SCENARIO INFORMATION

This is the background for all the scenarios in Band of Brothers. One disclaimer – these are all
the scenarios that I submitted to Worthington (I have some which I did not submit). It is possible
that NOT all of these scenarios will be included in the box when it is shipped. Of course, any
scenario which does not make the cut will probably be posted on line eventually.

I always enjoy the historical information that goes with war games and I put a lot of research into
these. They tell the story of the 101st. I hope you enjoy!

SCENARIO 1 - DAY OF DAYS

Southwest of Utah Beach, June 6th, 1944—The cross channel invasion of France was the
crucial “second front” that was needed to defeat Germany. The scope of the invasion was the
largest in history and the first day of the Normandy invasion would be the most important. It
would be called the Day of Days and the Longest Day. The 101st Airborne was dropped around
1:00am (before the landings) so that it could support the invasion, but the drop did not go well.
Units were dropped in the wrong area and were widely scattered. Colonel Robert F. Sink, who
commanded the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment (PIR), had very little information on his
troops. The entire communications platoon as well as every single radio operator assigned to the
headquarters company were missing. The assignment of the 506th included the capture of
Causeways 1 & 2 (the lower exits from Utah beach) and to block enemy forces from those exits.
Sink dispatched elements of his 1st Battalion, the only force that he had on hand, to go for
Causeway 1.

The progress was slow. In the end, Causeway 1 would be in American hands before the force
from 1st Battalion would reach it. Although the capture of Causeway 1 & 2 was the job of the
2nd Battalion of the 506th, not only did Sink send a force from 1st Battalion, but General Taylor,
the commander of the 101st, would send a force from the 3rd Battalion of the 501st. Both
commanders reasoned that their forces were too small to go for Causeways 1 & 2 and so both of
them independently decided to go after Causeway 1 and ignore Causeway 2. This confusion was
typical of the airborne drops that day. Despite this, the drops were still undeniably effective.
They tied up enemy troops and stopped reinforcement of the beaches.

SCENARIO 2 - SO FEW LED BY SO MANY

Pouppeville, France, June 6th, 1944—The 3rd battalion of the 501st had been dropped with
General Taylor to serve as a division reserve and as protection for the division headquarters. By
daybreak only about 40 men of the entire 600 man battalion had been assembled. In addition, 45
men of the headquarters company had arrived. Many of these were officers including 2 generals,
3 colonels, 1 major, several captains, and several more lieutenants. Two battalions of the 506th
had been assigned to take Causeway 1 & 2. Since not a single man from those battalions had
been seen, General Taylor correctly reasoned that those battalions had been dropped in the
wrong area. He decided that his group would have to go for Causeway 1. There were so many
officers that even lieutenants were assigned as riflemen. As the group moved out General Taylor
said, “Never have so few been led by so many!”

Along the way, the force picked up some more strays and did not encounter serious resistance
until it came to the town of Pouppeville, just outside Causeway 1. As they began their attack,
they could hear that the shelling of the beach areas had just begun. The Germans made a
fighting withdrawal through the town until they got to their headquarters building on the far side,
near the beach, where 38 of them would eventually surrender. As the firefight drew to a close,
the first tank from the landings began to move up the causeway about 250 yards away. After an
exchange of orange flares and smoke and the waving of orange flags (the identification sign for
allied forces), the men of the 4th Infantry Division emerged from the reeds on the causeway.
Although this part of the landings had made it off the beaches, the day was not yet done. After
the last tank had passed through town, the paratroopers would turn and follow them going back
the way they had came as the invasion pushed inland.

SCENARIO 3 - EASY PEASY

Carnentan, June 12th, 1944—Airborne forces were theorized to be elite, shock forces that
would be used for just a few days and then withdrawn for refit and preparation for the next
operation. Before D-Day they were told they needed to give 3 days of hard fighting. The reality
on the ground would dictate otherwise. With most of the troops coming in to Utah beach
heading north to capture the port of Cherbourg, the task of capturing Carentan fell to the 101st.
Taking this town was necessary to link the Utah and Omaha beaches. Elements of the 2nd and
3rd Battalions of the 506th PIR would attack, including “Easy” company. Through a night
march, 2nd Battalion had been positioned to attack Carentan from the Southwest, thereby cutting
off the main retreat route of any defenders in Carentan.

