Andreas

Not bad, but you maybe thinking of the wrong vehicle and gun. Or there is something I don't know about the Schnelle Brigade West. In any fact the vehicles pictured in two and three are definitely not in it. This was was not either, but is identical to those who were.

That would be the extra grog award gone.

With apologies for the crappy scanning quality. Who can tell what these vehicles are? Extra grog award for being able to tell who did come up with the concoctions. Übergrog award if you can name the unit the vehicles in the second and third picture served with.

D'oh. Zaloga. Proves you should not have two discussions on esoteric grog stuff on two boards at the same time... Scott, just checked through this again, but apart from two pictures and a comment that 'as war went on they adopted the garment and equipment of the infantry' I could not find anything. Maybe I am dense? I will respond to your last email tonight. Sorry it took so long. I am currently awaiting a stash of Red Army officer memoirs printed in the erstwhile German Democratic Republic. I am drooling at the thought

Does anyone have the TO&E for a naval Brigade of 1941, or how it differs from an ordinary infantry brigade?

I am not quite sure how realistic that would be for AP. While I can see the point for HE (as long as you are remotely near target, you are likely to do damage, or at least suppress), for AP aiming is crucial. You miss even by an inch, you do not achieve anything. Does anyone have historical examples of tanks or guns going all-out when firing AP?

I am having visions of a Canadian general pinning a photocopied sign on the phone poles in Toronto. 'Missing: 'Doctrine'. Answers to the name of 'Doctrine'. Friendly little chap. Was waylaid by Corporal Dorosh the other day. If found, do not feed, but call 0800-whatareweonabout immediately. Flight in a Chipmunk as reward.'

The official BTS statement is 'when it is ready'. BTS refuse to provide a firm date, because they do not want to deny themselves the flexibility needed to produce a good game, as opposed to one that comes out 'on time', but is seriously lacking in any number of aspects. Watch this space, I guess.

Hmm, interesting. Fionn once did a Wasp rush on me. They all died faster than the proverbial Gnat in a vat of DDT from infantry fire and fausts. My favourite was one taken out by a platoon HQ at 40m by a grenade/direct assault.

Well, we can discuss it over a beer this Thursday

At Bovington, you can listen to a vet who was on the receiving end of the 2-min engagement telling the story. ISTR him saying that his squadron was shot up by only two Jagdpanthers, who after despatching the British tanks added insult to injury by breaking cover and motoring off athwart the British line of advance.

Oh bugger. Well, at least I got the Squadron right. Reading too much Eastern stuff at the moment. Why can't they use decent terms like the Pommies do in the translations?

Minimum would normally be a platoon of three, mefinks. Maximum - probably up to a Squadron per company (5 platoons of each 3 75mm tanks, and Coy HQ with one 75mm and 2 Churchill VIII close-support tanks).

Funnily enough, that is how Haupt writes Michael. Regarding regional affiliation. Our family farm is in the vicinity of Nienburg/Weser, so my grandfather was drafted into what I suspect was the cannon company of a GR in Delmenhorst (WK X Hamburg - covering Bremen and western Niedersachsen) in 1937. After a year, he was transferred to a Wehrmacht telephone exchange in Stade (again, WK X). When war came in 1939, he was drafted back (after a three month break) to Beob-Abt. 30, affiliated, but then no longer part of ID 30 (you guessed it, WK X, Hamburg). After he was hospitalised while in France and sent back to a military hospital in Hannover in 1940, he was reposted to the depot of Beob-Abt. 26 (erstwhile part of ID. 26, (WK VI Muenster), and moved up to AG North in time for Barbarossa. This WK is bordering on the southern edge of WK X. In fact, although no-one from Nienburg would ever admit it, there is probably more commonality with people from northern Westphalia (Minden region), than there is with the ones from, say, Oldenburg or Hamburg, in terms of Landsmannschaft. So while he was posted outside his own WK a a replacement, he stayed close to home. I guess one of the reasons he did not go back to Beob-Abt.30 was that he was a specialist in a very small branch of the artillery.

I am not an expert either, but I doubt they were used like that. Not mobile enough on foot, and too vulnerable in the carrier. Regarding comms - up to the company start line, you would presumably have wire leading to the battery. Beyond that, I would suspect that you either use runners or short range radio (if present). I think the value of the 3" mortar as the only immediate artillery for the battalion, with very high response time, would make a Battalion CO hesitant to parcel it out. Never mind that weight of fire is dispersed. Also, a battalion frontage in an attack is usually quite narrow, meaning that comms and range should not be a big problem. Then again, I am the last person who should be allowed to talk about infantry tactics...

