#1006_04_Dunkerque "The Cancelled Assault" - PzC 24 Scheldt '44

Date: 6 October 1944 - Size: Small - Description: Dunkirk (Hypothetical) \\Scenario Briefing: In early September, Field Marshall Montgomery assigned 1st Canadian Army the task of opening the Channel Ports. Montgomery believed that the ports of Le Havre, Boulogne, Calais, and Dunkirk would be sufficient to fuel the UK 1st Army in a decisive thrust into the heart of Germany that would end the war in Europe. Increasing German resistance, the disappointing results of Operation Market Garden, difficulties encountered at Boulogne and Calais, and the increasingly obvious strategic significance of the Scheldt Estuary prompted Montgomery to cut the Channel Ports Campaign short. In an operational order issued on September 27th, Montgomery cancelled plans to capture Dunkirk. 3rd Canadian Infantry Division would mop up at Calais and then redeploy to the Scheldt. A holding force would lay siege to remaining Channel port. Commanding a strange agglomeration of Czechoslovak, British, Canadian, and French troops, General Alois Liska maintained the siege for the remainder of the war, accepting the Dunkirk garrison's surrender on May 9th, 1945. Though the Allies never made a serious effort to reclaim Dunkirk, had the course of campaign unfolded differently in September, it is possible that operations against the eastern-most French port would have gone forward. This scenario finds 3rd Canadian Infantry Division assembled southwest of the fortress city, ready for the assault...\\Design Notes:\1. In this hypothetical scenario, 3rd Canadian Infantry Division assaults Dunkirk on October 6th instead of the Breskens Pocket. No detailed operational orders were ever drawn up for an assault on Dunkirk, so it is unknown what units would have been used and how they would have been deployed. The Allied unit roster is built around units that were historically present at Dunkirk in early October or which participated in Operation Switchback against the Breskens Pocket. Allied deployment is based on the assaults on Le Havre, Boulogne, and Calais.\2. As at Calais, the Allies will receive support from Bomber Command at 08:00 and 10:00 each morning (weather permitting). It is recommended that the Allied player use this support while it is available. Allied troops are fixed on Turn 1 for Bomber Command to soften up the German defenses. If no German troops are visible, it advisable that the Allied player target objective hexes and the city's interior.\3. Due to a shortage of manpower and concerns that losses could not be replaced, Allied leadership was reluctant to commit the Czechoslovak Independent Armoured Brigade Group to major combat. While the Czechoslovak Brigade was present at Dunkirk in early October and it is plausible that it could have participated in an assault against the German fortress, it most likely would have been relegated to a secondary role. Because it is almost inconceivable that Allied would committed a large portion of this brigade to an operation that could potential result in heavy casualties, most of the Czech Brigade will remain fixed for the first half of the scenario. The exception is the 1st Tank Battalion, which is detached to provide armored support to the Canadian assault.\\Recommended Rules: [Default] \Alternative Assault Resolution, Artillery Set Up, Recon Spotting, Virtual Supply Trucks, Optional Surrender, Low Visibility Air Effects, Quality Fatigue Modifier, Optional Amphibious Rules, Counterbattery Fire, Night Fatigue, Programmed Weather, Limited Air Recon, Delayed Disruption Reporting, Extended Patrolling.