Bolt Action: Campaign: Market Garden

Several of the scenarios in this book are suitable for any airborne force pitted against German opposition, some are suitable for British and German ground forces and some of them can be played with either the Allies or the Germans as the attacker or defender. Most of them can be played with the standard Bolt Action approach to points values to generate equal forces or a ratio stated in the scenario notes such as 3:2 in favour of the attackers. Others are relatively ‘site specific’ or ‘force specific’ – it would not make much sense to play a game with German paratroopers securing a Drop Zone or to have Allied tanks defending the bridge in Arnhem or Nijmegen.

In some cases, the strength, and nature of a given force is defined by history. If, for example, we are to play a game with US pathfinders, the force has to be tiny because the units really were tiny, but in the main, more conventionally sized units will be appropriate. That said, a major strength of Bolt Action for Market Garden games is that squads or sections can be as small as just five figures. In most World War II situations, commanders would amalgamate two very small squads into one larger unit, but in the scattered and confused fighting in Nijmegen, Oosterbeek or the Groesbeek Heights squads were frequently reduced to half numbers or less but still fought on magnificently.

In the earlier stages of the battle we might reasonably expect that units would be operating at something like full strength, with the proviso that German forces in the immediate vicinity of Drop Zones/Landing Zones might well consist of nothing more than a few small patrols carrying out local security duties and keeping a watchful eye for pilots and crew whose aircraft had been shot down, and some of the scenarios reflect this.

British and American airborne forces, British troops in the ground-based formations and German forces committed to the battle (as opposed to security forces which just happened to be in the area) would be a close reflection of the normal organisation of their units. As a rough guide that would mostly be a structure of about ten men to a squad, section or zug, and platoons of three sections with a command group of two to five men and usually three or sometimes four platoons to each company. As the campaign progressed, losses from combat and disruption naturally resulted in smaller units, so the generation of forces for Market Garden should start with the structures outlined in the relevant Theatre Selectors in the British, American, and German Bolt Action army books. For the sake of reflecting the historical realities of 1944, players may wish to reduce the size of the elements on the tabletop – units were rarely up to full strength.

Most players will be well aware that the theoretical organisation and equipment policies laid down by senior officers and governments were seldom observed rigorously – if at all – in the field. Battalion commanders often had some degree of discretion in the exact structure of their own units and – less officially – might acquire all sorts of assets, especially if no-one was watching too carefully when the supply officer was visiting the depot! If you want to add a German MG42 to a British airborne force or a Humber armoured car to a German reconnaissance unit there’s plenty of historical justification for doing so – simply treat the model as a suitable example from the relevant list as this is purely a cosmetic difference in game terms.

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OPERATION MARKET GARDEN FORCES SPECIAL RULES

When playing scenarios from this book, the players should keep in mind the following:

All British, Polish, and American units in the selectors in this book must be purchased as Veterans when there is an option to do so (except when otherwise specified in the selector).

Also, any British or Polish infantry units, as well as artillery units manned by British or Polish troops, in all selectors in this book count as Stubborn.

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101st AIRBORNE DIVISION

The 101st was originally raised for service in World War I but the war ended just a few weeks after the divisional HQ was formed. It was demobilised a month after the 1918 Armistice but was soon reconstituted as a reserve formation. Its badge and title ‘Screaming Eagles’ was adopted in 1921 as a tribute to a Wisconsin regiment of the American Civil War which had had an eagle – known as ‘Old Abe’ after Abraham Lincoln – as a mascot.

The division was disbanded and immediately re-formed as an airborne unit in 1942 and served with distinction in Normandy despite a large proportion of the troops being dropped at considerable distances from their allotted targets. The 101st remained active in Normandy long after they had achieved their objectives and then returned to their camps in England for re-fitting. After Market Garden, the division was eventually taken out of the line to rest and re-fit, only to be thrown back into battle during the Ardennes offensive of December 1944, during which they fought with incredible tenacity in the defence of Bastogne.

Some combinations of special units, rules, and scenarios could provide very one-sided encounters. That is not necessarily a barrier to making a good game, but objectives and victory conditions have been devised to ensure that it is possible for either side to win the engagement. Not all games need to be balanced in any sense at all; interesting and entertaining games are to be had even when you know your troops are staring at catastrophe. Market Garden has plenty of examples of glorious self-sacrifice!

For the reasons outlined above, forces in the field were rarely at full strength, but the general starting point should be firmly based on the normal structures outlined in the relevant Bolt Action army books with the ‘campaign specific’ modifications/suggestions listed below.

This is the basic tool of the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions, Parachute Infantry. Trained to a very high standard and with extensive combat experience, the American airborne forces were highly-motivated and performed very effectively throughout the Market Garden operation including many engagements in tandem with British units. Both formations remained on active duty for some time after the conclusion of Market Garden and would perform heroically during the Battle of the Bulge. American paratroopers saw a lot of action with the support of British armoured units and with British artillery support. They can apply the usual bombardment rules for British armies and can be freely mixed with any of the British units that appear in the XXX Corps lists, but not with airborne elements.

2 US Paratrooper squads (late war) or 2 US Pathfinder squads (Market Garden). Each squad type must be the same as the other.

0-1 Resistance squad (Inexperienced). May not have more than 1 SMG. If a Resistance squad is selected, the Germans may not use the ‘hidden’ rule.

Tanks, Tank destroyers, Self-propelled artillery, and Anti-aircraft vehicles

The organisation of American paratrooper platoons was far from rigid. Experience in Normandy had led to some battalion and company commanders choosing to abandon the 60mm mortar squad and reorganise the platoon into three rifle squads of approximately ten men and a platoon headquarters of seven (two officers, a platoon sergeant, ‘sergeant guide’ and three messengers, one of whom would carry the radio equipment).

The Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR) seems to have been discarded by a proportion of airborne units in favour of the bipod-mounted M1919 light machine gun although either can be fielded during this campaign.

Both of the American divisions had seen extensive action in Normandy and the 82nd had served with distinction in Italy. Although there had, of course, been a considerable number of replacements, the proportion of men with combat experience was high and the standard of morale, confidence and training was exceptional, so all US airborne troops should be counted as Veterans.

A British artillery observer can be included free of points cost on the same basis as normal British army list options.

American pathfinders were not drawn from a dedicated unit in the same way as the British 21st Independent Company, but from the main body of parachute infantry regiments or, in some cases, from a battalion-level ‘scout’ platoon. The men, were chosen on the basis of skill-at-arms, dedication, and proven initiative. Pathfinder units could be as small as three four-man teams and no larger than three 6-man teams. For Bolt Action purposes we should assume the latter. Given their very specific task and high level of training the teams did not really have a command structure as such; every man had a task to perform and knew exactly when and where to carry it out without direction.

