Well Olefin you may not agree with Mexico having a 1,000 plus buy of tanks and APC's in the Mexican Sourcebook, and to be honest I don't agree with the numbers either. But its definitely on the right path to giving the Mexicans a fighting chance against U.S. forces in the southwest.

Also the numbers you have been proposing on other posts are not that far off the Mexican Sourcebook, although the type of equipment is obviously different. But to be honest with you it would be a lot easier for Mexico to buy a battalion or two of tanks and other used or new equipment from France than going to the trouble of acquiring inferior equipment from other sources and then converting it to a standard that will still be lower than what they could get from France. After all as you have said Mexico is flush with oil money!

What Mexico needs is a tank killer, either tanks or anti-tank missiles, to take on American tanks. No matter what they could conceivably get they are not going to be able to handle an M1A1 outside of bushwacking them from the rear, but it is possible that there are not that many M1A1s in the southwest. On the other hand a modern tank or more powerful anti-tank missiles could take on M60's and baseline M1's with some success.

The question again is more what does Mexico have for money for getting equipment - and an oil bonanza isnt in the canon (but just because its not mentioned doesnt mean it didnt happen)

In reality they got close to 500 old Belgian APC's that they bought second hand for bargain prices because the Belgians had to get rid of them per the treaty.

In V1 the Cold War is still going strong and they wont get that deal - but in V2.2 they would have most likely (again the treaty that forced vehicle reductions in Europe in V2.2 versus no treaty in V1)

But its a big step from there to the Mexican Sourcebook - and I think a step too far - just too many tanks and APC's and self propelled guns and ..... - i.e. its too big a build up to be believable that the depleted US forces could have stopped them

i.e. 1400 tanks versus a few light foot infantry divisions, one tank division and one under strength mech division with limited ammo and no air support would have been a massacre - i.e. you would have seen the Mexican flag waving over St Louis by the time they were done

when you read the canon per Frank Chadwick you see all he has is the Mexican's using two mechanized infantry brigades and three cavalry regiments that were battalion sized to do most of the heavy lifting vs a vs armored thrusts in the invasion - that right there shows just how small US forces must have been as to armor equipment that a force that size, supported by infantry brigades that dont have much in the way of armor, succeeded as they did

that and the complete lack of any mention of Mexican tanks in Red Star Lone Star I would think shows that any large tank buildup is very unlikely - but a smaller one that got ground up in the attack and thus by 2001 all thats left of them is rusting knocked out junk dotting the plains of Texas and valleys and deserts of CA with maybe a couple of survivors here and there - that makes a lot of sense considering the size of the opposition they faced (and the fact that Soviet Division Cuba seems to have done a lot of the heavy lifting stopping the 49th cold in Texas)

and there is a very real possible tank killer - i.e. the VCR-TH that had the HOT missiles - that they could have had to supplement the VBL's with MILAN's that they had from the 80's - after all they already had 48 VCR variants in their army

(v1 focus below)
Simply put the timeline CANNOT follow the real world. Primary reason, the USSR survives and is strong enough to take on China while NATO is still a huge threat. Many things must have changed for the world to get what we got.

The V1 timeline was written in 1983 or 84 so one would think that nothing after that point is set in stone. Personally I start my variation in 1974 as the Oil Embargo continues longer leading to Mexico, Venezuela and Russia forming their own Oil pact. Venezuela, Nigeria and Indonesia suspend their membership to Opec at various times to take advantage of higher oil prices due to increased tension in the Middle East. Russia finds HUGE reserves near the Chinese border in 74 (embargo increases exploration) and after they can get it online they work hard to keep the Middle East pot stirring.

For me this validates the USSR surviving and the desire to take more lands from China.

I don't expect everyone to embrace this, but when explaining the game to people the first question they ask is how the USSR survived. This modification at least seems plausible.

