Re: [Epic] Re: [EPIC] Epic 40k stats/pre-sale

From: Jyrki Saari <js54904_at_...>
Date: Wed, 5 Mar 1997 11:40:06 +0200 (EET)

[snip]
>
> Roughly speaking (very roughly - it's been years since I took Western Civ),
> Trench warfare went something like this:
> Charge across no man's land in the face of automatic firepower, taking
> massive casualties. Then, when you got close, the enemy fell back to the
> trench they had behind their current position. The next day they did the
> same in return. Eventually, trench systems were many layers deep.
>
> The German Shock troops simply kept going. They concentrated on a small
> area, attacking as a column instead of as a broad front. Instead of taking
> the first trench and allowing the enemy to fall back, they would press
> through. They would capture gun emplacements in the rear trenches that the
> enemy thought were relatively safe, and turn them down the
> as-yet-un-evacuated trenches, or if the more advanced units started falling
> back, catch them in a cross fire. They took much more territory (several
> trench rows instead of one), and caused considerably more casualties. If I
> remember correctly, they were the original German Storm Troopers (as opposed
> to the SS). An amazingly simple tactic, but extremely effective because of
> 1) the stagnant thinking of military minds at the time, and 2) the extreme
> violence with which it was carried out.
>
> Anyway, I'm sure one or more of the amateur historians on this list will
> correct some portion of this, but that's the basic idea.
>
> Temp
>
>
The shock troops were also fully trained to function as squads and were
supplied with more automatic weapons. Especially the "squad thinking" was
effective since in the 1st international live-ammunition exchange the smallest
tactical unit was platoon. Another revolutionary concept was to encourage
junior officers to think by themselves without consulting the higher command
in every matter.

Jyrki Saari
js54904_at_...
Received on Wed Mar 05 1997 - 09:40:06 UTC