Microsoft Close Combat User Manual

Game Reference

Close Combat Keyboard Quick Reference

You can choose commands and expand or scroll the Close Combat View Area using the following key combinations and sequences:

Function In Windows95 On the Macintosh

Scroll the View Area Arrow keys Arrow keys

Expand the View Area

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+P

Stop a game CTRL+A (or ALT, G, A) COMMAND+A

Exit Close Combat ALT+F4 (or ALT, G, X) COMMAND+Q

CTRL+G (or ALT, O, G) COMMAND+G

Game Reference

Get Help F1 COMMAND+H

Issue a Move command Select a team, then press Z Select a team, then press Z

Issue a Move Fast command Select a team, then press X Select a team, then press X

Issue a Fire command Select a team, then press C Select a team, then press C

Issue a Smoke command Select a team, then press V Select a team, then press V

*69052*

Close Combat

Take command of men who act like real soldiers

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. Failing that, they must harass and delay the Allies and make them pay for every foot of ground. In this campaign, the fate of nations hangs in the balance.

The campaign you’ll be fighting in Close Combat took place in Normandy between June 6 and July 18, 1944. It begins late on D-Day as units of the American 29th Infantry Division reach the high ground above Omaha Beach to meet the German 352nd Infantry Division. The campaign ends 20 miles inland at the strategic town of Saint-Lô.

During those six weeks, soldiers of the Allied and German armies endure some of the closest and most vicious combat of World War II, across one of the most bizarre terrains ever contested in any war: the Norman hedgerow country—the bocage. It’s a place where rulebook tactics don’t hold up; where a defense based on infiltration and ambush kills men and tanks who seldom see the enemy; where adaptability and improvisation become as important as tanks and guns in pressing the attack. No matter which side you choose to play, Close Combat is an intriguing mix of historically accurate weapons and terrain, realistic combat psychology, and opportunities to change history through superior skill and leadership.

The Close Combat campaign consists of six operations, each with distinct challenges and opportunities. The decisions you make and the leadership you provide decide the outcome of each operation, and shape the campaign to reflect your effectiveness as a commander.

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. Because the AI uses this information to vary soldier and unit performance in every situation, every game is different.

You Lead Human Beings, not Superheroes

One of the first things you’ll notice when you play Close Combat is that you can’t always make things happen when or as you want them to. Close Combat challenges the player with a realistic representation of complex and unpredictable human behavior under the stress of combat. For example, when you order your units to move or fire, they may respond immediately and move or fire quickly, or take a while to respond, or not respond at all. They may also react in a way that has nothing to do with your orders: They might take on an entirely different target, or dive for cover, or hide, or run away. This is because your soldiers behave not like robots or superheroes, but like—human beings!

Your troops’ human behavior doesn’t mean their reactions are out of your hands, however. The better you lead your men, the better they respond to your orders. Players who lead their squads into trouble—whose decisions result in squads becoming overly fatigued, suppressed by incoming fire, ambushed, captured, or killed—will find that their units’ performance deteriorates: Incoming fire makes the men want to seek cover, and reduces their desire to attack. Fatigue also reduces the likelihood of soldiers hitting their targets, or obeying future orders that require physical effort. If the fire is heavy enough and their cover is insufficient, soldiers may disregard orders and stay put instead of moving and firing. As each side takes casualties, its cohesion—the willingness of its soldiers to fight—deteriorates. And if a player’s leadership has resulted in heavy casualties or sufficient accumulated stress, soldiers may break and run.

Close Combat bases its psychological model on a study of the behavioral effects of combat stress by Dr. Steven Silver of Temple University. The game tracks the cumulative physical and emotional stress that soldiers and units on both sides experience. Given their current state at any point in a game, it determines whether or not soldiers will carry out orders, and how quickly and effectively they will carry out those orders.

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.”

Taking Other Realistic Factors into Account

You’ll notice as you play that Close Combat tracks soldier fatigue and adjusts soldier and squad performance to reflect cumulative fatigue. As in actual battle, men who have run long distances carrying heavy loads, or who have to drag big weapons into position, become fatigued, and their morale suffers accordingly.

Another distinctive feature of Close Combat is that, as in real combat, players can never take for granted that a shot fired will hit or destroy a target. Terrain may shield the target and deflect the shot. And, as in real combat, soldiers who are pinned down by enemy fire, extremely tired, or low on morale don’t shoot accurately.

Weapons have their limitations as well. Every weapon used in Close Combat has a base chance to hit, depending on the distance to the target and the type of ammunition used, and hitting a target doesn’t guarantee its destruction. The game resolves the effect of each hit based on target protection in eight directions, on the weapon’s penetrating power, and on its blast effect and lethal radius.

Dynamic Play Balancing Means No Two Games Play the Same

A major feature in Close Combat is the ability of the game to dynamically balance itself against its opponent. Close Combat adjusts the relative strength of each side—American and German—from one battle to the next throughout the campaign to represent historical strength. However, a player winning most battles decisively will face stronger enemy forces with each win. This dynamic play balancing means more challenge for expert players and less frustration for novices.

Play balancing also means that the game adjusts its level of difficulty to suit the quality of play in any given game. For example, players on the American side who do well in the first scenario are less likely to get reinforcements or replacements to bring their forces up to the full complement specified in the historical order of battle. If players lead less successfully, the reverse applies, and they get more reinforcements and replacements but at a cost in time, which delays their eventual assault on Saint-Lô.

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. Again, you can override these states by setting troops in “Soldiers show no fear” mode before starting a game, but you can’t switch them out of this mode during play, and units may follow orders with such enthusiasm that they sustain far more casualties. Choosing “Soldiers show no fear” mode is not only risky, but also makes game play less realistic.

To learn how to play Close Combat, turn the page.

For a detailed history of the Normandy Campaign depicted in Close Combat, including a discussion of defensive and offensive tactics in the hedgerow battle, see Chapter 4, “The Normandy Campaign in Close Combat.”

To read about the larger events of World War II that led to or resulted from the Normandy Campaign, see Chapter 7, “The Big Picture: A Short History of World War II.”

Chapter 2 Setup and Game Play

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. To set up Close Combat in Windows 95:

Insert the Close Combat CD into the CD-ROM drive.

Windows 95 displays the Close Combat AutoRun screen.

Click the Install button at the bottom of the dialog box.

After installation is complete, the Close Combat AutoRun screen launches each time you insert the game CD.

To set up Close Combat in Windows 95 if AutoRun is disabled

Insert the Close Combat CD into the CD-ROM drive.

Double-click the My Computer icon.

Double-click the CD-ROM drive icon.

Double-click the Setup icon.

To launch Close Combat in Windows 95

Make sure the Close Combat CD is in the CD-ROM drive.

Click the Start button.

Click Microsoft Games.

Click Close Combat.

Close Combat

To set up Close Combat on the Macintosh

Insert the Close Combat CD into the CD-ROM drive.

The Close Combat CD icon appears.

Double-click the Close Combat CD icon.

This opens the Close Combat window.

Double-click the Close Combat Setup icon.

To launch Close Combat on the Macintosh

Double-click the Microsoft Close Combat folder, or the folder you specified during setup.

Double-click the Close Combat icon.

System Requirements

The following table shows the minimum system requirements for playing Close Combat in Windows 95 and on the Macintosh.

Minimum Windows 95 Minimum Macintosh System Configuration System Configuration

Personal computer with Pentium Macintosh with PowerPC processor processor

8 megabytes RAM 12 megabytes RAM (16 MB recommended) (16 MB recommended)

20 MB of free hard disk space 20 MB of free hard disk space

2X CD-ROM drive 2X CD-ROM drive

640x480x256-color video (800x600 13-inch monitor (15-inch or higher resolution recommended) or larger monitor recommended)

Sound card Sound Manager 3.1 (recommended but not required)

9600-baud modem (for dial-up 9600-baud modem and MacTCP head-to-head play) 2.0.6 (for dial-up head-to-head play)

Microsoft Windows 95 operating Apple System 7.5. and QuickTime system 2.1 (for playing QuickTime videos)

Network card (for head-to-head Network card (for head-to-head Local Area Network play) Local Area Network play)

Headphones or speakers

Chapter 2 Setup and Game Play

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. At the end of each battle in maneuver play, the Debriefing screen appears; you must return to the Command screen and choose another Maneuver, Campaign, or Replay to continue playing.

Campaigns

A Campaign consists of all six Close Combat operations played in a continuous sequence. During campaign play, each of these six operations is composed of several battles. For example, during campaign play, the Off The Beach operation is composed of one to three battles. The number of battles you fight depends on your success; if you don’t win a battle, you may find yourself fighting for the same terrain

just as the 29th and 352nd Divisions did in the Normandy

again Campaign.

Replays

Replays are “movies” of a battle you played and saved. You can create Replays at the end of a battle (Maneuver or Campaign), or when you choose to end a battle, by using the Save Replay button on the Debriefing screen. You can jump in and start playing a Replay at any point during playback game.

as soon as you issue a command, you’re playing the

Playing Close Combat—An Overview

• In Windows 95, click the Start button, click Programs, click Microsoft Games, and then click Close Combat.

On the Macintosh, double-click the Microsoft Close Combat folder, then double-click the Close Combat icon.

• If you want to skip the opening graphics and move directly to the Command screen, press any key.

Close Combat

On the Command screen, click to select the game options you want:

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.

Select the training exercise, battle, Campaign (new or saved), or Replay you want.

Select the side you want to fight on (American or German).

American is the default setting.

Select one-player or two-player game.

When you start Close Combat, the default setting is one-player—you choose the side you want to play, and your computer plays the enemy side. Click the Two-Player button to connect by way of a modem or network with another player.

Select the level of difficulty you want for the upcoming game: Easy, Normal, Hard, or Custom.

The default setting is Normal.

Click Begin to load the game. The game starts in Deploy mode.

Examine the game map, drag your teams to the positions you want, then click Begin again to start game play.

Once you begin play, you issue commands (Move, Move Fast, Fire, Smoke, Defend, or Hide) until you win or lose.

When the game is over, Close Combat tells you who won, then the Debriefing screen appears, summarizing the results of the battle. From this screen you can save any completed game as a Replay.

If you have played a Maneuver (single-battle) game, you can return to the Command screen and select another battle. If you’re playing a Campaign game, you can choose to play the next battle in the Campaign.

Going to Boot Camp

Boot Camp walks you through five sample battles to teach you Close Combat basics. You lead soldiers and issue orders while learning the basics of the game. The exercises are usually most valuable when you do them in order, but you can do them randomly if you prefer.

Chapter 2 Setup and Game Play

To start Boot Camp

Click the Boot Camp button.

Click a Boot Camp exercise in the list.

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). Close Combat Boot Camp consists of the following five exercises:

Quick Tour of Close Combat

This quick tour is the shortest of the five exercises. It takes you to the Command menu and gives you an opportunity to issue commands.

Viewing Terrain

The terrain-viewing exercise covers the screen elements in the View Area (play area). It shows you the landscape and how to move around the map to see the battle.

Monitors and Toolbars

This exercise describes the screen elements surrounding the play area, and teaches you how to interpret soldier information. You learn about changes displayed in the game monitors and how to use those changes to your benefit.

Infantry Strategies

This exercise lets you try a few basic strategies that you can use in the battles. It briefly explains soldier behavior and the best ways to use tanks.

Armor Strategies

This advanced exercise gives you a chance to use all the skills you’ve acquired in the previous exercises. You practice using all the commands while you fight a sample battle. If you think you already know most of the basics and want to give game play a try, run this exercise first.

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. This screen summarizes the results of the just-completed battle. From the Debriefing screen, you can either display the Debriefing Details screen, save the Maneuver for replay, or go to the Command screen. Once back at the Command screen, you can choose to play another Maneuver, start a new or saved Campaign, or select a Replay.

To win at maneuver play, you need only win a single battle. You can take more chances during a Maneuver than you should during a Campaign because you receive fresh teams after playing a Maneuver. Because you keep the same teams throughout the Campaign (although you may receive replacements for killed or wounded soldiers), the cohesion of your teams at the end of each battle is carried over to the next battle.

Campaign Play

When you start a Campaign, the Game screen appears with Close Combat in Deployment mode. You can deploy your teams where you want them (on your side of the battle line), then begin the battle. When the battle starts, you issue commands until you win, lose, click End Battle, or choose Abort Battle from the Game menu (File menu on the Macintosh).

When the battle is over, the Debriefing screen appears. From the Debriefing screen you can choose to display the Debriefing Details screen, then play the next battle, or you can skip the Debriefing Details screen and move straight to the next battle.

Which battle you play next depends on whether you win (decisive, major, or minor victory) or lose (decisive, major, or minor defeat) and which side you’re playing on. If you are playing as the Americans:

• You skip ahead two battles if you score a decisive victory.

• You skip ahead one battle if you score a major victory.

• You play the next battle if you score a minor victory.

• You play the same battle if you suffer a minor or major defeat.

• You play the previous battle if you suffer a decisive defeat.

If you play as the Germans:

• You play the previous battle if you score a decisive victory.

• You play the same battle if you score a major or minor victory.

Chapter 2 Setup and Game Play

• 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. For example, since Across the Aure 1 and Off the Beach 3 are on different maps, winning Off the Beach 3 decisively as the Americans will still take you to Across the Aure 1 just like a minor victory would, but in much less time than it would take for a minor victory.

The two exceptions are Across the Aure 1 and Across the Aure 3. The Americans only get one chance to cross the Aure bridge in Across the Aure 1. If they fail, they must take a detour to Bricqueville to fight Across the Aure 3. In Across the Aure 3, the Germans get one chance to launch a major counterattack. Unless the Americans get a major or decisive victory, play will progress to Across the Aure 4, but the amount of time that elapses between the battles will vary with the level of victory.

During campaign play, Campaigns are automatically saved when each battle ends. If you exit Close Combat at the end of a battle during campaign play, Close Combat displays the next battle when you restart your Campaign.

If you save a Campaign as a Replay, only the battle you were playing is saved for Replay. If you save Hedgerows! 2 as a Replay, you only play Hedgerows! 2 when you load the Replay. When you finish playing Hedgerows! 2 as a Replay, the game is over; if you want to complete the Campaign, you need to start the saved Campaign.

If the completed operation is the last operation, then you are shown a final video that congratulates the winner and offers advice to the loser.

To win at campaign play, you need to complete all six operations on or before the actual date on which Saint-Lô was secured. Remember that the condition of your teams at the end of each campaign battle is very important because you keep the same teams throughout the Campaign; you probably won’t want to play as aggressively as you would in maneuver play.

Replays

You can choose to play back any game saved as a Replay. When you replay a saved game, you watch the action until the game is over. Or, you can issue a command that stops the Replay and lets you play the game to completion.

You can start a game by double-clicking the appropriate title in the scrollable list.

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.

Menu Bar

Three items appear on the Close Combat menu bar: Game (File on the Macintosh), Options, and Help. The menu bar appears on all four Close Combat screens.

Game Buttons

Four game buttons appear on the Command screen; the button you select determines what is displayed in the scrollable list. The four buttons are:

Boot Camp button

exercises appear in the scrollable list.

Maneuver button

Maneuvers (single battles) appear in the scrollable list.

When you click the Boot Camp button, the available training

When you click the Maneuver button, the available

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.

Replay button

When you click the Replay button, the available Replays appear in the scrollable list. As with Campaigns, no Replays appear in the scrollable list when you first start Close Combat; there are no Replays to list until you create them.

Side Buttons

Two side buttons appear on the Command screenthe American and German

side buttons. Click either button to select the side you want to play.

Number Of Player Buttons

Two Number Of Player buttons appear on the Command screenOne Player or

Two Player. Clicking the One Player button means you play against Close Combat’s artificial intelligence; clicking the Two Player button means you want to play another person using a local area network or modem.

Level Of Difficulty Buttons

You use the four Level Of Difficulty buttons to determine how hard a game will be to win. For a two-player game, the initiator controls the settings for both players. For example, if the initiator chooses Easy, then the opponent’s level of difficulty is Hard; conversely, if the initiator chooses Hard, the opponent’s level of difficulty is Easy. The initiator can also choose Custom settings for both players in the Custom Difficulty dialog box. The four buttons are:

Easy button

Choosing Easy gives your side the advantage, making it stronger in numbers, weapons, and physical and psychological status, while making the enemy forces weaker, with poorer-quality troops. Your teams may be stronger, but this doesn’t guarantee you will win; poor leadership on your part can dissipate your advantage.

Normal button

Choosing Normal balances both sides, based on the historical order of battle, in numbers, weapons, and physical and psychological status. The historical order of battle reflects the actual distribution of troops in the Normandy Campaign.

Hard button

Choosing Hard puts your side at a disadvantage because you receive a weaker force than the enemy. Selecting Hard tests your fighting skill to the maximum.

Custom button

Choosing Custom lets you refine the level of difficulty.

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. The Game screen consists of the following:

• View Area

• Toolbar

• Command menu

• Game monitors

View Area

The View Area is the portion of the Game screen you use to play Close Combat. The battle map appears in the View Area; the map shown depends on the battle you play. You can scroll the battle map in the View Area by moving the mouse

Chapter 2 Setup and Game Play

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. You can zoom out to display the entire battle map in the View Area, but doing so can make issuing commands more difficult.

To make monitoring a battle easy while using normal view, the Game screen includes five monitors you can use to “see” what’s happening on the portion of the battle map not in view. These monitors can also help you move around the View Area more quickly than scrolling.

The battle map itself is composed of various terrain types that reflect the real terrain of the Normandy Campaign. All of the buildings on the battlefield are wooden or stone. The buildings all have roofs; however, the roof is “cut away” so you can see inside. If there are shell craters within the walls of a building, this indicates that the portion of the roof above the craters has been blown away.

