Welcome back, commanders!

We have returned with the third - and final - Nemesis #6 preview. In today’s DevBlog, school’s out with two opposing special training formations: the West German Verfügungstruppenkommando 42, or Reserve Troops Command 42, and the Soviet 71-ya Zapasnaya Tankovaya Diviziya or the 71st Reserve Tank Division.

Let’s go!

WARNO’s School’s Out!

This Nemesis option is a little special: it not only provides two new divisions, but also a new way to play with the proposed introduction of the new Instructor trait. Both divisions will be built around units with this specific trait: seasoned soldiers leading less-trained reservists into battle (removing some penalties and boosting nearby units’ combat performance).

The Instructor trait, as we are proposing it, will likely have the following effects:

• Instructor-traited units will remove nearby Reservist trait penalties (same as the Military Police already does).
• They will also boost nearby units’ performance (as Leader units currently do).
• They will not be able to capture Command zones.
• And, they will only affect units in their specific category (a tank Instructor will only affect other tank units, an infantry Instructor only infantry, etc.).

Replacing Leader units in the TANK and INF categories, these Instructors will turn a horde of raw conscripts into a regular fighting force, for much cheaper. However, the only units to keep on capturing Command zones will be the Leader units left in the LOG tab. Prepare to organize your battlegroup well.

The West German Verfügungstruppenkommando 42

First up is NATO’s West German Verfügungstruppenkommando 42 (gesundheit!), which stands for Reserve Troops Command 42 and is abbreviated to VfgTrKdo 42 (you can’t really do anything with this mumble of letters). Instead, we’ll call it VTK 42 for easyness sake.

This particular formation would have been a divisional command nestled within Territorialkommando Nord, to be activated in case of World War III. Its role would have been to consolidate, organize, and provide leadership to the most combat-ready elements of the Bundeswehr’s territorial troops in NORTHAG, aiming to turn them into a light yet cohesive fighting force.

The cadre of this new division was the Kampftruppenschule 2 (Combat Troop School 2) at Munster. Hoarding some 130-plus Leopard 1s and 2s, 66x Marder, 20x Luchs and 28x Jaguar 1 and 2, it was to form the Panzerlehrbrigade 9 (administratively part of 3. Panzerdivision) and Panzeraufklärungslehrbataillon 11 (administratively part of 11. Panzergrenadierdivision).

While the latter formation would have quickly joined its parent division, the former would have been held back to form the VfgTrKdo 42 instead. The 3. Panzerdivision, now missing a substantial part of its forces, would temporarily have taken over a Dutch brigade until 1 (NL Corps) could complete its deployment.

VTK 42 would have stood up as a fire brigade, with the following components.

• The Panzerlehrbrigade 9.
• The Heimatschutzbrigade 62.
• Heimatschutregimenten 72 and 82.
• Combat engineer elements from (territorial) Pionierregiment 72.
• Anti-air detachments from Flugabwehrkommando 1.
• SAMs from FlaRakRgt. 4.
• Elements from Heeresfliegerversuchsstaffel 910, the helicopter test squadron at Celles.

The division will be built around the new Instructor unit, much like its Soviet counterparts below. While the Warsaw Pact formation is a full-fledged division with low-quality conscripts, the VTK 42 is a regular armored brigade beefed-up with a decent-enough level of reservists. However, no divisional assets will be present, meaning one-third will be Panzerbrigade and the remaining two-thirds will be territorial troops, with only a limited amount of supporting arms (this will also result in a more uneven slot allocation across categories).

The Verfügungstruppenkommando 42 in WARNO

How will the VTK 42 look like in WARNO? New units are marked in both italic and bold. As always, units and categories might be subject to change.

LOG

• Pretty good, with supply units being an FOB, light UNIMOG S404, and new heavy MAN KAT 8X8 MUN. supply trucks.
• Command units include ILTIS FÜH. & M577GA2.

INF

• Once again, solid, with a large quantity of infantry stemming from territorial Heimatschutztruppen featuring the Reservist trait:
  • This includes HEIMAT-JÄGER and the new HEIMAT-JÄGER (PzF) with 2x Uzi, 6x G3A4, 1x MG-3 and PzF 44, with both squads deploying in UNIMOG trucks.
  • A few 10-man HEIMAT-JAGDKOMMANDO with G3A4, 1x MG-3, PzF 44, smoke grenades and the Security trait, tasked with hunting down enemy infiltrators.
  • RESERVE-PIONIER in UNIMOG trucks will also be present.
  • PALR MILAN 1 ATGM teams are not Reservist, but veterancy locked, and will deploy in ILTIS jeeps.

