The brief from the campaign manager called for the lead elements of the 107th Panzer Brigade to attack Mook from the SE. Three artillery batteries were in support, and additional support could be called forward. The German objective was to capture Mook and keep going, crossing the bridges over the Maas-Waal Canal. Defending Mook was one battalion of 82nd Airborne, with a second battalion deployed on the far side of the canal, about a mile or so away. Light artillery was in support.
We took the brief and created a semi-historical scenario for eight players, the only ahistorical bit being the use of the 107th Pz. Bde. here instead of at Son. Three paratroop platoons — one each from Companies A, B and C — were set up in approximately their historical locations, defending three roadblocks on the main road into Mook. The remaining four platoons available to the battalion were off table as reserves (the other two platoons had been used to clear LZ N). Two sections of 57mm antitank guns in ambush, one 81mm mortar battery, and one 75mm howitzer battery were in support.
The second US battalion was represented by four paratroop platoons, one 57mm AT section, and one 81mm mortar battery. Half of this force started behind the Maas-Waal Canal, with the rest coming in as reserves. All the Americans were rated Fearless Veteran.
The Germans had the historical advance force available to the 107th Pz. Bde. — one company of 11 Panthers, one company of panzer grenadiers, and one company of panzer pioneers, all mounted in halftracks. One 15.0 cm. and two 10.5 cm. batteries were in support. Available as reinforcements were two FJ companies. All Germans were rated Confident Trained.
The game was played lengthwise along a 14X5 foot table. The German baseline crossed the edges of the villages of Katerbosch and Riethorst, where the German F.O.s were placed. From there, the main road and a secondary road ran through open polder fields, then converged before Mook, with a small canal splitting the two roads. Any vehicles entering the polder faced a risk of bogging down. The right half of the table (all directions are from the German perspective) was covered by wooded hills representing the edge of the Groesbeek heights. From Mook the main road ran under a railway overpass. The 20-foot high railway embankment was impassible to vehicles until it lowered to ground level on the far right. The road then bent to the right and ran through open ground past the towns of Molenhoek and Malden before exiting the table toward Nijmegen. Secondary roads linked the main road to two bridges over the Maas-Wall canal — Bridge No. 7 at Heumen and Bridge No. 8 beyond Malden. The Maas River ran just off-table along the entire left side. The terrain thus presented the Germans with a very narrow corridor for their tanks and halftracks to advance through until they passed the railway.
Three Panthers led the pioneer company along the secondary road on the left while three more Panthers led the grenadiers along the main road in the center. The remaining five Panthers remained in reserve to await developments.
The grenadiers dismounted and moved on foot into the woods, trying to outflank the B Company platoon on the right. This forced B Company to leave its foxholes to move to the right. Despite the vulnerability of the Americans, the German advancing fire was ineffective and failed to pin the defenders, and the German commander decided not to assault. At that moment, the first US reserve platoon entered the table and outflanked the right hand German platoon. The US fire was devastating, and a follow-up assault swiftly eliminated this German platoon. The two US platoons then dug in, and there was a standoff in the woods.
On the left, the Panthers halted at the bridge over the canal and waited for their artillery to soften up the A Company platoon defending the far side. American mortar and howitzer fire on the German column had no effect on the panzers but temporarily stunned a few halftracks. After the German artillery eliminated the US bazookas, the Panthers crossed the bridge, and in a series of assaults pushed back A Company, although all three Panthers were lost to Gammon bombs. The pioneers then continued the attack, losing two halftracks to two 57mm guns that appeared in ambush from behind the roadblock in Mook. These two guns were then eliminated by the German artillery.
On the main road, two Panthers moved up to the first roadblock, and after three turns of trying, managed to push it aside. This platoon then moved through the polder to go around the second roadblock, with one Panther bogging down. The remaining two Panthers had no infantry support, and an intrepid bazooka team from C Company popped out of the woods and knocked out one Panther with a point blank flank shot. This broke the morale of the Panther platoon which then withdrew.
So far, the German advance along the main road had made little progress, and the first FJ company entered the table to reinforce the attack. Most of this company moved into the woods with the grenadiers, while two Quad-2.0 cm. halftracks provided fire support from the road.
The Germans committed their remaining five Panthers to the attack on the left and, together with the pioneers, closed up on Mook, which was now defended by a second platoon from A Company.
By this point, the leading elements of the second US battalion had crossed the Maas-Waal canal and occupied the railway embankment with two platoons, with two 57mm AT guns guarding the underpass and the 81mm mortar battery in support. When our final player arrived late, we gave him the last FJ company and two Panthers and pitted him against this position. Even though Mook had not yet fallen, we assumed it eventually would fall, or would be bypassed. Thus we allowed these two players to play the continuation of the attack as a separate small game while the other players finished the main action. The FJ took losses from US fire, and were unable to move forward. The Panthers tried to assault, but one was lost to Gammon bombs and the second fell back.
Meanwhile, the grenadiers and FJ in the woods launched a series of suicidal assaults against the two dug-in platoons of B company. All of these assaults were halted with heavy losses by defensive fire, and both German companies were broken.
Finally, the pioneers tried to assault the A Company platoon defending Mook, but were stopped by defensive fire
At that point, we called the game after 12 turns. Adding the turns played in the continuation mini-game, about five campaign hours had been fought, and the lead elements of XXX Corps would be arriving in one hour.
Thus the game ended with the historical result, with an isolated US platoon holding the center of Mook, and the German advance halted at the railway embankment. The Germans had at least achieved the historical result, but their heavy losses made the game a US victory, and with the wooded hills teeming with paratroops threatening the main road, the Germans would be forced to withdraw.
We didn’t count casualties, but about 75% of the grenadiers and 75% of the first FJ company were lost. The pioneers and the second FJ company each lost the equivalent of a platoon. Five of the Panthers were destroyed. On the US side, B Company only lost six teams, and A company lost a platoon and a 57mm AT section. A very lopsided casualty ratio!
- TJ