The top picture shows where the unit is "in game" and the bottom picture from Google Earth shows where the unit is "in reality".
That is kind of a small place to park 21 trucks. I know "in reality" the trucks are parked in the village just off the map to the south (Quaranta). I also know that dismounting is the number one user requested feature and has been discussed many times over the years.
I just thought i was an interesting example of how keeping units always mounted "in game" gives rise to what would be some interesting situations "in reality".
Very nice comparison.
Hm, where is Quaranta? I can't find it on Google maps. I see Alinda and Partheni.
And how do you attach files? Looks like LnL removed the img-upload function.
No?
The beach line in your screenshot (from the game) looks accessible, while in reality the terrain is too steep (just right of the red square, east of the tiny beach strip that can be spotted on the google image) or too rough. The huge plateau (just south of the spotted Krad Coy) didn't make it into the CO map, the part that should appear as plateau is drawn as a mountain range with a steady gradient towards the eastern coastline.
That's why I used to dream of a 3D-version of the game that would use DGPS data, as it would avoid map inaccuracies and enhance immersion.
Edit: I wonder how much the vehicles soak up causalities that would otherwise be allocated to the fighting elements? Do the vehicle drivers contribute to the overall unit's combat value?
Good question: The drivers had personal weapons, ofc. German drivers usually had carbines, their NCOs either a rifle or a pistol, but they didn't join the fight, usually, as they had to get in reinforcements or help the supply columns to haul ammo. I would imagine that the Allies maintained a similar regime.
The trucks were also seen as assets, so they were usually left at the FUP - guarded by the drivers - or just sent back to the rear. The drivers also helped by performing medevacs, but I can't imagine that the estab designer(s) counted these troops as combat elements, I am pretty sure that they are deducted.
I do know that the estab designers didn't count Bn or Coy positions like the paymaster (who also overlooked food supplies and kitchen service) and the armorer (both were state officials - as in public servants), shoemakers, veterinary surgeons, grooms, messengers (horse or motorcycle), kitchen personnel, cooks, supply troops, the Bn surgeon + his medical officers or the Coy medics.
Looking at an old Recon Bn HQ estab entry from HTTR, I would say that the game's personnel levels are often very accurate, and only in very few HQ units a tick too high.
Example:
The layout for the HQ of a Panzer Recon Bn (1943-ish) listed a total of
95 HQ troops, including NCOs and officers and supply troops/cooks (etc.).
Only a few of them would have been been able to engage in combat, particularly the Bn commander, his adjutant, the aide-de-camp (in pre-1943 layouts), the scissor telescope officer (pre-1943 or pre-1941, I can't remember) and say 1 HQ driver or NCO.
probably around 4 or 5 in the 1943 layout.
The rest was needed to run the supply trains (food + ammunition: cooks, drivers, co-drivers, supply train clerk, shoemaker), to repair/maintain weapons or bicycles (subordinates of the armorer), relay messages (messengers) or provide medical services (BN surgeon, HQ medic who was also a radio operator). All these men were considered to be part of the staff company ("Stabskompanie"), which wasn't an actual coy, but BN elements that were needed to supply the HQ staff, to support the combat troops by supporting the Coys' supply platoons and to support command + control.
Nowadays, the 4th or 5th Coy of a German Tank Recon Bn provides the security platoon for the Bn HQ, so I could imagine that the Wehrmacht had a similar tradition.
A platoon consisted of the platoon HQ squad ("Zugtrupp") and the actual platoon troops, organized in groups.
The HQ squad of a Tank Recon coy consisted of 1 platoon leader, a platoon HQ-squad leader, 1 messenger (who was also the squad HQ's radio operator, in car), 1 Krad messenger, 2 drivers (for the 2 cars), and 1 litter bearer (assigned to the 2nd car tasked with medevac services, but the Bn HQ also had a dedicated halftrack for medevacs). The coy CO could also assign one of his messengers (with a radio) to such squad HQ, in order to keep in contact with the squad.
In 1943, a Pz Recon element's platoon (all on Krads with sidecars) had 3 groups with 7 troops (Krad riflemen = passengers or gunners in the sidecars) and 1 group leader each (passengers in sidecars) and 12 drivers. IIRC, the Krad drivers were considered to be riflemen, but they were sometimes held back (to guard/keep the Krad pool, but also because they were trained vehicle specialists), afaik.
So, that's 3 men in the platoon HQ squad (platoon leader, platoon HQ leader, 1 radio operator) and 36 platoon troops (incl. the 12 drivers) who would possibly join a Recon Bn HQ's personnel pool in a fight, if a Recon HQ would have been attacked.
So, 39 plus 4, that's a total of
43 men who could possibly engage in combat, IF the particular HQ had a security platoon, actually (if not: just those 4 or 5 men).
For COTA, the HQ personnel pools had been purged in quite a few units, already, they appeared to be even more accurate IIRC, but I can't remember how many troops HQs in Command Ops are holding these days (not installed atm). But the number of 44 men in the old HTTR estab is impressively accurate.
I am just not sure if the estab designers used the same thought process to get to that number, as the BN HQ layouts did not list security elements, usually. If they didn't include a security platoon in their thinking, then I wonder how they got to the number (44).
I wouldn't rule out that a "Sicherungszug" (security platoon) was defined in some Coy layouts or division layouts or even listed as separate entry, though, but it takes some work to find, unravel and match these infos/details, as these platoons were not (listed as) organic sub-elements of those HQs, so kudos to the estab designers.
If a given Recon Bn HQ didn't have a security platoon at its disposal, then it only had 4-6 men that could actually engage in combat (or in defensive actions).
In the HBO series "Band of Brothers", you can see Winters (Bn CO but still Captain) in his lone BN HQ outpost (episode about the 101st's deployment near Foy - during the Battle of the Bulge), no security detachment, just 3 guys in an open tent (pitched up in the woods).
