PanzerLeader

I fully agree with Das Boot, these guidelines don't cover all eventualities, and are quite vague sometimes. A battlefield commander surely cannot only rely on these to win the battle..

I just went back to that site...It seems to be one of the best ww2 sites on the web. The amount of information they have is quite incredible! Including a day by day chronicle of the war...

Oops, there is a problem with the link above because this discussion board apparently doesn't take the little symbol on the keyboard that is used by pressing alt+é...Well at least now you know the web address.

Hey, I had received that info on the Western Front discussion board a while back, somebody had posted the link, and it has been resting on my hard drive ever since. It proved very useful in Talonsoft's Campaign Series, and it just came to my mind that it might be of some use in CM. The scale is exactly the same. Fionn, go to www.uwm.edu/ jpipes/start.html. It is an excellent site(damn, I wanted to keep it for myself!

Panzer Vorwärts! Aber mit Verstand! Armor Forward! But with Intelligence! This is a translation of a German training circular issued by the German Armored Force containing 30 basic lessons of armored combat on the platoon and company level derived from the Wehrmacht's experience against the Soviets. Written during the Second World War by a German company commander, these lessons are fresh with recent combat experience. The original text has cartoon-like illustrations and civilian "parables" on one page, with the combat lesson on the opposing page. Only the combat lessons are translated here. AUTHOR's PREFACE The Panzer Regiment is, by reason of its firepower, protection and mobility the main fighting power of the Division. Its strength lies in unexpected, concentrated and determined attack; aggressive leadership and daring operations. FORWARD Combat in Russia has shown once again that for us, in action against the Communists, it is not so much the kind or number of our tanks but the spirit and skill on the tank soldiers that count. Only by these factors are German tanks always, even in Russia, victorious. This exemplary combat spirit can however count for little as the weapons speed, armor or number of tanks in achieving success, if they are not led and employed by fully competent officers. Superior tactical leadership in battle is a prerequisite when one desires few, or better still, no casualties. The purpose of this volume is to collect the experiences of the veteran front-line combat leaders of our Regiments in action, and pass it on in simple and understandable form to our junior officers. 1. Before any attack acquaint yourself with the ground. Use the information provided by other units or by the map. Share this information with your subordinate commanders. Exact information and correct estimation of the terrain will be the decisive difference between victory and defeat. 2. No armored attack is so fast, even under the most pressing situation, that you do not have time to put subordinate leaders into the picture about the tactical situation, mission, and anything else which may impact on the coming action. Losses due to over-hasty action are your responsibility and place the success of the mission in jeopardy. 3. Only careful combat reconnaissance can protect you from surprise. Protect to your flanks as well as the front. Observation to all sides is the duty of every commander. ALWAYS KEEP YOUR EYE OUT FOR THE ENEMY! 4. Your entire ability in combat must be used to make a constant appreciation of the situation. Only in this manner can you make the correct decision during the decisive seconds and issue short, clear orders without delay. This is the kind of leadership for which you are responsible. 5. Iron radio discipline is a prerequisite of good leadership, particularly when your only method of command is radio. In the point company for instance, the trail platoons should not use the radio at all except in emergency, leaving the net clear for the point platoon leader. 6. You must lead with strength. At least two tanks must be forward, and the trail platoons must be held far enough forward to support the lead platoon. The more guns that fire in the first minute, the quicker the enemy will be defeated and the fewer losses you will suffer. 7. When breaking cover, do it quickly and together. The more targets the enemy is shown simultaneously, the harder his fire control and distribution will be, and the more guns you will have in effect on the enemy. 8. In the attack drive as fast as you can. At slow speed you can see and shoot only a little better than at high, and are much more likely to be hit. For a tank there should be only two speeds: the half (for firing!) and all out forward. This is the basic principal of tank combat! 9. When antitank weapons are encountered at long or medium ranges, you must first return fire and then maneuver against them. First make a firing halt in order to bring effective fire to bear - then commit the bulk of the company to maneuver on the enemy with the continued support of one platoon. 10. When antitank weapons are encountered at close range, stopping is suicide. Only immediate attack at the highest speed with every weapon firing will have success and reduce losses. 11. In combat against the antitank guns you may never - even under the protection of strong fire support - allow a single platoon to attack alone. Antitank weapons are not employed singly. Remember - lone tanks in Russia are lost! 12. You must continually keep a broad interval between vehicles. This splits the enemy's defensive fire and complicates his fire control. Narrow intervals must be avoided at all costs, especially in critical situations, or it will cost you losses. 