[Greece] The Corinth Canal - April 26, 1941

Unternehmen Marita - Airborne assault on the bridge.
Mediterranean Theater By: jdrommel - Last update: 06/16/2015
Axis Player: Allied Player:
x6 x6 x4 x6
first You play first    


Historical Background:
Operation "Marita" was a success, the German motorized troops were advancing in Greece, driving back the British Expeditionary Corps of General Wilson. To prevent the retreat towards the Peloponnese, the German High Command planned to cut the Corinth isthmus by seizing the bridge on the Corinth canal with an airborne assault. In the early morning of the 26th April 1941, about ten gliders landed on both sides of the bridge and seized it. After that, several Junkers 52 arrived, carrying two battalions of German paratroopers. A New Zealand company who was in defensive positions opened fire and some "Fallschirmjägers" were killed during their drop. In the combat that followed, the bridge blew up, blocking the British retreat. Then the German paratroopers captured the town of Corinth and waited for the reinforcement arriving by the road. The operation on the Corinth canal was a success for the 2nd Fallschirmjäger Regiment and was the prelude of a large-scale operation : "Merkur", the airborne invasion of Crete.
The stage is set, the battle lines are drawn, and you are in command. The rest is history.

Briefing:
Axis player [Germany] : 6 command cards, you move first.
Allied player [New Zealand] : 4 command cards.

Conditions of Victory:
6 medals.
The bridge and the Airfield are each a temporary medal objective for the Axis player.

Special Rules:
- All Axis units are paratroopers, use "Specialized Units" rules (Troop 2). Badges are not required.
- Use "BCF Command" rules (Nation 5).
- Use "Blitz" rules (Action 15).
- Use "Paradrop" rules (Action 20). During the 1st turn of the Axis player, play a command card as usual to activate the three infantry units already landed by gliders, then drop seven airborne units on the Dropping Zone hexagon. If one unit falls in an hexagon occupied by a friendly unit, place this unit in a free adjacent hex.
- "Air Power" card is not allowed to the Allied player. Discard it and take another.
- "Barrage" card is not allowed to the Axis player. Discard it and take another.

Scenario Bibliography:
- Magazine Connaissance de l'Histoire n°18 - Aéroportés 1918-1944.
- Magazine Historica hors-série n°58 - L'invasion de la Grèce.
- "Les paras du matin rouge" - Jean Mabire.

Warning:
Please note that this scenario was not approved by Richard Borg or Days of Wonder, so you have to check yourself about playability, potential gaming issues, etc.

Set-up Order
2
1
1
6
10
12
8
1
4
2