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    45 views27 pages

    All American

    Uploaded by

    Jonathan

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF or read online from Scribd
    Flag for inappropriate content
    of 27
    sal level gamers may note our effort to present the story of Major Kellam and his valiant men of the 82nd Airborne during their drop behind enemy lines during Operation Over- lord representa departure from past wargame presentations. The thrust of our effort is to provide accessibility tothe largest number of ‘wargamers, no matter te tactical system they are accustomed to using To the above end, players of Adv. Sad Lar. and miniatures players will find this ‘package of interest; we have even made the hhexes larger, enabling one GHQ Micro Ar ‘mor miniature to fit on the bridge with room to spare on either side. Orders of Battle and scenarios for both combatants have heen pre~ pared for use by players of Adv. Sq. Lar Grand Tactical rules such as “The Clash of Armor” are also easily ported for use inthis ‘eame by noting the simple conversion infor ‘ation provided in the miniatures conversion sheet provided ‘Our rationale forthe approach chosen is, rather simple. The level of detail, and esearch Which went into this game/simulation de- ‘mands the maximum exposure to the gaming. public. Numerous batlefield trips to check the aecuracy of the map, as well s direct contact with the Reverend George B. Wood, and oth sof the 82nd Airborne Division Associ tion for After-Action Reports and other re search information were part-and-parcel ofthe work that resulted inthe end result you now hold in your hands, There's more to it than that, though! Our research revealed a fact which cannot be i: nored: practically no-one inthe unit depicted plays Adv. Sqd. Ld. For that matter finding any players ofthis game system in the entre United States Army isa challenging task, One of our contacts is Captain who happens to be in charge of the Simulation Society at West, Point; suffice it to say he confirms the lack of| penetration of this particular game system Airborn there. Miniatures are more common but offer another daunting task to the publisher wish- ing to por” thie game tothe maximum num ber of systems. Go from one miniatures table to another at & convention and you'll likely find a different system in use, with a few hhouse-rules to boot, at each table Finally, the above information left us with fone obvious conclusion: current and past members ofthe 82nd Airborne will nat be able (or likely willing to even play this game, and series, staring their unit unless its published as a stand alone game. That's where we re veal the last card in the deck, a pereentile- based tactical level game system providing enhanced realism, combined with ease of play {is what “All American’ ial about, Machine- gun crews, bazooka teams and individual [NCOs are part of a game which focuses on the small unit batle in a microcosm. Com bined with state of the art counters and the highest quality play ids, we think “All Ameri- can’ represents a gaming/simulation experi~ tence which can be enjoyed by wargamers of any level of experience, and the newcomer to board wargaming, ‘A few words are in order about our map. ‘The presentation of what is, in essence a color topographical map based on a scale of 50 yards per hex should be readable by anyone familiar with map-reading, The use of stan- dard architect's symbology for the terrain depiction has been combined with the stan- dard hexside terrain depiction used in wargame maps for decades. Players of Adv ‘Sqd. Lat. should find ‘conversion’ 10 a 40 meter per hex scale seamless while the use of 41” perhex seale for tactical level miniatures players should present an equally simple pro- ‘ess to provide for scaling in their game play. ‘Some explanation of map symbology isin ‘order for players gaming “All American’ us. ing ther existing game systems, The symbol ‘ogy used in hexes like Ad represents ‘wheatfelds/grainfields. The green hex-side merican e at Kellam’s Bridge: June 6 - 9, 1944 depictions such as those found in BO/BT rep resent hedges‘bushes; those found in CCL CC2 represent bocagehedgerows, An ex ample ofan orchard symbol ean be found in hex A9, The depiction in hexes such as N& represent brush/light woods while those in hexes such as Al represent woods/heavy woods. The buildings are all models of the actual structures and are all made of stone masonry construction. The large depictions such as hex QI represent marsh/swamp ter- rain, The elevations on the map depict the standard 30 foot change and