Holman

I was going to say that it would be more effective to travel back with an Abrams' weight worth of night vision gear, but then SirReal made a much cooler point.

Taking an Abrams back in time would teach one lesson above all others: the importance of the logistical tail. Someone has already mentioned maintenance and parts, but fuel supply would rear its ugly head even more quickly. (Heck, even an M1 sitting still burns an astonishing amount of fuel.) You would probably kill quite a few enemy vehicles, but pretty soon you would be a sitting duck for even an infantry squad to take out.

My paternal grandfather was drafted but refused (for religious reasons) to carry a weapon. He was trained as a medical assistant and never saw combat, being posted to North Africa after the invasion of Italy, to France after the Rhine crossings, and finally to Germany, where he served in the occupation army until 1946. Quite an eye-opening experience for a man who had never been out of Alabama before! He did have a chance to witness some of the Nuremburg Tribunal proceedings (including Goering's, one day) from the sidelines. My maternal grandfather was an older generation: at 16 he lied about his age and joined the U.S. Navy during the *first* World War. He spent 1917 and 1918 floating up and down the eastern coast of the U.S. on the watch for German submarines. He never saw any. On my wife's side of the family there is an uncle who fought in the US Army (I don't know his division--maybe the 2nd ID?) at the Bulge. He was Jewish and also a communist.

My paternal grandfather was drafted but refused (for religious reasons) to carry a weapon. He was trained as a medical assistant and never saw combat, being posted to North Africa after the invasion of Italy, to France after the Rhine crossings, and finally to Germany, where he served in the occupation army until 1946. Quite an eye-opening experience for a man who had never been out of Alabama before! He did have a chance to witness some of the Nuremburg Tribunal proceedings (including Goering's, one day) from the sidelines. My maternal grandfather was an older generation: at 16 he lied about his age and joined the U.S. Navy during the *first* World War. He spent 1917 and 1918 floating up and down the eastern coast of the U.S. on the watch for German submarines. He never saw any. On my wife's side of the family there is an uncle who fought in the US Army (I don't know his division--maybe the 2nd ID?) at the Bulge. He was Jewish and also a communist.

My paternal grandfather was drafted but refused (for religious reasons) to carry a weapon. He was trained as a medical assistant and never saw combat, being posted to North Africa after the invasion of Italy, to France after the Rhine crossings, and finally to Germany, where he served in the occupation army until 1946. Quite an eye-opening experience for a man who had never been out of Alabama before! He did have a chance to witness some of the Nuremburg Tribunal proceedings (including Goering's, one day) from the sidelines. My maternal grandfather was an older generation: at 16 he lied about his age and joined the U.S. Navy during the *first* World War. He spent 1917 and 1918 floating up and down the eastern coast of the U.S. on the watch for German submarines. He never saw any. On my wife's side of the family there is an uncle who fought in the US Army (I don't know his division--maybe the 2nd ID?) at the Bulge. He was Jewish and also a communist.

I pronounce it "SEE-mack." The harder one is CMBB, which I pronounce "see-em-bee-BEE." The people demand vowels in all future CM acronyms!

Looks great! I'll grab them as soon as I get home from work. Meanwhile, a quick question: will the new faces (yours, and also the other CMAK ones) work with CMBB as well? Are the bmps the same?

Thanks, Emar and everyone. I glanced at Lamb's book in a store recently, but had no time to assess it. I'll take a look at the links posted too. It's good to have such a font of knowledge on one board! Cheers, Martyr

Well, the only full-on discussion that comes up via a search for "books Italian" doesn't suggest any histories of the whole Italian campaign. All the books mentioned seem to be devoted to particular battles (Sicily, Cassino) or else to particular units. While on the topic, has anyone read "War in Italy 1943-1945: A Brutal Story," by Richard Lamb? Would you recommend it? Thanks.

I've been reading feverishly along with every iteration of CM: books on the Western Front when CMBO was out, on the Russian-German war for these many months past, and now on the desert war this fall. What's missing from my library are good treatments of the Italian campaign (including Sicily). Would someone send some recommendations my way? A cursory survey suggests that this may be the least-discussed theater of WW2.

It's usually the civilians who clean up (and live with) the mess of war.

I haven't downloaded the demo yet, but is the 12-man HQ squad also the leader unit (i.e. does it have leader qualities)? If so, these are probably always represented by one man even if (as in CMBB) it represents six or so soldiers with the officer.

Good lord... they have hatch grogs even!

It's in three parts, but I believe that all three together are just called "Stalingrad." Here's the information about the film from the NY Times review: Part 1: The Attack": written and directed by Jörg Müllner and Sebastian Dehnhardt; edited by Marc Nordbuch. "Part 2: The Kessel": written and directed by Christian Deick and Mr. Dehnhardt; edited by Wolfgang Daut. "Part 3: The Doom": written and directed by Manfred Oldenburg and Mr. Dehnhardt; edited by André Hammesfahr. In German and Russian, with English subtitles; directors of photography, Peer Horstmann, Wolfgang Wunderlich, Stefan Schindler and Jurij Brodski; music by Enjott Schneider; produced by Susanne Feikes. Running time: 156 minutes. This film is not rated. Shown tonight at 7:30 P.M. at the Walter Reade Theater at Lincoln Center as part of the 41st New York Film Festival.

The NY Times today reviews a new German-produced documentary about Stalingrad and finds it very impressive. It's showing at a film festival in NYC right now. Presumably it has also had a release in Germany, but the article didn't say. The film includes interviews with survivors (civilians and soldiers alike), and the review mentions that some Germans commented on the basically decent treatment they received from their Russian captors. That's a sentiment I wouldn't have expected after the fierce fighting on the campaign. Has anyone here see the film?

I feel like an ingrate just for asking, but... is there any chance that the new ballistics modelling(and associated tweaks) might be exported back to CMBB in a patch? Given the similarity of the engines, and all...

Thanks, Moon! Looks like the skiing should be pretty good this year.

No snow? We ought to have snow in Italy. Is there any confirmation that snow will be missing from CMAK? I hope not. Since it's already in the engine, its removal would just be a limitation of the hopes some of us have for reviving CMBO in CMAK.

Because it's a ground combat game. Why not insist on maps that take place at 20,000 feet with full control of all aircraft and an out-of-the-cockpit view? Obviously, without this, immersion is not as good.

I've always liked Keith Douglas. One wonders what kind of poet he might have become in the post-war world. Unfortunately, he was killed in Normandy on June 6 (or 7?) 1944. He also wrote an account of the desert war called "From Alamein to Zim Zim." It's said to be excellent not only as as memoir but for the strength and originality of Douglas' prose. Unfortunately the book is long out of print.

(spoiler warning, I guess) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . There are Ferdinands in "B&T--Ponyri Express," which is part of the Kursk scenario pack available at Boots & Tracks. I warn you, though, it's a biiiiig scenario (kind of like those biiiiig Ferdinands). It's not as biiiiig as "To the Volga," though.

If a scenario required it, you could easily simulate a general leading the charge by using a Battalion HQ unit. On the ground in combat (without his staff, records, personal contact with other field-grade officers, political influence, etc.) a general doesn't have any special skills. Give him high experience if you think he'd be good at leading from the front, low experience if not.

Ripped from the latest J. Crew catalog! Oh, the style!

Thanks, gentlemen! Most kind.

Would someone be so kind as to spell out for me (diacriticals and all) the cry for "medic!" in German? I need it for a bit of writing I'm doing. Thanks!