Welcome back to Firefight Fridays. Last week we covered the paratrooper scenario “Best Laid Plans”. We also took a look at Demolition Teams. This week we will talking about the final scenario of the core box, “Crossing the River Styx”. This scenario covers the battle for Nijmegen. There are no new rules to introduce in this scenario (though there are a couple scenario specific ones). It is just a big, epic scenario with all the bells and whistles on it. Let’s jump in.

Bridge Over Troubled Waters

After securing the canal crossing at Eindhoven, the next set of bridges to fall for Operation Market Garden were those in the city of Nijmegen. The British forces which had dropped at the final city of Arnhem were up against stiff resistance and needed to be relieved. This meant time was of the essence for the paratroopers at Nijmegen. Unfortunately, delays after the drop gave the German defenders of the city time to organize a defense and secure the targeted bridges over the Waal River. Most of the bridges were destroyed, but the primary road and rail bridges were occupied and remained intact. After days of sustained fighting in the city itself, desperation led to a plan by the Americans to use canvas boats to cross the Waal River downstream of the bridges and then attack from the side. The thought was that continued conventional fighting over the bridges would cost the Allies in Arnhem time they did not have. The plan was a success, but came at the cost of heavy casualties from the men of the 504^th Parachute Infantry Regiment while crossing the river.

Leaky Boats

“Crossing the River Styx” is an odd scenario in that the defense really happens in two discrete parts. The first part is the fight for the center of Nijmegen, and the second is the river crossing. The American objective is obviously to take the Bridge Zone. The German player wants to prevent that.  The Germans will have to be smart in how they set up their forces, because if they commit too much to the center of the city, the Americans will be able to cross the river for free once they get there. If they commit everyone to the defense of the river however, they take no casualties reaching the river and can perform a much safer crossing from the zone of their choosing.

The scenario revolves around the river crossing itself, and this has some special rules to handle it. Essentially, American infantry can enter River zones “on foot”, however the terrain is treated as Stop terrain and ends their movement. Further, while in River zones all pinned infantry treat their movement as zero, meaning any rout will eliminate them. As such, crossing the river is exceptionally deadly and must be done with care.

Nowhere to Go but Forward

Both players are absolutely armed to the teeth in this scenario. The Demolition Teams make a major return here, and should be used a lot. The first part of the scenario is very focused on the usual urban fighting, but the ability to destroy structures is invaluable here. Especially considering how much easier it is to keep the teams safe in this dense urban environment. You also will have access to plenty of Sherman Tanks. It is important to use all your tools (including your artillery), to put as much pressure as possible on the Bridge Zone. Best case scenario you open a path to the bridge and can take it easily. More likely you will force the German player to reinforce the Bridge Zone, and give you some safer zones to try and cross the river. When it is time to cross the river, you will need to put everything you have into the defenders on the opposite side. Since it is treated as Stop terrain, it will be a minimum of two Game Turns without leaders to get your forces across the river. Expect to lose units. Once they are on the other side though, the scenario is all but over. With Opportunity Fire depending on facing, the defenders will not be able to simultaneously cover the forces on the same side of the river AND those trying to cross the bridge.

All the Time in the World

Historically, the Germans were very confident in their ability to repel this attack as well as the German defense at Arnhem. That is a popular theory as to why they didn’t simply blow up the bridges. In this scenario, as in history, the Americans have to do something very desperate in order to win. Your job is to maximize the cost of that gambit. This is fairly easy for you to accomplish due to your access to artillery, Panzers, Pak 40s, and perhaps most importantly snipers. The American player is intensely dependent on good leadership in this scenario. Not only do they need the leaders to speed up their play, but they need them in the front to minimize their vulnerability during the river crossing. Targeted attacks, especially by snipers, can rob the American player of their leaders, and by extension their momentum, costing them the whole scenario.

More than ever, you will have to be smart with your setup in “Crossing the River Styx”. Once the scenario starts you can only move your units between sides of the river by way of the bridge. For the most part this means that your units are going to stay in the area that you initially deploy them. As alluded to earlier, your forces on the south side of the river will give you the opportunity to limit the tools the American player has to try and win the scenario. On the other hand, your forces deployed on the north side of the river will maximize the damage to the enemy when they attempt to cross the river or take the bridge outright. Finding the right balance here will be crucial to victory.

A Long Road

Just like that, we have covered every scenario in the core game. That means we are winding down on Firefight Fridays. I only have two more of these I intend to put out for the time being, with both of them covering extra features of the game. I have talked about it a good bit already elsewhere, but next week we will be doing a deep dive into the Bot. See you then!

---

Previous Firefight Friday Articles