Dandelion

You're right, I was thinking contemporary figures of a quarter billion inhabitants. While we are on the topic of minority service, and have you on the line, is it correctly perceived that there are one or more native Canadian groups enjoying one type of special status or other? I mean, were inuits accepted for service/drafted? How about other groups, any special rules? Cheerio Dandelion

Koenig Formally, as of 1939 Libyans obtained full Italian citizenship, so the Libyan troops were Royal, not Colonial. But of course, nothing but the name changed. Not much point in becoming a citizen in a state with no citizen rights, not even the vote And yes, it would have certainly added colour - no pun intended - to have included these and other non-caucasian troops in the game. Very interesting all this. The colour issue is probably much more extensive in the USA than I grasp. Identifying colour by mere names, adresses and way of speech sounds like separate nationalities. And I think I can see how this all worked, informally. 2.5 million sounds few tho. There must have been more African American men available for draft no? And the UK issue has been only partially illuminated. What did they hear when appearing before the recruiter? Cheerio Dandelion

Thanks for the input - Allowing to volounteer? So before this point, there was an explicit prohibition on African Americans to serve in combat formations? As in, if a guy applied, he'd get the "sorry, according to section bla bla black americans are not allowed"? Forgive me for being so anal about it, I am just wondering how they actually did it, in practice. And how people were defined. Who was considered "colored"? Was there a defintion akin to the German Jew defintion? Tracing heritage, counting degrees? Cheerio Dandelion

Thanks J2D, squeeze is the word Still got some work left on the German OOB tho. If nobody better has ventured into the French by then I'll give it a go. Am still having a super-crashing PC here. Average time between Bluestop o death; 2 minutes. Cheerio Dandelion

They are all white. As I understand it African Americans were not found in infantry combat formations save one all-black division? Well, people more knowledgeable than me will come along here. I'd like to hike with your question if you don't mind, adding one of my own to yours: - If African Americans were called up just like all other Americans, by what law/order were they selected for non combat duty? I mean, was there a regulation on this, or just a systematic discrimination? - Similarily, if a black man living in London (as a citizen) volounteered for service, say in 1940, would he have ended up in a regular UK unit? If not, was there a law regulating servicemen colour in the UK? I mean among UK citizens. I am genuinely curious as to how this actually worked. Cheerio Dandelion

While "covered arc" will take care of the "looks the other way" problem with located enemy AFV, the basic issue seems to be challenges on the move, advancing on unidentified opposition. The drawback of the Hunt command you mention is relevant and serious. Due to the extremely slow turret traverse in the game. Use Hunt primarily for advancing against known opposition, and regulate using covered arc commands. Against unbrevealed oppsoition, when not possible to restrict covered arc, it is be preferrable to waste a minute (i.e. Advance to Contact) than to die. Of course, it won't help you to mention that the guy sitting still is always at an advantage versus the guy moving, no matter what move command you use, as I presume you are advancing and must move anyway. If forced to move, you need to keep a low line, i.e. not offer the enemy any ranged shots at all, keeping in gullies, behind treelines etc. Of course, the terrain will not always allow a low line, and smoke will not always be available to create one virtually, nor can you always use dust. If possible, you scout ahead with infantry. A located enemy AFV - especially if he has not located your AFV - will be a lot easier to close in on. Keep the AFV unbuttoned in spite of risks, it grows blind as a bat if you don´t. As has been mentioned, AFV should not be deployed in less than platoon strength, all barrels pointing at the enemy. Of course, not all setups will provide you with a platoon of AFVs. So what if the terrain is open, no smoke, no dust, no infantry and you must advance? Well if you can't seriously outgun the opposition then you get shot to pieces regardless of movement order. I always am. Cheerio Dandelion

"Rearming the French" (Marcel Vigneras) extensively lists all deliveries made by the US to FF. Types and dates. He also mentions the Springfield issue as described by Joel. Solid quality book, easily obtainable, US Army Special Study series. I even believe they are about to publish it on the internet in extensio. The French forces in North Africa joining after Torch were not colonials tho. They were just French troops of darker shades. The men came from Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia. Algeria was part of France, the other two were protectorates. The whites appearing in the force (Chasseurs d'Afrique, LE, Zouaves etc) were employed by the Army (French North African Army, a separate entity from the Metropolitain Army), not the Colonial Department. In the columns from the Western Desert were some colonials. Though only a handful. I feel it is relevant and justified to have the French wear Adrian post Torch. If they had any, they would. Like all exile troops, the French tried to keep characteristic equipment and insignia. To retain a separate identity. Thus the widespread wearing of the Adrian need not indicate shortages. Just like the Dutch who kept their strange helmet as long as possible, wearing it with British battledress, even though the British most probably offered them Teller helmets. Cheerio Dandelion

