I have the exact same problem. The strange thing is that the game used to work on my machine, but I had to uninstall it. Now that I want to reinstall it, it won't work, giving me the same message about installing Directx.
Any help would be quite appreciated. I know just enough to get myself into trouble, so please don't assume anything.
Thank you in advance and please be patient with this noob.
In August of 2004, Zappi, Homba, Bambam887, RedScorpion and MOOXE all pitched
in to create this Close Combat site. I would to thank all the people who have visited
and found this site to thier liking. I hope you had time to check out some
of the great Close Combat mods and our forums. I'd also like to thank
all the members of our volunteer staff that have helped over
the years, and all our users that contributed to this site!