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 failure of delaying them significantly, XXX Corps forces have already reached Nijmegen and are preparing an attack as we speak. Cutting the main highway behind them is our last chance to divert some of their forces back south. British tanks have reinforced American parachutists at Son.
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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, infantry and tanks are also at the bridge.
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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. Cutting the bridge at Son now is our last chance of forcing the enemy to move tanks south from Nijmegen. If we fail to do this, our task of holding Nijmegen will be even harder.


