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Wiggum

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Posts posted by Wiggum

    Best books about the Battle for Normandy ?

    in Combat Mission Battle for Normandy

    Posted

    Hi,

    im searching for books about the Battle for Normandy.

    A book that is about the operational-warfare and describes some company or battalion sized battles (CM scale) in detail with maps, Order of battle and casuality reports.

    Maybe AAR's from both sides would be nice.

    Most books look like they tell you the hole story, the big picture but i would like to get some informations about the many small sized battles that took place there in 1944.

    Can you recommend something ?

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    C & C

    in Combat Mission Battle for Normandy

    Posted

    In mid 1944, the US side (infantry) should have an advantage because their radios and fire-control systems were superior at that time.

    And, thats even more important, those were issued in greater numbers.

    In Normandy were many low quality german-troops fought this should make a noticeable differense.

    The communication between platoon and company level was, most of the time, done by messengers. Sometimes even company commanders had to use messengers to communicate with battalions !

    So, will messengers be simulated or abstracted somehow ?

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    Will the camera controls make a progress as well?

    in Combat Mission Battle for Normandy

    Posted

    I can imagine some reasons why to stop playing CM or why to nor buy a CM game.

    But because of the camera control...come on !

    I cant imagine what should be wrong with the camera control, there are so much more important (gameplay/realism improvements) things to do.

    Persons who are rejecting CM because of the camera control are most likly people who are not interested in such games anyway and would stop playing soon even with "other" camera controls aviable.

    @ DeLaVega

    Do we know each other from another forum ?

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    So are German forces "better" on average?

    in Combat Mission Battle for Normandy

    Posted

    Sometimes i think the nazi propaganda had a greater impact on americans then on germans...

    (Isent there some fascination in this myth ?)

    Believe me, nearly all german soldiers did not believe the aryan superman thing.

    They did not think that they are better soldiers, at least not more then any army does (esprit de corps).

    Sure, in 1940 there was a euphoria in germany after all those victorys, but in 1944 this had changed and most soldiers know for some part that the war was lost.

    Dont blame them for complaining about enemy superiority in material and manpower.

    Imagine how it they felt in those late war years, fighting against such scary firepower.

    I never met a german veteran who would say that they were "better" soldiers and even if they would do, everyone who was in the military knows that kind of feeling...they are all the "best" (esprit de corps again).

    Or look at the war against Poland in 1939.

    They just had no real change but still put up a great fight...

    There are many small battles where they were able to get a tactical victory and some very stubborn defensive actions.

    They also said that they lost because of enemy superiority in material and manpower (superiority in the Air).

    Such behavior is not only a "german thing".

    Its not the question if the german soldiers think they only lost because enemy superiority in material and manpower, the question is if you can win a large scal industrial war if you are not superior in material and manpower...

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    So are German forces "better" on average?

    in Combat Mission Battle for Normandy

    Posted

    I know, for a attack you normaly (WWII) need a 3:1 advantage in numbers.

    So you would expect the attacker to loose 3 times more man (simplified).

    But although the terrain in Normandy was ideal to defend, the attacker can always inflict heavy casualities to the defender if he can put up enough firepower (Air/artillery).

    Victory Was Beyond Their Grasp: With the 272nd Volks-Grenadier Division from the Huertgen Forest to the Heart of the Reich by Douglas E. Nash could be interesting if you are interested in late war german small unit actions against the americans.

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    So are German forces "better" on average?

    in Combat Mission Battle for Normandy

    Posted

    Just to throw out a different example - take a look at the US assault on Carentan. Airborne troopers on both sides, Germans defending. The Germans were elite with combat experience, the Americans highly trained and motivated but new to combat. The US prevailed. Granted the 6th FJR fought very hard and had resupply issues, but there will always be mitigating factors for either side. Very high potential for a campaign game there especially with the addition of the 17th SS and 2nd Armored Divisions.

    Yes, i too cant wait to see if battles like the one for St. Germain-sur-Seves can be simulated with CMBN !

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    So are German forces "better" on average?

    in Combat Mission Battle for Normandy

    Posted

    The ones I point out are just some examples.

    To use your own analogy which football team won the premiership in 1945 ?

    Germany not, thats clear.

    But this thread is not about who won the war or who won battle xy.

    Its about "are German forces better on average ?".

    And for such a discussion its pointless to look a single battles.

    I even doubt that statistics like the ones Matin van Crefeld uses in his book "Fighting Power" (which says that the germans inflicted overall more casualties to the americans in engagements) tell the hole story and are pointless too.

    Its just too complex, too many factors are involved.

    You have to look at much more then a single battle or some statistic that are easy to manipulate.

    The german army was great at the tactical and operational level but not very clever at the strategics and logistics.

    Again, take a look at germanys geographic location, the raw materials and manpower that was aviable in 1939 and ask yourself if there is a way such a country can stand a long war on many fronts.

    The hole concept was to win the war as fast as possible, destroy the enemys ability to fight and took everything you can get (man and material).

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