Laborwave '90: Guide to East German Infantry Units
2020 ж. 17 Қаз.
421 389 Рет қаралды
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Music:
• "Devour" by Greg Dombrowski
• "80s vlog pop" by Mark Payne
• Medal of Honor Pacific Asslt OST
Sources:
• Handbuch für mot. Schützen I (1976)
• "Die Mot-Schützen der NVA von 1956 bis 1990" by Wilfried Kopenhagen
• Forum posts from NVA veterans on f13958.nexusboard.de/#!/
Note: The booklet for Patrons on the Mot.-Schützenkompanie will be an e-booklet .pdf, not a physical book. Sorry if that was unclear. Also some minor errors we just picked up on: First, the Oberleutnant insignia should have 3 pips rather than 4. The insignia shown on the Political Officer's rank is incorrect initially, but was corrected when the Hauptfeldwebel was introduced (the correction didn't make it to the first couple slides unfortunately). The Political Officer can theoretically be a Hauptmann as well anyway so I suppose it's not that big of a deal. Second, the ceiling for Hauptfeldwebel (senior Company NCOs) was Stabsoberfähnrich (the highest grade of warrant officer) rather than Stabsfeldwebel (the highest NCO). This rank was created in 1979. In eastern doctrine, Warrant Officers (such as DDR Fähnrich and Soviet Praporshchik) often replaced NCOs because the career path of a Warrant Officer was much more desirable than that of a senior NCO. Generally speaking, the most viable career paths for anyone who wanted to stay in the army past their initial service would be trying to get into a warrant officer or officer academy. As a result there wasn't as robust of an NCO corps in the Warsaw Pact when compared to NATO (although I'm not sure if the DDR's was better than the USSR's) and they rely more heavily on Warrant Officers and Officers to fill professional roles that might be expected of NCOs in the US for example. I also suspect the Warrant Officers in the company may also be armed with a pistol, but I've only seen indirect references to that which is why it hasn't been included.
Ok cool
Weak Mot.-Schützen '90 cannot compare with GLORIOUS M60 MEN, which somehow lose 175m of range on their M60 when transitioning from the battlefields of Scandinavia to East Asia, riding to GLORY in GLORIOUS DESIGN OF M113 ! Though BTR-60PB is part of the CULT OF THE AUTOCANNON... And the Ural-375 used to have no need for fuel, even when not carrying supplies. It ran on pure communism !
@@KenshiroPlayDotA let me guess, references to Wargame game series?
@@Jfk2Mr Yes !
Perhaps I misunderstood something you said in the video, but if East Germany "never adopted UBGLs for their rifles", why are there a few photos included in the video which appear to show NVA soldiers with UBGLs on rifles?
I served from 1983 to 1986 in the MSR28 (Mot.-Schützen-Regiment) in Rostock at the 1.PzK (1st tank company) within the 1st tank battalion of the MSR28. I was a trained tank commander for a T-55 tank. In early 1986 our unit received the AK-74 with its new calibre of 5.45mm. The recoil was now almost non-existing and there was no more a need to adjust the target distance at the sights due to its real high-velocity of the bullet, "straighten" the ballistic curve to an almost straight line. Nice to shoot. All units of the MSR28 received them, including us as the tanker-men. We only used our personal AK-74s for 24h object guard service. However, each T-55 carried only one Kalaschnikow for each crew of four men with a foldable bud, which were replaced too by a new 5.45mm variant. The reason for having only one AK within the T-55 was its extremely cramped inner space with only one holding clamp inside the turret for one AK. Both AK-47 and AK-74 had both foldable bud variants: to swivel it underneath or sideways - depending where the gun was made (GDR, Romania etc.). We referred the model with the side-way foldable bud because you could fire it from the hip. As far as I know most of the NVA units now received new AK-74s and its variants with the older AK-47 being handed over as usual to the "Kampfgruppen" (the paramilitary units protecting directly the factories, institutions and infrastructure throughout the country) to replace there the total worn-out ones. Note: a "Stabsgefreiter" never existed as a rank in the 1980s and later on. The NVA only had the rank of "Soldat" (rifle man, lowest possible rank) or "Gefreiter" (sen. rifle man), the next rank would be then "Unteroffizier" (sergeant), for a volunteer service of 3 or 10 years within the NVA (besides the mandatory 18 months draft service to be done by all male young men). So far I remember the "Stabsgefreiter" as a rank did exist in the early NVA but was abandon long before me being drafted. Whenever the rank and file was released from their draftee stint or 3-years volunteer service they were usually promoted to the next rank as long as their military record was more or less "clean", which I guess was about 80 to 90% the case. I also filled the position of the "Company Sergeant Major" (Hauptfeldwebel - this term only described a position but was never a NVA-rank) for many months due to the lack of professional 10 year sergeant volunteers, who usually filled this position. I was responsible for all the materialistic needs of the company: food, water, fuel, ammo, clothing and for indoor barracks duty: bedlinen, uniforms, boots, helmets, personal NBC-kits, properly working company TV-set and radio, nice setting of the shared "cultural room", general cleanness and hygiene etc., on top for being responsible of the companies Ural 6WD truck carrying all these goodies. Also keeping track of the whereabouts of each company member was my duty to be reported every morning to the UvD and to the arriving company commander or to the commander directly. Collecting and distributing personal mail to the rank and file staying in the barracks (small parcels and letters) and ones a month picking up the pay from the Regiment staff office and paying it out to all non-professional soldiers and sergeants was part of the job too. Worth to mention is that within the NVA the Panzerbattalione (tank battalions) within a MSR had 4 tanks (T-55s or T-72) per platoon (instead of three tanks within a "pure" NVA-Panzerregiment / tank regiment), while the number of platoons remained always three per tank company in either case. Peace! from Dresden / Germany
Weird or personal question. How do you feel about East Germany and the USSR? Do you feel hostile about it? Do you feel nostalgic for it?