are depicted by varying shades of green; the actual elevation line found on a standard topographical map is outlined in light gray. Map elevations be gin at level “0° and rise to a height of 60 feet. Note these changes are relative and not de pictions of the actual height above sea level of the terrain depicted. The land slopes up- ‘ward from level 0" in AAO othe next igh est level as depicted by the green shade in [BBS, withthe highest level on the map de- picted by the green shade in C6, Minor el- evation changes/slopes/undulations are rep- resented by the hexside markings found in hexes such as AAS-BB4; the depiction on hhexside CC8-CC9 is iff The thick black lines on hexsides AQ - AAB (and BBS), and AA9- ALO represent the inability to move or fire from these hexes into the building in ‘AAS. Finally, the erater-lke depictions in hexes such as V7 are foxholes. Itis our sincere hope that you - the expert or neophyte wargamer - enjoys this opportu= nity to explore the actions ofthese gallant sol- diers while you zoom in to the battle on the level tactical level gaming is meant to cmulate.,swhere that one machine gun in the farmhouse atthe erossroads can decide your fate in this day, Since the vist this passage refers to, work has begun on monument othe paratroopers ofthe 2nd All American, to be located opposite the Manoir n hex BBS. It appears tat, for once, the ‘memorial wile appropriate and unobtrusive, and as sucha most welcome acltion tothe site See: Memo, Dolimann fr Army Group 8, 10 Jun 44, Soventh Army, KTB Analagen 11-90.V144, ‘Seventh Army considered the Aled mass use of airborne troops in an occupied area a brand new ‘afc comparable tothe British introduction onthe ‘tank in World War Ct. von der Heyes dlscus- sion ofthe fcultes of assembling his widely scat- tered troops to concentrate for attack MS# B-839, ‘A view from hex CC3 ofthe game map looking westacrossthe causeway taken duringoneotlan's Visto the bated. While a recent photo de- Plcting the modern-day appearance of our battle: ‘ound, he general lay ofthe lands apparent.2s isthe fact tat lite has changed inthe lat 50+ Years inthis part of the word We drive west out of a small French town, Passing under the new autoroute, we follow a minor road through quiet countryside. Two kilometers on, the hedgerows grow thicker ‘ad our road erosses abridge over a deep cut- ting with a two-track railway, Suddenly we are in tue bocage; the lane winds between high hedgerows. A final bend and the road straightens, sloping down past large farm ‘on our lef. We stop opposite the farm build- ings. Ahead, a river meanders slowly, flow= ing under the stone road bridge, Further ahead, beyond the bridge, our road turns slightly right to follow a raised avenue tra- versing 500 meters of open meadows. Through this tree-lined causeway and the hedgerows on the far side of the valley, we ‘can make out the roofs the houses and small church ofthe hamlet opposite Allis peace ad tranquillity. We have trav «lled hundreds of Kilometers to visit thissite, «there seems tobe nothing remarkable here The locals, most of them elderly farming folk are unused to visitors, and stare open mouthed 4 the historian laden with cameras and ‘eameorder, taken by surprise and curiosity when he asks permission to film their homes and theiefarmyards. Casual passers-by would ee nothing here but tranguil, unremarkable French countryside, Unless they stopped where we have stopped, and read the small notice over a hole beside the road: “Ici ‘combatit le Gal. Gavin = 6 Juin 1948", Une less they talked tothe master of the Manoir, hearing his story and seeing his cache of an- tique weaponry Monsieur Poisson ensures that no one is watching, then reaches his arm into the eaves ‘ofan old cattle shed. He pulls out an old mine, 4 grenade, the fossilized bag of a gammon bomb, its stockinet squares now stiff and its ‘contact fse rusted solid, It was one such bom thatthe frst American to approach the manoit ‘on the morning of 6th June tossed in response toa German sentry challenge. The German instinctively tried to cateh the thrown object, that ended for the Perhaps this and as the book puts it moment the loca resistance was one of the bombs carried by men ofthe mis-dropped $07, who crossed the causeway looking for fiends and ran into German tanks ‘Or maybe this was just one of the many ‘Gammon bombs whose owner g up the “Composition C” plastic explosive charge to heat his eoffce canteen, Inany case, the relic is reminder of the days when this ‘Quiet valley was the scene of death and de- sinuction, and a focus of the attention of the whole world, For the distant