Oren Every one Of the six posts you have made in this fourm brings up your Israel-Arab hulaballoo. It strikes me as puzzling. Pray tell, what is it about the CMAK forum that you feel invites you to frolic over amusing machines of destruction you have employed or occularly consumed in your revolting conflict? I always endeavour to persevere momentary lapses of quality in this forum, but I fear yours is a presence not temporary. I'd bear the nausea in stoic silence, had it not been for your straying out of your natural General Forum habitat. It might have come to your attention that the conflict wich you so persistently bring up has been headline news in all Western and Middle East medias for the last 50 or so years. Every day. This might inject the suspicion that the topic might well be one of some controversy. With gruelling predictability, any raising of the question will provoke debate. Unfortunately, for such a debate the prospects of bringing the game or WWII studies forward even an inch are grim. In the General Forum, your will no doubt attract a more thankful audience. While in here, stop flaming. Dandelion

You're not being literal about James are you? Last time I spoke to him he was on his way to Afghanistan with elements of 10th Mtn. Hope nothing went sour over there. We last spoke 10/11. I was real scared he had bought it in the big bang, but he was quite ok as it was. Real good to hear the other two are still kicking. Good people both. Actually I don't have CMBB yet Went from CMBO to CMAK. I frequent this forum simply because it is more mature and interesting than CMAK is so far - CMAK will change and lose the Peng problems with time, but we're not quite there yet. So I couldn't join the GM ranks just now. But it is on its way (CMBB). And yes, I actually miss CMMC. I know its insane, positively ludicrous, but I do. Always did think it's the best way to play CM, brings the game to it's very peak, the ultimate scenario. I hear much has changed since CMMC 1? Maybe I won't find my way around anymore? I see the sigs are still popular. There was a mapping software used by GMs at the time (remember I was a player back then), with a lion or tiger as logo, COCAT was it? Is it still being used? Is there a site one could inspect, with GM info on it? Still have newspapers, Der Adler and Soviet version of FO, for me to read? Cheerio Dandelion (Former "Krafft" (CPX) and "Königsmarck"(CMMC1))

Hey Fokker, is Shckells and Bailey still around? It appears Althouse is still in there, now in GM format? Cheerio Dandelion

Yes I think you're right, it's probably a software thing. I mean I'm no skilled person at this (anyone else? Help most welcome) but I vaguely suspect something mysterious went awry with the driver during installation, and re-install won't solve it.

Beats me. It keeps saying it (the driver) cannot communicate with the graphics accellerator ("accellerator has stopped answering commands"). And so it keeps resetting it during gameplay. Casuing semi-freeze (it freezes, but is then reset and works poroperly again, for a while, then the same over and over). And it says that in order to solve this problem, I need to download updated drivers. Problem is of course, I've got the latest drivers available... There is a "send error report to ATI" function - problem is there is no feedback You just send it, and get no reply. And so I don't really know what the benchmark would be if everything worked as should. I just sit around until this appears among the "known technical issues" with the 9800 Pro card - the published list already includes every single popular game title available in retail so CMAK should fit right in Cheerio Dandelion

Martin, if you would be so kind, please.

...no overclocking. Haven't gotten it to work on original clocking yet so... Cheers hic Dandelion

AMD Athlon 3000+ ATI Radeon Pro 9800 SATA HD Seagate MB Win XP 512 RAM 56 seconds Of course, my graphics driver does not function properly... Cheerio Dandelion

Very useful site, many thanks. Cheerio Dandelion

Thanks for those kind words J2D, I was interrupted in my project by a system reinstall. Been buying some stuff and have changed practically all internal organs of my PC (to younger, prettier ones). System is working again now, but only just. Very unstable. I'll be spending a few days trying to get everything disciplined here, but then I'll be right back on track. Cheerio Dandelion