hast du sehr gut beschrieben, ich war von 88-90 in Weißkeisel auf dem PSP Brand 🙂
@@sirkermitthefirstoffrogeth9622 the majority of the former NVA soldiers are more likely to fight on the Russian side, should there be a renewed confrontation, best regards from Saxony
Thanks, very interesting!
Greetings to East Germany and its people!
as a German native speaker, I must say your translation of military terms in this video is on spot! "Richtschuetze vs Lenkschuetze" - lot of detail here.
Da stimme ich dir vollkommen zu 👍🏼
But the pronunciation needs some work - "faehnrich" and "gefreiter". Should have at least checked against Google Translate's audio.
It's "spot on", actually. Not "on spot".
@@fredmdbud wrong
'Laborwave' sounds weird though. Surely 'Worker Wave' (or Worker Surge). I'd associate 'worker' with communist jargon, 'labor' is more specific to the English-speaking political movements.
It was often said that outside of the Soviet Union itself the NVA was the most terrifying military of the Warsaw Pact.
It was mostly terrifying for the ones that served in it.
@@emilj9399 Most Eastern bloc armies were like this. When my dad did his mandatory two-year service in the 80's Czechoslovak People's Army, the only serious events he experienced first-hand were a conscript's suicide and one soldier murdering another. Must have been bloody rough.
@@crazymachinima1 By your logic, the most complex army is the US Army. There are record numbers of suicides and murders.
@@Cityofcats Aight, couple points. First off, I have no idea what you mean by "most complex army" Secondly, while the suicides are notable, murders appear to be very rare. I don't think the US military's rates of suicide and particularly murder are anywhere close to those of e.g. the Russian military, where soviet-time phenomenoms like dedovshchina are still very much present. This is hard to judge exactly, since Russian government tends not to be very transparent about this, but you still got examples like Ramil Shamsutdinov shooting 10 servicemen he claimed to be bullied and violated by in 2019. Thirdly, I never said the US army was an ideal, problem-free institution. It isn't. This doesn't change the fact that conscript, soviet-style militaries in the Warsaw pact were usually hated by conscripts, particularly prone to cases of bullying, hazing and violence, and generally quite scary to be in, even during peace time.
@@crazymachinima1 How you smoothly switched to attacks on the Russian army)) This is to be expected)) I can recall the Ukrainian soldier Artem Ryabchuk, who shot his fellow servicemen. In general, I mean that in any army there are suicides and murders and armies of Eastern Europe are not much different from the rest. But you don’t seem interested to know the problems of NATO countries, the main thing is to focus on the conscription system)) Hello from Transnistria.
As far as morale and training, the East Germans were very well trained and disciplined and would have been tough opponents if they actually had to fight.
Agreed. My granddad was in western Grenzschutz and once told me if the cold war went hot they would have marched right through the Fulda gap.