Buildings or locations with flag symbols are Victory Locations. As the Americans, capturing Victory Locations is your primary goal

it’s how you win

the game. As the Germans, holding Victory Locations, and pushing back the Americans, is your primary goal. Structures with German flags are American Victory Locations; structures with American flags are German Victory Locations. If you have teams engaged in a battle for a Victory Location, the flag will be half German and half American. When you capture a Victory Location, your flag flies over it.

Toolbar

The Close Combat toolbar on the right side of the View area contains buttons you can click to change your view of the game screen, and to issue orders to friendly units. The buttons on the toolbar vary, depending on whether you are in Deployment mode or Game Play mode. For specific information on toolbar buttons and how to use them, see “Using the Toolbar.”

Toolbar in Game Play Mode

Toolbar in Deployment Mode

Command Menu

You use the Command menu to issue commands to friendly units. The Command menu appears when you point at a unit, then click and hold down the mouse button. To issue a command to the selected unit, you drag toward you to select the command you want on the menu, then release the mouse button. For specific information on the Command menu, see “Issuing Commands.”

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.

Before describing how to use the monitors in Close Combat, it’s important to understand how color is used in the Team, Soldier, and Message monitors. Color is used to indicate quality in the Team and Soldier monitors and to indicate urgency in the Message monitor. The color green represents good condition in the Team and Soldier monitors. In the Message monitor, white indicates the lowest message priority.

In the Team and Soldier monitors, the color red indicates the terminally lowest

dead. Red indicates the highest message priority in the Message monitor.

quality

Team Monitor

The Team monitor lists the teams that compose your fighting force during a battle. The Team monitor lists all your teams; each team is represented by a panel. Each panel consists of fields that list the team name, team type, team quality, current status, and the enemy threat indicator. For more information on using this monitor during a game, see “Using the Team Monitor.”

The following sections describe the fields that compose the Team monitor.

Team Icon

The team icon is a graphical depiction of the personnel or vehicle that composes the team. For example, a group of soldiers indicates an infantry team, while two soldiers with a mortar indicate a mortar team. Vehicles include tanks, tank destroyers, halftracks, or other vehicle teams.

One to four gold bars are displayed in the upper-right corner of the team icon. These bars indicate the team’s overall quality; the more bars, the higher the team’s quality. Team quality does not represent the team’s firepower; it represents the team’s effectiveness as a unit, which is based on the team’s average experience and base morale. Experience ranges from elite (most experienced) to

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. If the replacements perform well, the team quality can improve back to elite.

When you start a Campaign, your name is entered as your side’s leader. You are made a member of an elite team; you can never be killed, although you may be wounded or incapacitated for the duration of a given battle. If you are playing a Campaign, your wounds heal miraculously so you are ready for the next battle.

Teams are rated according to the following attributes:

Attribute Description

Stress Each team is tracked for having undergone stressful events. These

events include:

Gun Attack—Fired at by artillery.

Ambushed—Attacked by unknown enemy while exposed.

Outnumbered—More enemies than friendly teams are seen.

Tank Attack—Fired at by a tank.

Encircled—Fired at from opposite sides.

Exposed—Pinned by fire in poor cover.

Anti-Stress These events help reduce the effect of stress:

Outnumbering—More friendly teams than enemy teams.

Ambushing—Catching an enemy team in the open.

Cohesion—The overall fighting ability of the team. As the team suffers losses and stress accumulates, the cohesion of the team is reduced. Reduced cohesion means the fighting ability of all soldiers on the team is reduced. The team’s cohesion rating is represented by the background color in the Team Type panel; as with all color in Close Combat, green is good (high cohesion), red is low, and black indicates terminally low cohesion.

Orders—The order given the soldier by the Close Combat AI or the player.

Order Strength—The force of the order based on the overall leadership of the side, with a bonus if the player issued the order.

Action—What the team is currently doing, which may or may not be what you commanded it to do. For more information, see “Close Combat Game Theory” in Chapter 1, “About Close Combat.”

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.

If a leader is incapacitated, the subordinate leaders are “promoted” to fill the vacancy left by the incapacitated leader. The lowest level of leader is assistant leader (infantry) or assistant (vehicle); if either of these lowest-level leaders is incapacitated, an enlisted man is “promoted” to take the incapacitated leader’s place.

If no insignia is displayed, the team is commanded by a team leader. Team leaders can affect only the men on their team; they cannot rally men on other teams. If an insignia is displayed, the team is commanded by a squad leader (or higher). Squad leaders can affect the men on all the teams under their command.

You can also determine a team leader’s rank in the hierarchy by the size of the leadership circle that surrounds each team leader. If the circle is thick, the team leader is also the company commander. A medium-sized circle represents a platoon leader. If the circle is thin, the leader is a squad leader. Leadership quality is indicated by the color of the circle, ranging from green (best) to red (worst).

Team Type

The team’s type is displayed against a color background; the color reflects the team’s current cohesion. The basic team types are:

• Tank (tank, tank destroyer, or motorized artillery)

• Vehicles (halftrack, armored car, or light vehicle)

• Gun (antitank, artillery, flak, infantry gun)

• Machine Gun (MG42, .30 cal, .50 cal)

• Mortar (8 cm, 60 mm)

• AT Infantry (Bazooka, Panzerschreck)

• Heavy Infantry (Assault, Sturmgruppe)

• Medium Infantry (BAR)

• Light Infantry (Rifle)

• Scout (Recon)

• Sniper

Current Command

The command you most recently issued to a team is displayed beneath the team type, unless the command has already been carried out or the team has decided to disobey it. Commands are displayed in color; if the text is green, the team is

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.

Enemy Threat Indicator

The rosette to the right of the team type and current orders is the enemy threat indicator. The indicator is an eight-sided rosette; the eight points of the rosette represent eight compass points: north, northeast, east, southeast, south, southwest, west, and northwest.

These eight points are green at the start of the game and change to red when a team is threatened by the enemy. A team is threatened when it either sees, or is fired upon by, the enemy. For example, if one of your teams sees enemy troops to the north, the north point of the rosette turns red. If your team is taking fire, both the appropriate compass point and the center of the rosette turn red.

When you start a game, all American teams scan for threats using a 90-degree arc aimed west (the direction of the Germans); all German teams scan for threats using a 90-degree arc aimed east (the direction of the Americans).

If you issue a Defend command to a team, you manually set the arc the team uses to scan for threats. A blue circle appears, which you use to set the width of the arc the team uses to scan for threats.

This arc is used to scan the terrain for cover and potential ambush points; the scan arc works in the same manner as the scan for threats. For example, at the start of a game, all American teams scan in a 90-degree arc aimed west and all German teams scan in a 90-degree arc aimed east.

When you start a game, your teams start scanning for both threats and cover. For example, if a team starts in the middle of an open field, they scan for cover within their scan arc, then move toward the closest available cover. If there is a stone fence twenty meters away and a stone building fifty meters away, the team will move to the stone fence; even though it provides less protection than the stone building, as it’s closer to the team. However, if the team’s threat scan reveals an enemy threat, the team may move back to different cover, as the stone fence may not protect against fire from the enemy’s direction.

A team’s scan arc changes when you issue a Move or Move Fast command. When you issue one of these commands, the team scans 45 degrees to either side of the compass heading the team is ordered to move on. For example, if you order a team to move north, it will scan 45 degrees to the left of north (west and northwest) and 45 degrees to the right of north (east and northeast).

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. A Team panel also appears in the Soldier monitor; the Team panel consists of fields summarizing the vehicle or infantry team. There is a Vehicle Team panel and an Infantry Team panel. To view all the soldiers in the monitor, use the scroll bar.

Each soldier is continuously monitored and rated throughout the game. Soldiers are rated on the following abilities.

Ability Description

Physical Increases ability to withstand injury and perform tasks without

becoming rapidly fatigued

Mental Improves reaction time when ambushed, ability to repair and

unjam weapons, and ability to learn quickly from combat experience

Leadership Increases team cohesion, which reduces the chance that other

soldiers in the leaders team will break and run

Morale Decreases likelihood of a soldier being panicked or suppressed by

enemy fire

Experience Improves use of cover, weapons, and ammo selection, and

decreases chance of being injured

Skill Improves probability of hitting targets

During campaign or maneuver play, the interaction of these rated abilities and enemy fire results in states the game tracks for each soldier. These states are displayed in the Soldier monitor.

State Description

Health Each soldier starts the game healthy; a soldier’s health obviously

declines if he’s injured.

Suppression One effect of incoming fire is to make a soldier keep his head

down and not return fire.

Morale State Makes a soldier more susceptible to disobeying commands and

more likely to surrender.

Chapter 2 Setup and Game Play

Fatigue Fatigue accumulates as a soldier runs or carries heavy equipment;

resting reduces fatigue.

Observation 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).

Below the Vehicle or Infantry Team panel is a crew (vehicle) or soldier (infantry) panel for each member of the selected team. These panels are composed of fields; these fields are described in the following section.

Vehicle Team Panel

The Vehicle Team panel consists of the following fields:

Vehicle Icon

Vehicle Name

The same vehicle icon displayed in the Team monitor.

A more descriptive name than that displayed in the Team monitor. The same color-coding is used in both the Team and Soldier monitors; green indicates operational, and black indicates destroyed.

Current Order

Same as Current Order in the Team monitor. Displays the last order you issued, or the last order the team has decided to carry out. 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 vehicle’s weapons rating in both antipersonnel (Anti Pers.) and antitank (Anti-Tank) firepower. A vehicle’s firepower is based on the weapons it carries and the effectiveness of the crew. Note that most weapons’ effectiveness drops as the range increases.

Firepower is listed according to range; range is indicated in tens of meters (20, 40, 80, 160, 320, and 640 meters). Colored bars indicate the vehicle’s firepower at each range. A green bar means high firepower, while red means low firepower; the other Close Combat colors indicate relative degrees of firepower. For example, orange in the Antitank graph means you need a flank or rear shot to destroy a heavily armored enemy tank. A gray dash or black line shows the vehicle is not capable of delivering that type of fire. For example, if a vehicle has gray lines in the Anti-Tank portion of the graph, it means the vehicle has no antitank weapons.

Close Combat

Smoke Indicator

A vehicle can fire smoke shells only if it has the Smoke

symbol.

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 Color

Operational In battle-ready condition. Green

Damaged Some of crew injured, weapons Orange

damaged, or speed reduced.

Immobilized Vehicle can no longer move. Red

Abandoned Crew has left the vehicle or is dead. Red

Burning Vehicle is on fire. Red

Exploded Vehicle has exploded and crew inside Red

is dead.

Burned Out Vehicle has burned. Red

Status Fields

These fields list the weapons with which the vehicle is armed. Vehicle weapons are color-coded; green indicates the weapon is operational, red indicates it’s not operational. Each vehicle may have one or more of the following weapons.

Status field Description

Main Gun The vehicle’s primary weapon. For example, on a Tiger tank, the

main gun is an 88-mm high-velocity cannon.

Bow MG Bow-mounted machine gun.

Coax MG Coaxial-mounted machine gun.

Mobility The vehicle’s current mobility; the vehicle is either mobile or

immobile.

AA MG Antiaircraft machine gun.

Infantry Team Panel

The infantry header consists of the following panels:

Team Icon

Team Name

The same team icon displayed in the Team monitor.

A more descriptive name than that displayed in the Team monitor. The same color-coding is used in both the Team and Soldier monitors; green indicates operational, and red indicates destroyed.

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.) and antitank (Anti-Tank) fire power. A team’s firepower is based on the weapons it carries and the effectiveness of the team. Note that most weapons’ effectiveness drops as the range increases.

Firepower is listed according to range; range is indicated in tens of meters (20, 40, 80, 160, 320, and 640 meters). Colored bars indicate the team’s firepower at each range. A green bar means high firepower, and red means low firepower; the other Close Combat colors indicate relative degrees of firepower. A gray dash or black line shows that the unit is not capable of delivering that type of fire. For example, if an infantry team has gray lines in the Anti-Tank portion of the graph, it means the team has no antitank weapons.

Note that most German infantry teams have antitank capabilities even though the team may not have any antitank weapons listed in the Soldier monitor. This reflects the fact that many German infantrymen were issued Panzerfausts along with their primary weapon. When German units encountered tanks or other vehicles, soldiers could put down their rifles and use the Panzerfaust. This proved effective against the American forces in the Normandy Campaign, since the Americans never knew when an antitank weapon might be deployed against them.

Smoke Indicator

A team can fire smoke shells or throw smoke grenades only if

it has the Smoke symbol.

Soldier Panels

There is a Soldier panel for every team member; these panels are the same for both vehicle and infantry teams. The Soldier panel consists of the following fields:

Rank Icon

Name

An insignia indicating the soldier’s rank.

The soldier’s surname, as selected from a list of American or

German names.

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.

Current action Description

Moving Soldier is moving.

Resting Soldier is too tired to do anything but rest.

Loading Soldier is loading his weapon.

Aiming Soldier is aiming his weapon or waiting for loader to finish

Firing Soldier is firing his weapon.

Taking Cover Soldier is looking for better cover.

Assaulting Soldier is moving forward and firing.

On Watch Soldier is looking for targets.

Holding Fire Soldier has loaded weapon and sees a target, but chooses

not to fire.

Suppressed Soldier is suppressed by enemy fire (takes cover), but will

still fire.

Pinned Soldier is pinned down by enemy fire, hides more than he

shoots.

Cowering Soldier is pinned down, but rarely fires and refuses to

move.

Routed Soldier is running away from the battlefield.

Panicked Soldier is panicked and is seeking cover out of sight of the

enemy.

Unjamming Soldier is trying to clear a jammed weapon.

Assisting Soldier is assisting another soldier with a crew weapon.

Firing/Target Soldier is firing at a specific target.

Firing/Area Soldier is firing at an area or location.

Firing Blind Soldier is firing at a target he cannot see.

Out of Ammo Soldier is out of ammunition.

Can’t See Soldier cannot see target.

Friend Block Soldier’s line of fire is blocked by friendly soldiers.

Gun Broken Soldier’s gun is damaged.

No Target Soldier cannot see a target at which to fire.

Chapter 2 Setup and Game Play

Crawling Soldier is crawling toward cover or destination.

Ambushing Soldier is ambushing the enemy.

Hiding Soldier is hiding from the enemy.

Bad Shot Soldier has a shot that is a waste of ammunition.

In Building Soldier (mortar team) is inside building and cannot fire.

No Weapon Soldier has no weapon.

Repairing Soldier is repairing his weapon.

Can’t Target Target is outside the gun’s firing arc.

Conserving Soldier is running low on ammunition so he’s conserving it.

Too Close Soldier is too close to the target to fire.

Separated Soldier is separated from his team.

Function in Team

Describes the soldier’s role on the team. The following table

lists the team functions.

Function Description

Leader Leader of an infantry team

Assistant Assists the driver of a vehicle and fires bow machine gun or is

second in command on an infantry team

Soldat German infantryman

G.I. American infantryman

Cmdr. Commander; leader of a vehicle team

Driver Driver of a vehicle

Gunner Fires vehicle’s main weapon

Loader Loads vehicle’s main weapon

The next three components of the panel describe a soldier’s physical state (Health), mental stability (Emotional State), and level of fatigue (Fatigue Level).

Only one factor determines a soldier’s physical state: being wounded. The factor that determines a soldier’s level of fatigue is also simple

physical exertion. For

example, if you issue a command to a heavy mortar team to move fast for a long distance, the team will be tired when they complete the move. Extended combat also fatigues soldiers.

The factors that determine a soldier’s mental stability are more complex. Good team leadership, team success, and lack of suppression fire from the enemy all contribute positively to a soldier’s emotional state. Conversely, bad leadership, wounded or killed team members, and heavy suppression fire all contribute negatively to a soldier’s emotional state.

Close Combat

Health

Shows a soldier’s physical state. These states are described in the

following table.

Health Description

Healthy (green background) Soldier is physically able to obey all commands.

Hurt (yellow background) Soldier is slightly wounded; physically able to

obey orders at a reduced level of performance.

Incap. (orange background) Incapacitated; soldier is severely wounded and

unable to obey commands.

Dead (red background) Soldier is terminally disobedient.

Emotional State

Shows a soldier’s mental stability. The states are described in

the following table.

Emotional state Description

Berserk (red text on Soldier is irrational and disregards black background) personal safety to attack the enemy.

Fanatic (orange text Soldier is slightly irrational and takes on black background) chances to be a hero.

Heroic (yellow text on Soldier fights aggressively and is capable black background) of heroic acts.

Stable (black text on Soldier’s default setting; in full control of green background) emotions.

Panic (black text on Soldier is emotionally unstable and must red background) be rallied to become effective.

Routed (black text on red Soldier is running away from the background) battleground.

Fatigue Level

Shows a soldier’s level of fatigue. The states are described in the

following table.

Fatigue level Description

Rested (green background) Soldier is well rested.

Winded (yellow background) Soldier is temporarily out of breath but will

recover quickly.

Fatigued (red background) Soldier is so tired that his performance is affected.

Weapon Icon

Weapon Name

Ammo Type

Graphical display of the soldier’s weapon.

Text describing the soldier’s weapon.

Describes the type of ammunition used by infantrymen, crew weapon team members, or vehicle crew members. There are five types of ammunition, as shown in the following table.

Chapter 2 Setup and Game Play

Ammunition type Description

AP Armor piercing.

HE High explosive; used against infantry, light vehicles, and

structures.

HEAT High explosive, antitank; used against tanks, tank destroy-

ers, and motorized artillery. Not effective against infantry in the open, but can be effective against infantry in structures.

Smoke Smoke shells or grenades; used to screen infantry and

vehicle movement from the enemy.

SP Special; includes canister and high velocity AP.

Ammo Rounds

The number of rounds of the listed type the infantryman or crew

member has in his possession.

Message Monitor

The Message monitor lists messages sent by your teams; you can use these messages to monitor what’s happening to your teams. You receive messages when teams complete moves, when teams come under fire, and when a tank hits a target. For more information on using this monitor during a game, see “Using the Message Monitor.”

