The Uwinnable Market Garden

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Sixthe9th
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The Uwinnable Market Garden

Unread postby Sixthe9th » Mon Jan 06, 2020 4:02 pm

Hi,

I am writing in utter despair after already losing more than 500 score points on Market-Garden scenario. I mean yes I know the battle inside out historically and Allies lost almost too terribly there. Thus I don't understand why is it vital to capture all objectives here including Arnhem when that is virtually impossible.

I had all my units maxed out with support battalions, been able to call on two extra para units and yet the Germans always too easily plough through me. I gave the game 10/10 in my recent review, still think it has no equal, etc. But this scenario should not be the end of the campaign if not won decisively it is a total slugfest and also very depends on slight nuances rather than tactical decisions incl. heave reliance on dice roll - especially for airstrikes that scarcely fail to deliver any results at all.

Paratrooper units deployed here are mostly useless, esp. US paras drop off not as elites as they should, but mere regulars unable to deal with std. Wehrmacht units whilst their counterparts manage to singnificantly delay any progress. Dropping paras at Arnhem means sacrifice, but also means extra para unit, albeit understrength, well I always go for this option regardless and drop them on Nijmegen to at least keep the panzers at busy for couple turns. However, one two bad rolls and XXX. Corps gets bogged down around Eindhoven. Even when Poles are earned they can do little apart from hold the vital line between Nijmegen and Eindhoven, whilst British got annhilated at Arnhem.

Strangely enough, I cannot remove used cards from pool or exchange them, so I end up unable to claim the vital airdrops that would save the day for paras. I am also able to prevent reinforcments in south, but they not a chance to prevent spawning them at north, so even if I isolate or mop up everything south of Nijmegen, the enemy builds up a massive armored force in north and there is no way to plunge through and win on time. Like this is not enough, the fuel keeps running out despite using all trucks, so in such little time in critical time, my armors are often dried up. I also tried to build bridges on the nortwestern side, but I would require couple more turns to pushing via there.

This insane predicament makes this scenario, imho, the most challenging thing I have ever encountered in whole UoC series - literally a tough puzzle game that get ruined by RNG almost too often. You have managed to imprint the Bridge Too Far feeling authentically, however making this scenario's objectives mandatory (non-historically) devalues the overall enjoyment by great deal and turns amazing game into frustrated grind that is nor fun nor accurate (Allies didn't Ike or Monty for such failure ).

Yeah, I know there are master commanders here who wheeled here with top elite troops that would cut through Jerries like knife via butter (I have only one veteran, albeit fully restored and upgraded outfit) here, but the punishment at this stage aka restarting whole campaign is little bit too brutal.

So please, make this game fun and historically accurate again by marking Arnhem merely as bonus objective! It would really made a lot of sense :)

Six
Last edited by Sixthe9th on Mon Jan 06, 2020 4:48 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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pendant
First Lieutenant
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Joined: Wed Mar 12, 2014 3:33 pm

Re: The Uwinnable Market Garden

Unread postby pendant » Mon Jan 06, 2020 4:31 pm

"Strangely enough, I cannot remove used cards from pool or exchange them, so I end up unable to claim"

This seems to me to be a flaw in the mechanics of the game.

"So please, make this game fun and historically accurate again by marking Arnhem merely as bonus objective! It would really made a lot of sense"

Has my vote!

funky_trader
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Joined: Sat Oct 17, 2015 4:35 pm

Re: The Uwinnable Market Garden

Unread postby funky_trader » Tue Jan 07, 2020 12:45 am

Sixthe9th wrote:Hi,

So please, make this game fun and historically accurate again by marking Arnhem merely as bonus objective! It would really made a lot of sense :)


But Arnhem is a bonus objective! Only Nijmegen and Eindhoven are required objectives. Are you playing an unpatched version?

The campaign can be a bit frustrating at times as there any many things that you should remember to do early on since it will have an impact later in the game. For example, key for Market Garden is taking Aachen as a bonus objectives in the previous scenario Advance to Antwerp. You get the 101st paratrooper card (elite 6 step units). Also, in previous scenarios, ensure that paratroopers don't get destroyed since they carry over to this scenario. This is likely why you can't hold Arhhem. A 6 step elite unit in Arhem is actually so strong the AI doesn't dare attack it (at least in my playthrough). Once it starts going out of supplies, anything goes though.

You should start with 3 six steps elite paratrooper + that 101st card, makes it much more easier.

Hope it helps!

Sixthe9th
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Posts: 27
Joined: Sun May 20, 2012 4:13 pm

Re: The Uwinnable Market Garden

Unread postby Sixthe9th » Tue Jan 07, 2020 3:42 pm

funky_trader wrote:
Sixthe9th wrote:Hi,

So please, make this game fun and historically accurate again by marking Arnhem merely as bonus objective! It would really made a lot of sense :)


But Arnhem is a bonus objective! Only Nijmegen and Eindhoven are required objectives. Are you playing an unpatched version?

The campaign can be a bit frustrating at times as there any many things that you should remember to do early on since it will have an impact later in the game. For example, key for Market Garden is taking Aachen as a bonus objectives in the previous scenario Advance to Antwerp. You get the 101st paratrooper card (elite 6 step units). Also, in previous scenarios, ensure that paratroopers don't get destroyed since they carry over to this scenario. This is likely why you can't hold Arhhem. A 6 step elite unit in Arhem is actually so strong the AI doesn't dare attack it (at least in my playthrough). Once it starts going out of supplies, anything goes though.

You should start with 3 six steps elite paratrooper + that 101st card, makes it much more easier.

Hope it helps!


What? Arnhem is a bonus only? Of fuck I had the whole thing set on Scoresheet all the time, dumbass me :))))

Thanks for clarification.

k-zee
Second Lieutenant
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Joined: Thu Jan 09, 2020 3:36 am

Re: The Uwinnable Market Garden

Unread postby k-zee » Thu Jan 09, 2020 3:43 am

To touch on this topic from a different angle... I've re-played Market Garden at least 15 times without success. I've attempted different routes of attack, tried to block off the entry roads for German reinforcements, and still cannot hold both primary objectives for all turns. About 10 tries in, I scrapped my campaign and re-started it, with the hopes of trying different unit development strategies, card combinations, etc. Still, I had the same result. Is there a single secret to Market Garden success? I'd hate to give up on the campaign, but I'm close.

Ryan
Colonel
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Joined: Sun May 06, 2018 6:51 pm

Re: The Uwinnable Market Garden

Unread postby Ryan » Fri Jan 10, 2020 7:39 am

Yes, Market. Garden is unreasonably hard. I only managed to take all primary and bonus objective once with huge casualty. I suggest do not take objectives too early but rather focus on eliminating enemy units, and take objectives in the last possible turns.

Eskuche
First Lieutenant
Posts: 11
Joined: Fri Jan 03, 2020 9:16 pm

Re: The Uwinnable Market Garden

Unread postby Eskuche » Sun Jan 12, 2020 11:38 pm

A strategic bombing card helped me take out this map pretty easily. Along with the B-26's, this let me remove two of the three armored units immediately. With luck (or restarts), the third one would have gone down turn 2.

Also tricky on this map is the "random" appearance of Germans. It helps immensely to take the east and west supply points so that any reinforcements are immediately out of supply for them. It's hard but you also need to maintain a steady supply train towards the paras. In my runs the Germans suicide attacked the first town in the middle of my supply line, netting me ~15 extra casualties coupled with the supply deficit for them.