I completely agree; the buildup and production involved in most RTS games is tedious to me. Close Combat seems like the perfect middle between simulationist war games and RTS chaos. It was actually developed as a Squad Leader game before they lost the Avalon Hill license.

The Combat Mission games were fairly similar, with my favorite feature being a mode where you issue orders in 1 minute increments; you’re watching the battle play out in real time, but it’s still turn based.

The only modern franchise I’ve played that has a similar play style are the Total War games, but I think they realize WWII isn’t a great fit for them.