enemy S? change to
Advance Attitude for the remainder of the Mission. Treat Captured Enemy units as VPO and FBE (S9.25).
5. Night
rules are in effect with Full Moon and
Scattered Clouds. NVR is 4.
6. RE
generated Flank attacks are NA. Reroll
any of these RE’s.
7. The
Americans are conducting a River Assault.
Refit twice
as per 17.91
Germany
was collapsing and the Allied forces advanced quickly through the country while
German troops surrendered en masse. Fanatical elements tried to stop the
surrenders and hold up the Americans as long as possible. Neither of these met
with very much success and once behind Mûnich 101st Airborne would
only be held up by macabre findings such as workcamps. Soon they were at the Austrian border
capturing the Adlersnest in Berchtesgaden.
Type :
Pockets (2)
Mapboard
selection : Do not roll on A8a but on A8d.
Use configuration A.
Initial
mapboards : FBE is west. EBE is east.
All bridges
are destroyed. New mapboards can be
created whenever a non-broken Friendly unit enters a location within £ 5 hexes and LOS to the EBE.
Weather :
EC are Moderate with No Wind at start.
Enemy ELR :
2
Enemy AC is
2
There is an
additional +2 DRM on G2 table
Mission
End.
Alter
Mission End determined by the Mission rule for every newly created mapboard.
VP Schedule
MSR
2. Enemy
activated units are SS on a DR of £ 5 (Treat every 467 as a 447) and
Fanatic on a subsequent DR of £ 4 (with a –3 DRM if SS). Upon activation Non-Fanatic and non-SS Enemy
units will Disrupt.
3. No Enemy
units are Elite and all suffer Ammunition Shortage.
4. Before
setup, make a dr+6 in order to determine the number of Transport vehicles
granted to your unit. Roll on Table U7
for the type. In addition, add 3 Jeeps.
© 2003 By
Hans Mielants
Sources :
Stephen Ambrose “Band of Brothers” New York, Simon & Schuster, 1992.
Band of Brothers DVD set from HBO
© Ken Scheer SASL Mission “Rescue !” for
Mission 5