Hornpiper

I, too, want to thank you for the links. I've had CMBB for a while but have done precious little with it as yet due to the learning curve.

I have it and read it. It's a fairly quick read and the author has some rather direct criticisms of several of the other authors of similar books. It's certainly worth picking up for the bargain book price (I got mine at Borders).

Thanks for the insult. Guess I need not bother posting anything else.

To respond to JasonC's comments: 1. Quoting from "Russia's War" by Overy: "The result [of the purges] was the triumph of military illiteracy over military science, of political conformity over military initiative....This stifling of military independence left commanders demoralized and execessively cautious, since anything judged by the political officers to be an infringement of the Party line carried the risk of the Lubyanka, not just for the commander concerned but for his wife and family. Officers were inclined to stick by the rule book. Any talk of 'deep operations', or massed tank attack, with its echoes of Tukhachevsky, was by association deemed to be counter-revolutionary. In this sense, the purges left an indelible mark on the Soviet armed forces, which were once again, as they were in the early 1920s, officially regarded by the Party as an instrument of the people's revolutionary will. Military professionalism was suspect as 'bourgeois expertise'." Whether referring to the pre or post-Finnish state of the Red Army, it was stifled, in no small part, by the influence of the Party (read: Stalin) and initiative, risk and creative thought was not just discouraged, but actively suppressed with a continuation of the terror. What I have drawn from this is that the Party's (read: Stalin's) political considerations outweighed military. A return to the pre-Tukhachevsky orientation laid the Red Army bare to the technical and operational skill of the Germans in 1941. 2. I was not suggesting that the state of Red Army communications was good even in 1944-45. But in 1941 it was almost non-existent.

Just to follow up with the proletarian massed army. The emphasis was on attack and attack by massed infantry. Part of Stalin's insistence on not withdrawing in the face of superior enemy forces was to be ready to go over to the offensive. Unfortunately, this played right into the hands of the encirclement operations of 1941, leading to the huges losses.

In "Russia's War," Overy makes some interesting points which seem relevant to the discussion. One of the reasons for restructuring the army in the wake of the purges was to return to a proletarian people's army stressing masses over technology. The armor was relegated to the task of infantry support and distributed accordingly. Another point he stresses is that until American Lend-Lease supplies became readily available, the state of radio communications in the Red Army was abysmal. Lacking the ability to rapidly coordinate and respond to a fluid battle, there was little commanders could do once initial dispositions were made and little frontline feedback was available.

Michael, yes, it came up in the context of the GD Division. Thank you both for your answers.

I'm reading Glantz's "Battle of Kursk." I am in no way very knowledgeably about German army units. Can someone explain the difference between a panzer-fusilier regiment and a panzer-grenadier regiment and what defines how they are categorized?

Good point about Carell, Andreas. I'm currently reading Glantz's "Battle of Kursk." It's excellent, very detailed, very balanced. Osprey has a recent book in the Campaign series on Barbarossa covering Army Group South. I assume they'll be doing others on North and Center but they are fairly even-handed and have a lot of nice pictures.

Paul Carell's Hitler Moves East is a classic. It may be OOP but you should be able to find it used.

Just finished reading Russia's War: A History of the Soviet War Effort: 1941-1945 by Richard Overy. I found it to be an excellent general history, but not a military history in the classic sense. It is more of a political history of the Soviet Union during WWII with a brief look at the rise of Stalin and an a more extensive look at him post-war. I've read a great deal about the USSR (having majored in International Relations and Soviet Studies in college) but this book has a fresh point of view having been written after the opening of the Soviet archives. If you're looking for detailed battle descriptions this isn't it, but it gives an exceelent ovewview of the political struggle in the context of the war.

I am an accomplished sim aviator (combat and non) with a background as an Air Force navigator. Although I have read a tremendous amount about WWII land warfare, I am a newbie and terribly inexperienced at land warfare sims and games and land combat tactics. I would appreciate it if anyone suggest a good overall guide, article and/or website to help bring me up to speed so I have some idea what I'm doing. Any help would be appreciated. I have both CMBB and CMBO. Thanks in advance!

I am an accomplished sim aviator (combat and non) with a background as an Air Force navigator. Although I have read a tremendous amount about WWII land warfare, I am a newbie and terribly inexperienced at land warfare sims and games and land combat tactics. I would appreciate it if anyone suggest a good overall guide, article and/or website to help bring me up to speed so I have some idea what I'm doing. Any help would be appreciated. I have both CMBB and CMBO. Thanks in advance!