Ok, so if I find an embarrassing spelling error, how do I edit? Cheerio Dandelion

LOL! Who the h_ is that? I am in fact unusually pleased with this book. I have a Swedish wife (another very good reason for frolicing I might add, but I still sing and drink) who is faithfully translating all the difficult words. But you know, I suspect the original language must be German? It keeps stating "translated into German/never translated into German" on every single Scandinavian source, and no German texts or titles are translated (into Scandinavian) in the book. Why would a Swede or Norwegian care if it was translated into German? The authors seem to presume the reader speaks German - and let me tell you that this cannot be generally presumed up here in the arctic wastes. Nonetheless, you'd understand anyway I am convinced. It's not all that different. Berlin type nein, Bayrisch type ja, Hamburg pronounciation rules and Vorarlberg melody of speech - add the occasional falcette and wham, you're halfway to Stockholm. But you're off to Paris instead I hear (gossip). Much looking forward to your imminent access to French official archives. I have tonnes of questions on French units that I've wanted to know for so long now. Sincerely Dandelion

Andreas, Yes you're right, the regimental musicians were at the Rgt.Arzt disposal. He could assign them as Hilfskrankenträger and Pflegepersonal if and as he saw fit. Serving as the latter, they'd do service in the HVP, tending patients in a operation team, i.e. functioning as civilian nurses do. If assigned to the former, they'd be issued red cross armbands and armed only with pistols. Not that I know what regimental musicians were normally armed with, I must confess. Cheerio Dandelion

In the school of Elverum - a tiny hamlet - the Norwegian parliment gathered on April 9 and gave the government extraordinary powers to act in the best interest of the nation in the state of war that existed. Supra-constitutional powers in this case, not normally allowed. Fullmakt means er... letter of authorisition, kind of, or comission. You know if you give your wife a letter that says she can empty your bank account in your name, and sign it, that's a Fullmakt. The same day, the Norwegian King refused to accept the German suggestion of accepting German presence and protection, saying he'd rather abdicate. This was the first reaction the Norwegian state was formally capable of, on the invasion. It meant Norway chose to fight. This was not at all certain, before that point. The allies were much relieved, and joined the fray. Your ancestral compatriots can thus be said to have fought and died for the Elverum fullmakt, as it became part of the Allied cause. Whereas mine of course fought against it... Try Googling for Eleverum and Fullmakt written apart. Cheerio Dandelion

You're a compulsive collector of unsellable, unbuyable and barely readable, obscure literature on enigmatic topics. Regrettably, I know no cure for it. No not Ottmer, sorry. My bargain here (get away from me, it's MINE, MINE) is "April 9", copyright 2004, authors are Tamelander & Zetterling, aided by Frankson, Hjelm, Lundström, Roth - well a number of guys who have also published books and articles on the subject. I have the Swedish language version - none other to be found around here. The good part being that it is rare from day 1 The authors rely a lot on Hubatsch - they tend to spell it Huhatsch but these are Scandinavians most of them - and some on Busch. They use an English translation of the latter - "The Drama of the Scharnhorst". There is some from Kräutler & Springenschmid, Buchner, Ziemke, Kersuady, quite a lot from Derry, a mysterious "Ash" who's book is actually not presented among the sources, some from Moulton, naturally a lot of Tessin in there and all the usual KTBs and Operationsbefehl, Lagebericht, Abendmeldung et cetera collections. Most painful of all, I see a not a little but a lot of microfilm in here with BA/MA numerals that I've missed completely. These must have been recently added from the former Soviets? As it simply couldn't be that these guys are beter than me They've found a lot of company reports filed under F9178051. Allows them a certain level of detail... Norwegian side counts Björnsen, Hauge, Munthe-Kaas, Sandvik, Bojerud - i.e. the usual retinue plus a "Tarnstrom" (Yank, Texan, but seems to write in either of the Scandinavian languages?). Well, basically it's all here, they've been very busy these lads. Must be some kind of cooperation project here, but I can't find any info on that. Too bad there were no Poles of Frenchmen involved, that would have rounded things off rather. Cheerio Dandelion [giggles and runs off with his bargain] PS. Sorry for not coming about to comment Sealion along the lines suggested by e-mail. The project is huuuuge and it has taken me some time to consume it, and understand all ends of it As a US Governor once said, I'll be back.

