My British troops have heroically captured the Arnhem Bridge and have valiently held out against all German counter-attacks. After one player turn of the scenario on 19PM Tom Mueller's Germans threw in the towel.

Having re-taken a couple of blocks in the Northeast and Southwest corners on 18N, the Germans on 19PM (19AM was idle) attempted additional attacks in the Southeast and via Graebner's group directly up the bridge. This opening turn, with red-hot British dice, was horrific for the Germans: 2 stunned armored cars, one burning JagdPanther, one 81mm MTR destroyed with a KIA on the crew, one squad reduced to a HS, and a large chunk of the German squads broken. At this point, the casualties for the CG became overwhelming. The Germans had suffered heavy losses in each of the previous non-idle CG dates, while the British got off easy. As of the end of the CG, the British total losses amounted to just 3 squads and two or three disabled support weapons.

The Germans took a beating from the get-go in this one. The opening scenario (17N) saw Tom trying to hold the defensive line with his on-map forces while rushing his RG purchases directly into the fight. We have come to the conclusion that the Germans can not afford to fight the British on 17N. The on-map forces should disengage where possible. Being under No Move hinders this, but as soon as the No Moves are off the Germans should run away. The RG purchases should not engage the British.

For the next few scenarios, the British will be kicking butt if the Germans try to fight. During refit phases, the Germans should shift to entry areas. This allows them to enter all their retained and purchased forces late in the next scenario (turn 5). This strategy limits the amount of time the British have to destroy Germans.

Once entered, the Germans early in the CG need to strive for extremely limited objectives. One block at a time is the pace needed. Tom got a little reckless on 18AM trying to rush troops into a block to keep it German controlled and ended up losing several squads. By 18N the Germans resigned themselves to small objectives and faired quit a bit better, suffering 4 StuGs destroyed and, more importantly, only 2 squads lost. Even playing cautiously and allowing only a few turns for the British to pound you will be frustrating: I managed to destroy quite a bit of stuff in the few turns I had on 18AM and 18PM.

The Germans need to buy powerful OBA, but can't really count on it. It's nice if it works, but it might not provide any help. Tom's OBA consistently was negligible. In each scenario after 17N (18AM, 18PM, 18N, 19PM) the Germans had 2 modules of OBA, one 120mm and one 80mm. Total casualties inflicted by OBA during the course of the CG: one half squad. Total units that broke because of OBA: 5 counting the squad that reduced. On at least two occasions a German OBA module drew two Red Cards before even placing an SR. Without good OBA support the Germans were especially hampered. This also gave the British the freedom to move around and even stack to bring more firepower to bear.

In the end, the hapless Germans had Tom rolling the dice for them. With the morale-8 troops under his command breaking consistently when rolling simple NMCs, the Germans couldn't withstand the superior firepower and numbers the Brits can put up early in the CG. Tom also lost 4 or so squads and a leader by rolling boxcars on a shift attempt.

So, was it worth playing? Yes. I love CGs, and the chance to play something entirely new was excellent. Would I play it again? Perhaps not CG III, but I'd give CG I and CG II a try at the drop of a hat.

Read my AARs of ABTF CG III

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