A Canadian Cat Posted June 6, 2011 Share Posted June 6, 2011 Yes, I know I'm getting a head of my self. I was doing some preliminary research to see what I could find out about Juno beach. Since there are several people already working on sections of Omaha I thought I should look at Juno. Right now I'm just looking to see if there are good sources of maps that I can easily access or if I need to do more planning and perhaps look for some books to buy. Anyway that's not the point of my question. When I found this site http://www.6juin1944.com/assaut/juno/en_index.php they have an album which has lots of pictures of the Canadian's landing etc. I was struck by the number of bicycles. There seem to be thousands of them. Some pictures from later in the day show each soldier getting off carrying their own bike. Cool I had no idea that was part of the kit. Is this a crazy Canuc thing or did the US and Brits have the same? Check out these: http://www.6juin1944.com/album/juno/pa132930.jpg http://www.6juin1944.com/album/juno/pa132930.jpg http://www.6juin1944.com/album/juno/pa132930.jpg Will CMBN have bikes for the Canadian's. Hey if we cannot ride on tanks maybe we can ride on bikes:) 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wego McPbem Posted June 6, 2011 Share Posted June 6, 2011 On your bike son! Those pics don't allow hotlinking, can't see anything. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sergei Posted June 6, 2011 Share Posted June 6, 2011 Heh. I would imagine that bicycles were more numerous with the Germans. Maybe the first landing units thought they'd need bicycles until later ships would bring them utility vehicles or motorcycles? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hetzer21 Posted June 6, 2011 Share Posted June 6, 2011 I'm trying to imagine catching a company of inf on bikes with a Panther. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sergei Posted June 6, 2011 Share Posted June 6, 2011 I'm trying to imagine catching a company of inf on bikes with a Panther. It wouldn't always go as you think, at least with German bicycle companies... 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A Canadian Cat Posted June 6, 2011 Author Share Posted June 6, 2011 It wouldn't always go as you think, at least with German bicycle companies... I would hate to crash and fall over those handle bars:) 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A Canadian Cat Posted June 6, 2011 Author Share Posted June 6, 2011 On your bike son! Those pics don't allow hotlinking, can't see anything. Peddle peddle peddle - edited to put urls next to the pics. I'm not sure if some can see them and some not or if I'm the only one that can see the pics because they are already in my browser cache. I added URLs for each pic so you can go look at them... 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wego McPbem Posted June 6, 2011 Share Posted June 6, 2011 Thanks but that doesn't work either, still get the no hotlinking image. Maybe just post a link to the page they're on? Anyway, no big deal was just giving you a heads up 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
umlaut Posted June 6, 2011 Share Posted June 6, 2011 Funny you should ask about this today. I´ve just read that when Rommel inspected the german coastal fortifications in western Jutland (Denmark), he was very unhappy with the mobile forces that were supposed to meet an allied invasion there. Apparently, they had no other means than bicycles to take them to the landing zone. And speaking of bicycles I´ve been meaning to put up a request for them as flavour objects in the editor. Civilian bicycles, that is - I guess BFC would say that bikes were very rarely used for riding into battle. Bicycles were an indispensable form of transportation in Europe during the war - as there were very few cars - and even less petrol. I think maybe they´ve been overlooked because BFC is a US company...or? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c3k Posted June 6, 2011 Share Posted June 6, 2011 Hmmm, are those the mobile anti-aircraft panzerfaust I've heard about? Pedal until an ami jabo decides to strafe you from behind. Two shots, nerves of steel, just wait till the jabo's shadow flashes overhead and pull the trigger! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winkelried Posted June 6, 2011 Share Posted June 6, 2011 you shouldn't underestimate the mobility of bicycle units. they were a kind of poor man's mobile infantry (especially when gas became scarce). The Japanese used them successfully and I remember something about British airborne units which had bicycles too. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winkelried Posted June 6, 2011 Share Posted June 6, 2011 but looking at the scope of CM battles bicycles are pretty irrelevant. