Chelt

There are a number of good, credibly-researched papers available from the US Army Combat Studies Institute. And a few "German Perspective" pieces - take with a grain of salt, but closer to being primary sources - from the Center for Military History. I trust that you've already visited your library, right? Because for almost any historical research, nothing on the web can compare with a library, especially a good research library with the luxury of interlibrary loan. (End pedant mode; apologies if you already have done.) Good luck, David

US Farm Security Information/Office of War Information images. main collection page Do a search for "Finland." You'll get Finnish landscapes back. There are many wartime images from all over the world, but they've not been scanned yet. And here's a fine Finnish site: http://www.sodatkuvina.cjb.net/ David

I rather suspect that this might also happen because your heavy-weapons teams can't run, and take a longer time to escape from under the barrage, whether at your orders or after they've broken. Ordinary infantrymen can just up and flee.

Ah, but then we'd need more than the present rudimentary artillery model. Now that'd be a nice turn of events. How about a Post-Second-World-War sim, in Western Europe? Before anti-tank missiles came about, that is. Give people a chance to play about with big truly mature tanks, and proper APCs. And there could be a "tactical nuclear exchange" option: press go, and three turns later the entire map turns into a giant crater. And just imagine the grogs going on about tripods for Honest Johns. Cheers, David

Could it be that the Germans chose light mortar men not for familiarity with the weapon, but for their athletic ability? Perhaps the game could give the mortar teams a high fitness rating, so that the three guys can dash alongside the speeding halftracks without winding themselves? When ordinary men tromp through mud and tire after a brief sprint, these chosen few heft their tube and baseplate and a few spare rounds and flit across the shell-torn fields like dragonflies above a pond? Or maybe, if you didn't want quite so many extra halftracks, you could put the mortar teams together in one or two vehicles at Company level, or maybe with a FO or some attached support weapon. I do know that according for the manuals for modern American mechanized units, mounted in the M113 and the Bradley, members of headquarters teams and fellows toting all sorts of odd weapons are scattered wherever there's a spare seat, just to keep the number of vehicles down. [ October 21, 2002, 12:36 AM: Message edited by: Trap One ]

The Jagdpanzer IV (with skirt) and the plain Jagdpanzer IV (presumably in slacks) cost the same, 124 points in June 44m - suggesting that the protective effects *aren't* modeled. I always bought the variant with skirts, because you never do know, and besides, they look great, especially if you find a good wire-mesh-look mod for the vehicle. Cheers, David

With this morning's snow, wintry questions are still on my mind. I've the impression that ski troops will appear in CMBB. But - here's a bone request - how will they be modelled? Will individual equipment and the name of a squad change, with ski troops otherwise exactly like regular infantry? Or will they gain mobility over snow? What of the fact that ski troops could take their skis on and off, and that someone on skis can move more quietly than someone on foot? I've had a good look through the FAQ and CMBB FAQ, and tried searching, with no luck. My apologies if this debate lead to a brutal flamewar round four months ago. Best, David

I've read that the Russians, this in Czarist days, built railroads to broad gauge not only because of the greater efficiency of wider track, but to hinder an invader's supply efforts; a country pushing into Russia would find all of the rolling stock burnt or withdrawn, and would have to re-lay track at standard gauge. Probably a myth. On a related note, I remember from somewhere that the British chose .303 calibre to stop enemies from using captured British ammunition.

Brings to mind a case of recce-with-fast-vehicles down at the company level: British armoured divisions each had a Motor Battalion attached - usually cavalry troops (often some flavor of dragoon) - all of whom were mounted in tracked vehicles. Motor Battalions were divisional troops, mind, and not the same as the motorised units which formed the bulk of the division's infantry. Each company within the battalion had a Scout Platoon of ten Carriers organized in three three-vehicle section plus an HQ carrier. The crews carried 2-in mortars and PIATs, and they were accustomed to working dismounted. Now this suggests to me that checking terrain ahead using fast, cheap vehicles, at least if you do have dismount scouts, is a reasonable idea - even in the small-scale engagments that CM tries to model. I've tried it, and you can get good results, whirling around to the back of a patch of woods without drawing fire, disembarking a scout team to sneak about in the woods, and happening upon AT gun positions that never quite saw you. At least in rolling terrain with fair cover, a Universal Carrier - a small target, with good speed across country - has a reasonable chance of survival, especially because their crews tend to pop smoke and back out of sight. The only trouble is, even then, it's uncommonly hard to pull that sort of recce work off because the embarked infantry don't cooperate. PIAT and mortar teams are too slow, and split infantry squads that are out of command break left, right, and center, even if you don't want them to get involved in any fighting. Pity that there's no two or three-man "scout team" unit. I'm waiting for the day when crews can abandon and then remount their vehicles!

Charge for the guns! We're looking at open terrain, dry ground, with two little hills on either side of a valley. I will leave the exact composition of the German force as an unpleasant surprise, that line of infantry is backed up by plenty of a/tk guns and artillery. The Allied player commands two British Motor Companies (mounted in halftracks), one lonely Armoured Recce Squadron (Cromwell IVs), and a handful of supporting units. Great speed and mobility, enormous firepower, but hardly any artillery and few direct-fire weapons. And you've only twenty-five minutes to cross a kilometer of open ground. Let's say that someone in HQ garbled the orders. Who would want to play this? Masochists, perhaps. Those who want to see what two dozen tanks and fifty-some lighter vehicles can do to the squad that pokes its head beyond the treeline. Someone who wants to match the traverse rate of an 88 against the speed of a Cromwell. And anyone who wants to try to win a battle that goes against every bit of doctrine in the book. It's a fairly large map, which deals with about a battalion on each side, but the forces are pretty easy to manage. I've designed it for play as the Allies against the AI, but it might work the other way around, or for PBEM. You can win as the British player. Email me if you'd like to take a look. Thanks, David