I agree with two exceptions - first, if the fight had taken place by the late 80s, and second, if they were up against West Germans at any time. By the late 80s, the economic difficulties in the Communist bloc and the economic growth in the West created such a contrast as to fundamentally undermine the primary justification for the repressiveness Soviet-allied regimes: material prosperity for the lowest-earning members of society. Western TV and care packages from families in the West further rubbed the East Germans' noses in the fact that they were being subjected to illiberalism with nothing to show for it - in particular the "coffee crisis" was an excruciatingly drawn-out constant irritant for the masses and humiliation for the regime. The Gorbachev era's political reforms further undermined the strength of the system by creating a ratchet effect of liberalization that could not be reversed, destroying the once-powerful aura of inevitability of the long-term victory of Communism. Even before then, such as the 1970s when the the Eastern Bloc was seemingly ascendant while the West was declining, the East Germans' willingness to fight the West Germans was in question. East Germans were heavily indoctrinated with anti-American propaganda and saw the USA as their primary enemy. They would have been highly motivated and aggressive against US units, and probably would have been confident against other NATO units. Against fellow Germans, well, there have been plenty of bloody civil wars in world history, so perhaps the East Germans would have been just as if not more motivated to fight their brethren. But on this most sensitive of all issues, on which both the East German regime and their Soviet masters would have paid the closest attention to morale and attitudes, it's telling that they made sure that the NVA ground forces were never lined up on the other side of the border from West German units, nor assigned to fight them in war plans.
@@IrishCarney Pretty good and fair analysis. I say that as an East German who has been around in the 70's and 80's.
@@catriona_drummond Same from my perspective...this was a clear and fair analysis......Most of my relatives lived in Westgermany and the USA....I would also had my doubts, that Germans had fought Germans, or would had even faced each other...The desertion rate would have been as high as the Berliner Fernsehturm...:)
@@TheLordFragger Yes! and took the full brunt of the casualties as the Soviet units would've took whatever glory that was to be had.
A couple of years ago, one of my colleagues was a further SPW 70 driver in the NVA, or Nationale Volksarmee, he said there SPW came from Romania and were very reliable because of their engines, that were copies of older Opel engines. He also said that their NCO's and Officers always, speak with the Hughes respect about the West German Panzergrenadiere, and that they would be a serious threat for the Mot-Schützen!
That means it's a TAB-77
ridicuolos,
@@michaelpielorz9283Yeah cause you said so
As a squad leader until 1990 I disagree.
Something curious about the uniform - the basic field jacket has an integral flap to fix a concealed pistol holster to, behind the left pocket. I never knew that until I got one myself. The camo fixing loops are a unique touch, too.
Of course I find you here in the comments ross.
idk if it helps but i asked my grandpa (former col. in the east german army) about the equipment, especially the choice of firearms. his answer: the mot. schützen where considered and deployed as "Sturminfanterie" or so called stormtroops. equipment had to be light, easy to handle and mobile, can be fired on the move and from the hip, every soldier in the unit could use and operate it and had ammunition for the gun since it could use AK mags as well. there simply was no need for a designated LMG/HMG weapon since it was motorized infantry in the assault role, which means id had a AFV with more dakka already close by.
Would suck to fight in wooden, urban environment.
Amazing video, btw 9:38 this dude that looks like Arnold is actually 1 footed VDV legend. Afaik he died 5 years ago.
He was a Russian major stationed in Afghanistan
@@hightemp.y9310 that man in 9:38 was Anatoly Lebed, he served in the VDV from 1981 - 2012
Talk about content amirite lads
Aye
Aye Aye
Aye aye aye
Aye aye aye aye
Aye aye aye aye aye
Very interesting Video for me Personally, as a East German and alot of Family Members who got drafted into the NVA.
A geat honor, very cool.
Außer "East German" musst du nichts großschreiben, ist im Englischen nur für bestimmte Substantive üblich (z.B. Namen und Länder).
Great respect for the DDR, glad we didnt shoot at each other !
MPi KMS-72 is a side-folding AKM variant. The AKMS had a different receiver for the under-folding stock. The side-folding East-German and Romanian stock could be fit into any AKM pattern rifle, same for the Misr stock.
Maybe the NVA never employed rifle grenade launchers because throwing hand grenades was taught in school from 7th grade up. Guess they had some excellent long range throwers :P
Why do I always hear that? My parents both grew up in East Germany in the 70s and never even heard of it, before I asked them. And one of them grew up in the country, the other in a big city...
@@Piddel maybe they were lucky. Also I am not exactly sure when the grenade thingys were introduced. My knowledge is from the mid 80's, my father who went to GDR-school in the 60's actually had to throw cudgels of some sort. Definitely no fake though, here is a picture of them: www.ddr-museum.de/application/files/thumbnails/content_image/9514/8642/6278/900.jpg
it was trained from 1 grade on ,usually by 4th grade you started with grenade replicas stick and egg style , blanks usually started in 2 term tradeschool wehrerziehung and hot in first 3 weeks of army ausbildung
@@Piddel I was throwing them in regular sport lessons regularly. I assume everyone did.
