You can choose commands and expand or scroll the Close Combat View Area using the following key combinations and sequences: Function In Windows95 Game Reference m On the Macintosh Scroll the View Area Arrow keys Arrow keys Expand the View Area CTRL+G (or ALT, O, G) COMMAND+G Turn sound on/off ALT, O, S Turn music on/off ALT, O, M Turn videos on/off ALT, O, V Remove trees CTRL+T (or ALT, O, T) COMMAND+T Remove soldiers KIA CTRL+K (or ALT, O, K) COMMAND+K Pause Close Combat F3 COMMAND
Chapter 1 About Close Combat Chapter 1 About Close Combat June 6, 1944. The largest invasion fleet in history lies off the coast of Normandy, France. Four years ago, France surrendered to Germany, and the remnants of the British Expeditionary Force fled from the beaches of Dunkirk. Now the Allies are ready to strike back. Their goal is to liberate western Europe. The Germans’ goal is to hurl the invaders back into the sea.
2 Close Combat Close Combat Game Theory Historical accuracy and realistic psychology make Close Combat different from other strategy games. The forces, the locations, the weapons, all reflect the reality of the Normandy Campaign. And the Close Combat artificial intelligence (AI) tracks not only every round fired, but also the physical and psychological states of individual soldiers and their teams.
Chapter 1 About Close Combat You can choose to exercise “super” control over your troops by setting soldiers in the “always obey orders” mode before starting a game, but you can’t switch them out of this mode during play, and gains made this way usually lead to increased casualties and decreased team performance. For more information, see the section titled “Who’s in Control? You Choose.
4 Close Combat Who’s in Control? You Choose As noted earlier, your teams may or may not obey an order you give them. However, you can avoid order overrides by selecting the “Soldiers always obey” game option. Even so, when a team receives orders to fire, it may decide that a different target represents a greater threat, and may fire at that alternate target instead. A soldier’s emotional state may also keep him from carrying out an order; he may remain in cover or run away.
Chapter 2 Chapter 2 Setup and Game Play This chapter describes how to install and set up Close Combat, how to learn game-play basics using Boot Camp scenarios, and what type of games you can play (Maneuvers, Campaigns, and Replays). Finally, this chapter provides how-to-play procedures for Close Combat. Installation and Setup This section describes how to install and set up Close Combat. To set up Close Combat in Windows 95 When you install Windows 95, AutoRun is enabled.
6 Close Combat To set up Close Combat on the Macintosh 1 Insert the Close Combat CD into the CD-ROM drive. The Close Combat CD icon appears. 2 Double-click the Close Combat CD icon. This opens the Close Combat window. 3 Double-click the Close Combat Setup icon. To launch Close Combat on the Macintosh 1 Double-click the Microsoft Close Combat folder, or the folder you specified during setup. 2 Double-click the Close Combat icon.
Chapter 2 Close Combat Game Types You can play four types of games with Close Combat: Boot Camp, Maneuvers, Campaigns, and Replays. Boot Camp Close Combat’s Boot Camp includes scenarios you can use to learn and practice the skills you need to play, and win at, Close Combat. Maneuvers Maneuvers are single battles, such as Off The Beach 1, that represent actions from the Normandy Campaign.
8 Close Combat On the Command screen, click to select the game options you want: 1 Click Boot Camp (basic training), Maneuvers (to fight single battles), Campaign (to fight all battles sequentially), or Replays (to play previously completed battles). Choosing any of these options displays a scrollable list from which you can choose the training scenario or action you want to play. Maneuvers is the default setting. 2 Select the training exercise, battle, Campaign (new or saved), or Replay you want.
Chapter 2 Setup and Game Play To start Boot Camp 1 Click the Boot Camp button. 2 Click a Boot Camp exercise in the list. 3 Click Begin. During Boot Camp training, you follow the directions in the training messages appearing on the screen. You continue through the exercise by performing the action it prescribes. You can quit at any point during Boot Camp by choosing Abort Battle from the Game menu (File menu on the Macintosh).
10 Close Combat Maneuver Play When you start a Maneuver, the Game screen appears with Close Combat in Deployment mode. You use this mode to move your teams where you want them (on your side of the battle line) before you begin the battle. Once you have deployed your teams, you begin the battle, and issue commands until you win, lose, click End Battle, or choose Abort Battle from the Game menu (File menu on the Macintosh). At the end of each Maneuver, the Debriefing screen appears.
Chapter 2 • • • Setup and Game Play 11 You play the next battle if you suffer a minor defeat. You skip ahead one battle if you suffer a major defeat. You skip ahead two battles if you suffer a decisive defeat. You cannot skip over the first battle on a new map, nor can you back up to a previous map. Advances and regressions are possible only with multiple battles on the same map.
12 Close Combat Reconnoitering Close Combat Close Combat uses four screens: the Command, Game, Debriefing, and Debriefing Details screens. Command Screen The Command screen is the first screen that appears when you start Close Combat. You use the Command screen to select the type of game, side, number of players, and level of difficulty. The Command screen consists of the elements described in the following sections.
Chapter 2 Setup and Game Play Campaign button When you click the Campaign button, the available Campaigns appear in the scrollable list. When you first start Close Combat, there are no Campaigns in the scrollable list; nothing appears in the scrollable list until you start a Campaign and complete the first battle. After you complete the first battle, the Campaign is automatically saved and appears in the scrollable list.
14 Close Combat Scrollable List The scrollable list is the portion of the Command screen used to display Boot Camp exercises, battles (Maneuvers), Campaigns, and Replays. Status Bar The status bar displays the current selections made in the Command screen. Begin Button When you click the Begin button, Close Combat starts a game based on the selections you’ve made. Game Screen You use the Game screen to play Close Combat; the Game screen appears when you click Begin on the Command screen.
Chapter 2 Setup and Game Play 15 pointer to the edge of the Game screen. For example, if you move the mouse pointer to the right side of the Game screen, the battle map scrolls from right to left. You deploy your teams and issue commands in the View Area. When the Game screen appears, the View Area is set to normal view; you’ll want to use this view most of the time. However, you cannot see the entire battle map in normal view, which can make monitoring a battle difficult.
16 Close Combat Game Screen Monitors Five monitors appear in the Game screen: • • • • • Team monitor Soldier monitor Message monitor Overview monitor Zoom monitor The monitors you see while playing Close Combat depend on your screen settings. If you play in 640x480, you see only the Team, Soldier, and Message monitors. If you play in 800x600, you also see the Overview monitor; if you play in 1024x768 or greater, you also see the Zoom monitor.
Chapter 2 Setup and Game Play conscript (least experienced). Base morale is the team’s morale at the start of a battle and represents the soldiers’ willingness to fight. If a team starts a Campaign with minimal quality but enjoys success in a given battle, the team can increase in quality, reflected by more gold bars in subsequent battles. Conversely, elite teams can lose quality when killed or wounded team members are replaced with new soldiers.
18 Close Combat Leader Rank An insignia indicates the team leader’s rank. The leader of any given team can be either the leader of only that team, or the leader of several teams. You are the highest-ranking leader as company commander, but there are also platoon, squad, team, and assistant team leaders. Platoon leaders command four or more teams, squad leaders command two to four teams, and team leaders command only their own team.
Chapter 2 Setup and Game Play following the orders you issued. Red text indicates the team is intentionally acting against the command you issued due to local battlefield conditions. White text indicates you have issued no commands to the team, or the command you previously issued has been completed. In this case, the team will go into Defend mode (Ambush for the Germans) and select targets of opportunity based on local battlefield conditions.
20 Close Combat Soldier Monitor The Soldier monitor lists the soldiers that compose each team in your fighting force. Selecting a team in the Team monitor displays the team members in the Soldier monitor. The Soldier monitor lists soldiers’ health, fatigue level, and emotional state, along with their weapons and ammunition. For more information on using this monitor during a game, see “Using the Soldier Monitor.” The Soldier monitor displays panels for all members of the selected team.