The message text is color-coded according to the importance of the message; red indicates the most important messages while green indicates the least important. You can filter out less important messages if you want. You filter messages using the five color-coded Message Filter buttons at the top of the Message monitor.

Overview Monitor

The Overview monitor displays a zoomed-out view of the battle map. This monitor appears only if you play at 800x600 resolution or higher. For more information on using this monitor during a game, see “Using the Overview Monitor.”

Zoom Monitor

When the View Area is in normal mode, the Zoom monitor displays a zoomed-in view of the mouse pointer position in the View Area. When the View Area is zoomed in or zoomed out, the Zoom monitor is blank.

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.

Victory Information

This portion of the Debriefing screen displays the side that won and the type of victory (decisive, major, or minor).

Score Summaries

Two score summaries appear on the Debriefing screen: one for the American Army and one for the German Army. These summaries display the points each side earned based on casualties inflicted and terrain captured. Total points are also displayed; they are the sum of points each side has earned. For details on points, see “Scoring.”

Details Button

Clicking this button displays the Debriefing Details screen. For more information, see “Debriefing Details Screen.”

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.

Save Replay Button

You use the Save Replay button to create a Replay. A Replay is a completed battle that you can play back; at any time during playback you can start issuing commands, which stops the playback and gives you the opportunity to complete the game as if it were a Maneuver. For more information, see “Replays.”

Play Next Battle Button

You use the Play Next Battle button only during a Campaign. You click this button to start the next battle in the Campaign without displaying the Command screen.

Debriefing Details Screen

To view the Debriefing Details screen, click the Details button on the Debriefing screen. This screen provides detailed health, status, scoring, and performance information on every soldier under your command. While the Debriefing Details screen may look formidable when it first appears, it’s very useful in understanding how Close Combat determines team cohesiveness, team quality, and scoring.

The Debriefing Details screen consists of the Return button, color scale, Side buttons (American and German), and Debriefing table.

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. Color is used to indicate the importance of messages, too.

Side Buttons

Two Side buttons appear on the Debriefing Details screen: American and German. Clicking the American button displays all American soldiers in the Debriefing table; clicking the German button displays all German soldiers in the table.

Debriefing Table

The Debriefing table consists of rows and columns; the soldiers under your command are listed in the rows. Columns representing the soldier’s health, status, scoring, and performance delineate each row into fields.

Text (characters and numbers), symbols, and colors are used, individually and in combinations, to indicate a soldier’s health, status, scoring, and performance.

Rank and Name

The first two columns in the Debriefing table are not labeled. The first column displays the soldier’s rank; rank is indicated by the insignias used by the U.S. and German armies during World War II. The second column displays the soldier’s surname.

The remaining columns in the table are labeled; each labeled column is described in the following sections.

Health

Both text and symbols are used to indicate a soldier’s health; the text

and symbols used are:

OK The soldier is healthy.

+ The soldier is slightly wounded.

++ The soldier is seriously wounded (incapacitated).

KIA The soldier was killed in action.

Flag A white flag indicates the soldier was captured.

The next five show the status of each soldier’s ability to lead, level of fatigue, emotional state, experience, and morale.

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. An up-arrow symbol means leadership ability went up; a down-arrow symbol means leadership ability went down.

Physical Condition

A soldier’s physical condition reflects the ability to perform strenuous actions without being fatigued quickly and to withstand injuries that would stop lesser men. Green indicates the best physical condition, while black indicates the soldier is dead. This attribute can decrease due to injuries received during combat and is indicated by a down arrow.

Mental Condition

A soldier’s mental condition reflects the ability to react quickly to battlefield conditions, to learn from those experiences, and apply them the next time. This attribute never changes.

Experience

Soldiers gain experience by surviving battles. The amount depends on how well they perform and how easily they learn (mental condition). Experienced soldiers tend to perform better than inexperienced soldiers. Color is used to show a soldier’s experience. Green indicates the highest level of experience (elite), while black indicates the lowest (conscript). Because soldiers can only gain experience and not lose it, only the up-arrow symbol is displayed.

Morale

A soldier’s morale represents how well the soldier can withstand the terrors of the battlefield and remain an effective fighter. This attribute can increase (up arrow) or decrease (down arrow) based on the amount of stress and how well the soldier handles it. Green indicates the highest morale while black indicates the lowest.

The next five fields show you how the soldier performed in terms of scoring in the just-completed battle.

Tanks Killed

Two numbers may be displayed in this field; the top number indicates the number of tanks a soldier destroyed (or helped destroy) in the just-completed battle, while the lower number is the cumulative total of tanks destroyed during a Campaign.

Guns Killed

Two numbers may be displayed in this field; the top number indicates the number of guns a soldier destroyed (or helped destroy) in the just-completed battle, while the lower number is the cumulative total of guns destroyed during a Campaign.

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.

Acts of Bravery

Two numbers may be displayed in this field; the top number indicates the number of brave acts a soldier performed in the just-completed battle, while the lower number is the cumulative total of brave acts performed during a Campaign.

Cowardice

Two numbers may be displayed in this field; the top number indicates the number of times a soldier acted cowardly in the just-completed battle, while the lower number is the cumulative total of times a soldier acted cowardly during a Campaign.

The next six fields indicate how a soldier performed in terms of medals won. Medals are awarded for acts of bravery and for being wounded.

Medal of Honor (American)

Highest medal awarded to U.S. military personnel. The number displayed is the cumulative total of medals awarded during a Campaign.

Distinguished Service Cross (American)

Awarded for bravery. The number

displayed is the cumulative total of medals awarded during a Campaign.

Silver Star (American)

Awarded for bravery. The number displayed is the

cumulative total of medals awarded during a Campaign.

Bronze Star (American)

Awarded for bravery. The number displayed is the

cumulative total of medals awarded during a Campaign.

Combat Badge (American)

Awarded for bravery. The number displayed is the

cumulative total of medals awarded during a Campaign.

Purple Heart (American)

Awarded to wounded soldiers. The number displayed is

the cumulative total of medals awarded during a Campaign.

Knight’s Cross (German)

Highest medal awarded to German military personnel. The number displayed is the cumulative total of medals awarded during a Campaign.

Cross In Gold (German)

Awarded for bravery. The number displayed is the

cumulative total of medals awarded during a Campaign.

Iron Cross 1st (German)

Awarded for bravery. The number displayed is the

cumulative total of medals awarded during a Campaign.

Iron Cross 2nd (German)

Awarded for bravery. The number displayed is the cumulative total of medals awarded during a Campaign.

Chapter 2 Setup and Game Play

Assault Badge (German)

cumulative total of medals awarded during a Campaign.

Wounded Badge (German)

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.

Awarded for bravery. The number displayed is the

Awarded to wounded soldiers. The number displayed

Starting Games

The following sections provide instructions for starting Maneuvers, Campaigns, and Replays.

Starting Maneuver Play

The procedure for starting maneuver play assumes that you have already started Close Combat and the Command screen is displayed.

To start maneuver play

On the Command screen, click the Maneuvers button (Maneuvers is the default setting).

The available Maneuvers appear in the scrollable list.

Select the Maneuver you want to play by clicking it in the scrollable list.

The Maneuver is selected and “Play the Operation [Maneuver] Battle [#] as [American or German] on [Difficulty]” appears in the status bar.

Select the side you want to play by clicking the American or German button.

Select the number of players by clicking the one- or two-player button.

For information about how to set up a two-player game, see “Playing a Two-Player Game.”

Select the level of difficulty by clicking on the Easy, Normal, Hard, or Custom button (see “Refining the Level of Difficulty”).

If you select Custom, the Custom Difficulty dialog box appears, allowing you to customize American and German strength. You can also choose the following options: make enemy units always visible, enemy intelligence always known, friendly units always obey orders, and friendly units fearless.

Click Begin.

The Game Play screen appears with Close Combat in Deployment mode.

Deploy your teams where you want them, then click Begin again.

The Maneuver starts and you can begin issuing commands.

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.

To select American strength

Click the button next to the American Strength text box.

The strength list appears with Average displayed in the text box and list box.

Click the up or down button next to the strength list to display the strength you want.

Point at the strength you want.

The strength you want is selected.

Click the text box or press Enter.

The selected strength appears in the text box.

German Strength

You use this list box to select the strength of German forces; the available l evels of strength are: very strong, strong, average (default setting), weak, and very weak.

To select German strength

Click the button next to the German Strength text box.

The strength list appears with Average displayed in the text box and list box.

Click the up or down button next to the strength list to display the strength you want.

Point at the strength you want.

The strength you want is selected.

Chapter 2 Setup and Game Play

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.

American Units Are Fearless

You use this check box to make American units fearless, regardless of battlefield conditions.

To make American units are fearless

• Click the check box. When a check mark appears in the check box, this option is enabled.

German Units Always Obey Orders

You use this check box to make German units always obey your commands, regardless of battlefield conditions.

To make German units always obey orders

• Click the check box. When a check mark appears in the check box, this option is enabled.

German Units Are Fearless

You use this check box to make German units fearless, regardless of battlefield conditions.

To make German units fearless

• Click the check box. When a check mark appears in the check box, this option is enabled.

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. When a check mark appears in the check box, this option is enabled.

Starting Campaign Play

When you first load Close Combat, the only Campaign in the scrollable list is New Campaign. Campaigns appear in the scrollable list only after you’ve saved them.

When you start campaign play, you will either start a new or saved Campaign. The procedures for starting both new and saved campaigns assume that you have already started Close Combat and the Command screen is displayed.

To start a new Campaign

If you don’t want to see the Deployment video at the start of each operation in a Campaign, you can turn the videos on and off using the Options

menu. If there is a check next to Videos on the Options menu,

then videos are turned on.

On the Command screen, click the Campaign button.

Any saved Campaigns appear in the scrollable list with New Campaign at the top of the list.

Select the side, number of players, and level of difficulty.

In the scrollable list, double-click New Campaign.

The New Campaign Game popup appears.

Type your commander’s name, then press TAB.

You can use up to 11 alphanumeric characters for the commander’s name.

Type your Campaign’s name.

You can use up to 31 alphanumeric characters for the Campaign name.

Click OK.

The New Campaign Game popup disappears and your new Campaign is added to the scrollable list.

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.

Move your teams to the locations you want, then click Begin.

The first operation of the Campaign begins.

To start a saved Campaign

On the Command screen, click the Campaign button.

Any saved Campaigns appear in the scrollable list.

In the scrollable list, double-click the name of the unfinished Campaign you want to play.

The unfinished Campaign is loaded and the Game Play screen appears with Close Combat in Deployment mode. You have the opportunity to move your teams before you start playing.

Click Begin.

The Campaign resumes and you can begin issuing commands.

Chapter 2 Setup and Game Play

Starting Replays

When you start a Replay, you can choose to end playback and take command of the game at any time by issuing a command.

To start a Replay

On the Command screen, click the Replay button.

The saved games (Replays) appear in the scrollable list.

In the scrollable list, double-click the name of the Replay you want to play back.

The Replay begins to play back.

If you want to take command of the Replay, issue a command (Move, Move Fast, Fire, Smoke, Defend, or Hide).

Close Combat tells you that it’s ending playback and you are taking command.

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. Winning Maneuvers and Replays is determined by the criteria listed previously. An additional layer of criteria when you play a Campaign is the 43day historical timeline; this is the number of days it took the Americans to move from Omaha Beach to Saint-Lô. If you play as the Americans and complete all six operations in 43 days or less, you win the Campaign. If you play as the Americans and complete all six operations in more than 43 days, the Germans win.

Scoring

Close Combat scores games based on casualties inflicted (incurred) and Victory Locations captured (held). Casualties and Victory Locations captured are scored as shown in the following tables.

Killed or

Americans Wounded Captured

Soldiers 2 4

Light vehicles (trucks, 5 10 personnel carriers, and halftracks)

Artillery 10 20

Heavy vehicles (tanks, tank 20 40 destroyers, and motorized artillery)

Victory Locations NA 1 to 100

Killed or

Germans Wounded Captured

Soldiers 3 6

Light vehicles (trucks, 7 15 personnel carriers, and halftracks)

Artillery 15 30

Heavy vehicles (tanks, tank 30 60 destroyers, and motorized artillery)

Victory Locations NA 1 to 100

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. For example, if the Germans hold a Victory Location worth 20 points throughout the game, the Germans receive 10 points when the game ends.

If both sides hold the same Victory Location, the Germans and Americans divide the points for that location. For example, if the Germans hold a 20-point location at the start of a battle, and the Americans and Germans are still fighting for possession of the location when the battle ends, the Americans receive 10 points (one-half of the total) while the Germans receive 5 points (one-quarter of the total).

The number of points assigned to each Victory Location depends on the strategic value of the location. Locations with nominal strategic value are worth 1 to 19 points, locations with moderate strategic value are worth 20 to 39 points, and locations with vital strategic value are worth 40 to 100 points. The strategic value of any Victory Location is indicated by the size of type that marks it; the larger the type, the higher the strategic value.

If one side is routed or chooses the End Battle button, the opposing side receives one-quarter of the points for all Victory Locations held by the team choosing to end the battle.

Deploying Teams

The game first begins in Deployment mode. During this time you can move your teams to any legal location within your setup area. For example, you can’t deploy tanks in buildings or soldiers in rivers. There are three types of setup areas: Enemy Controlled (dark grey), “No Man’s Land” (light grey), and Friendly (no shading).

To deploy a team, select it with the mouse, then drag the team to its destination and release the mouse button. All the members of the team will deploy to take advantage of the terrain in and around the location you select.

When you have finished deployment, click Begin to start the battle.

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:

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.

While you hold down the mouse button, drag toward you to select the command you want from the menu, then release the mouse button.

Drag to draw a line from the unit to its destination or target, then release the mouse button.

Issuing Move and Move Fast Commands

You can select a team by clicking the team’s icon in the Team monitor. Double-clicking selects the team and centers it in the View Area.

You issue the Move and Move Fast commands to tell teams where you want them to go, and how quickly you want them to go there. The team moves faster if you issue a Move Fast command, but becomes more fatigued in the process. When moving fast, teams are also less likely to be alert to enemy fire, to see the enemy, and return fire effectively.

Whether the team completes a Move or Move Fast command satisfactorily depends on several factors, including how far the team must move, available cover, team leadership, and enemy fire. For a more detailed description of the factors affecting team moves, see Chapter 3, “Tactics.”

To issue a Move command

Once you select a team, you can issue a Move command by

pressing command, drag the destination line from the team to its destination, then click to place the destination marker.

. To complete the

Point at the team you want to move 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. The Team monitor displays a blue box around the selected team, and the Soldier monitor displays the names of the soldiers in the team.

Click and hold down the mouse button.

The Command menu appears.

While you hold down the mouse button, drag toward you to choose Move from the Command menu, and then release the mouse button.

Drag the destination line from the team’s current location to the destination you want.

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

Point at the team you want to move fast or click the team to select it.

Click and hold down the mouse button.

The Command menu appears.

While you hold down the mouse button, drag toward you to choose Move Fast from the Command menu, and then release the mouse button.

Drag the destination line from the team’s current location to the destination you want.

Click to place a destination marker.

When a team completes a successful Move Fast command, the Message Monitor displays the message “Redeploying Successful” and the destination marker disappears.

Chapter 2 Setup and Game Play

Once you select a team, you can issue a Move Fast com-

mand by pressing

. To complete the command, drag the destination line from the team to its destination, then click to place the destination marker.

Issuing Fire and Smoke Commands

To shoot at a specific enemy unit or at a suspected enemy location, you issue the Fire command. To place smoke screens that conceal your forces’ movements from the enemy, you issue the Smoke command (to teams with smoke capability).

There are two types of fire used in Close Combat fire. Direct fire weapons require a clear line of sight to fire; pistols, rifles, machine guns, submachine guns, antitank weapons, and most artillery are direct fire weapons. Mortars are indirect fire weapons; they do not require a clear line of sight to fire at the enemy.

Delivering effective fire depends on factors such as range, cover, team quality, and enemy suppression fire. For a more detailed description of the factors affecting firing and smoke screens, see Chapter 3, “Tactics.”

direct and indirect

Close Combat

To issue a Fire command

Once you select a team, you can issue a Fire command by

pressing

. To finish issuing the

command, drag the target line from the team to its target, then

click to place the target marker.

Point at the team you want to fire or click the team to select it.

Click and hold down the mouse button.

The Command menu appears.

While you hold down the mouse button, drag toward you to choose Fire from the Command menu, and then release the mouse button.

Drag the target line from the team to the target at which you want the team to shoot.

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 fire is blocked at the point at which it turns black.

Click to place a target marker.

No message is displayed when you issue a Fire command. The effectiveness of your proposed fire is denoted by the color of the target marker: As you drag toward the target it changes from red to green to black, like the weapons graph in the Soldier monitor.

To issue a Smoke command

Once you select a team, you can issue a Smoke command

by pressing the command, drag the target

. To finish issuing

line from the team to its target, then click to place the target

marker.

Point at the team you want to order to fire smoke shells or throw smoke grenades or click the team to select it.

Click and hold down the mouse button.

The Command menu appears.

While you hold down the mouse button, drag toward you to choose Smoke from the Command menu, and then release the mouse button.

Drag the target line from the team to the location where you want the smoke screen.

Chapter 2 Setup and Game Play

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.

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. When you fire smoke shells or throw smoke grenades, the smoke lasts approximately one minute, and 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 keep the smoke between your team (or teams) and the enemy. Time your smoke rounds and assault with these factors in mind.

No message is displayed when you choose the Smoke command.

Issuing a Defend Command

You issue a Defend command when you want a team to defend its present position. When you issue a Defend command, you manually set the team’s scan arc to specify the direction in which you want the team to watch for the enemy.

• For American teams, if enemy soldiers move into the team’s defensive scan arc and are visible, the defending team automatically opens fire.

