Weekend Reading

Verhoef, C. E. H. J. The Battle for Ginkel Heath near Ede: 17 & 18 September 1944. Soesterberg: Aspekt, 2003.




Table of Contents:

1. Allied Strategy after the Normandy Landings 9

Broad front - small front 9

Operation Market Garden 13

2. Sunday, 17 September 1944: D-Day 17

Preliminary bombardments 17

The take-off of the biggest air armada in history 19

The landings near Arnhem 24

The airlift of the 7th Battalion The King's Own Scottish

Borderers 27

The German defence 28

The positions of 7 KOSB at Ginkel Heath 38

Initial engagements at Ginkel Heath 44

3. Monday, 18 September 1944: D +1 52

The push towards Arnhem road bridge 52

The actions of the Westgruppe 52

The situation at Ginkel Heath prior to the arrival of 4th

Parachute Brigade 53

The second lift 65

The landing on Ginkel Heath 68

Marching off 87

4. Ginkel Heath, Tuesday, 19 September - Friday, 22 September

1944 91

5. The Significance of the Battle for Ginkel Heath 96

La Florida: Field Artillery

Photos: This small piece is mounted on the standard 30mm x 30mm base recommended for TPC’s Spanish Fury, Actions! Gun and crew are, I believe, old-ish Mikes Models 15mm – another rescue from the artillery box of bits and bobs.

In general, the SF Actions! artillery rules will apply in LF tactical combat, but some changes will have to be made because of the unique circumstances that applied in the New World. First, other than Cuba and, I suspect, Mexico, horses were in short supply in the Spanish colonies, so guns typically would not be drawn by horse teams and will have to be manhandled. Second, Indians of course will not have artillery. And, third, any firing of artillery guns will strike terror into aboriginal hearts, causing reactions that in LF will be automatic and not require reference to the SF Actions! firing table. Here are the draft reactions:



1 – The targeted warband (company) will immediately make a Retire move AND have one Terror marker placed on it.

2 – All other warbands within “earshot” (i.e., which can “see” the targeted warband retire), will themselves make a Retire move and seek cover. They will, however, recover automatically when they gain cover of any kind. At a minimum, affected warbands will be all those of the war party.

3 – On succeeding turns in which the gun(s) is/are fired, only the bases adjoining the targeted base(s) will be forced to retire.

4 – No Indians in cover may be fired upon by artillery.

5 – Indigenous allies of Europeans who have at least one previous combat experience are not affected by these draft reactions.

French 81mm Mortar M1927/1931 (Brandt)

This was the common medium mortar in French service, and license-built copies, like the US 81mm mortar M1, or outright copies, were in widespread use with other armies. The typical French infantry regiment in 1940 had 8 such mortars; generally, 2 were allocated to each battalion. In FoF, the 81mm mortar might be drawn for with an Asset Card, if not included as part of the scenario design.

Some stats:

RoF: 20-30 rpm

MV: 174 m/s

Max Range: 2,850 meters

Crew: 1 NCO, 5 EM (+ 1 driver)


The photos show the Peter Pig 15mm mortar with crew.

Lorraine Carrier in Force on Force Scenarios

In FoF the carrier would be a Class 1 vehicle (1D6), the lowest class of armored vehicle, generally including light APCs or armored cars.

The photos show the finished model

French Lorraine 38L VBCP Infantry Carrier

Above: The Lorraine Carrier on my work table. Only the tarp has been painted at this point. To give an idea of the size, the base is 1" x 2".

This is a Battlefront (Crusader) mini. It came in three pieces -- a cast resin hull and two metal tracks with running gear. It is 15mm (1:100 scale), according to the box description. Most French material in 1939-40 was painted “Army green,” and there are many examples on the web, with suggestions for mixing paints to achieve the dark olive green color. (Apparently, the exact color is not known.) Two-color camouflage schemes for armored vehicles that employed Army green and a chocolate brown color are also shown. There is a complete discussion of French paint schemes on the authoritative France 1940 page here http://france1940.free.fr/armee/colours.html

VBCP stands for Voiture blindée de chasseurs portés or, in my loose translation, “armored infantry carrier.” Two units that were completely equipped with the VBCP were the 5th BCP (Battaillon chausseurs portés) of the 1st DCR (Division cuirassée – armored division) and the 17th BCP of the 2d DCR.


Some statistics:

Max. armor: 9mm (front, sides, rear); 6mm (top). Note: The passenger compartment had an open top that was covered by a tarp.

Max. speed: 35 km/hr

Armament: Unarmed, but a FM 24/29 LMG could be fitted to a side mount for AA fire.

Capacity: The tractor carried six men – two abreast in the narrow driver’s compartment and four in the box-like passenger compartment at rear. A boxy trailer seating six men could be towed.

The best source for the vehicle itself and its many variants is the comprehensive, highly-detailed article by Steve Zaloga titled “Lorraine 38L Infantry Tractor,” at the Military Modelling site online. See http://www.militarymodelling.com/news/article.asp?a=4082

FoF Unit Characteristics for the French Squad

Top: Half-Squad Shock (Maneuver) Element

Bottom: Two Bases Showing Figures with the FM24/29 LMG

These are Peter Pig 15mm figures. I uploaded new images, since the previous images were indistinct.

Quality

Most line infantry in 1939-40 would be classed as Regular, Trained (D8). From my reading, the only troops with a higher rating (and I wouldn’t class any higher than Veteran – D10), would have been the Dragons portés (motorized infantry of the DLMs/DLCs), the Chasseurs portés (mechanized/motorized infantry of the heavy armored formations), Foreign Legion, Corps francs, and Chasseurs alpins.

Morale

I’d classify the French for the most part as Average (D8), although higher or lower values may be scenario appropriate.

Confidence

This was for the most part Average.

Supply Quality

Again, for the most part, Normally Supplied.

France `40 -- Notes on Sources

I listed Borsarello’s book yesterday as one of my sources. It’s comprehensive in its coverage of the three services – Army, Navy, and Air Force – despite its title, which might mislead a native English speaker and is well-illustrated.

McNair, Ronald. Les blindés français: mai-juin 1940. Bayeux: Éditions Heimdal, n.d.

McNair’s volume is really an issue of Heimdal’s Guerres contemporaines journal. Other than the cover, the numerous illustrations are in b/w. It’s a handy, authoritative guide to French armor – organization, material, and markings. Heimdal’s publications are worth checking out. One title that I haven’t seen intrigued me: Les trains blindés, 1826-1989. I had no idea that armored trains pre-dated the US Civil War!