Chapter 2 Fatigue Observation Setup and Game Play Fatigue accumulates as a soldier runs or carries heavy equipment; resting reduces fatigue. If a soldier is observed by the enemy, he is more likely to be shot at. There are different levels of observation, ranging from hidden (not seen on the game map) to concealed (shadows on the game map) to observed (soldiers displayed on the game map).
22 Close Combat Smoke Indicator symbol. A vehicle can fire smoke shells only if it has the Smoke Vehicle Condition There are seven vehicle conditions; the condition text is color-coded to match the actual condition. The following table lists the condition text and associated color. Condition text Text Operational Damaged In battle-ready condition. Some of crew injured, weapons damaged, or speed reduced. Vehicle can no longer move. Crew has left the vehicle or is dead. Vehicle is on fire.
Chapter 2 Setup and Game Play Current Order Same as Current Order in the Team monitor. The last order you issued, or the last order the team has decided to carry out, is displayed. Again, the same color-coding is used; green indicates the team is following the order you issued, and red indicates the team is acting against your order, based on local battlefield conditions. Team Effectiveness & Firepower The small graph indicates the team’s weapons rating in both antipersonnel (Anti Pers.
24 Close Combat Current Action Displays what the soldier is doing. The current action text is color-coded; green indicates the soldier is following an order you issued, red indicates the soldier is taking action that countermands your order, and white indicates that no order has been issued and the soldier is acting on local battlefield conditions. The following table lists all the messages that can appear as current actions.
Chapter 2 Crawling Ambushing Hiding Bad Shot In Building No Weapon Repairing Can’t Target Conserving Too Close Separated Setup and Game Play Soldier is crawling toward cover or destination. Soldier is ambushing the enemy. Soldier is hiding from the enemy. Soldier has a shot that is a waste of ammunition. Soldier (mortar team) is inside building and cannot fire. Soldier has no weapon. Soldier is repairing his weapon. Target is outside the gun’s firing arc.
26 Close Combat Health Shows a soldier’s physical state. These states are described in the following table. Health Healthy (green background) Hurt (yellow background) Incap. (orange background) Dead (red background) Description Soldier is physically able to obey all commands. Soldier is slightly wounded; physically able to obey orders at a reduced level of performance. Incapacitated; soldier is severely wounded and unable to obey commands. Soldier is terminally disobedient.
Chapter 2 Ammunition type AP HE HEAT Smoke SP Setup and Game Play Description Armor piercing. High explosive; used against infantry, light vehicles, and structures. High explosive, antitank; used against tanks, tank destroyers, and motorized artillery. Not effective against infantry in the open, but can be effective against infantry in structures. Smoke shells or grenades; used to screen infantry and vehicle movement from the enemy. Special; includes canister and high velocity AP.
28 Close Combat Debriefing Screen The Debriefing screen appears at the end of each battle (unless you selected Abort Battle, in which case the Command screen appears). You use the Debriefing screen to see the results of the just-completed battle. You also use this screen to go to the Debriefing Details screen, back to the Command screen, to the next battle (Campaign only), or to save a battle as a Replay. The Debriefing screen consists of the elements described in the following sections.
Chapter 2 Setup and Game Play Historical Timeline The Historical Timeline shows you how long it took the Americans to advance from Omaha Beach to Saint-Lô. This is the timeline you compete against during campaign play. If you play as the Americans, your goal is to secure Saint-Lô in 43 days or less. If you play as the Germans, your goal is to force the Americans to take more than 43 days to secure Saint-Lô. Command Screen Button You use the Command Screen button to display the Command screen.
30 Close Combat Return Button When you click the Return button, the Debriefing screen appears. For more information, see “Debriefing Screen.” Color Scale The color scales shows the range between good (green), bad (red), and dead or destroyed (black). These colors, along with text, are used throughout the Close Combat monitors to indicate a soldier’s health, fatigue level, emotional state, experience, and morale; the colors are also used to indicate a team’s cohesion and quality.
Chapter 2 Setup and Game Play Leadership Leadership indicates the ability a soldier has to lead his team, rally his team, and rally other teams. Color is used to show a soldier’s leadership ability. Green indicates the highest leadership ability, while black indicates the lowest. An arrow symbol is used to indicate whether leadership ability increased or decreased as a result of the just-completed battle.
32 Close Combat Soldiers Killed Two numbers may be displayed in this field; the top number indicates the number of enemy soldiers a soldier killed in the just-completed battle, while the lower number is the cumulative total of enemy soldiers killed during a Campaign.
Chapter 2 Setup and Game Play Assault Badge (German) Awarded for bravery. The number displayed is the cumulative total of medals awarded during a Campaign. Wounded Badge (German) Awarded to wounded soldiers. The number displayed is the cumulative total of medals awarded during a Campaign. Note that unlike the Purple Heart, the Wounded Badge is awarded only to soldiers severely injured or maimed in combat.
34 Close Combat Refining the Level of Difficulty You can refine the level of difficulty of any game. When you select the Custom button on the Command screen, the Custom Difficulty dialog box appears. The items in the Custom Difficulty dialog box are described in the following sections. American Strength You use this list box to select the strength of American forces; the available levels of strength are: very strong, strong, average (default setting), weak, and very weak.
Chapter 2 Setup and Game Play 5 Click the text box or press Enter. The selected strength appears in the text box. American Units Always Obey Orders You use this check box to make American units always obey your commands, regardless of battlefield conditions. To make American units always obey orders • Click the check box. When a check mark appears in the check box, this option is enabled.
36 Close Combat Enemy Units Are Always Visible You use this check box to make sure you can always see enemy units in the View Area. To make enemy units always visible • Click the check box. When a check mark appears in the check box, this option is enabled. Enemy Intelligence Always Available You use this check box to make intelligence concerning the enemy always available. To make enemy intelligence always available • Click the check box.
Chapter 2 6 Click OK. The New Campaign Game popup disappears and your new Campaign is added to the scrollable list. 7 Click Begin. The Deployment video plays, then the Game Play screen appears. Remember, when the Game Play screen first appears, the game is in Deployment mode. 8 Move your teams to the locations you want, then click Begin. The first operation of the Campaign begins. To start a saved Campaign 1 On the Command screen, click the Campaign button.
38 Close Combat Winning Close Combat Games Winning any battle is based on the following criteria, which are listed from most important to least: Pushing enemy force morale into red, causing the enemy to abandon the battlefield, while your force morale remains green or yellow. • Securing more Victory Locations and inflicting more casualties before time runs out. Winning Close Combat games also depends on which type of game you choose to play.
Chapter 2 Setup and Game Play If you capture a Victory Location and are not routed off the field, you receive all of the points for that location. For example, if the Americans capture a Victory Location worth 20 points and hold it until the game ends, the Americans receive 20 points. If you start a battle holding a Victory Location and hold it throughout a battle, you receive half of the points for that location.
40 Close Combat Issuing Commands No matter what kind of game you choose—Maneuver, Campaign, or Replay—you can issue six commands to your teams: Move, Move Fast, Fire, Smoke, Defend, and Hide. To issue a command to a team, you need to perform these three steps: 1 Point at a unit, then click and hold down the mouse button. Clicking a unit or a soldier in a unit selects the unit. The Command menu appears when you point at a unit or a soldier in a unit and hold down the mouse button.
Chapter 2 Setup and Game Play 4 Drag the destination line from the team’s current location to the destination you want. 5 Click the mouse button again to place a destination marker. When a team completes a successful move, the Message Monitor displays the message “Redeploying Successful” and the destination marker disappears. To issue a Move Fast command 1 Point at the team you want to move fast or click the team to select it.
42 Close Combat To issue a Fire command Once you select a team, you can issue a Fire command by pressing C. To finish issuing the command, drag the target line from the team to its target, then click to place the target marker. 1 Point at the team you want to fire or click the team to select it. When you select a team, the View Area displays blue boxes around each member of the team; a circle is always displayed around squad leaders (or higher), even when the team is not selected.
Chapter 2 The target line is red if nothing blocks the team’s line of sight or line of fire to the target. If the target line changes to dark red, the team has line of fire but their line of sight is blocked. If the target line changes from red, or dark red, to black, the team’s line of sight is blocked at the point at which it turns black. 5 Click to place a target marker. If the target marker is green, you can fire smoke. If the target marker is black, the target is out of range.