An explanation to why there is no list of French tanks in Mexican service in Texas in the Red Star-Lone Star SB maybe because there are now none operational in the region because they bore the brunt of the initial invasion and took heavy losses. What was left of them could have been withdrawn back into Mexico.

The AMX-30 is not a good tank from the perspective of its armour protection. It is inferior to an M60 yet alone an Abram's, and its protection is inferior to most Soviet tanks. The French Army were glad to replace it with the vastly superior Leclerc. However its good by Mexican standards and it would have given them at least a chance. Most Mexican vehicles are vulnerable to heavy machine guns fire yet alone tanks and anti-tank weapons.

Off hand I don't know the composition of a Mexican armoured cavalry battalion/regiment. What 36-48 vehicles? Two battalions of AMX-30's would be less than a 100 tanks. A moderate force before the invasion that would likely have seen the brunt of combat against U.S. forces, and through losses, attrition and lack of spares would likely only be a fraction of its pre-invasion strength. The Mexicans probably withdrew the surviving 10-20 tanks back into Mexico as a reserve, in case American reinforcements from east of the Mississippi or the Pacific North West led to a major American counter-offensive that pushed through Texas and into Mexico itself.

HOT-1 missiles would also give the Mexican some teeth against older American tanks.

Oil and arms were the Soviets main exports, in fact they are still Russia's main exports today.

Per Frank Chadwick who helped write Red Star Lone Star this is the canon strength


Mechanized Infantry Brigades - 2

Each with two mech inf regiments with 40 VAB APC, one armored recon regiment (which was the size of a battalion) with 17 ERC-90 and 34 VAB APC and one SPG battalion of 6 M109 and 12 M108's

Thus the total he had for SPG's was 12 M109 and 24 M108 for the whole Mexican Army (i.e. betting he didnt know they had the 5 M8 Scott's)

There were also:

Armored Cav Regiments (sized as a battalion) - 3

Each with 17 ERC-90 and 34 VAB APC

Regional Brigades - i.e. Inf Brigades - 36 regional brigades

Each averaging one motorized cav regiment (really a battalion - see below), two infantry regiments and one battery of artillery

thus an armored cav regiment had a total of 51 vehicles, 17 ERC-90 and 34 VAB APC (defined as a squadron of of seventeen vehicles of ERC-90 and two squadrons of VAB APC)

so a little bigger but pretty close there RN7! Good estimate!

and they also were exporting Russians as well especially what they called undesirables in the Soviet era

FYI oil prices per barrel in real life

https://inflationdata.com/Inflation/...ices_Table.asp


year price price adjust for inflation
1990 $23.19 $43.32
1991 $20.20 $36.31
1992 $19.25 $33.58
1993 $16.75 $28.39
1994 $15.66 $25.86
1995 $16.75 $26.91
1996 $20.46 $31.91
1997 $18.64 $28.43
1998 $11.91 $17.89
1999 $16.56 $24.28

I like it, Kato.

In the T2K timeline I'd say the price of a barrel of oil would climb to an all time high from October 1996 onwards.

FYI one idea for where Mexico got the money to buy new equipment - the US

We give Mexico a lot of military assistance and aid - and I can see a Mexican official going to the US and saying "we need military assistance to be able to build up our army to resist the threat from the Nicaraguans and their Soviet allies" and the US saying "sure that sounds like a great idea"

and then a few years later really not thinking so when the equipment said aid bought starts pouring across the Rio Grande

I would say earlier - starting with the Soviet China War, peaking and then going down, then peaking again in October of 1996 and going from there - and could be another source for late buys for Mexico from places like Brazil or Argentina - i.e. where they thought there was no way any fighting could come near them

Eureka!
 

Olefin, I believe that I may have seized upon an explanation for Howling Wilderness' seemingly nonsensical demobilization figures AND figured out a way for the U.S.A. to push Mexican forces off of American territory without those troops. AFAIK, the figures in HW refer solely to the U.S. troops returning home from Europe.