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sergei Posted June 6, 2011 Share Posted June 6, 2011 And speaking of bicycles I´ve been meaning to put up a request for them as flavour objects in the editor. Civilian bicycles, that is - I guess BFC would say that bikes were very rarely used for riding into battle. Bicycles were an indispensable form of transportation in Europe during the war - as there were very few cars - and even less petrol. I think maybe they´ve been overlooked because BFC is a US company...or? They've been suggested every now and then, but I would imagine that the main obstacle is that a bicycle is a rather complex shape - which means that it takes time to create, and then to create good LODs of it so that all those polygons don't slow the game down! But maybe they'll make it sooner or later? Let's hope so. Btw. Some of the BFC may be Yanks, but half of the company staff springs from outside the States. Martin is (originally) a Kraut, Kwazydog is a Kiwi, Fernando is a Spaniard, and Webwing a Braz. Note in particular how many of them are artists! Finnish army relied extensively on bicycles for the recon units, which was a good choice - distances were long yet the roads and bridges in the Russo-Finnish frontier were generally poor, but a bicycle could go anywhere, and if a bridge had been blown up or the road muddied by weather, a bicycle could be carried across a ford or through a forest. Sometimes the column would run onto defenders and would have to take cover in the ditches, but other than that soldiers on bicycles wouldn't be seen in a tactical battle. They were a bit like skis except skis were not limited to roads, so you would get greater tactical mobility with them. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hm_stanley Posted June 6, 2011 Share Posted June 6, 2011 Speaking obliquely ... where are the motorcycles? I want to zip around in my cab car mg42 mount and shootstuff.. was there a reason they were left out? My guess, they add no "purpose"..but I'm sure their werr tons on motorcycle companies in Normandy.. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Malcolm Posted June 6, 2011 Share Posted June 6, 2011 I read somewhere very recently an account that bicycles carried over from England were mostly dumped by their owners in huge piles on the beaches. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A Canadian Cat Posted June 6, 2011 Author Share Posted June 6, 2011 Thanks but that doesn't work either, still get the no hotlinking image. Maybe just post a link to the page they're on? Anyway, no big deal was just giving you a heads up Strange I added a URL link for each which should have taken you to their web page for each image - worked for me. Anyway images are in the photo album here: http://www.6juin1944.com/album/juno/index.php 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Battlefront.com Posted June 6, 2011 Share Posted June 6, 2011 We are not putting in bicycles or horses or motorcycles. They are largely irrelevant for CM's scope and yet are major problems to simulate. Besides messengers, these forms of transportation were not purposefully used within the battlefield. Not to say they weren't used at all, just to say that their use isn't enough to warrant major coding distractions. Steve 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StellarRat Posted June 6, 2011 Share Posted June 6, 2011 Keine pferde! Gott im Himmel! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cymru Posted June 6, 2011 Share Posted June 6, 2011 In the 50s my brother had a folding 'commando' bike from that era. He also had a folding kayak and would carry one on the other until a suitable time to switch appeared. While both were heavy and not very efficient, it did allow him a very flexible travel schedule. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roadiemullet Posted June 6, 2011 Share Posted June 6, 2011 Speaking of oddities, (and sort of changing the subject - sorry), I read that in Normandy (in fact I think it may have been in Anthony Beevor's "Battle for Normandy" ironically) British units facing Tigers were so convinced of being unable to penetrate its armour, that standard procedure was to fire a WP at the tank in the hopes of setting it ablaze (or at least scaring the crew for fear of that happening). Besides the obvious cover it would provide, a nice fire would develop either on combustibles on the tank or on the ground/bocage surrounding it - I believe that more than a few Tigers were abandoned as a result of this? So with flame-fun possibly making an appearance in the series, is this 'oddity' common enough to be developed? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nidan1 Posted June 6, 2011 Share Posted June 6, 2011 If you allow bicylces, then folks will want horses. Next thing you know folks will want cows grazing in the fields, then bloated dead cows. Where does it end? Once you let those Commonwealth guys in, who knows what people will ask for next. Possibly Finns? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gunnergoz Posted June 6, 2011 Share Posted June 6, 2011 I want my anti-tank dogs, attack dogs, scout dogs and guard dogs. Did I mention the mine-sniffing dogs? Them too. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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