Need Studying tips for Military strategy and tactics

[The Commissar]

Lately, I've been purchasing quite a few books about military tactics, both modern and those of WW2 and older.

My problem comes off sounding rather, well, embarassing. Often times when reading through a book heavy with complex manuevers, designations, and various military terminology my brain sort of freezes and refuses to absorb a thing! I read a chapter and feel like tossing the book out the window, since looking over the pages read, I realize I can only remember slight details of the subject in question!

Now, let me just say I'm not all that stupid . Im pretty good with my English and read quite a bit of non-military related literature. Then again, going through the first few chapters of my most recent purchase, "Combat Leader's Field Guide", I find it somewhat hard to memorize.

The book is ladden with useful information, but also overflowing with so much rules, terms, do's and don't's, guidelines, etc, it reads worse then my school Physics textbook!

Maybe I'm not looking at this the right way. Maybe some of you historians out there - who seem to know the serial numbers of every bolt ever installed on any vehicle from any country between the years 1900-1999 - I would be interested in discovering what you guys do to memorize this data.

Do you go about it the usual "school" way? Write it down and give yourself little exams? I considered doing that, but then went against it since I would end up cheating even though I wrote the exam !

So, help me out. I'd like to know my military doctrine like the back of my hand, which has the, uh..., damnit!

Thanks in advance!

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"...Every position, every meter of Soviet soil must be defended to the last drop of blood..."

- Segment from Order 227 "Not a step back"

[Guest Michael emrys]

It takes time to absorb any complex technical subject. Be patient with yourself (I know, not easy if your behind is getting kicked in PBEMs). I've been at this for fifty years and I'm happy to say I learn something new just about every time I pick up a book or read a particularly good post here on the board.

One thing that might help you to get started though, is to read books that present their material in a narrative rather than tabular form. Infantry Attacks by Erwin Rommel is a good example. In it he writes about his experiences in WW I in such a way as to illustrate various principles. Strategy by B. H. Liddell-Hart is another good one. There are many others, many of which have been mentioned here from time to time.

Once the basics have begun to sink in, the more technically written books will begin to make more sense to you and become more useful. But first you need to have a humanly relateable context to put them in.

Good hunting,

Michael

[This message has been edited by Michael emrys (edited 12-23-2000).]

[Ezmartini]

I had the same problem when I tried to learn something like that too. By trying to read in-depth books as you mentioned, it seemed to fry my brain worse than schoolwork.

The easiest (and best) way for me was by searching for semi-specific things through this forum. Before CM and the forums, I had no knowledge on WWII tactics, history, ore weaponry (Sherman? Firefly? What the ..?)

I still don't know all I want to, but that's because there is SO MUCH to learn that it takes mucho tiempo. So stick with the forum and ye shall succeed in your quest for knowledge.

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"You see, while I've been gone you loony chumchucks have thrown Peng in a ditch, ran Frenchie out of town and reduced Seanachai to a four-sentence-max-posting wretch. To compound this, you have managed to create an entire fantasy world for me to occupy that consists almost but not entirely of a Polar Bear's rectum. And, AND, you moved the Cesspool to Australia. You should be ashamed of yourselves." - Elijah Meeks

RUN LIKE HELL - CM/Cross Country motto

[This message has been edited by Ezmartini (edited 12-23-2000).]

[Mr. Clark]

I'd also like to recommend Sun Tzu's THE ART OF WAR.

In my opinion the absolute best primer on tactics and strategy for any and all occasions. I cannot tell you how many games I have won because of this little gem. Everything from Starcraft, to collectable card games, to CM... I've found the lessons apply to just about any tactical or strategic encounter.

Many think Sun Tzu only states the obvious, but I have to disagree. The lessons have simply helped me in all aspects of tactical thinking.

I know this is not exactly what you are looking for, but I still recommend it highly.

[Bimmer]

I realize this sounds a bit backwards, but one of the best ways to understand the seemingly abstract elements of military history is to put yourself into the situation of those involved by wargaming.

If you can find specific battle descriptions, or tactical discussions, or particular uses for certain types of equipment, and put them into practice in a wargame, so much the better. CM is an excellent platform for this on the tactical level. Look at OpArt if you want to try out bigger concepts.

[Ezmartini]

I would have to agree with Mr. Clark (John Clark I presume). If you have ever played Shogun: Total War, you really get a feel for how vital the tactics Sun Tzu inscribed are. As Clark said, even games that aren't really played for military tactics (i.e. Starcraft) give you an advantage when deploying them.