What about the 15,400 U.S. troops listed by the v1.0 U.S. Army Vehicle Guide as being in Korea in the summer of 2000. What if they were evacuated in late 2000/early 2001, and made back it to the west coast? 15,000 combat veterans could do a lot to eject the Mexican forces that remain on U.S. soil in early 2001. This could explain why most of the Omega evacuees are demobilized without breaking canon.

If you use this idea, I expect a credit. ;)

Give it some thought.

FYI starting to lean more towards the French Mk F3 155mm SPG (possibly with AMX-VCA support vehicles) as what the Mexicans would have had. Its an older gun that was still in service for sure both with the French and other countries, gives them a 155mm gun but is much more low cost and thus something Mexico could afford a lot easier. And considering Mexico's road and rail network its a light lighter than any other 155mm SPG they might be looking at.

FYI the link I posted on the Netherlands OOB about Dutch surplus weapons sales has some very interesting info for a V2.2. Mexican Army as far as where they might have got weapons

if you look it not only has weapons they had to dispose of but how many, where they were sold in the real world timeline and most importantly what they cost - i.e what the sale price would have been

https://www.bicc.de/uploads/tx_bicctools/paper5.pdf

you hardly ever see info like that

i.e. 1995 cost for a Leopard I tank - 100,000 dollars, M113A1 30,000-75,000 and some going as low as 25,000, M110A2 for 300,000, 81mm mortar for a 1000 bucks, M-1 carbines for a 100 bucks, etc..

want to buy a company of Leopard I tanks and an ARV - that will be 2 million bucks

need 10,000 Uzis to equip some new reserve infantry regiments - that will be another 2 million bucks

meaning you could actually possibly price out what it might take for the Mexican Army to buy a bunch of stuff for V2.2. for the increase in their army that occurred courtesy of the Netherlands Army

Here is my take on Mexico's military buildup.

The first question that comes to my mind is where did the surplus AMX-30S come from, since only 190 were made and all were delivered to Saudi Arabia (and, to the best of my knowledge, all of them are still there).

One possibility for a Mexican armored force would be buying Chinese Type 59 or Type 69 tanks, both of which were for sale in the 1980s in our timeline. The Type 59-II with 105mm L7 cannon would allow for fair commonality with Western vehicles for ammunition and spares would be available from Cuba, and they were relatively inexpensive. The AMX-40E4 (the 1985 prototype) was expected to cost around $2.5 million in series production (and those estimates always seem to wind up on the low side), which was a few thousand more than modernized AMX-30 tanks. In the 70s and 80s, T-55 series tanks cost less than 1/10th of that price. Even if there was a ridiculous mark-up for the Type 59-II, it should still be possible to buy 4 or 5 of them for each AMX that could be bought. The big question would be whether it would be politically possible; I personally think it would, since they'd be seen by the US as semi-obsolete and relatively easy to defeat, but they'd give Mexico an inexpensive armored force with decent firepower.

The French were still building the AMX-30 (variants of it) as late as 1994, and the Twilight 2000 timeline is different and its possible the French could have built more.

There is a lot of stuff the Mexicans could buy at bargain prices, but as regards to tanks and anti-tank missiles other NATO countries might not be willing to sell them to Mexico as the Americans would not approve of it. But certainly France and the Soviets would sell their stuff or would have no objection to them being sold second hand.

True, but even other desert countries didn't want the AMX-30S - Qatar bought the AMX-30B2 in 1977 and the UAE bought the AMX-30B the same year. I think the perceived problem with the S model was the downrated engine (620 horsepower, where most AMX-30 were 720). This reduced mobility, which was supposed to be the tank's primary defense. The S also has inferior stabilization and fire control to the B2, and isn't designed to fire APFSDS shells (which the B2 can use). My personal opinion is that if someone in the early/mid-80s was going to go high-end enough to get AMX-30 tanks, they'd go for the B2 instead of the S. If the B2 was too expensive, there'd be better choices than the almost-as-expensive S.

