SELECTED LINKS

Links to Links

Articles

OOB and TO&E

Maps

Scenario Depots

Ladders

Miscellaneous

Last updated 8 February 2005 Note that sites often cover more than one catagory: I have merely attempted to place each in the category that seems to best characterize it. Please e-mail me with any links you feel add substantially to those listed below: while I try to limit the links listed to those that have substantial amounts of relevant material not found elsewhere, many gaps remain and I am always interested in looking at new sites. I would also appreciate it if you would let me know if any of these links have moved or disappeared. -- Colin Wright (click here to e-mail)

REFERENCE

GENERAL


Military History Encyclopedia on the Web    Wars from 'Afghan Wars, third, 1919' to Zulu War 1879',  weapons from 'A7V Battletank' to 'Zulu Warrior', and so on. Looks good.

The Wargamer    Historical articles, forums, patches, an opponents' registry...sort of what the title of the site implies (oddly enough).

Web Sources for Military History    An extensive, methodically organized and annotated list of links for military history, period by period and war by war.

Warships1*     They describe themselves as 'the anchor pages for the world's warships' -- and that's about right. Links, articles, OOB's, forums, and just about everything else relating to matters naval from World War One on up to the present. Includes references to naval aviation and marines. Definitely the place to start for any naval-related research.



WORLD WAR 1


Trenches on the Web*    As with many First World War sites, the emphasis here is not really on material of use to the scenario designer. This site does, however, include some articles on specific battles, maps, a search engine, a discussion forum, and links to other sites.



WORLD WAR 2


World War Two on the Web     Lots and lots of links.

Stone&Stone Second World War Books     Books -- and on-line histories, quizzes, and other stuff. Even a search engine where you can enter the theater, army, and date -- and get back the OOB. Want to know how many infantry battalions Thailand fielded in her clash with Vichy France in 1941?



POST-WORLD WAR 2


The Korean War     Despite the name, this is an entirely different site from the one listed below under 'OOB's and TO&E's.' There's one thing and another here, but the most useful feature is the links page.

GENERAL


Military Analysis Network     This is a section of the Federation of American Scientists' website. Really, there's all kinds of things here: descriptions of the various US weapons systems, etc, etc. The only reason I stuck this site under 'articles: general' is that the most useful section struck me as the file of articles covering every war, near-war, and threatening deployment the US has been involved in since time began. So if you get to wondering what kind of potential there is a for a hypothetical built around the Berlin airlift or the intervention of the Marines in Nicaragua in the 20's or whatever -- here's a place to quickly assess the possibilities. Also, should you need to know whether the new 'HMV-KUAC5' is more of a tank or more of a half-track, here's a place to work out what it is and what to call it.

U.S. Army Center of Military History    This looks good: articles on what you would expect ('Combat Chronicles of U.S. Army Divisions in World War Two') and what you wouldn't ('Military Improvisations during the Russian Campaign').

Combined Arms Research Library    Similar to the above; a focus on material relating to the US army in World War Two and later -- but ripples back to the Revolutionary War and outwards to the Eastern Front. Includes articles by David Glantz.

The New York Military Affairs Symposium    A rather scanty collection of articles on various topics in twentieth-century military history:   "The Irish Civil War, 1922-1923:   A Military Study Of The Conventional Phase" and "Soviet Tank Operations in the Spanish Civil War" look pretty interesting.

History4War    Read French? Well, I don't. If you do, try this. It seems to have historical articles on everything from the campaigns of Hammurabi to Desert Storm.



WORLD WAR 1


First World War.com   This general site contains a nice history section with generally well-written summaries of most of the more important battles and campaigns.

Doughboy Center   Perhaps the best section at The Great War Society Site. Articles discussing both the general organization of the AEF in World War One and individual engagements plus annotated links to other sites with specific OOB information.

La Grande Guerra. The Italian Front 1915-1918   Another excellent section of the Great War Society Site. Articles covering various specific engagements plus a page of links to various related World War One sites.


BETWEEN THE WARS


Historia:   La Guerra del Chaco   What looks to be an excellent collection of articles on the Chaco War -- all in Spanish. There is OOB information for both the Paraguayans and the Bolivians.


