Halder

[WarHunter]

The Roleplay aspect is rare and special for a war-game. Wish it was as deep for the Soviet side. The fact you can play with or without it makes it a gem of a game.
The quotes from Halder's diary got me interested in who this man was. Found this tidbit of info about him.

Throughout his career, Franz Halder kept a diary rich in detail, noting not only the chronology of events but also the observed emotions of the main decision makers in Germany and other trivia that were otherwise not recorded on official documents. After the war, he cooperated with historians in constructing a view of the war through German eyes, acting as an adviser to the US Army Historical Division in the 1950s. US President John Kennedy would later award him the Medal of Freedom for his contributions in history. He passed away in 1972. His memoirs, The Halder Diaries, was published in 1976

http://ww2db.com/person_bio.php?person_id=A228

[lancer]

Hi,

The player does indeed represent Franz Halder in the game.

The decision was made to have the German player represent the Operational Commander of the Eastern front rather than the typical Hitler approach.

The German command structure had both a formal and power based hierarchy. They were different.

Kietel was useless and very few, if any, line commanders paid him any heed. Most of them went out of their way to ignore him.

Von Brauchitsch was ineffective in standing up to Hitler, in rapidly fading health (serious heart problems) and exercised authority in mainly formal manner. His practical ability to influence events was limited.

Which left Franz Halder, the Chief of Staff. While nominally his immediate superior, Von Brauchitsch, should have been running things, you could mount a solid argument that it was Halder who had the most influence.

Cheers,
Cameron