Before the attack, Colonel von der Heydte of the German 6th Parachute Regiment had made the
fateful decision to withdraw from the town and leave only a token rear guard force (a decision
for which he would eventually face a formal inquiry, but be acquitted). At the commencement of
the attack, there was a tough moment in which the lead elements of Easy Company were pinned
down in the road by machine gun fire. Lieutenant Winters, in command of Easy, stood up in the
road yelling “move out!” and “get going!” Later he would say, “Here is where the discipline
paid off. The men got the message, and they moved out.” Once in town they also had to deal
with some accurate pre-arranged mortar fire, but the pre-battle withdrawal of the majority of the
German troops had changed the situation. Taking Carentan turned out to be relatively “easy.”

SCENARIO 4 - THE BATTLE OF BLOODY

GULCH
Outside Carentan, June 13th, 1944—The Germans that had retreated before the attack on
Carentan had been reinforced by the 17th SS Panzer Grenadier Division. As the 2nd Battalion of
the 506th moved out from Carentan, they ran into them at dusk. Both sides settled down for the
night, the Germans behind their hedgerow and the Americans behind theirs. Winters received
orders from Battalion that they were to start their attack at first light. The fighting the next day
would be known as the Battle of Bloody Gulch.

Historical Note: Although well-equipped, the vast majority of the 17th SS Panzer Grenadier
Division was experiencing combat for the first time in this battle. Their officers were poorly
trained and their artillery did not coordinate well with the infantry. It is for this reason that they
are represented by a mixture of first and second line troops.

The Germans also realized the importance of Carentan and wanted it back. Just as Winters gave
the order to move out, the Germans launched an attack of their own and both sides opened up
with everything they had. Under the intense pressure, Fox Company, on Easy’s Left Flank,
broke and fell back (Colonel Strayer immediately relieved Fox’s commander). Despite this,
Easy held their ground for hours until they were reinforced by elements of the 2nd Armored
Division. The sight of the Shermans pouring through their lines and into the enemy brought
elation to the paratroopers and turned the tide of the battle. Easy Company of the 506th fought in
many difficult engagements, but Winters would describe this battle as the “tightest spot” they
were in during the entire war.

SCENARIO 5 - IF THIS IS COMBAT….

Son, Holland, September 17th, 1944—Operation Market-Garden had begun. Paratroopers were
to seize bridges along Highway 69 in Holland to aid the British advance. Elements of the 506th
were to take the main bridge over the Wilhelmina Canal just south of Son as well as two
secondary spans, one to the east and one to the west of town. The jump went well. It was aided
by the daylight drop and the excellent jump field. Since the entire 506th used the same jump
field, the biggest problem was that it was literally raining equipment on the jump field.
Unfortunately, upon landing a Dutchman informed the paratroopers that the secondary bridges
had been blown by the Germans a few days earlier. Company A’s job of taking the main bridge
just became more important. The company had gathered in drop zone C and moved into and
through the Zoenche Forest.

“It was the most perfectly flat jump field I have ever seen. Basically, Holland is just a big,
glorified jump field.” Daniel Webster

As they approached the edge of the wood to the East of town, they came under fire. One of the
replacement men turned to Sgt. Brininstool and said, “If this is combat, there’s nothing to it.” A
moment later the first high velocity, flat-trajectory shell burst and killed him instantly. At first
they thought it was mortar fire, but then they realized that three 88’s had opened up on them
from anti-aircraft emplacements near the bridge. Finally, they charged the guns as elements of D
company had made it though Son and approached the bridge from the north. They would subdue
the guns, but be too late as the bridge was blown when the lead elements were just 40 yards
away. It would be one of the few bridges the Allies would not capture intact.

SCENARIO 6 - EINDHOVEN
Eindhoven, Holland, September 18th, 1944—Eindhoven was a major city that lay south of Son,
back along the axis of the British advance. With Son secure, the 3rd Battalion of the of the 506th
led off the assault towards Eindhoven on the morning of D+1. It was important that Eindohoven
be secured quickly so that bridging equipment could be brought up to replace the blown bridge at
Son. The paratroopers were harassed by small arms and sporadic artillery fire every mile of the
way. After wiping out pockets of German infantry in the outlying fields, at 1300 hours the
troopers from “How” Company entered the north edge of town and began clearing out the city
one house at a time.

