Airborne Preview,
Part One
By Mike Bennighof, Ph.D.
August 2013

Panzer Grenadier: Airborne is back, this time in the popular book format. Mike Perryman stepped up and not only designed 14 new scenarios, he also took on the task of revising the 20 from the original game to use pieces from Battle of the Bulge and Elsenborn Ridge, since we have no more counter sheets from the original.

And it’s a very nice package, heavier on scenarios than most of the book supplements. With the last three Panzer Grenadier books striking an American theme (Go For Broke, Winter Soldiers and now Airborne) we’re starting to move the series away from the odd and obscure toward the topics that gamers want the most. That will be the trend in both books and boxed games: fewer Slovaks, more Soviets. Less Armenian, more American.

Here’s the first segment of a look at Airborne’s scenarios:

Scenario One
The Merderet Crossing
6 June 1944
The 82nd Airborne Division’s D-Day objectives included securing the Merderet River crossing at La Fiere. Holding the crossing meant keeping the Germans west of the river, denying easy access to the beachhead and holding the way open to cut the base of the Cotentin Peninsula. The division’s three parachute regiments dropped on both sides of the river in the early hours of 6 June. Scattered by a poor drop, the troopers only slowly gathered in small groups. The race was between the small bands of paratroopers slowly finding each other and the Germans stirring as they realized that the long-awaited invasion might actually be on.

Note: This scenario requires the board from Airborne in addition to a SdKfz-222 from 1940: The Fall of France and an S35 and strongpoints from Edelweiss, as well as pieces from Elsenborn Ridge and Battle of the Bulge. Only use leaders from Elsenborn Ridge.

Conclusion
The struggle for the river crossing continued all day as gathering paratroopers were pitted against German reinforcements. By the end of the day the Americans tenuously held onto the bridge, but the surrounding hedgerows still harbored Germans.

Notes
This is one of the original Airborne scenarios, revised now for the third time and re-developed on top of that. The Americans are scattered about and must be rallied and assembled to take the river crossings, while the Germans receive waves of piecemeal reinforcements that allow repeated counter-attacks.

Scenario Two
Low Odds Attack
6 June 1944
As their D-Day objective, the paratroopers of Company B, 502nd Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division were ordered to secure the village of Foucarville as the northern boundary of the Utah beachhead. Shortly after landing the company proceeded to the village with only two officers and nine men. After entering and being driven out of the village, they rounded up additional paratroopers to launch another attempt.

Note: This scenario requires the board from Airborne in addition to pieces and leaders from Elsenborn Ridge. It also requires two strongpoint markers from Edelweiss.

Conclusion
After heavy fighting, the paratroopers finally secured the village. They placed three roadblocks around it and made ready to defend themselves. The Germans did not disappoint; making repeated attempts to retake the village. In heavy fighting, the Americans fought off all German attacks and kept the northern flank of Utah Beach secure.

Notes
There actually are forces from both sides on the map at the start of play, but even with the small size of the board the scenario plays more like a meeting engagement as both sides bring on small numbers of additional troops. It’s an original scenario, adjusted and re-developed.

Scenario Three
Distraction at Dawn
6 June 1944
D-Day objectives for paratroopers of the 2nd Battalion, 501st Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division included destruction of the road and railroad bridges across the Douve River north of Carentan. Following an extremely disorganized landing, only a small number of men could be collected. The battalion commander, Lieutenant Colonel Robert Ballard, believed the number sufficient to capture and hold the bridges long enough to destroy them. Heading southwest from the rally point, Ballard planned to turn south at St. Come-du-Mont. The troopers spotted Germans in the town and the colonel decided to clear them out before proceeding.

Note: This scenario requires a board from 1940: The Fall of France and pieces and leaders from Elsenborn Ridge.

Conclusion
Ballard’s battalion scattered badly during its drop. Prepared for just such an eventuality, he had prepared two different methods to rally his troops: a green electric lantern, and a large bell. But the troopers carrying them were both lost in the jump along with all the radios but one, and only about 125 men could be gathered. Unable to contact his regimental or divisional headquarters, Ballard pushed on anyway. With none of his rifle company commanders having been found he formed his companies and sent two of them against St. Come-du-Mont with the third in reserve. After several unsuccessful attempts to take the town, Ballard finally heard from regimental headquarters, which ordered him to disengage and turn south. The Americans withdrew and the battle ended.

Notes
This original scenario got some heavy revision, trading the original Board 13 for one from 1940 that better models the terrain. It’s a very small fight with just a few units on each side, and they’re going to have to close in to take the objective hexes. With the new board, it makes for a very fine introductory scenario despite the visibility rules (dawn is breaking as the fighting rages).

Scenario Four
The Lock
6 June 1944
The River Douve north of Carentan sported one of the more unique D-Day objectives, the La Bourquette lock. D-Day planners believed the lock could be the key to securing the southern and western flanks of the Utah landing. Controlled by the Americans, the lock could be used to flood the Merderet and downstream portions of the Douve Rivers should German counterattacks prove strong and threaten the bridgehead. If German defenses turned out to be weak, American control of the lock would ensure the rivers were not flooded to prevent the American advance.

