Home Forums Modern NATO vs WARPAC troop quality, 1988

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  • #68804
    Avatar photoJohn D Salt
    Participant

    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.

    #68816
    Avatar photoMartinR
    Participant

    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

    #69232
    Avatar photoSabresquadron
    Participant

    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

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