WWIII 1985 [Long War]

[wulfir]

WWIII 1985 [Long War]

I’m going to game a few battles of a fictional WWIII setup with a few aspects drawn from the current war in Ukraine but applied to 1985 instead of today – especially the expectation of a short war that turns into a long (as in several years long) affair.




Maps will be max size but simplified to save on time - takes me too long to build otherwise.

NATO/Western forces will mostly follow real OOBs but Warsaw Pact (AI) forces will be generated.

I’ll play it as a few improvised campaigns. The core forces will focus on fighting elements to allow them to gain experience over time. Trucks, transports and engineer vehicles will be provided as AUX units. Supporting troops like artillery, AA, Engineers, Recon and the like will typically be portioned out “static” assignments to battlegroups. (This will at time include heavy SAMs.)

I’ll use some house rules:

- “logistics” - each company formation will have two ammo carriers that can resupply the weapon systems of that company but not other weapon systems. Example: the ammo section of a Marder IFV company can carry 20mm, Milan ATGM, Stinger munition but not reload 120mm mortar, 105mm tank or say heavy SAMs. All ammo sections can carry small arms ammo and reload infantry sections including inf AT-teams that are not ATGMs.

- “engineers” - each engineer squad equals five on map mines/obstacles. Engineer vehicles generates double mine/obstacle points when digging trenches.

- “recovery” - AFV recovery crews and vehicles will be provided as AUX forces - with limited combat power. Friendly AFVs that are immobilized during play will need to end the battle adjacent to a recovery unit to stand a chance of being repaired.

- “captured kit” - recovery units can also be used to attempt to capture abandoned enemy AFVs.

- Battles will be 90 turns.

[wulfir]

LANDJUT (part of AFNORTH)
(Allied Land Forces Schelswig-Holstein and Jutland)

Jutland-Division (Denmark)

6. Panzer-Grenadier-Division (Bundeswehr)

UK Mobile Force/1. Infantry Brigade (UK)

Jutland Battle Group (Brigade size, Denmark)

Territorial Command Schleswig-Holstein (Division size, Germany)

Territorial Command Jutland and Funen (mostly local defence with limited mobility, Denmark)


Initial deployment zones of the two strongest units – the Jyske Division; the best equipped force in the Danish army and the large German 6. Panzer-Grenadier-Division – possibly the largest division size formation in NATO:






The deployment zones of the units were based upon the books:

Bolik, G – NATO-Plannungen für die Verteidigung der BRD im Kalten Krieg

Lautsch, S – Kriegsschaupltz Deutschland: Erfahrungen und Erkenntnisse eines NVA-Offiziers

(Bolik’s focus is NATO forces, while Lautsch deals with the East German 5th Army which included a few Soviet units).

[wulfir]

The initial defence of the Danes:



I rolled some dice and it introduced some friction:

1) The deployment of the whole Danish Division was not complete at the start of the Warsaw Pact invasion.

2) The German contingency plan in case the Danes did not make it on time failed. Historically the 6. PzGrenDiv had units earmarked for this purpose but I guess hey "It was not their best day".

First out I'll play the defence of the two Danish battlegroups built around the Mech Inf Bn's of the DRLR ("Queen's Life Regiment") for TRAVEMÜNDE and LÜBECK.

[wulfir]

Battle-group Astrup

HQ I/DRLR (LtCol Astrup)
FOO (leg)x3
FO M113

Bn Support Co
Armoured AT- Plt (TOW, M113)
Motorised AT-Plt (TOW Landrover)
Heavy Mortar Plt (120mm) – towed
Recon Platoon (Jeep)

1. PaInfKmp (Mech Inf Co) (Cptn Svendsen)

2. PaInfKmp (Mech Inf Co) (Cptn Kramer)

3. KvEsk (Tank Squadron) (Maj Larsen)

4. MotInfKmp (Mot Inf Co) (Cptn Henriksen)

1. Battery/3 Art Bn/NJAR (M109 SPA, 155mm)

1. Platoon/2 Armoued Engineer Company (M113)

1. Platoon/1 Company/14 Anti-Aircraft Battalion (2x40mm Bofors, 4xHamlet SAM)

1. Battery/23rd Art Bn/NJAR (155mm, towed - Off map)

18. Heavy Battery/NJAR (203mm - Off map)

1. Company/3rd Eng Bn (Cptn Moerk)

SF-Patrol AB

SF-Patrol AC

2nd Company/VI JDR/Divisional AT-Bn (Cptn Motzfeldt)(TOW-dismounted)

SAM Battery (HAWKx4)

AUX Elements:

AFV Maintenance/Repair Element
(3x Repair Crew sections, 4x M113 Dozer, 2x tank transports)

Danish Air Force fighter-bomber squadron:
(16x F-16)

Ammo sections - one per company.

Multiple Trucks/heavy trucks (enough to transport the Mot Inf Co, HAWK battery etc)



Example of Danish defensive positions near DUMMERSDORF on the Trave river.

[wulfir]

TRAVEMÜNDE,
BUNDESREPUBLIK DEUTSCHLAND
August 4, 1985


The first shots were fired by Anti-Aircraft units just before sunrise as a wave of Warsaw Pact aircraft crossed into West Germany. About 10 minutes after the initial air strikes had passed over the border region in northern Germany a large collection of Soviet artillery guns began firing on NATO defenses along the Trave river. Soviet troops then overran the small Priwall peninsula and attempted a crossing of the Trave near DUMMERSDORF.

The Soviet attack was able to establish a temporary foothold on the far side of the river but proved to be very costly. A concentration of Danish 155mm and 203mm artillery guns caused heavy damage to the crossing operation. A counterattack by the Danish I/DRLR pushed the enemy back across the river. Several Soviet tanks in running condition were captured after being abandoned. It is believed the crews attempted to get away by swimming back across the river.


Friendly losses include:
Two (2) Leopard 1A3 tanks destroyed.
One (1) Leopard1A3 tank damaged – in short term repair.
One (1) Imp HAWK SAM destroyed.

Worst hit was the 2 Company/VI JDR (Divisional AT Bn) who lost about half its fighting power, incl several TOW teams.



(I made much of the water into shallow hexes making it possible for the AI to move units across without barges.)

Below the high water mark for the Soviet attack:





Danish mop up. Three slightly damaged Russian tanks...




None of the F-16s were committed to the battle.

[wulfir]

The battle of LÜBECK is in full swing (I'm at turn 43).

Much of the city is on fire.

The Soviet effort in the north as been halted along the Trave river with the demolition of the Eric-Warburg-Brücke, but the Old Town (Lübecker-Altstadt) has fallen and Soviet forces in the center have penetrated as far as the railroad.

Company Mejding, the 4th Company (II/DRLR), acting as the battalion reserve, is committed with to push the Russians back, grinding forward Mejding reports progress.

Then, almost back to back, two reports reach the Danish commander, LtCol Hansen - first the alarming news that his last HAWK unit has been taken out by infiltrating Soviet troops, immediately followed by a report of Soviet transport helicopters moving west...



Gotta' say, this helicopter action was a surprise move by the AI.

The first kill in the game was a Hind attack helicopter zapped by one of the four Danish HAWKs upon which, it seems, the AI set out to destroy my AA units as I have until now only seen fixed wing units making attack runs. Once achieved, lo and behold, here comes the air assault - it's a problem as there are no more Danish reserves to respond to this. It will be very interesting to see how this plays out.

The AI forces for this battle were not deployed by a human...