Destruction of Weapons.

[fightingflamingo]

I can not see NATO willingly destroy captured WP weapons. The main reason for this is that the NVA(DDR) is equipt with WP arms, and because of NATO's need to field the NVA formations, I do not think that NATO could afford to destroy captured arms. The thought of reequiping the NVA along Bundeswehr lines , while attractive, is not possible in the time frame available, given the capacity of West German industry. Battlefield recovery of captured weapons & vehicles could serve to provide a pool of replacement parts and replacements for the NVA's own losses. Secondly, retaining WP small arms (and heavy weapons such as RPG's), provides a further pool of weapons which can be used to equipt partisan or resistance movements in Eastern Europe (or other theatres of war) without drawing on NATO's industrial capacity to provide arms for these movements (should they exist in your campaigns) and allow for them to rely on local sources of ammunition resupply (e.g. captured stockpiles). IMT2KU, I also assume that Web's "Tchaikovsky" raids destroyed substantial amounts of the PRC's industrial capacity prior to the onset of nuclear warfare, so another use would be to ship serviceable captured equipment (surplus to the needs of the NVA) to the PRC to help supplement their war material requirements.

Basically, I'm of the opinion that nothing would be intentionally destroyed once captured. All weapons and systems could be put to use, even if not serviceable, by either providing spare parts for serviceable equipment (from unserviceable equipment) or where captured equipment is serviceable for providing replacement arms for allies equipt with the other sides weapons.

However, I do see both sides taking action to destroy their own equipment to prevent capture by the other side (e.g. thermite grenades in the breaches of howitzers about to be overrun and captured by the enemy). Mainly, I see these efforts focused on destruction of battledamaged, but otherwise recoverable vehicles, and those vehicles which would be captured outright (no damage). This will have varing levels of success. Most equipment will be captured by whichever side is currently on the offensive, and will largely consist of recovery of battlefield losses, with a range of damage, which may or may not be returnable to service after some level of maintenance (depot, or theatre).

[headquarters]

when the allies freed Norway in 1945 , we were ordered to dump airplanes,guns,tanks and small arms as well as other top notch German gear at sea or to melt it down .Even though we had enough stash left over from them to arm ourselves to a high standard.we had planes,ships,subs,forts,guns,tanks all sort of arms etc enough to arm 300-400 000 German soldiers and stockpiles had been amassed to hold Norway for a long time should it be cut of by allied invasion attempts.

Luckily they went quietly.

Shortly after ,orders were put in for British and American gear on all levels.

But we had so much German equipment that it took years to destroy , and by that time the mood changed and we started hoarding .I still have a nice Kar98 re chambered to Nato 30-06 by the Norwegian arsenal.
Lugers p08 and Walther p38s were main sidearms here up until 1985 or longer .

Economics and civillian considerations factor in -the interests that control the armaments industry might not see the value of keeping 200 000 captured AKMs and 500 T-72s and T-55s.
A contract for 500 MBT and 200 000 small arms to equip a newly liberated nations with STANAG gear is more interesting.

with confusion and disarray in a T2K situation a destroy order regarding captured gear might be carried out by some up to the last moments before "you are on your own " crackles through the aether.

Soldiers take orders from civilians once they reach a certain rank.

just putting it out there as a possibility