Nobody in my unit was good in it and we were not taught to throw long range. Tactically throwing grenades was like a last ditch effort because your own team would be hurt as well. You throw them and protect your body with your rifle leaving your legs and arms to be hit.
East Germany is a very fascinating subject I'm glad we got some info on their squad formations^^
As a German, I have to say, your translations of German military terms are spot-on. For the Richtschütze, a short explanation of terms: From times immemorial it evolved, that essentially everyone involved in operating a gun is called a Schütze. While this has been dropped in many other regards due to a lack of practicality, as you would call almost everyone in a modern army some sort of Schütze, the terminology remained for large guns and turrets with potentially serveral crew. Therefore, you have several Schützen operating a gun, for tanks, those are typically two now: a Schütze to load the gun, "load gunner" or Ladeschütze in German and a Schütze to direct the gun into the correct firing position "direct gunner" or Richtschütze in German.
Que vergüenza que Alemania Oriental haya sido una provincia del imperio bolchevique-moscovita. Que humillante. Eso fue peor que el Tratado de Versalles.
To keep it simple and sort this a bit, in general a "Schütze" in German language is a marks man (i.e. it has been used in the distance past for hunters or guards as well) or rifle man. Everyone with a gun (small or large) with the purpose of shooting can be called a "Schütze". It actually carries the German verb of "schützen", meaning "protecting" or "to protect". So far @KarlKarpfen is absolutely correct. For modern military English translation: But the correct and mostly used term when it comes down to armoured vehicles is the "Richtschütze" for the gunner, who is actually doing the aiming and firing of the main gun in a tank or infantry carrier. Except for some very modern vehicle designs he sits in the turret tight besides the gun or the gun breech. The term "Ladeschütze" is being used for the loader, who is doing exactly this: loading (the heavy shells into) the gun. He usually sits behind or besides the main gun breech or does not exist, when an automatic loading mechanism is doing his job as for the T-72, However, I am not aware of navy terms, since they have their own correct military terms for positions, ranks etc. within the German navy forces. In the military aviation or air force branch the term "Richtschütze" is being used too, but since all guns of heavy bombers were all automatic no "Ladeschütze" existed and therefore this term. The term "Mot.-Schütze" or "Motorisierte Schütze" is being used in German language only and really only within the NVA for their infantry man, the direct translation would be a motorized rifle man. Within the Wehrmacht it was the "Infantriemann" or infantry man in English or very commonly in typical Wehrmachts-slang the "Landser" (which includes the term land). The "Landser" term is still widespread within memorial literature of German WW2 veterans even among some generals writing their books. However, it was never used for good reasons, even in slang within the NVA or Bundeswehr. The Bundeswehr instead used the old traditional German term "Grenadier" or "Panzergrenadier" for their infantry man. Peace! from Dresden
I have heard that the East German edge was due to their officer quality and these were screened and selected at a young age much like Olympic athletes. I would like to know more about this system if the knowledge still exists.
nah it wasn't that way .... but if you joined the stasi you had good chances to get officer ranks or to get asap out of the army. the only real thing they had a competent army was because of immense drill and militarism .... even the PE lessons and other "Educational Events" and other stuff were made to get the kids more attracted to the army and to get these kids already somewhat prepared for the armed forces in terms of military education and physical education. They were besides of harsh drill and inhuman treating of recruits and lower ranked soldiers they were keen to have a very well motivated army that is at any time ready to strike with full force!
That is correct. East Germany highly encouraged kids to follow military careers. It was almost a spartan state in a way. As Honecker said in 1978 "There is no sphere in the life of our society that is not permeated with defense concerns". FDJ (Free Germa Youth) organized programmes and contests. These included obstacle racing, grenade throwing,air-rifle shooting,forced marches and so on. We are talking 14-16 year olds here. There was of course lots of indoctrination. Taught to hate the enemy and imperialism. It was the duty of every citizen to defend socialism. East Germany had close ties between sport and defence. Sports instruction was structured to meet NVA needs. The Olympic games too were seen as a political sporting event and an example of ideological class conflict.
@@soldatintelectual6544how beautiful that sounds, a class conscious and capable band of brothers in arms against the parasites of the world
I was Captain by airdefender troops of NVA. With age of 14 years i joined the GST (society of sport and technik). This organisation prepaired us for the military highscool. The target of the education in military sport on the 3 years on the military highscool was, that every officer were be able 10 years after left the scool hold the sports level and dont need another training.