44 Close Combat To issue a Defend command 1 Point at the team you want to order to defend its present position or click the team to select it. When you select a team, the View Area displays blue boxes around each member of the team; a circle is always displayed around squad leaders (or higher), even when the team is not selected. Once the team has found a target and opens fire, the defense marker switches to the enemy they are shooting at.
Chapter 2 Setup and Game Play Using the Toolbar The Close Combat toolbar on the right of the View Area contains buttons you can click to change your view of the game screen and to issue orders to all friendly units. The buttons available on the toolbar depend on whether you are currently in Deployment mode or Game Play mode. When you click a toolbar button, the button remains active until you click a different button or click the active button a second time to deactivate it.
46 Close Combat Game Play Mode In Game Play mode, the toolbar looks like the figure at left. Toolbar in Game Play mode The Game Play mode toolbar buttons perform the following functions: Zoom In (+) magnifies an area on a game map to get a closer look at the terrain. There are three zoom levels: the closest view (almost directly overhead), the normal view (a “bird’s eye” view), and the farthest view (that you might see from a plane). Each time you click this button, the view zooms in one level.
Chapter 2 Setup and Game Play Monitoring the Game Using Close Combat’s monitors, you “see” what’s happening to teams not in view. The maps used in Close Combat are too large to fit in the Game screen when you play in normal view. Because the normal view is best for playing Close Combat, you can’t see all your teams without zooming out.
48 Close Combat Using the Team Monitor You monitor the status of your teams using the Team monitor. To view all the teams in the monitor, use the scroll bar. To select a team, click its panel in the Team monitor. If you click an enemy unit during game play, the list is replaced by the text “Enemy unit selected,” and the enemy soldiers appear in the Soldier monitor.
Chapter 2 Setup and Game Play red (the most important) messages do not appear in the monitor; you click the red button again to make these messages reappear. You can click more than one filter; If you click the red and orange message filters, both red and orange messages disappear from the monitor. Using the Overview Monitor The Overview monitor appears only when you play at 800x600 resolution or higher.
50 Close Combat Ending Games You can end a Close Combat game in three ways: • • • You can end any game by clicking the End Battle button on the Toolbar. If you choose to end a battle, you suffer a minor, or worse, defeat. The Debriefing screen appears, summarizing the ended battle’s results. You can stop any game using the Abort Battle command on the Game menu (Windows 95) or File menu (Macintosh). Unlike ending a battle, stopping a battle carries no penalty for the side choosing to stop.
Chapter 2 Setup and Game Play 51 To stop a game 1 From the Game menu (Windows 95) or File menu (Macintosh), choose Abort Battle. A popup appears asking if you’re sure you want to stop the battle. 2 In the popup, click OK. The popup and the Game screen disappear, and the Command screen appears. To stop a game using the keyboard without exiting Close Combat, press ALT, G, A or CTRL+A (Windows 95), or COMMAND+A (Macintosh). Exiting Close Combat You can exit Close Combat at any time.
52 Close Combat Campaigns are automatically saved at the end of each battle as a saved Campaign. You can also save a Campaign battle as a Replay; however, you can replay only the last completed battle of the Campaign. For example, if you complete the Hedgerows! 3 battle during a Campaign (named Campaign1) and save it as a Replay named Replay1, then Hedgerows! 3 (Replay1) is the only battle you can replay. (Replay1 appears in the scrollable list when you click the Replay button.
Chapter 2 Turning Sound On/Off You can turn game sounds (gunfire, soldiers’ voices, and other sounds) on or off. To turn game sound on/off 1 Using the mouse, choose Sound from the Options menu. 2 To turn sound back on, repeat the process. -or1 Using the keyboard, press ALT, O, S (Windows 95). 2 To turn sound back on, repeat the process. Turning Music On/Off You can turn game music (the drum roll that plays when the Command screen is displayed) on or off.
54 Close Combat To expand the View Area to use the entire screen If you want to see the entire map, click Zoom Out. on the toolbar. To return to the previous view, click Zoom In. • • • Choose Expand View Area on the Options menu. To view all game monitors and return the play area to the previous view, repeat the process. –or– In Windows 95, press ALT, O, G or CTRL+G. On the Macintosh, press COMMAND+G.
Chapter 2 Setup and Game Play Playing Head-to-Head For information on head-to-head play, see the README file on the Close Combat CD-ROM, or look in the online Help Head-to-Head topic. Troubleshooting For more troubleshooting information, see the README file on the Close Combat CD-ROM, or look in the online Help Troubleshooting topic.
56 Close Combat
Chapter 3 Chapter 3 Tactics This chapter describes tactics and provides game tips you can use while playing Close Combat. Basic Tactics You can use three basic tactics in Close Combat: • Flanking • Shoot it out • Frontal assault Flanking The first basic tactic you can use is to try and flank the enemyattack them from the side. For example, suppose an enemy rifle team is positioned behind a stone wall. The wall offers excellent protection against rifle, machine gun, and light artillery fire.
58 Close Combat When you fire smoke rounds, the smoke lasts approximately one minute; the smoke is thickest when the rounds first go off. Smoke plumes are as wide as they are tall. Because the game assumes that a light wind is blowing from west to east, you should try to keep the smoke between your troops and the enemy. Time your smoke rounds and assault with these factors in mind. As the German commander, you shouldn’t defend positions to the last man.
Chapter 3 • Don’t order units too far in advance of Victory Locations until these locations have been neutralized. Doing so is asking for an ambush. • Make sure you order adequate fire against Victory Locations. Remember, you don’t necessarily need to hit enemy soldiers to drive them from a position; a high volume of fire can reduce the morale and effectiveness of an enemy team to make them panic and run. • Don’t keep your teams too close together.
60 Close Combat Vehicle Tips You can use the tips in this section when issuing commands to your vehicle teams. For information on the factors affecting vehicle effectiveness and performance, the following table may prove useful.
Chapter 3 Schurzen Integrity Identifies whether or not the vehicle is equipped with Schurzen plating (thin metal plates set a few inches out from the hull to detonate rounds before they hit the hull) to protect against HEAT ammo rounds. How well the vehicle can withstand being hit (brewups, spalling). Specific tips for vehicles are as follows: • The Close Combat game design accurately reflects the Normandy Campaign regarding vehicles.
62 Close Combat Weapons Tips You can use the tips in this section when issuing commands to your vehicle teams. For information on the factors affecting vehicle effectiveness and performance, the following table may prove useful. Attribute Rounds/clip Firing time Chamber load Clip reload Burst rounds Weight Clip weight Heat rate Cool rate Quality Bayoneted Assault fire Back blast Blast size Blast radius Min range Accuracy Affect Blast Description The number of ammo rounds in a clip.
Chapter 3 Specific tips for weapons are as follows: • Don’t order your mortars to fire at infantry hiding in bunkers or buildings because bunkers have very thick roofs; you can expend all of your mortar ammunition trying to blast your way through without killing or wounding the enemy. While you might be able to blast through the roofs of buildings, this still isn’t an efficient use of ammunition.
64 Close Combat General Tips • When a team is shot at or spots an enemy for the first time, the team cancels its goal. For example, if you issue a Move command and the team is fired on for the first time, the Move command is canceled. • If the team leader is wounded or killed, the team’s goal is canceled. • The more intense the suppression fire, the closer safe terrain must be for a team to move to that terrain.
Chapter 4 The Normandy Campaign in Close Combat 65 Chapter 4 The Normandy Campaign in Close Combat The Normandy campaign is a six-week series of battles that takes place in northwestern France. There, soldiers of General Omar Bradley’s First Army attempt to fight their way from Omaha Beach to Saint-Lô, a strategic road and rail hub. Saint-Lô is the key to breaking out of the confining beachhead area.
66 Close Combat The Evolution of Operation Overlord “We must prepare to fight Germany by . . . defeating her ground forces and definitely breaking her will to combat. . . . adequate ground forces must be available to close with and destroy the enemy inside his citadel.” Maj. Albert Wedemeyer, in his “Victory Program” U.S. General Dwight D. Eisenhower The Normandy Campaign is the end result of more than two-and-a-half years of planning, training, and preparation.