• For German teams, if enemy soldiers move into the team’s defensive scan arc and are visible, the defending team waits to ambush instead of automatically opening fire.

When you issue a Defend command, the View Area displays a defense marker that indicates the team is defending. By default soldiers look for the best cover, then plan for possible ambush.

You use the scan arc to tell your soldiers where to watch for the enemy. Using a wide scan arc means the team must spread out to scan effectively. A spread-out team is more susceptible to enemy fire because soldiers may not use the terrain to their best advantage. For example, if you set the defend scan arc at 270 degrees to the east, soldiers may use terrain that protects them from fire coming from the northwest or southwest. However, these soldiers are vulnerable to fire from the

the direction from which enemy fire is most likely to come.

east

Close Combat

To issue a Defend command

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. The Team monitor displays a blue box around the selected team, and the Soldier monitor displays the names of the soldiers in the team.

Click and hold down the mouse button.

The Command menu appears.

While you hold down the mouse button, drag toward you to choose Defend from the Command menu, and then release the mouse button.

This displays a blue circle over the team, which represents its scan arc.

Set the width and direction of the defend scan arc.

Moving the cursor toward the center of circle widens the scan arc; moving the cursor toward the edge of circle narrows the scan arc. Moving the cursor around the circle aims the scan arc in the direction you want.

Click to set the scan arc and place a defense marker.

Issuing a Hide Command

You issue a Hide command when you want a team to take cover in a safe position and keep their heads down. When you issue a Hide command, the View Area displays a hide marker on the team, indicating that it’s looking for the best nearby hiding place. Once a team finds suitable cover, it stays there until you issue another order. Hidden teams will fire on enemies that come within 30 meters of their hiding place.

To issue a Hide command

Point at the team you want to hide or click the team to select it.

Click and hold down the mouse button.

The Command menu appears.

While you hold down the mouse button, drag toward you to choose Hide from the Command menu, and then release the mouse button.

The team moves to the nearest cover and hides.

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.

Deployment Mode

In Deployment mode, the toolbar looks like the figure at left.

Toolbar in Deployment Mode

The Deployment 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.

Zoom Out (–)

the view area. 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 out one level.

Begin

starts the battle with the troops in position as you have deployed

them. This button is available only in Deployment mode.

Force Morale

willingness of the soldiers to fight—for both sides. The color and length of the bars in the Force Morale monitor reflect the average physical and mental status of teams on both sides. The bars start out green and change color to reflect the status of each side. As a bar changes to yellow or red, it becomes shorter. If the bar representing your side turns red and your opponent’s stays yellow or green, you lose. If both sides’ bars turn red or both stay yellow, the victor is determined based on which side has taken the fewest casualties and gained the most ground.

reduces the size of the map so you can see more of it in

in Deployment mode displays the initial cohesion—the

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 (+)

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.

Zoom Out (–)

in the view area. 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 out one level.

Clicking the blanket order to all friendly troops to move forward to the next position with adequate cover.

Clicking the blanket order to all friendly troops to defend when enemy units are sighted. This order causes your teams not only to defend themselves, but to take advantage of ambush opportunities as well.

Clicking the troops to retreat or fall back. Forces receiving this order return to previously occupied areas looking for adequate cover and protection.

Clicking the a Debriefing screen that summarizes the status of the battle to the point at which you ended the game. Clicking End Battle forces your side to lose, and gives the enemy at least a minor victory.

magnifies an area on a game map to get a closer look at the

reduces the size of the map so you can see the entire map

Move Out

Defend

Pull Back

End Battle

button cancels all current orders and issues a

button issues a blanket order to all friendly

button ends the battle in progress, and displays

Force Morale

sides. The color and length of the bars in the Force Morale monitor reflect the average physical and mental status of the teams on both sides. The bars start out green and change color to reflect the status of each side. As a bar changes to yellow or red, it becomes shorter. If the bar representing your side turns red and your opponent’s stays yellow or green, you lose. If both sides’ bars turn red or both stay yellow, the victor is determined based on which side has taken the fewest casualties and gained the most ground.

in Game Play mode displays the current cohesion for both

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.

Close Combat’s Game screen has a View Area and five monitors:

• Team monitor

• Soldier monitor

• Message monitor

• Overview monitor

• Zoom monitor

Using the View Area

The View Area is the portion of the Game screen where the battlefield action occurs. To scroll the View Area, move the mouse pointer to the edge of the screen. For example, if you move the pointer to the left edge of the Game screen, the View Area scrolls from the left; the game map appears to scroll to the right. If your screen resolution is 800x600 or higher, the Overview monitor is displayed; you can see the yellow rectangle (which represents the View Area) move in the same direction you move the mouse pointer. You can also scroll the View Area by using the arrow keys, the numeric keypad, or the number keys (1 through 9).

You can use the arrow keys to scroll the View Area; pressing the key scrolls the View Area to the left. You can use the numeric keypad to scroll the View Area. For example, pressing the 4 key on the keypad scrolls the View Area to the left; pressing the 7 key on the keypad scrolls the View Area diagonally (up and to the left).

You can zoom the View Area in and out. By zooming out, you see an overview of the map; the entire map is displayed in the View Area. By zooming in, you see less of the map, but you see more detail. If you play at a resolution of 800x600 or higher, an overview of the map is displayed in the Overview monitor.

You can click any team (yours or the enemy’s) visible in the View Area and receive information about that team in the Team and Soldier monitors. When selected, your units have blue boxes around each soldier on the team and a yellow box around the selected soldier. There is a colored circle around the team leader; the color of the circle matches the color indicating the team’s quality in the Team and Soldier monitors.

LEFT ARROW

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. In either case, when you click one of your teams in the Team monitor, or an enemy team in the View Area, the Soldier monitor lists the soldiers on that team.

To center a team in the View Area, click its panel in the Team monitor after you select it. To select the team and center it in the View Area, double-click the team’s panel in the Team monitor.

When you select a team in the Team monitor, the team is highlighted by a blue box, the Soldier monitor shows information for each soldier on the selected team, and the team is selected in the View Area.

Using the Soldier Monitor

You use the Soldier monitor to monitor the status of individual soldiers. When you start a game, the Soldier monitor is not displayed; it appears only when you select a team in either the Team or View Area.

To select a soldier, click the appropriate panel in the Soldier monitor. When you select a soldier, a yellow box surrounds the soldier’s name in both the Soldier and View Area. If you select an enemy team, its members appear in the Soldier monitor. However, question marks may appear in some portions of the panel if you don’t have complete intelligence information. As an enemy team remains under observation, these question marks are replaced with more complete information about the enemy team.

Using the Message Monitor

You monitor the messages from your teams using the Message monitor. When you start a game, there are no messages displayed; messages display only when events affecting your teams occur. The Message monitor displays messages radioed, or shouted, to you. To see all the messages sent during a given battle, use the scroll bars. Double-clicking a message selects and centers the team that sent the message in the View Area so you can readily issue a command.

You can also filter messages by using the colored buttons at the top of the Message monitor. First you decide which levels of messages you don’t want to see, then click the appropriate button. For example, if you click the red message filter,

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. This monitor displays a scaled-down version of the game map shown in the View Area; the Overview monitor enables you to see all of the game map throughout game play. All Victory Locations are displayed on this map; all friendly units are represented by blue dots while enemy units are represented by red dots.

A yellow rectangle appears over a portion of the map in the Overview monitor. Moving the rectangle in the Overview monitor changes the portion of the map you see in the View Area. Using the Overview monitor is often a faster way to move around the View Area than scrolling.

To use the Overview monitor

Move the mouse pointer to the Overview monitor.

The mouse pointer changes to a magnifying glass.

Move the magnifying glass to the part of the map you want displayed in the View Area and click.

The View Area displays the part of the map you want.

Pausing a Game

To pause during game play, press F3 (Windows 95), press COMMAND+P (Macintosh) or choose Pause Game from the Game menu (Windows 95), or File menu (Macintosh). The game pauses automatically when you:

• Display a menu

• End or stop a battle

• Press

You can instantly pause and minimize Close Combat in Windows 95 by clicking the Minimize button. When your “civilian duties” are complete, you can resume your battle by clicking the Close Combat button at the bottom of the screen.

On the Macintosh, you can instantly pause and minimize Close Combat by choosing Hide Close Combat from the Finder menu on the right side of the menu bar. To resume play, choose Close Combat from the Finder menu.

F1 for Help

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. The Command screen appears when you stop any game; stopped battles are not saved as part of a Campaign.

• You can exit Close Combat using the Exit command on the Game menu (Windows 95) or using the Quit command on the File menu (Macintosh).

The following sections describe each method for ending a game.

Ending a Game

You use the End Battle button to end any game without exiting Close Combat. However, ending a battle is the equivalent of withdrawing from the battlefield; the side choosing to end any battle automatically suffers a minor defeat or worse.

To end a game

On the Toolbar, click End Battle.

A popup appears asking if you’re sure you want to forfeit the battle.

In the popup, click Yes. If you click Yes, you lose.

The popup and the Game screen disappear, and the Debriefing screen appears.

Stopping a Game

To stop any game and return to the Command screen without exiting Close Combat, you use the Abort Battle command. Stopping a game carries no penalty to the side choosing to stop; unlike ending a battle, the side choosing to stop does not automatically suffer a defeat. Instead, the Command screen appears, and no victor is determined. If playing a Campaign, the stopped battle is not saved.

To stop a game

Chapter 2 Setup and Game Play

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.

In the popup, click OK.

The popup and the Game screen disappear, and the Command screen appears.

Exiting Close Combat

You can exit Close Combat at any time. The procedure differs slightly depending on whether you are playing in Windows 95 or on the Macintosh.

To exit Close Combat from Windows 95

From the Game menu, choose Exit.

A popup appears asking you if you’re sure you want to exit Close Combat.

In the popup, click Exit.

The popup and the Game screen disappear, and Close Combat exits.

–or–

• Press

ALT+F4.

To stop a game using the keyboard without exiting Close Combat, press

CTRL+A

(Windows 95), or

COMMAND+A

ALT, G, A

(Macintosh).

To exit Close Combat using the keyboard, press

ALT+F4

(Windows 95), or

COMMAND+Q

ALT, G, X

(Macintosh).

To exit Close Combat from the Macintosh

From the File menu, choose Quit.

A popup appears asking you if you’re sure you want to quit Close Combat.

In the popup, click Quit.

The popup and the Game screen disappear, and Close Combat quits.

Saving Games

You can save any Close Combat battle as a Replay. You can create Replays at the end of a battle, or when you choose End Battle from the Toolbar. Replays are created using the Save Replay button on the Debriefing screen.

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.) Campaign1 is saved in the scrollable list of Campaigns.

To save a battle as a Replay

When the Debriefing screen appears at the end of a battle, or after you’ve chosen End Battle from the Toolbar, click Save Replay.

The Name The Replay dialog box appears.

Type the name you want to assign to the Replay.

Replay names and Campaign names are governed by the same rules: You are limited to 31 alphanumeric characters.

Click OK.

The dialog box disappears; the Debriefing screen is still displayed. You can continue playing or exit Close Combat. When you display the Command screen, your Replay is added to the scrollable list of Replays.

Remember, when you save a Campaign battle as a Replay, only the just-completed battle is saved as a Replay.

Using the Options Menu

You can specify various options and preferences to give Close Combat the look and feel you prefer. You can turn sound, music, videos, and other features on or off at any time.

To choose options in Windows 95

Click the Options menu (or press ALT+O).

On the Options menu, click the option you want to turn on or off, as described in the following sections.

To choose options on the Macintosh

Click the Options menu.

Choose the option you want to turn on or off, as described in the following sections.

Chapter 2 Setup and Game Play

Turning Sound On/Off

You can turn game sounds (gunfire, soldiers’ voices, and other sounds) on or off.

To turn game sound on/off

Using the mouse, choose Sound from the Options menu.

To turn sound back on, repeat the process.

-or-

Using the keyboard, press ALT, O, S (Windows 95).

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.

To turn music on/off

Using the mouse, choose Music from the Options menu.

To turn music back on, repeat the process.

-or-

Using the keyboard, press ALT, O, M (Windows 95).

To turn music back on, repeat the process.

Turning Videos On/Off

You can turn videos (Introduction, Force Deployment, What Really Happened, and Game End) on or off.

To turn videos on/off

Using the mouse, choose Videos from the Options menu.

To turn videos back on, repeat the process.

-or-

Using the keyboard, press ALT, O, V (Windows 95).

To turn videos back on, repeat the process.

Expanding the View Area to Use the Entire Screen

You can expand the View Area (which shows the game play area) to fill the screen, hiding all the monitors.

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

• On the Macintosh, press

ALT, O, G or CTRL+G.

COMMAND+G.

Removing/Displaying Trees from the Map

You can remove trees from the View Area at any time during a game.

To remove trees from the map

• Click Remove Trees on the Options menu. To display the trees on the screen again, repeat the process.

–or–

• In Windows 95, press

• On the Macintosh, press

ALT, O, T or press CTRL+T.

COMMAND+T.

Removing/Displaying Soldiers Killed In Action

You can remove soldiers killed in action at any time during a game.

To remove soldiers killed in action from the map

• Click Remove KIA Soldiers on the Options menu. To again display the soldiers killed in action, repeat the process.

–or–

• In Windows 95, press

• On the Macintosh, press

ALT, O, K or press CTRL+K.

COMMAND+K.

Minimizing Close Combat

You can minimize Close Combat at any time.

To minimize Close Combat

• In Windows 95, click the minimize button, or press ALT, SPACEBAR, N.

• On the Macintosh, choose Hide Close Combat from the Finder menu

on the right side of the menu bar. To resume play, choose Close Combat from the Finder menu.

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.

Getting Help

Close Combat provides two kinds of Help information:

• The online Help file with general information on a large number of game-related topics, including extensive information on weapons.

• Context-sensitive Help on specific game features. The Help file supplements these brief pop-up descriptions.

Finding a Topic in the Help File

• From the Help menu, choose Help Contents, or press F1.

• Click the Help Contents tab to browse through topics by category.

• To view the index of Help topics, click the Index tab, then scroll

through the list, or type the word you’re looking for and press

ENTER.

Getting Context-Sensitive Help

While you’re playing, you may want information about Close Combat screen features, including game controls, weapons, and terrain. Using context-sensitive Help, you click an area or feature on the game screen to display a specific Help topic in a small text box. To get that information quickly:

• Point at the feature.

• In Windows 95, click the right mouse button.

• On the Macintosh, hold down the Option key and click the mouse button.

To close the text box

• Press ESC or click anywhere on the screen.

You can also access Help by

pressing

COMMAND+H

(Windows 95) or

(Macintosh).

Close Combat

Chapter 3 Tactics

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 enemyattack 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. However, using these weapons against the team behind the wall suppresses them fire. After the enemy is suppressed, you can send another team around the enemy’s flank. When your flanking team reaches its position, it can enfilade the enemy’s position.

it makes them keep their heads down and minimizes return

Shoot It Out

The second basic tactic is to just “shoot it out” with the enemy. You should use this tactic when you can bring superior forces and firepower against the enemy; all other things being equal, the side with superiority in numbers and firepower will eventually prevail.

Frontal Assault

The third basic tactic is the frontal assault. This tactic exposes your troops to the greatest risk, but can be successful if you can get your team (or teams) within grenade range without taking heavy losses. If you choose to make a frontal assault, you should first deploy teams to provide suppression fire. Next, you should fire smoke rounds along the path of the assault. After you’ve laid a smoke screen, you can send a team (or several teams) charging at the position you want to capture.

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. Defend a position as long as you can inflict more casualties than you receive, then move to another position; force the Americans to attack you and look for opportunities to counterattack.

Game Play Tips

This section lists game play tips according to the following categories:

• Infantry tips

• Vehicle tips

• Weapons tips

• General tips

Infantry Tips

You can use the tips in this section when issuing commands to your infantry teams. For information on the factors affecting infantry team effectiveness and performance, see “Monitoring the Game” in Chapter 2, “Setup and Game Play.”

• Don’t order your infantry teams to move through open terrain within the

enemy’s line of sight unless you provide suppression fire.

• Don’t order an assault against an enemy position unless you have numerical

or firepower superiority. You should not order a team of five soldiers with rifles to assault a position held by 10 enemy soldiers with a machine gun.

• Use smoke to cover the movements of your attacking team or teams. Provid-

ing a covering smoke screen diminishes the enemy’s ability to hit the attackers. This keeps your team’s effectiveness and morale high, which increases your chances of success.

• Use smoke whenever you can; fire into any smoke that the enemy creates.

• Don’t order mortar or machine gun teams to move as part of an assault. When

teams move mortars and machine guns, their fatigue levels go up; increased fatigue means the team will respond more slowly to an order to fire and the fire will be less accurate than that of a well-rested team. You should consider the deployment of such teams carefully; you’ll want to position them where they can provide suppression fire for more than one infantry team.

Chapter 3 Tactics

• 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. This makes them more susceptible

to casualties from grenades, mortars, and artillery. Close proximity can create another problem; if one teams panics, those in close proximity may panic, too.

• Move only one team at a time. This is not an ironclad rule; there may be times

when ordering more than one team to move is an advantage. However, you want to use as much suppression fire as possible, and teams fire more effectively when they’re not moving.

• Use short moves to protect your teams. Teams that move long distances are

more susceptible to ambush; the enemy may react to a long move by assaulting the moving team’s flank. Ambushes and flanking fire reduce effectiveness and morale. Orders to move a long distance also increase fatigue, which in turn reduces the team’s effectiveness.

• Don’t order a team to move or fire if their condition is not conducive to the

order. For example, if you order a fatigued team to move fast for a long distance, their effectiveness, performance, and team quality will drop. The team is more likely to cower or break; the team’s accuracy of fire will drop.

• Move teams to locations that provide adequate cover. If soldier units feel

overexposed or vulnerable, they may not go to the exact point you’ve designated.

