A WW2 time travel roleplay

[playfullchick76]

This is one of my favourites, an oldie, but a goodie. I havnt been able to play it out with anyone for a while, so here goes.

I would be playing the Captain of a marine company in Europe, fighting WW3. An enemy time weapon being used on us doesnt work quite as it should, sending my company, along with half of another one, some armored forces with us, and some british forces, back in time to 1944, during Operation Market Garden.  If this one appeals to you and you can see yourself playing either US or German forces from 1944 even, let me know.

I have quite a bit of history at my fingertips for this one, so I can play my end well enough.

If this one appeals to you, let me know.

[Captain Maltese]

I like the sound of that. If a captured enemy unit was packing vital equipment it would be be viable to stand fas for a few wweks more

[playfullchick76]

You do, excellent. I see my forces holding at least until the bridge over the rhine is supported by 30th corps, leaving quite a bit of time for the rp. I hope to play this one out with you. Did you see yourself playing US forces from 1944, if so, which ones.

[Captain Maltese]

Okay.... slightly confused now. You are looking to play out this story as future war US/English forces teaming up with WW2 US forces? A story of cooperation? Heh, I thought you was looking for some Wehrmacht and SS units to crash into. That said, I can do cooperation as well. I did like Robert Redford as a Major in the 82nd Airborne in 'A Bridge Too Far'. But if we are talking something more Ludendorff Bridge style near the end of '44 then either the 9th Armored or Patton's 3rd Armored would be more relevant.

What did you have in mind on the personal level?

[playfullchick76]

Hmm, youve given me a lot to think about now. I only used Arnhem because it was in Band of brothers, I saw it, so I identified with it, but i could do cooperation with the 9th or 3rd armored as well. Tell me the actions that they were in at that point in time, the objectives. Tell me a bit more and I'll know how to play this out with you.

I want this to be enjoyable for both of us, a bit of a clash of cultures, technology, and acceptance. I think 3rd Armored fits best, he was definately an armored man, and would love having 7 to 8 Abram main battle tanks with his forces.

[Captain Maltese]

Well, where do I start. Operation Market Garden came as an aftermath of Normandie, in September 44. The armor component delved into the Netherlands along one single road across a number of vital bridges, while a substantial airdropped force were to to secure the bridges in beforehand. The early part went well, partly because the Germans were still panicking, but as they managed to dig in along the road and then bring up reinforcements from the back it became clear that Allied planning had been overly confident especially logistically. The British armor columns were successfully deflected long enough that the barely-equipped English and American paratroopers were fought down with very bad losses, and the objectives were not taken. The liberation of the Netherlands was badly delayed and the Rhine bridges were allowed to operate for at least half a year more, and probably affecting the length of the war. The 82nd Airborne of the US were the only Americans participating as far as I can see; the rest were British, Canadian and Polish forces. The brunt of the losses were taken by the British 1st Airborne Division which was almost obliterated.

I have to say that if a dozen Abrams tanks had been put in the front of the advancing column, the sheer weight and size of them would probably have caused more havoc on their own side than the edge it would have given them in combat. That road was not built for modern machines and neither were the bridges. But a couple of dozen rpg's or antitank shoulderfired cannons could have made all the difference for the paratroopers at Arnhem; the underpowered PIATs they had didn't do too well againt the SS panzers. But even with such an edge the British paratroopers were vastly understrength and undersupplied and had to hold on a week where they had expected to hold a few hours.

Ludendorff, or Remagen, is a different story entirely. In March 45 Germany were a balloon punctured all over and the bridge of Ludendorff was the last one still standing. Several German divisions were trying to get back home over it, but it was held by forces so weak that a major component were press-ganged Poles who ran off at the first opportunity - and I don't blame them. The rest of the garrison, the German soldiers, were either too old or too young for their uniforms but at least some of them had combat experience. But there was a good number of heavy machineguns and one single battery of 88-mm cannons which could wreak havoc on any Allied tanks. All of that gear as on the German side of the bridge though. The US 1st Army were able to take the bridge under heavy fire; tanks dueled with the 88 before the initial infantry unit could be reinforced.

Now I think about it. If you want a heavy armor battle with a bit of balance even after adding a dozen modern tanks, I'd say The Battle Of The Bulge would have been a better fit. Large amounts of good German armor on a surprise attack led by good commanders, against American forces caught unawares and with insufficient supplies. The only reason the Germans lost that counterattack was a desperate lack of fuel, and if they had won the Allies would have been dealt a devastating blow. So if that time machine had just happened to give the Germans a huge fuel supply dump at the same time it landed those future soldiers among Allied troops, it would literally have been a battle over the future of the world.

Heh. Patton would have demanded that the from-the-future forces had immediately placed themselves under his command. A remarkable personality for better or worse.

[playfullchick76]

I like that, okay, the battle of the bulge it is. I do like the movies a bridge too far, and the bridge at Remagen, both good for their time, and still very watchable.

I've read quite a bit about the battle of the bulge. Even the german commanders knew it wouldnt work, but they werent in much of a position to argue, and lack of fuel, plus the minimal roads, helped ensure that the offensive failed.

Tell you what, I'll let you decide. Either a tank on tank battle during the Battle of the bulge, or, Operation Market Garden, but no tanks with our column, nothing heavier than LAV-25's, as we would have been ordered to get to the area of operations quickly, and tanks would be too slow to keep up.Modern anti-tank weapons would be with my future forces,which would make an impact on the heavy German tanks.
Either would be fun for me, but you know so much, so whichever one you could play out best, we'll do.

[Captain Maltese]

I can quite recommend the movie "Battle Of The Bulge". It's looong, uneven in historical correctness, and complicated almost to the point of chaotic, but on the other hand it covers a number of real event during the battle. There's also a good number of great actors and for me the most interesting personal relations of the movie are between the fanatic German Colonel Hessler and his war-weary and aging personal assistant/driver Conrad - in an ironic touch, the aweome actor behind Conrad was Hans-Christian Blech, an actual ww2 German veteran. But most American viewers will probably be more familiar with Robert Shaw, Henry Fonda, Charles Bronson and Telly Savales who all had key roles in the movie.

It's not easy to pick between these battles but in order to keep the story manageable in scope I think the very Arnhem pitched battle is the easiest to work with. Your small American force of WW3 soldiers would then find themselves able to aid the small pinned unit of English paratroopers and help them hold until relieved by the Polish paratroopers and the British armor column, or at least support a retreat with fewer losses. It would make personal interactions easier to manage and it would be fun to have the stiff-as-a-stick British Major General deal with a modern American unit leader. Those LAVs would get their ears nicely warmed by the panzergrenadiers' Panzerfausts and the armor of the II SS Panzer Corps with its experienced soldiers from the Kharkov battles - I don't think we'd find it hard to keep things tense tactically.

Does this scenario work for you or do we stay in the War Room a bit longer?

[playfullchick76]

I saw the battle of the bulge too, just once, a long time ago on dvd. It was good, and hollywood, as usual, doesnt always let the truth get in the way of a good film. The great escape was a classic example of that, having an american with the escapers, but they got what mattered right I guess.

It works for me. We can start playing this out when you're ready. Did you want me to do the opening post.

[Captain Maltese]

I'll PM you right away.