FOOTNOTES
1. 1 THE ARNHEM BRIDGE: The Arnhem Bridge was a dominating structure. Built circa 1930, it was a major accomplishment in the field of civil engineering. Spanning an elevated distance of over 400 meters and sporting 4 paved lanes as well as a wide sidewalk on both sides of the surface, it was the standard for highway bridges for some time. The entire underside of the bridge was interwoven with steel beams and there were concrete supports nearly 6 feet thick at varied intervals as well. Movement beneath the bridge was possible but difficult, particularly for vehicular traffic. Two separate underpasses (hexes R15 and R21) were available to facilitate vehicles. Paths along the sides of the bridge allowed sheltered travel for pedestrians.
2. 1.4 PEDESTRIAN ACCESS POINTS: There were two concrete enclosed staircases on either side of the bridge just north of the blockhouse. These were used by pedestrians to access the elevated portion of the bridge in order to cross the river. They were nearly entirely enclosed except for access ports allowing sunlight to illuminate the steps and opened into an area on the walk above with benches surrounded by a low wall.
3. 1.22 OT VEHICLE VULNERABILITY ON THE RAMP/
4. 2. THE RAMP: The Ramp was a man-made structure of earth and concrete gradually rising in height from ground level to the level of the bridge. The slope was gradual but increased as one neared the top of the span (best available data places the grade varying from 0.5% near the base in hex R5 to 3.5% near the center of the span off the south edge of the map). Vision was clear from the peak of the bridge span (near the center of the river) all the way down the ramp to its base. The LOS mechanics of ASL make this difficult to portray. These LOS rules are an effort to simulate the gradual change in elevation from the top of the bridge to its base.
5. 3. FACTORIES: Players familiar with Red Barricades will note a few differences between the Chapter R Factory rules and those presented in Chapter O. The main differences are simply omissions of those circumstances which will not occur in ABtF. These mainly involve roofless factory hexes and their effects on play, particularly where combination roofless and roofed hexes would exist in the same factory. That will not occur in ABtF as the factory hexes will be either rubbled or roofed.
6. 3.332 OB/
7. 4. CELLARS: Owners of Red Barricades will note two primary differences between the Cellar rules in Chapter O and the ones presented here, the cellars in Arnhem were for the most part simple fruit cellars and/
8. 5. THE BLOCKHOUSE: The blockhouses were pillbox type structures located at each end of the bridge. These were used by the German garrison and security troops to control the flow of traffic across the bridge. A small wooden shed was located behind the northern blockhouse. This was the main ammunition storage for the Arnhem garrison and was destroyed in a terrific explosion when hit by a flamethrower on the night of September 17th. The wooden shed is not depicted here as its effect on play was found to be minimal. When the northern blockhouse was finally destroyed by a combination of PIATs, small arms fire and a flamethrower, the resultant rubble inhibited movement down the bridge, though not to an extreme extent. The British did take the opportunity to hide a few anti-tank mines near the blockhouse using planks and other items of debris to conceal their location.
9. 6. UNIT REPLACEMENT: Much has been made about the elan and spirit of the British 1st Airborne, particularly in Arnhem. The truth of the matter is that only about half of the British troops had any battle experience at all. Those with experience were veterans of Tunisia and Sicily and were definitely no strangers to close quarter fighting. Though they had been fighting in mountain passes and rocky crags, these buildings at Arnhem were little different. This is reflected in game terms by the initial British forces having a morale of 8 and an ELR of 5. The staying power of these troops will dwindle away as the CG progresses, simulating the loss of the combat experienced men throughout the British units. Their German counterparts were a mixed group of veterans, old men and teenagers. Though nearly replenished to about one-half of their D-Day manpower strengths-at least on paper-the 9th and 10th SS Divisions were barely a shadow of their true TO&E. Much of their equipment and veteran cadre had been lost in the retreat from Cambrai. However, a pool of trained replacements was readily available. In many cases a veteran platoon would be broken down with its core distributed to several sections. This formed a section with 2 or 3 veterans surrounded by a balance of inexperienced troops. The result was a highly aggressive squad that was also very fragile. These rules simulate the nature of the forces battling in and around Arnhem. For the British, the troops lose their ability to fight for a number of reasons - wounds, exhaustion, lack of water and ammunition not the least among them. The Germans lose their ability to continue the fight due their rapidly depleting pool of experienced, fit fighting men. The Campaign Exhaustion DRM is an abstraction of these factors as well.
10. 7. WIDE BOULEVARDS AND NARROW STREETS: Arnhem was a maze of narrow streets. The buildings were often so close to the streets that no sidewalks were available (see ABtF CG SSR 5). Contrasting that sharply were the areas of wide open paved surfaces surrounding the industrial areas to the east of the bridge and the numerous parks throughout the town.The varied mix of these terrain types provides a fascinating tactical puzzle for attacker and defender alike.
11. CG9 REINFORCEMENTS: Though seemingly harsh at first glance, any reinforcements not entering play when "first available" are assumed to have been put to use elsewhere. Players will quickly find that the nature (and relatively small number) of unused reinforcements will render this effect minimal.
12. CG19 WALKING WOUNDED: The British troops at Arnhem were faced with a difficult position. Unable to evacuate their wounded, the British command reorganized those wounded that still retained some fighting ability into functional combat units. The seriously wounded or incapacitated were stripped of equipment and moved to cellars where they could be monitored.
