Quote:
Originally Posted by Webstral
The composition of a new army group (EastAG?) in Poland would depend a great deal on the results of negotiations among the NATO members. It would be great to have a German heavy division or two, but I don’t know how possible that is. The German constitution places limits on sending German troops outside the country. The Poles might be uncomfortable with the idea, too. The French ought to be able to send a division, but it’s hard to say how reliable they are. The Brits ought to be able to send a division, but it’s hard to say whether they can pay for it. The Netherlands and Belgium probably ought to be able to send a brigade, but it’s hard to say whether the voting public will be willing to finance such a venture when it’s easier to let the Americans and the other large nations do all the dirty work. Spain could send a division, but I wonder if she could be convinced to send a brigade. Ditto Italy. The Czechs probably would take the situation seriously enough to commit troops forward, as would the Bulgarians. I don’t know about the Greeks, even if they had the money to send any troops forward. So while I think it needs to happen, I’m not especially sanguine about getting cooperation out of the Western Europeans in their current frame of mind. Still, one never knows.
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I'm not actually sure the UK would be able to commit a Division any more. The Regular Field Army currently only numbers six combat Brigades (2 Armoured, 3 Mechanised, and 1 Air Assault). Assuming a Division is made up of either both Armoured and one of the Mech Brigades or two Mech and one Armoured, that leaves precious little for pre existing commitments / unexpected contingencies elsewhere (and assumes we manage to disengage from Afghanistan as planned, otherwise cupboard will be even more bare). And further cuts are planned between now and 2020.
So one, at a push two Brigades with the possibility of reinforcement from UK based units if the brown stuff hits the fan seems more likely...you could be generous and call that a Division on paper I suppose.