Chapter 4 The Normandy Campaign in Close Combat 67 Soon after the Allies commit to the invasion of France, it becomes clear that an adequate troop and supply buildup for the landings will take longer than anticipated. In the interim, the Americans agree to join the British in invading North Africa, Sicily, and Italy. At the Trident conference, held in Washington in May 1943, the date for the invasion of France, known as “D-Day” is tentatively reset for May 1, 1944.
68 Close Combat The German Forces in Normandy As the German High Command realizes that an invasion in the West is imminent, the number of combat divisions in France is increased from 46 in November of 1943 to 58 by June 1944. However, many of these divisions are below full strength. Some of them have had troops siphoned off to the war against the Soviets; others are shifted from the Eastern Front to France to rest and refit, their ranks decimated by combat with the Red Army.
Chapter 4 The Normandy Campaign in Close Combat 69 an Allied invasion is with a rapid counterattack on the beaches from behind a fortified coastal strip. However, Rommel’s superior, Field Marshal Gert von Runstedt opposes his defensive philosophy. Believing that nothing can stop the Allied invasion, von Runstedt thinks that the majority of German defenses should be moved inland, away from Allied naval guns.
70 Close Combat U.S. soldiers crammed into landing craft “Everything was confusion. Units are mixed up, many of them leaderless, most of them not being where they were supposed to be. Shells were coming in all the time; boats burning; vehicles with nowhere to go bogging down, getting hit; supplies getting wet; boats trying to come in all the time, some hitting mines, exploding...everything jammed together like a junkyard.” Sgt. Ralph G. Martin, in Yank U.S.
Chapter 4 The Normandy Campaign in Close Combat 71 “Bloody Omaha” and Beyond Of the vast number of Allied troops that wade or parachute into Normandy on June 6, the Americans who land on Omaha Beach have the toughest time of all. The beach itself has natural defenses in the form of high bluffs at either end, and only five exits, which the Germans have mined and wired. Concrete blockhouses and positions on the bluffs pour a murderous concentration of fire along every inch of the beach.
72 Close Combat “The beach became strewn with dead, wounded, and shelterseeking soldiers. They reached the low stone wall, but the safety offered there was temporary. Our mortar crews had waited for this moment and began to lay deadly fire on preset coordinates along the sea wall. Mortar rounds with impact fuses exploded on target. The shell splinters, wall fragments, and stones inflicted severe casualties. The waves of attackers broke against our defenses.
Chapter 4 The Normandy Campaign in Close Combat 73 1,429 tons of supplies are moved, increasing to 7,000 tons a day by D-Day plus five. The paratroopers inland are resupplied by air drops from U.S. cargo planes. To prevent the Germans from moving reinforcements up, Allied fighter-bombers attack several river bridges and marshaling yards, although heavy cloud cover hinders their efforts and causes the cancellation of hundreds of missions.
Close Combat 74 flooded by the Germans. But if the troops of Bradley’s First Army think they will now have a few days’ triumphant progress inland to Saint-Lô, they are mistaken. “I had no intention of pinning down forces at Saint-Lô until Cherbourg was safely in hand . . . . Not until a few days before the breakout did I lift the prohibition on Saint-Lô.” Gen.
Chapter 4 The Normandy Campaign in Close Combat 75 German Defenses in the Bocage Standing between Bradley’s First Army and its goal of Saint-Lô are six German divisions of the Seventh Army, several of which are made up of units that have been shattered on D-Day. One of these, the 91st, has been reinforced by the Sixth Parachute Regiment, an élite volunteer group whose average age is 17.
76 Close Combat opposite hedgerow corners at the back of the field to immobilize attacking infantry. Light machine guns and machine pistols in the hedgerows along the sides of the field can fire on soldiers seeking cover. An interconnected series of such strongholds forms a forward defensive line, behind which the Germans prepare a belt of battle positions with tanks and assault guns to add muscle to counterattacks.
Chapter 4 The Normandy Campaign in Close Combat Germans have mastered the advance by infiltration, sending small parties to turn the flank of the enemy advance. This means that U.S. soldiers suddenly find themselves under fire from three sides. Once U.S. forces are pinned down in the open, the Germans open up on them with pre-planned mortar and artillery fire. For the Americans, calling for artillery support in such close quarters is risky, because even accurate supporting fire can injure friendly troops.
78 Close Combat they quickly master the art of unloading directly onto Omaha and Utah beaches, and after a few days are actually moving more supplies than the British. For Montgomery, the storm has the additional consequence of delaying his plan to launch a new offensive against the Germans at Caen. “Give me ten infantrymen in this terrain with the proper combination of small arms, and we will hold up a battalion for 24 hours.” Lt.
Chapter 4 The Normandy Campaign in Close Combat 79 But all these technical advances aren’t enough to keep the hedgerow battle from dragging on too slowly. The Americans need a new combination of technology, tactics, and techniques to speed their progress. Breaking the Impasse When the 29th finds itself stymied in the bocage, General Charles Gerhardt orders Brigadier-General Norman Cota, a veteran of the landings in North Africa, to devise new tactics for this hostile terrain.
80 Close Combat the center field and attack the flanks of the German positions there. This allows the U.S. soldiers to take more territory while facing less direct enemy fire. The local dairy herd was a casualty in the Normandy Campaign Overall, the Americans are developing bocage tactics that enhance their mobility and improve tank-infantry communication and cooperation. Out goes the rulebook tactic of infantry and armor advancing separately.
Chapter 4 The Normandy Campaign in Close Combat Seventh Army troops in the vicinity dig into defensive positions, including foxholes and even tunnels. The town itself is set in a depression next to the river Vire, surrounded by rolling hills and ridges, which are heavily fortified by the Germans. Any gaps between the hills are well-covered by German guns. To the Americans, it soon becomes clear that approaching the German defenses around Saint-Lô indirectly is preferable to a frontal assault.
82 Close Combat approaches to the hill were targeted with artillery, mortars, antitank weapons, and machine guns, and the German defenders, mainly from the Third Parachute Division, were well dug in. Nearly a month later, on July 11, the Americans resume their attack on Hill 192, using their new hedgerow tactics to coordinate the efforts of infantry and armor. To the Second Division’s 38th Infantry goes the task of capturing Hill 192.
Chapter 4 The Normandy Campaign in Close Combat 83 roadway by nightfall. With the Seventh Army occupied on so many fronts, no reserves are left to reinforce the surviving Germans on Hill 192. “Eisenhower found as I did that the well-springs of compassion lie in the field. . . . There, like the others of us, he could see the war for what it was, a wretched debasement of all the thin pretensions of civilization. In the rear areas war may sometimes assume the mask of an adventure.
84 Close Combat mortar and artillery fire. In the north, the 35th Division is fought to a virtual standstill by a sophisticated series of German defenses, and makes a breakthrough only after several days of fighting, by using tank destroyers to blast the fortified hedgerow positions. West of Saint-Lô, the 30th Division has its hands full with brutal counterattacks from Panzer Lehr—an elite armored unit—and the Third Parachute Division. The ruins of Saint-Lô “. . .
Chapter 4 The Normandy Campaign in Close Combat For the Americans, the cost of capturing Saint-Lô and the surrounding countryside is steep: Nearly 11,000 U.S. troops are killed, wounded, or missing between July 7 and July 22. However, Bradley’s forces now have the terrain they need to launch the breakout into the long-sought war of maneuver against the Third Reich.
86 Close Combat “I did not feel we owed an apology to anyone for our gains. At the end of one week ashore we had linked beachheads. During the second we cut the Cotentin. In the third we captured Cherbourg. During the fourth we attacked out of the neck. And when the fifth rolled around, we had put together our Cobra plan and were already edging toward a breakout.” —Gen. Omar Bradley, in A Soldier’s Story “It was one terrible bloodletting.
