Review - Books, Armies of NATOS Central Front

The Armies of NATO'S central Front was written in 1985 and is probably the definative work of this nature on NATO'S armies covering a wealth of detail particularly on organisation that is other wise rather more difficult to come by than data on the Warsaw pact and the Soviet Union.  As such this volume is in high demand and if you can pick up a copy for less than £100 you are doing well.   

As well as covering the strategic context and how NATO would approach the defence of Western Europe it majors on the organisation equipment and tactics of the member Nations with Chapters on:

• Belgium
• Canada
• France
• Federal Republic of Germany
• Great Britain
• Luxemberg - a very short chapter
• The Netherlands
• United States of America
• Danish Jutland Division

The armies of Southern and Northern Europe sit outside the scope of the title.  Each National section broadly covers the Background, Including Strategy and training before looking at Unit organisation and Order Of Battle, How that Nation will fight its battles, Weapons and Equipment, current force deployment and the National Air Force. The level of detail and the breadth of coverage really make it one of the must have titles for anyone interested in the period in general or NATO specifically.  The only problem is availability of the title and hence cost, a superb reference book for the central front enthusiast.

Armies of NATO's Central Front @ Amazon

Other Book Reviews:

A History of Soviet Airborne Forces 
Soviet Tactical Aviation
Red Thrust, Central Front
The Soviet Afghan War, How a Super Power Fought and Lost
Weapons and Tactics of the Soviet Army
Soviet Air Land Battle Tactics
The Military Balance
Encyclopaedia of the Modern British Army
The Soviet Conduct of Tactical Manoeuvre
First Clash
The Third World War
The British Army in Germany

The Cold War Bookstore contains links to over 60 Cold War titles covered in my book list

Review - Models 1/72, Trumpeter M113 A2, M150 Conversion

The M113 was used by the Canadians as their primary APC for 4 CMBG, the A2 started to come into service with Canadian units from 1983 and both variants were used across the roles allocated to the vehicle with no obvious patterns. This included providing the platform for the TOW equipped anti armour defence platoons.  The Canadians adopted the TOW system in the mid to late 70s and used it mounted on the M113,  its not clear from the references if these were actually M150s.

The model like all the other trumpeter kits I have ever made is very straight forward to assemble and contains a wealth of detail both internal and external. The only obvious problem area is the plastic tracks, the joining of the two ends still seems to defeat a reliable approach for achieving an enduring bond. I would also recommend a good study of the photography collection with regard to the particular vehicles being made as there are a number of alternative parts not needed on all vehicles some of which requier holes cutting in the hull.

I used the TOW launcher from the Dragon HMMWV kit which looks sadly to be discontinued as it was one of the cheapest ways to get a decent TOW launcher, given that you had other things to do with the HMMWVs. I used a card stock plastic tube to provide the base of the mount into which the TOW launcher fitted.

Just about every picture of a Canadian M113 I have seen has a road wheel fixed to the trim vane, not sure why but included one here. Of course it was not until I had fixed it that I noticed that in the photos it was half a road wheel. in addition I added some rolled stowage on the front hull top, and a cam net. the crew were provided by some Elhiem Germans with the guns removed and the head of a liberation South African figure

Decals came from a number of sources, the top set are TL Modelblau, The middle set QRF black numbers and the letters are Fantasy print shop Luftwaffe serials.  The things a boy has to do to get a decently marked up set of vehicles.

For Colour and marking guides I have used the excellent Armoured Acorn site, and managed to identify the Call Signs from a number of forum posts by ex Canadian Forces soldiers.  The Anti Tank Platoon was Call Sign 55 with 18 Vehicles in 4 sections of 4 and 2 in the HQ.  55 A-P being the 16 Vehicles in the sections the Call Sign of the Command vehicles being 55.  Morters were 57, Pioneers 58 and the Company HQ 59.

It would appear from the references that some units carried number plates and some did not. The paint scheme uses Vajello Russian Uniform, German Uniform and Black, The Hatch spall liners are in Gunship Green and the Cam Net in Bronze Green.  The TOW Launcher is Olive Drab.  I used this model as a bit of a tester for the Canadians to try out the Cam scheme and get all the decals together. 

ORBAT - 1980s Canadian BG, Part 1 Task Organisation

The History of Canadian involvement in the post war NATO force in europe is covered in more detail here the key components are as follows:

• In 1968 the Brigade had mechanised and been renamed 4 Canadian Mechanised Brigade Group (4CMBG).
• in 1971 it transferred from BAOR in Northern Germany to Lahr in Southern Germany where it would act as a reserve for either III US Corps or II Ge Corps.
• In 1988 it was incorporated into 1st Canadian Division following the Canadian governments decision to withdraw from the CAST Brigade commitment to Norway. 1st Canadian Division remained the parent formation until the end of the cold war.

Battle group composition is therefore:

• The early 80s forces will be based on 4 CMBG and potential reinforcements from either of the supported Corps who reinforced the brigade in areas of key equipment shortfalls. 
• The late 80s force could either be as above or could be based on the composition of 4 CMBG and 1 Canadian division.
• The 90's force will be based on 4 CMBG as part of 1 Canadian Division.

