[Louied]

BAOR

The BAOR emerged from the Wide Horizon/Task Force Era in 1982 (think Pentomic Structure) with a new organization and a new concept of operations. Under Bagnall the BAOR was transformed, by 1989 the key points were:
1) NORTHAG would be fought as an Army Group, formations would be used in whatever Corps sector was needed, ie if the Belgians needed additional tanks a German or British Armd Bde would reinforce it.
2) 1 BR Corps would fight with 1 & 4 Armd Divs in the FEBA between the IGB and the Weser. 3 Armd Div would be a counterstroke force for the Corps or NORTHAG. 2 Inf Div would guard the Corps Rear Area, it also provide troops (24 Airmobile or 15 Inf Bde) to reinforce the FEBA.

The Defence of the Corps area was specifically referred to, in numerous documents, as "The Goodwood Defence" ie Saxon equipped Inf and TA Inf would hold Key terrain or key urban areas (the Parachute Regt Group was intended to hold Hildesheim) with literally almost every MILAN FP in the Army. Meanwhile the Armd Bdes would fight a battle of movement. The object was to attrit the 1st echelon down to the point that a counterattack by several, in-theatre, NORTHAG Divs would shatter it and the 2nd Echelon entering the battle (reinforced by III U.S. Corps if it had made it over. Several apparently, from what I am told, several field exercises had to be called early because the simulated counterattack had taken formations over the exercises IGB!

Now for T2k purposes.......BAOR throughout the 1980's was short of men AND 155mm ammo. Though prospects for equipment were excellent, Challenger 2 coming on line and the complete rollout of Warrior, MLRS, and AS-90 was to be complete in 1994-95, ammo was still a problem and manpower was forecasted to take a dip in the 1990's (Manning and Recruitment in the Lean Years of the Nineties...The MARILYN Report addressed this and tried to find ways to mitigate it). The war in China would take care of the ammo problems, IMHO, as the backstory provides us with (much like now in the Ukraine) ramping up production and delivery of Western military hardware to China to bleed the Soviets. The manpower problems can be addressed with what actually happened IRL, the demographic trough expected in the UK did not really happen due to immigration from Eastern Europe after the fall of the Wall/Soviet Union. I think we can postulate that the Soviet crackdown in 1989 that resulted in the Cold War continuing saw a flood of refugees to the West before order was restored to the Iron Curtain. We can also tap into the almost limitless supply of Gurkhas, IRL several Bns were reinforced by Gurkha Coys to make up strength.

Every Commander of BAOR/1 Br Corps lamented that they needed an additional Armd Bde and or an Inf Bde. Prior to 19 Inf Bde being assigned to 4 Armd Div it had a mission to hold the Water Sandwich, the land to the South of Hannover and to the west of Hildesheim, in order for 7 Armd Bde to refurbish after the Covering Force Battle and to prevent Hannover from being attacked from the South.
to be continued.......