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Originally Posted by Raellus
Wouldn't those vehicles "left behind" by departing REFORGER units be packed up and shipped after them, as replacements for combat losses? I would imagine that this would begin ASAP.
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That's the assumption we operated under.
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Originally Posted by Raellus
There's no way new production alone would be able to keep up with losses. A lot has changed since the "Arsenal of Democracy". An M1 is a whole lot harder to build than an M4 (i.e. costlier and slower production). Perhaps this justifies the introduction of the easier/cheaper-to-build Stingray and LAV-75* early in the war.
*I know that this design really never left the drawing board and has been poo-pooed by the T2K community. But it is plausible that such a platform could have been designed and put into production fairly quickly, especially since it is based on an already established AFV chasis.
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M-1 production is by no means able to keep up with losses - its a steady decline from the beginning of Advent Crown (the invasion of Poland) until things fall apart completely in December 1997. There are M-60s and M-48s (those that were not exported to China or other allies) available, but training & integration of those systems (or Lav-75s or similar) would be difficult in a combat zone. We have some units held back in CONUS for want of vehicles, they field Lav-75s/M-8s/Stingrays and wheeled APCs.
We field light armored vehicles in light ingfantry units according to the v1 US Army Vehicle Guide - an assault gun battalion in each light division plus some in the divisional cav squadron, plus the 9th ID and a 3-73 Armor in the 82nd. We also add the 14th ACR for XVIII Abn Corps. There are still an excess of those vehicles, which can be used to replace losses of other vehicles.
As to which vehicle would be fielded, there has been a lot of debate here (or, more properly, on RPGHost). We never seemed to reach a consensus, so the DC guys decided to let the GM decide. One factor to consider is that the M-8 Buford came off the Bradley assembly line, so that every Buford fielded means one less Bradley. Without getting into the industrial mobilization details, that makes the Lav-75 or the Stingray more attractive options. (Yes, the C-G and AAI production lines could be retooled for M-8s, but that takes time, and time is short when you have 11 months from the start of the war to a strategic nuclear exchange).
There are also over 1300 Sheridans in the inventory, used in combat as late as 1991, that sit out the war!