Usually I finish scenarios to the last turn in solo plays unless there is a sudden-death type SSR or VC or if all the units of one side are wiped out. In this case I stopped play at the start of turn 29 when the Germans finally managed to blow the bridge up as both sides had met victory conditions with no way of reversing a draw.

The scenario started off well but by turn 20 it seemed almost impossible that the American forces, both para or glider battalion units would be able to take the bridge/town hex. The exhaustion rule for the paras really had adverse effects once leaders got divided up or when units really needed to rally. The paras never managed to even get into the swamp area as they were bogged down in attempting to clear the northernmost town hexes of German defenders. Only one of the three enemy occupied towns north of the river and swamp area were ever cleared. The glider battalion units on the other hand were able to activate right away on turn 1 and immediately traveled in a second group south, through the swamps to attempt to flank the objective. Movement through the swamp areas was slow and an effort was made to keep all glider units together so progress was made usually only one hex at a time. By the time those units were within direct fire or assault range the German reinforcements began to trickle in and engaged them head-on. Ultimately both the American attacks failed from the north and south approach. By turn 27 some glider battalion units had made it through opportunity fire and had the bridge within their sights and the Germans failed to blow the bridge on the first attempt. Soon, with American units inching closer, it looked like one hasty and desperate assault might of been made on the objective bridge hex but at the start of turn 29, on the third try, the Germans blow the bridge and it was finally over. Both sides eliminated enough of the other's steps to claim a victory.

Somehow, halfway through this scenario I began to lose interest though I enjoyed the start of it. It just seemed futile for the Americans, especially the paras. Everything depended on the glider forces and they failed once they actually made contact with the enemy and it was too late. The only units approaching from the north to get even close to the bridge were the M5 Stuart tanks but they had to go at a 50mm AT gun dug-in road as there was no way around it as vehicles cannot move through swamp terrain. The German AT gun takes out a whole unit of the M5s in one shot. The remaining tanks have no luck with direct fire or assaulting the gun but surprisingly at the end of the battle, a reduced M5 survived in good order. I give this one a '2' though initally play started out as a '4' but by the time the bridge was blown I was glad to call an end to this scenario. The exhaustion rule for the paras really did put a damper on things and almost always at a crucial moment. I think for the Americans to have a chance both paras and glider battalion units have to be able to hit the Germans quickly from north and south, coordinated best as possible. It's kind of ironic that the historical outcome cites the glider forces being the ones reluctant to participate when in this case they were the only ones that made a remote threat to the bridge and had almost the whole burden resting on their shoulders.