13. When an impassable obstacle, for instance a minefield or antitank ditch, is encountered you must immediately and without hesitation give the order to withdraw into the nearest cover. Standing still, in open sight, trying to carry on the attack, has in such circumstances no sense and will only cost you losses. Your consideration on how to make a new start will be best made in the safety of cover. 14. When your attack must pass potential enemy tank positions, for instance a woodline, you should either pass by them so closely that you are inside their minimum range, or remain so far away that you are outside their maximum effective range. 15. Enemy tanks should not be attacked directly, because then they see you and know your strength before you can kill them. More often, you should avoid them until you can move into favorable firing positions, and surprise them from the flank or rear. Repelled enemy tank assaults must be aggressively pursued. 16. A strongpoint, for instance a small village or artillery battery position, whenever possible should be attacked from different directions simultaneously in order to split enemy defensive fire and deceive him about the true location and direction of the attack. In this manner your breakthrough will be easier and your losses fewer. 17. Always prepare dug in positions and camouflage against the possibility of air or artillery attack. Being sorry afterwards is no excuse for losses taken by these causes. 18. Ammunition should not always be conserved; in the decisive moment, if you want to save casualties, you may expend ammunition at exceptionally high rates (for instance, an emergency attack.) 19. Never split your combat power; that is to say, do not employ parts of the company in such a manner that they cannot support each other. When your attack has two objectives you should attack first one and then the other with all weapons. In this way you will more certainly end up with both objectives in hand and fewer casualties. 20. Support from artillery fire or dive bombers must be used immediately, that is to say, while the fire is still hitting the objective. Afterward, when the fire has stopped it is too late. You must know that mostly such fires only produce a suppressing effect, not a destroying one. It is better to risk a friendly shell or bomb than to charge into an active antitank defense. 21. Other weapons and arms, cross-attached to you, should not be misused. Do not use them for purposes for which they were not intended, for example, do not use tank destroyers as assault guns, or armored infantry as tanks, or recon or engineer troops as infantry. 22. Unarmored or lightly armored units attached to you must be protected from any unnecessary losses until they are needed for their own operational tasks, for which reason they were attached to you. 23. Cross-attached units placed under your command are not your servants, but your guests. You are answerable to supply them and share everything they need. Don't just use them on guard duty! In this way they will work better and more loyally for you when you need them. And that will be often! 24. In combined operations with infantry or armored infantry, you must make certain that the arms stick close together; only so can they help each other and achieve success. Which of the two is leading is a secondary matter; what must be known is that it is the intention of the enemy to separate them and that you must prevent this in all circumstances. Your battlecry must be "Protect the Infantry!" and the infantry's battlecry is "Protect the Tanks!" 25. You and your soldiers must always concentrate on your combat mission, i.e. "the bridge," and you may not turn aside, for example, to an enemy on your flank, unless he is actually dangerous to the accomplishment of your mission. Then you must attack and destroy him. 26. After a victorious battle; i.e. the seizure of a bridge or the occupation of a village, keep your helmets on. That is to say, prepare for a counterattack which will certainly come, perhaps in a different place than you expect. Later you can collect the spoils of victory. 27. In a defense or security mission place your tanks so that not only their firepower, but also their shock action can be brought into play. Also, leave only a few tanks in stationary firing positions. Keep most as mobile reserves under cover. Tanks defend aggressively! 28. Against strong enemy resistance, there is no point in continuing to attack. Every failed attack only costs more casualties. Your effort must always be to hold the enemy with only weak forces, in order to use mass of your strength at another, weaker place, breakthrough, and destroy the enemy by surprise attack in the rear or flank. 29. Never forget that your soldiers do not belong to you, but to Germany. Personal glory hunting and senseless dare-deviltry lead only to exceptional cases to success, but always cost blood. In battle against the Soviet- Russians you must temper your courage with your judgement, your cunning, your instincts and your tactical ability. Only then will you have the prerequisites to be victorious in battle and only then will your soldiers look on you with loyalty and respect and always stand by you in untiring combat readiness. 30. The panzer division in modern warfare today holds the former place of cavalry as the decisive arm of combat. Tank officers must carry on in the tradition of the cavalry, take up its aggressive spirit on behalf of the Panzer arm. Therefore take note, as a basic combat principle, of Marshall Blucher's motto, "FORWARD AND THROUGH!" (but with intelligence).