Thank you. That was very interesting.@@friedrichneidert9040
It's funny, I found your channel this morning through watching your video about the pentomic army and decided after that video to talk to my dad about the Motschützen since he was a Richtschütze in the NVA and later a Leutnant (lieutenant) in the reserves. And now I found this video right before going to sleep, about a topic I just talked about this morning with my dad because I watched one of your videos.
Really great video! Being new to the channel I'm really suprised how detailed and precise this video is! Really great work! I would love to see such a video on West/United German units.
Can't find any medic? In my time, in sweden we hade one rifleman/medic in the squad with extended medical traning. He hade the kit in a shoulderbag. On the platoon level was the platoonmedic. He was able to clear airways (intubation) , set IV, splint bones, check blood pressure. Kit in a medium bagpack. And on the company level we had a medic team deployed a small tent for treatment. Had a tgb 13, (six wheel drive, small truck, not a ambulance.)The team consists of companymedic = trained as real nurse. The second in command had same traning as a platoonmedic. And two stretcher bearers. These two served also as driver and had same training as a group/team medic. (First doctor was in the battalion aidstation.) Thinks that's a lot for a standard infantry company in the early 90's.
We mentioned a medic in the Company Troop.
Sorry to say that , but i read in warzwaw pact countries the doctrin didn‘t include medics on the squad level.
@@jorgschimmer8213 I'm not sure if you can watch this without a VPN, but from 23min onwards you can see Finnish Mosins, medic and a horse, in 1966. Only one SVT-40 per rifle squad. yle.fi/aihe/artikkeli/2015/10/14/sotilaan-perusvarustus-sisaltaa-80-vaatekappaletta-ja-esinetta
@@jussim.konttinen4981 suomen armeija ei ole kommunisti. Damn, lived 13 years in Finnland and still can't get a grip on that language. Improved my English though.
In the Soviet Army, there was one "rifleman-medic" in every platoon, and one "sanitary instructor" in every company.
First time watching ur channel and I found this really educational and much better than other videos. I really liked how u showed the personal arms of each man.
Welcome aboard!
How about Saddam Era's Iraq Infantry regiments?
Just copy and paste a mid 1980s Soviet infantry regiment but a different support and armored component.
In the Iran/Iraq war both sides fought like WW1. Massive casualties on both sides with little to nothing gained strategically or tactically. And how the Iraqi Army was modeled after Soviet organization and doctrine, The East Germans would've been slaughtered after the first, and second wave in the offensive against NATO forces in the late 80's. British and especially American units had been practicing for decades just in case the Cold War got hot in Europe. In fact, the US had an entire armored regiment(11th Armored Cavalry Regiment) modeled after Soviet Armored formations. The soldiers in the unit wore Soviet uniforms. The new weapons that were issued to NATO were used in the Gulf War. Judging how effective those weapons were against the Iraqis proved they would've been equally effective against Warsaw Pact Forces. The Soviets would've certainly made Warsaw Pact and East Germans take the brunt of the attack. The more Warsaw Pact troops die means less Soviet Troops had to die.
@@black10872 the Soviets expected 70-90 percent casualties for their own units alone depending on where you read the info from. Not to mention these were almost equivalent to US ones in terms of technology (at least in the 80s). There's no telling what the casualty percentage would have been for the rest of the Pact
@@BobbyB1928 i personally believe the Soviets would've had the Warsaw Pact absorbed most of the casualties if fighting erupted in Europe. I base this off of how the Soviets conscripted non Russians to do most of the fighting in Afghanistan. Less Russian born Soviets died in Afghanistan. They drafted men from Turkmenistan, Dagestan, Chechnya, and other Republics close to Afghanistan.
@@BobbyB1928 I know I'm off topic a little but officially Soviets claim they lost 15,000 men in Afghanistan. I believe the actual death toll is closer or above 20,000.
Thanks for the shout out. It made the start of my week.
This is amazing content. I was super disappointed when I seen you haven't been making videos for awhile untill recently. Please don't stop lol
Aero Rifle platoon, US Army Vietnam? Excellent content
he did make an article about it www.battleorder.org/us-airmobile-1965
@@quangdo4238 I loved the article I’d like to see a video though
This is some very fine research. Kudos!
Please do a video on the ČSLA next
The excellence of details in this video is what makes it awesome.
great video! excited to look into your others
Great Video. I did not know that NVA platoon did not use the PKM, and that The Soviet Army platoon had different Anti-Air Missile at BMP. Also The Leadership part of the Company is interesting to learn and those pictures of Squad weapons.
These are some really cool videos that I’ve never seen. I was an adult during this time, but we didn’t ever get to see this stuff back then.