Armoured jeeps were used in modest numbers by 82nd Airborne Division. This was a new development after Normandy, where standard jeeps had proven to be too vulnerable for reconnaissance work. The forward-facing armoured plates were neatly constructed out of 5/16” steel plate and could withstand a rifle bullet but not a .50 calibre round, except at very long range. The armour made the jeeps top heavy and prone to toppling over as well as reducing their speed, increasing fuel consumption, and generally impairing the handling. It did provide a degree of protection for the driver and more particularly, the operator of the pintle-mounted .50 calibre machine gun that was the main armament. It would seem that the armoured jeep was not adopted – at least officially – by the 101st Airborne, but the 82nd still had them in service during the Bastogne battle, so clearly they had shown their worth.

American glider troops did not make an appearance until the very end of the Market Garden campaign. General Gavin did not have enough airlift capacity to have both his glider regiment and his artillery arrive on the first day of the operation and opted to take his artillery. His original plan would have seen the 325th Glider Infantry Regiment arrive on 18 September, but poor weather caused a delay until 23 September. However, the Landing Zones were under threat from German counter-attacks and the 325th did not arrive until 26 September when the operation had clearly come to an end.

The 327th Regiment – the glider infantry elements of 101st Division – landed in two ‘lifts’ on 16 and 18 September and was in battle throughout the rest of the campaign. Both regiments had seen extensive action in Normandy and were confident, well-trained veterans.

The British organised their airlanding units so that a complete platoon would fit conveniently into a single Horsa glider, but the American Waco glider could only carry 13 infantrymen so platoons and companies faced a greater challenge when mustering after landing.

Airlanding platoons have the same organisational structure and points cost (as veteran) as the Reinforced Parachute Platoon and all of the same options for support weapons, including cooperation with British ground forces. Merely substitute Glider Squads (Armies of the United States p24) into the Parachute Platoon above.

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GLIDERS

Market Garden is widely – and understandably – associated with parachute troops, but a very large proportion of the airborne forces did not jump out of aircraft. Artillery, service, medical units – and in the case of the British more than one third of the infantry – arrived in gliders. The three most commonly used gliders were the Waco (‘Hadrian’ in British terminology), Horsa and Hamilcar.

The Waco could carry 13 men or a single piece of heavier equipment such as a jeep or a 57mm (6-pdr) anti-tank gun or 75mm howitzer. The Horsa could carry a complete glider infantry platoon of about 28 men or a jeep/gun combination. The Hamilcar could take an enormous payload – a light Tetrarch tank or a 17-pdr anti-tank gun. The sheer size of a Hamilcar (68 feet long and a wingspan of 110 feet) militates against modelling one for the wargame table, but 1/72 scale Waco and Horsa gliders are available from Warlord Games and are eminently suitable for wargaming – 1/56 scale gliders tend to take up a lot of space on the battlefield.

Most players will have seen dramatic wartime photographs of LZ fields absolutely covered in hundreds of gliders. In fact there was very little fighting in those fields other than on the LZ designated for the heavy weapons of the Polish Parachute Brigade. Being made largely out of a little aluminium, fairly thin timbers and a lot of painted cloth, a glider does not offer much protection against bullets, but being large beasts they do obscure the battlefield, especially when there are hundreds of them, so troops lurking behind a glider should be treated as ‘soft cover’ targets that obscure lines of sight.

Naturally, this is the basic structure of the great majority of actions for the British in Arnhem and Oosterbeek and for the Poles in Driel. The Polish Independent Parachute Brigade had pioneered most of the techniques used by the British Army and was organised and equipped in the British fashion. Almost all of the British units that went into action on the first day suffered virtually no damage on the drop and Landing Zones. Even those that landed on Ginkel Heath, in the face of enemy fire, were not badly affected. Obviously, units tended to become much smaller as the battle progressed due to casualties and men simply becoming separated from their comrades.

Tanks, Tank destroyers, Self-propelled artillery, and Anti-aircraft vehicles

Transport vehicle per infantry squad in the reinforced platoon from: Jeep, Universal Carrier

Tow from: Jeep (for 6-pdr or 75mm howitzer) 0-2 Cut-down Morris tractor for towing 17-pdr anti-tank guns

The airlanding units were standard infantry battalions selected for duty as glider troops. A good many individuals were transferred out of the battalions during the preparation process and replaced with men who were extremely fit physically and mentally as well as being highly motivated. All three battalions were trained to an exceptionally high standard both as individual units and as a Brigade and should therefore be rated as Veteran.

The structure and equipment of airlanding battalions varied enormously from one operation to the next and commanding officers enjoyed a good deal of discretion, so no two battalions were ever the same. Platoons were based on the capacity of the Horsa glider so that each platoon arrived in a single aircraft. This list is a general guide to the platoon structure that might be found in any of the battalions. Another bonus to an airlanding battalion force is that they can have more extensive integral assets than either a conventional infantry battalion or a parachute battalion. Two platoons each of Vickers medium machine guns, mortars, and anti-tank guns seems to have been fairly standard, so you can quite legitimately have two of any of these weapons in support of a single rifle platoon. Since the platoons were specially designed to be carried in a single glider, larger airlanding forces should be organised in multiples of the reinforced platoon organisation detailed below.

The platoon command group usually consisted of the officer and four men. The group would have responsibility for the platoon handcart and a 2” mortar, but for Bolt Action purposes it is more practical to split the command group into two elements – a command group of an officer and two men and a 2” mortar team. However, it would be perfectly reasonable to substitute a PIAT for the 2” mortar since this was a choice exercised by some company commanders.

Tanks, Tank destroyers, Self-propelled artillery, and Anti-aircraft vehicles

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SPECIAL RULES

Players should feel free to select one of the appropriate national characteristics – ‘Blood-curdling battle cry’, ‘Tough as boots’ or ‘Rapid fire’ are particularly suitable for the British and ‘Vengeance’ for the Poles.

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FOLDING BICYCLES AND WELBIKES

Folding bikes were designed for use by many units, not just airborne ones. The folding bicycle had two clips to hold a rifle, but the weight of the soldier’s pack and other equipment impaired the balance of the machine. Various training procedures involving as many as 20 cyclists being towed behind a jeep were developed but seldom applied due to a tendency for the cyclists to be thrown from their bikes when the jeep manoeuvred quickly.

One of those iconic ‘airborne’ items, the Welbike was developed for use by SOE operatives. A two-stroke motorbike, it could reach a speed of 30mph and travel for about 90 miles on less than a gallon of petrol. The bike was very robust and could be removed from its canister, assembled and be ready for use in a matter of seconds. Several thousand were made and a good many were sent to Arnhem. Welbike models can be used for obvious functions such as dispatch riders, but a good many were also issued to the artillery and the service arms. As such, all British paratroop sections can be mounted on Welbikes if desired:

The entire squad may be mounted upon bicycles or Welbikes for +1pt per man

Bicycle/Welbike: The squad follows the same rules as infantry, except when moving entirely on a road, in which case they double their Run move to 24” (this move cannot be used to assault). In addition, the first time they receive any order other than Run, or if they receive a pinning marker, they dismount and abandon their bicycles/Welbikes for the rest of the game – replace the models with models on foot.

