David boutwell
Posts: 353
Joined: 5/28/2000 From: Haymarket, Virginia, USA Status: offline
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I have decided to use barges. I'll tell you why. The assault craft that the 3/504 PIR used were canvas British assault craft from the Guards Armoured Division Engineer Field Park. They were definitely not transportable by a squad (They are shown very well in "A Bridge Too Far"). Rather, they were transported by truck. So, I think the barge carrier/barge situation better models the historic situation. Granted, the boats were assembled, carried over the dike and launched by the paratroopers, while barges have to be launched by the carriers. The barges are motorized, and the canvas craft were not. On the other hand, there were only about twenty-six boats available. It is my observation from Bill Wilder's version of this scenario that there are as many rafts available as there are squads, which doesn't really model reality. By the time the first wave of paratroopers had been deposited on the east shore of the Waal River, there were only about half of the boats available for the next wave to be ferried over. I think that the barges model history better, so that's what I'm going to use. Regards, David Boutwell
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