,,Field manuals" for Toaw and games like it.

[Jakers123]

Could anyone recommend any good real life field manuals, web pages or something like that, that could be used in Toaw and games like it? I always strive for realism in military games, whether fps or grand strategy (since I'd like to be able to somewhat compare 2 random countries in a hypothetical war and see who'd win), so I would like to know some real life tactics and strategies, for example to be able to create realistic frontages, realistic offensives and so on, instead of just the usual gamey arcade invincible tank attacks present in many games.

I never saw anything on the internet that clearly says for example that tanks are not supposed to be used in cities (due to the possibility of massed rpg attacks from high rise buildings, as demonstrated in Chechnya) or what the role of a BTR equipped infantry is, what is the role of humvee's and so on, so you always have to go by common logic and improvise, but that is of course far from realism, I don't think that Toaw manual mentions any of that stuff as well, so there has to be at least something that has this information in it..

[larryfulkerson]

Could anyone recommend any good real life field manuals, web pages or something like that, that could be used in Toaw and games like it?

Here's a good one. Free field manuals were mentioned.

http://armypubs.army.mil/doctrine/Active_FM.html

[Jakers123]

Thanks, but do you know exactly which ones could be useful for us gamers? There is the Globalsecurity site that also has many field manuals and for example the FAS site, so finding them is not the problem, but the fact that there's hundreds of them and each one has hundreds and hundreds of pages and most are too ,,specialized", for example a field manual made only for this or that type of unit, which means that if you wanted to know the difference between a stryker, lav, bradley and abrams battalions, you would need to read a manual for each of them separately, so at least 4 manuals instead of having one single that would, in a few sentences, describe each of these. There are the OPFOR manuals that have detailed organization charts, equipment,etc, but again not a single word on what the role of this or that is, which is pretty much the main thing gamers need.

[larryfulkerson]

Sounds like we need a new batch of tutorials for the troops. Here's a link to Steve Sill's
personal channel on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_SuQW ... JirRv2d5Ww

He's got multiple tutorials up and running. I've been through them all. I recommend them.
Let's lobby Steve for some reguarding tactics and strategy and things we need to find
in the field manuals. A real expert's opinion.

[sPzAbt653]

I don't know if it's the most correct thing to do, but when I want to know such stuff I use the Google Machine and go straight to the first Wiki article that comes up. Sometimes it also pays to go beyond Wiki a link or two. The first thing to look for is Doctrine, then look for the weapon system. For example, want to know about the US M36 Jackson ? Search for 'US Tank Destroyer Doctrine' and after reading a page about that search for the M36 itself, which will also have a Wiki page. If those quick bits leave you burning for more, then look for a book on the matter.