Chicago Boy

I concur with Sgt Steiner Osprey's BAGRATION 1944 is a good source for the 1944 East Front tank battles-Minsk had the 3rd Guards Tank Corps squaring off against the German 5th Panzer Division with the attached 505th Tiger Abteilung. After a week of fighting the Germans claimed 295 Soviet tanks of which 128 were credited to the Tigers of the 505th..with the 5th Panzer Division reduced from 125 tanks to 18 and all 29 Tiger tanks of the 505th out of action. It also covers the battles of Bobruisk and the Magnuszew Bridgehead. Lots of good info on some battles that are not well covered in other books.

I posted this in another thread, but I think everyone might enjoy reading this great piece of research on WW2 doctrine in the ETO. Its on the War times Journal Website-other great stuff there as well. http://tigertank.com/aslcrossroads/tactical/arty.htm Cheers from the Windy City [This message has been edited by Chicago Boy (edited 10-14-2000).]

For those of you wish to read a good article on artillery practices of the major players in the ETO during WW2, I recommend the following address http://tigertank.com/aslcrossroads/tactical/arty.htm it is a part of The War Times Journal website-lots of other great stuff there as well. Regarding US air power I would like to quote Mr Steven Zaloga-from his book LORRAINE 1944 "The effectiveness of close air support in WW2 remains controversial. Both the Allies and the Germans tended to exxagerate its power: the Us Air Force in its post-war struggle to become a seperate service, the Germans as an excuse for poor battlefield performance. War time and post war operational studies have concluded that the ability of fighter-bombers to knock out tanks on the battlefield was greatly exxagerated. In a post battle survey after the Ardennes fighting in 1945 of the XIX TAC sector, it was found that aircraft had knocked out about six armored vehicles of the 90 claimed. the munitions of the day -unguided rockets, bombs, and heavy machine guns-were not sufficiently accurate or sufficiently powerful to destroy many tanks. On the other hand , fighter bombers had an enormous pschological impact, bolstering the morale of the GI's and terrifying the average German soldier. German field commanders spoke of the fear instilled by close-air attack in much the same way as they spoke of the "tank panic" of the 1939-41 blitzkrieg years, and as in the case of tank panic, the psychological effects of close air attack lessened quickly through experience. The most effective employment of close-air support was to attack supply columns, storage areas and other soft targets. Even if not particularly effective against the tanks themselves, fighter-bombers could severely limit the mobility of panzer units by forcing them to conduct road marches only at night. Furthermore, the avaricious demand for fuel and ammunition in modern armies made them vulnerable to supply cut-offs. A panzer brigade could be rendered as ineffective by destroying its trucks and supply vehicles as by destroying the tanks themselves. The commander of CCA of the 4th Armd. D., Col. Bruce Clarke later remarked, "We were certainly glad to have close air-support but I would say their effect was certainly not decisive in any place." "

Alright! Alright! Alright! I love looking at finely painted wargaming miniatures. Picture all that unpainted lead on your washing machine in 6 or 7 24 x 12 tupperware boxes plus the 15 6 foot by 1 foot shelves crammed with painted models and you have my war room. My WW2 stuff is in 20mm- I have 300 plus German, UK, US, Japanese and Russian AFVS and hundreds of guns and Infantry-Spearhead are the best rules out there for Division level ww2 gaming. Don't even get me started on My US Civil War, American Revolution, 7 Years War and good old Napoleonics collections. I love CM but every now & then you gotta throw some dice and battle it out on the tabletop!!

36 years old & married for 4 months (And they said it would not last) My wife does not know what Combat Mission is-its just the usual "Are you on the computer again?". But she is a perfect wife for a military geek such as myself. Her father was on the USS West Virginia at Pearl Harbor so she is a history buff too. On my last birthday she bought me a German WW2 helmet with a Camo Cover, the birthday before I got a US helmet with a mesh cover. She is a keeper.

I am sick and tired of all of this sharing of relevant information between the people on this board, did you do a search? I have been perusing every topic that has ever been addressed here and I must demand that all discourse be halted ASAP. Every nagging question such as What is this on my lip? what is that smell?, and where are my pants? etc. All of the answers to these and more are waiting for us in the deep musty bowels of our treasured archives. So from now on everything and everything will be searched-nothing but searching searching searching. We must all work like Graduate students on penitentiary grade Benzedrine!-Let this be our mantra-Did you do a search? Did you do a search? Number 9 number 9-oops sorry lost my train of thought, Let it be me who rips the scales from your eyes and frees you from the dredgery of e-mail after e-mail after e-mail. Did you do a search?-we shall arm ourselves with this magical query, it will be our sword and buckler to defend ourselves againt the ignorant unwashed masses who dare to venture out of the warm confines of our trusted collective history! We have nothing to lose but our chains! Avanti brothers and sisters!! PS I have also decided that the Irish will indeed have to eat their children.