TAB-30
Under a modernization program initiated in the late 1980s, the Mexican government undertook programs to substantially upgrade its armor and mechanized capabilities. In 1988, SEDENA purchased 300 AMX-30S main battle tanks from the French government, which had been held in reserve since the late 1970’s. Part of the agreement involved the local upgrading of the tanks to the B2 standard with replacement diesel power packs by SNECMA and new GIAT 105mm guns.
With the backing of the Mexican government, a joint venture (Tecnologías de la Defensa Nacional - “TDN”) was formed by Grupo Bocar and Grupo KUO to remanufacture the French AMX-30S to the AMX-30B2 standard, the refurbished tanks known as the Tanque Medio de Batalla-30 or TAB-30.
The tanks acquired by Mexico were “S” tropicalized variants intended for desert use. As delivered, the original AMX-30Ss included the addition of sand shields, an upgraded cooling system, air conditioning and an engine down rated to 620 hp. In addition, the AMX-30S substituted the Sopelem LRF day/night sight for the laser rangefinder used on the AMX-30B2.
The first production TAB-30 entered service with the Mexican Army on January 26th, 1990 and had a number of improvements added to the AMX-30B2 standard. The TAB-30 was equipped with a new fire-control system using a laser rangefinder, weapon stabilization system, and sensors for wind, temperature, and humidity. Due to the closed environment of the TAB-30’s air-conditioned fighting compartment, a fume extractor was added to the 105mm GIAT main gun.
For improved power a Cummings-Mexico diesel engine with fully automatic transmission was installed to increase speed, operating range, and fuel capacity. The commander's and driver's stations were modernized as well, and the vehicle can lay its own smoke screen by injecting diesel fuel into the exhaust system.
After the initial batch of 50 TAB-30 upgrades were completed in 1992, SEDENA decided to upgrade future tanks by adding a set of spaced armor side skirts. Experience had shown that the primary threat to armor was the shaped charge and spaced armor skirts were intended to provide some defense against light anti-tank weapons. Spaced armor was also added to the turret front.
By 1994 SEDENA had found that the spaced armor was insufficient to defend against the shoulder launched rockets employed by insurgents in the south and the drug cartels of the north. The decision was made to fit an indigenously designed explosive reactive armor package to deal with HEAT based weapons. The system was similar to the Israeli Blazer reactive armor of the 80’s and it is believed that Israel provided assistance in the development of the TAB-30 ERA package. In 1996 SEDENA began upgrading its TAB-30 fleet with ERA tiles. Also, in 1996, the Mexicans took delivery of several dozen additional AMX-30s which were upgraded to TAB-30 standards.
By the time of the U.S. invasion approximately 30% of Mexico’s tank strength consisted of AMX-30S and TAB-30 medium tanks. Of those, 90% had been upgraded to TAB-30 standards while 10% remained AMX-30 or AMX-30S variants. However, only TAB-30s were used in the invasion. By 2000, all of the AMX-30 variants in service had been upgraded to the TAB-30 standard. During the initial assault in 1998 most of Mexico’s stock of ERA tiles were depleted. While tiles continued to be produced throughout the war, logistical problems prevented most replacements from reaching units engaged in combat with U.S. forces.
TAB-30 $586,000 D, G, AvG, A 400 kg 37.75 tons Crew: 4 Mx: 17 Passive IR (D), Image Intensification (G, C), Thermal Imaging (G, C) Shielded
TAB-30 148/107 34/29 Fuel: 1150 Con: 316 Trtd T6 TF55Sp,TS22 TR13 HF64 HS14Sp HR8
TAB-30 +4 Good 105mm GIAT Gun, 20mm GIAT M-621 Autocannon, MAG (C) 47x105mm, 480x20mm, 2070x7.62mm

As I have said before - if Mexico had that many tanks they wouldnt have been stopped unless the US used a bunch of nukes to do it - could they have had a small force of tanks - yes - but a large one - not likely unless you want to rewrite the canon to say that the US nuked the Mexican tank forces to stop them.

