The following are military questions asked by members of the Gearbox Software forums and answered by Col. John Antal (US Army, Ret).

Q1: Asked by HippyGoth

It appears the Colonel knows his history, one thing I've always wanted to know, is how well did the Allies perform as a "single unit" during the war?

When I say unit, I'm referring to co-ordination between the various allies forces. We see outstanding co-ordination in modern warfare, it seems closest between the US and UK forces (for those who wonder, this is just my personal observation, I'm sure NATO works with all allies equally), but the military has nice modern gizmos to keep things tight. How was all this performed in the 2nd World War without the modern gizmos today's military takes for granted?

Answer:

Good question HippyGoth! You are right; the Allies did not have the high-tech situation awareness gear that our Soldiers have today. For instance, the American forces in WWII had radios from different manufacturers that often couldn't talk from ground to air, ground to sea or even between allied forces! They had to do it the old fashioned way, through planning, training and leadership. At the squad level, however, not that much has changed. Although squads can be equipped with individual soldier radios for short distance communications, most rifle squads still rely on voice commands, hand and arm signals and "FOLLOW ME" leadership.

Q2: Asked by Clay

At squad or platoon level, the fire and movement tactic is used, but what about when you are working along side another company and your own? When you have around 100 people firing along side you. How is this used then? It would seem like a little hard to control having every platoon or squad doing their own thing by flanking and suppressing. And if your were to have your company fire, and the rest maneuver that would get a little crowded. So basically, is there a different tactic used when you are attacking with your company or division? Or do companies not bunch up and spread so as you basically fight down at platoon level instead of Company level? But then, you would possibly be running into other unit's line of fire if you flanked with your platoon to the left or right in the middle of the line. Hope this is good now. I'm talking about real life tactics here and not the game.

Answer:

Clay, I know just what you're talking about! I've had the honor to lead formations of soldiers and tanks from fire team to a regiment and, yes, it is much harder to control larger formations. Luckily, the basic principle is still the same. Find the enemy, fix him with fire, flank him, and then assault and finish him. If you lead a platoon, you can have two squads fix the enemy with fire while one squad maneuvers to attack the enemy with fire form the flank or assault. If you command a company, you can use two platoons to fix the enemy with fire, and maneuver a platoon in assault. In almost all cases, you want your fixing element to be larger and have greater firepower than your flanking and assaulting force. Colonel John Antal, U.S. Army (Ret.) Gearbox Software

Q3: Asked by Catch22

U.S. Army Hand and Arm Signal for Action Front/Right/Left/Rear and Assault Can you tell us anything about the hand signals that we might see our teams using to communicate with us? Are their different hand signals for different types and numbers of enemies?

Answer:

Glad you asked that question Catch 22. Yes, different armies, and sometimes different units, use various hand and arm signals to direct soldiers in squad and platoons. In the U.S. Army in WWII the hand and arm signals were very much like the ones used by our infantry today (See example above). German hand and arm signals were similar, but every army (and often units within an army), has a tendency to do things in its own way.

Q4: Asked by Dunnigan

I noticed in the samples videos that bodies are lifted when near an exploding grenade. Do grenades generate enough explosive force to lift a human body? The MkII "Pineapple" grenade weighed 1.3 lbs and its explosive element was used to distribute shrapnel to kill or wound rather than by explosion.

Answer:

Great question Dunnigan! The short answer is that grenades are deadly! You really don't want to be on the receiving end of a grenade. On the other hand, they are not the "mini atomic bombs" you see on some movies. In general, however, fragmentation grenades kill their targets by shrapnel, not explosive force. A grenade does have enough power to lift a body and in some circumstances -- depending on how the person is standing and his conditions -- can move a body. I saw a grenade explosion throw a man out of a trench. Luckily, he lived. Grenades used inside closed areas - buildings, caves, trenches, armored vehicles etc. - have more pushing/body throwing force. In addition, WWII German grenades usually had more explosive force than the U.S. Mark II "pineapple" grenade. We have come as close as you can to balancing how real grenades act in real combat with game play.

Check back tomorrow for the second half!
- Colonel John Antal, U.S. Army (Ret.), Gearbox Software