• The Panzerlehrbrigade 9 will provide a small core of regulars.
  • To lead the weekend warriors into full-blown combat, the new FACHLEHRERGRUPPE can deploy. A 6-man squad with G3A4, 1x MG-3, 1x G3A3ZF, PzF 44 and the Instructor trait, being deployable in MARDER 1A3.
  • Further backed by a few PZ.GRENADIER in MARDER 1A3 and MARDER 1A3 MILAN.
  • Plus MG-3 7,62mm and PALR MILAN 2 weapon teams.

ART

• Pretty mediocre. Instead of the regular allocation of 4x Panzerartillerie and 1x MLRS battalions, the VTK 42 can only count on one 1x Panzerartillerie and 1x Heimatartillerie battalion, plus two companies of heavy mortars.
• This means a handful of PANZERMÖRSER, M109A3GA1, and LARS-2 from Panzerlehrbrigade 9.
• While Heimatschutzbrigade 62 provides a number of M1A2(A2) 105mm howitzers.
• The two Heimatschutregimenten can bring some towed MRS. TAMPELLA 120mm mortars.

TANK

• Pretty good with the Panzerlehrbrigade 9 providing a sizable amount of LEOPARD 2A4(B) (as used by the Dutch in WARNO), as well as a card each of both JAGUAR 1 and JAGUAR 2.
• The Kampftruppeschule 2 brings a number of LEHRLEOPARD 1A3A1, which for all intents and purposes, are only slightly different visually from the standard LEOPARD 1A1A1 model, featuring the same stats but coming with the Instructor trait.
• The same training formation also held the two models - at the time, and perhaps to this day - of the Leopard 1A6, a planned 120mm upgrade. In real life, the project was canceled at the end of the Cold War. In WARNO, however, they will be put to use as a single card of LEHRLEOPARD 1A6, once again with the Instructor trait.
• Lastly, a few experimental LEOPARD 2A4(D) will be available. These specimens were actually used at the time to test C-type armor and a new muzzle reference sensor, which in real life were to be featured on the 8th batch of Leopard 2A4s in 1991.
• The Heimatschutzbrigade 62 deploys several HEIMAT M48A2GA2 and HEIMAT. KANJPZ (the former already used in TKS), all with the Reservist trait.

REC

• Pretty mediocre. No dedicated recon battalion, since that part of the Kampftruppeschule 2 would have left to join the 11. Panzergrenadier-Division.
• This means a basic complement of AUFKLÄRER in ILTIS and JÄGER-AUFKLÄRER in UNIMOG and UH-1H helicopters.
• Plus some recon ALOUETTE III.
• A few vehicles left behind at the training grounds by AufkPzAbt. 11 could provide one card each of LUCHS and AUFK.MARDER 1A3, the latter with MILAN, but no dismounted scouts.

AA

• Once again, a pretty average category, with Heimatschutztruppen bringing large quantities of single-barreled 20mm AA guns of all sorts.
• While the nearby FlaRakRgt. 4 delivers some heavier cover with I-HAWK and double-barelled 20mm guns.
• The PzLehrBrig. 9 brings a single card of GEPARD 1A1 and some FLIEGERFAUST MANPAD teams.
• While the Heeresfliegerversuchsstaffel 910 deploys a card of the new BO-105 BSH-1 with ATAS Stinger (under test in our timeframe).

HEL

• Average, with only a handful of BO-105 PAH-1 helicopters flying in support from the nearby Celles air base.
• Although piloted by Bundeswehr pilots, the new UH-1D HES actually belonged to the BND, the Bundesnachrichtendienst, West Germany's foreign intelligence service. Only two such SIGINT UH-1 had been modified, and were stationed in Ahlhorn, near Bremen, and will be pressed into combat duty with this battlegroup.

AIR

• Pretty good, with air support coming from two main sources.
  • Jagdgeschwader 36 flying Phantoms, primarily as a ground support wing. This Luftwaffe outfit brings a new F-4T [AA2] variant with 2x AGM-65B and 4x AIM-9F. Unusually, this regiment had a third Staffel providing the Luftwaffe conversion training from F-4E to F-4F. That’s why the West Germans will not only feature the F-4F [AA] but also hold on to (in real-life around ten) F-4E [AA] with the American capability to fire long-range Sparrow missiles retained.
  • The Jagdgeschwader 43 brings the nimble ALPHA JET fighter bomber with a more standard series of HE, CLU and RKT payloads.
  

  The Verfügungstruppenkommando 42 will be a division with a very good infantry and tank combo, in terms of slots and options, plus the useful ability to boost them in the field with the new Instructor-traited units. On the other hand, this battlegroup will clearly lack ‌artillery, helo, and recon supporting arms.

  As always, we’d like to thank our community members for their research efforts. This week’s shout-out goes to MustelidusMartens for introducing the existence of the UH-1D HES helicopter in his most recent alternative division write-up.