Chapter 4 The Normandy Campaign in Close Combat 87 While Bradley’s First Army threatens only the Germans in Normandy, Patton’s Third Army threatens all German forces west of the Seine. Hitler himself decides to launch a major counterattack against the Third Army near Mortain, to push Patton’s troops back to Avranches.
88 Close Combat Casualty rates for the Allied and Axis sides, along with French civilians, average 10,000 a day, making the Battle of Normandy one of the bloodiest battles ever fought. With these momentous events, the first phase of the invasion is overand the race to the Rhine is on. The Falaise Pocket: August 13Ð20, 1944 Cherbourg Seine River U.S.
Chapter 5 Weapons 89 Chapter 5 Weapons Colt .45 model 1911 Walther P 38 Operation Semiautomatic Caliber .45 (11.4 mm) Muzzle velocity 253 mps (830 fps) Capacity 7-round detachable box magazine Weight 1.1 kg (2.43 lbs) Overall length 21.9 cm (8.62 in.) Effective range 30 m (32 yds) The most famous American handgun of World War II was the Model 1911 .45-caliber semiautomatic pistol invented by John M. Browning. This pistol was born out of the U.
90 Close Combat Mauser Kar 98 Operation Manual, bolt-action Caliber 7.92 mm (.31 in.) Muzzle velocity 745 mps (2,445 fps) Capacity 5-round magazine Weight 3.9 kg (8.5 lbs) Overall length 111 cm (43.75 in.) Effective range 550 m (600 yds) The Mauser Gewehr 98 (rifle, model 1898) was the archetype of most bolt-action rifles built in the 20th century, including the American Springfield model 1903 rifle. Its 7.92-mm Mauser cartridge was introduced in 1888 and is still in use today.
Chapter 5 Weapons 91 Gewehr 43 Semiautomatic Rifle Garand Rifle Operation Semiautomatic Caliber .30 (7.62 mm) Muzzle velocity 853 mps (2,800 fps) Capacity 8-shot clip Weight 4.3 kg (9.5 lbs) Overall length 110.7 cm (43.6 in.) Effective range 550 m (600 yds) The U.S. Rifle, Caliber .30, M1—or Garand—was the standard issue rifle for American infantry. Named after its inventor, John C. Garand, it was the first semiautomatic rifle widely used in combat.
92 Close Combat Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR) M1 Carbine Operation M1 & M1A1: semiautomatic; M2: selective fire (fully and semiautomatic) Caliber .30 (7.62 mm) Muzzle velocity 600 mps (1,970 fps) Capacity 15- and 30-round detachable box magazines Weight 2.3 kg (5 lbs) Overall length 90.4 cm (35.6 in.) Effective range 75 m (83 yds) Operation M1918A1: selective fire (fully and semiautomatic); M1918A2: fully automatic Caliber .30 (7.62 mm) Muzzle velocity 853.
Chapter 5 Weapons 93 Thompson Submachine Gun Operation Selective fire (fully and semiautomatic) Caliber .45 (11.4 mm) Muzzle velocity 280 mps (920 fps) Capacity 50-round drum 20- and 30-round detachable box magazine Weight 4.9 kg (11 lbs) Overall length 85.6 cm (33.7 in.) Rate of fire 600 to 725 rounds per minute Effective range 50 m (55 yds) John T. Thompson, who helped develop the M1903 Springfield rifle and M1911 .
94 Close Combat .30-caliber Air-Cooled Machine Gun (M1919A4) MG 42 Machine Gun Operation Fully automatic, air-cooled Caliber .30 (7.62 mm) Muzzle velocity 853.4 mps (2,800 fps) Capacity 250-round belt Weight 18.5 kg (41 lbs) with tripod Overall length 104.1 cm (41 in.) Rate of fire 400 to 550 rounds per minute Effective range 1,000 m (1,100 yds) Before the end of World War I, the U.S. Ordnance Department recognized that water-cooled machine guns took up too much space inside a tank.
Chapter 5 Weapons 95 .50-caliber Air-Cooled Machine Gun (M2-HB) Operation Selective fire (fully or semiautomatic), air-cooled Caliber .50 (12.7 mm) Muzzle velocity 893 mps (2,930 fps) Capacity 110-round belt Weight 57.6 kg (128 lbs) with tripod Overall length 165.4 cm (65.1 in.) Rate of fire 450 to 550 rounds per minute Range 1,800 m (1,970 yds) The predecessors of the .50-caliber machine gun were German 12.7- and 13.2-mm antitank rifles used in World War I.
96 Close Combat Panzerfaust Antitank Grenade Launcher Operation Grenade launcher, percussion fired Caliber 44 mm (1.73 in.) Weight 5 to 7 kg (11 to 15.4 lbs) Overall length approx. 104 cm (40.95 in.) Range up to 80 m (88 yds) Armor penetration 240 mm (9.4 in.) Like the American Bazooka, the German Panzerfaust (“Tank Fist”) was a simple device that delivered a potent punch. In the course of the war a series of models was produced, ending with the Panzerfaust 100.
Chapter 5 Weapons 97 Bazooka Operation Rocket launcher, electrically fired Caliber 2.36 in. (60 mm) Muzzle velocity 84 mps (275 fps) Weight 8.1 kg (18 lbs) Overall length 154.9 cm (61 in.) Range 455 m (500 yds) In response to the need for an infantry antitank weapon, Leslie A. Skinner and Edward G. Uhl of the Ordnance Department developed the bazooka—a metal tube that used an electrical firing mechanism—by early 1942. Until then American infantry had lacked an antitank rocket capable of stopping a tank.
98 Close Combat German Hand Grenades American Hand Grenades Mark II Fragmentation Grenade Grenade weight .59 kg (21 oz) Charge weight .14 kg (5 oz) Overall length 139.7 mm (5 in.) Range 45 m (50 yds) maximum American soldiers used many types of hand grenades during World War II, but the primary hand grenade issued to GIs was the Mark II fragmentation grenade. The Mark II was egg-shaped and constructed of cast iron. The outside of the Mark II was serrated to produce more fragments when it exploded.
Chapter 5 Weapons 60-mm Mortar (Mortar 60-mm, M2 and Mount M2) Caliber 60-mm (2.36 in.) Muzzle velocity 163 mps (535 fps) Weight 18.9 kg (42 lbs) Overall length 72.6 cm (28.6 in.) Rate of fire 18 rounds per minute (normal), 35 rounds per minute (maximum) Range 1,806 m (1,975 yds) Mortars were the lightest and most mobile form of artillery used in World War II.
100 Close Combat 81-mm Mortar (81-mm Mortar, M1 with Mount M1) Standard and Short 8-cm Mortars Caliber 81.4 mm (3.2 in.) Weight 56.4 kg (124 lbs)/28.2 kg (62 lbs) Overall length 123 cm (48 in.)/96 cm (37.8 in.) Rate of fire 18 to 35 rounds per minute Range 2,400 m (2,625 yds)/1,100 m (1,200 yds) When the war began, the German army’s primary mortar was the 8-cm Schwerer Granatenwerfer 34 (8-cm heavy mortar, model 34).
Chapter 5 Weapons 101 50-mm Antitank Gun (Pak 38) Caliber 50 mm (1.97 in.) Muzzle velocity 550 to 1,200 mps (1,800 to 3,940 fps) Weight 916 kg (2,016 lbs) Barrel length 3.17 m (10 ft 4.96 in.) Armor penetration 159 mm (6.25 in.) at 100 m (110 yds) The German 50-mm Pak 38 antitank gun, introduced in 1941, replaced the earlier 37-mm gun in an effort to keep pace with the increasing thickness of tank armor.
102 Close Combat 75-mm Antitank Gun (Pak 40) Caliber 75 mm (2.95 in.) Muzzle velocity 450 to 990 mps (1,476 to 3,250 fps) Weight 1,425 kg (3,136 lbs) Barrel length 3.45 meters (11 ft 4 in.) Armor penetration 174 mm (6.88 in.) at 100 m (110 yds) The German 75-mm Pak 40 antitank gun, introduced in 1942, was one of several larger-bore antitank guns introduced that year to deal more effectively with increasingly well-armored Allied tanks.
