@axisandalliesplayer:
While there are some good similarities between the planning a general like Rommel did and what we do, it’s still analogous to apples and oranges. :-D
Unlike Rommel, we know everything the enemy does. We know how much money he has in the bank, how many units he has in each terr, and also his ability to reinforce or sustain a fight. Even a modern day general with all the intel tools available to him is still not going to have as complete of knowledge as we do every time we play A&A.Intel is one of the biggest and sometimes underrated aspect of war and we have it handed it to us on a silver platter every time we gather around the board.
He DID make the best plans he could before a battle based on the information he knew about his forces and also on what he THOUGHT he knew about the enemy. But I doubt he ever calced out how many men he could expect to be left with after a major battle. Besides I believe another famous general said that no plan survived contact with the enemy. :wink:
Hehheh, I like this!
It is true of course. Well, let’s just say the similarities between the apples and the oranges are that they are both trying to be good fruits ;-).
Like in a real war, the similarity is that we should use any and all information available to us. A good, open minded general should not refuse information available to him/her that can be used to his/her benefit.
Compared to the real war, us guys would ofc be attacking Moscow largely unaware of what’s opposing us. Then again, such RL battles aren’t as unforgiving as in an A&A game. In the real war, battles are much more dynamic and a general would notice a drastically increasing resistance, possibly altering his plans to avoid total defeat.
I agree that Rommel probably would not have calced out exactly with how much men he should win a battle but he should at least have made an educated guess. Considering the plans he had for the regio, he must either have been delusional, badly misinformed (importance of good intel!) or simply hopelessly outnumbered because certain promised reinforcements couldn’t arrive.
About that plans that don’t survive first contact… I thought even Rommel himself  quoted this, but correct me if I am wrong!
@Narvik:
@axisandalliesplayer:
He DID make the best plans he could before a battle based on the information he knew about his forces and also on what he THOUGHT he knew about the enemy.
Now if that is true, how come he ran out of supply ? When I went to military academy, they told us that only amateurs talk tactics, real officers talk supply. And would a skilled general disobey orders twice ? Arras was ugly, because the Brits could have cut him off, and he was saved only by luck. North Africa is where he failed. He got orders to protect western Libya, and supply enough to that job, not for a personal ego drive trough the Middle East and into India. Lucky to him, AH was an amateur. Now if I had done something like that, they would hang me for sure. A soldiers first job is to follow orders
Hmmm, tactics for amateurs? I find it very short-sighted of them ;-). Be open minded! Everyone should understand the importance of BOTH tactics and supplies. Neither of them means much without the other. Example: the opening year of WW2. France had a much stronger army and supply than Germany and yet they failed miserably against the German Blitzkrieg. The Allies had to improve their tactical doctrines in order to defeat the Axis, not their supplies, of which they had more than enough.
Well, if we are to believe what Rommel’s direct opponents and the people around him said about him, he was an inspiring and brilliant commander. His men loved him and so did AH because of his successes. As I understand it, he suffered from changeable moods, ranging from enthousiastic to depression. Furthermore, he had his limits. He was a genius on corps-level but not so good at commanding above that level (Army/Army Group etc.).
So I think it is safe to say that Generals can disobey orders as long as they are successfull and defeating enemy armies above all expectations. If your superiors would hang you for the exact same things Rommel did in Africa during WW2, they would be very ignorant to opportunities and, I suspect, would only hang you because of fear you would surpass them in fame and rank…
And as far as his supply problems go, the brits did sink a LOT of supply convoys in the med and as said, Rommel was a Brilliant corps commander but he probably failed at judging the allied naval strength. After all he was no admiral so it’s kinda understandable as well.