Bigggie

Re: Stealth - Saying that Stealth technology is originally Russian is not completely accurate. The mathamatical formulas that were eventually used to develop stealth tech. were developed by a Russian scientist (I can't remember his name) in the early 20th century. He published formulas on how to calculate light, sound and radio wave refraction based upon different angles of impact. The Russian government did not view this information as having any military significance and never classified the formulas. Many years later, a scientist from the now famous (or infamous, depending on your viewpoint) Skunk Works stumbled upon the formulas and put them to work towards developing the technology. Just thought I'd add my two cents.

I too have had this problem/advantage (depending on which side I am playing as). I have been able to order my troops to walk straight through the barbed wire. Is this a glitch or is Charles (not the BTS Charles) correct in his assessment that Veteran troops can go straight through barbed wire because of their experience in cutting the wire?

I did a search and couldn't find the answer- Will CM model the underside of tank armor? I often read accounts of US tanks trying to drive over hedgegrows, only to expose the armorless underside of the tank where German AT weapons would penetrate with ease. Is this modeled in CM? Can tanks even expose their underside? Just wondering. Thanks

I did it by "cheating" just to see if it could be done. I played as the allies in Riesberg and saved the game after each turn. If I took a casualty on the following turn, I would reload the game and try a different tactic. I scored a perfect 100 - 0 casualties and the Germans had 0 men OK. I know it was cheating, but I did it out of curiosity. The fact that someone was able to do it "straight up" is quite amazing.

The number 15% might be a little low, but not by much. I remember reading in a book that quoted an Army study (of troops in Vietnam)that estimated between a 20% - 30% firing rate. I am looking for the book so I can cite it on the board. I'll post it when I find it.

I realize that the incline would be too steep for a vehicle to drive up, but what about infantry. Could a unit run up/scale the wooded/grassy inclines on the sides of the dam?

Thanks for the responses. The town that I was thinking of was Oradour-sur-Glane. I was able to find the site where I had originally read about it: http://www.softadventure.net/oradour.htm It has some interesting pictures and background info if anyone is curious.

I remember reading about a town in westen France that was the sight of a WWII massacre. As the Germans were withdrawing, they murdered every single resident of the town. The town itself has been left exactly as it was discovered by the allies. Not a thing has been changed, and (if I remember correctly) people can visit the town and explore on their own. I ask this because I will be in France this summer, and I think it would be interesting to see what a 1944 French villiage looks like. Unfortunately, I can not remember the name of this town. Does anyone know about this? Thanks.

Not only does the smoke took amazing, but I got excited seing the Ramelle map

I whole heartedly agree with Heibis. Civilian casualties occur in todays wars just as they did in WWII. Despite what the government/media shows, I read a statistic in the NY Times (it was an article that appeared this past fall in the Science Section - I don't remember the date)that just over 80% of the bombs dropped on Yugoslavia struck their intended target. That means that for every 100 bombs dropped about 20 missed their target. Furthermore, the intended target may not have been a military position (bridges, power plants, fuel refineries, or misinteligence like the Chinese Embassy) where civilians were located. During the gulf war, the US also struck civilian targets intentionally because Saddam had a habit of placing SAMS near them for propoganda purposes. I am not trying to villify the US, but mearly point out that military action is a manifestation of political policy. Sometimes the policy may include attacking areas that may or do have civilians in order to accomplish that policy. Some policies are more defensable than others. Shelling a town in order to clear out hidden defenses is more legitamate as compared to bombing a city out of revenge (Dresden, for example) I also wanted to thank BigTime software for allowing this discussion to take place on their forum, even thought this is a huge digression from the discussion of their upcoming game. We know that it takes time to read all of these posts, and your time is limited as it is. I think that most people here are very consious of history and appreciate being given a forum to discuss/debate it. I know some posts got quite heated because we all are steadfast in our beliefs/opinions and have trouble being wrong. As students of history, we should all be willing to listen to what others have to say without getting offended or taking things personal. Basically - can't we all just get along!

I think that the arguments over which country killed the most civilians or cared the least about civilians is pointless. WWII brought out evils never before seen. EVERY nation involved killed civilians unnecessarily. I define unnecessary civilian killings as those where there are no or minimal tactical advantages gained from the killings. This policy of killing fot no real military goals occurred on every level - from the politicians, to the generals, to the grunts on the field. Without writing a treatise on the subject, it is a fact that both powers killed millions of civilians. Comparing statistics is an exercise in futility and degrades (IMO) the true tragedy of what occured.

ll

***No to "core units" and yes to campaigns. CM's campaigns take you through a single 1-3 day battle. There is no war wide campaign. The simple reason is that it is totally unrealisitc for this to happen at CM's scale, and therefore it is impossible to simulate*** I am not sure if I understand the campaign correctly. Will a previous battle affect the following battle - i.e. - will a unit become more experienced or smaller in numbers depending on it's previous performance? Or each battle be completly independant of the others with a set number of troops at the start of the battle with a set experience level?

Will Squads/Companies run out of ammo or supplies during a battle? Can more supplies be ordered and/or reserve troops be called in during individual battles?

Will there be any defensive battles in Combat Mission?