The platoon operated as a command group and three squads; two rifle sections of 8 men and a ‘scout’ section of 5. The two rifle sections fulfilled the same role as their counterparts in any other infantry battalion. Their superior training and access to the battalion’s store of SMGs and LMGs was expected to offset their slightly smaller numbers.

The function of the Scout section is self-evident and their heavy firepower potential was designed to give them serious punch to either deal with light opposition out-of-hand or to force the enemy to deploy and take cover while the rest of the platoon came up to the fight. In defence, the Scout section was trained to deploy in advance of the two other sections as an initial tripwire or breakwater to disrupt the approach of the enemy before moving back to the platoon’s main line, though this was not widely adopted in practice during Market Garden.

The British pathfinder units were independent companies. The pathfinder company (21st Independent Company) of 1st Airborne Division consisted of three platoons, each 50 men strong commanded by a lieutenant. Once the pathfinder tasks had been completed, the Independent Company became a divisional reserve asset. The unit’s members were hand-picked by its commander, Major Bernard Wilson, from volunteers from 1st Airborne Division and were therefore very much the ‘crème de la crème’.

With four sections of 12 men and a command group of two, an Independent Company platoon constitutes a very powerful unit in Bolt Action. Each section had a 50/50 distribution of SMGs and rifles, a Bren team, and a 2” mortar. The platoon commanders were all exceptional leaders of proven ability and must be rated – and paid for – as Captains. Additionally, every section was commanded by a sergeant with at least one corporal assisting him and taking his place if he became a casualty.

An Independent Company platoon is rather prescriptive, but that is inevitable when depicting such a specific unit – so specific that with a little research a player could actually name every individual in each section, let alone each platoon. Major Wilson was a great exponent of using captured enemy weapons, particularly the MG42, and he ensured that his troops were trained accordingly. Although the Independent Company had no MMG teams on the establishment, it is valid to attach suitably equipped teams from HQ to provide fire support for the platoons. Although the company took no transport into the battle, it did acquire a horse and cart which was used to carry the company’s supplies – not to mention the large number of MG42s and ammunition captured on the first day of the campaign.

Tanks, Tank destroyers, Self-propelled artillery, and Anti-aircraft vehicles

For the purposes of Bolt Action – and bearing in mind the very high proportion of high-quality NCOs in an Independent Company platoon – it is perfectly reasonable to split sections in two; a ‘standard’ section of 10 men and a mortar section of 2, and allocate an extra order die accordingly. It was an accepted practice to ‘brigade’ three or four of the platoon’s mortar groups into a temporary squad for a specific task and players may wish to do so, but the extra dice and the fact that a two-man mortar group will inevitably be a ‘small target’ would generally make that a poor allocation of resources.

The Market Garden plan for the capture of the Arnhem road bridge depended on the use of the 1st Airborne Reconnaissance Squadron as a coup-de-main force to head for the principal objective – the road bridge – and hold it until the arrival of Frost’s 2nd Battalion. The weaknesses of the plan have been widely discussed for 70 years now, but the major problem in relation to the Reconnaissance Squadron was that it was not properly equipped for the task.

Each of the squadron’s four troops consisted of six jeeps and a number of motorcycle dispatch riders. Contrary to Urquhart’s assertion in the film ‘A Bridge Too Far’, the jeeps were not fitted with ‘twin Vickers guns’, but with single-barrel Vickers ‘K’ guns. Gough would have preferred the twin Vickers, but was overruled because of concerns about the heavy consumption of ammunition.

Brigadier Lathbury and General Urquhart decided to use three troops of the Reconnaissance Squadron to race to the bridge and seize it before the Germans could react. This was a weak plan at best, since the Germans would have at least an hour between seeing the arrival of the massive air fleet and the jeeps being ready to leave the Landing Zone. The squadron commander, Major Gough, was very unhappy about the proposition since it was so contrary to the role for which his unit had trained.

The leading elements of the squadron were halted on a track parallel to the Wolfheze/Arnhem railway line by German machine gun fire within a very short period of leaving the Landing Zone and did not resume the advance, though at least two jeeps did eventually find their way to the main objective.

The squadron’s support assets consisted of a pair of 3” mortars and two 20mm Polsten anti-aircraft guns which could be deployed in a ground role. With the exception of a few marksmen with telescopic sights, virtually all of the Reconnaissance Squadron men carried Sten guns.

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THE PEGASUS BADGE

The British Airborne badge depicts Bellerophon riding the winged horse Pegasus into battle against the fire-breathing beast Chimera. Homer described Chimera as having a lion’s head, goat’s torso and a serpent’s tail. The subject was chosen by General Browning as the divisional emblem for 1st and 6th Airborne Divisions because it was the earliest example of an airborne warrior. The badge was designed by Edward Seago, a British artist. Seago had to hide a major heart condition and other health issues in order to get into the army at all and spent much of the war developing camouflage patterns and techniques.

Tanks, Tank destroyers, Self-propelled artillery, and Anti-aircraft vehicles

0-1 Jeep per infantry and artillery unit in the reinforced platoon, except for Paratroop sections, which can have 0-2 Jeeps per section. No Jeep can choose the option of mounting a machine gun.

The 1st Airborne Reconnaissance Squadron is best represented by using the optional rules for transport units on page 217 of the Bolt Action rulebook. This way, each 6-man Paratroop section can be transported in two jeeps, and the entire formation can be mounted or towed by jeeps.

Unsurprisingly, this was the unit which provided about 1,000 pilots and co-pilots who flew the Horsa and Hamilcar gliders into battle at Arnhem. Unlike their American counterparts they were also trained as infantry and expected to take a full part in the battle once they had discharged their primary task. All of the members of the Glider Pilot Regiment who went to Arnhem were sergeants or officers and they were trained to the very highest standards on all of the weapons that their passengers carried into battle.

Although the general policy was for ‘wings’ (battalion level units) of the Glider Pilot Regiment to be assigned to the least challenging sectors of the battlefield, the pilots served with great distinction in the thick of the fighting around the Oosterbeek perimeter.

As the battle developed, some Gilder Pilot Regiment sections and platoons found themselves effectively attached to – or ‘under command of’ – parachute or glider infantry units, so it is perfectly valid to add one or more Glider Pilot sections to any force of airborne troops.

Supporting units of all kinds – MMGs, mortars, anti-tank weapons – were ‘seconded’ from other airborne units.

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BATTALIONS, REGIMENTS AND BRIGADES

British military terms can be a little confusing. In virtually every army in the world, the word ‘regiment’ means a formation of three battalions which, as a rule, operate as a team. In the British Army, a regiment is a parent body which in peacetime may have one or two battalions, but during a prolonged war might be extended to as many as eight or ten. These battalions would not generally serve beside one another, but would be assigned to brigades. A brigade might well have two battalions from the same regiment, but not especially by design. The Parachute Regiment was a rare exception with 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Battalions in 1st Parachute Brigade and 10th, 11th, and 156th Battalions in 4th Parachute Brigade.