13. CG21 BRITISH WATER SHORTAGES: The British briefings for Operation Market-Garden included a strict prohibition against using the Lower Rhine as a fresh water source. Chief among the concerns was the threat of dysentery. North Africa and Tunisia had taught tough lessons on the debilitating, long term effects of dysentery and had made the British commanders somewhat overly sensitive. Considering the expected short duration of the operation, it is unclear why the river was not utilized. Nonetheless, the troops in Arnhem did not do so. As a result, severe water shortages occurred during some of the heaviest fighting. Two short rain showers helped alleviate this shortage, but only temporarily. German sources following the battle commented on the curious levels of dehydration suffered by those British captured after the evacuation.
14. CG22 GERMAN ATTACK COORDINATION: The situation on and near the Bridge was confused to say the least. With two separate divisions and a number of unattached Corps assets in the area, the command structure was very cloudy. Second only to the difficulty in locating the British was the problem of coordinating strikes from the separate elements assigned the task of retaking the bridge and opening the roadway to Nijmegen. These rules force the German player to dilute his efforts to help recreate the feel of frustration at not being able to bring his whole force to bear in one fell swoop.
15. 9.605 BLOCK CONTROL: The control of the city blocks in Arnhem was a top priority for both attacker and defender-more so than in nearly any other single battle. The British defenses were designed with control of blocks of terrain in mind (as opposed to controlling single buildings) and the German attacks were likewise targeted at isolating and recapturing one or more city blocks. Past HASL modules have endeavored to provide a RePh process which emphasized localization of forces while still allowing for some movement between scenarios (limited as an abstraction of the time frame between CG Scenarios). These rules are designed to force the players to think (and conduct the battle) in terms of controlling city blocks instead of individual buildings or locations.
16. 9.6172 BRITISH TROOP TYPES: The Elite 6-4-8/3-3-8 counters provided have the "winged parachute" symbol of the 1st Airborne Division in place of the standard MMC class designation. Players may wish to use these counters for normal 6-4-8s/3-3-8s, use the West of Alamein 6-4-8/ 3-3-8 counters with the "E" designation for Commandos, and use the Pegasus Bridge 6-4-8/3-3-8 counters with the "Rider-upon-Pegasus" symbol for Engineers.
17. GERMAN RG CHART NOTE q OFF BOARD OBSERVERS AND SAN VALUES: There were two primary sources of German off-map fire direction. The first was from direct fire of large caliber artillery from the south bank of the river. Numerous heavy artillery pieces and flak guns were deployed along the south bank. These fired over open sights into the buildings along the bank and later over the resulting rubble to the upper floors beyond. The south edge observers are an abstraction of these guns. Though not indirect fire per se, the prolonged shelling from these guns fits the ASL BOA engine quite nicely. Second, there is a large church located just off the northwest edge of the playing area. This church had a steeple over 300 feet high. From this point, almost any movement within the Arnhem town proper was easily observed. Additionally, this position was an excellent spot for snipers. The availability dates reflect the changes in possession of this key position throughout the battle. The changes in both players' SAN values likewise reflect the control of this position.
18. 9.6215 DUAL ASSAULT INITIATIVE: The German "advantage" of moving first more often than the British in Dual Assaults is not a reflection of any lack of initiative on the part of the British. Rather it represents a higher level of British surveillance and intelligence and a general desire to react to the Germans rather than to be preemptive.
19. ABtF CG SSR 1 CONCEALMENT: One of the biggest obstacles to the German forces was their inability to pin down the precise locations and numbers of British troops. Using the close proximity of the buildings and cover from the smoke and haze from the burning and rubbled buildings. The British were able to continually frustrate German attempts to locate them until it was often too late. Even at the end of the battle, German estimates of British forces arrayed in and near Arnhem were wildly inaccurate. The conclusions varied by as much as 300% from the actual troop strengths seen. It was only well after the war that official records were updated to reflect reality.
20. ABtF CG SSR 4 NO QUARTER: The battle of Arnhem was a hard fought affair. Quarter was seldom asked or given. Still, each side took large numbers of prisoners. The majority of these were severely wounded and infirmed. In many cases, soldiers of each side commented on the humane treatment by their captives.
21. ABtF CG SSR 7 DUTCH UNDERGROUND: The British commanders were cautioned against the use of information supplied by the Dutch Underground. The main reasons for this are unclear but seem to be centered around a baseless fear of Nazi collaborators within the ranks of the Dutch Resistance Movement. Little could have been farther from the truth. The Dutch Underground was composed of some of the bravest men and women in Europe and the information and intelligence they had obtained could easily have changed the entire course of the battle. Nonetheless, the British command climate severely hampered their usefulness. The designation of Holland as a "neutral country" in game terms reflects not upon the general posture of the Dutch, but rather serves to limit the amount of useful information that the British player in ABtF will gain from the Civilian Interrogation rules.
22. ABtF CG SSR 13 KINDLING: The Germans quickly realized that the best way to find the British was to set fire to their buildings. The structures in Arnhem were mostly old, wood framed houses with brick and stone interspersed between the frames. The results were very sturdy structures which were also highly susceptible to fires.
23. ABtF CG SSR 18 WHITE PHOSPHOROUS: The German forces in Arnhem made widespread use of the available white phosphorous ammunition. Though normally prohibited from using WP in ASL tenors, the Germans at Arnhem enjoyed an availability which justifies its use here. The tendency of the buildings to catch fire easily from the heat of a WP grenade and/