WORLD WAR 2


HyperWar: a Hypertext history of World War Two    This is basically a giant book on the web. It attempts to provide a detailed history of all of World War Two -- often with surprising success. Naturally, the articles vary in both length and detail, but at worst one will find a convenient overview of any particular campaign -- and sometimes there are maps, OOB's, links and all the stuff one needs to keep going.

Carbines & Cassions   This is -- primarily -- a compedium of articles about US Army units and battles in World War Two. It links to similar pages for the other services of the US Armed forces of the war.

Afrika Korps: Afrika Files   Interesting bits and bobs from an unpublished manuscript by George Bradford: everything from 'Rommel's Initial Advances' to Tigers in Tunisia.' There are several very detailed unit TO&E's here -- but since most of the pieces are articles I put the link here.

GENERAL


The Nafziger Collection   The guy you have to pay -- but now you'll know just how many motorcycles were in the headquarters section of Panzer regiment 5 on 20 May 1941. Material available on everything from the War of the Spanish Succession through World War Two. $5.00 minimum order.

Orders of Battle     This site's free -- mostly. There's an orientation toward the modern period and toward South Asia, but stuff all the way back to the American Revolutionary War as well. Furthermore, a lot of the sections have a great deal of historical information.

Armata Regala Romana     Excellent OOB's for the Rumanian army in both World Wars -- as well as additional material back to 1866 and a World War Two map section providing some deployment information. Note that the 'WW1 Files' section does not contain all the material available at the site on World War One -- go to the 'OB's' section for two exhaustive OOB's for the Rumanian army in that war.

Tanks! Armoured Warfare Prior to 1946  This site really just focusses on hardware -- it is, however, useful for deciding just how many tanks Turkey had in 1934 and what kind they were, etc. There is some incidental TO&E information for various countries.

Military Aircraft Database  An outstanding and apparently exhaustive list of military aircraft, their specifications, now many were produced, etc.

Aeroflight  A less outstanding site; this one attempts to cover everything to do with military aircraft past and present and winds up being extremely spotty. However, it has some excellent detail on post-World War Two airforces, particularly those of Latin America.

Warships on the Web  A workman-like listing of the vessels of the world's navies, including details of their equipment and history. The focus is on post-World War Two, but there is material back to the pre-Dreadnought era.

Les Grandes Dates de l'Aeronautique Militaire a l'Armee de l'Air  French airforce OOB's -- often including numbers and types of aircraft -- from the inception of French military aviation in 1910 through 1967. The site links to what I assume are similar pages for the French air force of today. In French -- but if you can decipher 'escadre de bombardement' you'll be able to make use of the site.

Barrage: Piquet Supplement for Early Twentieth Century Warfare    A site devoted to miniatures. What I noticed was OOB and TO&E information for the Bulgarian army of World War One, the same for forces involved in the Russian Civil War, and a very complete OOB for both sides for 'Operation Michel' -- one of Ludendorff's Spring 1918 offensives on the Western Front. For some reason, this last cannot be accessed from the rest of the site; go to http://www.charlottegarrison.org/BARRAGE/Scenarios_OBs/WWI_OperationMichael.htm

Mark Conrad's Home Page -- Russian Military History    Despite the title, this site contains much more than Russian military history: for example, the peacetime order of battle of Sardinia in 1854 -- or the Belgian Order of Battle in August 1914. Really, the site's a collection of articles -- but the varied and often unusual OOB information is what struck me as most useful.

The Kapitan Drago's Home Page    OOB's (and some TO&E) for Bulgaria from 1885 to 1945. Historical articles as well.



PRE-WORLD WAR 1


Russian European or Siberian Division  A pdf file giving some information on the TO&E of Russian divisions in the Russo-Japanese War.


WORLD WAR 1


Square bashing: Tables of Organization and Equipment   Very useful; TO&E's for the various formations of the various combatants at various points in the war.

A pocket German Army  Definitely a no-nonsense site: a typical section title, 'Rotations of garrisons within Bavaria.' A very comprehensive history of the OOB of the Imperial German Army from 1871 to 1914, in some cases going back to 1866 and -- of more general interest -- covering the details of mobilization in 1914. Not much TO&E information, but unit organization is covered down to the battalion and battery level with the dates of each change. There is already some data on units raised after August 1914, and the authors intend to expand on this.

