PiggDogg Posted October 3, 2001 Share Posted October 3, 2001 Here is a lighthearted and, what some may consider, trivial thread. However, this is presented with full, proper, & due respect for the real life personage, Richard Winters, and for his brave compatriots. In HBO's Band Of Brothers, what should one consider Lt/Cpt Richard "Dick" Winters' command rating in CM terms? Do these ratings change over time? Concrete reasons and examples are encouraged for each of the four command aspects: command range, morale, combat, & stealth. Cheers, Richard PS - Should this thread be in the general topics? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CombinedArms Posted October 3, 2001 Share Posted October 3, 2001 Read the book. Saw the movie. And this question does present an intriguing CM problem. Lt. Winters performed brilliantly in his first engagement, taking what was little more, in raw numbers, than a reinforced squad of men and knocking out 3 (or 4?) entrenched 105mm guns and killing two or three times his number in German troops. As the "Band of Brothers" film reminded us, his attack is still being used as a model for tactical training in attacks on entrenched positions. BUT, how to translate this into CM terms? Because despite his high level of training as a paratroop officer, he had no actual combat experience at that point (beyond what he'd picked up in his few previous hours on the ground in Normandy). Can he therefore be called a Veteran? Not literally at least, since a veteran is, by defintion, someone with a lot of combat experience. On the other hand, his performance reveals him as a "crack" soldier, and he was an outstanding member of an "elite" unit. My tendency in this case would be to leap over the literalism problem by calling him a "Crack" HQ. This would indicate a very high level of performance while also giving him room to grow, with experience, to the Elite level. As to command bonuses, he showed tremendous "command" ability in impromtu planning and control of a complex operation--still a model. His guys "sneaked" up on the enemy very effectively. And they "fought" like tigers, using small arms fire and grenades to great effect. So I'd give him double bonuses for those. Not to knock his morale value, which I think was also tremendous, but just to allow some growth, I'd give him a single bonus in that area. Later in the war, he'd clearly be Elite with full double bonuses. Just my thoughts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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