Inside the city, they ran into 2 more 88’s, which seemed to be everywhere in Holland due to the
all of the anti-aircraft defenses. A Dutchman helped by telling them the position of one of the
guns, but the attack was still held up until they were joined by elements of the 2nd Battalion,
including “Fox” Company, which flanked the guns. By the end of the attack, the 101st held all of
Eindhoven, including the 4 priority bridges over the Dommel River in the city’s center.
Unfortunately, the British column was still 5 miles away and they would not link up until 1900.
With Eindhoven secure, they were told to get a bailey bridge at the head of the column so that it
would be the first thing to reach Son and replace the bridge there. Of course, with the Germans
out of the way, the British column would still have to navigate the celebrations of the Dutch
people, which began in earnest.

SCENARIO 7 - CORPORAL TO SERGEANT

Best, Holland, September 18th, 1944—The bridge over the Wilhelmina canal between
Eindhoven and Best was initially not considered important by the British, but General Taylor
thought it would be good to have in case the bridge at Son became unusable. He assigned its
capture to “How” Company of the third battalion of the 502nd. On D day, when the company
commander realized that he was up against superior forces, he called for reinforcements. Both
sides kept making repeated calls for reinforcements until the battle had escalated to the point
that, by the following day (the 18th), two battalions of paratroopers were involved. As the 2nd
Battalion joined the 3rd, they were in battalion formation in the middle of a field when they came
under a terrific fire.

The paratrooper’s losses were terrible. In speaking about crossing that field, Howard Matthews
of Fox Company was quoted as saying, “I was a corporal – when I reached the other side, I was a
sergeant.” The attack ground to a halt as the paratroopers were fought to a standstill. Back at
Son, the engineers of the 326th toiled through the night erecting the Bailey bridge needed to
replace the one blown on the first day. This meant that on the morning of the 19th, British
Churchill and Challenger tanks joined the fray. They turned the tide of battle at Best completely
and, by afternoon, over 1100 German prisoners had come streaming into the American lines.

SCENARIO 8 - RETURN TO SON

Son, Holland, September 19th, 1944—Back in Son, the Bailey bridge was complete and British
units were crossing in force. Left to guard the area were elements of the 1st Battalion HQ and the
C/506 on the north side of the canal and a platoon of troop from the A/506 on the south side.
Suddenly 2 Dutchman on their bicycles approached the Americans, pedaling for all they were
worth. As they arrived they immediately started speaking in broken English – German tanks
were coming. It was the 107th Panzer Brigade, attacking along the South side of the canal from
the East.

The Americans were ill prepared to face an armored attack. Fortunately, General Taylor had
raced back to the DZ in his jeep and brought back a 57mm anti-tank gun and its crew. The lead
Panther, with multiple 57mm shells clanging off its armor, made it all the way up to the bridge
itself. There it was destroyed, some say by the anti-tank gun, others say by work of infantry in
close. It was a half-hearted attack by the Germans. When the Panther was destroyed, the
Germans decided not to press the attack and fell back into the woods, but they would not go far.

SCENARIO 9 - SON DEFENSE

Son, Holland, September 20th, 1944—After the initial German attack against the Bailey bridge,
the Americans sensed the dangerousness of their position and later that night rushed elements of
the 327th Glider Infantry Regiment to reinforce this critical choke point. They along with British
Tanks from the First Guards Armored Division would be called upon as the 107th Panzer Brigade
attacked with a larger force the next day.
This time the Germans did not attack along the canal, possibly to avoid flanking fire from the
other side. Instead their attack came more from the Southeast. Once again the attack was beaten
back and the Germans faded back into the woods. This time the Germans did not come nearly as
close to the bridge as they did the day before. The Allies, however, were beginning to realize
that the most difficult part of Market-Garden was not taking the bridges, but holding them
against counter attack. The Germans would incessantly probe the sides of this corridor, looking
for weakness. They were able to move up and down to attack the flanks of the allied supply line
at points of their own choosing.

SCENARIO 10 - BLACK FRIDAY

Veghel, Holland, September 22nd, 1944—There were many attacks over a number of days
against the town of Veghel, but the people of Veghel remember the 22nd as “Black Friday”. The
107th Panzer Brigade, having failed to take Son, moved under cover of darkness toward the town
of Erp. They, and other German units took the town and continued on to attempt to cut the
Market-Garden Corridor at the town of Veghel. The attacks would come from the East and the
North. Defending these attacks would be a mixed group representing almost every major unit of
the 101st.

