Jean Lafitte Posted October 5, 2003 Share Posted October 5, 2003 I've been studying WWII/Eastern front history since 1975. How about you guys? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pvt. Ryan Posted October 5, 2003 Share Posted October 5, 2003 I've been studying WWII since 1935. Actually, I've been into military history since I was a kid playing with my army men. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Emrys Posted October 5, 2003 Share Posted October 5, 2003 From about the time I began to read, say, sometime in the very early 1950s. My studies definitely intensified beginning in the early '70s when I had more time to devote to it and a lot of information was becoming available, in books, in magazines, and in games. Michael [ October 05, 2003, 03:05 PM: Message edited by: Michael Emrys ] 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Firefly Posted October 5, 2003 Share Posted October 5, 2003 If you don't count Commando comics and Captain Hurricane (who dealt with Tigers by ripping the commanders hatch off the hinges and giving the evil Nazi TC a good old British sock on the jaw), probably around 1965-66. I'm pretty certain that the first book I read that could be called 'military history' was a book about WW1 air aces by Frederick E. Smith, because I'd just read the Biggles stories set in WW1. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salkin Posted October 5, 2003 Share Posted October 5, 2003 Actually i never delved deeper into it until playing CMBO. I had a few cousins who liked playing with WW2 miniature plastic soldiers and model tanks when they were younger but prior to CMBO I never really got into the WW2 scene. Thanks to CM I'm even buying books about WW2. Now I'm trying to read STALINGRAD by Antony Beevor. //Salkin 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frenchy Posted October 5, 2003 Share Posted October 5, 2003 As long as I can remember. It's been in the family for a long time; 2 grandfathers served, my mother is French and lived four years under Nazi occupied France,and several great uncles that also served. I have also had the opportunity to visit some of the battlefields (Okinawa and the Philippines). Next stop is Europe now that I know where my grandfather served. Been reading the subject since the early 1960s and continue to do so. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Berlichtingen Posted October 6, 2003 Share Posted October 6, 2003 Off and on since around the 70's I'd guess. My real area of interest is the period from the War of Spanish Succession to the end of the Napoleonic Wars. Didn't get heavy into WW2 until CMBO. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Emrys Posted October 6, 2003 Share Posted October 6, 2003 Originally posted by Berlichtingen: My real area of interest is the period from the War of Spanish Succession to the end of the Napoleonic Wars.I gather you're into EU2 then? You should start a thread in the GF. It might get lively. Michael 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean Lafitte Posted October 6, 2003 Author Share Posted October 6, 2003 Originally posted by Berlichtingen: Off and on since around the 70's I'd guess. My real area of interest is the period from the War of Spanish Succession to the end of the Napoleonic Wars. Didn't get heavy into WW2 until CMBO. I also enjoy studying Napoleonic warfare. I love the way that the three combat arms were so perfectly balanced during that period: infantry, cavalry and artillery interfaced like a game of Scissors, Paper and Stone. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hans Posted October 6, 2003 Share Posted October 6, 2003 My awakening to military history occurred with the 1967 Life magazine photographs and article on the Arab-Israeli six day war - that and an extended family stuffed full of WWII, Korean and Vietnam vets. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pud Posted October 6, 2003 Share Posted October 6, 2003 Originally posted by Firefly: If you don't count Commando comics Now there's a fond childhood memory, Commando Comics. Shame I sold my collection of around 1000 when I left my parents home. I would say I have been into WW2 history since late 60's, early 70's when I was playing with my airfix miniatures with my younger brother. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Firefly Posted October 6, 2003 Share Posted October 6, 2003 Yes, I used the term Commando Comics generically, Commando were only one brand. A lot of the stories were based on real-life events albeit glorified and sanitised. My reference to the Frederick E Smith book, which I think was called A Killing for the Hawks, to being the first military history book I read was a reference to military history aimed at adults, I remember a children's magazine called Look and Learn that would have articles on famous battles and a couple of books for children on VC winners. I also can't remember when I first read The Shetland Bus, which was a best seller in the UK in the late 50s/early 60's. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Berlichtingen Posted October 6, 2003 Share Posted October 6, 2003 Originally posted by Michael Emrys: I gather you're into EU2 then?EU2? Is that a computer game? If so, no. I actually hate board games and computer wargames (CM series excepted). My background is in miniature wargaming. Could never stand counters and most computer games are nothing more than electronic board games. CM is the first translation of miniature wargaming to the computer I have seen. There have been other attempts, but they are all RTS which I hate more than board games 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Berlichtingen Posted October 6, 2003 Share Posted October 6, 2003 Originally posted by Jean Lafitte: I also enjoy studying Napoleonic warfare. I love the way that the three combat arms were so perfectly balanced during that period: infantry, cavalry and artillery interfaced like a game of Scissors, Paper and Stone. True, but by then, cavalry was taking a lesser role than before. Now, the Wars of Austrain Succession and Seven Years War have CAVALRY! [ October 06, 2003, 01:47 AM: Message edited by: Berlichtingen ] 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Firefly Posted October 6, 2003 Share Posted October 6, 2003 Originally posted by Berlichtingen: </font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by Michael Emrys: I gather you're into EU2 then?EU2? Is that a computer game? If so, no. I actually hate board games and computer wargames (CM series excepted). </font> 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobnickbob Posted October 6, 2003 Share Posted October 6, 2003 The last ten years or so , ran out of other stuff to read (never did like fiction all that much). CMBO did get me more into it....By the by am reading a couple of good ones getting ready for CMAK : Desert Rats at War, by George Forty..... tons of pics , great shots of a 6 pounder and a 2 