In the late summer of 1944, Allied forces were moving fast … so fast that supply lines, bridge demolitions, and a German recovery effort started to matter as much as combat power. Operation Market Garden was Montgomery’s gamble to punch through the Netherlands, leap the Rhine, and crack open the industrial Ruhr.
The idea was simple on paper: airborne troops (“Market”) would drop to seize a chain of bridges, while British armor and infantry (“Garden”) drove up a single narrow highway to link up with them. If that corridor held, the war in the west might be shortened dramatically. If it didn’t, isolated airborne pockets would be left to improvise, hold out, and hope relief arrived in time (spoiler alert).
Arnhem was the far end of that chain … the last bridge, the hardest reach. A Bridge Too Far (ABTF), named after Cornelius Ryan’s famous book, focuses on the fighting around Arnhem and, especially, the stand at the bridge by Lt. Col. John Frost’s Red Devil paratroopers and their unsuccessful attempt at taking the last bridge.
Sidenote: I read Ryan’s “A Bridge Too Far” back in high school, and while I remember the broad strokes of Operation Market Garden, many of the details of leaked out of my brain with the winds of time. Time to watch the movie again I guess! Onward.
ABTF is a mid-sized Historical ASL module: three campaign games, nine scenarios, and gobs of nationality counters. It also has a particular place in ASL publishing history. It was one of the first two modules Multi-Man Publishing released after Avalon Hill’s collapse (the other being Blood Reef: Tarawa). Tarawa was essentially a rework of earlier Heat of Battle material; ABTF isn’t a straight reprint of HoB’s God Save the King, but Heat of Battle still had a hand in its influence and development.
ABTF is an urban brawl, matching elite British airborne against elite German forces, with SS units playing a major role. That focus is common for HASLs and Historical Studies: many of them lean toward high-grade troops and sharp, decisive engagements (SS, paratroopers, Marines, etc). ABTF fits that pattern, and Arnhem gives it a “hold at all costs” structure.
That same structure is also why some players are turned off by campaign games. The British are surrounded. They don’t get the satisfying “build your force and expand your footprint” that some other campaign games provide. Their situation mostly gets worse as turns pass. Ammunition issues, attrition, and the general unraveling of a cut-off force are baked into the design. This feels similar to MMP’s Starter Kit module, Decision at Elst, which takes place across the Nijmegen and involves the Brits putting the German SS on their heels, turn after turn. Historically, that’s the point. But as a game, it can feel like you’re managing a slow collapse, which isn’t everyone’s idea of a good time.
A Bridge Too Far has three campaign games:
- CG I: “Block by Bloody Block” runs six campaign dates.
- CG II: “A Dark and Fateful Day” runs nine campaign dates.
- CG III: “A Bridge Too Far” is the monster: sixteen campaign dates.
A few of the stand-alone scenarios have a reputation for being lopsided. That’s not unique to ABTF, but it’s part of its baggage: if you want an even fight every time, you may need to be selective about what you play. Historically one side or the other won certain battles, and balancing historical games that are sometimes lopsided can be difficult.
ABTF also ended up in the shadow an unofficial rival: Critical Hit’s Arnhem: The Third Bridge (I will do an unboxing of this at a later date). The Critical Hit module is often praised for having a more attractive map (it does). If you’re choosing between them as a single purchase, ABTF usually comes across as the safer bet … if you can find one at a reasonable price, or wait for it to be reprinted in the mythical “Four Bridges” module. But the slow heat death of the universe might happen before you can pre-order it.
Anyway, the one part of ABTF that sparks debate has nothing to do with scenario balance or gameplay, and everything to do with presentation. ABTF included a Waffen-SS order of battle printed as black counters with white text. Commence clutching of pearls!
To newer players, that might sound like a minor graphic choice. For longtime ASLers, it hit an old nerve. In the original Squad Leader series, SS units were indeed black-and-white. When Beyond Valor brought SS into ASL, they were folded into the standard German color scheme (blue/gray counters with an “SS” marking), treating them as a subset rather than a separate visual faction. Some players missed the old Squad Leader look and wanted “official” black SS counters again. Some players were aghast (and still are) that a separate OB for a nationality received its own color. I couldn’t care less either way. It’s a color.
MMP has publicly stated they’ll never print SS counters in black again, which makes some players happy … the same players who will rail against a colored counter, but fully accept, without argument, the SS or Death’s Head iconography being displayed on the same counter. But I digress …
ABTF carries a strange (unwarranted) reputation: It’s admired for tackling a famous, desperate fight, but also remembered as the module that perpetuates a tired argument about what ASL components should (or should not) emphasize.
Contents
- 23 pages of rules/charts
- 9 scenarios
- 7 1/2 sheets of counters
- 23″ x 31″ one-piece map
- 3 campaign games
- Chapter R divider
Where To Order
Long out of print … but will be reprinted in the “Four Bridge” module, coming out sometime this century (I kid, but not really).
Academy Out!
GET TO THE CHOPPA…!!! 
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“ABTF included a Waffen-SS order of battle printed as black counters with white text. Commence clutching of pearls!”
Soooo true!! lol