Throughout the 80s the Canadian land forces in Germany received little in terms of equipment upgrades and were organisationally stable, although some new equipment started to reach them in the early 1990s.  They are therefore quite straight forward to represent across the spectrum of the decade and a half that represents the arms race at the end of the cold war. They are very distinctive with a unique camouflage scheme and their regiments are distinctive with long and glorious fighting histories.  On top of all that they have a great Brigade title and the opportunity to be reinforced from and support two other nations.

4 CMBG was a Mechanised Brigade its Orbat is shown here from the Canadian Soldiers website

In essence 2 Infantry Battalions, an Engineer Regiment, Tank Regiment and Artillery Regiment with an Aviation Recce Squadron.

Higher level task organisation

The Canadians like the British and most NATO forces formed task organised groupings depending on the mission.  The structure of 4 CMBG limited what those groupings could as it deployed 2 Infantry Battalions  and 1 Armoured Regiment.  The Canadians through out the period formed Combat teams of Armour and Infantry at Sub Unit level through cross attaching Troops and Platoons.

The Infantry were provided by:

• The 1er Battalion Royal 22e Regiment (1 R22eR) 1967 - 1993
• The 3rd Battalion Royal Canadian Regiment (RCR) 1977-1984 and 1988-1993
• Princes Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry (PPCLI) 1984 - 1988. 

Each Infantry battalion was scaled for 4 Infantry companies and a Support Company, in the early 80s 1 rifle company was held in Canada, by the late 80's all 4 were deployed. The Support Company provided Mortars, Recce, Anti Tank and Assault Pioneers. They used M113 A1 and A2, M150, and Lynx C&R.

The 4th Canadian Engineer Regiment (4CER) consisted of a field squadron and a support squadron.  The field squadron comprised  4 M113 mounted field troops.  The field troops and sections could be  deployed to battle groups or be deployed on Squadron tasks. 

They used the M113, M113 engineer variant with a dozer, the beaver leopard based AVLB and Lynx C&R along with a variety of other plant in the support squadron.

The Royal Canadian Dragoons (RCD) provided the Tank Regiment. The Unit consisted of 3 Armoured Squadrons and a Recce Squadron. The Squadrons were very large by comparison to other NATO units consisting of 19 Vehicles, 4 troops of 4 Tanks with 3 in the HQ.  It would donate armoured squadrons or troops and would receive infantry platoons or companies. It operated the Leopard C1 which was an upgraded  Leopard 1 A3 and the Lynx command and reconnaissance Vehicle

The recce squadron would be deployed in support of the brigade providing a formation recce capability in conjunction with the aviation squadron.  I assume the armoured regiment retained at least 1 reconnaissance troop for its own needs but have been unable to confirm this.

1 Royal Canadian Horse Artillery (1 RCHA) provided the artillery regiment. This consisted of 4 Batteries of 6 M109 and a blowpipe troop.  The regiment like its British counterparts provide 3 FOOs from each battery in support of  the battle groups of the brigade.  It seems likely that the FOOs from the 4th Battery supported the Recce Squadron.  Each Battle Group could also receive a blowpipe section.  The artillery regiment could be augmented by assets from the supported Corps as required, this would normally be in the form of longer range equipments such as the M110.

444 Tactical Helicopter Squadron provided the Canadian component of the aviation assets. The Squadron provided aircraft for command, liaison and recce.  The recce Aircraft tended to work in support of the Brigade Recce Squadron provided by the armoured regiment but could be attached to other Brigade elements.

Typical Battle Groups

In First Clash Kenith Macksey creates three Battle Groups in 4 CMBG, two of them ground holding infantry battle groups and the third composed of 1 Squadron and 2 Platoons but capable because of the strength of the tank Squadron of forming two Combat teams.  This gives a clear indication of an extremely flexible approach to task organising force elements of the anything goes variety.

3 RCR Battle Group

• 3 Combat Teams each of 1 Rifle Company at full strength with attached support weapons 
• 1 Rifle Coy (-) 1 Platoon (+) 1 Troop Tanks, in reserve
• 1 Armd Sqn (-) 1 Troop, Fighting within the main defensive position 
• 1 Engineer Field Troop
• 1 Battery of M109
• 1 Blowpipe Section
• 1 Mortar Platoon
• 1 Anti Tank Defence Platoon
• 1 Recce Platoon

Royal 22e Regiment

• 3 Combat Teams each 1 Rifle Company at full strength with attached support weapons. 
• 1Combat Team of 1 Rifle Coy (-) 1 Platoon (+) 1 Troop Tanks, in reserve
• 1 Armd Sqn (-) 1 Troop, Fighting within the main defensive position 
• 1 Engineer Field Troop
• 1 Battery of M109
• 1 Blowpipe Section
• 1 Mortar Platoon
• 1 Anti Tank Defence Platoon
• 1 Recce Platoon

RCD

2 Combat teams each

• 1 Sqn HQ 2 tanks
• 2 Troops of Tanks
• 1 Platoon Infantry
• 1 TOW Section
• 1 Blowpipe Section
• 1 Platoon Mortars
• 1 Engineer Section
• 1 Trp Lynx
• 2 x LOH CH 136
• 1 Battery RHA
• 1 ARV 

Its not clear from the reading I have done if these task organised units existed simultaneously or if some assets were regrouped to the RCD as the started their mission such as the mortars.  US Chaparral and Vulcan provided area air defence within the scenario and in addition the brigade were supported by an attack helicopter squadron and a battery of M110, more of that in the next post.

