Father Ted

This really. We can argue til the cows come home about the best computer wargame out there, but only CM provides those three things. I would say that makes it subjectively my favourite, but I wouldn't presume to say objectively the best.

The crew should never expose a member - partially or otherwise.

I'd just like to thank...

Like Freyberg, I'd say that/those scene(s) were about depicting how war had dehumanised the GIs rather than an attempt to demonise their enemy. I did think the film was militarily highly suspect though.

My take: as a thriller with an interesting chronological structure - yes: as a war film - not so much. And the improbably-gliding Spit definitely jumped the shark.

A similar option - and one more in line with CM - would be Command Ops 2. On the micro-management issue I have to confess that I quite enjoy the setup phase of a big battle - forming a plan, working out who is best fitted for each role in that plan, and then re-arranging everybody in their jump-off positions, whilst also optimising C2. The subsequent near-identical multiple move orders are a bit tiresome, I agree. But as others have said, it's only the lead scouts and FOOs who need detailed plans in the initial stages. In terms of use of infantry, I think that one of the hallmarks of a great videogame/simulation is that the player adopts real-world tactics in order to succeed in the virtual one. For example I've been playing through a FB campaign as the US. My armoured infantry and armour kept getting zapped by Fausts and Shrecks hidden (until they fire) in any of a multitude of positions of cover. Early on I used cheap units as bait to try to tempt the buggers to reveal their position and then nail them with direct fire from tanks, but as the campaign ground on I got fed up with putting people in harms way. Now I just flatten any likely-looking spot with mortars or off-map arty, send someone in to poke amongst the rubble, before letting the precious Shermans rumble past. It's not particularly fun from a gaming point-of-view, but it works and, from what I've read, it seems to have been what the Allies did. As for realism, at one point I actually felt a pang of guilt when I called in a strike on a row of Belgian cottages which I merely suspected of housing some Germans.

I know this isn't quite what you're talking about, but I often find that I use tankers as ad-hoc FOOs - usually with better results than the designated unit.

Well, if it is unique, there should only be one case.

To me the green berets represent the Royal Marines. Commandos had knitted hats - but I'm basing that on the old Airfix box-lid source. Actually also, from memory, on a statue in Fort William - anyone have pics? So knitted hats - watch caps - would be a cool mod

Maybe the rationale here is that hiding is an active behaviour rather than just resting?

*cough* he said WW2 games *cough*. BTW Erwin I just got a voucher from Matrix, so I now have "DC Barbarossa" on my HDD. Looking forward to firing it up.

Well, I'd say Command Ops 2 is a very good game (haven't played the other two). It's a real-time game played on a 2-d map, with the units represented by counters. That sounds a bit dry, but it's the way your units react to your orders which makes it interesting - they take time to get them, process them, and then act on them, so you have to factor that delay into your planning. The game's other selling point is that your AI subordinates can make their own plans of attack, which allows you to play as a proper on-map "boss". By this I mean you concoct a general plan, select points of assault, lines of defence, etc, but have to rely on others to do the detail. Of course, this sometimes means that the game can seem to be playing by itself (and you can choose to micromanage if you want more control), but it does give a different flavour of command. And there's a free demo, so it's worth a look.

Ironcross, you mention RO2. If you like that, you should check out Darkest Hour - a free, western front mod of RO1. You get to play as US or Brits (infantry, paras and armoured) or Germans (Wehrmacht, SS and armour) on maps in Normandy through to the Bulge. It's "realistic" - no crosshairs, radar or revival, and you're generally one-shotted (as my kids would say). Sure it's a bit old, graphics-wise, but it does a much better job than RO2 when it comes to tanks and bigger maps. I always think of DH as the wargamer's FPS.

FWIW I have recently come across the same problem ("Breaking the Panzers" scenario)

I had a similar issue with a US armoured car. They'd run out of 37mm HE and refused to use their 50 cal on some distant infantry I wanted rid of. I figured out the unbuttoning thing and ordered them to do so. Immediately some hitherto unseen infantry opened up on the AFV and plugged the commander. I suppose that when buttoned-up the SA of the car is not too good, and also that the enemy infantry knew not to bother shooting at it until they had a soft target. The moral of the story: take care with the unbuttoning command.