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Hello,

I just started CMBN and I'm a little overwhelmed with the difficulty. I'm a CMSF veteran but I find myself in tight situations as I can't use modern tactics effectively.

Could you guys give me a good reading list about WW2 tactics ? Relevant field manuals, history books etc would be nice.

Thanks !

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Hi,

The best book on “tactics...” in North West Europe, post D-Day, is focused on US forces and called.. Closing with the Enemy by Michael Doubler.

It is very pro-US forces in that it describes best practice and what the best units did right. But no harm in that. Just bear in mind that many US forces did not perform as Doubler describes. Only the best did.

Great book....

We are lucky to have CM....

All the best,

Kip.

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... and, to add to that, Doubler's thesis, on which the book is based, is available free online as 'Busting the Bocage.'

'Closing with ...' covers aspects of the entire campaign in NWE, whereas 'Busting ...' only covers Normandy, but it is still highly relevant to CMBN, and will give you a very good idea of what the full book is like.

But probably your best resource is the game itself. Set yourself little problems - a platoon attacking a house, a platoon plus a tank clearing a small wood, overcoming a defensive hedgehog that also holds an anti-tank gun, etc - then play against the AI. Use one of the maps that already exists, don't worry about victory conditions or breifings, just place the forces out in the editor then have at it, and have fun :)

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I learned a lot with this tread about american bocage tactics. Unfortunately the links don't work now to me... :(

http://www.battlefront.com/community/showthread.php?t=95751&highlight=bocage+tactics

If you have time try to read it...

I made a search at the forum and I remember this tread was interesting too:

http://www.battlefront.com/community/showthread.php?t=102310&highlight=bocage+tactics

Hope that helps...

:D akd !

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  • 6 months later...

Like many of you, I sometimes feel as if I've "read 'em all" when it comes to good WWII books. So I like to alert the forum when my prowling of used bookstores uncovers a little gem now and then. Yesterday I picked this one up in hardscover (but I see it's also available on Kindle, so all the better for the rest of you):

http://www.amazon.com/DAY-OF-THE-PANZER-Sacrifice/dp/193203370X

I really like these small-unit, you-are-there types of books the best. They feel the most relevant to CMBN's scale, and the stories -- when they're well written -- make much more gripping reading than the dry accounts of divisions moving here or there.

Quote from a reader review:

"Day of the Panzer is unlike any other WWII book I have read, and I have read hundreds. In a nutshell, it explores the invasion of Southern France after D-Day, and the thrust inland, following (more or less) a few select unit and individuals as they drive fatefully toward their destiny in the small farming town of Allan, where veteran German infantry and a Panther tank await them.

"The result is a focused, tightly wound series of chapters about the battle that erupts there. The author follows the men (and many locals) on their experiences, which includes grenade attacks, tank-to-tank battles, POW issues, executions, and heroics you have never heard of before. If you enjoy small-unit tactics--think Band of Brothers in Carentan, Episode 3--you will love Day of the Panzer."

Probably some good scenario-making material in this book, I would imagine. I also like that it takes place in Southern France -- where I know next to nothing about the history of that campaign compared to D-Day, Market Garden, The Bulge, etc.

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Like mahy of you, I sometimes feel as if I've "read 'em all" when it comes to good WWII books. So I like to alert the forum when my prowling of used bookstores uncovers a little gem now and then. Yesterday I picked this one up in hardscover (but I see it's also available on Kindle, so all the better for the rest of you):

http://www.amazon.com/DAY-OF-THE-PANZER-Sacrifice/dp/193203370X

I really like these small-unit, you-are-there types of books the best. They feel the most relevant to CMBN's scale, and the stories -- when they're well written -- make much more gripping reading than the dry accounts of divisions moving here or there.

Quote from a reader review:

"Day of the Panzer is unlike any other WWII book I have read, and I have read hundreds. In a nutshell, it explores the invasion of Southern France after D-Day, and the thrust inland, following (more or less) a few select unit and individuals as they drive fatefully toward their destiny in the small farming town of Allan, where veteran German infantry and a Panther tank await them.

"The result is a focused, tightly wound series of chapters about the battle that erupts there. The author follows the men (and many locals) on their experiences, which includes grenade attacks, tank-to-tank battles, POW issues, executions, and heroics you have never heard of before. If you enjoy small-unit tactics--think Band of Brothers in Carentan, Episode 3--you will love Day of the Panzer."

Probably some good scenario-making material in this book, I would imagine. I also like that it takes place in Southern France -- where I know next to nothing about the history of that campaign compared to D-Day, Market Garden, The Bulge, etc.

Cool, it has a kindle version!!

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