With Operation Market Garden in full swing, elements of 101st Airborne Division, supported by British armor, make a bid for the town of Best. But the enemy proves uncooperative. Two battalions of paratroopers and one of glider infantry find themselves counter-attacked by bits and pieces of five German battalions, supported by entrenched flak guns. The Allies hold two objectives, and must take at least two of three more to win. The Germans hold two objectives, and must take and hold only one more. In perhaps five hours of fighting, one side must own the town of Best--and both will die trying! The game was fought by the Gourmet Wargaming Club with 20mm figures, using our Hail of Lead homebrew rule set, at Richmond Game Central. Scroll down and peruse the photos to see how the game turned out. Scroll all the way to the bottom for information about the miniatures used.

A west-northwestern view battlefield, with the town of Best close to the camera. The Wilhelmina Canal runs from west to east. The village of Zon can be seen beyond the large patch of woods.	Zon Woods is a focus of action from the very beginning. The center-most numbered markers represent German positions; the markers at top show the location of companies of an American paratrooper battalion.	The battle opens with the commander of an American paratrooper battalion poking out to have a look at Best. The HQ platoon is spotted by enemy infantry, supported by an entrenched 88mm flak gun. (Pardon the non-paratrooper uniforms. These are substitutions.)	Events move quickly! A company of German police infantry (right) rush the paratrooper HQ, wiping it out. But the German regulars (left) and the 88 are stonked by 2 batteries of Sexton SP 25-pounders firing from off-board.	Soon the whole forward German position is wiped out by artillery fire.
A company of paratroopers (again, wearing regular army issue uniforms, sorry) maneuvers from Zon Woods and attempts to approach Best from the northeast. They are hit by accurate 8cm mortar fire, but are not stopped.	The same paratroopers continue their move forward under cover of a smoke screen. Poorly-trained German police infantry become the targets of their wrath.	Another paratrooper company attacks westward from the depths of Zon Woods, putting the fear of Gott into the German police.	Zon Woods explodes with activity! American glider infantry (bottom) and paratroopers (far left) move in from the north and east to attack elements of a very weak German infantry regiment.	A view of the action from the southeast. A company of towed 75mm PAK 40 antitank guns trades shots with the paras' HQ company, while a paratrooper infantry company outflanks the guns. (This time the paras have a semblance of the correct uniforms.)
U.S. paras slog towards Best, still under mortar and 105mm howtizer fire. The German police company is shrinking with every exchange of fire.	Oh, crap! A batch of German reinforcements has just arrived from the northwest, bringing another company of towed 75mm antitank guns to bear. A third company of U.S. paras discovers the PAK unit.	The firefight in Zon Woods continues, with the Germans starting to take casualties. The Americans are held fast, but as yet not seriously harmed.	Near Best, the paratrooper company is feeling more and more alone. They knock out one of the 75's, but are suppressed in the process.	The cavalry arrives late--too late to save the para company. A squadron of British tanks breaks cover and tears into every German in sight. The squadron is made up of 3 platoons of Shermans with the standard 75mm gun, plus 1 platoon-equivalent of Sherman fireflies with the long-barrelled 17-pounder gun.
The tankers make a westward dash to occupy Best, leaving a burning Sherman behind on the road. This last platoon was destroyed by second, hidden 88mm flak gun.	And here is the culprit, hidden across the Wilhelmina Canal. The 88 easily defeated the side armor of the Sherman.	It turns out that the area around Best is full of enemy positions. Here, a battery of towed 20mm flak guns paired with an infantry company guard the open approach to Best. The British tanks (top left) now flank this force from the town, and begin to pour fire into the German positions.	Fewer and fewer Germans occupy Zon Woods. The meat grinder goes on, with little loss incurred by the Americans. But time ticks by. A large part of the Allied force is tied up in this wood, instead of being used to take or guard other objectives.	German reinforcements continue their slow push towards Zon Woods, happy to be rid of the British tanks.
An overview of the battle at the mid-way point of the battle.	The tankers soon discover the problem faced by unsupported armor in urban terrain. They can't see what's going on till the panzerfausts start flying. Here a German weapons platoon goes in with antitank rockets at the ready.	German infantry reinforce Best while a lone company of American paras holds its ground. They are the last functioning company of the original full-strength battalion that started near the edge of Zon Woods.	The armor redeploys to bring firepower to bear against counter-attacking enemy infantry. The battle for Best is in full swing.	Almost unnoticed, a company of German infantry infiltrates eastward to threaten one of the objectives of the game: the northeastern road entry point. More Germans are right behind them. This is dire for the Allies.
The American players realize the danger, and send some glider infantry companies in a mad dash for the northeast road entry.	What started out as only a battalion-strength German regiment has now been battered down to a couple of platoons. There are scores of German dead, but the Americans have not yet captured more objectives than they started with.	Fighting infantry at close quarters in the town proves too much for the British tank squadron. All but 1 tank are burning, the lone Firefly being forced out by bad morale. Best is no longer contested.	The German counter-attack in the northeast is stronger than the Americans first suspected: there may be the better part of a battalion to deal with. The glider infantry hit the Germans hard.	Scratch the armoured squadron. Panzerfausts rule the streets and alleys.
The Germans are still holding fast in the west end of Zon Woods, a fresh company having been sent from the Best area to tie down the Americans.	A U.S. glider infantry company in action.	Those cheeky Germans will not let sleeping dogs lie! An infantry company moved all the way down from the Best area to attack the bridge at Zon. (The village by that name can be seen at bottom.) A company of American paratroopers moves in (at right) and gets a shower of bullets in response. Zon Bridge is contested!	Tank traps? Barbed wire posts? Nah, just sturdy toothpicks supporting a tinfoil roof that protects a DELICIOUS CHOCOLATE CAKE. Looks like the dessert has already seen combat.	We few. We happy few. We band of bros. For he that munches pizza with me shall be my bro. And gentle club members now out-of-town shall think themselves accurs'd they were not here, throwing cheap dice. 'Twas a draw, although the Germans just about squeaked a win. Good game!