September 19th, 1944*
1200*
Son*
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British and American forces have linked up at Eindhoven, with the tanks of XXX Corps storming north towards the Nijmegen bridge. One of the many bottlenecks is the bridge at Son. Although destroyed by our forces on the 17th, American and British engineers have repaired it with a Bailey bridge. If the road were to be cut here, the enemy would have to divert major forces to secure his lines of supply, forces that would be missing at Nijmegen.*
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Due to our success at Best, British tanks have been diverted there. For the moment the bridge seems free of enemy armor or heavy weapons.
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Objectives: Seize and maintain control of the Son bridge.*
Clear American forces from the sanatorium and the school in Son.*
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Enemy: The bridge at Son is held by Parachutists and Glider Infantry from the 101st US Airborne Division. Some British engineers are also at the bridge and more XXX Corps forces may appear during the battle, as they are using the highway for their advance.
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You are in command of 107. Panzer Brigade. This is an experimental unit created in response to experiences on the Russian front. They have been rushed to the front directly from training and have never done any maneuvers to practice unit cohesion. To represent this, their experience and rally factors are quite low. Your main striking force is a company of the latest model of Panther tanks. Due to the limited road network, not all Panzergrenadiers have arrived at the gathering point. Lacking MGs, this new kind of infantry is to be supported by attached AA vehicles. To offset our lack of infantry, 59. Infanterie Division was supposed to provide support, but they proved too depleted from prior fighting around Best.*
Instead a depleted battalion (company strength) of the Fallschirmjaeger Regiment "Loytweg-Hardegg", an improvised unit, has been dispatched. Lacking transport, they are riding into battle on the Panthers like the Russians do. Be mindful of this when moving the tanks into battle!*
Due to our low strength, this is to be treated like a reconnaissance in force. The enemy gets additional points for destroying your tanks, so be mindful of losses.
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Everything BETTER than a draw will count as a victory. If we manage to cut the road behind XXX Corps, our task of defending Nijmegen in the north will be significantly easier.


