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

Figures - Elhiem 20mm, Morten Reese's Danish Infantry

Elhiem figures recent generic NATO infantry and German infantry sets lend themselves well to a number of other Nations, Morten Reese who posts on the guild as Reese has been doing some stirling work on a Danish force which he is building and which I hope to feature here as his collection develops.

The Danish Army during the period of interest wore the M58 combat Uniform in dark Olive green.  This was replaced by  the M/84 camouflaged uniform in 1984, though transition to the new uniform took a number of years to complete.  The US M1 Helmet was standard until 1992, when Kevlar Helmets were introduced for troops deploying abroad.

From the excellent M136 site

The load carrying M45-59 equipment was consistent throughout the period and was not replaced by PLC until 1996 although the ammunition pouches changed as weapons changed and the respirator case was upgraded in 1969.  The title DANMARK and a National flag were worn on the left Arm, and a variety of unit insignia could also be worn.  The Danish Army carried the G3 assault rifle, MG3 and the Carl Gustav at this time.

Morten's first set of figures represent soldiers he will be using for a motorised unit and are therefore wearing the older M58 Uniform.  In keeping with imagery of Danish Soldiers deployed on exercise Morten has added "grass" to the helmets using plumbers hemp and white glue.  The figures are painted using Vallejo colours as follows:

• Undercoat (webbing/Uniform): Yellow Olive
• Uniform, Base Russian Uniform, highlighted with a mix of Russian Uniform and Khaki
• Webbing, Green Gray, highlighted with Green Gray and White

An excellent job by Morten who has provided the images of the figures and much of the background information.  Morten regularly posts on the Guild where I first saw his work. 

References:

Military Equipment of the 20th Century bloodspot
Danish Army Uniforms 1945 - 2008 by Henrik Clausen
NATO Armies Today, Osprey
M136 Danish Troops on Exercise