Bulge: British

At least it wasn’t snowing. The Battle of the Bulge, back in December, was miserable. Slogging up snow-covered hills to push back the German’s last hurrah after they’d smashed through the American lines had been truly miserable. Now, four months later, it was just drizzling. Still, the Churchill’s engine made a nice warm seat, and Simon didn’t have to walk on the still-tender ankle he’d sprained parachuting into Germany to cover the Rhine crossing.

CRACK! CRACK! Engines roaring, the recce troop fled back down the road. ‘88s! Dismount!’ Simon scrambled off the Churchill as it lurched to a halt, then dodged aside as the tank pivoted and pushed its way into the wood. Their gunner OP was on the ball. By the time he reached the edge of the wood, shells were exploding amongst the big German 88mm anti-aircraft guns dug in outside the next village. The Churchills joined in with their own guns, matching the Germans shot for shot. British firepower soon told on the enemy as the guns fell silent.

‘Company, advance!’ The adrenaline of battle put all thoughts of his ankle aside. Simon stepped out across the field, joining the line of paratroopers about to capture another German village.

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Following the breakout from Normandy in August 1944, the British Army made some of the fastest advances in history, racing across northern France and Belgium. When German resistance stiffened in the Netherlands, the British paused briefly to resupply, then set out again. The armoured divisions of Operation Garden pushed north to where Operation Market’s 1st Airborne Division held a precarious foothold across the Rhine, only to be stopped by the revitalised German Army.

With the days of rapid advances over, the British and Canadian Armies turned to clearing the Scheldt Estuary to open the vital supply port of Antwerp, opening it to shipping in November 1944. With their supply lines secured, it was time to clear the flooded west bank of the Rhine and the dank Reichswald. Interrupted by the Battle of the Bulge, the British and Canadian attacks destroyed the remains of the German Army west of the Rhine in March 1945. The Rhine crossing led to a month of desperate battles as the British captured the North Sea ports and ended the war on the shores of the Baltic Sea.

INSIDE YOU WILL FIND:

• Background on the British Army from Operation Market Garden to the Rhine Crossing and the final battles in Germany.
• Instructions on how to build a Comet Armoured Squadron, Challenger-equipped Hussars Armoured Squadron, Cromwell Armoured Squadron, Guards Sherman Armoured Squadron, Ram Armoured Squadron, Black Bull Motor Company, Guards Churchill Armoured Squadron, Kangaroo Rifle Company, Frost’s Parachute Company, and Glider Pilot Squadron.
• A Painting and Basing guide.
• Four new Amphibious-themed Missions.
• Amphibious Operations rules.