Note: This scenario requires the board from Airborne in addition to pieces and leaders from Elsenborn Ridge.

Conclusion
The 1st Battalion, 501st Parachute Regiment was badly scattered and the small groups formed after the drop more often than not included men of the 506th Regiment, even more widely scattered that the 501st. Small groups of men under determined leaders set out for their objectives. One hundred and twenty-five men under Colonel Howard Johnson, commander of the 501st, reached the lock just as dawn broke. The few Germans guarding the lock were surprised and it was easily taken, but not so the two nearby bridges. With the arrival of another 100 men, Johnson made plans to capture one of the bridges, but growing German strength forced him to dig in and defend the lock instead.

Notes
In another revised scenario from the boxed game, waves of small reinforcement groups fight for a set of objectives everyone knows must be taken and held. Panzer Grenadier was always intended to model small-scale infantry fights as well as big clashes of armor, and this scenario shows off that aspect very well.

Scenario Five
Cassidy’s Battalion
6 June 1944
The D-Day objectives of the 1st Battalion of the 502nd Parachute Infantry Regiment included the northernmost Utah Beach exit and a nearby gun battery. Lieutenant Colonel Patrick Cassidy landed at the center of his battalion’s drop zone, but his men ended up scattered over miles of countryside. Gathering what men he could, including troopers from other regiments of the 101st and even a few from the 82nd Airborne Division, he found no Germans blocking the exits from the beachhead. So Cassidy marched on to attack the battery of captured Russian 122mm howitzers threatening the landings.

Note: This scenario requires the board from Airborne in addition to pieces and leaders from Elsenborn Ridge.

Conclusion
Naval gunfire destroyed the artillery position before the Airborne arrived, but not so the garrison’s barracks nearby. Staff Sgt. Harrison Summers apparently became completely berkserk, charging from building to building, kicking in doors and spraying the occupants with his Thompson sub-machine gun. All told the sergeant killed or captured over 150 Germans, but others put up much more resistance and the last building was not cleared until the afternoon. With his initial objectives secure, Cassidy moved to his next assignment, probing north to link up with the 82nd Airborne Division.

Notes
Another very small infantry-based scenario, revised from the boxed game version.

Scenario Six
Orange Hero
6 June 1944
Paratroopers of the 505th and 507th Parachute Regiments landed on both sides of the Merderet River in the early morning hours of D-Day. Planners believed the Merderet to be merely a small wandering stream, but pre-invasion photographs did not reveal the inundated ground on both banks for most of the river’s length. As the paratroopers struggled to determine their positions and gain their objectives, the Germans began to stir. The first group to attempt to grab the La Fiere causeway was led by Captain Floyd “Ben” Schwartzwalder, the future national champion head football coach at Syracuse University.

Note: This scenario uses a board from Airborne in addition to pieces and leaders from Elsenborn Ridge and two strongpoint markers from Edelweiss.

Conclusion
Working their way through the unexpectedly sodden ground, the paratroopers soon ran into stiff resistance. Despite repeated attacks toward the La Fiere - Canquigny bridge, the Americans could not seize the objective. The paratroopers needed more men and soon got them.

Notes
This scenario’s appeared in every iteration of Airborne, though I remember changing its title between the first and second editions to honor my father’s fanatically-held Syracuse alumni status.

Scenario Seven
Defiant Russians
6 June 1944
In the first daylight hours of the 6th of June, Major General Maxwell Taylor knew little of his division’s whereabouts and had only a few men under his command. Regardless of the small number of troops he knew the designated objectives had to be taken. Accordingly at 0600 Lieutenant Colonel Julian Ewell set out for the southernmost Utah Beach exit, his mission to secure the western end of the causeway at the village of Pouppeville.

Note: This scenario requires the board from Airborne and pieces and leaders from Elsenborn Ridge. It also requires two strongpoint markers from Edelweiss.

Conclusion
Ewell’s platoon fought its way into the center of town by noon. At this point the Germans, most of whom were Russian “volunteers,” surrendered. Ewell’s force suffered 6 killed and 12 wounded out of approximately 60, but killed or captured 63 “Germans.” The 709th Division included a number of “East” battalions made up of conscripted Soviet citizens (many of them former prisoners of war) who now took the opportunity to escape the Nazis.

Notes
This scenario’s another veteran, and it’s unusual: the American force is tiny, but has an enormous morale advantage over the reluctant “Germans.” It was called “Poupeville” in the first edition, but I changed it since I figured most American gamers would call it “Poopy-ville” and that sounded stupid, and the new title could play off another game we’d just released at the time.

Scenario Eight
Second Try
6 June 1944
Though his division fought very well on D-Day despite its scattered landings, General Taylor remained concerned that his troops failed to blow up or even attack the road and railroad bridges across the Douve River north of Carentan. Although the lock at La Bourquette and the two wooden bridges to the east were in American hands, the German-held highway bridge was an open door to Utah Beach's southern flank. Taylor ordered the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment to attack.