My great uncle on the father's side, Kenneth White, was a quartermaster in the US Army in the Pacific. He didn't see any combat but could have been part of the landing on Japan if the Atomic Bomb hadn't been used. My grandfather on my mother's side, Mikael Valitalo, served in the Finnish Army during the Winter War. He was severely injured by a Russian grenade and died from his wounds...30 years later! I believe he was somewhere in the Mannerheim line. Finally a friend of my family was in the Wiking SS division in Russia. He wrote a war diary. It is hidden somewhere in his house and his family has been searching it for decades! He participated in the fighting in the Caucasus in 42, and then was involved in Kursk. He had ran away from home to join the Finnish Army but wasn't accepted because he was too young(16)! So he joined the Germans...The poor fellow now has Alzheimer(sp?) and has been slowly dying in a hospital for 5 years. He cannot remember anything and is horribly suffering. I still believe it is a punishment from God 'cos he fought so fanatically for the Nazis...

Given the date(april), it is certainly not in eastern France but in Germany. By February-March 1945 France had already been completely cleared by the Amis.

BTS, Von Choltitz was the one who saved Paris. Hitler had ordered him to blow up the city. He refused when he suddenly realised that "he had a madman talking in front of him".

Berlichtingen: What about Kempf? I don't know much about him but he seemed to have quite an important role. In February 1943 Hausser replaced him as commander of the 1.SS PanzerKorps. During Barbarossa he commanded the 58.PzKorps I think with the 1.PzGruppe.

All right, here's one that will considerably lower the average: I'm 16. Yup, sixteen, in the new wargaming generation. My friends can't believe I play games like TOAW or EF2 or WF or CM that have "crap" graphics...They prefer less thoughtful games like Quake-clones. So I have to play these games with their fathers rather than with them

Currently playing TOAW Western Front Eastern Front 2 The Talonsoft freak

Dumbo, Any soldier can feel those sub-zero temperatures in his guts , but some feel it more than others depending on what they have on their skin...In the winter of 41 the Soviet army was better equiped than the Wehrmacht for the cold. The soldiers had better clothes, the tanks' fuel didn't freeze, and the supply trucks kept coming. The Germans on the other side were still wearing denim trousers(->frostbite), and the tanks and trucks couldn't move anymore. The mud stopped the German offensive from having any chance of taking Moscow, but 2 months later the snow and cold gave the Russians the opportunity to strike a decisive blow on HeeresGruppe Mitte. [This message has been edited by PanzerLeader (edited 01-09-2000).]

In order, for the Axis: Manstein Guderian Kesselring Rommel I feel had a few important failings. Although he was a genius on the battlefield his poor understanding of logistics and over-optimism probably led to DAK's defeat in the end. His project of capturing Cairo and then link up with AGS in the Caucasus was sheer fantasy...A decent strategist would have immediately noticed that it was completely impossible. Instead of tying up as many British troops as possible and making sure that Europe's southern flank was secure he launched a brilliant attack yes, but that attack put in jeopardy the entire outcome of the war. As long as Malta held out Rommel had no chance of capturing Cairo and Alexandria. Allied: General Winter Zhukov Montgomery

I agree Kevin. It's true that most excellent tacticians are unheard of or were killed quickly. However for the best tactician(I know of) I suggest a few names(they are all on the German side 'cos I don't know the Allied Army enough): Hans von Luck, Kurt "Panzer" Meyer, maybe Jochen(sp?) Peiper.