Its especially evident that they didnt have that number of tanks because if they had both of the tank brigades that were still in the US would have been deployed to stop them - and of the two neither was used to stop the Mexican Armor in the canon

Also if they have that number of tanks why bring Soviet Division Cuba to Mexico? They wouldnt need them

So its a choice of a much smaller number of tanks or multiple US tactical nukes (also not mentioned in the canon) to stop them

Olefin,

I don't disagree to a point, but it does also go to the heart of the problem with canon.

I think we would use nukes. With the limited numbers of nuclear weapons used, you still have thousands in place. Barksdale AFB, Castle AFB, and Carswell AFB are all intact with at least a couple of hundred B61s and SRAMs in the storage bunkers. The B61 has a low-yield setting of about 300 tons; a handful, at least, of those are going to be used to take out logistic targets inside Mexico.

But you don't need nukes to stop the tanks. You hit the logistics train - fuel - with fighters. Carpet bomb the logistic tail if have to with B-52s (at least some of which are still flying). Keep in mind; B-52 and other jet aircraft CAN fly on alcohol. You just don't want to do because of the effects on the fuel system. The SW territory covers a lot of land. Even 1000 tanks are not going to give you a lot of armor density in the territory. However, you can't overrun the US without tanks. There would absolutely be enough residual US military force to take on a light armored force. Your training units alone are going to be able to muster at least a couple of hundred tanks, attack helicopters, and attack fighters. An invader is also going to run into a buzz saw of rifle-armed militia of one type or another that have spent YEARS hunting; and now they have something to hunt. And then there are the hundreds of ATGMs, recoilless rifles, etc. So even if you have 300-700 tanks, you are going to run into trouble, and lots of it.

You can stop tanks with nukes - the canon has literally dozens of references to armored divisions, brigades and regiments getting almost wiped out by them (2nd Armored Division is a prime example, also the Russian division that was wiped out going thru Riga)

And in this case I completely agree with you - if you want the Mexicans to have tanks in that number you have to have nuke strikes - its the only way to stop them

Don't fall victim to the logical fallacy of false dichotomy.

More tanks helps explain Mexico's success in taking parts of the U.S. Southwest (and continuing to hold U.S. territory past 2000).

More tanks doesn't have to mean nuclear warfare.

The U.S. would be reluctant to use nuclear weapons on its next-door neighbor due to the dangers of fallout. Here in Tucson, most of the big weather systems, especially during the summer monsoons, arrive from Mexico. Also, I think that the U.S. military would be confident that they could eject the Mexican military from U.S. territory with conventional forces. Obviously, when reconciling canon, it becomes apparent that the U.S. was unable to do that through 2001. That doesn't mean it didn't happen after that (unless you stick to the 2300 stuff- IMHO, the two settings need to be officially divorced from one another).

IMHO, people creating/running campaigns set in CONUS after 2000 should focus on ways for players to help eject the MA and Soviet forces still on U.S. soil instead of trying to RETCON canon. If we just focus on why the Mexican invasion couldn't have worked, we are effectively undermining a rich adventure setting.

The U.S. could winnow down the Mexican AFV fleet through conventional means and guerrilla warfare. San Diego, L.A., and Phoenix would be graveyards for dozens (if not hundreds) of poorly employed enemy tanks.

Give the Mexicans more tanks, then PCs are up against greater odds. I don't see a problem with that.

Or alternatively they had more tanks - but they never had the time to properly train enough mechanics and get enough spare parts

So they start the war with more tanks - but by 2001 they are very rare indeed - so its really what do they have in 2001 that matters -not what they had in 1998

That's a good point. 2300AD is a very different game to T2K, and I have never been comfortable with how the world of 2300AD developed as much of it doesn't make sense.

