Fallschirmjaeger: The Airborne Assault on Fortress Holland

About this board game

Fallschirmjaeger: The Airborne Assault on Fortress Holland is a historical combat game for 1–4 players, with play times ranging from 2 to 12 hours, covering the German airborne assault on Holland from May 10 to 14, 1940.

The German player deploys an airborne invasion force around Rotterdam and The Hague, then must survive long enough for advancing ground forces to provide relief. The Dutch player faces the challenge with limited Allied support, fighting to break the scattered paratroopers before German armored forces can cross the Maas and secure the operation.

This is the eighth game in The Gamers’ Standard Combat Series. Its scenario focuses on the airborne operation intended to capture Holland’s hinterland, support the wider German offensive, and draw Allied forces northward. Victory depends on completing the German objectives or destroying the airborne force before it can be rescued.

• Game scale: eight-hour turns, one-kilometre hexes, and platoon- and company-level units
• Components: a 22 × 34-inch full-color map and 560 half-inch counters
• Rules: an eight-page Standard Combat Series rulebook plus a 16-page game-specific rulebook
• Play style: low complexity with medium solitaire playability

Based in part on original Dutch records and research by Dutch researchers, Fallschirmjaeger presents a detailed treatment of an under-represented battle. The Dutch government and gold reserve must be evacuated in the historical struggle, while the German player must make do with a force operating on a shoestring until help arrives.