Just to make things a little more challenging, armoured battalions are invariably referred to as ‘regiments’ and consist of ‘squadrons’ and ‘troops’ of tanks rather than ‘companies’ and ‘platoons’. Better yet, all artillerymen are ‘gunners’ in ‘Regiments, Royal Artillery’. The regiments would mostly have three batteries and each battery of light or field artillery would have two troops of four guns divided into two sections.

Tanks, Tank destroyers, Self-propelled artillery, and Anti-aircraft vehicles

Glider Pilot battalions (known as ‘wings’) had a very high proportion (100 per cent) of officers and senior NCOs. This means that all units in the selector can always ignore the loss of section leaders for morale purposes.

The section was not issued with an LMG and glider pilots were free to carry the weapon of their choice and the majority seem to have chosen Stens, however all the men trained for a full range of infantry weapons. Glider pilot sections mostly served together in platoons, but they might also be attached to other units, especially in the latter stages of the battle. So there is nothing to prevent players with a force of paratroopers or airlanding troops fielding one or more sections of glider pilots with a high preponderance of SMGs. The glider pilots fought without the usual allocation of Bren guns, 2” mortars, PIATs, or medics of standard infantry units and though historically they might well have acquired any or all of these weapons in the field, for Bolt Action purposes we should assume they are limited to rifles and SMGs.

Given the nature of the operation there is a natural tendency to focus on airborne forces, but there are plenty of other interesting troops as well. The leading British formation was the Guards Armoured Division. Having fought their way across France and Belgium this was a veteran, perhaps even elite formation, but by September 1944 they were exhausted and the men were becoming increasingly hesitant; the irony of possibly stopping a bullet now that the war was clearly coming to an end was not lost on the troops. Virtually every type of armoured vehicle in the Allied arsenal can be put onto the tabletop without compromising history: Shermans, and Fireflies, Cromwells, and Stuarts, Daimler armoured cars, Dingo, and White Scout cars, and of course plenty of the ubiquitous Bren Carriers. The latter was used in a tremendous variety of roles from casualty evacuation to the Wasp flamethrower platform. A Carrier section of three vehicles, or even a whole Carrier platoon of 13 (though Carrier platoons were seldom deployed as complete units) makes for an interesting Bolt Action force for a variety of scenarios from reconnaissance to resupply or for the rapid reinforcement or extrication of a unit that has become isolated.

As a rule, British infantry units were carried by truck – unlike German infantry who generally had to march – but the armoured divisions included motor rifle battalions that travelled in M5 half-tracks. These were not considered to be combat vehicles as such; the practice was to dismount at some distance from the enemy and continue the approach on foot. The half-tracks mounted a .50 calibre machine gun as an anti-aircraft measure, not for engaging the enemy on the ground.

The British troops at Arnhem derived very little benefit from air support, although that was largely a failure of policy and communication. Large quantities of fighters and fighter-bombers – notably Hawker Typhoons armed with rockets – were available to XXX Corps. Weather and availability permitting there was often a ‘cab-rank’ of Typhoons loitering over the forward edge of the battlefield waiting to be called in to hit German tanks or strongpoints.

Ground forces were not limited to infantry and armour. Any number of unusual and challenging fictional scenarios can be structured around British Royal Engineers repairing bridges under fire or Canadian Royal Engineers endeavouring to evacuate British airborne troops across the Rhine at Oosterbeek.

Guards Armoured Division was the leading formation in XXX Corps’ advance across France, Belgium, and through the Netherlands. The division had been heavily engaged for three months; the men were tired and many of their vehicles were in dire need of major maintenance – issues that were hardly addressed by the division being taken out of the frontline for a few days to prepare for Market Garden.

The Irish Guards battlegroup led the Market Garden advance from the initial breakout from Neerpelt to Eindhoven. Losses were very heavy and consequently the advance proceeded much more slowly than had been planned or expected. They were held up for more than a day while American and British engineers constructed a Bailey bridge over the Wilhelmina Canal at Son, before renewing the advance from Eindhoven to Nijmegen, where the Guards Armoured Division forced their way over the main bridge in conjunction with Major Cook’s famous river assault crossing. Although the infantry travelled in M5 half-tracks, the vehicles were not committed to combat if it could be avoided - the .50 calibre machine gun mounted on most of them (though not all) was intended as anti-aircraft defence. The list here is entitled ‘Irish Guards’, but is suitable for any battlegroup in XXX Corps.

Tanks, Tank destroyers, Self-propelled artillery, and Anti-aircraft vehicles

0-2 vehicles from: Cruiser Tank Mk VIII Cromwell, Sherman III, Sherman V, Sherman Vc Firefly

0-1 Transport vehicle per infantry unit in the reinforced platoon from: M5 half-track, 15cwt truck, 30 cwt truck

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‘JOE’ VANDELEUR

A career soldier, Colonel (later Brigadier) John Ormsby Evelyn (hence ‘Joe’) Vandeleur was the colonel of 3rd Battalion, Irish Guards, and was one of the consultants for ‘A Bridge Too Far’ and served in the Sudan and in Egypt before the war. He commanded the Irish Guards battlegroup in XXX Corps, which led the breakout from Neerpelt at the beginning of Market Garden. A colourful officer, Vandeleur had lost a much-treasured part of his battlegroup shortly before the operation: a van with a large loudspeaker system, which broadcast music to encourage the troops. His favourite tune had been ‘Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition’ and though the vehicle was sadly missed by Joe, it wasn’t missed at all by anyone else. Vandeleur had serious misgivings about Market Garden. The prospect of trying to force a way through the Germans along a single road seemed extremely risky and the timetable seemed optimistic at best and unfeasible at worst.

Although wargamers understandably tend to focus on the experience of the Guards Armoured Division as the spearhead of XXX Corps, the other two divisions, 43rd and 50th, played a crucial role in the Market Garden campaign. These were both standard infantry formations and forces depicting them should be drawn from the options in the Armies of Great Britain book.

The usual Bolt Action special rules available to British forces are all applicable, including ‘Tough as Boots’ and ‘Rapid Fire’. XXX Corps forces can include up to one platoon of American paratroopers, which must have a command group and at least three squads and also a Resistance squad in which case the German force cannot take advantage of the ‘Hidden’ rule. This is the only situation in which a Resistance unit can be deployed with a British force.

There are many pictures of British infantry and American airborne troops travelling on Cromwell or Sherman tanks, but the key word is ‘travelling’ – they are not tank-riders in the full sense. Players can carry one squad on the back of a Cromwell or Sherman, but they must dismount and deploy their order dice as Down if fired on at any point.