town was Sainte Mere Eglise. The euilway was an important rally- ing point for the mis-dropped regiments of the 82nd ‘AIL American’ Airborne Division ‘on the night of 5/6 une. Where westand stood Slim Jim Gavin, and General Matt Ridgway and many more heroes ofthe 82nd. Oppo- site, the hamlet of Cauquigny was biterly contested by the German 10S7th Gi Regiment rounded by deeply flooded marsh, was to change hands as both sides sought to win the Most of the tours dually used nadir And the causeway, then sur- athering inthe sun te town of Sainte Mere Eglise have come to see a dummy parachutist suspended by his “chute from the top of the sme sun in the busy church tower, ‘They will ist the museum, buy some postcards, and leave for the Utah beaches, content that they have seen the key feature of the American paratroop landings, And they are right think that Sainte Mere Elise was the key tothe Allis” right lank inthe assault on Normandy. But in tut, the ‘outcome at Sainte Mere Eglise was only briefly in question, By midnight on 6th June, though Ridgway and his men did not fully realize it the threat to their def eof the town ‘was over. It is atthe bridgeheads, at Chef du Pont and especially at La Fier, thatthe front Tine of the action was to be found, as the Menderet crossing became for four days and nights the focal point of both the German ‘counter attack onthe arbor bri of VII Comps" westward advance across the Cotentin, an Daglish In the preparation of an historical intro- duction to ALL AMERICAN it was decided 0 tse citations from the “Official History”, pro- viding notes ta keep the narrative moving along. Thusly, the quoted portions ofthe fol- owing materials are from “Cross Channel tack" written by Gordon A, Harrision and prepared under their direction of Hugh M. Cole, Chief ofthe European Section, Histori- cal Division, in Washington, D.C. on 1 Oce tober 1950. “By the midale ofthe morning, 500 o 600 ‘men of miscellaneous units had gathered at la Fiere, which was one ofthe two known cross- ings of the Merderet in the 82nd Airborne Division zone, The la Fiere crossing was an exposed narrow causeway raised a few fet above the river flats and extending 400 to 300 yards from the bridge over the main river ‘channel tothe gently rising hedgerow coun- ity of the west shore.” “Two ofthe frst groups on the scene, por- tions of Company A of the SOSth and a group mostly ofthe SO7th Parachute infantry under Lt. John H. Wisner, had tried to rsh the bridge in the early morning but were repulsed by ‘machine gun fire. When General Gavin a rived, he decided to split the la Fiere force and sent seventy-five men south the recon- noiter another crossing Later, receiving word that the bridge at Chef-du-Pont was unde- fended, he took another seventy-five men him- self to try to get across there. The groups r= ‘maining at la Fiere made no progress for sev cral hours. Then General Ridgway, who had landed by parachute with the S0Sth, ordered ol, Roy Lindquist, the commanding officer ‘of the SO8th Parachute Infanty, to organize the miscellaneous groups and take the bridge.” Inthe meantime a small group of fifty men {rom the 2nd Battalion, 507th PIR had co!- lected around their hatalion commander. Lt Col, Charles J. Timmes. Soon afier landing, Timmes had passed through Cauguieny, the tiny village simated around hex J4 on our game map: he was not to stay long. Hearing five from the direction of Amfrevlle, Times ‘assumed incorrectly that paratroopers were attacking the village from the north. Unable to make progress toward Amyrevlle, he dug in sending back a patrol often men 0 posi- ton a machine-gun inthe Cauguigny church hex NI on the game map - overlooking the la Fiere causeway from the west end. “At noon the forces around la Fiere gath- cred fora coordinated three-company atack Tn two hours one company under Capt. FV. ‘Schwarewalder succeeded in earrying the at- tack across the causeway, and established contact with Times" patra.” “athe enemy began to react to the initial American attack with artillery, small arms, and at last a tank sally. It was inthe middle ofthis, ‘counterattack that belated American reinforce- ‘ments arrived on the west bank and were im- ‘mediately disorganized and beaten back. The bridge was lost.” “The enemy tried to follow up his ad- vantage with attacks across the causeway, These netted him only temporary footholds ‘on the east bank but compelled the Ameri- ‘cans to bring back most of the troops sent carler to probe out crossings of the river to the south.” ‘As reports of the airborne landings eame into the German Seventh Army headquarters and the