So far I have Been living these videos. Keep up the good work. And i beg you To do A video on finnish military if you can
Excellent video. Thank you :)
This channel is gold
Great video! Super interesting!
First time watching your channel and I loved it very much! No Bias, no political agenda, no personel opinion! Highly educational video! You are Rock man! BTW if it is possible, could do a North Korean army video please?
Great video! I was stationed in West Germany from 1987-1989, 3/36 Inf. 3rd. Armored Div. (Later renamed 5/5 Cav. 3rd. Armored Div.) (mech Infantry).
HOW does this channel have so few subs? Such awesome info for history nerds.
Glad you enjoy it!
@@BattleOrder I'm sharing your stuff around to my other history nerd friends. You make some great videos. I can also see a use for your videos for open source intelligence.
БТР or BTR (how you called it) is short for "бронетранспортер" same thing as APC, БМП or BMP (how you called it) stands for "боевая машина пехоты" same thing as IFV.
yup
The Russians always thought the Volksarmee would have been the Warsaw pacts premium fighting force (up until early '80's at least.) After 86 the decline was noticeable.
Da werden Erinnerungen wach!
Great content. I could have used this in the early 1980's.
A lesson the Soviets gained from their Afghanistan experience - but apparently not passed onto the DDR - was to arm their RPG gunners with a rifle or carbine in addition to the RPG-7.
Something of a necro comment here, but indeed East Germany had outfitted only two companies with 10 of each SPz BMP-2 by the end of the cold war. Specifically, they were the first and fourth companies respectively belonging to the first and second battalions of Mot-Schützenregiment 9, itself part of the 9th Panzer Division. As part of that division this regiment also had a battalion of T-72M tanks and had a full self-propelled battalion of 2S1. Needless to say, they were the elite of the motor-rifle troops in the NVA.
I hope we get a video for the Czechs and Polish.
This is interesting yet absurdly detailed, specially if you consider the out come of it "going hot" would have been a nuclear winter and the extinction of mankind anyways.
Great clip 👍🏻. So glad Germany was reunified.
M56s are lit
They're also very effective and comfortable. They stop Tokarev and 357. Magnum rounds: kzhead.info/sun/a75_hcWOo3iGfn0/bejne.html
Can you do soviet tactics? Would be very interesting comparing them to the west. Looks like the footage you have is for propaganda, but idk.
From the battalion-level down Soviet tactics in the 1980s (at least as far as conventional peer conflict was concerned) were pretty much the same as modern Russian tactics, which we have done a video on. Organization above the battalion is different now outside of the divisions but like how they carried out a defense or an attack against a prepared position are pretty much identical.
the nva of used such clips as educational material for troops to properly show them how to act in combat but I think some of the clips we have seen in this video were also ment out of entertainment purposes.
What about for example 60's
Huh. This what not was I was looking for when I searched Laborwave, but it's still cool as hell
If I recall correctly, having squads split into teams was more informal than official in Pact countries. I'll have to go digging for that again as it has been a few years since I read about the force organization of the different Pact countries.
Nowadays its official Russian practice to have a Maneuver Group (Senior Rifleman + Riflemen) and Fire Group (Squad Leader + RPG + MG). Definitely wasn't official practice during the Cold War but I don't know how common it would've been unofficially. I don't imagine it would've been that common in Afghanistan because squads were *very* small, which is why I assume it would've been a mostly vehicle + dismount group affair
I
Could you cover Canadian Mechanized Infantry Brigades?
Can u make us armour divisions tactics during gulf war that would he great video
Interessantes Video!
Love it (as someone who plays NVA in Wargame: Red Dragon)
Exactly. Mot Shutzen in the btr 80 are my personal favorite in EB moto Or in the BMP 1 SPW-1 for EB mech
@@antonikubiak5798 same, you seen their new game WARNO btw?
@@darthvader4158 yup. not gonna buy it
@@antonikubiak5798 sheeesh, you no like?
@@darthvader4158 1. bad ui, won't buy until it's fixed 2. i hate the new pricing of units. battlefield feels empty 3. waiting for more divisions. concerned about armored ones. you only get the best and most expensive tanks with no options will lead to an empty and superheavy focused fields 4. i liked the more specialised inf in SD2, but here, especially with transport options it seems poorly done all of it can be fixed, and as such i am currently waiting
After colapse of DDR and Soviet Union Finland bought lots of old DDR army surpulus. As rule if we wanted to buy tank we needed to buy all things related to it as in you video: trucks, motorcycles and rifles etc. When I was conscript in 2016 there was still old East Germann AKs use in tank crews. I would assume all those extra old East Germann and soviet stuff have been sent to Ukraine.
