SOUTHAG Division #9: 1. Luftlandedivision

Hello, hello, hello.

We are back with a WARNO - SOUTHAG division preview. In today’s DevBlog, the last one for NATO, we’ll deep dive into the West German 1. Luftlandedivision.

Ready? Go!

NATO’s West German 1. Luftlandedivision’s History

The West German 1. Luftlandedivision, or the 1st Air Landing Division, was raised in 1956, a year after the Bundeswehr’s founding. At first, only two airborne brigades were used, but by 1970, a third brigade was added.

Organized as a division with three brigades and an artillery regiment, the 1. Luftlandedivision’s combat units were distributed as reserves among the three main West German field commands: the I. Korps (with NORTHAG), the III. Korps (with CENTAG) and the II. Korps (with SOUTHAG). This left its divisional HQ and (only partially active) artillery regiment as administrative formations. It was quickly realized that these dispersed brigades were rather light, best used on the defensive, due to their limited number of soldiers and firepower.

This also led, turning to the end of the Cold War, to the Bundeswehr envisioning a different, more active role for the 1. Luftlandedivision. Although one of its brigades, the 27. Luftlande-Brigade would be kept separate and positioned in NORTHAG, the air landing division would regain control over its two more southern-located brigades.

These formations would operate in Bavaria, in a theater of war particularly well-suited for light infantry, defending the mountainous and wooded regions near the West German border with Czechoslovakia and Austria. The 1. Luftlandedivision was further bolstered by the addition of the Gebirgsjägerbrigade 23, and one armored recon company, courtesy of the 1. Gebirgsdivision. On top of that, a territorial brigade - the Heimatschutzbrigade 56 - would also join the division’s ranks. This latter formation was rather powerful,
closer to a regular Panzergrenadier-Brigade than a rabble of reservists and local militia.

The 1. Luftlandedivision in WARNO’s history

In WARNO’s scenario, the CENTAG-assigned reserve 25. Luftlande-Brigade will aid the 2. Panzergrenadier-Division (as is depicted in this playable division, as well as Army General). This means it is not available to the 1. Luftlandedivision. Instead, our newest battlegroup will feature one airborne, one mountain, and one mechanized infantry brigade. A rather unique ratio of troops, which will be reflected within WARNO - SOUTHAG:

• One-third of its troops will feature the Airborne trait. These stem from the single airborne brigade.
• One-third mechanized infantry and units. Although part of the Heimatschutzbrigade 56 (HSB 56), these troops will not be considered Reservists. This particular territorial brigade was a cut above the rest, in terms of training and equipment, and instead will be represented as regular units with locked veterancy.
• One-third, the mountain troops, will feature the new Mountaineer trait. These represent the Gebirgsjägerbrigade 23. These light units will have less to no movement penalty in rugged terrain, such as forests. This new trait will be retrofitted to existing units such as British Gurkhas and Soviet Afgantsy.

NATO’s 1. Luftlandedivision in WARNO - SOUTHAG

What can you expect from the 1. Luftlandedivision in WARNO - SOUTHAG? New units are both italic and bolded. All the following is subject to change.

LOG
The logistics department is better than other comparable airborne divisions in terms of slots and their price. This is due to the 1. Luftlandedivision being only partially airborne, plus it was pre-positioned with close supply lines to the battlefields the battlegroup would be fighting on.

• Like other WARNO airborne divisions, it doesn’t receive an FOB. Its supply units are airliftable KRAKA MUN., the light UNIMOG S404 MUN., and the medium (new) TYP 1017 MUN. supply vehicles, plus the CH-53G MUN. helicopter.
• Command units are the Fs-FÜHRUNGS ILTIS and M577GA2.

INF
As can be expected from a light/airborne/mechanized infantry division, this category is excellent in terms of the number of slots and their price.

• Let’s start with the usual suspects (with some new variants):
  • The ubiquitous PZ.GRENADIER comes in command, IFV and APC variants, and represents the HSB 56. As such, they are veterancy locked. These squads are deployable in UNIMOG,M113GA1 or the new MARDER 1A1 or MARDER 1A1A MILAN.
  • The FS-JÄGER are available in command, "vanilla", and PIONEER versions, as well as the FS-JÄGER RESERVISTEN, which will deploy veterancy locked but without the Reservist trait and equipped with Carl Gustav recoilless rifles instead of the Panzerfaust 3. These squads all have the Forward Deploy trait and ride to battle in soft-skin vehicles.
  • Support weapons include MG-3 in regular and para versions, as well as MILAN 1 (representing HSB 56, hence vet-locked), MILAN 2, and FS-MILAN 2 ATGM teams. SICHERUNGS squads in UNIMOG and FELDJÄGER in their dedicated VW T3 FELDJÄGER bus fill out the ranks.

