sburke Posted October 5, 2011 Share Posted October 5, 2011 You do me a great honour Sir ! Don't be so sure about that... 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Broadsword56 Posted October 5, 2011 Share Posted October 5, 2011 Well, it goes along with my belief that in WWII, neither side ever really wanted CC to happen, and when it did happen it was more often a surprise to both sides. There's a difference between the moment when, for example, Lt. Winters orders his Easy Company men to "fix bayonets" and charge in Holland, and the moment when those GIs and Germans actually meet at bayonet range. The actual contact is a "fight or flight" moment where reactions and reflexes take over -- In in a split second, the adrenalin kicks in and a soldier kills like a cornered animal, or freezes with shock. Remember that even if the "unit" is technically "attacking" or "defending," once hand-to-hand combat begins such concepts lose all meaning. Commands can't be heard or obeyed, there is no unit, and it's back to a medieval swirl of individuals caught up in the chaos of the moment. Each member of the attacking unit has his own breaking point and may very well be scared to death, just as the defending soldiers are. Even in the 18th Century and Napoleonic eras -- where bayonet charges were standard doctrine and soldiers expected them -- many were launched but few wounds/deaths were actually caused by swords and bayonets and hand-to-hand fighting. The reason was psychological: In the vast majority of cases, one side or the other lost its nerve before the bayonet charge drove home. Either the defenders cracked at the sight of the charge, or the attackers lost their nerve and cracked under the volume of defensive fire in that final 30 yards. In WWII, where soldiers were horrified by close combat and not encouraged to do it, I think this psychology would be even stronger. So in CMBN, I'd want a hand-to-hand incident to trigger sudden and extreme shifts in morale in either direction. Also, both sides should go to "exhausted" physical state immediately afterwards, regardless of the outcome. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RockinHarry Posted October 5, 2011 Author Share Posted October 5, 2011 I see you are correct on that one...thats what they call a "Milchmädchenrechnung" in germany... Yep, although I did not post the close combat clasp example for the purpose of deriving loss statistics from it. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magpie_Oz Posted October 6, 2011 Share Posted October 6, 2011 Don't be so sure about that... I was trying to make him feel good, not you 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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