Folke, I forgot to write I also think its a highly useful and well designed site. But that's what I meant I'll see if I can't make readable brief historical summaries for the German units. Cheerio Dandelion

Date of introduction is listed on Folkes site. On each unit. The Crusaders arrive in September 42 it says. No date of departure from OOB though. Well, none that I saw just now anyway. Dates on availability - appearing and disappearing - are listed for ammo types I see. But what to comment? It's all there really. What more would a QB player consider valuable information Folke? Cheerio Dandelion

You needn't, happy to oblige. Its not us, it's you all who are different... The nautical mile is logical in this particular use, as it is a precise division of the earth cirumference relative to that measure. Is it spelled like that? I mean the distance around the globe. That way, you need never bother about visibility ranges that would be obstructed by the horizon anyway. You see it all makes perfect sense. Very probably. Yes, I often find similarities with choreography (spelling?). A set number of brief words release a whole series of carefully rehersed movements. The company was part and took part in the... people relocation chain. In a battle order like this one however, I think he must be referring not so much to the men lying obviously dead in the terrain, but more to men dying in medical care or transport, which most dead did. The dead would be removed from a Verwundetennest with some urgency, if possible. They'd not be found in the HVP at all except those actually dying there. But sure enough, it was the task of the "Truppen-Sanitätsdienst" - i.e. in effect Battallion using mainly Company personnell - to track down the dead after a battle, with or without aid from "Sanitätsdienste der Division" - the latter usually the indomitable 1st platoon of either of the two divisional Sani companies, units that would normally collect wounded alongside company troops in the middle of battles too. If possible they'd bring along dogs and Sankas. But there was a shortage of dogs by the end of the war. And shortage of Sankas from day one. The same guys dealing with acute cases in the engagement would then have to scan the battlefield and collect the dead after it. Bearing in mind that the majority of dead in a standard WWII battle would be lying in field dressing stations or field hospitals. The "same guys" being the group around the Bataillonsarzt, i.e. the three company Sanitätsunteroffiziere, their Sanitätssoldaten and Hilfskrankenträger (more than less a penal duty), and if no active contact was unterwegs most probably the platoon medics would be thrown in too. In highly mobile scenes, another unit coming up would have to do it, using the same category personnel (if German, not sure how the Italians did it in Africa), and in cases of mass death of unusual proportions (WWII standards) they'd use specially formed units with Grabendienst, anything from POWs and HiWis to penal units, or indeed just ordinary guys. Grabendienst (for enlisted men practically always meaning the digging of graves), like the Streifendienst (in this case referring to MP helpers), were common but extremely unpopular penal assignments, used as punishment by the Spiess when you had been seriously misbehaving. But you could get unlucky and get such assignments just for being on sick roll. The fallen were collected in registered preliminary wargraves, and in the burials proper the buddies from company would take part if possible. Of course, realities of war had a say. If a squad found a corpse, and had the time, they'd bury it on the spot. They had instructions to do so, hygiene regulations. They'd report it and hand in dogtags to Company, registering the site using minelaying measures and marking the grave in the most obvious way prudent - Germans often used makeshift crosses crowned by helmets. The Sanis would then have to dig it up and relocate it, with or without help from other units. For regulation war cemetaries - the temporary ones - there were standardised coffins and crosses to use. If no corps was found, but death ocularly confirmed, they'd bury an empty coffin. My grandfather was buried in an empty coffin as nothing much remained of him, temporary regimental cemetary at first and then they (the State of Poland) relocated the empty coffin to a huuuge war cemetary in Poland, then on to Germany quite recently. There was a graves registration department. The WASt, as it was (and is) called, had no field service but passively collected data from the regular OKH chain of command. The intention being to collect all men lying in (hostile) foreign soil, to war cemetaries of permanent nature at home. My contemporary English fails me again, what is the meaning of getting long in the tooth? I've seen Americans re-enacting their Civil War as part of municipal traditions when I was there, they'd stage a battle and then eat and drink a lot, chili as it was (South). And aerial re-enactors flying WWII planes. But never groundtroop WWII so far. Of course modern production films contain large amounts of reenactors. Saving Private Ryan springs to mind. Is this a way of financing the activity? I've seen homepages with people that own a complete SPW 251/1! That'll not be a small individual investment. Cheerio Dandelion