Mikko H.

von Churov wrote: No wonder the French lost -- they didn't expect to meet zombies. And armored zombies at that!

By the Japanese? Wasn't it the other way around -- AFAIK Zhukov kicked the Japanese hiney all the way back to Manchuria.

Now, could someone tell me why Panter was Panzer V and Tiger Panzer VI even when the Tiger was the first to be created and accepted service???

Others hopefully know better, but AFAIK there has been cast considerable doubt on whether the IR Panthers ever actually saw action.

Wasn't Finnish Army supposed to act like Germans in this respect? At least the GHQ's initial reaction in the first week or so after the start of the offensive was to order immediate counter-attacks to recapture the lost positions (which in hindsight can be seen to have little or no chanches of success). It seems to me the Finnish tactics were flexible not by design but by force of circumstances. This part of front was held by Maj. Gen. Jussi Sihvo's 10th Division, which had been transferred there just previous May. Gen. Sihvo had been appalled by the state of the defenses and asked his superior, CO of the IV Army Corps Lt. Gen. Taavetti Laatikainen, for permission to shorten his division's front by withdrawing. Laatikainen refused. As is well known, Sihvo's division was overwhelmed by the Soviet assault and just barely managed to escape. Sihvo was relieved of his duties on 17 June. Sihvo wasn't the only commander to be relieved of his duties by Laatikainen. CO of the Cavalry Brigade Maj. Gen. Lars Melander got the boot on the same date as Sihvo, Col. Armas Kemppi, CO of the unfortunate 20th Brigade who lost Viipuri on 20 June, was court-martialled and Maj. Gen. Paavo Paalu, CO of the 18th Division, was relieved on 26 June. All but Melander saw their careers essentially finished. I sometimes wonder how Laatikainen was able to keep his post. He had been foremost among the generals who assured Mannerheim that the front-line can be held against any Soviet offensive, and his leadership during the Battle of Tali-Ihantala left much to be desired. And there was this incident in August 1941 when Laatikainen went AWOL after being made temporary CO of the II Army Corps during Lt. Gen. Oesch's illness -- yet Laatikainen got the Mannerheim Cross 2nd Class for this perfomance. He was held in high regard in GHQ and retired post-war a full general.

Indeed, one can argue that designating the front-line the main defence position was one of the greatest mistakes of the Finnish military leadership. The front-line was just that, the line where the Finnish advance had stopped in the Fall 1941, and consequently far from ideal for defence. Had the second VT-line been designated the main defence position, summer 1944 could have been different. If the VT-line had been properly fortified and manned by the main body of Finnish forces, Finns could have reacted much better to the Soviet offensive. In fact Mannerheim was urged to do just that, but the front-line commanders assured him that they can repel any Soviet offensive just where they were. Also at the beginning of the Soviet offensive there was no unified Finnish command in place in the Isthmus. Until March 1944 there had been Lt. Gen. Harald Öhquist's Isthmus Group HQ, but Mannerheim disbanded it and took the Isthmus forces directly under GHQ command. Whatever the motives for this move, it complicated the Finnish command structure. After the start of the Soviet offensive Mannerheim recognized this himself and made Lt. Gen. Karl Lennart Oesch Commander of the Isthmus Forces.

Recent research in the Russian archives has given very interesting info on Finnish aerial victory claims vs. reality. Shortly put, during the Winter War 1939-40 Finnish claims were exceptionally accurate, but during the Continuation War 1941-44 less so (occasionally very much less so).

I have always been very suspicious of the kill stats presented for fighter aces and especially for snipers. Häyhä's number is almost certainly inflated -- I don't remember the details, but IIRC couple of weeks before Häyhä was grievously wounded (he didn't see battle afterwards) he was semi-officially stated to have somewhat more than 100 'kills'.

Scariest? KV-2. Accept no substitutes.

For some reason I'm having difficulties seeing all the replies to this thread, so excuse me if this has already been covered... From late 1939 until summer 1940 Finland would definitely have been Allied. Germany maintained an unfriendly neutrality during the Winter War and it were the British and French who were ready to send troops to aid Finns. It wasn't until August/September 1940 when the Fenno-German cooperation started.

From the context I understood Ed meant ammo recovered by the US units operating in Afganishtan -- he's in an ordnance unit.

From the context I understood Ed meant ammo recovered by the US units operating in Afganishtan -- he's in an ordnance unit.

I have now two independent confirmations by measurement that the 3" mortar is indeed 81mm. One from John Salt (who contacted me by e-mail) and other by Edward Rudnicki. Ed elaborates:

I have now two independent confirmations by measurement that the 3" mortar is indeed 81mm. One from John Salt (who contacted me by e-mail) and other by Edward Rudnicki. Ed elaborates:

Read more here.

Others may elaborate, but I think the reports of IR-equipped Panthers seeing action have come under suspicion. It seems they never left the proving grounds.

I try to contact the person who measured the 3" tube... will report back...

I try to contact the person who measured the 3" tube... will report back...

Some time ago we had a discussion on this subject on an e-mail list I subscribe to. One listmember brought the discussion to an end by actually measuring the tube of a 3" mortar he had access to, and confirmed it to be 81mm (or somesuch -- I think all the 8cm, 81mm and 82mm mortars are actually around 81.5mm).

Some time ago we had a discussion on this subject on an e-mail list I subscribe to. One listmember brought the discussion to an end by actually measuring the tube of a 3" mortar he had access to, and confirmed it to be 81mm (or somesuch -- I think all the 8cm, 81mm and 82mm mortars are actually around 81.5mm).

In the game it says that the 3" mortar has a caliber of 76.2mm. It seems only logical, but is it actually? I've read & heard that the 3" Mortar was actually an 81mm piece. Anyone out there can confirm/refute this?

In the game it says that the 3" mortar has a caliber of 76.2mm. It seems only logical, but is it actually? I've read & heard that the 3" Mortar was actually an 81mm piece. Anyone out there can confirm/refute this?

I bought the game yesterday and would be playing it even now if my employer wouldn't want me to actually earn the money they're giving me. I just have to say I love those Italian 45mm mortars (somehow missed them in CMBB). With the ammo load they're carrying (some 80 rounds) they're great for suppressing infantry!

I've seen it happen already in v. 1.01

Hmmm... I believe the partisans who made raids into Finnish territory during the Continuation War were different from the partisans who operated in the German occupied territories. The former were formations of the regular Red Army, whereas the latter were irregulars. I might be wrong, however...