extent ofthe landings became appar ent, General Dollmann ordered a series of moves designed to seal up the airhead and destroy i” The units ordered to oppose the paratroop- cers starring n ALL AMERICAN consisted of the 10870h Regiment (91st Division) and the 100th Panzer Replacement Battalion. ‘By means ofthese moves and concentric counterattacks Dollmann was sue at first that ‘he could cope withthe Cotentin landings with- ‘out moving in any additonal forces. It was ‘only inthe evening that his optimism waned, as the 91st Division eported that its counter attack was making slow progress because of the difficulties of maneuvering in the hedgerow country. In fact the attack had scarcely materialized at all exeept in local actions along the Merderet.” The lack of success of the German reac- tions, including those ofthe unit we focus our attention on, the 91st Division, can be par tially explained by the absence ofthe division ‘commander. Generalleuinant Wilhelm Falley (of the 91st Division) was away from the Dattle-fron, along with some of his subordi- nate commanders attending a war game at Rennes. Upon his return, Falley was promptly Killed by paratroopers. “Even against relatively small enemy forces, the problem of seizing a bridgehead lover the Merderet remained dificult. At the end of 7 June, there were at la Fire some 600 ‘men ofthe $07th and SOSth Parachute Infan- try Regiments, together with some tanks and anillery and the Ist Battalion of the 325th Glider Infantry which had moved up with the Sth Infantry after landing by sea. West of the ver were three organized but isolated groups, ranging from company to battalion size. AE ter the failure of the attempt to establish a bridgehead at Ia Fiere on D Day, the 82nd Airborne Division had been under violent ‘counteratack.” Late on & une a submerged, bu passable road across the swamps t0 the north of ta Flere was discovered. The Ist Battalion, 325th Glider Infantry, under commander Major Teddy H. Sanford was ordered to crass the swamp in the dark while a group under Col George V. Millet thrust southeast to link up with Colonel Timmes. The attack went badly Afr Sanford’s men made the crossing safely Millet’s group drew fire and fll apart inthe darkness: Millett was captured along with some of is men and the remainder of his unit withdrew northward, effectively knocked out of action until June 10. Sanford’s attempt to 3 The Battle Unik the 507 and 508 Regiments, the serials of ‘the 505 retained formation unt the last few min- Utes prior tojump, at which time they encountered ‘amassive cloud bank. Pilots succeeded in hold- ingermationbyfyingsbove the cloud butfor many resulted in erossing the DZlights too high and ‘oofast. (Krause reported seeing serial oftrans- pats flying under him during his descent) The ‘extended drift of descending parachutes often ‘made the standard procedure of rlingupthe sick’ ater landing unwerkable, and much heavy equip- ‘mentwas stas chutes parted company wihloads onreease. Felley was ambushed and klledby aband of para- troopers from the 3rd Batalion, 508 PLR. at Bernal. Similar, Major Bardlenschiager fom the 100 Panzer Abteiung set of fo to hesdquar- ter ofthe Sst and was never seen again. ‘lone among the Bnd, the pathinders ofthe 505 paced thei beacons accurately and had Eureka beacons nd Zights operating planned Most ‘ofthe Regiment therfore experiencedacrop with nly inte anal scaterng seve forthe noto- rious and unexplained ate crop ofthe 2ndpltoon Marta Squad at F Company who descended into ‘the midst ofthe German detender of Sainte Mere Egle. Foloningther good crop, the 55 was quick toferm up. While advance elements of Able Com- pany unde Lt. George WPesnal st fo thr lesgnatod objective ofthe Merderet bridge, wth the rest of Abe under Lt. Joh J. Dolan folowing close behind (se scenario notes AAY, AZ) ‘nthe aternoonf June th, asthe led German fanks burned on the causeway and the folowing ‘infantry were cut down, Major Kellam and his staff ‘of the 1st Battalion, 505 PLR. were obser ving from the rear. During aul inthe incessant German rartering, Kollam made a dash for some exup- ment bues hingin the open, hoping they might contain bazooka ammunition. An incoming shell ied Kelam outright. nthe words of ne veteran of Kean’ uni the men ofthe S05 arent given {ohanginlagamesion pace were they fou But 1s Bata did name the bridge at La Fiero Tethemitremain Kelas Brie to this dyn honor ofthe galant commander. ‘The map ofthe la Fire bridge-head prepared by the US Army Historical Divison. The confines of ‘our ALL AMERICAN game map ae roughly de- fined by the boxedin portion ofthe map. gather