“The worst action I can remember was Veghel.” PFC James H. Martin.

The attacks came throughout the day and the defense was made by anyone they could find. The
American command was confused and slightly disorganized. Hit by tanks, without tank support
themselves, men took them out with small AT guns, bazookas and close assault. It was yet
another illustration of how paratroopers, kept in the line with just what they had taken with them
on their drop, were placed in a tough position against armor. Casualties were heavy, but the
airborne held out and Veghel remained in American hands.

SCENARIO 11 - ROAD CUT

Kovering, Holland, September 26th, 1944—One of the problems of the Holland campaign was
keeping the road open. Market-Garden, by this point, was essentially a failure. Although the
bridge at Njimegen had been taken, the British Airborne troops holding the bridge at Arnhem
had been taken prisoner. However, the road still had to be kept open to supply the troops in the
north. Although the towns and bridges were now mostly safe, the Germans continued to cut the
road at the places in between. One such place was along the road south of Veghel, near
Kovering. A place where Holland had hedgerows.

In these actions, the Germans sometimes defended in force and sometimes pulled out most of
their troops before the Americans arrived. This time they would defend. Short on equipment at
this point of the war, at times they even used captured British and American tanks against the
Allies. Attacks would continue against Highway 69 (the road north to Arnhem), but after the
action near Kovering, the road would stay open.

SCENARIO 12 - THE ORCHARD

Near Oosterbeek, Holland (on the “Island”), October 5th, 1944—The Hell’s Highway phase
of operation Market-Garden was drawing to a close and the time of the muddy, bloody island
was beginning. Still under command of Montgomery, they were eating British rations (bully
beef, oxtail soup, daily rum ration) and were kept in the line contrary to how Airborne was
supposed to be used. The 101st was ordered to move north to be used as supporting infantry in
Montgomery’s army. They were deployed on the “Island,” a piece of land that was between the
Waal and Neder Rhine Rivers, just south of Arnhem.

After moving in and replacing the British that had been holding the area, the First Battalion of
the 501st was immediately attacked by German troops that had infiltrated the position. With “C”
Company being attacked from both sides, “A” Company was called upon to relieve them. The
Airborne rarely received replacements during combat and so “A” company was down to 56 men
for their sweep through the orchard, but it was enough. “C” company held against attack and the
two “companies” squeezed the Germans in between them. T/5 Frank Carpenter summarized the
fight by saying, “The good ole guys from “A” Company had saved the good ole guys from “C”
Company.”

SCENARIO 13 - OPHEUSDEN
Opheusden, Holland (on the “Island”), October 6th, 1944—As the 506th moved into positions
along the front, the British pulled out, taking their tanks with them. Knowing this, the Germans
took the opportunity to launch a full scale attack eastwards into and around Opheusden using the
363rd Volksgrenadier Division supported by armor and artillery. The battle raged through the 5th
and into the 6th, at which point the Americans and Germans both held about half of the town.
The Germans would renew their attack on the 6th, sending tanks into the town itself and the
Americans would counterattack later that day.

Artillery was heavily used on both sides, including some 155mm “Long Toms” left behind by
the British. By sheer force of numbers, the Volksgrenadiers overran entire squads of
paratroopers. The American counterattack made good progress until it too was stopped by
artillery. The two sides had fought to a standstill. On the 7th, the 506 was withdrawn from the
line and replaced by elements of the 327th. The Americans pulled their line back about 1200
yards east of the city and the Germans pulled back about 1000 yards west of the city. After
fighting so hard for the town, they withdrew. Both sides resorted to patrolling the no-man’s-land
in between.

SCENARIO 14 - HETTRICK’S WAR

Near Opheusden, Holland (on the “Island”), October, 1944—Lieutenant Donald Hettrick was
an artillery observer in the 101st. On the “Island” he was assigned to the 327th Glider Infantry,
Company “C”. There were two dikes in this area. A smaller one near the river that was held by
the Germans and the main dike farther inland that was held by the Americans. When the
Germans dropped a few artillery rounds 150 yards away from the American position along the
dike, Lt. Hettrick surmised that they were adjusting the range on their artillery and warned of an
impending attack.

