[fightingflamingo]

originally intended to respond to a post I misread the context off... just for further clarification of my POV since I bothered to type it up

for the WP, I agree that captured equipment will be of little value beyond technical intel until such time as the rear area supply chain breaks down. However, NATO's situation in V1 would be a different situation (this does not apply to a V2 or V2.2 as the NVA has been disbanded). The NVA makes exclusive use of WP equipment. Given battlefield recovery rates of vehicles in World War 2, as well as from the Arab-Israel conflict through the 1973 war, it is plausible that NATO would be very interested in recovery of captured WP equipment which could provide salvage parts for NVA equipment from vehicles otherwise deemed to be a total loss, and possibly a pool of battle damaged vehicles some of which may be returned to service through canabalization of others.

In the context of V1 or IMT2KU, I think it is unlikely that the industrial productivity of the FRG will be able to adequately reequip those units of the Unified German Army to Bundeswehr standards which had origins in the former NVA. The FRG will be hard pressed to replace it's own battlefield losses (through both new production vehicles and battlefield recovery), let alone reequip former NVA divisions wholesale (let alone make an provision for training the former NVA units to operate and maintain said equipment).

Small Arms would also be retained when captured through the TDM, and for similar reasons. The DDR had a large reserve structure which the new unified Germany would continue to draw upon for combat replacements, and possibly (depending on your particular view of canon) the mobilization of the NVA's reserve structure.

After the breakdown of the logistical supply chain (when in my view the war transitions from what is primarily a full on high intensity mechanized battlespace, to an intermediate level of intensity infantry(e.g. patrolling/infilitration) battlespace that the destruction of capture weapons and equipment will be undertaken to a large extent. At that point in the war, such demolition will be more because the capturing units will not be able to bear the burden for dealing with such equipment (vehicles still will be retained to make up combat losses, likely by the capturing unit if the vehicle in question is immediately serviceable). That is not to say that individual soldiers on either side wouldn't choose to equip themselves with a variety of warprizes.

IMHO...

If you don't have a WP equipt NVA then all this is irrelevant, and there is ample reason to destory captured enemy equipment not retained for technical intel purposes.