Chapter 5 Weapons 103 88-mm Antitank Gun (Pak 43) Caliber 88 mm (3.46 in.) Muzzle velocity up to 1,130 mps (3,705 fps) Weight 3,636 kg (8,000 lbs) Barrel length 6.58 meters (21 ft 7.25 in.) Armor penetration 206 mm (8.1 in.) at 100 m (110 yds) The most famous—and the most feared—antitank weapon of the war was the German 88-mm gun. Introduced in 1934 as a mobile antiaircraft gun (in models designated Flak 18, 36, and 37), its effectiveness against ground targets was soon recognized.
104 Close Combat Panzer III L Medium Tank M5A1 Light Tank Weight 19,800 kg (43,659 lbs) Maximum speed 40 km/h (25 mph) Main gun 50 mm (1.97 in.) L/60 Armor 12 to 50 mm (0.31 to 3.15 in.) Weight 15,380 kg (33,912 lb) Maximum speed 60 km/h (37.2 mph) Main gun 37 mm (1.46 in.) Armor 12 to 67 mm (0.47 to 2.64 in.) The M5 light tank, introduced in 1942, was fitted with a larger turret and additional radio equipment early in 1943 to become the M5A1.
Chapter 5 Weapons 105 M4A1 (75-mm) “Sherman” Tank Panzer IV H Tank Weight 30,160 kg (66,352 lbs) Maximum speed 38 km/h (23 mph) Main gun 75 mm (2.95 in.) Armor 25 to 51 mm (0.98 to 2 in.) The American M4 medium tank, nicknamed the “Sherman,” was the primary tank of the Allied armies; between 1941 and 1946 over 40,000 were built. Although more reliable than most German tanks, the Sherman was handicapped by its high profile, thin armor, and inadequate main gun.
106 Close Combat M4A3 (76.2-mm) “Sherman” Tank Panzer V “Panther” Medium Tank Weight 32,285 kg (71,027 lbs) Maximum speed 47 km/h (28.7 mph) Main gun 76.2 mm (3 in.) or 105 mm (4.13 in.) Armor 38 to 63.5 mm (1.5 to 2.5 in.) The American M4A3 “Sherman” medium tank was a better-armored version of the original M4A1 medium tank. Many M4A3s mounted a 3-inch (76.
Chapter 5 Weapons 107 StuG IIIG/StuH 42 Infantry Support Tanks Tiger I Heavy Tank Weight 57,000 kg (125,685 lbs) Maximum speed 37 km/h (23 mph) Main gun 88-mm (3.46-in.) L/56 Armor 25 to 100 mm (0.98 to 3.94 in.) Introduced in 1942, the Tiger I heavy tank was larger, heavier, better armed, and better armored than any previous German tank. For most of the war it was more than a match for any Allied tank.
108 Close Combat Marder III Self-Propelled Antitank Gun Weight 9,700 kg (21,340 lbs) Maximum speed 42 km/h (26 mph) Main gun 76.2-mm Pak 36 Armor 10 to 50 mm (0.4 to 1.97 in.) M10 Tank Destroyer The Marder III was one of several German selfpropelled artillery designs based on the Czech LT-38 light tank chassis. Its 76.2-mm Pak 36 antitank gun was actually a captured Russian FK296 gun modified to fire the German Pak 40 artillery round.
Chapter 5 Weapons 109 M36 Tank Destroyer Weight 28,120 kg (62,004 lbs) Maximum speed 48 km/h (29.8 mph) Main gun 90 mm (3.54 in.) Armor 12 to 50 mm (0.47 to 1.97 in.) The Gun Motor Carriage M36 tank destroyer was the most powerful American antitank weapon of World War II. Its modified 90-mm high-velocity antiaircraft gun, in a newly designed turret, ended the reign of the German “88” as the dominant antitank gun of the war in Europe.
110 Close Combat SdKfz 250 Light Armored Troop Carrier M3A1 Halftrack Weight 6,660 kg (14,800 lbs) Maximum speed 74 kph (45 mph) Armament Various Armor 6 mm (.24 in.) The American military used a variety of halftracks during World War II; these half-tank, half-truck vehicles were used both as infantry carriers and weapons carriers because halftracks could traverse terrain that trucks could not, and they enabled infantry to be moved into combat with relative safety.
Chapter 5 Weapons 111 SdKfz 231 Armored Car Weight 7,590 kg (16,700 lbs) Maximum speed 32 km/h (51 mph) Armament one 2 cm-gun (Kw.K30 or 38) and one 7.92-mm MG 34 machine gun Armor 8 to 18 mm (0.3 to 0.7 in.) The SdKfz 231 heavy eight-wheeled armored car was manufactured from 1937 to 1942. It mounted one heavy machine gun and one light machine gun in a rotating turret, and carried a four-man crew. Variants and successors included radio communications, antitank, and assault vehicles.
112 Close Combat Jeep Kfz 1 Kübelwagen Weight 1,090 kg (2,400 lbs) Maximum speed 105 km/h (65 mph) Engine 2,200 cc (134.2 cu. in.) 72 hp 4-cyl Weight 986 kg (2,170 lbs) Maximum speed 80 km/h (50 mph) Engine 1,131 cc (69 cu. in.) 25 hp 4-cyl (rear-mounted, horizontally opposed, air-cooled) Built by Volkswagen, the simple and reliable Kübelwagen (“bucket car”) was the German equivalent of the U.S. Jeep.
Chapter 6 Terrain 113 Chapter 6 Terrain You fight battles on game maps that consist of interlocking tiles 40 pixels by 40 pixels large (or 8 meters by 8 meters in game scale). Each tile is composed of terrain elements reflecting the actual terrain found in the Norman countryside in 1944. Basic Terrain The basic terrain elements are those that occur naturally, such as grass, water, and trees.
114 Close Combat Marsh Height: Flat Concealment: Poor Visual hindrance: Poor Protection from aimed fire: Very poor Protection from HE shells: Fair Deep Water Height: Flat Concealment: Very poor Visual hindrance: None Protection from aimed fire: None Protection from HE shells: Very good Stream Height: Flat Concealment: Fair Visual hindrance: Very poor Protection from aimed fire: Good Protection from HE shells: Excellent Gully Height: Flat Concealment: Fair Visual hindrance: Very poor Protection from
Chapter 6 Orchard Height: Very tall Concealment: Good Visual hindrance: Blocks view Protection from aimed fire: Very good Protection from HE shells: Very poor Bocage Height: Tall Concealment: Very good Visual hindrance: Blocks view Protection from aimed fire: Excellent Protection from HE shells: Poor Hedge Fence Height: Short Concealment: Good Visual hindrance: Blocks view Protection from aimed fire: Poor Protection from HE shells: Poor Stone Fence Height: Short Concealment: Good Visual hindrance: B
116 Close Combat Break in Bocage Height: Short Concealment: Good Visual hindrance: Blocks view Protection from aimed fire: Poor Protection from HE shells: Poor Military Terrain Military terrain elements are those created by the war being fought in the Norman countryside, such as barbed wire, shellholes, obstacles, and rubble.
Chapter 6 Shellhole Height: Flat Concealment: Fair Visual hindrance: Very poor Protection from aimed fire: Very good Protection from HE shells: Good Wooden Barrier Height: Short Concealment: Good Visual hindrance: Blocks view Protection from aimed fire: Fair Protection from HE shells: Poor Wood Rubble Height: Medium Concealment: Very good Visual hindrance: Blocks view Protection from aimed fire: Fair Protection from HE shells: Poor Stone Barrier Height: Short Concealment: Good Visual hindrance: Bloc
118 Close Combat Structures Structures are buildings constructed by the Norman farmers and villagers, by the German Army, or by the United States Army. Wood Buildings Wood buildings consist of civilian structures such as houses, barns, and outbuildings. These buildings also include those built by the military, such as barracks.
Chapter 6 Stone Buildings Stone buildings include civilian structures such as houses, churches, and shops.