Micheal, if you want to do a list, I would be happy to contribute to that. A number of my German language books mention these affiliations. As I said, Werner Haupt, an AG North officer veteran, who has published quite a bit on East Front history (some translated by Schiffer), usually mentions this. Here is the info in Werner Haupt's pictorial history 'Leningrad Wolchow Kurland 1941-45' 1. PD - Thuringia-Hessia (WK IX Kassel) 6. PD - Rhineland-Westphalia (WK VI Muenster) 8. PD - Berlin (WK III Berlin) 12. PD - - Pommerania (WK II Stettin) 14. PD - Saxonia (WK IV Dresden) 18. PGD - Silesia (WK VIII Breslau) 5. GBD - Bavaria/Austria (WK VII/XIII/XVIII Muenchen/Nuernberg/Salzburg) 1. ID - East Prussia (WK I Koenigsberg) 21. ID - East Prussia (WK I Koenigsberg) 11. ID - East Prussia (WK I Koenigsberg) 12. ID - Pommerania (WK II Stettin) 23. ID - Berlin (WK III Berlin) 24. ID - Silesia (WK IV Dresden) 30. ID - Northern Germany (WK X Hamburg) 32. ID - Pommerania (WK II Stettin) 58. ID - Northern Germany (WK X Hamburg) 61. ID - East Prussia (WK I Koenigsberg) 81. ID - East Prussia (WK I Koenigsberg) 83. ID - Northern Germany (WK X Hamburg) 87. ID - Saxonia (WK IV Dresden) 93. ID - Berlin (WK III Berlin) 96. ID - Lower-Saxonia (WK XI Hannover) 121. ID - East Prussia (WK I Koenigsberg) 122. ID - Pommerania (WK II Stettin) 126. ID - Swabia (WK V Stuttgart) 132. ID - Hessia (WK XII Wiesbaden) 170. ID - Northern Germany (WK X Hamburg) 205. ID - Swabia (WK V Stuttgart) 207. ID - Pommerania (WK II Stettin) 223. ID - Saxonia )WK IV Dresden) 215. ID - Rhineland-Westphalia (WK VI Muenster) 218. ID - Berlin (WK III Berlin) 225. ID - Northern Germany (WK X Hamburg) 227. ID - Rhineland-Westphalia (WK VI Muenster) 250. ID Span. - Spain (WK XIII Nuremberg) 263. ID - Hessia (WK XII Wiesbaden) 290. ID - Northern Germany (WK X Hamburg) 291. ID - East Prussia (WK I Koenigsberg) 329. ID - Rhineland-Westphalia (WK VI Muenster) 331. ID - Vienna (WK XVII Wien) (I don't know which regional affilation that would be in Austria)

Don't know a list, Mike, but I also never looked for one. I can tell you that a lot of period texts, or texts by veterans (Haupt being a good example) refer to divisions as e.g. 81. Schlesische Infanteriedivision. The affiliation was kept post-war by having a dedicated memorial to a unit in a place in the particular region (obviously that did not work in teh Eastern parts of the former Reich).

That rare beast, a Website not about an SS Panzerdivision. I did not think there were any. The 227. Infanteriedivision served in AG North from 10/41. The grandson of Uffz. Naumann, who fell fighting with its Recce detachment in 1942, has created this excellent site (in German - but English speakers can still have a look at the maps, and the pictures). Combat history, copies of a combat report, lots of stuff. www.id227.de Uffz.Naumann fought over the same ground that my grandfather fought over. He is buried in Mga. When I mentioned the name Mga to my grandfather at a visit a while back, he said: 'Mga, I know that, Mga is where the Landsers went.' Never truer than in this case, I think. This is a very well-done, extremely informative (if you speak German), and valuable site, that aims to educate.

Having walked a treeline with foxholes overlooking Foy (although it is impossible to say whether these were 2nd BN foxholes), and having just watched the taped episode again, I would agree that there is a bit more space than there appears to be in the movie. Especially if we assume that the modern treeline is in effect closer to Foy by about 50m (quite likely, the plantation there seems post-war). What is important is that the foxholes are on a very gentle reverse slope, enabling them to be as close as they were. Good site here. Makes me think that where Kip, his mate, Peter and me walked were positions of 1st Battalion, not 2nd. We walked west of the highway, close to the German cemetary.

LOL Slough - if only you knew how funny that is Well, film developed and pictures printed of it - that better?

IWM Duxford's Land Warfare Hall has a Stuart Kangaroo standing there. They say it was used as a prime mover for the 17-pdr. Their version has a machine gun aperture for a .303. Picture to follow sometime. I just bought a new scanner, and need to get the film developed.

Boy oh boy, is it the Jubilee Weekend, or are you running out of CMBO scenarios? Maybe I should speed up the batch that are undergoing testing...

Why conscript? I am playing Bure right now and trying to figure out why the FO was so low quality. Or is this anything like the Cadbury secret?

Well, there are landmarks in some of my scenarios, but in some (very few) of these, they are not correct They also only give you a general idea, no precise location. If I were not so lazy, I would do it in the briefing. I.e. name the position, and refer to it in the briefing for the attacker. Also, locking a TRP onto an enemy position, and adding a conscript FOO (in a short battle) is a good way to simulate a pre-barrage, based on pre-battle recon. There are things you can do to simulate that recce has happened. Don't even take much imagination.

Get an Apple.