[natehale1971]

the only thing i really have problems with your write up (and those of others) when dealing with the two German states in the V1 timeline... so many feel that the DNVA would be disbanded, or troops would get the kind of treatment they got in Real Life when unification happened. The East German Army was, in relation to its equipment and training, one of the strongest armies in the Warsaw Pact. It was outfitted with a large number of modern weapons systems... and thus was just to much of an advantage to keep it and use it to fight the Soviet Union and its Warsaw Pact allies. They would know their tactics, codes and proceedures to damn well... and that kind of an advantage you just don't give up so easily or quickly.

Especially since the original timeline showed that the Bundeswehr was having a really nasty time dealing with the Soviets and Pact allies, and thus the DNVA would be just to valuable to keep than to 'throw' them away... that's just a waste that I can't see someone fighting for their very existant would do.

Because it would just be too pragmatic to keep the DNVA as a whole, and any 'culling' would be done as the war progressed when evidence that said East German personnel was operating for the Soviets.

The DNVA units would be kept as they were with the same nomenclature, weapons, equipment, ranks, ect. at the start. And the phasing in of uniformed weapons, uniforms, equipment, ect would happen during the rotations from the front. DNVA units that were severely mauled would be disbanded and it's personnel would be transfered to other DNVA units to bring them back-up to strength.

Now i can easily see 'exchange' officers, NCOs... in positions as obseveers and adivsors in a manner similar to how NATO forces would have other nations personnel working with them to coordinate their operations. But these personnel would have an additonal role to look for anyone who'd be operating on the behalf of the Soviets and Pact forces.

I never really liked how GDW said that the DNVA units were forced to change their names and add a "2" to disginguish them form the West German units. Because that would be a major hit on their morale (because being seen as 'second best' just never is something that feels good)... hell, if you're gonna do that, might as well just redesignate them with unit names and numbers that follow the existing Bundeswehr units.

Those are some of reasons why in my campaigns that the DDR was offically still an independent state up until the French invaded the Rhineland... an act that caused the BRD and DDR to unify to create the DBR (Deutsche Bundesrepublik or German Federal Republic). I loved doing it this way since the French were trying so desperately to stop from happening, and their own actions actually caused what they were trying to stop.

When i get a chance I'll be posting the OOB that i came up with for the DNVA and Bundeswehr, that inculded the various branches that were not covered anywhere else... and a couple new groups that were created due to the continuation of the Cold War (such as the straegic rocketry forces & Airborne Landing Forces in the DNVA and the creation of civilian law enforcement agency - the Federal Police - in West Germany).

Land Forces (Landstreitkräfte), Airborne Landing Forces (Luftlandungstreikräfte), Air Force (Luftstreitkräfte), Air Defense (Luftverteidigung), People's Navy (Volksmarine, inculdes Naval Aviation & Naval Infantry assets), Strategic Rocketry Forces (Strategische Raketenstreitkräft), Home Guard Force (Hauptschütz), Border Troops of the GDR (Grenztruppen der DDR), Combat Groups of the Working Class (Kampfgruppen der Arbeiterklasse), Construction Units (Baueinheiten), Peoples Police (Volkspolizei), Peoples Readiness Police (<>), Felix Dzerzhinsky Watch Regiment (Ministry for State Security, Stasi).

If you want, i can send you the OOB for the real world DNVA that I've got if you'd like to see it.