• Moving fast over short distances allows soldiers to recover and keeps them

from early fatigue. Remember that some foot soldiers can be carrying up to 70 pounds of gear. Running will tire them quickly.

• Note that many Recon (Reconnaissance) team members are armed with

submachine guns. These weapons have a high rate of fire but their effective range is limited.

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.

Attribute Description

Armor The strength and thickness of the armor is rated in eight

horizontal angles and three vertical angles, in addition to the top and bottom armor. The slope of the armor is factored into calculation of armor effectiveness. The vehicle is rated for both the hull and turret armor (if the vehicle has one). In addition, the passengers and crew are given protection values based on the type of vehicle (open top, open rear, unarmored).

Gun Each vehicle can support up to three weapons on both the

hull and the turret. Each of the guns is fired independently by the vehicular crew.

Fire-Angle Each gun on the vehicle is rated for what angle the gun can

fire at (360 degrees, 180 degrees, 90 degrees, and so on). Fire outside of that arc will cause the soldier firing that gun to rotate the hull or turret as necessary in order to fire.

Exposed Each gun is denoted as to whether or not the soldier must

be exposed in order to fire that particular weapon. Being exposed makes the soldier much more vulnerable to enemy fire.

Rotation rates The speeds with which the hull and turret can rotate.

Mount type Whether the mount exists, is a fixed mount, or can rotate.

A mount is either the hull or turret.

Mount hit Chance of the hull versus the turret being hit.

Acceleration Rate at which the vehicle accelerates.

Max speed Top off-road speed of the vehicle.

Move type How the vehicle moves (tracked, wheeled, and so on)

Size Profile given the enemy; affects ease of being hit.

Gyrostabilizer Identifies whether or not the vehicle is equipped with a

gyrostabilized gun. A gyrostabilizer improves main gun accuracy when the vehicle is on the move.

Chapter 3 Tactics

Schurzen 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.

Integrity 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. Specifically, the majority of German vehicles can defeat the majority of like American vehicles in a one-on-one fight. Consequently, if a American vehicle gets too close to any German position, it is in danger of being destroyed; remember, even German rifle teams have antitank weapons (Panzerfausts) capable of destroying every American vehicle. As the American commander, the only way you can successfully use your vehicles is to use numerical superiority (pit two or three Shermans against one Panther or Tiger) or flanking tactics.

• If you’re the German commander, you should try to conserve your resources;

this is especially true when playing a Campaign because the Americans will receive far more reinforcements than you (again reflecting the history of the Normandy Campaign).

• Halftracks, armored cars, and other vehicles are fast but vulnerable. Use them

for rapid maneuvers where tanks and antitank weapons are not likely to be deployed. For example, you can use a halftrack to support an infantry assault against another infantry team.

• Don’t order your tanks, tank destroyers, or other vehicles within range of

known or suspected enemy antitank weapons. This is especially true for American commanders; remember, the Germans make American armor a priority target. And the Germans have more antitank firepower; both the Panzerschreck and Panzerfaust can destroy all American armor with a head-on shot. The Bazooka can only knock out heavily armored tanks and tank destroyers with a side or rear shot.

• When you order your tanks, tank destroyers, or vehicles to advance, use

infantry support to provide suppression fire against antitank teams.

• Although you can send a tank over a hedgerow, doing so leaves the tank

vulnerable to enemy antitank fire.

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 Description

Rounds/clip The number of ammo rounds in a clip.

Firing time Time for the shot effect to occur (short for direct fire,

longer for indirect fire).

Chamber load Time to load a round into the chamber (very short for

automatic weapons, longer for bolt action).

Clip reload Time to load a new clip into the gun.

Burst rounds Number of rounds typically fired in one burst for that

weapon.

Weight Weight of the gun.

Clip weight Weight of each clip.

Heat rate Rate at which the weapon gains heat while firing.

Cool rate Rate at which the weapon loses heat while not firing.

Quality Likelihood of the weapon jamming or malfunctioning.

Chances are increased as heat builds up.

Bayoneted Whether or not the weapon has a bayonet.

Assault fire Whether or not the weapon can be used on the run.

Back blast Whether or not the weapon causes a back blast.

Blast size This is rated by ammo type and determines how big a

crater the shot makes. Ammo types are AP, HE, Special, Smoke, or HEAT. Special refers to unique ammo types such as APCR, APDS, Canister, and so on.

Blast radius This is rated by ammo and affects the range at which

soldiers can be affected by the blast.

Min range How far away the target must be in order to use the

weapon.

Accuracy The base chance to hit a target with the weapon moderated

by range and ammo type.

Affect What type of damage the shot does versus soldiers,

vehicles, or terrain; rated by ammo and range.

Blast What type of damage the blast from the shot does versus

soldiers, vehicles, or terrain; rated by ammo and range from the point of the blast.

Chapter 3 Tactics

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.

• Because mortars lob a shell in an arcing rather than flat trajectory, you should

use mortars against troops in the open, troops under trees (where airbursts can be deadly), or troops with protection only on one side (behind a stone wall).

• Don’t order your antitank teams to fire at infantry. You’ll want to save your

antitank weapons (American Bazooka, German Panzerfaust and Panzerschreck) for enemy tanks and other vehicles. However, you may want

to use an antitank team occasionally if the enemy infantry is hiding in a building or bunker.

• If you’re the American commander, don’t order an infantry team armed with

rifles to fire at a tank and expect the tank to be disabled. Remember, Close Combat reflects the reality of the Normandy Campaign; you’ll need either numerical superiority or superior firepower to engage German tanks.

• Don’t order your machine gun teams to fire at a fixed target too long when

you want suppression fire. You should switch the target at least once to maximize the effect of the suppression fire.

• If cover for both sides is equal, the team or teams with the most firepower

wins. For example, if American and German rifle teams are both behind stone walls and firing at each other, the Americans will win (all other things being equal). This is because they are armed with Garand semiautomatic rifles, which have a faster rate of fire (rounds per minute or rpm) than the Gewehr 98 bolt action rifles the Germans use.

• When a mortar team is out of ammunition, you can send them to the front line

to throw their smoke grenades and use their carbines.

• When you want to place a smoke screen, use your mortar teams first to place

smoke for their ability to lob smoke over tall terrain. Smoke screens are the most useful coverage for open areas.

• Keep your antitank infantry teams (Bazookas or Panzerschrecks and

Panzerfausts) spread out; deploying them too closely means one shell could

wipe them out.

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.

• You cannot place individual soldiers, but you can issue a Defend order with a

very narrow scan arc in the direction you want the team to cover. This causes the team to reevaluate their cover based on the new scan arc, and position themselves better.

• Rallying troops doesn’t happen immediately. Any leader can help to rally

a soldier; the chance of doing so is based on the leader’s proximity and leadership ability. A soldier can also rally himself given enough time.

• When you have no specific plan, put troops into defending mode.

• Don’t assume that because you can see the enemy, your soldiers can, too. Hide

your team, but don’t forget about them.

• Set up your teams to enfilade the enemy (catch them in a crossfire)

whenever possible.

Chapter 4 The Normandy Campaign in Close Combat

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. If Bradley’s forces can capture this important town, they will finally be able to move onto ground that will allow them to take full advantage of their formidable mechanized and armored forces in a war of maneuver.

Standing in the way of the Americans and their objective are German army and paratroop units who have put up fierce opposition to the invading forces—first on the beaches, then inland through coastal villages, then at the river Aure, and finally in the hedgerows, marshes, hills, and draws. After six weeks, 20 miles, and 200,000 casualties, the two armies face off in the bombed-out rubble of Saint-Lô. An American victory here will allow the First Army to launch a drive across France and into Germany. But if the Germans can stop the Americans, they may be able to keep the invaders bottled up in northwestern France, jeopardizing their precarious toehold on the European continent.

Cherbourg

“War is the last of all things to go according to plan.”

Thucydides

Normandy: June 6, 1944

U.S. First Army

(Bradley)

British Second Army

(Dempsey)

Merderet River

Douve River

Carentan

Taute River

UTAH

Vire River

Aure River

SaintÐL™

OMAHA

Cerisy Forest

Drome River

GOLD

Bayeux

JUNO

Orne River

SWOR

Caen

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. The initial invasion plan that will eventually be called Operation Overlord is formulated before the United States even enters the war. It is the brainchild of Major Albert Wedemeyer, a war plans expert on the U.S. War Department General Staff, who had attended the German Kriegesakademie (War College), from which he graduated in 1938. This unique background gives Wedemeyer a keen understanding of the German philosophy of total war. His plan, aptly titled the “Victory Program,” calls for a massive invasion of northwest Europe and a decisive confrontation with the German army.

Wedemeyer submits his Victory Program on September 21, 1941. Within three months, the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and German Chancellor Adolf Hitler’s subsequent declaration of war forces the U.S. entry into World War II. At the Anglo-American Arcadia conference, held in Washington D.C. from December 22, 1941 to January 7, 1942, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt and his Chiefs of Staff make it clear that, despite the Japanese aggression, they accept the principle of “Germany first.” They believe that the German war machine represents the greatest threat to the Allies (Britain, the U.S., and the U.S.S.R.), and determine that the bulk of the U.S. Army will fight Germany and Italy, while the task of combating Japan will be the primary responsibility of the U.S. Navy.

In early 1942, Wedemeyer’s Victory Program finds a strong supporter in General Dwight D. Eisenhower, who submits a revised version to Chief of Staff General George C. Marshall on March 25. That same day, Marshall presents the plan to Roosevelt, who decides that it should get direct approval from British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and the

British military leadership. To win the British over, Eisenhower redrafts the plan, proposing an invasion of the French coast between Le Havre and Boulogne by 1.5 million American and British troops on April 1, 1943. Marshall submits the plan—now called the Marshall Memorandum— to Churchill and his General Staff. On April 13, they commit to the plan’s key concept, a full-scale invasion of western Europe. Two months later, in Moscow, the Anglo-American commitment is announced at a meeting of the Supreme Soviet of the U.S.S.R., whose Premier, Josef Stalin, has been pressing the U.S. and Britain for the creation of a second front to relieve the Axis pressure on the besieged Soviet Union.

U.S. General Omar Bradley

Chapter 4 The Normandy Campaign in Close Combat

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. Six months after the conference, Eisenhower is named Supreme Allied Commander, in charge of overall operations for the invasion. He then chooses British General Bernard Montgomery to head the combined Anglo-American ground forces, known as the 21st Army Group. Under Montgomery’s command are U.S. General Omar Bradley, who leads the U.S. First Army, and General Miles Dempsey, who is in charge of the British Second Army. These men will command the troops that will attempt to storm the invasion beaches and press inland.

Preparations for Operation Overlord

Over the next twelve months, southern England resembles an enormous armed camp, as it becomes the site of the biggest buildup of men and materiel ever assembled for a military operation. By June 1944 nearly three million Allied troops have gathered under Eisenhower’s command. The invasion now has a new codename: Operation Overlord, which Churchill has selected from a list compiled by his Chiefs of Staff. It also has a new location: the Calvados coast in Normandy, roughly between the town of Cabourg and the Cotentin Peninsula in northwestern France. Although this stretch of coastline is a greater distance from England than the Pas de Calais and the Cotentin Peninsula, it is less fortified and has fewer natural obstacles and better beaches for landing craft than either of those locations. The Normandy beaches are also within range of Allied fighter cover from airfields in southern England.

In the months before the invasion, the U.S. and British forces conduct training exercises that focus on the difficulties of amphibious landing operations. The training for the advance inland, held on the moors of southern England, relies on textbook tactics, notably the open order advance, two companies forward. Unfortunately, this training virtually ignores the actual hazards that await those who survive the assault on the beach. The Allied troops learn little about tactics for infiltrating the Norman hedgerow country, the bocage, with its small fields bounded by tall, dense hedges, an art the Germans have mastered. The invaders will pay a heavy price for this oversight.

British General Bernard Montgomery

“. . . the [

bocage

] area will not be an easy one for forces to advance through rapidly in the face of determined resistance . . . . The tactics employed in fighting through the

bocage

country should be given considerable study.”

Supreme Headquarters, Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF), April 1944

“We simply did not expect to

bocage

remain in the

long enough to justify studying it as a major tactical problem.”

An American senior staff officer, quoted by Max Hastings in

Overlord: D-Day and the Battle for Normandy

Close Combat

German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel

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. Many battalions are partially made up of Polish and Russian prisoners, known as Osttruppen, or “Eastern troops,” most of whom lack any desire to fight for Germany. Allied deceptions have convinced the Germans to reinforce the Pas de Calais, which depletes the concentration of forces in Normandy even further.

In January, 1944 German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel is named head of Army Group B, which covers the Seventh and the Fifteenth Armies in northern France, and takes over the responsibility for defenses there. Although construction of a fortified coastal defense system, known as the “Atlantic Wall,” had begun in 1942, Rommel immediately begins to strengthen it with mines, underwater obstacles, and concrete gun emplacements. This is in keeping with his belief that the only way to repulse

Fooling the Germans with “Fortitude”

While Rommel speeded his preparations, German forces in France increased to 55 divisions, many of them far from Normandy. In particular, the German Fifteenth Army remained in the Pas de Calais to repel an invasion force that would never strike there. This was partially due to a brilliant Allied deception called “Operation Fortitude.” Its deceptions took a number of forms, all intended to divert German attention from the real invasion preparations in the south of England to a carefully orchestrated and entirely bogus buildup in the southeast, opposite the Pas de Calais.

German reconnaissance aircraft were allowed to fly over sites crammed with dummy tanks, trucks, and landing craft made of rubber, plywood, and canvas. Inflatable Sherman tanks that four men could easily carry looked real enough from the air, and the net effect was to trick the Germans into thinking they had found the growing stockpile for the coming invasion. Meanwhile false radio traffic convinced them that General Patton was

preparing the fictitious “U.S. First Army Group” for an invasion at the Pas de Calais. For a month or more after D-Day, much of the German leadership continued in the conviction that the invasion in Normandy was merely a feint, and that the “real” invasion would soon fall where they had always known it would.

Chapter 4 The Normandy Campaign in Close Combat

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. From there, German tanks will be better able to strike at the invaders as they attempt to establish beachheads and supply lines. Because the German chain of command is unclear even at the highest levels, it is never determined whether Rommel or von Runstedt will control the battle after the invasion, and neither one gets all the defenses or forces he wants.

Preparation of the German defenses on the Normandy coast is hampered by shortages, and by the Allied air forces. Their bombing attacks on Germany have caused the German air force, the Luftwaffe, to largely abandon France to protect German skies. The knowledge that the Allies control the skies above western France adds fuel to Rommel’s argument. In early 1944, German troop and supply movement is further hindered by an Allied aerial bombing campaign known as the Transportation Plan, which targets railroads and marshaling yards in western France.

Despite these numerous difficulties, six infantry divisions of the German Seventh Army, commanded by Colonel General Friedrich Dollmann and covering Normandy and Brittany, are available to oppose the Allied invasion. A single Panzer division is in reserve near Caen, with three more held inland—and effectively out of Rommel’s reach— by the German High Command. These divisions can be released only under orders from Hitler himself, who wants to save them in case of an invasion at the Pas de Calais. Although Rommel’s beach defenses are incomplete, they are still formidable, and have strong Panzer forces waiting behind them. The Germans have more than enough firepower and manpower to make the Allied invasion force pay a heavy price.

“The war will be won or lost on the beaches. We’ll have only one chance to stop the enemy and that’s while he’s in the water.”

Field Marshal Erwin Rommel

The Allies Invade on D-Day

After being pushed back a month to June 5, and then further delayed by bad weather for another day, the greatest armed assault ever attempted—the long-awaited Allied invasion of France—finally gets underway on June 6. The first troops to land on French soil are from three U.S. and British airborne divisions, which are dropped at night to seize towns and bridgeheads behind the invasion beaches. Simultaneously, an armada of 5,300 landing craft, supply vessels, and warships carrying over 150,000 Allied troops head across the English Channel for the Calvados coast.

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

U.S. soldiers landing on Omaha Beach

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

The next morning, following a fierce air and naval bombardment, the first assault waves from five Allied divisions storm the five Normandy invasion beaches, code-named Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno, and Sword. On the left flank of the invasion force, the British Second Army storms Gold and Sword beaches, then pushes southeast in an attempt to take the city of Caen and the airfield nearby at Carentan. At Juno beach, the Canadians come ashore. On the right flank of the invasion force, Utah, the westernmost of the Normandy beaches, is captured by the Fourth Infantry Division of the First Army’s VII Corps. Its plan is to head to the northwest to cut off the Cotentin Peninsula and capture Cherbourg, which will give the Allies a major port for bringing in additional supplies.

Because Hitler is asleep during the morning of the invasion and has given orders not to be awakened, he does not release the German Panzer reserves until the afternoon. By then it is too late to stem the invasion. German resistance on the four landing beaches is relatively light, and although the Allied troops do not push as far inland as they had planned, they suffer fewer casualties than they had expected. But it is a far different story for the Americans who land at the beach codenamed Omaha.

Chapter 4 The Normandy Campaign in Close Combat

“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. The defenses are manned by the crack 352nd Infantry, a fullstrength attack division brought in from the Eastern Front, and made up of some of the most combat-tested troops in the German army. By a quirk of fate, the Americans are also pitted against an extra German infantry division that is in the area practicing anti-invasion tactics. The German defenders get an additional break when the Allied naval bombardment before the landings is too brief to do much damage.

As the smoke from the bombardment clears, the first U.S. invasion craft head for shore, carrying troops from the 29th and 1st Infantry Divisions. At first, confusion reigns as landing craft and vehicles, scattered by the rough seas they have just crossed, pile onto the beach. As the now-seasick soldiers disembark, they are blasted by well-aimed German gunfire. By 0915, as U.S. casualties mount, General Bradley fears he will have to call off the Omaha landing, as his forces are pinned down on the beach, huddled behind a seawall for survival.