The next day, the Germans launched a full-scale artillery bombardment, the heaviest the
company had ever received, and followed it up with an all out attack. Hettrick was able to call in
artillery just in time. At one point, he broke an artillery rule and called in a fire mission only 50
yards from the paratroopers, meaning that rounds would be falling on the Americans as well, but
it saved the company from being overrun. For his action that day, he would get a promotion and
a Bronze Star. At a reunion in 1947, Captain Miller, the CO of “C” Company credited Hettrick
with saving his company.

Historical Note on the campaign: On the “Island,” there was seldom a six hour period between
October 5th and 15th that the enemy did not launch an attack against the lines of the 101st. By the
15th, the 363rd Volksgrenadier Division was almost completely wiped out. The 101st would
remain on the lines through November, at which point they were withdrawn to refit at a camp in
France.

SCENARIO 15 - NOVILLE
Noville, Belgium, December 19th, 1944—The combat experienced 4th Infantry Division stayed
mostly intact in the face of the German onslaught that would later become known as the Battle of
the Bulge. They stalled long enough for the 1st Battalion of the 101st as well as tank destroyers
from 705th TD Battalion and a small task force under Major Desobry to arrive at Noville before
the Germans reached it. As a light fog fell over the field the advancing German tanks passed
over the paratroopers who were dug in outside the town. The troopers lay low in shallow
foxholes and slit trenches until the monsters passed, but the German infantry was following
behind them.

The German tanks made it into Noville, but the infantry was stopped cold by the paratroopers.
There in the center of town, the Germans began to lose tanks to the Shermans and TD’s
patrolling the streets. Without their screen of infantry, they were vulnerable. They and the
infantry pulled back, but this would be the first of many assaults and the Americans would
eventually have to abandon Noville.

SCENARIO 16 - AMBUSH AT WARDIN

Wardin, Belgium, December 19th, 1944—As American troops started to filter into Bastogne,
troops were dispersed to defensive positions in the outlying areas. Company I of the 501st was
sent south to clear some woods and then east into the small town of Wardin. They were to run
into part of the 901st Panzer Regiment, that was to enter the town at almost the same time as
them.

What could have been a meeting engagement turned out to be much more like an ambush. The
paratroopers had not yet established a good command and control relationship with other
American forces in Bastogne. In this case, a combat team from the 10th Armored was less than a
half a mile away, but their tanks never moved toward Wardin. To compound the problem,
Wardin was in a deep valley and communication with battalion was impossible. Although they
had some success hunting tanks with bazooka teams, the airborne troops were pushed from the
town.

SCENARIO 17 - LET’S HUBBA, HUBBA

Bois Jacques (Jack’s Woods), Belgium, December 21st, 1944—As American troops initially
moved into the area around Bastogne, part of a Volksgrenadier battalion was pinched off behind
the perimeter and dug in a wooded area. The 1st Battalion of the 506th, withdrawn from the
fighting in Noville had become the reserve force. Sergeant Vetland, one of the platoon
sergeants, came back from the company CP, “Okay, men, let’s hubba-hubba, one time. Just
leave your chow where it’s at. We gotta go. We’ve got a little job to do. You can finish your
breakfast as soon as we get back.” It was their job to dig them out.

The Americans approached the Germans who were in well dug and well camouflaged positions.
They gained fire superiority early on and the German fire slowed to a trickle. The Americans
leapfrogged forward, while forcing the Germans to keep their heads down with steady fire until
they reached their holes and engaged them in hand to hand combat. Many of the Germans were
shot as they cowered in their holes by troopers who fired down on them as they ran past. “C”
Company swung forward on the American’s left flank and completed the round up.

SCENARIO 18 - TO DIE ON CHRISTMAS

Champs, Belgium, December 25th, 1944 – After the reply of “Nuts!” to the surrender
ultimatum on the 23rd, the promised, massive artillery bombardment and assault never
materialized. However, this did not mean the Germans were done. Starting early in the morning
on Christmas, a German night attack had penetrated into the town of Champs. As daylight
broke, the paratroopers of the 502nd finished clearing the town.

Vicious, close-in, house to house fighting ensued. After Americans cleared the town, they found
this inscription written by a German officer on a chalkboard in a schoolroom—“May the world
never see such a Christmas night again. To die far from one’s children, one’s wife, and mother,
under the fire of guns, there is no greater cruelty. To take away from a mother her son, a
husband from the wife, a father from his children, is it worthy of a human being? Life can only
be for love and respect. At the sight of ruins, of blood and death, universal fraternity shall
arise.”