In theory all British soldiers were riflemen; every engineer, mechanic, and cook received a degree of training for combat, but that did not make them infantrymen. The structure of sub-units among the different military trades varied a great deal, but for the purposes of Bolt Action we can make a general rule that all sections (squads) drawn

from line-of-communication formations have a morale rating of 8 and consist of riflemen and 1 NCO with an SMG. In reality, these units might or might not have access to Bren guns (LMGs), but using them effectively in combat required a level of training that would be extremely rare outside infantry battalions. Naturally, line-of-communication units did not conform to the structure of infantry platoons and there might be quite a large number of men under the command of a single junior officer and seldom, if ever, less than about 20 soldiers. That officer might well be a captain or even a major in his capacity as an engineer or other profession, but as an infantry officer he will always be an Inexperienced Second Lieutenant. Line-of-communication troops need not form the entirety of a force; in fact, if they came into contact with the enemy at all there would generally be a rush to get them some form of protection from combat troops. Consequently, if they are fielded they can be reinforced by any kind of British unit or any American airborne unit within the points limit of the scenario, but the line-of-communication troops themselves have no artillery or armour options whatsoever.

Tanks, Tank destroyers, Self-propelled artillery, and Anti-aircraft vehicles

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‘CUT-DOWN’ MORRIS TRACTOR

As the name implies, this was simply a version of the standard C8 Morris ‘Quad’ tractor that had been introduced in 1939 to tow 25-pdr guns and 4.5” howitzers. The original ‘quad’ was both too large and too heavy to be carried in the enormous Hamilcar gliders. The airborne variant was developed in 1943–44 and was essentially no more than a ‘pick-up’ version with an open back and driving compartment. The tractor was used to draw the 17-pdr anti-tank gun, which had proved far too heavy to be moved by either a jeep or a Universal (‘Bren’) Carrier. The tractor was unarmed and should be classed as Veteran, for 18pts.

Although line-of-communication soldiers were notionally organised in sections and platoons they were not intensively trained as such, which is part of the reason for their low morale rating. They might have a Bren gun or a Sten among the materials carried in their truck, but they were most unlikely to be able to carry out the fire and manoeuvre procedures of ‘proper’ infantry, nor are they equipped with anti-tank grenades or PIATS (or the training to use them effectively). Platoon leaders should always have nothing more lethal than a pistol. The sections – and therefore the platoons – varied considerably in size depending on the nature of their duties, so a line-of-communication section might have as few as five men or as many as 12. The great difference between British and German line-of-communication troops during Market Garden is that the former would invariably be engineers or other service troops surprised in a counter-attack while carrying out their normal function, whereas the German line-of-communication troops were much more likely to have been reorganised for an infantry role and sent into battle.

The Dutch Resistance was not a major feature of Market Garden battles, beyond lending some ‘local knowledge’ to Allied units, particularly in the American airborne sectors where there was a conscious effort to make full use of intelligence and advice from Resistance assets.

The British were very suspicious of the Dutch underground and did not really make the best use of either the men or the intelligence that was available. This was due to the fact that they were aware that the Germans had been very successful in penetrating the Resistance organisation. A small number of Resistance fighters served at Arnhem and Oosterbeek in the first two to three days of the battle, but most – quite understandably – returned to their homes once it became evident that the Germans would very probably win the battle and that the occupation would continue for some time to come.

A single squad of 5 men with rifles and up to 1 SMG is the sole unit option and they must be treated as Green troops to reflect their lack of training and low standard of physical fitness. The fighters were keen enough, but five years of a poor diet and very limited opportunities for any kind of training meant that they were not especially effective.

These units can be added to any Allied platoon from this book, replacing one of the optional infantry units (not the two mandatory units) but only if it includes American Airborne Troops.

German forces involved in Market Garden varied enormously; for the German player the world really is your oyster. With very few exceptions virtually every branch of service and every type of unit was in action at some point. A player fielding a German force can reasonably put almost any troop type on to the tabletop from highly motivated, well-armed, veteran Waffen-SS Panzergrenadiers to lukewarm, half-trained Luftwaffe conscripts; they might even fight side-by-side – a force consisting of one platoon of ‘standard’ Heer infantry and another of Fallschirmjäger with an anti-aircraft gun in support would not be out of the question historically.

It would take a whole Bolt Action book to list the possibilities for German forces involved in Market Garden, but there are options worth exploring here. In the areas around Nijmegen and Arnhem there was a scattering of ‘alarm’ units – small parties of men tasked with maintaining a visible armed presence for the occupation government and to deter local resistance groups as well as picking up any Allied aircrew who had been forced to bail out over German-held territory. Few of these alarm units would have had more than a couple of dozen men and they were kept busy with the kind of small patrols that feature in some of the scenarios in this book. Alarm units can be drawn from any type of German unit; they might just as easily be veteran Panzergrenadiers, artillerymen whose guns had been lost in the retreat through France, redundant aircraft fitters or any kind of line-of-communication troops.

The German Army in Belgium and the Netherlands was well aware of the threat posed by airborne operations and, of course, had been subjected to airstrikes on military establishments and transport features, such as railway junctions and marshalling yards.

Consequently, there had been numerous training exercises relating to airborne operations and there were a considerable number of mobile anti-aircraft artillery units in significant locations such as river crossings and railway junctions.

Although the German forces had clearly suffered heavily in the battle for Normandy and the retreat across France, it was still a redoubtable foe and by the time of Market Garden was staging an outstandingly effective reorganisation. Moreover, since the Germans had been able to prevent the advance of the formations to the right and left flanks of XXX Corps, Horrocks’ force formed a long narrow salient with exceedingly vulnerable flanks and relatively slender combat resources to defend them. In several instances, the Germans did not so much have to mount attacks as such, but rather move into areas which threatened the security of the salient, forcing the Allied forces to mount counter-attacks to restore free passage of supplies to the formations pressing toward Arnhem.

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9TH SS PANZER DIVSION ‘HOHENSTAUFEN’

Part of General ‘Willi’ Bittrich’s II SS Panzer Korps, the Hohenstaufen, was formed in France in February 1943 from a mixture of new recruits and a cadre of officers and NCOs from another SS division, ‘Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler’. The division was moved to the Eastern Front in early 1944 and saw action against the Russians for several weeks before being transferred back to the Western Front to face the allies in Normandy. Heavy losses there and in the retreat though France and into Belgium resulted in the division being sent to the Netherlands for rest and re-fit. Short on armour, personnel, and virtually all kinds of equipment, elements of the division were in action within hours of the appearance of the airborne forces and it was a key element in frustrating Montgomery’s plan for a highway to the Reich.

British airborne troops were briefed that any opposition they might face in the first stages of Market Garden would be poor quality soldiers – General Browning described them as ‘Old men and boys’ – who were either too old or too young or physically infirm to serve in the infantry, who would only be able to offer a token resistance and would probably be very happy to surrender at the earliest opportunity.

