Market Garden in WinSPWW2?
 

Can someone please tell me the best way to simulate in "WinSPWW2" the Market Garden operation? Is there a way to simulate it against AI in "quick generated" battle? You know, small bridges to capture as the allied or to defend ( or blow ) as the germans. Paratroopers landing near the bridges...
Will apreciatte some help as is the next logic step after my Normandy paratroop campaign.
Thanks!

Re: Market Garden in WinSPWW2?
 

The game does generate maps & produce forces for major events based on date this may well be one, more likely to see the effect playing as Germans as AI will buy paras. Its a nice touch a few times I have had the Germans come at me with rare gear only to look it up & find thats when they were mainly used. Does not happen every time as that was obviously not the only thing going on.

Re: Market Garden in WinSPWW2?
 

Paratroopers are Ok, but I'm thinking more in the lines of take/defend ( or blow ) a bridge. Can the AI defend a bridge somehow?

Re: Market Garden in WinSPWW2?
 

The AI does not use paratroopers in randomly generated battles since it has no idea what to do with them. (Like ammo trucks).

In a river crossing assault, the bridges are blown in about 99% of cases. (Otherwise the AI would just 'lemming' to them and be fish in a barrel if you bought heavy artillery or tac air with 1000LB+ bombs).

Therefore your idea is non-feasible for a long campaign which uses generated battles.

If you are human, then you are unlikely to get aircraft for your paratroopers (though the likelihood of being assigned air is high for UK/USA in 44/5). Campaigns ignore the preference setting for air strikes, remember.

What you require is a user campaign with the AI forces set up by a human designer.
- River crossings with bridges intact are not a problem for a human attacker
- The AI can be set up with demolitions (new class) on the bridge as required. These may well be tripped if you try to run over them, and the AI will detonate them if it detects enemy nearby too.
- Should the scenario designer want to do an allied air drop for the player, he can assign transport air as support troops.
- In any case, the air landing part can be totally ignored as happening before battle. MARKET-GARDEN drops were administrative drops some way away (several miles) from the bridge targets (part of the problem of the operation). If you gave the human access to para loaded planes, then he would probably drop on the AI-defended side of the river and avoid the bridges?.

I don't think anyone has done a campaign for either of MARKET or GARDEN (I forget which of the 2 ops was the code name for the para landing, and which the drive up the single road to Arnhem), Though I seem to recall an original campaign (scenario?) in SP1 that covered the road drive one. Singe road up the middle of marshes, German ATG all over the place overlooking it. The para campaigns really need to be split into several sub-campaigns - UK, Polish, 2xUSA (82 and 101 airborne) etc. The USA was really the only one that missed a bridge by being blown up in their faces?.

I know, wackypedia but it is a useful starter:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Market_Garden

Andy

Re: Market Garden in WinSPWW2?
 

Wow nice post!! Good ideas for the missions. Will try some quick battles first. But I have a doubt, how can I made the situation descibred in the quote?