Oh I'm sorry-How are you doing Flipper. I forgot all about this thread. Cheers from the Windy City

I bought that book as well and I have seen better writing in porno movies.

I would want anything from Operation Bagration _The destruction of Army Group Center- think of it-huge avenging Soviet armies Vs,. understrength Wermacht divisions in the open steppes where there is no place to hide- pitting tactical skill vs. Russian numerical superiority. I love this game!!

No Offense Kestrl, but if it was my ass in a tank I would rather be in a Panther myself. Better optics, better armor and probably better overall crew training vs. the T34-85. Now its another story if a JS-II shows up. Cheers from the Windy City. "did you lose my aerial photographs?"

I just picked up the latest offering by Osprey its issue #75 form their Campaign series entitled Lorraine '44. It is tailor made for Combat Mission, Mr. Steven Zaloga chronicles the US 4th Armored and Free French Armored forces heroic exploits against the Wehrmacht in September 1944. Mr. Zaloga examines the Aliies succesful offensives with the kind of detail all WW2 fans can appreciate , he lists TO&E in detail so we can all re-create the tactical problems our historical predecessors faced. Also included in this excellent work are the highly detailed maps that seem to cry out to all of our scenario designing brethen out there in Internet land-I highly recommend this title. Cheers from the Windy City. "did you lose my Aerial photographs?"

From Steven Zaloga's excellentnt book LORRAINE 1944 "A portion of the main column led by Panther tanks attempted to infiltrate towards the village down a sunken farm road around 0850. The lead Panther was disabled by an infantry team, and before the column could extract itself from the gully, a forward observer from the 949th field arty directed fire on it. Over 300 rounds of 155mm howitzer fire pummeled the column, knocking out 5 Panthers and 48 half-tracks"

Congatulations to both of you! now I pray that Uncle Sam aint watching this Board!!

Dea Mr Fox Thank you for the reply and since you quote Micheal Reynolds I was wondering if you knew when his new book on the SS Panzer Korps-the Eastern Front is coming out-I have have been perusing the stores in Chicago and no luck yet. Thanks again Dear Seanachai Thank you for showing mercy to an interloping phillistine such as myself. And Finally , Dear Pawbroon-Thank you as well for the tender mercies but I feel I should save you the time-for I understand, to the Nth degree, the intricacies of benevolent vindicteveness; for you see, Dear readers-I am married. Cheers from the windy city. "did you lose my aerial photographs?"

Sorry I could not help myself-anyhows does anybody have info on the TO&E of the British Armored Recon outfits- I know they used Challengers and Cromwells-but I am getting conflicting info on whether it was common to have Shermans and Cromwells, & Challengers in the Same Armored Division, some sources say yes some say no. Thanks for any info. "Did you lose my aerial photographs?"

The Tiger in SAVING PRIVATE RYAN is actually a T34-85 chassis with a Tiger mock-up over it. If you check the scene where the US lads blow off the tread with a sticky bomb you will notice that there are no inter-leavered wheels as found on a real Tiger. I also remember reading that the Tigers in KELLY HEROES used the same set-up. I think somebody else made mention that there are no Tigers in the world that are in running order and I believe the French have the only running King Tiger in the world today. I did recall seeing 2 Mark IV's for sale from a gentleman in the middle east-seems the Syrians got hold of a few in the 1960's somehow. I can't recall how much he was asking for them though. It does not matter my wife would not let me buy them anyhow.

