The bridge across the Albert
Canal at Vroenhoven, was slated to be one of the two main crossing
points for the attacking German 6th Army under General von Reichenau.
It was imperative that this bridge, like the other at Veltwezelt,
be captured intact to facilitate a swift advance into Belgium.
The region represented by the map is the hilly village country
located along the Albert Canal between Maastricht and Tongres.
Securing the battlefield on 10 May 1940, at the outset of Fall
Gelb, was the responsibility of the 7th Fallschirmjäger Division
and Sturmgruppe Beton.
At 0510 hours the Belgian
defenders witnessed the fall of several planes from the stream
of German bombers that crossed the Dutch and Belgian borders;
probable victims of Dutch anti-aircraft fire from nearby Maastricht.
Far from victims, these “planes” were German DFS 230
gliders, filled with elite paratroopers tasked with capturing
the bridges in the first glider assault in history. At 0515 hours,
the assault group under Lieutenant Schadt landed near the Vroenhoven
Bridge. Plagued with a lack of working grenades, short of ammunition,
and stunned by the speed of the assault, the Belgians were quickly
overwhelmed at the bridge. At 0530 hours the bridge was completely
cleared of explosives and the remaining Belgian soldiers had withdrawn,
giving the Germans a bridgehead some 300 meters wide. Lieutenant
Schadt radioed “objective taken”
Welcome to STURMGRUUPE
BETON, an updated edition of the Albert Canal map, plus 6
historical scenarios that play on it. This is the only LARGE HEX
map edition, and uses the latest retro art that is the look that
takes you back to when you were playing Hill 621 late into the
night with your Mom shushing you and your loud dice tower! This
edition is for owners of Doomed BattalionsTM and the ASLRB and
also includes two copies of 140 MMC/SMC bonus counters (280 in
total) from the ASLComp Facing the Blitz Ed Infantry ounter sheet,
with Belgians and Fallschirmjaegers.