Maybe talks about the British troops after the east/west german army?
Dragoon Guards '90
Could you maybe cover romanian infantry squads next? ( WWI to Modern day)
Nice.
imagine if you could play a version of HOI4 that instead of making plain regiments/divisions/brigades out of just composing predefined battalions you could do this, build your entire army from scratch up, defining every role and every tool in the entire organization... would need one hell of a battalion designer tho, some calculator that could squeeze all that information to a set of stats of the battalions...
jesus fuck that sounds like a micro nightmare
Play blackice or on the western front. Its about as fun as you would think (not at all)
I personally thing and may be I wrong, that GDR army upheld of Prussian military tradition. I would be interesting to know how many of former Wehrmacht officers served in GDR army after it formation.
For info, East germany had around 171,925 MPi AK-74s before it collapsed in 1990
That epic helmet
Italian bersaglieri or alpini platoon please! Thank you for your videos!
Great video. Are you planning to do a video about the North Vietnamese Army during the Vietnam War in the near future?
I do not have specific plans, although I have a script on indigenous forces in South Vietnam during the conflict in the works.
@@BattleOrder Noice... Thank you for the reply.
Since this E.German unit is infantry, the Hauptfeldwebel, when comparing ranks with the British, it would of been compared to a Colour Sergeant. Staff Seargeants are non infantry, Colour Sergeants are infantry.
... would have* (!) been.
Très intéressant.
this is the only thing I have seen or read of East German Volksarmee. The reunification has erased them from history. I would like to find some books about them.
There is "Die Mot-Schuetzen der NVA" by Wilfried Kopenhagen (and other books similar for the Fallschirmjager from that publisher) but they're in German
Take the opportunity to learn German. Because in this language there is a ton of literature about the NVA.
is anyone going to make a quality modern version of the east German helmet? literally the best angles.
my cusin was a conscript in the nva mot schützen 1979-1980. after the wall fell and he visited us in the west , he told me that never more than half of the vehicles where in a driveable/combat ready shape. east germany was at that time already seriosly short on founds
No offense but sounds like bullshit or a very special case. The one thing the NVA dwarfed everyone in was combat readiness. Which was continously at 80%.
Ist falsch. Mindestens 80% der Gefechts-Technik war stets einsatzbereit. Sonst gab es harte Strafen !
I know this is a bit late but what was the thinking behind having mixed wheeled and tracked maneuver units at the regimental level. And how would their use differ besides the tank battalion being paired with the BMP battalion?
Not sure why they use both other than maybe lowering cost by fielding BTRs. I do believe Soviet doctrine was to break the tank battalion up and attach one company with each motor rifle battalion. Their tank regiments were the opposite, three tank battalions and one BMP battalion.
The APCs were for Recon Bataillons only. No mix in the troops. Special purpose.
Could you do west German as well please
I just imagine the Germans beimg dissapointed in the Soviet equipment
new music genre just dropped
Could you go over the organization of the modern day Fallschirmjagertruppe of the German Bundeswehr
Some small corrections the MPI KMS is not a variant of the AKMS its a copy of the AKM with a side folding stock and the MPI AK74 is a copy of the AK74/AK74N the AK74M came later.
I said "AK-74N"
@@BattleOrder Well i might have misheard it but you said the German MPI AK74N was a copy of the AK74m which is incorrect, regardless thanks for putting up the video enjoyed it.
Can you do modern day British army organisation?
First photo with a svd od from lwp from Poland ...
Would this be infantry? If so then at 4:37 the British equivalent would be a Colour Sargent
Yessssss!!!!!
Iraqi republican guard, during Saddam era please
Great vid, the only thing that I had an issue with was the 48 rpg-18 rockets per company. That was probably very far fetched and was most likely a planned capability that couldn't be realistically implemented. The East Germans (like the rest of the pact) didn't have the financially deep pockets the Soviets had. As a whole, the 1989-1990 NVA represented a mid (84-87) 80s Soviet fighting force just like Iraq did during Desert Storm. The East German's airforce's (also like Iraq's) best aircraft was merely a small wing (but still large enough to give NATO concern) of mig-29s while the rest of their fighter component consisted of 23, 25s, and 21s. Even the NVA's armored component mainly consisted of upgraded t-55s and 62s with a smaller (but still very large) armored component of 72Ms.
Fair assessment
@@LongVu-lh9el I also got a Long Vu
Die RPG-18 waren in den Munitionslagern vollständig vorhanden. Sie wurden aber selten zu Übungszwecken verschossen, um den Bestand zu schonen.
It is RPG 7. 3 shooters, 3 support, 3 grenades per person.
