[GZG] [DS] A real world battlegroup

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Gzg-l mailing list
Gzg-l@lists.csua.berkeley.edu
http://lists.csua.berkeley.edu/mailman/listinfo/gzg-lI 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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