Slowly, inexplicably, the tide of battle turns, as scattered groups of U.S. soldiers press forward, prompted by their own bravery, by the desire simply to survive or, in some cases, by the brandished weapon of a fellow soldier. Since nearly all of the U.S. amphibious tanks have sunk after being launched, the troops have to advance across open ground under heavy fire without supporting armor. Finally, as individual Navy destroyers move in and pound the German defenses at close range, small units begin to ram their way through Rommel’s beach obstacles and scale the cliffs. The Germans of the 352nd, who by now are running low on ammunition and reinforcements, are

Omaha Beachhead: June 7, 1944

Carentan

Vire River

German 914th Regiment

Aure River

“There are only two kinds of people on this beach: the dead and those about to die. So let’s get the hell out of here!”

Colonel George Taylor, at Omaha Beach on June 6, 1944

“You know what I see up there? I see my old mother sitting on the porch waving my insurance policy at me.”

A GI on Omaha Beach to photographer Robert Capa

OMAHA

U.S. 1st Army Group

German 352nd Division

Cerisy Forest

Life

German 916th Regiment

Bayeux

Drome River

SaintÐL™

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

eventually overwhelmed by the increasing numbers of U.S. soldiers. By late afternoon, the Americans have captured the bluffs and secured the exits from the beach that will later be called “Bloody Omaha,” in recognition of the 2,000 casualties that the U.S. has suffered there.

After taking Omaha Beach, the objective of the 29th is to proceed toward the river Aure, in the direction of their eventual goal, Saint-Lô. Scattered American units find themselves intermingled as they make their way inland. Just a few thousand yards from the beach, they encounter stiff German resistance in the villages of Vierville, Saint-Laurent, and Colleville. Although the fighting initially slows their advance, the Americans press on toward a line between Trévières in the east and Isigny in the west.

The following day, June 7, beach engineers are able to clear enough of the wreckage from D-Day to unload some supplies. A day later,

defenses.”

Grenadier

Franz Gockel, describing the carnage at Omaha Beach

U.S. soldiers taking cover

behind seawall on Omaha Beach

Off The Beach

Between midday on June 6 and the evening of June 7, elements of the 115th and 116th Infantry Regiments fight their way inland to the high ground beyond Omaha Beach. They clear the towns of Vierville, Saint Laurent, and Colleville on the coast road, then probe towards the BayeuxIsigny highway and beyond—to the river Aure. The Americans outman and outgun the Germans. Although German resistance is fierce, the lack of centralized control hinders their efforts to organize resistance against the Americans.

Close Combat Operation: German Side

A “last man defense” will lead to a disaster for the German commander’s teams. However, the stone walls, stone buildings, narrow roads, and

hedgerows that are typical of the Norman countryside all provide excellent positions for German strongpoints.

Close Combat Operation: U.S. Side

The action starts with the 29th Division already moving into the terrain beyond Omaha Beach. Although the Americans have more men and supporting armor, the U.S. teams are about to bite into their first taste of the confining terrain of the Norman countryside—and the German defenses lurking within.

Chapter 4 The Normandy Campaign in Close Combat

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.

By June 8, D-Day plus two, enemy defenses along the Trévières-Isigny line collapse as the 29th Division’s 175th Infantry Regiment makes a determined and rapid advance, covering 12 miles in 36 hours. Assisted by two companies of tanks from the 747th Tank Battalion, the Americans fight through antitank gunfire at La Cambe and mobile 88-mm guns and infantry near Saint-Germain du Pert. At 0300 hours on June 9, Isigny falls to the onrushing Americans, who then capture the bridge over the Aure intact.

The loss of Isigny prevents the German 352nd Infantry Division from driving a wedge between Omaha and Utah beaches, and deprives the Germans of the defensive and artillery positions they have counted on to keep the U.S. forces from advancing far inland. The 175th Division’s victory thwarts Rommel’s plan to stop the invasion on the beaches. Three days later, Omaha and Utah beaches are linked together.

After capturing Isigny, American units cross the river Aure at various points along the line, many of them slogging across areas previously

Allied supplies pour inland from the Normandy beachhead

Across The Aure

On the morning of June 9, the 115th Infantry Regiment is ordered to cross the river Aure. With help from the 121st Engineer Combat Battalion, the Third Battalion makes a swampy crossing from Canchy to a point west of Colombieres. The First Battalion tries to cross the bridge just south of Ecrammeville. German machine gun and rifle fire from positions west of Trévières drives the Americans back; the First Battalion then marches to Canchy and follows the Third Battalion across the Aure.

Close Combat Operation: German Side

The German commander’s teams are bolstered by armor and a deadly array of artillery, and can make the bridge an obstacle instead of an opportunity.

Close Combat Operation: U.S. Side

The American commander has an opportunity to change history by capturing the bridge across the river Aure near Trévières. Additional armor now supports the American heavy weapons and infantry teams.

“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. Omar Bradley

U.S. 82nd Airborne Division

Close Combat

Normandy: June 13, 1944

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.

The British Take The Heat Off

On D-Day, and in the days following the invasion, the British Second Army makes a determined assault on Caen. This convinces the Germans that this city, situated amid good tank terrain, is the Allies’ major invasion objective, the key to a future Allied breakout across the plain running south to Falaise. But Montgomery’s actual objective is to attract and hold as much German armor in the British sector as possible. Tying up the Germans on the Allies’ eastern flank will free the American forces on the western flank to take the port of Cherbourg,

then proceed south, and pivot to break out onto the high ground east of Saint-Lô.

Taute River

352nd Division

U.S. 4th Infantry Division

U.S. 101st Airborne Division

Carentan

Vire River

German

SaintÐL™

Aure River

U.S. 29th Division

U.S. 2nd Division

Cerisy Forest

German 3rd Parachute Division

U.S. 1st Division

Drom

including Hitler, that the Normandy invasion is a diversion. The main invasion, they insist, is still to come at the Pas de Calais. Because of

“Even though we fell back other parts of our regiment were still fighting in the hedgerows. Sometimes it was only a handful of men, but here that could hold up a company.”

Obergrenadier

Karl Wegner,

this, German Fifteenth Army troops that could fight in Normandy remain stuck in Calais, defending against a landing that never comes. Reinforcements for those German Seventh Army troops who are actively combating the U.S. and British forces come slowly and sporadically, due to Allied air superiority and the infrastructure damage it causes.

352nd Infantry Division

e River

Bayeux

Panzer Lehr

Caen

Orne River

Montgomery’s plan works well, as the Germans deploy eight Panzer divisions with 500 to 700 tanks to defend Caen, making that area their center of resistance against the Allies. As a result, between June 15 and July 25, there are never more than 190 serviceable German tanks opposite the American sector.

The initial Allied assaults are also aided by the belief of many German commanders,

Chapter 4 The Normandy Campaign in Close Combat

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. The 352nd Infantry, which opposed the Americans so fiercely at Omaha Beach, has been pulled back along the valley of the river Vire, which flows past Saint-Lô and between the two U.S. invasion beaches. The other German divisions in the area are the Third Parachute Division, the 353rd Division, and the 17th SS Panzergrenadier, although none of these is strong enough to mount an effective counterattack.

The best German defenses in Normandy weren’t put there by Rommel in 1944, but by Celtic farmers more than a thousand years earlier. The Norman hedgerow country, or bocage, consists of small, irregularly shaped fields, only about 200 by 400 meters, enclosed by ancient, overgrown hedges that grow from earthen mounds flanked by drainage ditches. The hedgerows reach a height of 15 feet, limiting visibility to one field at a time. They are impenetrably dense—even for tanks. The hedgerows form a thousand square miles of tough patchwork terrain, connected by a network of dirt roads sunken far below field level by centuries of use. The towering hedges shade these roads, further decreasing visibility.

“We were flabbergasted by the

bocage

. . . . Our infantry had

become paralyzed. It has never been adequately described how immobilized they were by the sound of small-arms fire among those hedges.”

General Elwood Quesada, U.S. IXth Tactical Air Command

“Make every field a fortress.”

Obergefreiter

Paul Kalb,

352nd Infantry Division

200-400 yds

“Every field a fort” is a phrase that recurs throughout the literature of the Normandy Campaign. It sounds like poetic exaggeration, but it’s true. Allied troops advancing into a hedgerow enclosure are walking into an area soon to be covered by pre-planned fields of direct and indirect fire. Using the ideal camouflage and concealment of the bocage to their advantage, the Germans disperse small, heavily armed antipersonnel and antitank units through it, dug in at the bases of the hedgerows and nearly invisible to the oncoming Americans. Out of the silence a sudden, tearing burst of fire from an MG 42 machine gun, the chatter of a machine pistol, the detonation of a Panzerfaust antitank round, incoming mortar fire, or a single sniper shot is usually the first sign of the enemy’s presence. Heavy German machine guns are dug into

200-400 yds

Hedgerows

Heavy machine gun

Light machine gun

Direction of fire

German hedgerow defenses

Preplanned mortar targets

American infantry platoon

Antitank weapon

Close Combat

American GI's examining German positions in the

bocage

have fortified the stoutly built stone houses of the villages along those roads, it is dangerous to move at all. Tanks and troops remain equally vulnerable in the bocage until the Allies develop tactics to enhance

“The Allied soldier never

mobility and improve tank-infantry cooperation.

seemed to be trained as we were, always to try to do more than had been asked of us.”

Obergefreiter

Adolf Hohenstein,

276th Infantry Division

First Encounters in the

To reach Saint-Lô, the Americans have to traverse 20 miles of what Bradley calls “the damnedest country I’ve seen.” Upon encountering the bocage, Allied infantry tend to stick to tactics learned in training, advancing two companies forward into a hedgerow enclosure. The

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. In these ideal defensive positions, small German units can sometimes repulse attacking forces five times as large.

The German bocage defenses are equally hazardous to tanks. Any tank that takes to the sunken roads between fields is in serious danger. Often, it can’t turn around or traverse its gun in such a tight space. Attempting to climb over the embankment between fields will expose the tank’s vulnerable underbelly to antitank weapons. Any tank crew unwary enough to motor into an enclosure unprotected will be blasted by antitank weapons. German 88-mm guns on the main roads pose a constant threat, and since the Germans

Bocage

Hedgerow Hell

By June 10, the 29th Division has crossed the river Aure and is pushing south into the heart of the Norman hedgerow country—the planners estimate it will take a few days to fight through the distance the division pushes forward is not measured in miles, but in yards.

bocage

; instead it takes weeks. The

bocage

. Allied

Close Combat Operation: German Side

Now it is the German commander’s turn to try to “change history” by bogging the Americans down in the

bocage

armor, artillery, and heavy weapons to inflict maximum casualties on the Americans.

. He can deploy a full complement of

Close Combat Operation: U.S. Side

The American commander faces the same challenge faced by the 29th’s commander—push through the

bocage

without decimating his unit.

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.

Advancing through the hedgerows is an unnerving experience for the U.S. troops. The sense of isolation from comrades, the disorientation caused by moving from one small enclosure to another, and the dramatic contrast of silence punctuated by sudden bursts of deadly fire from well-hidden German defenders, all take their toll on morale. Inexperienced U.S. soldiers fling themselves flat when they come under fire; in some cases a German sniper can pick off several prone and immobilized victims.

In the constricted bocage landscape of small, enclosed fields, American units grope forward through terrain that seldom allows more than a hundred yards visibility. Most of this vicious small-unit fighting takes place at distances of less than 300 yards. Worst of all, after penetrating one hedgerow, the U.S. troops are faced with the task of taking another, then another, then another. After two weeks of heavy casualties, the 29th grinds to a halt, exhausted. Clearly, they need to devise new tactics to keep the hedgerow battle from degenerating into a bloody stalemate.

“Sometimes you hold one end of a field and the enemy holds the other, and you maneuver around in two- or three-man patrols until either you or the enemy is thrown out. This kind of war is paradise for the sniper, the rifleman, the automatic weapons man, the bazooka man. Conversely, it’s death on tanks and armored cars.”

Sgt. Bill Davidson, in

Yank

The hedgerows aren’t the only natural phenomenon that hinders the Allied advance. The weather, although overcast part of the time, was better than expected for the two weeks following the invasion. During this period, two artificial harbors, called “Mulberries,” were installed at Omaha and Gold beaches to make up for the lack of a natural harbor on the Calvados coast. But as the Mulberries near completion on June 19, a severe storm strikes and rages for nearly a week, damaging the Omaha Beach Mulberry facilities beyond repair. When the storm finally subsides, U.S. ships are forced to use the lessdamaged British Mulberry. The storm and the damage it causes delay supplies, and force the U.S. armies to ration ammunition. However,

U.S. troops under fire in the

bocage

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. Jack Shea, from

Yank

“This was about as bad a place to mount an infantry assault as could be imagined, as bad as clearing out a town house-byhouse or room-by-room, as bad as attacking a World War I trench system. But it had to be done.”

Stephen Ambrose, in

Band of

Brothers

Allied Improvisation in the

As the fighting through the Norman hedgerows drags into weeks of close and vicious combat, the immobilized Americans devise new methods and equipment to deal with the bocage. “Dozer tanks”— Sherman tanks with a bulldozer blade in front—can cut through any hedgerow, but too few are available to support large-scale operations. The 29th tries sending engineer squads to place two 24-pound (later 50-pound) explosive charges in the embankment beneath a hedge. Initial results are promising, but experience in the bocage quickly reveals that this method is impractical for large-scale operations. One informal field study shows that a tank company moving 1.5 miles through the bocage will come up against 34 separate hedgerows, requiring 17 tons of explosives to do the job.

A more efficient, and more practical, technique is devised, in which tanks are used to bury smaller charges deeply in an embankment to increase their explosive force. Crews weld a pair of four-foot-long, 6½-inch-diameter steel pipes to the front of a Sherman tank. When they ram the tank into an embankment, then back away, the pipes leave two deep holes for explosive charges. Packing the explosives into empty artillery shell cases before placing them in the holes focuses the explosions even more effectively. However, blowing holes in the hedgerows involves one big drawback: The explosions announce to the Germans when and where an attack is beginning, and provide a handy aiming point for all types of defensive fire. Any tank that appears in the newly opened breach is a perfectly framed target.

The Americans try other methods. Some tankers weld bumpers made of railroad tracks to their Shermans and use them to ram through hedgerows. Even more successful is a hedgerow cutter devised by Sergeant Curtis Culin of the 102nd Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron. It consists of scrap iron blades welded to the front of a Sherman tank. Equipped with these tusklike appendages, the retrofitted Shermans come to be called “rhino tanks,” a name that proves appropriate, as the rhinos are nearly unstoppable. At a demonstration of the “Culin Device,” General Bradley is impressed when he sees newly equipped tanks slice through hedgerows “as though they were pasteboard, throwing the bushes and brush into the air.”

Bocage

Chapter 4 The Normandy Campaign in Close Combat

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. Cota decides to use small teams composed of a tank equipped with pipe devices in front to aid in the placement of explosive charges and a telephone on its rear deck for communication with infantrymen, an engineer team, an infantry squad, a BAR, and a 60-mm mortar. To begin the attack, the tank pushes into a hedgerow, then fires white phosphorus rounds from its main gun into the corners of the opposite hedgerow to suppress the German heavy machine guns. The tank then lays down machine gun fire along the base of the hedgerow. Meanwhile, the mortar team drops high explosive rounds into the fields behind the German positions, and smoke rounds to block the enemy’s view. When the tank opens fire with its machine gun, the infantry attacks, moving across the field well away from the hedgerows on either side, and throwing grenades over the hedgerow to disrupt defenders on the other side.

Phase I Phase II

“Every goddam field in this hedgerow country is a battlefield.”

Pfc. Bob Sloane, in

Yank

When the infantry has advanced far enough to block the tank’s field of fire, the tank backs away, and the engineers place and detonate explosives in the holes the pipes leave in the embankment. The tank then rolls through the resulting hole, providing close support for the infantry, while the infantry suppresses antitank fire. Using this approach, the Second Battalion of the 116th Infantry makes better progress than ever in its push toward Saint-Lô.

The Third Armored Division devises an approach for larger-scale hedgerow operations, coordinating the efforts of a tank company and an infantry company to attack across a front three fields wide. The attack begins by penetrating the hedgerows of the two outer fields. When they are taken, the team moves to breach the hedgerows that border

Tanks lay down suppressive fire as infantry moves through hedgerow.

Phase III Phase IV

Demolitions gap hedgerow as infantry assaults the objective.

Sherman tank 60-mm mortar

Tank advances to help infantry clear objectives. Other elements displace forward and prepare to continue the attack.

Hedgerow assualt tactics

As infantry close on enemy and mask tank's fire, tank backs away and engineers emplace charges.

Engineer team Infantrymen Mortar observer

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

The local dairy herd was a casualty in the Normandy Campaign

tough for infantry to handle. Artillery spotter aircraft are an enormous help, since the limited line of sight in the hedgerows makes the job of forward observers on the ground almost impossible. With these tactical refinements, the Allied attack becomes as sophisticated and as effective as the determined German defense.

The increasing savvy of the now-veteran American units, combined with an increasing flow of Allied men and materiel into France, propels them through the bocage toward Saint-Lô.

enemy fire.

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. Instead they begin to attack simultaneously, with small units of infantry going after German antitank crews and taking ground while the tanks take on enemy firing positions and strong points too

Going for the High Ground: Hill 192 and Purple Heart Draw

While the 29th battles its way through the bocage, VII Corps is slowly advancing up the Cotentin Peninsula toward the heavily defended port of Cherbourg. Contradictory orders from the confused German chain of command make it unclear whether the defenders on the Cotentin are to head north to make a stand at Cherbourg, or head south to rejoin other German units. This confusion aids the Americans, who begin making rapid progress. On June 27, after five days of fierce fighting, Cherbourg falls to the U.S. troops, but the Germans sabotage the port facilities, knocking them out of action for three weeks. Three U.S. divisions that have helped capture Cherbourg are now ordered to move south, and assist in the hedgerow battle.