By the summer of 1944, the German forces included large numbers of Luftwaffe ground crew with no aircraft to tend and large numbers of sailors with no ships to man. Thousands of these men were re-mustered to serve as infantry, but generally with little or no training beyond whatever they had received as new recruits. They were drafted into ad hoc units – nominally in squads of nine or ten – and thrown into battle. Any such units should be rated as Inexperienced with no more than 1 LMG and 1 SMG for each platoon of three or four squads to reflect the lack of training, shortage of ammunition, and poor fire control on the part of officers and NCOs. It would be perfectly normal for such units to be issued with panzerfausts, though there would be few suitable targets. Mortars and MMG support would be very rare indeed, though not unknown, however the lack of wireless equipment made it virtually impossible to call in close artillery support to deal with stubborn resistance. Moreover, the low level of training, leadership and motivation tended to compromise the value of any pre-attack bombardment. By the time the officers got their men moving forward, the British or American troops would usually have recovered their equilibrium and be ready to receive an attack.

The reinforced platoon set out below is suitable for all German line-of-communication troops, re-mustered airmen, sailors and any of the many rear-echelon units that were thrown together to meet the Allied threat including men who were not really fit for duty through infirmity or age. These units were extremely unlikely to have any form of support weapons beyond MMGs or panzerschrecks, nor any radio equipment to control mortars or to call on artillery support even if they had had the skills to do so.

0-2 Kfz 13 Adler light armoured car (though long-obsolete, the Adler was still in use as a training vehicle and can be deployed, but only as an Inexperienced unit).

Tanks, Tank destroyers, Self-propelled artillery, and Anti-aircraft vehicles

Transport vehicle per infantry unit in the reinforced platoon from: Truck (maximum of 3 per reinforced platoon)

*Forces based on this list can have the support of up to two vehicles drawn from the Flak battalion option, however the vehicles are too valuable to risk and the crews have absolutely no confidence in the infantry to protect them. They may not voluntary move to within 18” of any visible enemy.

Like any other soldiers – or airmen or sailors – all the men in a squad formed from line-of-communication troops would have received some level of weapon training and even a modest amount of field training, but not to the level of infantry soldiers. Most of them would not even have appropriate webbing and pouches for their ammunition – not perhaps so much of a loss as it might sound since many of them were sent into action with just 20 to 40 rounds stuck in their pockets. All of them would have seen a grenade and might even have thrown a ‘dummy’ grenade during their basic training, but for most of them that would have been the full extent of their preparation for battle. Poorly equipped and hardly trained at all, it is remarkable that they fought at all, but in fact many discharged their duties with a commendable level determination; all the more laudable when one considers that their opposition mostly consisted of airborne troops or the veterans of XXX Corp.

‘Alarm’ elements consisted of small parties of men billeted some distance from their parent units. Their primary tasks were to apprehend bailed-out enemy aircrew and assist friendly ones to return to the battle and also to maintain a general presence in the community to discourage resistance activity. Every type of unit in the Wehrmacht could be, and was, called upon to provide ‘Alarm’ detachments throughout their vicinity. These detachments seldom numbered more than 30 or 40 men and were expected to mount regular foot patrols throughout a designated area. They can be drawn from any type of German unit from ‘Old men and boys’ to veteran Panzergrenadiers or Fallschirmjägers. They cannot have the support of any kind of armour or artillery and, being foot patrols, have no transport options. The number of patrols that can be available is set for each relevant scenario and those are the only scenarios in which they can be deployed.

The shortage of manpower throughout the German military became increasingly difficult from 1940 due in part to attrition, but more significantly simply because the Wehrmacht had to deploy troops over such enormous areas on several fronts. From 1941 onward the racial requirements for enlistment in the Waffen-SS were steadily diluted and by the end of the war something like 60 per cent of all foreign-born troops fighting for Germany were serving in SS units. Many of the Wacht troops were recruited from Dutch Nazi organisations or from men trying to avoid conscription as labour, the rest being Ukrainians and others who had enlisted to get away from POW camps. Promotion was slow and restricted; none of the Dutch soldiers rose above the level of company commander, due to a mixture of distrust and prejudice on the part of the Germans and to some extent a lack of ambition and commitment among the Dutch.

The original function of the unit had been to guard POW and concentration camps, and in September 1944 it was not yet fully trained or equipped. There was also some doubt about its reliability. There was a shortage of LMGs for the rifle companies and although there was a heavy weapons platoon there was little or no radio equipment to control their fire; even such basic items as hand grenades, panzerfausts, and panzerschrecks do not seem to have been issued at any point in the battle.

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SPECIAL RULE

The battalion was quite strong numerically with six infantry companies at the start of Market Garden so the individual squads must be purchased at full strength, as shown in their entry (remember to apply the ‘re-roll’ rule for full-strength units!).

The limit of only 1 LMG for each platoon reflects the chronic shortage of weapons, ammunition, and also the poor level of training and fire control. Because of these challenges and the lack of experienced officers (the CO was described as having ‘little idea of his own situation, never mind that of the enemy’) the unit performed about as well as could be expected.

Tanks, Tank destroyers, Self-propelled artillery, and Anti-aircraft vehicles

0-1 Transport vehicle per infantry unit in the reinforced platoon from: Truck (maximum of 3 per reinforced platoon)

A proportion of the men who served in the Wacht units joined up because of their belief in Nazi ideals or in search of adventure, but a great many enlisted simply to have a job or to avoid being conscripted for labour in German factories. Even those who joined as genuine volunteers mostly became disenchanted before long. Service was dull, conditions were poor, training was sketchy at best and prospects were poor. Low morale was endemic. Few had received anything more than basic weapon training and that was often limited to the rifle. On the whole, it is remarkable that they fought at all, and given their circumstances and level of motivation they really performed quite creditably – all the more so considering that the war was clearly going to end in a German defeat in the reasonably near future.

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10th SS PANZER DIVSION ‘FRUNDSBERG’

Like the 9th Division, the 10th Division was formed in 1943 as part of II SS Panzer Korps. Although the formation was intended to form part of the operational reserve of the western command to combat the expected Allied invasion, events in the East forced its temporary redeployment to Russia and it fought in the Ukraine in March and April. After a few weeks in Poland the division returned to France and over the next three months suffered heavy casualties in Normandy and in the retreat before taking up positions in Belgium. By September the division, led by Brigadefuhrer Heinz Harmel, was in the Netherlands pending a return to Germany for re-fitting when it was confronted by the arrival of the British. Despite being billeted in many locations and despite a shortage of all kinds of transport and armour, the division reacted with speed and efficiency and made a major contribution to the defeat of the Market Garden initiative.