Some of the other battle group options worth considering are

• R22eR and RCR would each of 3 Companies and 1/2 Squadron, RCD 2 Squadrons 2 Companies 
•  R22eR and RCR 3 Companies 1 Squadron, RCD 2 Companies 1 Squadron
• R22eR 4 Companies, RCR 3 Companies 1 Squadron, RCD 2 Squadrons 1 Company
• Considering the RCD as a covering force with 2 Squadrons 2 Platoons and the Brigade Recce force is also interesting,  

All these options seem to fit within the ways of doing business outlined in First Clash it would be interesting to understand what options were used and under what circumstances.

References:

4CMBG The Canadian Soldiers website
First Clash. Combat Close - Up in World War Three
Canada's NATO Brigade a History

Review - Web Resources, Armoured Acorn Site

The Armoured Acorn site is a very popular Cold War and WW2 information source. It has two main areas of interest for me the Soviet Cold War Orbats and the Canadian Cold War vehicle markings.

The Orbats are each done with little pictograms of the vehicles and are an invaluable source of information for Soviet Cold War organisations. They are very coherent with a range of other data sources and Orbats are provided for:

• 1954,
• 1961, 1964
• 1974, 1979
• 1984, 1989

These dates give excellent coverage of the post war evolution of Soviet formations. In Each date bracket Orbats are generally provided for:

• Tank Divisions, with subordinate Regiments
• Motor Rifle Divisions with Subordinate Regiments
• Airborne Divisions with Subordinate Regiments

On top of covering the key evolutions of Soviet formations throughout the cold war, I think they are just wonderful to look at and a really great way to present Orbat information.

The second reason I visit is the wonderful range of PDFs covering vehicle cameouflage and markings for the Cold War period. These are superb and cover a range of Warsaw Pact and NATO Nations, my main interest here has been the Canadian army which is extensively covered.

Each Vehicle is covered Front back and sides with numerous instances of the same type showing variations in markings and painting schemes. For Cold War Canadians the site includes the schemes used in Canada and Germany for each major vehicle type, these can be found here.

In addition to the Artwork there are several Galleries of photographs again covering Canadian Military vehicles. This is a superb resource for the war gamer and everyone should visit here at least once a truly visual feast and a source of some otherwise hard to come by information , just what the internet was made for..................... sharing. http://www.armouredacorn.com/.

Review - Books, First Clash, K Macksey

First Clash 1985, Kenneth Macksey.  Kenneth Macksey is an ex armoured core officer who served in WW2, he wrote first clash as a training publication for the Canadian DOD.  The book deals with the deployment of 3 Royal Canadian Regiment (3RCR) Battlegroup as part of a 4 Canadian Mech Brigades defensive battle plan and the attack against them by 290 Motor Rifle Regiment and 301 Tank Regiment. The book covers the organisation and rolls of the various sub components of a Canadian Armoured Battle Group.  The Battle Group comprises 3 Mechanised Companies, Anti Tank Platoon, Recce Platoon, Morter Platoon, a Tank Squadron, a Battery of Guns and an Air Defence section of Javalin.  In addition it covers support from the brigades Helicopter Squadron and the use of Engineers to create an obstacle plan. It considers the preparation for and deployment to the defended locations, the sequence of the battle preparation and the detail of the occupation of the defence, then the actions against the two Soviet units which includes their engagement of 3RCR's covering force elements followed by the main action and the sequence of arrival by the Soviets onto the RCR positions.  It closes with the 4 Canadian Mech Brigade  withdrawing covered by the Royal Canadian Dragoons (RCD) Squadron Group comprising 2 Troops of armour and a mechanised platoon from the Royal 22e Regiment (R22R) together with two sections of anti armour weapons and support from the RCD Recce platoon in Lynx supported by the Brigades Artillery Regiment and unit morters.

  

It covers the subject well having been written in conjunction with the Canadian DoD and not only provides some excellent orbat data for the Canadians but also provides a real flavour of what NATO trained for and to some extent expected to happen.  It lays out the procedures for the whole action with the intent of providing instruction for Junior Officers, so not necessarily the most exciting read but a great book none the less if your interested in the cold war on the central front in the 1980s.  I am currently collecting the components of a canadian battle group and hope to get on with it in more detail later in the year or maybe next year so more to come on the Canadians.

First Clash: Combat Close-Up in World War Three  @Amazon

Other Book Reviews

Soviet Air Land Battle Tactics
The Military Balance
Encyclopaedia of the Modern British Army
The Soviet Conduct of Tactical Manoeuvre
The Third World War
The British Army in Germany

The Cold War Bookstore contains links to over 60 Cold War titles covered in my book list