During May 10 to May 12, 1940, Ockenburg, a small Dutch auxiliary airfield near The Hague, was the scene of bitter fighting between German airborne forces and Dutch defenders during World War II. A German formation of one airborne company of Fallschirmjaeger Regiment 2 and a battalion of Air landing troops of IR.65 (22.ID) was envisaged to take the small Air Force Base (AFB) by surprise attack. The strike was part of the grand strategy to seize the Dutch city of the Hague, where the Dutch Royal Family, Cabinet and Military headquarters were situated. The German battle-plan incorporated large combined airborne and airlanding elements to land at the large Dutch AFB’s at Valkenburg (South Holland) and Ypenburg and a smaller party at Ockenburg. These three air bases were situated east, south and west of the Hague. Around 8,000 Germans were scheduled to land and march onto the Hague, snatching the Dutch Royal Family and beheading the Dutch military by capturing their command-centers.
The landing at Ockenburg resulted in initial German seizure of the air field during which 25 Dutch defenders were KIA. But within a short the German landing party (no more than around 400 men) were driven off of the pitch and pushed into the dune area between the air field and the North Sea. In a daring attempt to break out during the following days, the German force (led by the commander of 22.ID, Lieutenant General Hans Graf von Sponeck) managed to out manoeuver the quite substantial Dutch formations and eventually reach the German held pocket at the hamlet Overschie. At that position a combined remnant force of around 1,000 German invaders managed to hold out until being relieved by German ground-forces in the evening of May 14, 1940, after the Rotterdam Blitz.
The Luftwaffe lost around 250 airplanes in the area of the Hague, 500 men KIA and about 1,250 airborne, air-landing and Luftwaffe personnel being evacuated as POW’s to the United Kingdom on 14 May 1940. Those were lost to the German cause for the duration of the war. That event outraged Hermann Göring when he got word of it. He had several Dutch officers arrested and interrogated on the matter. In the end, on the scale of things, the German losses were obviously painful but not much more than that.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ockenburg
The Game:
German air landing units must attempt to seize airfields around The Hague to prevent the escape of the Dutch Royal Family while crippling the Dutch air defense.
The Terrain consisted of rolling flat open terrain with sand dunes along two of the table edges. The airfield was situated in the center surrounded by a berm. Several villages and part of The Hague dotted the table.
German Objective: Hold the airfield and block all roads coming from The Hague (off table to the NE).
Dutch objective: Contest the airfield or break all German companies.
Deployment: A platoon of Rifle/MG armed Dutch holding the airfield, with a platoon of Fallschirmjager landing on Turn 1 in the field/dunes west of the airfield. German air landing troops start arriving on Turn 2 (two companies), of which at least one company should survive. Dutch counterattacking troops appear starting on turn two (one light gun section and one MG platoon in Loosduinen, one company of Grenadiers with support weapons from the NE, and one company of Jagers from the S/SW). On turn seven, two more platoons of Fallschirmjager enter from the west.
Air landing: Each Ju-52 carries half a platoon. Platoons entering via air landing arrive as Reserves, rolling on Turn Two. Each platoon that arrives comes in two planes. Landing aircraft attempt to land during the aircraft phase of their turn, after any normal air attacks are resolved. They require a 12″ lane of clear ground prior to their stopping point.
Any enemy teams with LOS to and in range of the 12″ lane may fire at the landing aircraft, using a skill test per each shot of their available ROF to hit it. If more than one plane is landing, each enemy team must designate its fire to a specific target plane. For each hit, the landing aircraft rolls a 5+ save, like an unarmored truck. For each unsaved hit, the firing unit rolls a firepower test. If any firepower test is passed, then the plane is “badly damaged”. If all firepower tests are failed, then the plane is “lightly damaged”. All passengers then disembark. If the plane is undamaged, all passengers disembark with no ill effects. If the plane is “lightly damaged”, all passenger teams must pass a 3+ save to avoid being eliminated. If the plane is “badly damaged”, all passengers must pass a 5+ save. Any teams that shoot at a landing aircraft cannot shoot in defensive fire in the same turn, or move at the double, dig in, shoot, storm trooper move or assault in their next turn.
All damaged planes remain where they come to rest. Undamaged planes remain on the ground during the enemy turn, and may be fired upon like an unarmored truck. Any planes that are still undamaged in the German turn must attempt to take off at the beginning of their side’s next aircraft step if possible. Planes require an 18″ lane of clear ground to take off, and they may taxi up to 6″to line up with the lane. Enemy units may fire at planes as they taxi and attempt to take off in a manner similar to shooting at landing planes. Any planes damaged while taking off are stopped on the ground and left in place (we used glider models to represent planes and craters to represent burned out heavily damaged planes).
The first German planes must attempt to land on the airfield, until it is filled up with parked and damaged planes on the ground that block all possible landing lanes. After the airfield is blocked, subsequent planes may attempt to land in the fields and sand dunes. Landing is per above, however, any plane landing outside the airfield that emerges undamaged from ground fire must pass one more 5+ save or else lands in lightly damaged condition, and all passengers must pass a 3+ save.
Turn 1 and 2: Germans Fallschirmjager platoon drops and approaches the airfield.
Turn 2: Germans begin landing the air landing reserves, taking heavy casualties, as Dutch receive one platoon of HMGs, one section of light guns, and one company commander em-placed in Loosduinen.
Turn 3 and 4: German airlandings continue to arrive and take heavy casualties. Germans clear the airfield of Dutch troops. Dutch receive an off board 120mm battery (antiquated) with one forward observer anywhere on table.
Turn 5: German airlandings continue to arrive and take heavy casualties. One Dutch infantry company (Grenadiers), with support weapons, arrives from NE and moves towards the airfield, as the existing unit contiue to punisch the Germans on the airfield.
Turn 6: The last German reserves land on the airfield. Fire from Loosduinen and advancing units continues to be heavy. At this point the first airlanding company has taken 50% casualties (mostly while getting out of their planes. Dutch Jager company, enters from SW/S corner or S edge at least 24″ from Loosduinen.
Turn 7: The second airlanding company starts to arrive next to the airfield, taking 50% casualties while landing. Two additional platoons of Dutch infantry arrive behind the Grenadiersand move towards Loosduinen. Two Fallschirmjager platoons, with company commander, arrive 12″ from W/NW corner.
Turn 8-10: The remaining airlanding units arrive near the air field (mostly intact) and start to take positions to defend the airfield from the the Dutch Jagers moving through the woods and to shore up the first platoon already holding the airfield.
Turn 11-13: Dutch units start their attacks on both sides of the airfield. They are totally repulsed on the south end (most of the Jager Company is destroyed), but manage a toe hold on the north corner. The battle surged back and forth with the Dutch trying to contest the Airfield and the Germans trying to hold them at bay.
Turn 14: The game was called, as the Dutch had taken heavy losses and had reached their high water mark. Two of the German companies were shot up, leaving the remaining Germans happy to still control the airfield, but would be unable to push the Dutch out of Loosduinen to protect any aircraft from arriving. The game was declared a counter factual Draw as the Germans more or less had the Airfield, but were nowhere near the road objectives. The Dutch had not been able to break the German units or push them off the airfield.
– Manteuffel