The Long, Long Trail*  The British army in World War One. Exhaustive divisional OOB's over time and battalion histories; some TO&E information. Also, summaries of the various battles and campaigns if you're looking for a quick orientation.

Austro-Hungarian Land Forces 1848-1918*  The most impressive part of this site are the exhaustive OOB's for Austrian forces in World War One, both in general and for specific campaigns. However, there's a lot else here, including similar material for 1866, historical articles, an annotated links page, and a discussion forum. Really an excellent site from the point of view of scenario design.

The Austro-Hungarian Army 1914-18: For Collectors of its Postal Items  In spite of the unpromising title, this site contains a good deal of the military history of the war, some maps -- and what amounts to a detailed OOB of the Austrian army from the beginning of the war to its end.

The Russian Army, 1914   The site itself puts it quite nicely:  'A peacetime order of battle of the Russian Army for July of 1914, listing all corps, divisions, brigades, regiments, and independent battalions of infantry, cavalry, artillery, and engineers with their garrison locations.'

Histoire de la Grande Guerre  France -- in French. Still, it's decipherable (even more so if you read French). Appears to cover much of the OOB and TO&E for all arms of the French armed forces, both at the onset of World War One and during it.

1918 History. The Second Battle of the Marne River.  This would be a very useful site to anyone interested in writing scenarios covering the various battles that took place around the Marne in 1918. There is extensive OOB information (as well as a number of articles.) However, the general scheme seems to be that material relating to the British and Americans is in English, that relating to the French in French, and that relating to the Germans in German. If you're not multi-lingual, you'll soon wish you were.


BETWEEN THE WARS


Guerra Civil Espanola - Orden de batalla   Orders of battle for both the Nationalists and the Republicans in the Spanish Civil War -- in Spanish.


WORLD WAR 2 GENERAL

World War Two Armed Forces   THE site for World War Two TO&E and OOB; extremely comprehensive, covering military organizations and orders of battle for major and minor combatants for many dates and places throughout the war. This site is a mainstay of scenario research.

Battalion Organization during the Second World War   This site provides small unit TO&E's for the major combatants of World War 2. In spite of the title, there is also material on unit organization up to the divisional level. Perhaps the most refreshing aspect of the site is the author's willingness to discuss the extent to which actual units varied from the theoretical standard and to admit it when he just doesn't know. This differs from the often unqualified implications of absolute certainty found on other sites.

Armed Forces of World War Two (...)  This site provides rather fragmented information on various less-well documented forces of World War Two -- everything from South American militaries to the Yugoslav Partisan airforce to the 'Russian Nationalist National Army' (whatever that was). There isn't really a home page that I can see, so I've started you with the Middle East section. Scroll down to the bottom -- you can see what other offerings there are.

British Wargames  There's considerable TO&E information here. Go to 'Articles' and click 'All Topics.' You'll get a rather impressive list -- a TO&E for a 1938 Czech infantry divsion, etc.

Armies!* European Armed Forces From 1920 to 1950    ...A 1920 Polish cavalry division, a 42-43 Yugoslav partisan division, etc, etc. An excellent site for OOB's and TO&E's for minor powers. Mostly World War 2- era.

WWII Vehicles.com*    A fine site that covers the tanks and other armored fighting vehicles of all the major combatants, many of the minor combatants, and at least one of the neutrals of World War Two. The focus is on the harware, but not obsessively so; theirs some discussion of the organization and history of each force, and some strength and production figures.



WORLD WAR 2 GERMAN


Feldgrau.com*   The most comprehensive of the English-language sites specializing in World War Two German armed forces. Here you can find formation dates for every German Parachute battalion, unit histories for many German divisions, etc, etc, etc. There's also quite a bit on Germany's various allies.

Lexikon der Wehrmacht  This site's in German -- but it's very well organized and complete, so that's not as big a handicap as it might appear. Even if you don't use it for anything else, go here when it turns out Feldgrau doesn't have information on a particular division: 'Infanterie Regiment 23, 36, 49' isn't all that hard to translate.