Note: This scenario requires the board from Airborne, and pieces from Elsenborn Ridge and Battle of the Bulge. Only use leaders from Elsenborn Ridge.

Conclusion
German resistance halted the advance before the paratroopers even reached St. Come-du-Mont. The fighting raged all morning around the hamlet of Les Droueriers and ended with the withdrawal of the American force.

Notes
This scenario’s also an original, and a good bit larger than the previous several offerings. Both sides have just one objective, so the fighting’s going to be concentrated and fierce. The new version changes the American Jeep of the earlier editions to a Truck, since there are no jeeps in Elsenborn Ridge or Battle of the Bulge, but they are present in Cassino and players may want to use a jeep instead for a little more historical veracity.

Scenario Nine
Tangle of the Elites
6 June 1944
When American paratroopers ambushed and killed General Wilhelm Farley of the German 91st Air-Landing Division, the man in charge of the Normandy defense against enemy paratroopers, it left a void in the command structure that headquarters was slow to fill. Major Friedrich August von der Heydte, commander of the 6th Fallschirmjäger Regiment, decided he could wait no longer for direction from above and sent out his recon units on his own authority. The patrols reported the key cities of St. Marie Eglise, St. Marie du Mont, and most importantly Carentan were still unoccupied by the enemy. Von der Heydte detailed the 1st Battalion to take St. Marie du Mont, while the 2nd moved into St. Marie Eglise, and the 3rd Battalion secured Carentan. Their orders specified they hold their objectives at all cost.

Note: This scenario requires boards from 1940: The Fall of France in addition to a PARA ENG from Battle of the Bulge and pieces and leaders from Elsenborn Ridge.

Conclusion
By the time the Germans arrived the Americans were advancing on Carentan and had occupied the other two villages. Just north of the Douve River the two sides clashed. The Fallschirmjägers managed to occupy Carentan but failed to drive the Americans back. Major von der Heydte received heavy criticism for failing to compel the Americans to withdraw, but his occupation of Carentan would provide many benefits for the Germans in the days to come.

Notes
Finally, a new scenario – and what a scenario. It’s a Mike Perryman original, which should tell Panzer Grenadier veterans all they need to know. The Scremaing Eagles run into enemy paratroopers, with morale and leadership just as good as their own, without the disorganization of having just jumped out of airplanes.

Scenario Ten
Battery Position at Holdy
6 June 1944
Southwest of Utah Beach exits 1 and 2, a dug-in battery of four German guns protected by a squad of infantry menaced the landing zone. A weak company of German troops stood nearby in the town of Ste. Marie-du-Mont. As the scattered troops of the 506th Parachute Regiment slowly collected, ad hoc groups set out to take the regiment's D-Day objectives. The German battery stood high on the list.

Note: This scenario uses a board from 1940: The Fall of France in addition to pieces and leaders from Elsenborn Ridge.

Conclusion
The German garrison put up surprisingly tough resistance, but a steady stream of American reinforcements allowed the paratroopers to make repeated attacks. By early afternoon the guns had been captured and the town of Ste. du Mont taken. With the inland side of the beach exit cleared, the 4th "Ivy" Division could begin its advance inland.

Notes
Not sure if this counts as a revised scenario: there’s one by this name in the second edition, but for this version the revision’s so extensive that it’s pretty much a new scenario based on the same action. The board’s from 1940, with waves of American paratroopers coming onto the board to attack a German artillery battery, and eventually the Americans get tanks, too.

Scenario Eleven
Crossroads Defense
6 June 1944
Paratroopers of the 82nd Airborne Division’s 505th Regiment occupied Ste. Mere-Eglise in the early morning hours of D-Day. North of the town, in the village of Neuville-au-Plain, Lieutenant Turner B. Turnbull’s 3rd Platoon of Company D, reinforced with two 57mm anti-tank guns, took up defensive positions. Attacked by a reinforced German company, Turnbull’s platoon offered the only obstacle in the path of the northern wing of the two German forces attempting to retake Ste. Mere-Eglise.

Note: This scenario requires the board from Airborne in addition to pieces and leaders from Elsenborn Ridge.

Conclusion
Turnbull’s platoon was reduced to 16 men before being forced from Neuville-au-Plain late in the afternoon. By preventing the German northern attack force from reaching Ste. Mere-Eglise, they allowed the defenders to deal only with the southern force. The pivotal crossroads was held and the Germans had to be content with occupying the ground between Ste. Mere-Eglise and Utah beachhead.

Notes
This is another original scenario, and while it’s a small infantry-based battle this time the roles are reversed, with the Americans trying to hold a key crossroads while the Germans try to winkle them out. The Germans have numbers plus some very useful mortars; the Americans have morale.

And that’s the first 11 scenarios; in the next installment we start to see more of the new stuff.

See for yourself! Order Airborne now!

Mike Bennighof is president of Avalanche Press and holds a doctorate in history from Emory University. A Fulbright Scholar and award-winning journalist, he has published over 100 books, games and articles on historical subjects. He lives in Birmingham, Alabama with his wife, three children and his dog, Leopold.