I Have found some good info on the Sherman Jumbo. It is from Colonel Trevor Dupuys' great book HITLERS LAST GAMBLE. On page 381 the good Colonel writes-" A very important variant was the M4A3E2 or "Jumbo" This was a standard M4 that had been fitted with additioal armor-substantially increasing its protection. The Jumbo was in fact better protected than the vaunted German "Panther" albeit the German tank had a better gun. The M4A3E2 was produdced in small numbers (254 were built);however , Ordnance workshops in the ETO, working with armorplate produced by French steel mills or with salvaged armorplate, converted a large number M4's in Europe to the M4a3E2 standard. It is uncertain how many were available in Europe(Third Army workshops alone had converted 200 by December 1944)but despite their small numbers the Jumbos helped even the odds in tank to tank duels against the panzers. The M4A3E2's were scattered throughout the theater: Most of the armored Divisions had 20 to 30; seperate battalions occasionally would have a platoon of 5 or 5." I would like to thank the late great Colonel Trevor Dupuy for all the hours of enjoyment he has provided me with through his excellent Military Scholarship. I hope this helps answer some of those Jumbo questions I have seen posted here. Cheers from The Windy City

This is easy!!! COMPANY COMMANDER by Charles B MacDonald and STEEL INFERNO by Micheal Reynolds. Both excellent books.

Does anybody know what criterion were used in allocating Sherman Jumbo tanks to certain crews within a US Armored Company? Was it based on seniority? the luck of the draw or what? I know Micheal Wittman started out in a Sdkz 222 scout car and then moved up to a Stug assault gun berfore he got his Tiger- did the US tankers have to work there way up to a Jumbo as well. I know if I were a US tanker I would want that extra armor protection in front of me as soon as possible. I know the Jumbos were usually grouped together at 1 platoon per company just like Fireflys in British tank squadrons. Any help would be most appreciated.

Indirect fire is a term used to describe artillery and mortar fire directed at targets that the guns themselves cannot see. They are usually directed onto a target by an artillery spotter. The spotter has radio contact to the guns and directs fire onto them using map references. The Arty spotter is present on the field-the guns usually are not. Panzer is the German term for armor. There are many types of Panzers Mark IV's, Panthers, Tigers, Assault guns etc. In Combat Mission you are going to run into a vast array of German tank types and since the game is set in 1944-45 they all pack a pretty potent punch. Sherman is a type of US tank. It was used in terrific numbers by the Aliies but comes up a bit short in a tank to tank duel. The Allies used to say it took 5 Shermans to take out 1 Panther or Tiger. The 81mm is a mortar round- Both the Germans and the US used 81mm mortars as their basic battalion support weapon. The Germans also had a 120mm mortar that cast fear into the hearts of allied soldiers everywhere. The mm stands for millimeter and an 81mm mortar tube would have a 81 millimeter diameter measurement. I hope this helps and congratulations on picking the best wargame out there to get started on. Cheers from the windy city

The name says it all-Northside 6 blocks from Lake Michigan and 3 miles from Al Capone's vault!

I too have enjoyed Antietam And Gettysburg As well as Age of Rifles which I still feel is the best 19th Century all purpose game out there. The Steel Panther's series is still on the ole hard drive as well. Combat Mission has kept me busy for the last three weeks. I love this game. "Always with the negative waves, Moriarity"

I play both sides all the time. If I'm leading the British then I lead with really solid infantry backed up by thick skinned Churchills and the awesome punch of the 17 pounder. I once had a pair of Fireflys chalk up 3 Mark IVs and 3 Stugs in 2 turns from 850 meters!! If i'm leading the Americans it is the Best artillery capability built around infantry squads packing huge firepower. The Sherman 76mm Jumbo is a tough tank. Throw in some 90mm M36's and watch the soldaten run for the rear. The Germans have those awesome MG42's with all that ammo and the tough paras too. Last but not least the Armor. What can I tell you I love this game.

Does anyone else notice that in a quick battle the enemy artillery is always a smoke screen? I have played several battles as the Germans against The Allies and every time-if and when there-is an arty strike it is always a smoke screen. I have read several accounts of the Normandy campaign and nowhere does it say that the Germans cowered in fear at the bottom of their foxholes in fear of the Allied arty's ability to lay smoke. I have been bombarded by 81mm mortars but all the heavier stuff is always smoke. Knowing the excellence of the allied artillery, something the German veterans always note, I was wondering if anybody else noticed this? Hello from the Windy City. "Always with the negative waves, Moriarity"

Good bit o ' Writing Major Tom. I just played a game as the Germans defending a village against a British battle group, I lost 2 Tigers 3, Mark IVs 3 Panthers and 2 Stugs. I blew the gun off a Churchill and that damn porcupine kept rolling right towards my infantry like nothing happened- a mobile machine gun nest. Churchills, Firereflys, Archers, and Achilles oh my!! I'll be having 17 pounder Nightmares for a long time.