Do CO ranks matter?

[RockinHarry]

...currently relearning the game after just having played the Demo a year ago. [8D]

Noticed in german onmap OOBs of Tut St. Vith and Nobody comes back that it´s quite heavy of lieutenant colonel COs in battalion HQs. Normally these would be majors or even somewhat below in german army, so is it an oversight or does the higher than normal CO ranking have a special purpose with regard to C2 mechanics in the game? Can´t find anything in the game manual, so I guess CO ranks are ineffective (cosmetical) and it´s the actual HQ unit class that matters. Beside that, leader and staff attributes of course.

Great simulation game so far and yet much to explore. [:)]

Edit: Playing BftB patched up to latest v4.2.248 Public Beta

[simovitch]

It's a cosmetic - default rank depending on the "size" of the force when it was created in the editor.

[RockinHarry]

ORIGINAL: simovitch

It's a cosmetic - default rank depending on the "size" of the force when it was created in the editor.

Thanks!

[GoodGuy]

ORIGINAL: RockinHarry

...it´s quite heavy of lieutenant colonel COs in battalion HQs. Normally these would be majors or even somewhat below in german army, so is it an oversight or does the higher than normal CO ranking have a special purpose with regard to C2 mechanics in the game? ...

My guess is, that the German Bn HQs were set to that default rank, because a Lt. Colonel (Oberstleutnant) in the US Army usually performs the operational control of a Bn (at least nowadays, probably in WW2 too).

A German Oberstleutnant was (and still is) a staff officer rank, though, and as such - after having finished the "general staff training" - he was usually employed as Ia ("Erster Generalstabsoffizier" = First general staff officer) in the General staff, a position that served as direct aid to the General and led the staff of operations ("Operationsabteilung"), which was used to analyze past operations and collect infos for future ops. He also overlooked training, guidance, organization, transport, accomodation, air-raid protection, etc.

So basically a Ia position united most of the duties of the positions G-1, G-3 and G-4 present in the US Army, where he had the operations department at his disposal to help with some G-3 duties (here: analyz.: past/future tactical doctrine, unit effectiveness). The Ia was in charge of the transportation, exclusively, which means that the Ia had to make sure that there were enough vehicles for transportation (of combat troops and its commanders).

The Ib, ("Zweiter Generalstabsoffizier" = Second gen. staff off.) was responsible for the supplies (food, ammo, food for horses), for the evacuation of the wounded and captured enemy soldiers, and for the removal of equipment or supplies that were not needed/spent. Ib was pretty much G-4 stuff, he also overlooked road construction, employment of the divisional baggage, rear-area AA, and traffic control.

The Ic ("Dritter Generalstabsoffizier" = Third gen. staff off.) was responsible for counter-espionage and intel and had the "Feindnachrichtenabteilung" (= enemy news/intel division) at his disposal, as well as a group of military police troops. So basically a Ic was a G-2.

A Regiment was led by an Oberst (Colonel). Oberstleutnants did command units, but early in the war and mid-war (if I am not mistaken) usually as acting commanders only, as -in general- lower ranked officers were not entitled to command a unit for a longer period, if their rank didn't match that positions pay grade.

A Bn was usually led by a Major, by a Hauptmann later in the war, a Coy by a Hauptmann and by a Lt. later in the war, or temporarily by a Leutnant -> if the Hauptmann was wounded/killed.

Later in the war, the German Army could not produce enough officers, as their units lost a significant higher amount of COs than Allied units, especially among Major or Hauptmann ranks .... a result of the widespread Wehrmacht spirit saying that a CO had to lead from the "front" (means from the head of the column), resulting in lower ranks having to take over mid-war and late in the war, quite often. If an officer (say a Leutnant) had the required skills, he was usually sent to the "Kompanieführerschule" (Coy commander school) and eventually promoted (ie. to Hauptmann), where he then either returned to his unit as CO or where he was placed as CO in another/new unit.

Nowadays, in the Bundeswehr, a Lt. Colonel is usually being placed as CO of a Bn or as deputy CO of a Regiment, I'm not sure whether that's a result of taking over NATO-standards or not, though.

[Arjuna]

GoodGuy,

Thanks for that info. Very helpful.