his men and go italone was disrupted by heavy enemy fire which threw his group back with severe losses to Colonel Timmes position. “When Colonel Lewis, commander of the 325th Glider Infantry, reported the failure of the attack, General Ridgway, the division ‘commander, decided to renew the attempt to force the eauseway at la Fire. The mission ‘was given to the 3rd Battalion, 325th Glider Infantry, which was 10 move up under cover ‘of smoke from positions at Chef-du-Pont. A ieen-minutearillery and tank fre prepara- ‘ion was arranged and a reinforced company of the 507th Parachute Infantry was o follow up the causeway attack if it faltered.” The smoke screen proved too thin and ma chine-gun fire played along the ranks ofthe Giidermen before they even reached their line of departure for the attack. The men resorted to creeping up, using a stone wall 10 cover their approach tothe starting point. “At 1045 the attack was signaled and the ‘men let their shelter under orders to sprint the 500 yards across the exposed causeway Everything depended on the first dash. But it proved too much for most ofthe men. Under THE LA FIERE BRIDGEHEAD 9 June 1944 CContourintrval every 10 meters mortar and arilley fire, all but a handtul yielded to the overpowering instinct to seek shelter, and though there was no shelter they threw themselves down along the roadside Some were easuaties and later arrivals, see- ing them, lost the spirit needed to carry them actoss. The causeway became congested with the dead, the wounded, and the disheartened Things were made worse when an Amert- ‘can tank, probing forward along the cause- way, hit a ‘friendiy" minefield that had not been cleared. This newly disabled tank only ‘added to the congestion across the narrow ‘eauseway; blocked partially bya German tank Inocked out earlier in he action. Neverthe- less, encouragement from the highest ranks, including Generals Gavin and Ridgway helped get parts of two companies across t0 ‘continue their missions “Company E cleared Cauguigny with com- parative ease as the Germans under heavy fi from the cast bank were disposed to surrender.,..n the meantim neval Gavin..committed the company af the $07th under Captain R. D, Rae wih orders to sweep the causeway stragglers across with him.” Designer's Notes: This set of scenarios tells the story of the fight between an American airborne division and a German ‘Lufllande’ division, yet not once is the ASL rule £9. PARATROOP. LANDINGS invoked, Inthe ease of the German 91st Infantry the reason is not hard to find, For “air land ing’, we should read ‘anti air landing”. By June, 1944, the Wehrmacht had evolved s0- Phisticated doctrine for opposing airborne assault. “The only way to draw the tooth of anairborne landing, with an inferior force is to drive right into it” (S$ Captain Krafft) Though only an ad hoe, improvised unit formed in 1944 in Wehtkreis XII (around Wiesbaden), and poorly equipped, the 1380 infantry regiments ofthe 91st were neverthe- less to have a major impact on the develop- ‘ment of the American aitborne bridgehead, Indeed, identification of the newly arrived division in May led to major revisions to the planned 82nd drop zones, mere days before Overlord, In the case ofthe All American, there are ro landing scenarios because, for the most part, the ‘night drop’ of the 82nd was a pi vate affaie, Men landed alone, generally dis- ‘oriented, more intent on rendezvousing with friendly faces than on finding a fight. Some drowned in the unexpected flood plain ofthe Merderet valley. Many found shelter and slept. The most successful landing - that of Able company of the 505 P.L.R. - led to the first scenario in this set, but even that fight took place some distance from the drop zone The gamer will note the highly stylized scenario cards feature photos of key terrain featured on the ALL AMERICAN map, and in that particular scenario (also reproduced below in reduced form). These photos were taken during the batlefield tours which were made as pat of the map design and accuracy checking phase of the project and areal shots ofthe terrain and buildings as seen circa 1996, ‘THE MILLING CROWD Sixteen US Paratrooper squads against wo and a half German? Impossible! But this sce nario is all about confusion “Most batles begin in order and descend into chaos; conversely in 1944 a night para: chute drop was.areeipe for instant chaos, from whieh some semblance of order had to be formed before batle could properly be joined. Able Company of the 505th marched straight com their assigned objective, but those mis-

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