Miyamoto Musashi Posted June 10, 2000 Share Posted June 10, 2000 I'm just wondering how many of you have read Rommel's "Attacks" or Guderian's "Achtung Panzer," and if these books have enough relevance to CM-style battles that it would be worth my while to plunk down the $10 or so to get one or both from Amazon.com. Holy cow... that was one sentence... Oh, and I know they're related to WWI and not II, but no book store in town has either one, so I haven't had a chance to flip through and see how much in the way of CM-relevant squad-level tactics is in there... anyways, I trust the judgement of the people on this board more than the reviews posted on amazon, etc. ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Scott Clinton Posted June 10, 2000 Share Posted June 10, 2000 Yes, I have read (and own both).If you are looking specifically for which one relates best to CM I would suggest Rommel's book. It contains more 'basic' tactics and generally (IMO) is more relevant to the smaller scale actions that are in CM than Guderian's book. There are better books around for small unit tactics, IMO. IMHO the best bet can be found at: http://www.militarybookclub.com ------------------ Please note: The above is solely the opinion of 'The Grumbling Grognard' and reflects no one else's views but his own. [This message has been edited by Scott Clinton (edited 06-09-2000).] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackhorse Posted June 10, 2000 Share Posted June 10, 2000 Rommel's book is good. It deals strictly with infantry tactics. It is his first-hand account of his actions as a platoon leader and company commander in WWI. It covers the western and Italian Fronts, the latter being where Rommel earned his Blue Max (Pour Le'Merite). There are still some relevant lessons to be learned from Rommel, and the tactics, techniques, and procedures for using machineguns and field telephones is fascinating. They didn't have radios back then and literally carried huge wire rolls and phones to communicate with each other. While in the attack in the Alps, Rommel had to lay somewhere around 3 miles of wire to maintain communications during a particular flanking maneuver. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miyamoto Musashi Posted June 10, 2000 Author Share Posted June 10, 2000 <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Blackhorse: Rommel's book is good. It deals strictly with infantry tactics.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Well that should be perfect... after all, CM is a game of infantry, not tanks... right Steve? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobVarak Posted June 10, 2000 Share Posted June 10, 2000 Both are terrific, and as stated above Rommel's is more pertinent to CM's scale. I'd also recommend The Rommel Papers, which is edited by Liddell-Hart. I was pleasantly surprised with Rommel's writing. His style is elegant in its simplicity, without becoming stale military prose. I don't know if he had a collaborator on Attacks, but judging from his memoirs he was a genuinely excellent writer. ------------------ Rob Varak Editor Site on Sound: The Web's Premier Site For Musical Discussion www.siteonsound.com [This message has been edited by RobVarak (edited 06-10-2000).] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Berlichtingen Posted June 10, 2000 Share Posted June 10, 2000 Rommel's book is quite relevant to CM. Guderian's much less so, but still an excellent book. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattias Posted June 10, 2000 Share Posted June 10, 2000 As an alternative, or indeed supplement, to the two excellent books mentioned here I strongly suggest you get hold of Guderians book "Panzer Leader". He wrote it after the war and it spans the entire conflict. Great reading! M. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dumbo Posted June 10, 2000 Share Posted June 10, 2000 What a delight I didnt even know Rommel wrote book (shows how much I know). I shall take myself henceforth to my favourite second hand book store and try to obtain a copy with all speed. May one ask when he found time to write it? Or is it concerned with his pre WW2 expereinces? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyberfox Posted June 10, 2000 Share Posted June 10, 2000 Hello, I have bought both books at http://www.proxis.nl a few months ago. they were not expending, I think just 15 US dollar each. (I am not sure) Reading Guderian right now, about WWI tanks, its interesting. Cyberfox Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miyamoto Musashi Posted June 10, 2000 Author Share Posted June 10, 2000 <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by dumbo: What a delight I didnt even know Rommel wrote book (shows how much I know). I shall take myself henceforth to my favourite second hand book store and try to obtain a copy with all speed. May one ask when he found time to write it? Or is it concerned with his pre WW2 expereinces? <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> From the synopses I've read, it concerns his experiences as an infantry leader in WWI. It's available at all the major online bookstores (which is where I'll probably end up buying it since at the moment I'm living in the wilderness territory known as Helena, MT). ------------------ In fighting and in everyday life you should be determined though calm. Meet the situation without tenseness yet not recklessly, your spirit settled yet unbiased. An elevated spirit is weak and a low spirit is weak. Do not let the enemy see your spirit. -- M.M. