Round 2.1 sees the Germans retake the Maas-Waal canal bridge but lose ground on their right flank!
The Germans have managed two victories keeping the Gemert road clear and push the 82nd Airborne off of the Maas-Waal canal. However the brits have taken Helvoit road pulping the security forces that fought them while taking heavy casualties in their successful assault on the Albert Canal.
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2.2.1 — HELMOND BRIDGE
FALLSCHIRMJÄGER COMMAND
GEFECHTSBEFEHL – SOFORT
An: Fallschirmjäger Assault Elements and Attached Luftwaffe Support
Betrifft: Gegenangriff gegen Helmond Bridge
LAGE: British armour has forced the approaches to Helmond Bridge. Tanks of the 23rd Hussars, supported by elements of 4th Armoured Brigade, are establishing themselves around the crossing. If permitted to consolidate, the British can feed additional armour across and turn Helmond into another stepping stone in their advance through the narrow Brabant road network.
AUFTRAG: Fallschirmjäger forces will counterattack immediately, throw the British from the bridgehead, and restore German control of the crossing.
DURCHFÜHRUNG: FW 190s will strike tanks, artillery positions, and vehicles assembling near the bridge immediately before the ground assault. Fallschirmjäger are to use the resulting confusion to close rapidly, infiltrating through buildings and covered ground rather than engaging British armour at distance.
Destroy isolated tanks where possible, but the bridge itself is the objective. British forces must not be given time to reorganise behind their armour.
MELDUNG: Report possession and condition of the bridge, British armour destroyed, casualties, and any enemy columns approaching Helmond.
2.2.2 — GROESBEEK HEIGHTS
719. INFANTERIE-DIVISION
ANGRIFFSBEFEHL – DRINGEND
An: Forward Battalions, 719. Infanterie-Division
Betrifft: Gegenangriff auf die Groesbeeker Höhen
LAGE: American paratroopers of the 82nd Airborne Division occupy the Groesbeek Heights. Their possession of the high ground protects the eastern approaches to Nijmegen and threatens any German movement toward the bridges. The airborne troops landed with limited heavy weapons, but every hour allows them to dig in, reorganise scattered companies, and bring artillery into action.
AUFTRAG: 719. Infanterie-Division will attack the airborne perimeter, penetrate between isolated American positions, and recover the commanding heights.
DURCHFÜHRUNG: Concentrate strength rather than attacking evenly along the front. Find the seams between American companies, drive through them, and turn against positions from the flank. Avoid becoming fixed against strongpoints while open ground remains available elsewhere.
The Americans are dangerous infantry, but they have landed light and away from their normal supply system. Pressure must be continuous before Nijmegen becomes firmly linked with the airborne lodgement.
MELDUNG: Report heights recovered, prisoners taken, identified American units, casualties, and any evidence of reinforcements arriving from Nijmegen.
2.2.3 — VUGHT BRIDGES
7TH ARMOURED DIVISION / 52ND (LOWLAND) DIVISION
OPERATION ORDER – PRIORITY
To: 22nd Armoured Brigade and 155th Infantry Brigade, 52nd (Lowland) Division
Subject: Seizure of the Vught Bridges
SITUATION: SS-Freiwilligen-Brigade Landstorm Nederland holds the Vught crossings and the approaches toward S’Hertogenbosch. The enemy has had little time to prepare, but bridges, embankments, woods, and built-up ground offer excellent positions for anti-tank guns and infantry. German demolition parties must also be expected at the crossings.
MISSION: 22nd Armoured Brigade and 155th Brigade will force the Vught position, seize the bridges intact, and open the northern route before the enemy can establish a deeper defensive line.
EXECUTION: Lowland infantry will lead the clearing of woods, houses, and bridge approaches where armour is vulnerable. Once the principal anti-tank positions are identified or suppressed, 22nd Armoured Brigade will move through decisively and secure the crossings.
Do not allow the battle to become a prolonged fight for individual strongpoints. Our experience thus far has repeatedly shown that lost hours at one crossing are felt many miles farther up the road.
Once across, armour is to push beyond Vught immediately and deny the Germans time to prepare another roadblock.
REPORT: Bridge condition, demolition preparations discovered, enemy strength, armour losses, and progress toward ’s-Hertogenbosch to Division.
2.2.4 — S‘HERTOGENBOSCH
101ST AIRBORNE DIVISION
FIELD ORDER – IMMEDIATE
To: 502nd Parachute Infantry Regiment
Subject: Advance on ’s-Hertogenbosch
SITUATION: German commanders are expected to commit their available mobile reserves against the British thrust on Vught. S’Hertogenbosch may consequently be left to bridge guards, Flak detachments, communications personnel, and other rear-area troops. Such forces should not be underestimated; across the battlefield, improvised German groups have repeatedly stiffened once given time to organise.
MISSION: The 502nd Parachute Infantry Regiment will exploit the enemy’s concentration against the British, enter S’Hertogenbosch, and seize the principal crossings and road junctions before reinforcements can return.
EXECUTION: Airborne pack artillery will engage Flak positions, bridge defences, and identified strongpoints immediately before the advance. Paratroopers are to move aggressively between defended points, bypassing minor resistance where this accelerates seizure of the crossings.
Expect bridges to be prepared for demolition. Advance parties must reach them before German engineers can act.
Once inside the town, secure the routes leading south toward Vught and east toward the main German reinforcement routes. The object is not merely to enter the town, but to make the German diversion of forces permanent.
REPORT: Bridges secured, demolitions prevented or executed, enemy units encountered, prisoners, casualties, and movement of German reinforcements immediately.