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"You see, while I've been gone you loony chumchucks have thrown Peng in a ditch, ran Frenchie out of town and reduced Seanachai to a four-sentence-max-posting wretch. To compound this, you have managed to create an entire fantasy world for me to occupy that consists almost but not entirely of a Polar Bear's rectum. And, AND, you moved the Cesspool to Australia. You should be ashamed of yourselves." - Elijah Meeks

RUN LIKE HELL - CM/Cross Country motto

[Guest Madmatt]

There is a new Infantry Tactics Primer/Tutorial posted on CMHQ. You might want to check it out.

Madmatt

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[Wesreidau]

Commissar, memory loss is directly proportional to age I find, hmm, what was the subject again?

[Bakker@home]

Instead of memorizing those books you could try another approach. Read trhough it and mentally note things as 'hey, this could come in handy in CM'.

Then make some scenario's for practicing some though situations; assaulting anti-tanks guns with tanks, defending against infantry with tanks etc. all small scale, only some units in each battle.

THen you *test* what tactics work for you and which don't. Ideally you would go from;

-Antitank guns; let's storm them with all my tanks ....... oops.

-Anti-tank guns; let's crest jockey my tanks until they are surpressed enough to let some of my tanks storm them under cover fire.

-Anti-tank guns; let's pop some smoke reverse and find a way around them or wait for arty or infantry.

-Hmmm, i would definitly put some anti-tank guns in that woodline over there, let's order my tank platoon to take a detour to avoid it.

Or something like that

Remember, it's not about 'knowing all rules by heart' but by getting a gut-feeling and routine for standard manouvers (leap frogging, hull down etc.)

Greetings, S Bakker

[Jeff Duquette]

Maybe you ought to try reading something a little "lighter". Crawl before you walk...so to speak. No sense in beating yourself up with stuff you don't enjoy reading. Try some historical fiction or memories\autobiographys:

Willi Heinrich's "Cross of Iron"

Guy Sajer's "The Fogotten Soldier"

Audie Murphy's "To Hell and Back"

I always thought SLA Marshall's "Men Against Fire" was an interesting read.

In addition, there is plenty of the "more technical" stuff available on the internet...free. Take a look at:

http://carlisle-www.army.mil/usamhi/DL/chron.htm#AWorldWarII19391945

Audio

[The Commissar]

Thank you all for your suggestions!

I have already read the "simpler" works ala Art of War, and attempted moving on to "higher learning".

I am also a pretty fair PBEM player as of now, so it is not like I am completely clueless in battle. I just thought that some of these tomes might offer something I might have missed or over looked, that would give me an even keener edge over my opponents.

I also read through the first chapters of Rommel's book, but since he is dealing with WW1 combat - mostly being concentrated on infantry attempting to escape heavy artillery barrages - I felt it a bit in the wrong direction.

Is there any author who, like Rommel, has been through combat of the Second World War and wrote something of it?

Thanks again, all of you!

[Samhain]

In addition to The Art of War, try the Tao Teh Ching, which comes from the same cultural milieu and is one of the most profound books you're likely to come across. It has many lessons that apply to military strategy, though it's about broader issues, generally.

Also, read the AAR's on various sites, like CMHQ. They're illustrated examples right out of CM that can feature some really useful ideas.

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I rode a tank, held a general's rank

When the blitzkrieg raged, and the bodies stank.

--Rolling Stones

[Grobdeutschland]

One way to remember things is to "retain the essential, to forget the nonessential" (anyone care to guess who said that-easy one)

meaning (to me): just try to remember the basics & add more to it as you go. If you need to know the nonessentials details you can look it up & by remembering the big stuff you should be able find the info much faster in your reference books. After a while you just start remembering the small stuff too.

Also, never read anything you don't like unless it's for school or something. I can never remember anything for long from a book that did not interest me.

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"Far better it is

To dare mighty things...

Then to take rank with

Those poor, timid spirits

Who know neither

Victory nor defeat."

Theodore Roosevelt 1899

[Guest Michael emrys]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by The Commissar:

Is there any author who, like Rommel, has been through combat of the Second World War and wrote something of it?<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Charles Macdonald, wasn't it, who wrote Company Commander? Somebody help me out here, it's been a while and the memory cells ain't what they used to be.

I have recently begun reading a book called Tobruk: The Great Siege Reassessed by Frank Harrison that seems pretty nitty-gritty. He was there at the time and has apparently also done of lot of research to get the details exactly right.

