A City Too Far
The Beginning
~Rommel's HQ - Essen, Germany
"The British and Americans will begin their push towards Germany and the rest of the Netherlands very soon. How will be leading the charge? Montgomery, Alexander, Brooke or Patton? Hausser what do you think?"
The SS-Generalfeldmarschall fresh from leading the II-SS Panzercorps to victory in Normandy turns to look at Rommel directly, "Patton."
"Ofcours my dear Hausser, he's the best the Allies have, nearly broke out of France on several occasions and did twice, once in Brittany and again in Normandy. I think the Eisenhower will choose a British commander this time, making sure the Brits still seem important. I think Monty will lead the attack."
"Fair enough."
General Beyer looks up at the boards, "If the Allies are going to attack we need reserves ready to plug the gaps."
"Ofcourse, when the Allies attack we need crack forces to stop them. Heissmeyer's SS troops need to be ready to attack them directly. Why not here in Essen, its a safe spot. They could cross into the Netherlands in a few hours if called for or stop the Allies from entering the Rhineland." The other commanders nod in agreement and Rommel places the III-SS Corps Marker at Essen. The OKW Reserve Marker sits at Eindhoven, Abs. Norway Marker at Wihelmshafen and the 15th Armee Marker steadily working north currently sitting in Amiens. The Allies have their forces posed to strike at the heart of the Fatherland, will the war be over before Christmas if the Allies make it across the Rhine, that dream will probably come true.
~Outside of Eindhoven, British XXXII Corps.
"General Brooke, this is a direct order from the top, Monty and Eisenhower give it to us. Thirty-Second Corps is to Eindhoven by tonight."
"Well that's simple and straight forward Colonel Martin don't you think? We're twelve miles from Eindhoven, we can march in from here. Are you troops ready?"
"The boys are ready general."
"Good, get going Colonel, call me when you reach Eindhoven." The Colonel salutes General Brooke and walks out to his command vehicle at the head of an armoured collumn of the XXXII Corps. He looks back at his tanks and trucks and rises his hand and waves it forward, the collumn begins to advance down the dirt road headed for Eindhoven.
"Colonel why so early of an advance?"
"Because Captain, Monty wants Eindhoven before Patton crosses into Germany, we need it by tonight and Monty will be the first into Germany."
"So this has become a beauty pageant between Patton and Montgomery?"
"Exactly Captain, we're the calvary and as Monty's White Stalions we must be the first to battle and the first to the rescue. British Paras will parachute into Germany when we reach Eindhoven and seize the German resource depot and bridges at Essen and Cologne and then we move out from Holland to their spots and then Germany will be under our control by Christmas, Operation Wallenstein my dear Henry. The war will end thanks to Monty's brilliant plains. Market Garden was a huge success and now he's got a big head and feels unstopable."
The tanks advance down the road and from the nearby woods the Germans look at their victims unaware of their pressence in the trees and brush.
"Ready! Und, Fire!"
The German Anti-Tank pieces tear holes into the British Collumn and the troops abadoned their half-tracks and trucks and rush towards the woods with their guns blazing while the Germans take steady aim at their British foes. British soldiers lob grenades into the woods and the Germans respond with deafening bursts from MG-42's.
"Get down. Colonel what next?"
"Get those trucks off the road! Bloody hell, form up the Shermans so we pound those positions!" A tank beside the command car is shattered to pieces from a German Pak 88 and another is destroyed in the nearby fields. "What the hell? I thought the road to Eindhoven was clear?"
"Your telling this to me?" the Captain ducks into the car's top with Colonel Martin sticking his head up directing orders from his radio. British Typhoons appear in the skies and drop their bombs into the woods sending the Wehrmacht soldiers fleeing for their lives. British soldiers advance into the woods and begin to pick off the retreating Germans. The Typhoons bomb deeper into the forest so they would not hit their own men. On the road Colonel Martin gets a report of 17 of 45 tanks and 12 of 90 trucks and halftracks are disabled. The British wouldn't reach Eindhoven until the morning and now realized that Operation Wallenstein was not going to be a walk in the park.