Rommel's Asparagus

Rommel's Asparagus
Game	Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30
Chapter Details
Date	June 6th 1944, D-Day
Time	2100
Location	Near Hiesville, France
Enemies	Infanterie
Objective(s)	1) Destroy Eastern Field Poles 2) Destroy Western Field Poles
Game Progression
Previous Mission	Foucarville Blockade (in-game) Three Patrol Action (chronologically)
Next Mission	Action at Vierville

"It's amazing what you talk about after the lead stops flying around you. Hartsock told us of one bar fight too many. His reward was a nasty scar on his cheek, courtesy of a loud-mouthed lumberjack and a broken beer bottle. Allen and Garnett said they both enlisted right after high school rather than wait to be drafted. When it was my turn to talk, I just froze. I realized that nothing in my life before had really meant anything. Until now."

— Baker's Monologue

Rommel's Asparagus is the 7th chapter of Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30.

Summary

Moving south to link up with the rest of Baker's Dozen in St. Come, the team stops to assist the glider landings near Hiesville...

Plot

In the evening in D-Day, Baker and his team is ordered to remove the poles that could hurt the gliders that are landing in the fields to reinforce the paratroopers. The Germans will be there to defend the poles to make sure the poles are defended.

Baker and his team headed to the field and they fight off Germans in the area. Baker uses his supply satchel of TNT to blow the poles. After blowing 2/3 of the poles, one of the gliders crashed but didn't survived. After eliminating the AA crew and the remaining Germans, Baker finish off the left over poles that he didn't explode.

Another glider crashed towards the field but didn't make it and crushing the fences which lead Baker access to another area. Baker and his team engage the Germans in the area and blowing up the poles in the next field. After eliminating the Germans in the area and blowing up the remaining poles, a glider managed to land safely and Baker and his team meet up with the pilot who offered to resupply their ammunition.

Objectives

Destroy Eastern Field Poles

German Field Marshall Rommel anticipated Allied gliders, so he planted the fields with poles designed to shred their wings.

Destroy Western Field Poles

The 101st glider sortie is trying to land. Knock out the poles to safely clear their landing zones.

Characters

• Staff Sergeant Gregory Hassay
• Sergeant Matthew Baker (Playable)
• Corporal Joseph Hartsock
• Private First Class Kevin Leggett (does not speak)
• Private Larry Allen (does not speak)
• Private Boyd
• Private Michael Garnett

Weapons

American Weapons

• M1 Garand
• Colt M1911

German Weapons

• Kar 98k
• MP 40
• MG 42 (Mounted)
• AA Gun

Teams

Fire Team

• Cpl. Hartsock - M1A1 Carbine
• Pvt. Garnett - M1 Garand
• Pvt. Allen- M1 Garand

Walkthrough

At the beginning, your objective is to destroy the eastern field poles. There are approximately fifty German soldiers armed and ready to fight you off across the area. There are also two MG42 teams set up nearby: one is set up in the eastern-most section of the field and another at the west (or northeast). Off in the distance behind each machine gun is an AA gun.

After skillfully and tactically taking the Germans out of the eastern field, begin working on setting off the satchel charges on the poles. After a few minutes, C-47 gliders will begin landing in various positions. One of the gliders lands to the southwest and crashes through the gates while another one crashes near the AA gun to the northwest. Ignore them as their pilots are dead.

You are then tasked with successfully destroying the western field's poles. The objective is the same: destroy the poles. This time however, there are less German soldiers to fight and this time you must destroy the AA guns which are located at the southern-most tip of the field. After successfully destroying the poles and killing all of the Germans in the area, a glider will land to the north. Investigating the area will end the level as the pilot leaves his plane.

Transcript

Main article: Rommel's Asparagus/Transcript

Extras

Brothers in Arms Programming Department

Brothers in Arms programmers

Brothers in Arms programmers

Brothers in Arms programmers

Brothers in Arms programmers

US Army Signal Corps Photos of Glider Landings

A glider unloads its cargo in a training exercise.

The inside of a glider was a cramped place. Gliders carried men and equipment into Normandy to reinforce the jump troops.

Known as "Rommel's Asparagus," the poles standing in the field were designed by the Field Marshal to tear apart gliders landing here.

Several gliders landed near Hiesville among fields of Rommel's Asparagus. Fortunately, mines and wires had not yet been fastened to the poles here.

A glider's wing was badly torn by Rommel's Asparagus. Several of the men inside were wounded.

This Horsa glider had been torn and flipped on landing, killing half of the men on board.

The Gliders of D-Day - Col. Antal Briefing

This is the British made Horsa Glider. Gliders like this one were central to reinforce the paratroopers on D-Day.

The Horsa Glider could carry 30 fully-armed troops or equipment such as a Jeep, a Howitzer or anti-tank guns.

The Horsa was a high wing glider with a fabric-covered wodden structure and fixed tricycle landing gear. It had a wing span of 88 feet and a length of 67 feet.

Towed by a C47 transport aircraft, the Horsa was let loose over the target and glided down to land in the open fields of France. In Brothers in Arms, you will see Horsa Gliders land in the Chapter titled Rommel's Asparagus.

Museum Research Around The World

The National D-Day Museum in New Orleans, Louisana.

Co-Director Brian Martel examines an MP-38 that is being considered for display at the D-Day Museum.

The Smithsonian National American History museum in Washington, D.C. has an extensive and well-preserved collection of D-Day artifacts.

Original field manuals and the Browning Automatic Rifle on display at the National American History Museum.

The U.S. Ordnance Museum provided Col. Antal and Gearbox developers access to actual weapons from the European theatre.

In Normandy, France there are dozens of museums dedicated to D-Day. The Museum at Bayeaux was gracious to our researchers.

Col. Antal stands before the famous Screaming Eagles emblem at the Best, Holland museum.

The Airborne Museum in Ste. Mere Eglise contains a wealth of records and artifacts about the paratroopers of D-Day.

Outside the Airborne Museum, the Ste. Mere Eglise Church looms behind the Sherman Tank on display.

The D-Day Memorial in Normandy. More than 10,000 are buried here.

Gallery

PC Loading Screen

Trivia

• A Rommel's asparagus is a 4 to 5 meter log that the Germans had developed to use in the fields and meadows of Normandy to use cause damage to the invading Allies during World War 2.

Difference in the PS2 version

• The three pilots at the Glider use the models of Richard Doe, Nicholas Hooper, and Reece Jameson. They are also equipped with M1 Garands, but a part of an Assault Team. One of the pilot is named as Glass.
• Red is equipped with an M1 Garand.