There are in fact a lot of books that may help you in your quest to some extent or another. Another that I recently read is War Without Garlands: Operation Barbarossa 1941/42 by Robert J Kershaw. This is a must read for anyone planning on playing CM2. It nicely segues back and forth between the big strategic picture and the point of view of the poor slob on the ground. Much of it is told in the form of diary entries and letters home, both German and Russian. These are made even more poignant by the realisation that many of these men did not survive their battles. At US$29.95 it is a bit pricey, so you might want to talk your local library into getting a copy or at least an inter-library loan. But don't let it pass you by.

Michael

[This message has been edited by Michael emrys (edited 12-23-2000).]

[Bertram]

I have Compagny Commander from McDonald, but he might have written more books. Liked this one, though he isn't very specific on tactical detail if I remember right

Bertram

[Jasper]

Humm. Just an observation: The original question was: How does someone memorize the maximum amount of information in the shortest time? As regards WWII doctrine and tactics?

If one does not enjoy the chase, then perhaps you've got the wrong hobby. One should not be in a hurry to be a Jedi Master of WWII doctrine and tactics. (Or whatever hobby you've chosen) Even if this could be achieved in a single lifetime - then what will you with yourself?

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Because this is a gaming board the search for competitive edge is not far underneath. That's not what the original post was about, but the following posts seem to take on the tone. Why not I say?

Ya know Capt. Jean Luc Picard once said "You can follow the rules and still lose." The AI follows all the rules of WWII doctrine and tactics that the programmers can stuff into it (and *maybe* just a wee bit more), but it can be defeated by mediocre players like myself with relative ease.

You have to chose if you are willing to maintain your principles and lose, or throw "the book" overboard and slug it out. Don't slip in a FireFly into an American unit and then make a case how I use the map edge to my advantage!

If you ask me the 'secret' to winning is with knowing, and defeating, the person sitting across from you.

But since that's hard - I just try and find as many ways to lose as I can and avoid them in future.

PS - I will give away an observation that I've found useful. It's knowing the future. I noticed that playing chess I can't beat anyone that has studied the game. I mean I know the doctrine and tactics of chess, and I still watch myself get stomped. It's because the person I'm playing against is thinking like 1 or more turns ahead of where I'm thinking. Same thing applies to wargames I've found. Many people play the map as it is now, not how it will look in a couple of minutes (turns).

[Guest Michael emrys]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Jasper:

PS - I will give away an observation that I've found useful. It's knowing the future. I noticed that playing chess I can't beat anyone that has studied the game. I mean I know the doctrine and tactics of chess, and I still watch myself get stomped. It's because the person I'm playing against is thinking like 1 or more turns ahead of where I'm thinking. Same thing applies to wargames I've found. Many people play the map as it is now, not how it will look in a couple of minutes (turns).<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Good point. That's called having a strategy. Even if you have to modify it in response to the unexpected, it's good to know what your goals are and roughly how you intend to achieve them. It also helps to retain the initiative, i.e. force your opponent to respond to you more than you have to respond to him. That gives you greater freedom. A good strategy allows that.

Michael

[Mark IV]

It may be obvious, but US Army Field Manuals are written for more or less average folks who will need to visualize and internalize the lessons of mobile war, so they can apply them under intense pressure later on. I recommend them highly and they can be puchased all over the net.

My copy of the Tank and Mechanized Infantry Task Force is neatly illustrated, with marked-up fold-out maps illustrating the principles as they might appear on actual topo maps. The more recent editions will have you dealing with attack helos and anti-tank guided missiles but the principles are the same. There are sections for Attack, Defense, Recon, etc. These can also be found at bargain prices in old book stores.

I mean, that's what these guys do for a living.

[Jeff Duquette]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Humm. Just an observation: The original question was: How does someone memorize the maximum amount of information in the shortest time? As regards WWII doctrine and tactics?

If one does not enjoy the chase, then perhaps you've got the wrong hobby. One should not be in a hurry to be a Jedi Master of WWII doctrine and tactics. (Or whatever hobby you've chosen) Even if this could be achieved in a single lifetime - then what will you with yourself?<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

What Jasper Said. If you dont enjoy your hobby than it might just as well be work.

[StellarRat]

At the back of the book "Strategy" there is a summary of the basic principles of strategy. If you memorize those you will be a long way towards being a better player. Sun Tzu is very good. Napolean's Maxims are good too. The basic principles of strategy are timeless, but tactics change depending on the weapons, communications, and organization of your forces.