Want to learn about German tactics?

[Stacheldraht]

For those not already familiar with it, the U.S. Army Military History Institute offers a bunch of .pdf (Adobe Acrobat format) files dealing with WWII. One of the standouts is the three-part Handbook on German Forces. The lengthy section on tactics (in part II) is particularly interesting, covering offensive and defensive operations, with extensive details on fortifications, minefields, arty use, AT asset placement, smoke screen use, city fighting, etc. Both the nuts & bolts and the general concepts are covered clearly and with illustrations. (Mod makers might want to check out the drawings of mine warning signs, too.)

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

[Michael Dorosh]

Where do you think M. Hofbauer got the idea for his mine sign in the first place?

[Stacheldraht]

Dunno. I haven't followed the mod scene closely for some time now

[Runyan99]

Lots of good stuff here. The day by day copies of AARs from the cavalry unit is pretty cool.

Here is an example from one of the documents, Combat Lessons Learned, 1942-1944, 34th Infantry Division Pamphlet. I thought this example was interesting, because it is domething often seen when playing Combat Mission.

Staff Sergeant Irving C. Zeborowski, 133rd Infantry

"This incident took place in the battle for CASSINO around the middle of February 1944. There were twenty of us grouped together in one building. It's fine to have a friend or two with you, but in this case, there were just too many for one building. The building was shelled by the enemy burying all of us. I was wearing my helmet, luckily, at the time, which saved my life. My friends weren't so fortunate. Of the twenty, about one third got out alive."

[WWB]

Note that the same handbook is avaliable at major bookstores (Borders, Barnes & Noble) for about $40.

And they cover every piece of german equipment, down to fields kitchens & telephone wire.

WWB