As the situation for the Germans in France worsens, Hitler relieves von Runstedt and replaces him with Marshal Gunther von Kluge on July 5. General Friedrich Dollmann, the commander of the Seventh Army, commits suicide after Hitler orders him court-martialed for the loss of Cherbourg. Meanwhile, as the Americans advance toward Saint-Lô,

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. As Bradley later notes in his memoirs, “I’d just as soon settle for the high ground east and west of Saint-Lô. . . we’re not going to spend a division just to take a place name.” This alternative calls for three divisions of the First Army to drive along a 10-mile front through the hills around Saint-Lô, then into the city itself. As part of this assault, the Americans will have to overrun the German defenders on Hill 192 and Purple Heart Draw, tactical strongpoints east of Saint-Lô that threaten any approaching Allied force. In both locations, the Germans hold the high ground, and the U.S. troops will have to fight their way uphill through a dauntingly vertical variation of the bocage.

Earlier U.S. efforts to take Hill 192 in mid-June failed in the face of the formidable German resistance. The Seventh Army troops on the hill were aided by the fact that they could see everything from the coast to SaintLô, including the attacking Americans. Instead of forming a defensive line, the Germans had built a series of strongpoints that could support the gaps

Vire River

U.S. 38th Division

U.S. 29th Division

between them with covering fire. All

Hill 192

Purple Heart Draw

SaintÐL™

“The Germans adjusted much better to new conditions than we did.”

British intelligence officer Brigadier Bill Williams

U.S. 23rd Division

Purple

Balleroy

Heart Draw

Attack on the High Ground

July 11, 1944

The American Second Division reaches the foot of Hill 192 on June 12; two unsuccessful attacks result in over 1,200 U.S. casualties. Between June 16 and July 10, the Second Division receives intensive training in they renew the assault against Hill 192. The drive through Purple Heart Draw, on the northeast side of the hill, falls to the First Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment. After fierce fighting, in which one platoon is nearly wiped out crossing the draw, the battalion advances nearly a mile, within sight of the Saint-Lô–Bayeux highway.

bocage

tactics; on July 11,

Close Combat Operation: German Side

The draw is the perfect natural obstacle for stopping the Americans. It is wide enough to hinder tanks from crossing it. If U.S. soldiers climb down to the bottom to get across it, they can be easily picked off from above.

Close Combat Operation: U.S. Side

Since this draw is standing between the U.S. and its objective, Hill 192, it must be crossed or flanked. With the Germans holding the upper section of the hill, neither will be easy.

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. Because the weather that day is hazy and visibility is poor, the Allies cannot use air support. The Second Division advances up the gradual slope of Hill 192 behind a rolling artillery barrage. Those German strongpoints that survive the shelling put up fierce resistance, and the struggle for Hill 192 becomes a field-by-field battle. In the villages of Cloville and le Soulaire, which have been blasted by U.S. artillery, German troops dig into the rubble, and are cleared out only after hours of house-to-house fighting. The Norman terrain, coupled with fierce fire from German antitank guns and Panzerfausts, hinders the advance of U.S. tanks. In one area, six tanks are knocked out by German mortar and artillery fire in the first 30 minutes of an assault.

“Throughout the fighting, French farmers and their families live in holes dug into their cellars while the farmhouses are destroyed over their heads.”

Sgt. Bill Davidson, in

Yank

One of the obstacles that impedes the U.S. troops as they inch their way up Hill 192 is a narrow ravine they call “Purple Heart Draw.” It is nearly wide enough to prevent tanks from crossing it, and is heavily fortified by the Germans. Supported by four tanks that are stopped at the edge of the draw, one platoon attempts to cross it. German mortar and artillery hold their fire until the Americans have reached the bottom of the draw, then open up, nearly wiping out the platoon. Another platoon attempts to outflank the defenses in the draw, and the U.S. tanks turn their attention to German defenders inside several nearby houses, firing on them from 30 yards away. When the defenders are silenced, the second platoon finds the survivors of the first platoon at the bottom of the draw, and the two platoons move up out of the ravine. Despite heavy mortar fire, the outflanking maneuver is a success, and by the end of the day, the Americans who have survived “Purple Heart Draw” have taken nearly all of the deadly ravine.

Throughout July 11, the German Seventh Army troops on Hill 192 are blasted by 20,000 rounds of artillery fire. While this does not destroy the sturdier German emplacements, it keeps the defenders pinned in their trenches, and helps speed up the U.S. advance. As the day ends, nearly all of the remaining German defenses on Hill 192 have been badly damaged, and several German units have been cut off and decimated. One U.S. battalion has captured a section of the Saint-Lô– Bayeux highway, which bisects the remaining German-held positions at the top of the hill, and other battalions have closed in on this key

roadway by nightfall. With the Seventh Army occupied on so many fronts, no reserves are left to reinforce the surviving Germans on Hill 192.

The following day, July 12, the fighting on Hill 192 is almost anticlimac-

“Eisenhower found as I did that the well-springs of compassion lie in the field. . . . There, like the others of us,

tic. After shelling the U.S. positions during the night, the Germans launch a counterattack, which is quickly repulsed, and the Second Division soon secures the hill. At a price of 69 dead, 328 wounded, and eight missing, Bradley’s troops now hold the high ground above Saint-Lô.

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. On the front it seldom lapses far from what General Sherman declared it to be.”

Gen. Omar Bradley in

A Soldier’s Story

Taking Saint-Lô at Last

With the capture of Hill 192, the stage is set for the U.S. assault on Saint-Lô. As planned, the three divisions of the First Army close in on the town from the east, north, and west. However, the 29th Division, which is responsible for the main American attack, will have to push along three parallel ridges east of Saint-Lô. These ridges are fiercely defended by members of the German Third Paratroop Division, who are dug in behind an endless series of hedgerows and new defensive lines. The 35th Division, which is to move in on Saint-Lô from the north, is opposed by the German 352nd Infantry, which inflicted so many casualties on the U.S. assault waves at Omaha Beach. Finally, the 30th Division needs to advance through four miles of heavily fortified ridges and valleys west of Saint-Lô, opposed by German Panzers.

Chapter 4 The Normandy Campaign in Close Combat

For the 29th Division, progress along the eastern ridges is slow. Many airstrikes must be canceled due to bad weather, and although the advancing U.S. troops are aided by artillery, they are slowed by German

Hill 192

The main assault on Hill 192 falls to the First and Second Battalions, 38th Infantry Regiment. Following 100 meters behind a rolling barrage, the two battalions start up the hill at 0630 hours. Resistance is fierce around the hamlet of Cloville, where a self-propelled gun and Mark IV tank slow the advance. A Sherman knocks out both, and by 1700 hours elements of the 38th have pushed their way over the hill to the Saint-Lô–Bayeux highway.

Close Combat Operation: German Side

As the German commander, you can muster more armor and firepower than your campaign counterpart to hold Hill 192. This can keep the Americans from closing in on the strategic high ground east of Saint-Lô.

Close Combat Operation: U.S. Side

As the American commander, you can use superior tactics to take the hill more quickly and move on Saint-Lô ahead of schedule.

Close Combat

The ruins of Saint-Lô

“. . . officers who have received the best peacetime training available find themselves surprised and confused by the difference between conditions as pictured in map problems and those they encounter in the

campaign. . . . In our schools

we generally assume that the organizations are well-trained and at full strength, that subordinates are competent, that supply arrangements function, that communications work, that orders are carried out. In war many or all of these conditions may be absent. The veteran knows that this is normal and his mental processes are not paralyzed

by it. . . .”

Gen. George C. Marshall,

Infantry in Battle

, 1934

the eastern outskirts of Saint-Lô. The 35th keeps the pressure on the depleted German 352nd, which is gradually giving ground. When a Panzer Lehr counterattack on the advancing 30th Division fails on July 17, the deteriorating situation in the west finally makes the Germans think about withdrawing from the vicinity of Saint-Lô. Fearful of being trapped against the river Vire by the American forces, whose artillery has destroyed many of the river bridges, the bulk of the German defenders pull back to an area south of Saint-Lô, leaving a few pockets of determined resistance in and near the town itself.

On the morning of July 18, a task force of the 29th Division is assembled under Brigadier-General Norman Cota to move into Saint-Lô, which is in ruins after an intense U.S. aerial bombardment. Despite resistance by the Second Paratroop Corps, no reserves remain to support the defending Germans, and the U.S. task force quickly enters the town. The Americans capture a square near the town cemetery that has survived the bombing, then fan out on foot through streets too choked with rubble to allow much vehicle traffic. German artillery positions south of Saint-Lô shell the task force with artillery and mortar fire as it moves through the rubble, but the rapid advance of the U.S. task force has caught the Germans off guard. By 1900 hours on July 18, after a series of hot skirmishes and house-to-house fighting, U.S. troops have secured Saint-Lô. Shelling from the German defensive positions south of the town will continue for several more days, and the Germans even organize a counterattack on June 19, which U.S. troops break up.

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.

Over the next few days, the Americans begin to make steady progress against the entrenched German defenders. Supplies begin to reach the embattled U.S. divisions from the newly cleared port of Cherbourg, while the Seventh Army is experiencing acute resupply and reinforcement problems. Two battalions of the 29th make isolated advances on the key town of la Madeleine, near the Martinville Ridge, and when German troops fail to destroy them after cutting them off, other elements of the 29th make a renewed push, supported by artillery and air strikes. By July 17, the 29th has reached

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.

Epilogue: Operation Cobra and the Allied Breakout

While Bradley’s troops are attacking Saint-Lô, the long British assault on Caen finally comes to an end with the capture of that city on July 8. The Germans suffer another loss on July 17: Rommel is seriously wounded when a British Royal Air Force fighter strafes his staff car, and von Kluge takes over his command. The next day, the British launch Operation

“I have the honor to announce to the Corps Commander that Task Force C of the 29th Division secured the city of Saint-Lô after 43 days of continual combat from the beaches to Saint-Lô.”

Gen. Charles Gerhardt, U.S. 29th Infantry Division

After the battle: Street scene in Saint-Lô

Saint-Lô

After providing flanking support during the assault on Hill 192, the three regiments of the 29th turn west toward Saint-Lô. The 116th and 175th advance on a front astride the ridges east of the town; by July 17, they fight their way over Hill 147, clear Martinville, and take up an advance position near la Madeleine.

For days the Americans pound Saint-Lô and the surrounding area with air strikes and up to 14,000 artillery rounds a day. On July 18, General Cota assembles Task Force C—a force consisting of reconnaissance, tank, tank destroyer, and engineer units—to race down the Saint-Lô–Isigny road and capture Saint-Lô. The task force rolls at 1500 hours, with infantry units joining along the way. By 1900 hours, after encountering pockets of resistance in what remains of the town, the 29th Division secures Saint-Lô.

Close Combat Operation: German Side

As the German commander, you can choose to defend Saint-Lô to the last man, in house-to-house fighting, and hope that reinforcements show up in time—or at all.

Close Combat Operation: U.S. Side

As the American commander, you have no more hedgerows to deal with—only blasted buildings, rubble-filled streets, and a shell-cratered cemetery. The Germans are holding out in the ruins, waiting for reserve troops to reinforce them. If you don’t take Saint-Lô quickly, you may lose it altogether.

Close Combat

Goodwood, pushing the Germans east of Caen. Although the British suffer severe tank losses, the attack draws even more German troops

“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.”

Field Marshal Erwin Rommel’s terse summary of the Normandy Campaign

into the vicinity of Caen

Bradley characterizes the hedgerow battle as “. . . a slugger’s match, too slow a process.” To end the stalemate once and for all, he launches Operation Cobra. Bad weather delays the breakout for a week until July 25, when German positions five miles west of Saint-Lô are hit with a massive aerial bombardment by 2,500 Allied aircraft. The countryside quickly becomes a moonscape as this carpet bombing blasts several gaps in the German lines and decimates Panzer Lehr, but some of the bombs fall short, causing hundreds of American casualties. Next, the Americans launch a concentrated attack from the ground they have recently captured east of Saint-Lô. This attack initially meets with little success as the advancing troops are slowed by the vast number of bomb craters, and by the evacuation of casualties. Veterans of the hedgerow fighting also have trouble overcoming the caution learned in two months in the bocage, but “rhino tanks” play a significant role in the ongoing attack by speeding the process of penetrating the hedgerows.

German opposition is no longer organized in depth, and forms only a very tough but discontinuous crust against the onslaught. Those German soldiers who have survived the bombing repeatedly find themselves outflanked or bypassed. Since a significant portion of the German forces are still engaged against the British and Canadians to the east, there are no reserve troops or Panzers to fill in any holes in the front line near Saint-Lô. The Americans soon begin to make rapid progress, pushing 56 kilometers east toward Brittany, and capturing the coastal town of Avranches on July 31.

By the beginning of August, Cobra has clearly proved to be a success. The Avranches breakout frees the Americans from the bocage, and propels them into the battle of maneuver they have longed for.

and away from the Americans.

Patton Unleashed

Following the success of Cobra, U.S. General George S. Patton’s Third Army becomes operational on August 1, and takes its position on the Allies’ right flank. Patton’s troops quickly overrun much of Brittany, then head south toward the Loire valley. On August 4, Montgomery makes the first major change in the Overlord plan, ordering the Third Army to drive east toward Le Mans, while the First Army is to swing eastward to encircle the Germans. Montgomery also organizes a drive by British and Canadian forces south from Caen.

Chapter 4 The Normandy Campaign in Close Combat

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. He orders von Kluge to send all ten available Panzer divisions in Normandy on a strike toward the Atlantic to cut off the Allied breakout and, with luck, perhaps even to destroy the Normandy beachhead. Unfortunately for the Germans, the Allies intercept and decrypt von Kluge’s orders, and when the counterattack begins, American troops stymie it, assisted by Allied air strikes.

Trapped in the Falaise “Pocket”

The German defeat at Mortain leaves the Seventh Army vulnerable to a counterattack that could encircle it and for all. After the Third Army takes Le Mans on August 9, Montgomery orders Patton’s forces to proceed to the north, on the eastern flank of the battered Panzers at Mortain. On August 13, the American XV Corps reaches Argentan. Meanwhile, since the Germans have pulled troops away from Caen for their unsuccessful Mortain counterattack, more British and Canadian troops are able to move south from Caen, and the Canadian First Army captures Falaise on August 15.

As the American and Canadian armies converge from the north, south, and west, virtually all the German troops in Normandy are trapped between them, in the ever-shrinking Falaise “pocket” wide salient along the river Orne. The only hope of escape for the remnants of the fifty divisions of the Seventh Army is to retreat to the east. As the Allied armies move in, the retreat becomes a rout, and within five days the pocket is closed. Strafed by Allied fighters and hampered by the narrow roads that they have used to their advantage in the preceding weeks, some 10,000 German soldiers are killed in what will later be called le Couloir de la Mort, or “Corridor of Death.” An additional 50,000 Germans are taken prisoner. Perhaps 20,000 manage to escape across the Seine, alone or in small groups, leaving much of their equipment, especially vehicles, behind them.

and finish it off in Normandy once

a 24-kilometer–

“We must strike like lightning. When we reach the sea the American spearheads will be

cut off. . . . we might even be

able to cut off their entire beachhead. We mustn’t get bogged down with mopping up the Americans who have broken through—their turn will come later.”

Adolf Hitler, shortly before launching the ill-fated German counterattack at Mortain on August 6, 1944

With the closing of the Falaise pocket and the German retreat across the Seine, the chase is on, and the outcome of the war is no longer in doubt. The casualty figures for the 77 days of the Battle of Normandy are staggering: The Germans lose 450,000 men, including 240,000 killed or wounded. The Allies take 209,672 casualties, with 36,976 killed.

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 over

The Falaise Pocket: August 13Ð20, 1944

Cherbourg

and the race to the Rhine is on.

Seine River

U.S. 12th Army

Group

(Bradley)

Vire River

British 21st

Army Group

(Montgomery)

Caen

German 5th Panzer Army Panzer Group Eberbach

Falaise

Dives River

Argentan

rne R

Lisieux

iver

Chapter 5

Weapons

Colt .45 model 1911

Walther P 38

Chapter 5 Weapons

Operation Caliber Muzzle velocity Capacity Weight Overall length Effective range

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.S military’s frustration with the limited stopping power of smaller-caliber revolvers during the Spanish-American War. Both Colt and the Springfield Armory produced the pistol between 1911 and 1915, and by the end of World War I over 60 percent of the American soldiers in France were issued Colt 45s. After World War I, slight modifications were made to the trigger, hammer, grip, and frame. Although it was issued to officers and squad leaders, the .45 was not standard issue for infantrymen during World War II. This didn’t keep many front line soldiers from obtaining them, and the regulation against their carrying pistols was rarely enforced. The Colt was recognized as a weapon of last resort—most soldiers had more effective weapons available, but no one denied the feeling of security the weighty .45 provided. It remained the standard U.S. sidearm until 1984.

Semiautomatic

.45 (11.4 mm)

253 mps (830 fps)

7-round detachable box magazine

1.1 kg (2.43 lbs)

21.9 cm (8.62 in.) 30 m (32 yds)

Operation Caliber Muzzle velocity Capacity Weight Overall length Effective range

The Walther P 38 semiautomatic pistol, which eventually replaced the Luger P 08 as the standard German military sidearm, entered production in

1939. It was designed to be more quickly, cheaply, and easily manufactured than the P 08. In addition to these virtues, the sophisticated yet robust P 38 added several features that made it more convenient and safer than the Luger, which had been designed at the end of the previous century. The P 38 was a doubleaction firearm—after it was cocked and loaded, the user could lower the hammer, and then at any time pull back the hammer and press the trigger to fire the chambered round; in an emergency in which aim was less important than speed, simply pulling the trigger would cock the hammer and fire the chambered round. By the end of the war more than a million P 38s had been produced. In 1957 Walther resumed production of the P 38 in a slightly lightened version called the P 1, which was the standard German military sidearm until 1980. The P 38 remained in service in several countries into the 1990s.