  The 71-ya Zapasnaya Tankovaya Diviziya’s History

  
  We can be brief about the Warsaw Pact history of the Soviet 71-ya Zapasnaya Tankovaya Diviziya, or the 71st Reserve Tank Division. The formation was activated in 1973, in Omsk, southwestern Siberia, on the border with Kazakhstan.

  

  In this division’s particular case, its home base is a great part of its identity. During World War II, being far away from the front lines, Omsk saw a massive influx of Soviet industry evacuated further west. The city on the Irtysh River became a leader in military production, especially in tank production, which continued into the Cold War.

  Back to 71st Reserve Tank Division. As a mobilization division, it could never count on more than 65 men personnel (not percentage, actual numbers), mostly officers and NCOs guarding the warehouses. In case of war, for the third-tier 71st Reserve Tank Division, call-up would have only happened if the conflict dragged on for weeks or even months.

  If mobilization had occurred, personnel from the nearby Omsk Higher Tank Engineering School and Omsk Higher Combined Arms Command School were to be used to lead the thousands of conscripts and reservists assigned to this formation.

  

  A part of the divisional materiel would also be drawn from the military academies. Interestingly enough, a small slice of the equipment available would be rather modern - in order to train students in their use - but it would be too few to equip a full-sized division fully. Thus, the rest of the vehicles and weapons would be scrounged from the usual places: long-term storage depots, repair shops, target practice, from museum pedestals, or straight off the assembly lines. Desperate times call for desperate measures.

  The 71-ya Zapasnaya Tankovaya Diviziya in WARNO

  
  How will the 71-ya Zapasnaya Tankovaya Diviziya look like in WARNO? New units are marked in both italic and bold, with everything might be subject to change.

  LOG

  • Pretty good, being an infantry division. There will be plenty of opportunities to deploy Commander units en masse. These include the usual selection of BELOZOR jeeps, CHAIKA, and the new BTR-50PUM-1 armored APC.
  • Supply units featured are FOB, URAL-4320, and KRAZ-255B SNAB logistical trucks.

  INF

  • Good, as can be expected. The few (new) INSTRUKTORY squads (with the corresponding Instructor trait) will be 7-man staff equipped with AK-74, 1x PKM and RPG-7VR. They will commandeer the best available vehicles for themselves: the BMP-1P and BMP-2.
  • To be able to field enough men for the entire 71st Reserve Tank Division, local Soviet authorities are intent on scraping the barrel. From soldiers with no, or long-forgotten training, way past their prime, or in poor physical condition, in this battlegroup, you’ll find them all. They are equipped with what’s left in the depots after several weeks of high-intensity warfare. This means:
    • Mostly PRIZIVNIKI in ZIL-157 trucks, and a few REZERVISTI (the "cream of the crop" of the mobilized personnel) in ZIL-157 or BTR-50 (so far only featured with the East Germans, not Soviets).
    • PRIZ. PULEMETCHIKI, a 7-man fire support squad with AKM and 3x RP-46 (the post-World War II modernized DP-28), also in ZIL-157 and access to a few spare BMP-1.
    • The PRIZ. SAPERI are 5-man squads with AKM, 1x PKM, and Satchel explosives. They are transported by either UAZ-452 (the minibus so far only used by Soviet military police) or a new BTR-55. The name of this latter vehicle is made up. It represents a T-55, one of the first generations of main battle tanks of which the USSR held huge quantities in storage. Some were in poor condition, and as such, "jalopied" (using a World War II term) by removing the turret and converting the space below into open-top passenger accommodations. This conversion had already been realized in real life by the Israelis (Achzarit) and Lebanese before 1989 (and the Russians themselves later during the wars in Chechnya with the BTR-T). This leads to the idea in Omsk of a heavy APC based on a modified main battle tank being in the air by 1989 in our WARNO timeline. This particular unit in WARNO isn’t as advanced as this BTR-T example: a basic T-55, stripped of its turret and tank gun, with the remaining hole left open, with the only armament an HMG bolted on the bare hull.

  • Several new units can be found in the weapon teams list: REZ. SGM 7,62mm (World War II-vintage heavy machine gun), REZ. PLAMYA 30mm, REZ. B-11 107mm RCL, and REZ. FAGOT, all riding to battle in UAZ-452 vehicles.
  

  (this is a Lebanese "BTR-55", 71-ya RTD's one shall look quite the same)

  ART

  • Rather mediocre, with no gun-based artillery platform officially allocated to the division. This means that during mobilization, it will have to make do with using the endlessly stored World War II antiques the Soviets held in various depots.
  • REZ. PM-37 82mm and REZ. PM-43 120mm mortars.
  • REZ. M-30 122mm and REZ. D-1 152mm towed howitzers.
  • REZ. BS-3 100mm dual-purpose field guns.
  • A select few BM-21 GRAD operated by a handful of trained artillery personnel from the nearby academies.