I agree totally with you about 2300AD - I dont see any way that the US allows Mexico to keep the Southwest and CA - that right there is where that whole timeline breaks down for me. Have Texas go independent - sure that I can see. After all they were their own country to begin with before they joined the US. But as I have pointed out before there is no way (especially not in a devastated world after the war) that Mexico holds onto Southern CA when virtually all of its water comes from northern California and the Colorado River.

Meaning that if somehow they held onto it LA becomes a dusty small city until they can do desalinization of the Pacific on a huge scale. And the wouldnt be possible given the timeline for a very long time. About the only area that could get enough water would be the Imperial Valley and San Diego and that is only if the Mexicans held onto the Yuma area and the US didnt decide to cut off the Colorado River by diverting it elsewhere.

I dont think the original authors knew the water situation in Southern CA - I lived there for years and you figure out pretty quick how fast that outside the area getting water from the various water transportation systems its a desert.

US military moving to the border to stop border crossings - hmm sounds eerily familiar

Making a realistic timeline does not undermine a rich adventure setting, consider the following.

Cuba wanting to survive a war as a sovereign nation and formally informs the Soviets that its division must leave Cuba. Cuba knows that the US could bomb and take its island by force before and help (if any) could arrive from the USSR.

Mexico agrees to “employ” the division as advisors in its war against Cartel forces. The USSR excepts this offer as it’s the best it option, no ones wants to risk assets on what is now a Category C division of old and injured men. Certain Mexican forces see this as a good thing to help route out corruption in the army and police

Mexico agrees to provide some sea transport and Cuba is willing too as long as they leave. No tanks or AFV make the trip due to space, just arms and ammunition, AT missiles and jeeps and trucks.

US reaction to the move is mixed the soviets troops are hardly frontline or Special Forces, but this sudden influx of Soviet arms all be it small is disturbing. US plans for combat with Mexico is reviewed and certain assets are spooled up for keeping an eye on the Mexican problem.

Unknown to many is that a few these new arrivals are really Spetsnaz GRU and GRU Signals personnel disguised as ordinary conscripts. They are of course report to the embassy for further orders.

The Soviets do what they promise and assist in taking down the cartels all the while forging friendships, teaching tactics and propaganda.

After the bombs drop a Mexico decides to retake territory it as long considered as part of Mexico.

The US Army at home is a weakened state with most of its troops engaged in disaster relief or deploying for parts elsewhere. The Mexicans with GRU help are able to cross the border in key spots and overcome the few remaining under-equipped US forces. However, the inept Mexican Commanders outrun their limited supply lines and the offensive halts. Many people take to guerrilla warfare, which forces many units into major cities and out of the countryside.

Add to this the Soviet nuclear destruction of Mexican Oil resources (to keep it out of US hands) and you have a good setting to what is described in version 2.2 maybe 1

You a have Soviet and Mexican troops on US soil, with some troops who have gone rogue after the Soviet Nuc parts of Mexico.

In some parts where troops have fallen back, you could find regional warlords American, Soviet or Mexican or ???

You have a great setting for PC’s to be a Long Range Surveillance Patrol conducting operations. Which gives them a chance for squad on squad combat which something I always liked.

Mexico doesn't need to have modern or 1970s, 1980s era tanks to explain there success in T2k.

1) The U.S. has sent the Active Divisions with the highest readiness and training to Europe, Middle East, and Asia.
2) Green, new formed Divisions, and cadre only divisions are all that are on U.S. soil.
3) Mexican nationals throughout the U.S. are providing real time intelligence to the Mexican government.
4)The Mexican military has experienced troops and well trained or lead professional soldiers/ sailors/ airmen at all levels.
5) The Mexican forces have all their equipment consolidated and their logistics reserve forward deployed.

Do not confuse the professional Mexican Armed Forces with the poor people coming to American to find work in menial labor.