10th SS Aufklarungs (‘armoured reconnaissance’) Battalion was the basis of Kampfgruppe Brinkman, an almost archetypal German ad hoc force with elements of several different formations under command, including panzergrenadiers from 9th SS (Hohenstaufen) Division and two Tiger I tanks, as well as a group of 8 Panzer IIIs and Panzer IVs from a training unit. The parent formation – 10th SS ‘Frundsberg’ Division – had seen action in Poland in the spring of 1944 before being transferred to France in the wake of the Normandy landings. The division had suffered considerable damage but was still a potent force with high morale and had been withdrawn to the Arnhem area for re-fitting and to absorb and train replacements.

The Kampfgruppe was assembled to frustrate British attempts to reinforce Colonel Frost’s position at the Arnhem Bridge. Their first major contact with the British was an attack on the bridge positions from the industrial area to the east at dawn on 18 September, which was defeated with some loss. The Kampfgruppe was in action more or less continually until Frost’s force eventually surrendered and was then redeployed to take on the Polish troops who had landed at Driel.

Tanks, Tank destroyers, Self-propelled artillery, and Anti-aircraft vehicles

Transport vehicle per infantry unit in the reinforced platoon from: Truck, Sd.Kfz 250/1 half-track

As a reconnaissance unit, the Aufklarungs squad was not designed for conducting a prolonged fight, but between the men and their lightly armoured half-track it had the firepower to overcome light resistance or to discourage stronger enemy forces while the unit withdrew. For Bolt Action purposes, the infantry squads of the Aufklarungs battalion are limited to a strength of 5 men, including 1 LMG team, 1 NCO with SMG, and 2 riflemen because that is as many men as would fit in the Sd.Kfz 250 reconnaissance troop-carrier half-track.

This is a dream of a unit for armour enthusiasts – Jagdpanthers and StuGs galore! The unit had been heavily engaged in fighting around Geel for a week before Market Garden and had suffered considerable losses but was still a force to be reckoned with and fought in actions around Son and Veghel. As a heavy anti-tank unit, Abteilung 559 was generally reserved as a tool to deploy against Allied armoured units and due to the very high points cost will seldom provide more than a portion of a German army list other than in a straightforward tank-on-tank action; a single Jagdpanther supported by two StuGs will take you beyond 1,000 points! It would not, however, be out of the ordinary for a single Jagdpanther or StuG to be deployed in support of infantry at a critically vulnerable position such as a roadblock on Hell’s Highway, or for a Wirbelwind to be used in a surface combat role to deter Allied infantry or even lightly armoured reconnaissance units. Due to its armour-heavy nature this is an Armoured Platoon Selector.

1 Command Jagdpanther (a Jagdpanther that is given the Command Vehicle special rule at +25pts)

0-1 Artillery units: Light or medium howitzer, anti-tank gun or anti-aircraft gun

The force must have sufficient transport and tows for all of the infantry and the artillery piece, but the transport can be any suitable vehicle from heavy trucks, half-tracks to Kübelwagens or horse-drawn limbers for a howitzer.

This unit had spent the morning of 17 September training in the woodland area between Wolfheze and Oosterbeek. Although sometimes described as an NCO school, it was, in fact, exactly what the title implies, an establishment whose purpose was to complete the training of recruits for the SS. Although it was set up as a combat formation, its commander – Major Sepp Krafft – swiftly organised his men for battle and it was instrumental in disrupting and delaying the British advance along two of the three routes into the city. Although the troops were not experienced, the staff had been chosen (among other reasons) on the basis of their combat records and provided excellent leadership. Moreover, the troops were very highly motivated despite the fact that they were not yet fully trained. The unit had no means of calling for artillery support on the first day of the battle and it had no medical detachment so observers and medics are not an option.

Tanks, Tank destroyers, Self-propelled artillery, and Anti-aircraft vehicles

0-1 Transport vehicle per infantry unit in the reinforced platoon from: Truck (maximum of 3 trucks per platoon)

Some of these soldiers would have been men called up as draftees who either showed some promise and were encouraged to apply for transfer to the SS, or who chose to volunteer for the SS in the expectation of better conditions or simply serving beside more highly motivated soldiers than those they might find in the run-of-the-mill battalions of the army. Others were young men who actively wanted to join SS before they were drafted. Some did so out of political conviction and loyalty to the Hitler creed, some because the SS was depicted as an elite and romantic formation. Although they had not completed their training, they had confidence in their instructors and in themselves and performed exceptionally well against a formidable adversary.

Contrary to what one might expect, German paratroops (Fallschirmjägers) seldom took part in airborne operations and were not always particularly good units. They were not, strictly speaking, army troops, but part of the Luftwaffe. However, they were generally deployed as conventional infantry units. The squad structure varied a little from most infantry units in that there were ten men to a squad instead of nine and by September 1944 it was not uncommon for a platoon to have two squads with one or two LMGs and a third with assault rifles. The platoon command group theoretically consisted of an officer, the platoon sergeant and three messengers, though these were mostly passed to the squads to offset casualties and can therefore be dispensed with for Bolt Action purposes.

Fallschirmjäger companies had integral mortar squads with three shortened 81mm mortars, an anti-tank section with four 2-man panzerschreck teams, and often an integral MMG section of two or more MG42s. This makes Fallschirmjägers ideal for Bolt Action since all of these elements can be drawn from a single organisation.

Elements of 6th Regiment fought at Neerpelt on 17 September, Eerde on 19 September, formed part of two battlegroups that tried to cut the ‘Hell’s Highway’ at Vehgel on 22 September and were engaged in several actions against 101st Airborne Division, which they had already fought against in Normandy, most famously in the Battle of Carentan.

Tanks, Tank destroyers, Self-propelled artillery, and Anti-aircraft vehicles

0-1 Transport vehicle per infantry squad in the reinforced platoon from: Truck, Kübelwagen, Kettenkrad

This was a training unit still far from combat-readiness in September 1944. Their Char B1 bis tanks were captured by the Germans when the French surrendered in 1940. They had been fitted with flamethrowers and renamed Flammpanzer B2(f) to try and give them a new lease of life, but this had not been a particularly successful experiment. The Char B1s were, however, reasonably reliable mechanically and had proved useful as training vehicles. The unit was committed to battle at Oosterbeek and quickly discovered that their Char B1s were no match for PIATs and 6-pdrs, let alone 17-pdr anti-tank guns, but their flamethrowers were fearsome weapons, so they can be extremely effective so long as they are not exposed to British anti-tank assets.

The unit is a small armoured platoon. Vehicles must be purchased as Inexperienced.

0-4 Flammpanzer B2(f) (1 vehicle must be upgraded as command tank by receiving the Command Vehicle special rule for +25pts)

There were a great many fixed Flak units throughout the Market Garden area, ranging from installations of a single weapon to extensive batteries protecting critical locations.

There were also many mobile anti-aircraft units. The guns might be drawn by trucks or horses or they might be mounted onto the backs of vehicles.

Heavy Flak battalion strengths varied a good deal but by 1944 most heavy anti-aircraft units had six 88mm guns and two 20mm guns. These would generally be deployed en-masse in an anti-aircraft role to achieve a high concentration of fire, but the guns might be deployed in smaller numbers as anti-tank weapons.

