absorbingindependents

[Phoenix100]

I just saw a message I've never seen before, in so many years playing this series. An HQ - the Regiment de Maissoneuve, in Huib's outstanding Woensdrecht scenario - entered this message in its log, which I can't find anywhere in the manual - 'Absorbingindependents'. I can guess, but does anyone know what it's doing?

[Arjuna]

What this means is that the HQ has reabsorbed some subordinate who previously was off doing some independent task - eg it may have been moving independently to the objective because it was too far away or on the other side of a major river when the force originally planned its move. In such a case the subordinate would have been assigned an independent Move task to the same objective. Regular assessments check to see if the conditions have changed such that the independent subordinate can be absorbed back into the main force.

[Phoenix100]

Thanks, Dave.

[danlongman]

From what I understand Regiment de Maissoneuve spent a good part of the campaign at little more than company strength due to a lack
of replacements who could speak the right language. From what I have heard from Calgary Highlanders veterans they could have been
up to absolutely anything that did not involve getting shot at, however, these were dour and prejudiced old men prone to rate themselves
rather highly and their brigade mates as shirkers.

[Phoenix100]

Quite a provocative idea, Dan. [:)]Many of them died. I'm reading a book - Autumn Gale - which tells a quite different story as to their exploits. It's not about the Allied side really, but about the Axis recovery in Holland in Autumn/Winter '44. At any rate, the 'Massies' seem to have fought and died just like the Calgary Highlanders. No doubt you would have to beware of the language divide and rivalry within different parts of Canada, when listening to accounts from one language group about another (I assume the CH's were Anglophone?).

[danlongman]

As I said. Dour and prejudiced old men tell their own stories. They were a francophone regiment and had a hard time keeping strength
as recruiting in Quebec wasn't what it was in TROC. (T he R est O f C anada). The regimental system as practiced by most Commonwealth
armies had it's strengths... but one weakness seems to be they never miss a chance to slander another regiment. As I just did.
The old ways die hard. A number of my family members served with Calgary Highlanders. One is still alive and I saw him yesterday.

[Arjuna]

I have to agree about your comments on the "slandering" that goes on in the regimental system as practiced in Commonwealth nations. But it's not that much different from a lot of armies all over the world. Poor leaders engender a certain esprit de corps by inciting difference with other units. "We're better that that mob" etc. It relies on a certain amount of competition, a lot of prejudice and bucket loads of delusion and BS. But hey it's a tried and tested formula. However, it has very real drawbacks as you note, especially when the "others" you now have to fight with rather than against.

[BletchleyGeek]

ORIGINAL: Arjuna

I have to agree about your comments on the "slandering" that goes on in the regimental system as practiced in Commonwealth nations.

Researching orders of battle of Commonwealth armies is usually quite a colourful and delightful experience, not too different from going on a tourist tour across the country. Alas, getting those elaborate names into text boxes with limited amounts of characters is quite a pain, but usually one'll find that abbreviating them was the usual practice: I guess that fill-in boxes in forms also feature limited space [:)]

Nothing to do with the joy of Germanic and Russian sensible ways of numbering Coys in a Regiment from 1 to 12, Battalions from 1 to 3 and Regiments numbered according rational guidelines, rather than historical.

Obviously, nothing of the above has any impact on actual performance on the field.

[danlongman]

When the abbreviations of regimental names are monstrosities like QOCH or my old home PPCLI or LDSH or ESSR or SDGH or KOCR
and still give no hint as to who they belong to (brigade/division) let alone what town or county or province
they come from... you have my sympathy. There was an initial benefit of territorial units in that the starting group of men
came from the same place and many knew each other of old. Once casualties began to mount the territorial system became very diluted
and men from one place might serve with a formation from the other side of the country. This was frequently the case in the Canadian
army after the frightful infantry casualties in the Normandy campaign.