The Patrons, Mexican Oligarchs, are every bit as wealthy, educated, and political as the 1% in the U.S.A.

They were educated at Harvard, Oxford, the Sorbonne and operate billionaire corporations.

The Mexican Army of the V1 and V2.2 timeline is a combination of both a volunteer and conscript army.

Their officers were good but their NCO's werent - at least not in the mid-90's - that changed after the Chiapas revolt. Their Marines and Paras were every bit as professional as our guys are. However their army at the time of the invasion in the main was not trained or equipped for any type of land war. They were mostly trained to deal with disasters and service and security work inside Mexico.

Thus their army was definitely not trained for the invasion and combat against the US Army or trained to take on insurgents. And their equipment was not up to the standard it is today - they only succeeded because even though their armor was crap and they didnt have a lot of it they at least had some - and we didnt. Thats why the advance into CA basically came to an end when they hit the guys from the 40th around Bakersfield as they finally got into that area from Oregon.

and thats why if the Soviets hadnt landed in Texas the timeline would be instead "the counteroffensive by the 5th Army succeeded in clearing Texas by early 2000 of the Mexican forces and the Texian Legion although there was almost another year of fighting against marauders and remnant Mexican units"

https://ssi.armywarcollege.edu/pdffiles/PUB638.pdf

Great article on the Mexican armed forces and how they have evolved over time - lots of details that are useful for the game

couple of outtakes that shows the difference between today's Mexican Army and the Army at the time of V1 and V2.2

So yes is the Mexican Army of 2018 what ArmySgt described it as? The answer is yes

Was it that Army in 1997-98 at the time of the invasion in the V1 and V2.2 timeline - the answer is no

"The 1994 Zapatista uprising had two effects on the Mexican
military, principally the Army, that persist to this day. First, it served
as a wakeup call for a proud institution that found itself held at bay
by a group of lightly armed peasants, which brought international
scrutiny upon the country and its security policies and forces.
Second, it provided sound justification for additional funding for
modernization. This was quickly recognized and taken advantage
of by the military hierarchy. In addition to significant equipment
purchases, the institution embarked upon a thorough review of
its professional development of the officer corps, as well as of its
training and organization."

secondly

"The senior leadership of the armed forces recognized that
perpetuation of the status quo was not enough to ensure the forces’
utility in the future, and that a far more focused approach was needed.
Over the period of 10 years, massive improvements to barracks and
training facilities have been made throughout the country, and new
courses for Special Forces and the Army in low intensity warfare
developed. The most significant changes have, however, been in the
field of professional development for officers. Schools and courses
were developed for all rank levels, with successful completion being
a prerequisite for advancement. There is a course for captains, a
course for majors and lieutenant colonels, and a senior course for
colonels and brigadiers, all based at least in part on the American
equivalents. "

The Mexican army suffers from a lack of logistical support vehicles since is an army of defense not an expeditionary army, I checked Janes at work and the army currently has 571 logistics vehicles to support a Army of 271,000 most theses trucks are Chevrolet Kodiak, M35 2-1/2 ton cargo truck, Mercedes-Benz "Kurzhauber" (Brazilian-built) and possible the Freightliner Business Class M2 which are short to medium range. So using this trucks for long range would be hard give that each truck would be over loaded with materials. I could'nt find any info on wreckers or refuelers both of which you need for any logistical train.

Also how much war stocks would mexico have on hand, the Mexico army in the 1990 has lots of equipment from Europe and the US. So I don't see them getting a lot from anyone one the shooting starts in Europe. Ammo might be an issue too.

Ammo would be a major issue for the Mexican Army when it comes to anti-tank missiles and artillery ammo for anything beyond mortars. For instance the VBL's that they bought could fire MILAN missiles - but in the real world timeline they only bought 20 total Missiles - and even if they bought more once they are gone they are gone

For some items they would be ok - their military is self sufficient in munitions production for their small arms and mortars and also produces small arms as well. The Fabricas Militares produce under license the Heckler and Koch G-3 7.62-mm assault rifle, HK-21 light machine gun, MP-5 sub-machine gun, P7M13 gun, as well as various calibers of mortars in Mexico.