• To be followed by new infantry: the Bundeswehr’s Gebirgsjäger. These come in various shapes and sizes, but all with the new Mountaineer trait.
  • GEBIRSJÄGER FÜH. are 4-man command squads with G3, Carl Gustav, and smoke. They can deploy in ILTIS and UH-1D.
  • GEBIRSJÄGER are 11-man rifle squads with G3, one scoped G3, one MG-3, and Panzerfaust 44. They come in TYP 1017 trucks or UH-1D.
  • GEBIRSPIONIERE are 10-man combat engineer squads with G3, one MG-3, and explosives. They come in the TYP 1017 truck.
  • LUFT.-GEBIRSJÄGER (the name was chosen to represent their role) are bigger half-platoon squads (as found in comparable WARNO divisions) to better fit inside the large helicopters. In this case, a single card of a 16-man squad with G3, one scoped G3, two MG-3, and a Carl Gustav. They can only deploy in the CH-53G helicopter.
  • The new HOCHGEBIRSJÄGER are the crème de la crème of Gebirgstruppen: a single card of an 11-man commando squad with G3, one scoped G3, two MG-3, and explosives. This unit also fields the Airborne, Shock and Special Forces traits and can deploy in TYP 1017 trucks.

  ART
  An average category in terms of slots and their costs.

  • Mortars available are the MRS. TAMPELLA 120mm in both regular and Fallschirmjäger variants, plus the PANZERMORSER from the HSB 56.
  • Howitzers featured include the ubiquitous FH155-1 155mm.
  • A few (new) FS-M56 105mm taken out of storage, which are light Italian-made howitzers widely used in the NATO armies of the 1970s, specifically by airborne or mountain troops. This artillery comes with the Airborne trait, and can fire both HE and HEAT rounds.
  • The HSB 56's M109G is an older, short-barreled variant of this classic SPG, with less range than its more modern counterparts.
  

  TANK
  Average category.

  • The 1. Luftlandedivision’s main battle tank is the HSB 56's LEOPARD 1A1A1, veterancy locked, but in command and vanilla variants.
  • There will also be access to one single card of the LEOPARD 1A1A2 which were used by the Gebirgsjägerbrigade 23’s anti-tank units in place of the JAGUAR. While the two above tanks share the same gun, the latter will use better ammunition and won't be vet-locked.
  • In the same fashion, the HSB 56 used some M48A2GA2 in place of KAJAPA. These vehicles will be vet locked, but without the Reservist trait. This means they will differ from the previous tank model, which we renamed HEIMAT. M48A2GA2 last week (which will retain the Reservist trait).
  • As for missile tank destroyers, the division can count on a card each of JAGUAR 2, KRAKA MILAN 2 and KRAKA I-TOW, the latter two available in Airlift versions.
  

  REC
  A pretty good category.

  • Recon-based infantry includes:
    • FS-JÄGER AUFK. scouts and FS-JÄGER B1 recon commandos.
    • GEB. SCHARFSCHUTZE, a 2-man sniper team with two scoped G3, coming in ILTIS or KRAKA MG-3 recon transport.
    • GEB. AUFKLÄRER, a 10-man scout squad with G3, one scoped G3, one MG-3 and PzF 44 in TYP 1017, AUFKPZ. FUCHS, or UH-1D.
    • GEB. JAGDKOMMANDO, a 11-man scout squad with G3, one scoped G3, one MG-3, and explosives in TYP 1017 and UH-1D. This unit features the Shock trait.

  • Armored recon vehicles are detached from the 1. Gebirgsdivision, available only in a single card each:
    • LUCHS A1 and the new AUFKL. LEOPARD 1A5.

  • Aerial recon includes:
    • The ALOUETTE II and the new CL-289 fast recon UAV.

  AA
  An average category. The division had no dedicated AA battalions, only a few anti-air defense companies organic to the brigades. However, the airborne and mountain Jäger had an impressive collection of single-barrelled 20mm guns. So, a few options, mostly light, but you can take a lot of them.