pounder on the back of trucks ready to fire. And the Collins Atlas of the Second World War, lots of good info and maps..... BnickB 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phemur Posted October 6, 2003 Share Posted October 6, 2003 I started wargaming at University, when a friend introduced me to TacAir. My interest in military history began around this time. I started studying WWII history in 1998, after seeing the movie Saving Private Ryan. Phemur 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColumbusOHGamer Posted October 6, 2003 Share Posted October 6, 2003 Plastic Army men at 5 (Did anyone have the Guns of Navarone set?) Plastic models at 6 or 7 (Tiger I was one of my first) WWII Comics at 7 or 8 (Sgt. Rock and Jeb Stuart) Boardgames at 9 or 10 (PanzerLeader/Blitz in 75/76) Built and played first computer game at 12 (shoot the alien on a Radio Shack TRS-80) First WWII Computer Game at 19 (Patton vs. Rommel [i think I still have it somewhere] on XT in 1987) Hundreds of computer games for past 20 years (WWII, Sci-Fi, D&D, FPS, RTS) First CM game in 2000 (Haven't bought another computer game since, except CMBB) COG 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mord Posted October 6, 2003 Share Posted October 6, 2003 Had a very mild passing interest for most of my life just because I like history, but never gave it much of my attention. Saw SPR and said huh kinda cool maybe I need to learn more. Was looking for some game info one day for my brother and came across CMBO for the second time, which was completed and for sale and went WOW! really cool. Bought the game and I have been a freak for it ever since. I knew I needed to learn more once I had the game. So since about late 1999 early 2000 my WWII education/disease began and I have barely scratched the surface. OH Gamer, I had a Naverone playset when I was about 12. Big gray mountain with a couple artillery guns in it I believe. The german soldiers were white and had very few poses and all the Allied guys were dark green in individual poses. This was circa 1981 when the soldier sets were in decline. So it may not have been the same as yours. Mord 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Emrys Posted October 6, 2003 Share Posted October 6, 2003 Originally posted by Berlichtingen: EU2?Europa Universalis II. ...RTS which I hate more than board games I share your loathing for RTS, but EU2 is more continuous-time than real-time. You can pause it at any point to give orders, which saves the day for me. Firefly has it about right, except that the Grand Campaign covers the years 1419-1821. There are also shorter scenarios and you can make any of them shorter if you like. The thing I like most about this game is the interaction of all the various factors that have to be balanced off in order to play successfully, religion, politics, colonial policy, investment, etc. I'm certainly not an expert on this era, but the game seems to me to have a high degree of fidelity to the things it sets out to portray. It's not just a simpleton "build armies and counquer the world" type of strategy game. For instance, you can't just go to war any time you feel like it. Without a cassus belli, your stability will take a big hit, your provinces will lose productivity, and you may have internal rebellions. You will have similar troubles if you declare war on a country having the same religion as your own. This is a game with great depth. The learning curve is quite steep—I spent a week studying the manual before I even tried to play—but when it all starts to come together, the effect is marvellous. Michael 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Boggs Posted October 6, 2003 Share Posted October 6, 2003 Originally posted by Firefly: If you don't count Commando comics and Captain Hurricane (who dealt with Tigers by ripping the commanders hatch off the hinges and giving the evil Nazi TC a good old British sock on the jaw), probably around 1965-66. Are you by any chance referring to Sgt Fury and His Howling Commandos? It was my understanding that they were based on actual missions. I mean Junior was killed and replaced by that English Chap Percy. So it had to be real. Right? :confused: [edit]-Besides Nick Fury would kick Sgt Rock's ass any day of the week!!! :mad: :mad: [ October 06, 2003, 10:39 AM: Message edited by: Jim Boggs ] 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pvt. Ryan Posted October 6, 2003 Share Posted October 6, 2003 Originally posted by ColumbusOHGamer: Plastic Army men at 5 (Did anyone have the Guns of Navarone set?)Yes, and I'd like to know why the German guns in CM aren't bright yellow! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boo Radley Posted October 6, 2003 Share Posted October 6, 2003 Originally posted by Jim Boggs: [edit]-Besides Nick Fury would kick Sgt Rock's ass any day of the week!!! :mad: :mad: Well, of course. Nick Fury was Marvel Comics and Sgt. Rock was only DC. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColumbusOHGamer Posted October 6, 2003 Share Posted October 6, 2003 Originally posted by Mord: OH Gamer, I had a Naverone playset when I was about 12. Big gray mountain with a couple artillery guns in it I believe. The german soldiers were white and had very few poses and all the Allied guys were dark green in individual poses. This was circa 1981 when the soldier sets were in decline. So it may not have been the same as yours.That would be about right. I started with the "bag-o-Armymen" at an early age though. The GoN Mountain set was about 76/77 for me. I used 1/72 scale models for additional fun. Model planes could drop bombs and the ground forces could get cool looking tanks. Do you remember the AM (Army Man) who was arching his back like he had just got shot? And the "commando" type that had a knife in his hand? Well, I learned at an early age (9 or 10) that if you heated up an X-acto knife, you could cut of limbs and head real easy. So I, being an evil, destructive little sh!t, cut off the knife from the commando, melted the tip of the knife down slightly and melted it into the back of the guy arching his back. I even added a little model paint for more gore. IT WAS SOOOO COOL LOOKING!!! I liked to use the Afrika Korp yellow paint on the U.S. AM for camo too. I usually went batsh!t with the paint though. Man, I could spend days fighting a single battle. Why can't CM add THAT kind of realism to the game?!? COG 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColumbusOHGamer Posted October 6, 2003 Share Posted October 6, 2003 Originally posted by Pvt. Ryan: Yes, and I'd like to know why the German guns in CM aren't bright yellow! Uh oh... I can see the mod being built as I write this! You know some evil modder will create it. Hey! wouldn't that make a cool scen too? C'mon, one of you scen guys (Rune?) has got to make one of those for us!!! COG 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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