0515_03: Closing the Scheldt - PzC 12 France '40
0 - 0 - 0
| Rating: | 0 (0) |
| Games Played: | 0 |
| SM: | 2 |
| Turns: | 29 |
| Type: | Stock |
| First Side: | Axis |
| Second Side: | Allies |
The Battle of Zeeland, 15 May 1940: As the reservists of Commando Zeeland prepared to defend
Zuid Bevelend against the rapidly approaching SS-V Division, General Winkelman entered
negotiations with 18. Armee's Georg von Küchler. Cut off from its allies, the Dutch Field Army
would lay down its arms on the night of May 14th-15th. Winkelman, however, hoping to the keep
the port of Antwerp open to the Allies, insisted that Commando Zeeland continue the fight. This
was unwelcome news to the Dutch reservists. Already shaky from seeing hundreds of retreating
soldiers pass through their lines, their morale plummeted as soon as they learned that the rest of the
army had surrendered. Contributing to Allied woes, disagreement between Général Durand, infantry
commander of the 68e DI, and Commando Zeeland's Colonel Van Der Stad had led to an incoherent
defensive deployment. The French and Dutch occupied two separate, thinly held lines with no
reserves. Believing Durand and Van Der Stad to be ineffective leaders, Général Beaufrere
dispatched Général Deslaurens to Zuid Beveland. Deslaurens, an aging but energetic and
courageous leader, arrived early on the 15th to take charge in a battle that would ultimately cost him
his life..[Size: Medium-Small] Design Note: To help represent the extremely shaky Dutch morale,
there is a slight chance that any given Dutch company might withdraw on any given turn.
Zuid Bevelend against the rapidly approaching SS-V Division, General Winkelman entered
negotiations with 18. Armee's Georg von Küchler. Cut off from its allies, the Dutch Field Army
would lay down its arms on the night of May 14th-15th. Winkelman, however, hoping to the keep
the port of Antwerp open to the Allies, insisted that Commando Zeeland continue the fight. This
was unwelcome news to the Dutch reservists. Already shaky from seeing hundreds of retreating
soldiers pass through their lines, their morale plummeted as soon as they learned that the rest of the
army had surrendered. Contributing to Allied woes, disagreement between Général Durand, infantry
commander of the 68e DI, and Commando Zeeland's Colonel Van Der Stad had led to an incoherent
defensive deployment. The French and Dutch occupied two separate, thinly held lines with no
reserves. Believing Durand and Van Der Stad to be ineffective leaders, Général Beaufrere
dispatched Général Deslaurens to Zuid Beveland. Deslaurens, an aging but energetic and
courageous leader, arrived early on the 15th to take charge in a battle that would ultimately cost him
his life..[Size: Medium-Small] Design Note: To help represent the extremely shaky Dutch morale,
there is a slight chance that any given Dutch company might withdraw on any given turn.
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