  TANK

  • Pretty good (including the bad and the ugly). Lots of options, lots of scrappy tanks, with a few rare gems found in the division’s armored arsenal.
  • The majority of the tank fleet would be made up of a hodgepodge of REZ. T-54B, REZ. T-55A, plus new REZ. T-62 Obr. 67, REZ. T-62 Obr. 72 and REZ. T-62 Obr. 75. All with either one or max two cards.
  • Instructors have retained some of the best equipment for themselves, in the form of a few INSTRUKTORY T-64A and INSTRUKTORY T-72A, both coming with the new trait.
  • Just delivered to Omsk for trials and in preparation to train new cadets, would be a few of the brand-new, state-of-the-art INSTRUKTORY T-72B Obr. 89.
  • A few older REZ. BRDM-2 MALYUTKA-P will provide some additional anti-tank firepower.
  

  REC

  • Average slots and no Reservist trait to be found in this category. The division’s recon troops had first dibs on the best recruits. Veterancy will be locked, however.
  • MOT. RAZVEDKA squads come in either RAZ. BMP-1P, RAZV. BMP-2, or RAZV. BTR-80.
  • RAZVEDKA teams in UAZ-452.
  • Plus BRDM-2, BRM-1K and PT-76B armored recon vehicles.

  AA

  • Average with mostly light towed guns, but available in large numbers. A few local conversions by Omsk engineers are also present.
    • No anti-air defenses were allocated to the division. This means they will have to make do with whatever is available.
    • This includes REZ. STRELA-2M in UAZ-452.
    • REZ. ZU-23-2 23mm and REZ. S-60 57mm with ZIL-157 trucks.
    • A few BRDM-2 STRELA-1 with better trained personnel, hence not Reservist, but vet locked.

  • By chance, the division uses the crafty engineers from the academies to modify some locally available equipment.
    • A BTS-4A ZU-23-2, which is a repurposed recovery vehicle for broken-down T-55s, with the engineers slapping on a ZU-23-2 AA gun and DShK 14,5mm for close protection. This results in a makeshift SPAAG and fire support vehicle, as was done during the war in Afghanistan.
    • In the same impoverished fashion, the engineers will mate a ZIL-135LM heavy truck with an S-60 57mm gun into a ZIL-135M S-60. This conversion was also done historically (although more recently), but the truck was available in 1989, and the gun, too.
    

    HEL

    • Welcome to the void. Not one single helicopter, as all available examples in this particular Soviet Military District had already been deployed to the front a long time ago.

    AIR

    • Air cover, on the other hand, is pretty good. Yes, again, it’s about making do with whatever is available, which means older planes, though some more advanced aircraft will be deployable.
    • Strike aircraft will come from the Afghan War veterans of the 149th Guards Bomber Regiment equipped with older Su-24 (not "M" ones). They have less ECM and can't carry the most modern guided weapons, but will come in AT, SEAD, and HE loadouts.
    • The air superiority fighters will come from the "Soviet Top Gun", or 1521st Center for Combat Employment based in Turkmenistan. They are flying MiG-29 9.13 and MiG-23MLD with their trademark shark mouth paint jobs. We already have those models, but they will get their specific livery.
    

    The 71-ya Zapasnaya Tankovaya Diviziya is a strange beast, with a wide array of reservist and conscript-based units, beefed up with a handful of high-end and Instructor-traited units. This battlegroup will play to its strengths if it can overwhelm the enemy with sheer numbers on the battlefield.

    WARNO’s Nemesis #6

    
    A reminder of what WARNO’s Nemesis DLCs entail. These are paid mini-expansions containing two paired or themed divisions bringing new units, vehicles, and weapons. Each Nemesis run features three different offerings, which can then be voted on. After the vote concludes, one Nemesis is crowned the winner and enters Eugen’s development and production pipeline!

    Note that each of the Nemesis pairings are all “what if” battles, operations, or part of decisive campaigns in WARNO’s alternative World War III. They all take place within our fictional timeline, but are grounded in reality and informed by historical research.

    The current Nemesis #6 run:

    • Nemesis #6.1 - The Mountaineers presents the high-fighting mountainous forces of NATO’s French 27e Division Alpine against Warsaw Pact’s Polish 5 Podhalańska Brygada WOWew.
    • In Nemesis #6.2 - The Magdeburg Counterstrike goes number #1! with the two mobile armored battlegroups of NATO’s American 1st Cavalry Division and the Soviet 1-ya Gvardeyskaya Proletarskaya Motostrelkovaya Diviziya.

    Until Next Time

    
    That’s all for this week’s DevBlog. We’ll be back on Tuesday next week to start the Nemesis #6 vote!

    

    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.