Most heavy battalions were part of the Luftwaffe rather than the Wehrmacht and heavy losses during the campaign in France was one of the reasons why there were so many Luftwaffe personnel available for drafting into rough and ready infantry units.

The Wehrmacht and SS operated a great many mobile light anti-aircraft units or ‘Fleigerabwehr’, whose batteries might typically have 12 to 16 single or quad-barrelled 20mm weapons or 8 to 12 single-barrelled 37mm weapons. The weapons might be towed or mounted on either trucks or half-tracks and were regularly used in a surface role. Luftwaffe and Army anti-aircraft units might be attached to any kind of infantry unit for a period of time or for a specific task.

The general policy was that they should be deployed in pairs as a minimum as support for ground troops, but that was not always possible or practical.

It would be unusual, though not unheard of, for a Flak unit to engage in a surface role other than in cooperation with infantry or armour.

The armoured platoon shown below is commanded by a Captain mounted in a Kübelwagen. In gaming terms, we represent that simply with a Kübelwagen with the Command Vehicle special rule. This gives ample opportunity to produce a conversion depicting a driver and at least a German officer as a passenger.

1 Command Kübelwagen (a Kübelwagen with the Command Vehicle special rule for +25pts)

Tanks, Tank destroyers, Self-propelled artillery, and Anti-aircraft vehicles

0-4 vehicles from: Sd.Kfz 10/4 with Flak 38, Sd.Kfz 7/1 with Flakvierling 38, Sd.Kfz 7/2 with Flak 37mm cannon

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GERMAN FLAK UNITS

During the Normandy battles the Germans had found that mobile anti-aircraft units could be a powerful tool against lightly armed infantry units with no armoured support, and were quick to deploy them against airborne forces during Market Garden. Ranging from a pair of machine guns on a truck to four automatic cannon on a half-track, or even a tank chassis, they could pour heavy fire onto the enemy from considerable distances. Many of these vehicles can be found in the Armies of Germany book. Very few of the half-tracks were armoured but many of the guns were fitted with a gun shield that would stop small-arms fire.

Abteilung 280 was among the first armoured units to be deployed against the British at Arnhem. The unit consisted of ten StuGs and features in a series of well-known photographs taken by one of the officers. StuG units were not usually committed to battle en masse, but were parcelled out in support of infantry elements for specific tasks. However, it would be perfectly in order to have two, three or even four operating as a team.

1 Command StuG III (a StuG III that is given the Command Vehicle special rule at +25pts)

Cost	96pts (Veteran Infantry)
Composition	1 NCO and 5 men
Weapons	NCO and 1 other are armed with SMGs, the other men are armed with rifles.
Options	- The entire squad may be given anti-tank grenades for +2pts per man
Special Rules	- Exceptional training: The exceptional level of training and motivation means that Pathfinder teams always use their unmodified morale of 10 for any and all morale-based tests (i.e. order tests, morale checks, tank fear, etc.). - Tank hunters (if anti-tank grenades are taken)

Cost	72pts (Veteran)
Weapons	1 Pintle mounted HMG with 360° arc of fire
Damage Value	6+ (soft skinned)
Special Rules	- Recce - Frontal armour: This vehicle cannot be damaged by small arms hits from the frontal arc, but will still be pinned as normal.

Cost	52pts (Veteran Infantry)
Composition	1 NCO and 3 men
Weapons	Rifles
Options	- May add up to 4 more soldiers at +13pts per man - NCO and another soldier may have an SMG at +3pts each - 1 soldier may have a light machine gun for +20pts, another soldier becomes the loader. - The entire section may be given anti-tank grenades at +2pts each
Special Rules	- Tank hunters (if anti-tank grenades are taken)

Cost	90pts (Veteran Infantry)
Composition	1 NCO and 4 men
Weapons	SMGs
Options	- Up to two soldiers may have a light machine gun for +20pts each. Another soldier becomes the loader in each case.
Special Rules	- Scout!: The scouting section can be deployed at the same time and in the same way as snipers, spotters and observers.

Cost	70pts (Veteran Infantry)
Composition	1 NCO and 4 men
Weapons	Rifles
Options	- Add up to 7 additional soldiers at +14pts each - The NCO and up to 5 other soldiers may take SMGs at +3pts each - One soldier may have a light machine gun for +20pts. Another soldier becomes the loader. - The entire section may take anti-tank grenades for +2pts per figure
Special Rules	- Exceptional training: The exceptional level of training and motivation means that Pathfinder teams always use their unmodified morale of 10 for any and all morale-based tests (i.e. order tests, morale checks, tank fear, etc.). - Tank hunters (if anti-tank grenades are taken)

Cost	30pts (Inexperienced Infantry)
Composition	1 NCO and 4 men
Weapons	Rifles
Options	- Add up to 7 soldiers at +6pts each
Special Rules	- Untrained: The unit does not benefit from the chosen British national characteristic.

Cost	35pts (Inexperienced Infantry)
Composition	1 NCO and 4 men
Weapons	Rifles
Options	- One man may be given an SMG at +3pts
Special Rules	- Local knowledge: The Americans were much more open to co-operation with the Resistance movement and made much greater efforts to benefit from whatever intelligence could be gleaned. To reflect this, the German player cannot use the ‘hidden’ rule if a Resistance squad is fielded by an American force.

Composition	5 men
Weapons	1 SMG and 4 Rifles
Special Rule	- ‘Alarm!’: Alarm patrols were under strict orders to return to their parent formation as quickly as possible in the event of a crisis and the appearance of hundreds of aircraft would certainly be a crisis! In any case (discretion being the better part of valour) there would be very little five men could do in the face of thousands of enemy airborne troops, so they always retreat off the table if they are unable to secure a victory by destroying or neutralising pathfinder teams by the conclusion of the relevant scenarios.

Cost	65pts (Veteran Infantry)
Composition	1 NCO and 4 men
Weapons	Rifles
Options	- The NCO and 1 other soldier may take submachine guns at +3pts each. - One soldier may have a light machine gun for +20pts. Another soldier becomes the loader. - The NCO and up to 4 men can have assault rifles instead of rifles for +5pts each. - Up to 2 men can have panzerfausts in addition to their normal weapons at +5pts each.

Cost	50pts (Inexperienced Infantry)
Composition	1 NCO and 4 men
Weapons	Rifles
Options	- Add up to 5 soldiers at +10pts each. - The NCO and 1 other soldier may take SMGs at +3pts each. - One soldier may have a light machine gun for +20pts. Another soldier becomes the loader. - Up to 2 men can have panzerfausts in additional to their normal weapons at +5pts each.
Special Rule	- Stubborn - Baptism of fire: The squad is Green. However, if the squad is uprated as Regular as a result of their Green roll, then roll a further die – on a roll of 4, 5 or 6, their Stubborn is also uprated to Fanatics.