I can't find any information anywhere on the LMGK 500. If anyone could direct me to some I'd appreciate it.
Great video, its so interesting seeing how the east german armed forced operated, and puzzeling how nothing of the nva influnced the bundeswehr. I still dont get why is it called german "reunification" it should just be called the annexation of the DDR
If you are asking yourself this, you are probably not German, and boy oh boy was the reunification a mess. The Bundeswehr not taking over anything from the NVA is just the tip of the iceberg
@@Assassine0606 IM not german, but ive met a few Ossisthat were very bitter about "reunification". alot of people lost their jobs over night alot of componies went bankrupt or were purchased and the govement let all nva memebers go without any sort of payment
@@bernardobiritiki That's just not true. Some NVA soldiers got transferred to the Bundeswehr, mainly enlisted men and NCOs but also some junior officers. There even is a video about it on the official Bundeswehr YT channel. Also some equipment was later utilized but most was either scrapped, used as hard targets or sold of. However the Bundeswehr briefly used the BMP IFV wich is now part of the coat of arms of the Panzergrenadierbattalion 401.
@ghgg Lmao if i dont shut up what happends you send the gestapo hans?. germany isnt what you say it is ,diferent germans say diferent things shocking i know
@@LongVu-lh9el that isnt what ive been told. To the best of my knowlage most soldiers were simply let go with rare exceptions to some high level officers. Most nva veterans also were denied pension for they sevice time until recently i cant recall when. Even SS veterans recive full pension , while former volksarmee members recive pennies . I find that extreamly disrespectful and frankly is a bit discusting
Pls make a vid about Philippine mechanized division pls
0:11 Do you normally do this in your videos on historic units?
My country man
Ww2 or cold war Japanese infantry next pls?
Nice! Can't wait until East German forces are added into Combat Mission Cold War so I can see these formations in action.
All of these guys have retired. However the same equipment is being used today
One MG per squad seems reasonable, because they'd have fire support from their vehicle close by.
9:37 "Awooooooogaaaahhhh"
since youve started, the rest of the OWP?
Was that sor rodger moore operating the manpads in the armored car
If you ever want a protective Helmet but you're short on cash. Get an east German M56 (the newest ones are the best and the cheapest). That thing will stop 357. magnum and 7,62 Tokarev. Which for example a PASGT won't. It also has thick foam in the liners and is very comfortable for what it is.
Pasgt can literaly stop .44 magnum as was shown in independent tests although it was only meant to stop 9mm rounds. Also, there was a helmet that stopped an AK bullet in Grenada. The helmet is in the 82nd Airborne museum.
PASGT can stop tokarev too. Mike B on KZhead tested one.
Usually a "Fähnrich" is actually an officer cadet rank, at least in the Western German Army. Any soldier who wants to become an officer will hold the rank "Fahnenjunker" ( equivalent in rank to Unteroffizier" ) as first step , then "Fähnrich" (equivalent in rank to "Feldwebel"), then Oberfähnrich ( equivalent to "Hauptfeldwebel" ) in the Western German Army before the first officer rank "Leutnant". Likely, that was similar in the Eastern German Army.
East Germany’s use was different. The Fähnrich ranks were explicitly created to be equivalent to Soviet Praporshchik titles, who were warrant officers acting in technical and sometimes senior NCO roles.
@@BattleOrder Yes, I see, that seems indeed to be a difference.
We did not have Fahnenjunker. I get promoted from Unteroffizier to Feldwebel, the Assistant of the staff sergeant usually had that rank. He himself was at least Fähnrich and that rank was exclusive for him. The team leader, driver and gunner were professionals serving 3 years, the staff sergeant 10 years and officers 25 years.
@@wolfgangpagel6989 Fahnenjunker (= same authority by rank as Unteroffizier), then Fähnrich (= same authority by rank as Feldwebel) and Oberfähnrich ( = same authority by rank as Hauptfeldwebel) are ranks for officer candidates in the officer career path, before they become Leutnants in the West German army. The Unteroffiziers career path does not comprise Fahnenjunkers and Fähnrichs.
@@mrx2062No. Fahnenjunker does not exist. Fähnrich exists. It is a different career path than officer. In Infantry units that was the staff sergeant. He served 10 years. The officer served 25 years, the initial rank was Offiziersschüler, when graduated he became Unterleutnant. And I was obligated to memorize that scheme.
What about West German/Unified German Panzergrenadiere units?
You should this about finnish troops
Do Hungarian people's army from the warsaw pact era
You say you can’t compare the training of mot. Shutzen vs Motostrelki. Well did you forget that the former have shock training and increased accuracy?