[GZG] [DS] A real world battlegroup

["Christopher Downes-Ward" <c.downes-ward@xxxxxxxxx>]

I have just been reading "Dusty Warriors" by Richard Holmes which describes the actions of 1st Battaltion Princess Of Wales Royal Regiment in Al Amarah in 2004. One aspect that might be interesting to the dirtside players on the list is the difference between their theoretical Table of Organistion and Equipment and the one they actually fought with.

1 PWRR is an armoured role infantry battalion so their theoretical TO&E is something like this:

Headquarters

Signals Platoon
Light Aid Detachment
Intelligence Platoon
Medical Section

3 armoured infantry companies (A, B and C) each with:

2 warriors (command variant)
2 warriors (for the REME section)
3 FV432 tracked APCs (1 for the REME, 1 for the CSM, 1 as an ambulance)
3 platoons each of 4 warriors

A support company (Y) with:

6x81mm mortar
6 MILAN firing posts
Reconnaissance platoon (8 Sabre CVR(T))
Sniper platoon

When the battalion deployed to Iraq;the following changes were made:

• A Company was detached as the brigade reserve.
• B Company was detached to another battlegroup.
• A company of 1st Royal Welch Fusiliers was attached equipped with 13 Saxon wheeled APCs.
• A squadron of the Queen's Royal Lancers was attached equipped with 14 Challenger 2 MBTs.
• 1 platoon of the Lowland Regiment attached to Y Company equipped with armoured land rovers.
• K battery Royal Horse Artillery (mortar location radar) was attached.

For those of you who are not familiar with current British army equipment a Warrior is a tracked infantry fighting vehicle with a 30mm cannon and a 7.62mm coax MG. Each Warrior has a driver, a gunner, a commander and 7 infantry dismounts. A Sabre is effectively a tracked armoured car "Combat Vehicle Reconnaisance (Tracked)" with a 30mm cannon and a 7.62mm coax MG. An FV432 is effectively a box on tracks similar to an M113. Challenger 2 is the current main British Army tank equipped with a 120mm gun. A Saxon is a wheeled APC with enough armour to keep out splinters based on truck parts.

All of which shows that you can justify just about any combination of kit and call it a mission tailored battle group although I find that I like to have some basic idea of the kind of resources the base of the battle group has as well as what the next level up can provide as support.

Of course this is a pretty asymetrical conflict with the opposition equipped basically as light infantry with RPGs, AKs and Mortars, on the other hand one of the C Company Warrior drivers was Johnson Beharry - who got the VC.

Chris Downes-Ward

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