120 Close Combat Bunkers Bunkers are structures built by the military specifically for defensive purposes.
Chapter 7 The Big Picture: A Short History of World War II Chapter 7 The Big Picture: A Short History of World War II The seeds of World War II were sown at the end of World War Ithe “war to end all wars.” The armistice signed by Germany (the Versailles Treaty) contains provisions that restrict its territory, limit German military buildups, and impose reparations. These reparations are the most devastating blow; the Allies essentially force Germany to pay the victor’s war debts.
122 Close Combat Let Loose the Dogs of War: World War II Begins On August 23, 1939 Germany and the Soviet Union sign a nonaggression pact that secretly divides Poland, Lithuania, Finland, Estonia, and Latvia between them. Neither side announces the pact’s existence for almost a month. World War II begins at 0445 hours on September 1, 1939 when 53 German divisions smash into Poland from the west.
Chapter 7 The Big Picture: A Short History of World War II Russia Invades Finland Finland, one of the countries apportioned to the Soviet Union as part of the pact with Germany, becomes the next battleground. When the Soviets invade Finland on November 30, 1939, the attacking Red Army forces dwarf the Finnish army; there is every reason to expect a quick Soviet victory. However, the Finns quickly learn how to stymie Soviet advances.
124 Close Combat Field Marshal Rundstedt’s Army Group A roars across the French border on May 10 against light resistance. General Heinz Guderian, a leading proponent of German tank tactics, leads one of the Panzer corps driving into France. Bock’s Army Group B races across Holland and Denmark. On May 12, the French Seventh Army clashes with the Germans near Tilburg, but the French wither before a rain of German attacks.
Chapter 7 The Big Picture: A Short History of World War II Allied troops massed on the beach at Dunkirk on the morning of June 4, they still capture some 40,000 men. While the success of the evacuation has exceeded Churchill’s expectations, the troops arriving in England have lost virtually all their heavy equipment and weapons. On June 5, the German attack on the Somme River Line begins. The French have reorganized their forces, but there is little they can do to stop the Germans.
126 Close Combat “To make union with England was fusion with a corpse.” Marshal Henri Pétain, who capitulated to Germany rather than participate in what he saw as a doomed alliance with Britain French signing armistice in 1940 with Germany—in the same railway car where the Germans signed their surrender in 1918 On June 22, the French sign an armistice with Germany. The Germans have wonthey have crushed four Allied armies and driven a fifth, the British Expeditionary Force (BEF), off the continent.
Chapter 7 The Big Picture: A Short History of World War II 127 eventual invasion of Great Britainan operation dubbed Sealion. The Luftwaffe’s orders are to destroy the RAF. In preparing for the expected German air attacks, the British develop an effective network of radar stations, observation posts, and radio listening stations tied into an equally efficient communications and command structure.
128 Close Combat Agents of the Italian Servizio Informazione Militare steal the “Black Code” from the U.S. Embassy in Rome. This is the code used by the U.S. Military Attache in Cairo to send accurate and detailed reports to the U.S. War Department concerning the British Eighth Army’s plans. This intelligence source will prove invaluable to Rommel for almost a year. effective strategy is to send small fighter formations to disrupt and harry the German bombers.
Chapter 7 The Big Picture: A Short History of World War II sides losing about 25 planes, but the RAF stings the Luftwaffe by swatting 35 bombers out of the sky and damaging scores more. The raids on September 15 mark the last major effort by the Luftwaffe to destroy the RAF. On September 17, Hitler postpones Operation Sealion indefinitely. The scales of victory are now tipped in favor of the RAF. During the last weeks of September and into October, the Germans continue nightly bombing of British cities.
130 Close Combat From late June until early November, the British regroup and resupply. By late November, they are ready to launch a counterattack. Operation Crusader, aimed at retaking Tobruk, begins on November 28. The British outnumber the Germans in men, armor, and planes, and the Eighth Army pushes Rommel’s forces back. By the end of 1941, the British have relieved the German siege around Tobruk.
Chapter 7 German Panzer armies. Still, the Red Army has a two-to-one advantage in tanks, including the superior T-34 and KV1 models. The Soviets also enjoy a nearly three-to-one advantage in aircraft, but German air strikes knock out communications and destroy many Soviet aircraft on the ground. In the first seven hours, the Soviets lose over 1,000 aircraft and the Germans quickly establish air supremacy over the battlefields.
132 Close Combat Still, the Germans continue to taste nothing but success while the Soviets swallow the bitterness of defeat. The Germans capture Kiev at a cost of 100,000 casualties; the Soviets suffer 500,000 casualties. By early October, Army Group South has bottled up and destroyed Soviet units composed of 700,000 men. Operation Typhoonthe final drive on Moscowbegins on October 2, 1941. Guderian’s force turns north to join the other Panzer groups grinding toward the Soviet capital.
Chapter 7 The Big Picture: A Short History of World War II 133 Finally, on December 5 Hitler agrees with his commandershe must suspend the offensive against Moscow. The next day, Stalin orders a counteroffensive. The Soviets attack all along the 500-mile front. Their objective is to quickly drive two wedges deep into Army Group Center, isolate the Germans, then beat them in detail. From the beginning the attacks meet with success; the Germans are exhausted and overextended.
134 Close Combat 188 American aircraft are destroyed. But not all goes as the Japanese planned. By coincidence, the U.S. Navy’s three aircraft carriers are not in port and escape destruction. And contrary to orders, the massive fuel oil storage tanks at Pearl Harbor are not destroyed. Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, who planned the Pearl Harbor attack, estimates that it will set the Americans back only six months; he states that Japan cannot win an all-out war with the U.S.
Chapter 7 The Big Picture: A Short History of World War II 135 The Allies Agree to “Beat Germany First” In the months following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the U.S. is in no position to actively pursue the war in Europe. Its army is far below the strength required for the task, there are no U.S. forces in Europe, and the shipping needed to transport a massive invasion force does not exist. Despite these problems, Churchill meets with Roosevelt at the Arcadia Conference in Washington, D.C.
136 Close Combat The Long Road to Normandy With the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and America’s entrance into the war, the conflict is now truly global. Over the next 30 months it will be fought on frozen plains, on steamy jungle-covered mountains, high in the sky, and under the sea. The Axis powers try to conquer territory for their empires; the Allies strive to push Germany, Italy, and Japan back within their borders.
Chapter 7 The Big Picture: A Short History of World War II 137 perform holding actions while the Germans develop a new generation of submarines. The victory in the Battle of the Atlantic is critical to the success of Operation Overlord. The buildup of men, machines, and materiel necessary to launch the Second Front can now be marshaled in Great Britain, with relative impunity from the U-boat threat.
138 Close Combat April, 51 divisions from Italy, Rumania, Hungary, Slovakia, and Spain arrive on the Eastern Front. In preparation for the summer offensive, the Germans reorganize their forces in the south. Army Group South is divided into Army Groups A and B. Army Group A is to capture Rostov-on-Don, and drive southeast to Baku on the Caspian Sea. The prize: oil fields that can supply most of Germany’s petroleum needs. Army Group B is to protect Army Group A’s flank. The offensive begins in early July.
Chapter 7 The Big Picture: A Short History of World War II Russian soldiers in winter camouflage on the attack By being thrifty with reinforcements and resources, the Soviets have amassed 500,000 infantrymen and huge artillery batteries. More than 1,000 attack planes are poised to strike. And there are 900 new T34 tanks to spearhead the Soviet attack. On November 23, forces forming the north pincer launch their attack against the exhausted and frozen Germans.
140 Close Combat On December 12, Manstein launches Army Group Don’s 13 divisions toward Stalingrad. Manstein’s fear fast becomes a reality; Soviet antitank weapons decimate German armor. On December 19, Manstein orders Paulus to attempt a breakout immediately; Paulus refuses. Army Group Don’s progress is grinding to a halt. On December 21, Manstein appeals to Hitler to change Paulus’ mind; Hitler cites Paulus’ report that he has insufficient fuel for a breakout.
Chapter 7 The Big Picture: A Short History of World War II infantry that make the difference. A bloody toll is extracted from the German forces. Those not killed or wounded in the barrage are badly shaken; the attack itself is beset with problems. Many new Panther tanks break down with teething problems. Those Panthers still running, along with Tigers and other tanks, are met by coordinated antitank batteries that concentrate fire on one tank at a time.