Semiautomatic

9-mm Parabellum (.354 in.)

350 mps (1,149 fps)

8-round magazine

0.96 kg (2 lbs)

21.3 cm (8.25 in.) 30 m (32 yds)

Close Combat

Mauser

Operation Caliber Muzzle velocity Capacity Weight Overall length Effective range

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. Variants of the Gewehr 98 remained in general use in the German army through both world wars because it worked so well and so reliably. The Kar 98 carbine, about six inches shorter than the standard rifle, was issued to most German infantrymen in World War II.

Kar

Manual, bolt-action

7.92 mm (.31 in.) 745 mps (2,445 fps)

5-round magazine

3.9 kg (8.5 lbs) 111 cm (43.75 in.)

550 m (600 yds)

Springfield ’03 Rifle

Operation Caliber Muzzle velocity Capacity Weight

sniper model with scope

Overall length Range

Officially designated “U.S. Rifle, Caliber .30, Model of 1903,” it was better known as the Springfield, the Springfield ’03, or simply the ’03. This bolt-action rifle was adopted by the U.S. Army in 1903 and remained the standard issue rifle of America’s armed forces until 1936. In 1906, the .30-caliber cartridge was modified and designated the “M1906 Cartridge”; it became widely known as the .30-06. This cartridge was the standard U.S. rifle and machine gun cartridge for the next fifty years. In 1936, the Springfield ’03 was replaced by the M1 Garand, but many Springfields saw service in World War II. In the Normandy Campaign, the Springfield was used primarily as a sniper weapon; the vast majority of infantrymen preferred semiautomatic and automatic weapons to the bolt-action rifle. Any advantage the Springfield may have had in accuracy was more than offset by the rate of fire the Garand, M1 Carbine, and BAR offered.

Manual, bolt-action

.30 (7.62 mm)

853 mps (2,800 fps)

5-round internal magazine

4.2 kg (9.38 lbs) M1903A4

110.5 cm (43.5 in.)

550 m (600 yds)

Chapter 5 Weapons

Garand Rifle

Operation Caliber Muzzle velocity Capacity Weight Overall length Effective range

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. Although it was adopted by the Army in 1936, the Garand was in short supply until 1943, but by the end of the war over four million had been produced. The Garand was easy to disassemble and clean, and its combination of caliber, muzzle velocity, and semiautomatic operation provided superior firepower over boltaction rifles. Its only weakness was that partially fired clips were so difficult to reload that GIs tended to simply fire off the remaining rounds and insert a new clip.

Semiautomatic

.30 (7.62 mm)

853 mps (2,800 fps)

8-shot clip

4.3 kg (9.5 lbs)

110.7 cm (43.6 in.) 550 m (600 yds)

Gewehr

Semiautomatic Rifle

Operation Caliber Muzzle velocity Capacity Weight Overall length Effective range

The Germans produced many superb weapons of almost every type, but their efforts to produce a semiautomatic rifle to match the performance of the American M1 Garand fell short. The semiautomatic Gewehr 43 (rifle, model 1943) improved upon the gas-operated, self-cocking mechanism of Carl Walther’s G41 semiautomatic rifle, but both models were heavier, more complex, and less well-balanced or reliable than the Garand; neither supplanted the venerable bolt-action Mauser Kar 98 as the primary German infantry weapon.

Semiautomatic

7.92 mm (.31 in.) 745 mps (2,445 fps)

two 5-round magazines

4.55 kg (10 lbs)

114.3 cm (45 in.) 550 m (600 yds)

Close Combat

M1 Carbine

Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR)

Operation

M2: selective fire (fully and semiautomatic)

Caliber Muzzle velocity Capacity

box magazines

Weight Overall length Effective range

The M1 carbine was developed in response to the Germans’ blitzkrieg tactics; the use of rapid mechanized divisions and airborne troops showed the Americans that fixed fortifications and static front lines were outmoded. Blitzkrieg tactics meant that rear echelon personnel could find themselves under attack with little or no warning, and a light rifle was needed to replace the standard issue pistol. However, the M1 carbine proved so versatile that over six million were produced by the end of the war. The M1 carbine was easier to master than a pistol, more effective at medium-to-long range than a submachine gun, and well suited as the small arm for mortar, machine gun, and bazooka teams. The M1A1 variant, with its folding stock, was specifically designed for paratroops.

M1 & M1A1: semiautomatic;

.30 (7.62 mm)

600 mps (1,970 fps)

15- and 30-round detachable

2.3 kg (5 lbs)

90.4 cm (35.6 in.) 75 m (83 yds)

Operation

semiautomatic); M1918A2: fully automatic

Caliber Muzzle velocity Capacity Weight Overall length Rate of fire Range

The initial M1918A1 version of the Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR) was first used in combat by American soldiers during World War I, and many saw service in World War II. The BAR received high praise for its reliability under adverse conditions. In 1940, the model M1918A2 was adopted. Unlike earlier models, it could only be fired in two automatic modes—slow (300 to 450 rpm) or fast (500 to 650 rpm)—but not in semiautomatic mode. Both versions were widely used in the second world war. The BAR was a popular weapon in all theaters because it was reliable and offered an excellent combination of rapid fire and penetrating power. The BAR’s only serious drawback was its lack of a quick-change barrel to reduce the chances of overheating.

M1918A1: selective fire (fully and

.30 (7.62 mm)

853.4 mps (2,800 fps)

20-round detachable box magazine

8.33 kg (18.5 lbs)

119.4 cm (47 in.)

550 rounds per minute

550 m (600 yds)

Thompson Submachine Gun

Chapter 5 Weapons

Operation

semiautomatic)

Caliber Muzzle velocity Capacity

20- and 30-round detachable box magazine

Weight Overall length Rate of fire Effective range

John T. Thompson, who helped develop the M1903 Springfield rifle and M1911 .45 caliber pistol, began work on a “trench broom” for close quarters combat shortly after his retirement from the Army in 1918. He recognized that the .45-caliber slug used in the M1911 pistol would be devastating when used in a fully automatic weapon. By the spring of 1920, Thompson’s company (Auto-Ordnance) produced a prototype capable of firing 800 rounds per minute. Despite its excellent test performance, the Thompson was not adopted for use by either the U.S. Army or Marine Corps. Still, Thompson contracted with Colt for the manufacture of 15,000 guns, designated “Thompson Submachine Gun, Model of 1921.” The 15,000 guns manufactured by Colt lasted until the eve of World War II. In 1940, the U.S. Army ordered 20,000 Thompson submachine guns; in 1941 the Army ordered an additional 319,000. One of the main assets of the Thompson submachine gun was reliability; it performed better than most submachine guns when exposed to dirt, mud, and rain. The main complaints against the Thompson were its weight (over ten pounds), its inaccuracy at ranges over 50 yards, and its lack of penetrating power (a common complaint with all submachine guns).

Selective fire (fully and

.45 (11.4 mm)

280 mps (920 fps)

50-round drum

4.9 kg (11 lbs)

85.6 cm (33.7 in.)

600 to 725 rounds per minute

50 m (55 yds)

MP40 Machine Pistol

Operation Caliber Muzzle velocity Capacity Weight Overall length

stock extended)

Rate of fire Effective range

The MP40 machine pistol was based on the prewar MP38, modifying the earlier design to make it more suitable for mass production; more than a million were produced during the war. Its folding metal stock made it compact and easy to carry, even in cramped circumstances; its startling staccato bursts of fire shattered the silence in many a Norman hedgerow. The MP40 won the admiration of Allied soldiers, who often referred to the MP40 as the “Schmeisser,” despite the fact that firearms engineer Hugo Schmeisser, designer of the Bergmann MP18 submachine gun in 1918, was not involved in the design of either the MP38 or the MP40.

Fully automatic

9 mm (.354 in.)

380 mps (1,247 fps)

32-round magazine

3.97 kg (8.7 lbs)

83.2 cm (32.75 in. with

500 rounds per minute

100 m (110 yds)

Close Combat

.30-caliber Air-Cooled Machine Gun

(M1919A4)

MG 42 Machine Gun

Operation Caliber Muzzle velocity Capacity Weight Overall length Rate of fire Effective range

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. Consequently, the water-cooled M1917 was converted to an air-cooled model by surrounding the barrel with a perforated metal jacket. As World War II approached, the Ordnance Department was committed to developing an air-cooled machine gun for infantry use. The result was the M1919A4. At 41 lbs for gun and tripod, the M1919A4 was much lighter than the water-cooled M1917A1 (93 lbs for gun and tripod). Consequently, it was used more as an offensive weapon than the water-cooled guns. Although unable to maintain the same level of sustained fire as the water-cooled M1917A1, the M1919A4 air-cooled machine gun was truly one of the workhorse weapons of the American infantry.

Fully automatic, air-cooled

.30 (7.62 mm)

853.4 mps (2,800 fps)

250-round belt

18.5 kg (41 lbs) with tripod

104.1 cm (41 in.)

400 to 550 rounds per minute

1,000 m (1,100 yds)

Operation Caliber Muzzle velocity Capacity Weight Overall length Rate of fire Range

The MG 42 was one of the best light machine guns ever made; variants of this weapon are still in widespread use today. Its very high rate of fire made the MG 42 an intimidating weapon; those who faced its deadly hail of fire were equally impressed by the sound it made—“like ripping canvas.” Its barrel could be quickly changed, and its design, using stamped and pressed steel, was well suited to mass production. The MG 42 was more reliable, and almost as versatile, as the MG 34 that it generally replaced, allowing use on bipod, tripod, and dual antiaircraft mounts. However, because the square barrel housing of the MG 42 was inappropriate for use as secondary tank armament, the MG 34 continued in that role. An assault variant of the MG 42 used a 75-round twin drum magazine like that made for the MG 34. The original design of the MG 42 was so successful that it was updated in the 1950s. The newer version, designated MG3, is still in use by a number of nations, including Germany.

Fully automatic

7.92 mm (.31 in.) 755 mps (2,478 fps)

50-round belt

11.5 kg (25.3 lbs)

121.9 cm (48 in.)

1,200 rounds per minute

1,000 m (1,100 yds)

Chapter 5 Weapons

.50-caliber Air-Cooled Machine Gun

(M2-HB)

Operation

air-cooled

Caliber Muzzle velocity Capacity Weight Overall length Rate of fire Range

The predecessors of the .50-caliber machine gun were German 12.7- and 13.2-mm antitank rifles used in World War I. Early tanks had thin armor that was easily pierced by such rounds. The U.S. Ordnance Department turned to John Browning to design a machine gun that would use a high-velocity .50-caliber cartridge, and Browning delivered a prototype gun the day after the Armistice was signed. While the vast majority of U.S. .50-caliber machine guns (both air- and water-cooled) were used in aircraft or mounted on vehicles (tanks, halftracks, jeeps, and trucks), the M2-HB air-cooled model was issued to infantry units. Weighing nearly 130 pounds (with tripod), the M2-HB was used mainly as a defensive weapon.

Selective fire (fully or semiautomatic),

.50 (12.7 mm)

893 mps (2,930 fps)

110-round belt

57.6 kg (128 lbs) with tripod

165.4 cm (65.1 in.)

450 to 550 rounds per minute

1,800 m (1,970 yds)

Close Combat

Panzerfaust

Antitank

Grenade Launcher

Operation Caliber Weight Overall length

(40.95 in.)

Range Armor penetration

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. All Panzerfaust models consisted of a steel tube that contained a propellant charge. As in all small arms cartridges (and unlike the electrically fired Bazooka and Panzerschreck launchers), the charge in the tube was ignited by percussion, firing a 44-mm hollow-charge antitank grenade from the tube. When the grenade left the tube, spring-steel fins deployed to stabilize its flight. Early models were effective only at close range—about 30 meters. Later models improved the range, first up to 80 meters, and finally up to 150 meters. Allied tank crews trapped in the blind enclosures of the Norman

bocage country often became aware of concealed Panzerfaust teams only when their vehicles were

struck by exploding antitank grenades.

Grenade launcher, percussion fired

44 mm (1.73 in.)

5 to 7 kg (11 to 15.4 lbs)

approx. 104 cm

up to 80 m (88 yds)

240 mm (9.4 in.)

Bazooka

Chapter 5 Weapons

Operation Caliber Muzzle velocity Weight Overall length Range

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. Another member of the Ordnance Department, Henry H. Mohaupt, had been working on a shaped charge grenade for use by infantry against tanks. Mohaupt’s M10 grenade weighed over

3.5 lbs, making it nearly impossible to throw effectively. However, when Skinner and Uhl attached one of Mohaupt’s grenades to a rocket, then hit a tank on three successive shots during testing, the Ordnance Department immediately recognized the value of this new weapon. Many bazookas were shipped to America’s allies; in fact, when the Germans captured one from the Russians, they copied the design to produce the Panzerschreck (“Tank Terror”). The bazooka was named for a musical contraption devised by comedian Bob Burns.

Rocket launcher, electrically fired

2.36 in. (60 mm) 84 mps (275 fps)

8.1 kg (18 lbs)

154.9 cm (61 in.)

455 m (500 yds)

Panzerschreck

Antitank

Rocket Launcher

Operation Caliber Weight Overall length Range Armor penetration

The German Panzerschreck (“Tank Terror”) was a larger, more powerful antitank weapon than the more common Panzerfaust. Instead of firing an antitank grenade with a propellant charge inside the launcher tube, the Panzerschreck, like the American Bazooka, fired an antitank rocket electrically. The Panzerschreck consisted of a steel tube and a dry-cell electrical firing mechanism. An 88-mm hollow-charge rocket projectile was inserted into the rear end of the tube; pressing the trigger closed the contacts and ignited the propellant in the back of the rocket, firing the 3.2-kilogram projectile.

Rocket launcher, electrically fired

88 mm (3.46 in.)

9.3 kg (20.5 lbs)

163.8 cm (64.5 in.)

120 meters (130 yds)

230 mm (9 in.)

Close Combat

American Hand Grenades

Mark II Fragmentation Grenade

Grenade weight Charge weight Overall length Range

45 m (50 yds) maximum

.59 kg (21 oz)

.14 kg (5 oz)

139.7 mm (5 in.)

German Hand Grenades

Stick Grenade

Grenade weight Charge weight Overall length

Egg Grenade Specifications

Grenade weight Charge weight Overall length

0.61 kg (1.36 lb)

.17 kg (6 oz)

355.6 mm (14 in.)

0.23 kg (0.5 lb)

0.115 kg (0.25 lb)

134.6 mm (5.3 in.)

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.

The specifications for the Mark II called for a TNT filler, but because TNT was in short supply when the war started, many early Mark IIs were filled with a nitrostarch compound. The time delay on the Mark II’s fuse was 4 to 4.8 seconds. The Mark II’s killing radius was 5 to 10 yards, but fragments could kill at up to 50 yards. Because the accepted throwing range was 35 to 40 yards, soldiers were ordered to keep their heads down until after the grenade exploded.

Of the other types of hand grenades issued to GIs in Europe, the two most common were smoke and phosphorus grenades. Both these grenades were used to mask movements or mark artillery and groundsupport aircraft targets.

As they did with almost every other weapons type, the Germans developed a number of different hand grenades. There were, however, two primary types of German high-explosive hand grenades: the Stielhandgranate 24 (“stick hand grenade, model 24”), and the smaller, egg-shaped Eihandgranate 39 (“egg hand grenade model 39”).

The stick grenade was the more familiar of the two, having seen widespread use in World War I, and undergoing various improvements in the interwar years. It consisted of a thin sheet-metal can containing a TNT charge, mounted on a hollow wooden handle. The handle provided leverage that made this grenade easier to throw than other egg- or pineappleshaped German and Allied grenades. The stick grenade was armed by unscrewing the metal cap on the bottom of the handle to expose a porcelain bead attached to a cord in the handle. Pulling the bead actuated a friction igniter, and the TNT charge exploded after a four- to five-second delay. Late in the war variant stick grenade models substituted a concrete or wooden charge container for the original metal head.

The smaller, lighter, and less powerful egg grenade encased a TNT charge in a thin sheet-metal container. The grenade was armed by unscrewing a metal cap on the top and pulling the exposed ring of the friction igniter. As with the stick grenade, the TNT charge exploded after a four- to five-second delay.

Chapter 5 Weapons

60-mm Mortar (Mortar 60-mm,

M2 and Mount M2)

Caliber Muzzle velocity Weight Overall length Rate of fire

Range

Mortars were the lightest and most mobile form of artillery used in World War II. The mortars used during the war ranged in size from the 50-mm mortar used extensively by the Japanese to a mammoth 305-mm mortar used by the Russian Army. The largest mortars that saw extensive use in combat were 120-mm mortars (usually mounted on wheels) used by both the Germans and Russians. The smallest mortar used by American troops was the 60-mm mortar. Like most mortars, it consisted of a smooth-bore barrel (or tube), base plate, and bipod. Designated “Mortar 60mm, M2 and Mount M2,” the 60-mm mortar was almost identical in design, construction, and operation to the 81-mm mortar. However, the 60-mm mortar was considerably lighter. The tube weighed 12.8 pounds, the base plate

12.8 pounds, and the bipod 16.4 pounds—a total weight of 42 pounds compared to the 81-mm mortar’s 136 pounds. The base plate was often left attached to facilitate rapid setup.

60-mm (2.36 in.)

163 mps (535 fps)

18.9 kg (42 lbs)

72.6 cm (28.6 in.)

18 rounds per minute (normal),

35 rounds per minute (maximum)

1,806 m (1,975 yds)

Microsoft Close Combat User Manual

Specifications and Main Features

Frequently Asked Questions

User Manual