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest aka PanzerLeader Posted June 10, 2000 Share Posted June 10, 2000 <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>As an alternative, or indeed supplement, to the two excellent books mentioned here I strongly suggest you get hold of Guderians book "Panzer Leader". He wrote it after the war and it spans the entire conflict. Great reading!<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Yes, great book indeed. "Lost Victories" by Manstein scores in the same category. But watch out, they have absolutely nothing to do with CM's scale and I know some people that found these books "boring" 'cos they dealt too much with logistics, and "boring" operational considerations and battle reports. The only problem I had was the lack of maps(there were some, but not enough). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guachi Posted June 10, 2000 Share Posted June 10, 2000 Hey, Miyamoto. I have a couple of friends who went to Helena High, graduated in 91. Helena may be wilderness territory for other people, but for MT Helena is a metropolis! All of what, 25,000 people? After driving all the way to Louisiana, the most beautiful part of the drive was through MT and northern WY. I didn't realize how lucky I was until I left. I kept thinking how great the terrain would look in a CM scenario. I lived in Billings until last week and I had a Barnes & Noble and a Wal-Mart across the street. You know your town has made it when it has a Wal-Mart. If there are any decent bookstores in Helena, do what I do. I find books I want and then walk over to B&N and get them to order the books for me. Easy to pick up because they are across the street. Easy to return. And no paying for shipping! Since MT doesn't have a sales tax, it's not like you save any on tax by buying online. About the topic. I did manage to pick up Guderain's book at B&N although I haven't had time to read it yet. I also picked up company Commander (VERY GOOD) by Charles McDonald as well as a book by Hans von Lucke and Soldat about a German soldiers time on the Eastern Front (neither of which I have read yet). Jason ------------------ Betas available to everyone are just publicity stunts anyways. -FK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miyamoto Musashi Posted June 10, 2000 Author Share Posted June 10, 2000 <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by guachi: If there are any decent bookstores in Helena, do what I do. I find books I want and then walk over to B&N and get them to order the books for me. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Well, there's the catch... lol. There isn't much of anything here except casinos. If you're in the mood to gamble, come to Helena. If you want to buy things, stay clear. I've bought all the software for my Mac online as well as most of the other stuff that I've needed since I've been here. There are a couple of used bookstores, but, oh for a B&N or a Borders! I went to Clemson and Indiana for grad school before I moved out here to help dad on the ranch over the winter, and man was I spoiled! In Bloomington I had a BN, a Borders, a Reader's World, and a Waldenbooks... in Helena... hmmm... And it kinda sucks for WW2 scale modeling, too. I've been exceedingly lucky that a teeny nickel and dime store here gets Tamiya models once in a while. It's the only place in town that carries any modeling supplies (or models, for that matter) at all. Anyways, enough senseless ranting about the podunk town I'm living in. I'll be moving back to civilization in a few weeks Now I've got to go find a little shelf space for my just-completed Wirbelwind model Oh, and you are very right about the terrain here being suitable for CM... I walk around the ranch, finding ambush and hull-down positions ------------------ In fighting and in everyday life you should be determined though calm. Meet the situation without tenseness yet not recklessly, your spirit settled yet unbiased. An elevated spirit is weak and a low spirit is weak. Do not let the enemy see your spirit. -- M.M. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
windstarz Posted June 11, 2000 Share Posted June 11, 2000 Last time I went to Vegas I was waiting for the bus to go to the airport. A grocery store was nearby so I went in and right at the checkout counter they had some paperbacks. I spotted Soldat and bought and read it on the way home. I really enjoyed it. I also liked the Forgotten Soldier by Guy Sajer. Not sure how accurate they are but they do give a birds eye view of the fighting. One of my favorites also was von Mellinthin's book. I find reading books from the losing side gives an interesting perspective that would be missed otherwise. I recently read Band of Brothers which was very good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guachi Posted June 11, 2000 Share Posted June 11, 2000 I found Company Commander to be MUCH better than Band of Brothers, which I read at Christmas. Ambrose's writing is just kind of flat whereas McDonald's had a nich punchiness to it. Very compact use of words to convey the feel of things. Compact writing brings out the casualness of death - describing dead Germans as easily as if he was describing walking by a tree... Jason ------------------ Betas available to everyone are just publicity stunts anyways. -FK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Rommel22 Posted June 11, 2000 Share Posted June 11, 2000 Yes I have!!! Very good book, Rommels Infantry attacks!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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