Cold War Gamer: Wargames Unit - Soviet MRR and TR, Recce Company

The Soviet MRR Recce Company creates a few conundrums as to how it should be represented as a wargames unit when using a 1:3 vehicle scale. The real Company deploys a BMP2 Platoon, a BRDM2 platoon a motorcycle platoon and an HQ element equipped with 1 BRM with a ground surveillance radar. Previously I have used 1 BRM and 1 BRDM 2 which represents the right amount of armoured vehicles and allows access to the ground surveillance radar.

ACE BMP2 and BRM S&S BRDM2

One of the other issues faced when following the "Rapid Fire" approach to orbats is that infantry companies are traditionally represented by a single vehicle, primarily because dismounting two or three figures out the back looks a bit silly, consequently APCs tend to be under represented.

For the Soviets this becomes a problem as it is then difficult to represent the various march security elements they deploy. As a means of addressing this and to acknowledge the additional manoeuvre element not represented I am intending to use the BRM as the HQ and a BMP2 and BRDM2 as the Recce Platoons giving me a three vehicle unit.

The totality of the Recce element will then comprise the Recce Company, Artillery Recce, and Engineer Recce with its associated Chemical Recce element. Whilst I have clear evidence that Engineer and Chemical Recce were grouped within the MSD, I have yet to discover anything that suggests this operated under a unified command with the other Recce elements other than that provided by the Regimental HQ, so general coordination and communication rather than the fighting of Recce as a single group as in the British model.

There was a degree of variance in the equipment used over time and geographically with a transition from the PT76 , BRDM 1 through the BMP 1, BRDM 2 to the BRM, BMP1, BRDM 2 combination followed by the BRM, BMP 2, BRDM2. In the Western TVD the progression described probably covered: