Bolt Action Battle Report: German attack on the Oosterbreek Perimeter
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A Stug III leads the assault into the perimeter.
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The British 1st Airborne Division had been holding the Oosterbeek perimeter for days, battered, hungry, and desperately low on ammunition. Captain McGregor, a veteran leader, moved between the makeshift strongpoints, inspiring his men to hold firm against the coming storm. Across the fields, the men of the SS Panzer Corps prepared for another push, knowing that time was running out—XXX Corps would arrive soon, and if they failed to crush the paratroopers now, they might lose their chance forever.
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Caught alone in the street - McGreggor is cut down!
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The attack started with an earth-shattering roar as tank shells crashed into the buildings, sending debris and dust cascading down onto the dug-in British defenders. As the Germans advanced, the paratroopers fired wildly from windows and foxholes, cutting down the first wave of attackers. But the sheer weight of fire was overwhelming, and the defenders knew they couldn’t hold out forever.
From a half-collapsed rooftop, a British sniper took careful aim and fired, pinning down a squad of SS fanatics. Meanwhile, Polish artillery from across the Arnhem River let loose, hammering the advancing Germans. However, with the battle so close, some British soldiers were shaken by the near-friendly fire. Captain McGregor dashed across the broken street, shouting orders and
urging his men to stand fast. Just as he reached the cover of another
house, an SS Leutnant von Schnitzel leveled his StG44 and fired a merciless burst.
McGregor staggered as bullets tore through him, crumpling to the ground.
His men, already on the brink, felt the loss like a hammer blow—but
they gritted their teeth and fought on.
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Partisans charge the SS Leutnant!
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Elsewhere, a squad of paratroopers rushed into a building, seeking cover—only to find themselves face-to-face with a group of exhausted but hardened German grenadiers. The room exploded in a wicked burst of gunfire, and within seconds, the British troopers lay dead, their bodies slumped against the walls.
Suddenly, from the basement of a ruined house, a small group of Dutch partisans emerged, wielding old rifles and makeshift weapons. Their eyes burned with vengeance as they charged straight for the SS Leutnant, dragging him into a brutal melee. The fight was short and vicious—the officer was beaten down, his body left in the street. But the partisans' victory was fleeting, as a nearby MG42 squad cut them down moments later.
At the height of the fighting, a German mortar team dialed in on the British machine gun nest, which had been stubbornly holding a garden on the outskirts of town. A single shell screamed down from the sky and landed dead-on—when the dust settled, nothing remained of the MG team. The British line wavered; they were on the brink. |
A direct hit on the MG team in the garden!
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Both sides were exhausted, their ranks thinned, their ammunition running dangerously low. Though the Germans had failed to break through completely, they had inflicted a mortal wound on the British defense. With Captain McGregor dead and the machine gun positions neutralized, the paratroopers knew their time in Oosterbeek was running out.
As night fell, the SS forces pulled back to regroup, preparing for another attack. But the British knew they wouldn’t last much longer. The battle had ended in a draw—but for the British paratroopers, it was a battle they could not afford to fight again.
An absolutely cracking game of bolt action! The end result was 6 points each side and our first draw in a game. It literally came down to the last few dice rolls from the German side to see if they could kill the last few paratroopers holding one of the houses. Much like real life, it was a brutal, hard-fought engagement, and though the British held the perimeter for now, the writing was on the wall. Operation Market Garden was nearing its bitter end!
Signing off
Chewie
