Campaign Experience

[Suhiir]

It's Hollywood ... you expect realism?

And yes, they were there to stop an attack on rear area units not fighting to defend their immobile tank.

That said, just because many people were more concerned with CYA then accomplishing their mission hardly means everyone was. You can also look at US desertion rates in the last months of the war, they skyrocketed.

[IronDuke99]

Originally Posted by Suhiir

It's Hollywood ... you expect realism?

And yes, they were there to stop an attack on rear area units not fighting to defend their immobile tank.

That said, just because many people were more concerned with CYA then accomplishing their mission hardly means everyone was. You can also look at US desertion rates in the last months of the war, they skyrocketed.

I would always prefer at least some loose approach to realism, its just the way I am.

Have never really looked at desertion rates in WWII, but I would suspect they would be highest in the best places to desert amongst the lowest moral and least well trained troops. My family was full of stories about black markets and German women of relatively easy virtue that are vastly too common to be untrue (and after all the Soviet Army was totally vile to German women and girls).

Soldiers, and servicemen generally do some amazing, and surprising, things, but not many of them really want to die. The really fearless come in two main flavours: the very lacking in imagination and the mentally disturbed (and both of those types have their place in war, providing they are never commanding me) Others sometimes act fearlessly, but there is generally something driving that, like anger or saving ones men or a brain fart...

[Suhiir]

Originally Posted by IronDuke99

My family was full of stories about black markets and German women of relatively easy virtue that are vastly too common to be untrue (and after all the Soviet Army was totally vile to German women and girls).

When the countryside and transportation infrastructure has been blown to hell as it was in Germany after WW II and the choice is starve or rent your body to the occupying troops I'd say it's pretty much of a no brainer.