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Riffling through some files in the Barrington Library’s Russian Military Studies Archive (http://barrington.cranfield.ac.uk/rmsa/) I found a couple of snippets that might be useful for the Cold War wargamer wishing to make some estimate of relative troop quality between the various NATO and WARPAC nations.
Source: “The Warsaw Pact-NATO Military Balance: The Quality of Forces”, Ken Brower, Soviet Studies Research Centre
Report C66, RMA Sandhurst, April 1988.
Service lengths and percentage regulars for enlisted personnel:
WARPAC
USSR 24/36 months 28% regular
Cz 24/36 months 41% regular
GDR 18/36 months 47% regular
Hu 18/24 months 45% regular
Po 24/36 months 41% regular
NATO
USA All-volunteer 100% regular
Fr 12 months 45% regular
Be 8-10 months 68% regular
FRG 15 months 52% regular
Ne 14-17 months 54% regular
UK All-volunteer 100% regular
Dk 9 months 72% regular
Ca All-volunteer 100% regular
Soviet estimate of NATO division effectiveness, as percentage of a Soviet division:
USA 100%
FRG 100%
UK 80%
Fr 70%
Ne 70%
Be 70%
Dk 70%
It 50%
Where two numbers are shown for length of conscription, one I take to be the usual hitch for the army, and the other the longer one for the navy or border guards (in similar fashion I’m fairly sure France had an 18-month period oof conscription for the Gendarmerie Nationale).
All the best,
John.
I’m intrigued by the estimates of division effectiveness. Presumably it is based on firepower and numbers of troops/vehicles rather than wishy washy Dupuyesque Combat Effectiveness Values.
"Mistakes in the initial deployment cannot be rectified" - Helmuth von Moltke
I’d say the Soviet calculations are based on some very dodgy data and assumptions. A British division (4-5 armoured regiments with 44 or 58 Chieftain/Challenger and 9 Swingfire each, 72 guns, and 80 Milan) is not much better than a Danish (120 Leopard 1, 44 guns, and around 90 TOW). Hmmm.
N