CWC mid eighties Fulda Gap project

[foxbat]

While I'm having lots of fun with my Cold War French, I'm thinking of taking profit of the summer sale & expanding my gaming to more conventionnal ground : the Fulda Gap. I'm going to build an American Battlegroup of the 11th ACR.

But I'm not as well acquainted with US stuff as with my own country's... While some choices are obvious, I'm not sure what I should get for other.

I guess the tanks are old M1 tanks. But what version of the Bradleys should I buy? Or did the 11th ride in M113 at that time?
I'm also going to give them some TOW support, I see 2 vehicles based on the M113 firing TOWs : M 901 and M113 TOW, so which should I pick?
I'm also going to want a handful of light vehicles, were Hummers already used?

Furthermore, I'm going to beef up the Soviets with a T80 battalion : which ones should I order from GHQ?

Thanks in advance for your help

[Brigade Commander]

I don't know the exact date the 11th transitioned to M-1's and M-3's but they were equipped with them when they were disbanded. I believe, although someone more familiar may set me straight, but they did not start with M-1's but rather the M-1A1. The M-3's would be the originals. They did not utilize M-901 ITV's since each ground troop had two tank platoons and each squadron had a full tank company. Jeeps were already replaced by HMMWV's.

Very quick organization:
RHHT,
1st Cavalry Squadron: HHT and Troops A, B and C; Company D and Battery D.
2nd Calvary Squadron: HHT and Troops E, F and G; Company H and Battery H.
3rd Calvary Squadron: HHT and Troops I, J and K; Company L and Battery L.
4th Air Cavalry Squadron: HHT and Scout Troops M, N and O; Attack Troops P and Q and Transport Troop R.
Support Squadron: HHT and Medical, Maintenance and Supply & Transportation Troops.

Each ground troop had a HQ platoon, 1st Scout platoon (6 M-3's), 2nd tank platoon (4 M-1A1's), 3rd Scout platoon (6 M-3's) and 4th Tank platoon (4 M-1A1's).

This was not the organization it was in when it returned from Vietnam but would be right for mid to late eighties. One of the changes was an increased aviation component to the three active ACR's (2nd, 3rd and 11th).

I have Troop J and Troop M modeled and "on-the-line" in front of my still building 1st Brigade of the 3rd Armored Division.

[voltigeur]

Depending on scale your Cav Unit may be quite small. At the 1:1 scale Mr Brigade Commander is on the money. However if you are playing at 1:1 you will very seldom have a full troop on the table.

The Cav troops usually broke down in to 3 teams of 2 Bradleys with the tank behind to provide protection. The troop may have to cover a 15 Klick frontage and will be scattered over the rull length of the table.

If you are at 1:1 a NATO company vs a Soviet Battallion is not too expensive to build and will get you started.

[foxbat]

Thanks, I'm going to go for M1A1 then.
Since CWC is platoon sized (a tank model is a platoon), this gives me quite a lot of forces.
I'm adding a Thunderbolt for CAS, so I should be good to go. I'll be posting pics of the painted units, and reports of the game.
Speaking of painted units, did the 11th sport NATO green black brown camo at the time?

[ferret701]

From what I know, a US ACR Squadron would look something like as follows in platoon scale:

HQ: M577, M3 Brad
Troop A, B, C (each): 3 M3, 2 M1 (probably M1s, not M1A1s if you are doing anything pre-1987), 1 M106/M125 (mortar vehicle)
Troop D: 3 M1

Likely attached: 1 battery of 2 M109A3


Several Notes: The mortar vehicle at troop level represents two vehicles, so depending on your rules should have some sort of negative
Each Recce Troop represents 9 M1, 13 M2 ... technically 1 M1, 1 M2 at HQ, 2 Platoon with 6 M3, 2 Platoon w/4 M1... but it seems unsporting to represent 13 M3 with just 2 vehicles... so I add a third

The M109 battery represents 8 vehicles (2 platoons of 4). Generally, I represent every 6 artillery pieces with 1 model at platoon scale, but since the US units have FAASVs (essentially automated loading vehicles) I allow 8 vehicles to be represented by 2 models

Anyway, more information on NATO OOBs can be found (shockingly) at the NATO oob section of my web page:
www.microarmormayhem.com

and if you've got anything to add about the French OOB (which I am currently in the process of updating) I would love to see it. In particular, I'm interested in the fate of the 35+ battalion sized units that didn't get incorporated into the RIADs in the mid-1980s (and it may be 60+, I'm still trying to figure that out)

Thanks

Pat Callahan

[bora_guy]

As for Camouflage, the US did not start utilize the NATO standard pattern until the late 80's. Generally the newer equipment such as the M1 and M3 were OD. If you are going with the M1A1 then the NATO three tone is applied.
A great reference for paint schemes is panzerbaer.de