Again, just use civie trucks!
 

Regarding logistics, yes, the Mexican army was never flush with trucks. However, especially after NAFTA, the civilian 18-wheeler fleet ballooned. Thousands of 18-wheelers originating in Mexico cross the border into the U.S. every day, carrying everything from fresh produce to consumer electronics (and sometimes contraband). In the event of a war with the U.S.A. (i.e. T2K), the Mexican military could requisition those thousands of civilian cargo carries to cart supplies for the invasion force. It's really just that simple. Problem solved.

The Mexican-Armed Forces uses commercially available truxks. Jane's reports on military equipment. There are fuelers using the same chassis as a dump truxk as would be available to any construction company.
Down at unit levels, they use Dodge 2500s and Ford F250s like the U.S. Once used Chevy Blazers (CUCV).

Mexico produces their munitions at home for their small arms, 20mm, 90mm, 106mm, 105mm (arty). I haven't found anything that suggests they produce missiles of any sort. As well as their mortars in 60mm, 81mm, 107mm, and 120mm. I am unsure of the Naval munitions (Gearing xlass DD) though that likely would be the case. Missiles is probably more to do with licenses, than ability. Mexico produces electronic locally.

Given that this is very difficult to track down. The SEDENA (Mexican Defense Department) doesn't give out information as a rule. I have been through several Mexican websites for their own military enthusiasts and modellers. The M3A1, for example, 30 of these plus 15 M5A1s were reieved in 1947. I have a black and white photo of them on parade in 1982 (? unsure) and any recent photos are only of those made into monuments at gates. The M8A1 Gun Motor Carriage has turned up in two different photos with either a desert paint or a woodland digital pattern paint job, new tracks, and road wheels. The M8 Greyhounds appear on parade rearmed with the 20x139mm RH202 (seems single belt) that is produced under licenses in Mexico, even with a KPV mahinegun in one. With new paint new tires. The motor has to be replaced, with what I don't know.

I have a mashed together .pdf trying to keep it all straight.

There is 3 of these M32 chencha (M4 conversions) Armored Recovery Vehicles.
http://fotos.miarroba.es/fo/2978/1C4...1C45CEB84C.jpg

They have a 8V92T Detroit Diesel now instead of the old radial.

ArmySGT. I have a vague recollection that the Mexican M8 Greyhounds were fitted with a commercial truck engine to replace the old motor.
I will have to check my books because I can't remember where I saw that info and obviously I can't be certain it's accurate.

You need to start searching websites in Spanish - found out a lot of info on what they had that way - and google translate fills in the holes in my rusty Spanish from high school (Vice President of our Spanish club here).

The answer on missiles is that they dont produce any of them - no capability to produce them at all. And after they got their butts handed to them in the fighting in the Yucatan by a bunch of rebels armed worse than the kids from Red Dawn they bought more equipment and got a lot better trained.

Keep in mind for V1 and V2.2. you are talking a Mexican Army that is still depending in many ways on WWII or not much younger equipment - the only tanks they had were 50 or so Stuarts, a few M8A1 Gun Motor Carriages and three Sherman tank retrievers. And no SPG's of any sort except said M8A1's, nothing heavier than a 105 for a howitzer (and not many of those) and only about 20 MILAN missiles in total.

They did get some stuff from the French but the big APC buy that they did of ex-Belgian APC's didnt happen till 1995 and many didnt get delivered till later than that - and in V1 those vehicles would have stayed with the armies in Europe - it took the treaty on conventional arms reduction in our timeline (and probably in V2.2 as well) to have them be available

In fact their most effective anti-armor teams most likely would have used recoilless rifles mounted on Jeeps or light trucks - made for a very mobile and effective anti-armor combo