mccooper

Hello There are actually a couple of Squadron/Signal books available on the market right now - Sherman in Action and Sherman Walk Around which deals with museum vehicles in detail. Both books focus on US use. The first title sells for about $12 Cdn while the 2nd goes for about $20 (its twice the size and was just recently published). I can't remember the author names off hand but I can easily get the info as both titles are part of my library. If your interested both books should be easily available through a quality local hobby shop. Cheers

Hello >I am looking for general information on >TO&E's, standard weaponry, uniforms and >kits, tactics, supply etc. etc. Qaulity books dealing with Allies can be difficult to find but they are out there. A nice source of info on the British/Commonwealth forces from D-Day to VE-Day is a set of 2 new books by Jean Bouchery from the French Publish Histoire & Collections (avail in English). Book 1 is titled "From D-day to VE-day the British Soldier - vol 1 Uniforms, Insignia, Equipments" Books deals with Organization, Armanent, Tanks and Vehicles. Both books are very good (few small mistakes) and provide a solid picture of the organization of the British army. Vol 2 in particular is full of tables, charts and graphs providing a solid ref for the principal British units. They retail for about $45-50 Cdn

Sorry old boy but this particular tank "Mystery solved. Here's a nice clear pic of a Sherman IIC of the 8th Princess Louise's (New Brunswick Hussars)." has been discussed in depth before and its not a IIC - its a pic of IC Hybrid from the 8th Hussars taken in the Netherlands in 45. So the mystery isn't solved yet. The author of web site this photo was taken from puts this pic forward as proof and its not a bad pic - but just not of a IIC although it makes for a great debate. The webmaster happens to be one of the few supporters of the IIC. There have been a number of discussions on this pic (especially when it was initially posted) including one on Track Link. Once TL is back online I'll do a search for the thread so I don't miss anything. The other pic on page 2 is also a tad boxy on the rear end which makes it a Hybrid in my opinion.

"British and American Tanks of WWII" by P Chamberlain and C.Ellis is an old book and Chamberlain has made many a mistake including the IIC. It makes for a fun debate but until some one comes up with a pic I'll stick with the general consensus that no such beast existed. As for the Stuart (and Kangaroo version) I haven't done much research on this vehicle/family as I lost interest in the model - but I've never heard of a Stuart used as a kangaroo. If it did exist I'd like to know where they put the seats I'd also like to know why they even bothered with seats when they didn't install them in the Rams - and we (Cdn) owned the Rams unlike the Priests which were given back to the Yanks. I should have done a search for the other thread but I went on the fact that the vehicles are still in the game.

I've been playing CM for a while now but mainly as the Germans but recently I switched to the Allies to try the missions from the other side and noticed something odd.... specifically a Firefly IIC and Stuart Kangaroo. The Firefly IIC never existed - some people claim otherwise but no photographic evidence has ever been produced. There is a Firefly VC based on the M4A4 (Sherman V) and there is the IC based on the M4. There also a IC Hybrid which uses the cast front hull/glacis of the M4A1 and M4 rear hull. Some people get this last one confused and classify it as IIC. As a side note these is what some people classify a IIC in Borden Canada which uses the Cdn Grizzly hull. This is thought to have been a experimental vehicle and it never saw combat. Stuart Kangaroo? I've seen the Priest and the Ram varients but I've never heard of this beast. I've heard about/seen the Stuart Recce vehicle which had the turret removed to reduce the vehicle's profile but even with the turret removed it couldn't be considered a APC. Its too damn small! (Unless the team is the vehicle's crew.) As side note according to the crews once the turret was removed the Stuart apparently became a real speed demon. Are there any other minor errors like this and will these be fixed in future upgrade. Speaking of upgrades I can't wait to install 1.05 with building damage/condition patch. ------------------ From Robert Jordan's FoH, "Dovie'andi se tovya sagain ... Time to roll the dice." Mark Cooper BBA, BAA

Ok for your first questions - what happened to the French army after the surrender of France. Some escaped to Britain or were outside of France and formed the Free French which had little success until they had be properly organized in 42-43. French forces inside Vichy France ceased hostilites against the Germans and became more or less neutral (the Germans had a lot of influence). An number of French soldier returned to their civilain lives during the confusion and some of these men went on to fight as partisans. Question 2 I have no info on the internment of French forces after the surrender but I'm sure many were turned over to the Vichy - afterall the German tried to get Vichy to join their cause (as did the British). As for taking up arms after D-Day I'm certain a number of former soldiers did but I don't think Vichy actually declared war. Question 3 Post Surrender victories - none by the actual French Army. The Free French continued to fight on (including some battles against Vichy forces) and won a number of victories before the war was over. As for what remained of French army in the south after the evacuation of the Brits (and French) they were unable mount any sort of major attack due to the confusion and lose of men/material/supplies. As for the British attack on the French Fleet it was the harbour of Oran. Churchill found it a difficult decision but it had to be done especially considering the condition of the French leadership. British ships also had number of other minor engagements with Vichy ships. And lastly if you are looking for more information on the early yrs and defeat of France there are a number of books avail but in particular I would recommend Churchill's histroy of WWII. I believe volume 2 (of 6) is the one you want. ------------------ From Robert Jordan's FoH, "Dovie'andi se tovya sagain ... Time to roll the dice." Mark Cooper BBA, BAA

Stars were painted on allied vehicles to aid identification especially from the air (although friendly fire from the air was still a major problem). One of the biggest problems with large bright markings painted on the sides of front line vehicles was that they aided enemy gunners - the Germans learnt this in Poland and the Americans learnt it in Africa and Italy. Over time they were used more as air recogintion symbols and thus painted on the upper surfaces of the vehicle. The other air recognition method involved the use of various flouresent colored panels (orange, redish and a light blue if I remember correctly) especially when stowage covered the star. As for the use of roundels by the British they were used in Africa, sicily and Italy as air rec symbols. The brit changed over to the universal star in 44 but may troops rejected the idea as it was seen as an american symbol.