Historical-Gaming.    Tim McBride's site. There are a number of things here -- including several of Tim's TOAW scenarios. However, the most interesting thing so far are his German infantry division TO&E's, sorted by wave.

Panzergrenadier   Run by a Dr Chuang of Taipei. There's a lot of good information here -- but I keep wondering how on earth the good doctor ever acquired this interest. A very detailed look at the formation and evolution of the various motorized infantry forces of the Third Reich.

The Luftwaffe 1933-45*   An excellent site. In particular, I've found its discussion board to be a great place to obtain answers to Luftwaffe related questions: what was in a given unit at a given time, etc.

Sturmvogel   Primarily, OOB's and strength figures for the Luftwaffe and the airforces of Germany's allies at various times in various theaters. This site does, however, wander around: go to the 'Europa draft OOB's' section and you'll find an intelligent discussion of Rumanian ground forces and other things.

German forces in Normandy   A very specialized site -- a detailed look at the OOB and TO&E of the various German divisions that took part in the fighting in Normandy. Also maps, articles, and links. This site would be indispensible for any scenario dealing with the subject.



WORLD WAR 2 BRITISH AND COMMONWEALTH


Commonwealth Orders of Battle 1939-45   What it says: orders of battle for Britain and the other Commonwealth powers in World War Two. It tends to be most complete for 3 September 1939, less so thereafter. Little other information, but lots of OOB's.

British and Commonwealth Orders of Battle   This site complements the above very nicely. A lot of OOB's for specific campaigns at various mid-war dates.

World War II: a British Focus*   I've never been able to find much here -- but others (Ben) frequently dig up very useful bits and bobs.

WW2 Cruiser Operations*   Lots of stories and pictures and other interesting stuff -- but click on the 'fleet locator.' You'll get a display showing the location and status of every British capital ship and cruiser for any month of the war you like.



WORLD WAR 2 RUSSIAN AND EASTERN FRONT


The Battles of the Winter War   A very comprehensive source on the Winter War. OOB's, TO&E's, weapons data, histories of battles, maps, etc, etc.

Great Patriotic War   OOB and TO&E information on Russian forces in World War Two. A little data on other periods.

Kursk   Really, the title of this site is something of a misnomer. The maps and other material focus on the battle in question, but there is detailed OOB and TO&E for all parties along the entire Eastern Front as of July 1943.

The Battle for Stalingrad*   Aside from other material, this site has some excellent OOB's and maps -- including a particularly detailed list of German units caught in the pocket.

Stalingrad Military History Club   This site has various things that the above doesn't: in particular, more TO&E's. It loads slowly and the English is particularly tortured; be forewarned.




WORLD WAR 2 AMERICAN


ETO Order of Battle - Divisions   This is a section of the US Army Center of Military History site listed above under 'articles' -- but I can't get to it from their home page myself, so I've listed it separately here. Gives a list of US Army divisions in the ETO during World War Two and their components, including the various attachments.




WORLD WAR 2 OTHER


France 1940   Extensive TO&E and OOB information for French forces in 1940...plus sections and links to information on the other Allied powers involved in the campaign, Vichy forces, and related topics.

Le Poilu: the French Armies of World War Two   A site that covers the OOB's of the various forces of the Third Republic, Vichy France, and the Free French forces.

Comando Supremo   Orders of battle for most of the campaigns of the Italian Army in World War Two. There's also an interesting collection of articles on the same topic. This site can be cranky to navigate, and many of the comments on the prowess of Italian arms and the causes of their failure need to be taken with a grain of salt. Nevertheless, it remains an invaluable resource.

Royal Dutch Army Order of Battle   This has a very detailed OOB and TO&E for Dutch forces on 10 May. The notations and abbreviations are a bit obscure, though.

Norway 1940    A comprehensive look at the Norwegian campaign of 1940. Maps, deployments, history, and -- especially -- detailed TO&E's for Norwegian forces.

Norway during World War Two   Matters Norwegian during the Second World War. Perhaps best on OOB's for both sides in the 1940 invasion, but a bit of everything.

