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I definaely think that playing CM would help some in th tactics department. However, there are so many other factors that come to play in real combat that CM doesn't model (or should it model). These would include intangiables such as leadership, character, etc. They would also include practical things like not having a nicecomputer view of the battlefield and not being able to move men with a mouse click but rather having to issue clear orders.

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Fionn asked me to post this for him:

" Slightly before WWI von Seekt said that the gap

between ignorance and competence is only slightly

larger than the gap between knowledge and competence

but that it behooved his officers to ensure they

weren't ignorant since even small improvements had

effects.

IN any case the point is that a person who knows many

things in great detail is only slightly more

worthwhile than a complete ignoramus BUT if you were

going into battle you sure as hell would want the

better of the two options ( even if neither was

half-way as competent as an experienced,

battle-hardened officer) wouldn't you?

Lastly, tactical ability is only a small component of

battlefield leadership and command. Knowing how to

flank an enemy-held hill is of no use if when you dash

off none of your men follow you. If you aren't someone

whom people choose to follow you can't lead plus,

let's not forget that a lot of people simply don't

have what it takes to make decisions which inevitably

result in death and dismemberment. If you don't have

it in you to be a ruthless, callous SOB who can

psychologically survive such decisions over a

prolonged period of time without eating a gun then you

might want to just stick to the computer."

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Would the CM armoured divisons consist soley of Flak trucks??

*Pictures loads of troops clinging to flak trucks shouting "We're invincible!!"*

Also would an army consisting of CM'ers actually get to the battle?

*Pictures time-consuming discussions on what constitues "gamey" in this situation*

;)

[ February 08, 2002, 10:56 AM: Message edited by: Pak_43 ]

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If you were to make CM more 'realistic' I'd say you'd have to break the gameplay into two parts. First 7/8ths of the game would be logistics juggling.

Get the fuel trucks to your vehicles and take the time to get 'em properly bombed-up. Get a hot meal into the troops. Get accurate maps into your commanders' hands. Hell, why not bring in Bob Hope to entertain them for the evening?!

...THEN, after you've invested all this time and effort into your troops NOW you can march them into harms way!

---

As to CMers and body counts, I recall an anecdote about French soldiers marching past their commanding general on the way to some horriffic WWI battle. To show their disgust for his leadership skills the soldiers bgan bleating like sheep as they passed, in reference to the phrase 'lambs to the slaughter'. So real world generals could be just as bloody ans the bloodiest CM player.

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Hello everyone,

Just want to say that CM gives us an enormous amount of information that real life WWII commanders would only dream about ! Information is one of the key to victory on a modern battlefield, that's why the US army is so focused on developing information sharing tools and improving communication between units. On a WWII battlefield, all you would have is a radio set, some phone lines, a map and some staff to coordinate a battle. You would receive incomplete or erronous reports, lose contact with some units.. all in all a fine mess, even with a battle going well. To make a wise decision you need good information and that was something seriously lacking in WWII. Sometimes you read historical AAR and you wonder how that commander could be so stupid... well.. maybe he didn't have the right information to make the perfect choice.. he made a guess or based his decision on erronous data because he didn't have any other choice and paid the price for it. Intuition is a very important trait in a commander, and intuition comes from real experience and personal culture. Also, you need to keep your head very cool to coordinate a real life battle, that's why battle drills and training are very important. You don't really learn that in combat mission. :D

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