Internal Defence Forces (Poland)
"Wojsk Obrony Wewnętrznej" (WOW)
The Territorial Defence Forces or the OTK ("Obrona Terytorium Kraju") had several sorts of unit, most are what are erroneously referred to as "ORMO" in the GDW books. However they had several large formations known as the WOW and these were the hammer to the other OTK unit's anvils. Local OTK would hold and defend but the WOW would bring heavier force to bear to wipe out serious problems behind the lines.
WOW units came in three sorts, the three Territorial Defence Brigades which are the 1st Masovian Brigade of the Internal Defense Forces, 1st BWOWew ("1 Mazowiecka Brygada Wojsk Obrony Wewnętrznej"), 2nd Podlaska Brigade of the Internal Defense Forces, 2nd BWOWew ("2 Podlaska Brygada Wojsk Obrony Wewnętrznej") and the 5th Podhale Brigade, 5th BWOWew ("5th Podhalańska Brygada"), two independent regiment, three communications regiments, four regional regiments, four pontoon regiments and two pontoon battalions (the Poles know their river-crossed country only too well) and three engineering battalions specifically tasked as reaction forces to weapons of mass destruction.
(TKO units came in various types as well, and they include one Independent Defence Brigade, eighteen Independent Territorial Defence Regiments and sixty three Territorial Defence Battalions.)
An impressive number and it is these rather frightening individuals that will be hunting your scrawny arses across the Vistula Valley.
First off, here's the TOE of the 5th Podhales at the start of the war.
- command and staff
- three motorized infantry regiments (each with three battalions, a mortar battery and a battery of guns)
- tank battalion (probably T-55AD-2)
- 122 mm cannon squadron
- 120 mm mortar squadron
- 57 mm AA cannon squadron
- reconnaissance company
- company of sappers
- chemical company
- communications company
- traffic regulation company
- medical company
Here's the TOE for the 15th Independent Regiment
- command and staff
- motorized infantry battalion (three motorized infantry companies and a support company)
- tank battalion
- school battalion
- 120 mm mortar battery
- anti-tank battery (85 mm D-44 cannons)
- anti-aircraft battery
- sapper company
- communications company
- traffic regulation company
- supply company
- NBC warfare company
Now, obviously these units will not be at full strength. The beauty of these guys is that they can be literally anywhere in Poland, ready to pop up and give your players grief at any moment. Their mission is to seek out and deal with groups such as the players. Note that they have their own comprehensive communications network so if the players run into them then they get logged by the intel guys and the hunt is on. Obviously they have several fires to put out with the general level of banditry and players that amble along, helping locals and generally being inoffensive might be placed low on the list of priorities. However players destroying WarPact infrastructure and units, threatening supply lines and generally being a military bother will find these characters turning up quite quickly and repeatedly.
WOW units will often work in conjunction with Soviet MVD units and other similar allied rear are security troops.
And here's the kit of the average WOW trooper:
Field Uniform, wz. 68 "Moro" camouflage¹ 04.00kg
wz.68 "kostka" ("cube") Backpack 02.00kg
Blanket 01.00kg
MP-5 field protective mask and bag 01.00kg
6x 8-hour duration MP-5 filters
OP-1 NBC Suit and bag 08.00kg
Poncho 01.00kg
wz. 67 Steel Helmet w/ netting 01.50kg
6B2 Flak Vest 04.00kg
CZM Flashlight 0.20kg
wz. 70 Webbing² 02.00kg
6H4 Bayonet and scabbard 00.50kg
RKA (AKM) Assault Rifle 03.30kg*
6x 6L10 Magazines 03.00kg
120x 7.62x39mm 57-N-231³ 01.60kg
6x RGZ-89 Fragmentation Grenades 02.40kg⁴
2x RDG-2B Smoke Grenades, (White) 01.10kg
Individual First Aid Kit 00.20kg
¹"Rogatywka" Cap, "Uszatka" Woollen Hat, Shirt, Trousers, Field Jacket, Boots, Underwear
²Belt & Suspenders, SDPL Entrenching tool & Carrier, First Aid pouch, 2x Ammunition Pouch, 1 lt Canteen, wz. 70 Mess Kit
³8 x 15r stripper clips in two cardboard boxes
⁴2x of the 6 are in the Pack
(*Rear area troops had the AKM ("RKA", " Radziecki Karabinek Automatyczny" "Soviet Automatic Rifle") rather than the Kbk wz. 88 Tantal or the Skbk wz. 1989 Onyks)
EDIT:
I should have noted the usual TKO TOEs as these are the "ORMO" you see listed.
TKO Regiment TOE
- command and staff
- 4-6 infantry companies: 3 infantry platoons and a heavy machine gun platoon
- special company: 2 sapper platoons, 2 communications platoons and 2 chemical platoons
- supply platoon
TKO Battalion TOE
- command, staff, political section, quartermaster
- two infantry companies
- economic platoon
- economic team
- transport team
- communications team
The "economic teams" are disaster relief specialists.
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