Forgotten campaign: the Dutch East Indies Campaign 1941-1942  Actually, this site is mostly articles -- but the articles tend to have detailed OOB's attached. In addition, there are some very useful items such as discussions of Japanese tank units, paratroops, and Special Naval Landing Forces. About the only real limitation is that the campaign itself was so one-sided -- kind of hard to imagine a scenario based on it having much dramatic tension.

The Burma Campaign    Very extensive OOB information for the Burma campaign, both for the theater as a whole and for specific battles.

Nihon Kaigun    This is all about the Imperial Japanese Navy: its ships, planes, and battles. As such, it's marginally relevant to TOAW, but it's such a beautifully done site that I had to include it.



POST-WORLD WAR TWO


The Korean War*   Very extensive OOB's, including some information on the Communist forces. Also articles on various specific battles and a link to a discussion forum.

Haze Grey and Underway   Naval stuff. Pretty comprehensive on contemporary fleets, some material on US , Canadian and other forces back to 1900.

People's Liberation Army   Information on China's PLA, brought to you by the Federation of American Scientists. Not exactly complete OOB/TO&E's, but what do you want? It'll get you started.

Wargaming    ....and this'll keep you going. This site has specific TO&E's for such things as a '1990+ Chinese mechanized infantry division.' Although no attempt is made to be comprehensive, the coverage is quite extensive, ranging from Canada through the European powers to Korea. As with the Tac Ops site, it all appears to be expressed in terms of the units of some wargame other than TOAW but again -- think of it as a challenge.

China Defense.com*    A tidily organized site with articles, links, a forum -- and detailed (for China) OOB's from 1949 on.

Perry-Casteneda Map Collection    Really excellent. A little patience and the links can lead you to such things as a map showing American unit deployment on Guadacanal.

USMA Department of History   A very extensive collection of historical maps -- often with extensive notes on formations, deployment, and operations. The focus is on US operations, but all major campaigns of World War Two are covered, and things from Napoleon's campaigns to the Falklands are at least touched on.

Links to Historical Maps on Other Sites    Lots of links to lots of things -- maps of Barbarossa and maps of 'Winnie the Pooh's Hundred Aker Wood,' etc.

Multimap.com Online Maps to Everywhere    I've found this site to be very, very useful for precisely locating towns. The main use I've put it to is for scenarios covering Britain and the Netherlands, but I just went to it and ran a search for 'Chiang Mai' -- it promptly served up a detailed map clearly showing the Northern Thai town and the surrounding region, so I guess the coverage is pretty universal. Some of the maps include rivers, contour lines, transportation, and other details.

Expedia.com   This site is even better than the above -- at any rate, at least for Europe and America. Faster, and you get a larger, more detailed map. Rivers, forests, roads, railways...and listings of local hotel rooms, if you're interested...


Keyhole   'Keyhole's database includes access to millions of dollars worth of satellite imagery, aerial photography, elevation data, street vectors, business listings and other databases merged together and available for instant access'...or so they say. This is a subscription service, with a nice $29.95 price tag. However, they do offer a free seven day trial -- which I intend to take advantage of when I can use it. Until then, precisely what is to be had is a tad unclear. Apparently, various geomorphic images, with resolution ranging from one one kilometer to one foot -- the more precise images being for such perennial battle sites as downtown Minneapolis. Still...could be useful.


Degree Confluence Project   This slightly bizarre site offers photographs of the terrain wherever whole-degree lines of latitude and longitude intersect. It'll certainly give you a genuinely random set of photographs of the terrain for any given region. This could be nice, as maps often do little to inform one as to precisely how hilly the hills are or whether the 'open' countryside is the usual mix of light timber and farmland and things or REALLY open.


Population Statistics   This site gives population figures for various countries and cities over time; useful, since just because a city has a million people now doesn't mean it did in 1905.

SCENARIO DEPOTS

TOAW Century of Warfare Operations Room*    Strategy articles, maps, OOB's, and so on -- but in particular, a very long list of scenarios, sorted by period.

No Panzers Please   This site is dedicated to pre-World War Two scenarios. There's also a TO&E section.

Warfare HQ*    Our rival, more or less. The TOAW Section has scenarios by Brian Topp and others and a discussion board.