I prefer playing as Germans 'cos I know their equipment better, and therefore know exactly what to do with each specific weapon. I've never really cared about the US army. Russkies and Germans are my favourites.

Quite far back in this thread I've heard somebody say that Guderian was the best tactician in the war. I have to disagree here. Guderian did invent the concept of BlitzKrieg but throughout the war he never commanded anything less than a Corps. That's operational level, not tactical level. For the best tactician you have to look further down the chain of command...Guys like Peiper.

Actually Manieri you may consider these few points(some of them have already been mentioned but I couldn't resist replying personally to this very provocative topic of yours): -80% of German casualties of WW2 were caused on the EF...Such a decisive theater of war CANNOT be bypassed. -the richness of the EF is far greater than the mediterranean theater alone. 4 years of war across a front that goes from Murmansk to the Black Sea... I can't even imagine how many interesting scenarios one could create using CM's editor. The battles there were much more diverse than in Africa(combination of trench warfare, blitzkrieg, heavy city fighting...) -the Americans were almost entirely absent of the Theater of War you suggest. They only came in in November 1942 and didn't take part in any significant battle before February 43. -your overly nationalist feelings have NO place on this forum, especially in a new topic. You deserved the flaming Manieri, you truly did.

OOps, triple post...Sorry, I've never had this problem before. [This message has been edited by PanzerLeader (edited 01-06-2000).]

Db post [This message has been edited by PanzerLeader (edited 01-06-2000).]

Thanks for all the replies. I still can't figure out how that man ended in the Wiking SS Division with a TotenKopf SS badge on his uniform!? He couldn't be in two divisions at the same time...Oh well, I'll ask him. Actually I can't think of any senior SS officer except Sepp Dietrich...In Kursk he was known to attack a village during the day, and then halt for the night outside the village so that Russian artillery and airplanes bombed it a few hours for nothing.

One question: what exaclty were the Totenkopf SS for? I used to think they were the ones who served in concentration camps. However last summer I visited a relative in Finland who was in the Wiking SS division. He fought in Russia, all the way to the Caucasus with Army Group A I think, and yet I saw that horrible Totenkopf badge on his cap... So were they part of the Waffen SS? Or what?

Kevin, You're right. This battle was part of the ill-fated NordWind offensive...I wonder where my brain was when I wrote that post Minor victory-stalemate? It's tough to choose between the two for sure. The operation as a whole ended in a major German defeat, no doubt about that. However it can be argued that the Germans did take the two towns at the end, although the US withdraw was skillfully executed. I'd call it a minor tactical victory, and leave you with these words from von Luck, after he had to abandon the villages and retreat west of the Rhine, a few weeks only after he had taken them: "we couldn't understand why we had been withdrawn so close to reaching our goal."

WW2Rulz, Thanks for the links. It helped a lot. You mean the 101 Eagles yeah? Hmm..Not bad, 50% Chain of Command looks fun but I have one major objection: it is realtime...So you're supposed to issue orders to you troops and report the situation to your commander just when the opponent starts his powerful counter-attack? Looks tough... I also read that if one of your 4 men(half a squad, right?) dies then you're in trouble, or that's what it meant. But isn't that unrealistic? Whole squads could get wiped out in a very short time I think, because it all happened so quickly that the troops didn't have the time to retreat.

"We took prisoners from the 827th US Armored Battalion, which consisted almost entirely of blacks. They told us their instructions were to shoot up or set on fire any house in which Germans -they said "Nazis" - were to be found." Hans von Luck, "Panzer Commander". This passage talks about the battle for the villages of Hatten-Rittershoffen in December 1944. Later on (couldn't find it in the text but I remember it, the image struck me) he describes the "negro" soldiers climbing on the roofs with knives in their mouths... BTW the battle ended in a bloody victory for the Germans, and was probably part of the Bulge offensive.

BTW WW2Rulz, do you know where I can find more information about the game you described(reviews, screenshots, etc)? Thanks in advance. It looks interesting.