JRRRT

A new surplus store has opened in Chicago, catering to reenactors, however, the owner states that free space is available for meetings, and I'm sure wargamers would qualify. e-mail me for phone number (I'm not sure i should post it) or get a copy of "The Point" (newsletter of the WWII Historical Reenactment Society) Might be a good location for Chicago-area meetings.

The leutnant is well-named. Ever since the war it has been a mantra of the German officer corps that "We would have won but for Hitler". I'm not sure that that is the case. Had it been left to the General Staff,the combined-arms concept later named "Blitzkreig", might never have been tried, Manstein would not have struck France through the Ardennes, etc. etc. etc. In the case of Kursk, the allied invasion gave Hitler a face-saving reason for cancelling what was obviously by that time, a failed offensive. Quoting Soviet casualty figures to create a German victory seems ingenuous, a bit like Churchill claiming Dunkirk as a victory.

Regarding the "Hiwi's" and SS "cannon fodder". The German army employed approximately 200,000 "hilfsfreiwillige" (aka "hiWi's). The use of these "voluntary" auxiliaries was never approved by Hitler or the high command, but was improvised by Heer units desperately short of manpower. HiWi's were employed entirely (perhaps with very,very, rare exceptions) as rear-echelon supply line troops, and they were generally not armed. On the other issue, before the war and early in the war, the SS were not allowed to seek volunteers subject to the draft in the homeland, lest they compete with the Heer for "the best and brightest". Therefore, they actively recruited "Ost" and "Volk" Germans from conquered or cooperating countries. Ethnic Germans had been deliberately settled throughout the Austro-Hungarian empire by the empress Maria Therese, as "pioneers" to "civilize" less efficient 'natives". These Germans clung to their German identity in the Czech Sudetenland, Hungary, Rumania and even Western Poland. Having been isolated,and thus defensive of their ethnicity, they were "more German than the Germans" and flocked to the SS banner. They were not cannon fodder, but valuable elite troops with a hypernationalist zeal. They were never "thrown away", but carefully employed. Later, "Charlemagne" was recruited from French and (mostly) Alsatian volunteers, "Wiking" was composed of volunteer Swedes, Norwegians and Finns, etc. Late in the war, so-called SS units (Dirlewanger, SS-polizei, and others)were not truly elite units, but stopgaps, barrel-scrapings or formed for propaganda purposes.

In many of the units cited, the leadership may have been the key to unit strength. 12 SS for instance, was officered and, more importantly, NCO'd by Ostfront vets. The undoing of certain British units in Normandy may have been due more to lack of replacements than poor performance...It is less disruptive to bnlend a couple of shot-up units than create new ones. Soviet performance is an enigma, and was, even to the Germans...How much due to NKVD? Good comment re: deterioration of performance over time. One of the books puts it well...Early on it's "not me"...I'm too strong, wrapped tightly, keen, etc. A few combat days later: "Well, I might get it, but..." assuming a "Blighty" wound. Finally..."I'm fricking doomed, and that's it." There have been unreported failures to obey and desertions (bombers deliberately flying off to Switzerland - rapid surrender of many troops during "Bulge")among both green and veteran troops. Good comments.

But there is a close analogy re:the T-34 v. Sherman. They were both produced in enormous numbers, thus their masters could afford to lose some. I have seen a late-war T-34/85 close up and inside. The turret was a gigantic sandcasting, all rough and nubbly, and the gun barrel on the outside was very crude. I could just see some sleepy teenager at "Tankograd" drowsing over the lathe. But they cranked them out like mad (one month's production at some point equalling a whole year of German manufacture. Very noisy (metal tracks). Also, they could run in winter...had a compressed-air booster for the starting system.

I think that part of what is reflected in the perceived brittleness of Soviet tanks may be the actual exchange rates which occurred during the war, if that has been factored in. Soviet tanks were better or equal to German, but crew training and performance were extremely poor , especially early on. This led to exchange ratios unfavorable to the Reds, even with superior equipment. German vets have told me that few Soviets could drive well, and that they always tended to go anywhere by the easiest rout. They frequently got up on the skyline, and the tanks were very noisy. Gun crews were slow, and optics poor. Couple that with few radios, poor command and control and you lose lots of tanks, even if very good. Also, the KV, while difficult to kill, was easy to spot due to the high sillouhette and the slab-sided turret was a good impact site.

I have played the AI for years. It is fascinating to watch it "learn" if you play the same scenario against it a couple of times it will change approach routes, etc. Not bad at all, well worth the price!!

AT guns of all types work best when hitting targets from multiple angles, say, from flank and behind simultaneously. That way, the target doesn't know where to respond w/counterfire OR if a group is attacked, the counterfire is divided...worked like crazy in the "Kursk" demo.

In practice, guns were often sited in rather shallow pits, with a ramp-like opening to the front. Even fairly heavy guns could be pushed forward to bear, fired, then withdrawn. The Soviets had lots of man (and woman) power to do this with almost all fairly light stuff. Also, HE fire on an area will probably not destroy a gun unless a direct hit is scored...so...if the crew hunkers under cover, when fire stops they ought to be able to nip out and get off a shot or two. Soviets used two or three guns "in echelon", which works pretty well if you are willing to sacrifice the firast crew.

[the AI actually targets the crew, not the gun, thus causing it to lose target when the crew ducks.[/QB]

I can't get through on the link to order the CMBB game.Everytime I try the "Cannot display page...etc." appears. There appear to be no other addresses, mail, e-mail, link or otherwise. How can I get through to place an order?

I have interviewed 3 Soviet vets now resident in the US. One was a career officer, begining service in the First Finnish War, finally wounded severely during Operation Rumyatsev. 2nd was commanding an AA unit, fought on the fringes of Kursk...His unit was 50% women, says women very good at operating sound-ranging gear and sometimes braver than the men. "Whenever we got ot a place where we were going to stay for a while, we built 4 bunkers. One for officers, one for male soldiers, one for females, and one for dancing?!" Direct quote. Last was ordinary teenage grunt, nearly executed for stealing a "Swinya Tuschanka" (phonetic spelling) which is a whole can of spam-like product, manufactured by Hormel, and eating it himself. Was hungry for the whole war. All were Jews from the area of Kiev, all left USSR during the mass flight of Jews in the 70's. When they left, they all had to turn in their medals. After we interviewed each, and determined what decorations they had been awarded, we found them replacements and made a presentation.

Is this scenario winnable playing as Allied? I have tried just about everything and cannot get even a standoff. I am a new player, but have been at it for a couple of years, so it's not total incompetence that creates my problem with this scenario. Any tips for a frustrated newbie?