142 Close Combat The Afrika Korps advances cautiously at first, but press their advantage when they discover the poor disposition of the British troops. By the end of January, Field Marshal Rommel’s troops capture all the territory the British fought so hard to take in late 1941. There is a lull in the fighting while both sides accumulate supplies. “I tell you no one on God’s earth can follow what’s going on.
Chapter 7 The Big Picture: A Short History of World War II 143 Rommel’s forces are again desperately short of supplies, but after receiving promises that supplies will arrive soon, he decides to attack. As usual, Rommel’s tanks lead the attack east. After traversing British minefields, Rommel’s tanks turn north toward the Alam Halfa ridge. The attack is stopped at the ridge when British airplanes and artillery pound the German positions.
144 Close Combat behind schedule. On October 25, Monty personally intervenes in the battle to make sure that the advance is vigorous. The British have more men, tanks, and ammunition, as well as dominance of the airspace over the battlefield. By the end of the day the British have lost 250 tanks, but the Germans have only 40 tanks left. When the British renew the offensive against the middle of the German lines, there are again heavy losses among the British tanks, but these are losses they can absorb.
Chapter 7 The Big Picture: A Short History of World War II On November 5, 1942, General Eisenhower arrives in Gibraltar to command Operation Torch. On November 8 three task forces begin landing troops in North Africa. The Western Task Force, commanded by General George Patton, lands on a 200-mile front between Safi and Port Lyautey. Within two days the Americans have secured their beachheads at Casablanca and Port Lyautey.
146 Close Combat On March 9 Rommel leaves North Africa for good. On his way back to Germany he meets with Mussolini in Rome and Hitler in East Prussia; despite his best efforts, neither leader agrees to withdraw from North Africa. Throughout March and early April, the Allies attack the Germans in North Africa on every front. By April 7, the fight has irrevocably turned against the Axis forces, and they begin to retreat. One week later, the Germans establish their final defensive line.
Chapter 7 The Big Picture: A Short History of World War II The Long FormationThe Air War In Europe The air war raging over Western Europe turns in the Allies’ favor in 1944. Three factors contribute to this turnabout. First, both the RAF and USAAF finally have enough long-range bombers to increase the monthly tonnage dropped to over 40,000 metric tons. Second, the P-51 Mustang becomes the first successful Allied long-range fighter escort. And, finally, the Allies make the Luftwaffe a primary target.
148 Close Combat “Major Martin” There is an interesting prelude to the launch of Operation Husky. In late April, the British submarine HMS Seraph releases the body of “Major Martin” of the Royal Marines into the sea off the Spanish port of Huelva. Major Martin carries letters from the Vice Chief of the British General Staff and Chief of Combined Operations to Eisenhower and his staff outlining the Allied invasion of Greece.
Chapter 7 The Big Picture: A Short History of World War II On July 10, General Patton’s forces land, smash through light resistance, and quickly take Gela, Licata, and Vittoria; Montgomery’s troops land unopposed and capture Syracuse by the end of the day. The landing forces use, for the first time, two craft that will play important roles in the Normandy invasion: the landing ship, tank (LST) and landing craft, tank (LCT), which enable the Allies to land armor with the first wave of infantry.
150 Close Combat With the collapse of Sicily, Eisenhower wants to land on the Italian mainland. When he receives permission to proceed, he plans a diversionary attack across the Strait of Messina, carried out by Montgomery’s Eighth Army on September 3. While there is good progress initially, Montgomery is cautiousa trait the Germans capitalize on by fighting an effective rear guard action. Eisenhower’s main assault is an amphibious landing near Salerno on September 9. General Mark Clark commands the U.S.
Chapter 7 The Big Picture: A Short History of World War II way up and over mountains, hills, and ridges. When the Germans do withdraw they do so in an orderly mannerthere are no panicked mobs fleeing the front. Bridges are blown, mines sown, and booby traps rigged; the Germans do everything that can be done to slow the Allied advance. On November 5 the Fifth Army begins attacking one of the Germans’ intermediate defensive lines.
152 Close Combat “Actually, I believe our fondness for the BAR was more concerned with the type of fire than with the weapon itself. We would have been equally pleased with the Bren gunperhaps more so. What we yearned for was a good gun to throw a lot of lead, faster and harder than the Tommy Gun. This the Browning did…” From Shots Fired in Anger by Lt. Col. John George Over the first two weeks of January, both the Eighth and Fifth Armies close on the Gustav Line.
Chapter 7 The Big Picture: A Short History of World War II 153 When the Allies renew the offensive on May 11, four corps are thrown forwardthe U.S. II, the Polish II, the British XIII, and the French Expeditionary Force. The twelve attacking divisions face only six German divisions. While there is general progress all along the Gustav Line, it is the French who finally crack the line for good.
154 Close Combat Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890-1969). Eisenhower’s distinguished military career began with his graduation from West Point in 1915. Although he was forced to remain in the U.S. throughout World War I, he formed America’s first tank corps in 1918. By the end of the war he commanded 10,000 men. He performed brilliantly at the Army Command and General Staff College, then served as Chief of Staff to General MacArthur in the Philippines.
Chapter 7 The Big Picture: A Short History of World War II On the Eve of Operation Overlord By May 1944, Germany has seen its fortunes fade; they are losing on every front. The promise of 1940 and 1941 is crushed under the reality of 1942, 1943, and the first six months of 1944. The Battle of Britain costs the Luftwaffe air superiority over Western Europe, and keeps Britain in the war.
Close Combat The Collapse of Festung Europa NETHERLANDS eld Riv tR ine ive Rh r Antwerp er Sch BELGIUM Riv er GERMANY LUX Cherbourg Mo se lle Close Combat Game Area Luxemborg SaarbrŸcken eR us Me StÐL™ r ive Paris Colmar ve r Auxerre ™ FRANCE Strasburg Troyes ne River er Riv ne Yon Loire River Ri Seine Sa 156 Bern SWITZE Allied Forces ITA While the Allies are breaking out in Normandy, more Allied troops came ashore in Operation Anvil, a landing in the south of
Chapter 7 The Big Picture: A Short History of World War II 157 The Soviet campaigns of 1943−1944 have proved decisive. Russia regains most of the territory lost in 1941 and 1942; more importantly, the Soviets have destroyed entire German armies. Hitler contributes significantly to these losses, refusing to allow withdrawals that could have saved hundreds of thousands of soldiers for a final defense of Germany. Instead, the Red Army is now rolling inexorably toward Berlin.
158 Close Combat reacts quickly, sending the Seventh Armored and 101st Airborne Divisions to hold the road junctions at Saint Vith and Bastogne. The Germans capture Saint Vith, but not before determined American resistance further slows the German attack. The Germans surround Bastogne, and the American tank rolls past wrecked tanks from both armies German commander sends a demand for surrender.
Chapter 7 The Big Picture: A Short History of World War II The Road to Berlin After the Battle of the Bulge, the Germans have only 26 divisions on the Second Front; most are either far below strength or consist of old men and young boys. Facing them are 57 infantry, 23 armored, and five airborne divisions, all at full strength.
160 Close Combat flag from a second story window of the Reichstag. An hour later, Hitler commits suicide. At 2250 hours, Soviet flags fly from the Reichstag’s roof. Negotiations between the Soviets and the Germans begin. They break off in the middle of the day on May 1; Marshal Chuikov (one of the heroes of Stalingrad) is exasperated and orders artillery fire to resume. Finally, early on May 2, the commander of force in Berlin drafts a surrender, which the Soviets accept.
Chapter 7 The Big Picture: A Short History of World War II advance of the Fourth Guards Tank Army. This force reaches Prague to find the Germans have gone. The Russians finally bring Army Group Center to bay on May 10. Over the next two days, the Soviets pound German positions with every available weapon; those Germans not killed begin to surrender. On May 12 it is official: Army Group Center surrenders, and the last major German fighting force is no more. The war in Europe is over.
162 Close Combat