  • Towed guns include the single-barreled FS-FK20-2 20mm with Airborne trait and the KRAKA transport tractor, and regular FK20-2 ZWILLINGE 20mm.
  • Self-propelled guns include the airlifted KRAKA 20mm and truck-mounted UNIMOG S404 FK-20.
  • The only true SPAAG is a single card of GEPARD 1A1.
  • Rounded out with a number of FLIEGERFAUST MANPAD teams.
  

  HEL
  Pretty mediocre. While the Gebirgsjäger had a large pool of utility helicopters for transport or airlifts, attack helicopters were nearly absent.

  • A single card each of the BO-105 PAH-1 and BO-105 PAH-1A1.

  AIR
  Pretty good. The 1. Luftlandedivision has a large selection of new planes or loadouts.

  • Let’s start with the classics first:
    • The F-4F [HE2] and TORNADO IDS [MW1] in ground pounding roles.
    • Plus the new payload variant of the ALPHA JET A [RKT] with 72 SNEB rockets.

  • As it happened, within the division’s command area was located the WTD 61 (Wehrtechnische Dienststelle), the Bundeswehr's technical center for aircraft improvement. Basically, West Germany’s “Area 51.” We used the opportunity to include some variants or armaments being actively tested at the time; these include some precursors to post-Cold War equipment, while others were abandoned due to a lack of funding after 1989.
    • F-4F [LGB] with 2x GBU-12.
    • F-4F [AA2] with 4x AIM-9L(i), which is a local upgrade roughly equivalent to the American M variant, developed by West Germany due to difficulties toward the “USA's uncooperative attitude in correcting IRCCM deficiency in the former missile.”
    • TORNADO IDS [SEAD] with 2x HARM missiles.
    • ALPHA JET A KWS was the planned upgrade for the whole Alpha Jet fleet, but the project was canceled in 1988 (but no such thing happens in our timeline). This is a March to War prototype with 20% ECM and two AIM-9L, plus two AGM-65B Maverick, turning the Alpha Jet into a tiny multirole strike aircraft. This plane will come in its specific WTD 61's test livery.

  
  • Lastly, the final plane in the divisional arsenal isn’t a prototype but still rare and new in-game: the HFB-320/ECM electronic warfare aircraft. Unarmed, this is the West German counterpart to the American RAVEN, being in essence a flying scrambler to mess with the radar of enemy air defenses. We introduced this particular plane as an option in the Nemesis #2.1 Hof Corridor (which never made the cut), and felt sorry that it missed its opportunity to join WARNO’s arsenal. Consider this to be fixed.

  

  The 1. Luftlandedivision is a light battlegroup, very versatile with its potent mix of airborne, mountain, and mechanized units. It lacks heavy armor, but makes up for this deficiency with great infantry, recon, and air categories.

  WARNO - SOUTHAG Expansion In Short

  
  WARNO - SOUTHAG is WARNO’s second expansion after WARNO - NORTHAG and showcases the fighting in southern West Germany near the Alps and on the Czechoslovakian frontier.

  In the southern reaches of Germany, the Warsaw Pact with the Soviet Central Group of Forces, bolstered by the communist Czechoslovakians, battles against a counter-attacking NATO SOUTHAG command led by France, with American, West German, Canadian, and reinforcing Spanish troops.

  • 2 new Army General campaigns.
  • 4 new Operations, such as Delayed Retribution.
  • 10 new Divisions, featuring Canada, Spain, and Czechoslovakia as new nations. These include NATO’s 1st Canadian Division, the Spanish División Mecanizada «Brunete» n.º 1, the French 6e Division Blindée Légère and Division du Rhin. The Warsaw Pact features the Czechoslovakian 1. Tanková Divize, 19. Motostřelecká Divize, and 303. Tanková Divize, while the Soviet Central Group of Forces deploys the 31-ya Tankovaya Diviziya.
  • New voice acting.
  • New units and models.

  Until Next Week

  
  Next week, we’ll be back with our final WARNO - SOUTHAG divisional preview!

  Don’t forget the vibrant WARNO community. Check the latest news on the Steam News page or visit the Steam Forums. Get together with other players on either the excellent Discord server, Reddit page, YouTube or our Instagram.

  See you on the battlefield, commanders.