GrumpyMel
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ORIGINAL: SigUp
quote:
ORIGINAL: GrumpyMel
Edit: And as to the lack of preparatory bombardments in WWII, I'll simply provide the following citation describing the bombardment proceeding the COBRA offensive....
"Cobra got underway at 09:38 on 25 July, when around 600 Allied fighter-bombers attacked strongpoints and enemy artillery along a 300 yd (270 m)-wide strip of ground located in the St. Lô area.[76] For the next hour, 1,800 heavy bombers of the U.S. Eighth Air Force saturated a 6,000 yd × 2,200 yd (5,500 m × 2,000 m) area on the Saint-Lô–Periers road, succeeded by a third and final wave of medium bombers.[77] Approximately 3,000 U.S. aircraft had carpet-bombed a narrow section of the front, with the Panzer-Lehr-Division taking the brunt of the attack...."
And if you go further in your Wikipedia quotation you'll discover that...
"By 11:00, the infantry began to move forward, advancing from crater to crater beyond what had been the German outpost line.[79] Although no serious opposition was forecast,[80] the remnants of Bayerlein′s Panzer Lehr—consisting of roughly 2,200 men and 45 armored vehicles[71]—had regrouped and were prepared to meet the advancing U.S. troops, and to the west of Panzer Lehr the German 5th Parachute Division had escaped the bombing almost intact.[80] Collins' VII Corps were quite disheartened to meet fierce enemy artillery fire,[81] which they expected to have been suppressed by the bombing.[81] Several U.S. units found themselves entangled in fights against strongpoints held by a handful of German tanks, supporting infantry and 88 mm (3.46 in) guns[81]—VII Corps gained only 2,200 yd (2,000 m) during the rest of the day.[80]"
Reading is fundamental, look at the full statement from where you took the quote...
- "By 11:00, the infantry began to move forward, advancing from crater to crater beyond what had been the German outpost line"
The German fortifications were sufficiently nullified to allow the Allied infantry to pass the initial defenses without opposition.
"Several U.S. units found themselves entangled in fights against strongpoints held by a handful of German tanks, supporting infantry and 88 mm (3.46 in) guns[81]—VII Corps gained only 2,200 yd (2,000 m) during the rest of the day.[80]"
- There were some surviving troops and surviving strong-points. No one expects even concentrated artillery and air to destroy every last man, tank, gun and strongpoint. What it means is that it was significantly reduced not completely destroyed by the bombardment. To Lehr's immense credit it didn't break and rout where alot of other units might have. They doesn't translate to bombardment ineffective.
- Collins Corps gained 2,000 meters in 1 day. Not a break-through but in a game where each hex is around 10 miles and turns are 1 week long....that translates to pushing the defender out of the hex, even if subsequent attacks gained ground at no greater rate.
However, subsequently we have this...
"However, if the first day's results had been disappointing, General Collins found cause for encouragement; although the Germans were fiercely holding their positions, these did not seem to form a continuous line and were susceptible to being outflanked or bypassed."
and later
"By 28 July, the German defenses across the U.S. front had largely collapsed under the full weight of VII and VIII Corps' advance, and resistance was disorganised and patchy.[83] VIII Corps' 4th Armored Division—entering combat for the first time—captured Coutances but met stiff opposition east of the town,[83] and U.S. units penetrating into the depth of the German positions were variously counterattacked by elements of the 2nd SS Panzer, 17th SS Panzergrenadier, and 353rd Infantry Divisions, all seeking to escape entrapment.[84] A desperate counterattack was mounted against the 2nd Armored Division by German remnants, but this was a disaster and the Germans abandoned their vehicles and fled on foot.[84] An exhausted and demoralized Bayerlein reported that his Panzer Lehr Division was "finally annihilated", with its armor wiped out, its personnel either casualties or missing, and all headquarters records lost."
Reminder.... turn equals 1 week, scale equals 10 mile hex's. By the scale the game is operating under, the bombardment did it's job in neutralizing the effectiveness of the initial German defensive positions and allowing the Allied infantry to pass them and press the attack, followed up by armor. Even if they hadn't advanced at a greater rate then the until days, the attack was effective.
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