Comandantes!
We return with the final WARNO - Tropic Storm divisional preview. In today’s DevBlog, we give you another “red” Venezuelan battlegroup, the I División de Infantería!
¡Al ataque!
The Venezuelan I División de Infantería’s History
The I División de Infantería, or the 1st Infantry Division of the Ejército Nacional (Venezuelan National Army), can trace its lineage back to 1821. It was in this year that the “Primera División”, or First Division, was established by the famous South American commander Simon Bolivar during the War of Independence. That same year, the formation played a major role in the victory at Carabobo, which led to Venezuela's independence (as part of Gran Colombia) from Spanish colonial rule.
Reorganized many times since, the I División de Infantería was in 1977 based in Maracaibo and given responsibility for the northwestern part of the country, bordering Colombia and the Gulf of Venezuela. During the Caldas Crisis in 1987, the division conducted army maneuvers near the frontier in preparation for the planned incursion into Colombian territory.
This never came to pass in real life, but as you know, in WARNO - Tropic Storm tension skyrocketed after Hugo Chavez’s successful coup in 1989, with war between a USA-led anti-communist regional bloc (with Colombia and Brazil) and Soviet-aligned Venezuela and Cuba becoming increasingly more likely in the spring of 1989.
Difficult Terrain
Zooming in a bit more on the northwestern region of Venezuela, centered on the Maracabio Lowlands, with its significant oil deposits. Due to the difficult terrain in this part of the country, with rings of steep mountains and dense forests bordering gentler-sloping lowlands, swamps, and the waters of Lake Maracabio, the Venezuelan army reorganized the I División de Infantería. Turning it into a “light” formation, with a single armored infantry battalion, the rest of its troops became truck-borne.
And, with warm looming in WARNO - Tropic Storm, we have attached several extra units to the division:
- The Naval Infantry or Infantería de Marina.
- The 507 Batallón de Fuerzas Especiales, or special forces “jungle specialist” battalion, although from V División de Infantería, these troops were assigned to I División de Infantería’s sector during the Caldas Crisis, in anticipation of an incursion in Colombia. We have recreated this.
- Some local Fuerza Aérea Venezolana, or Venezuelan Air Force, air base defense units.
The I División de Infantería in WARNO
How will the I División de Infantería be featured in WARNO - Tropic Storm? New units are both italic and bolded. The following is still work in progress and subject to change.
LOG
A good category.
- Command units include the Israeli-made M325 MANDO truck, the wheeled VBPC, a command Dragoon 300, and tracked LVTC-7 amphibious command unit, plus the airborne ALOUETTE III MANDO.
- Supply units deployable are the (usual) PUNTO DE ABASTECIMIENTO FOB, supported by light EE-25 LOGISTICA and heavy STEYR-MAN 20.280 LOGISTICA supply trucks, as well as the helicopter-borne SUPER PUMA LOGISTICA.
INF
A very good category.
- The I División de Infantería’s infantry come in various shapes, forms, and sizes:
- The backbone of the I División de Infantería is formed by the FUSILEROS, 9-man rifle squads armed with 8x FAL battle rifles and a single FAP automatic rifle. A more heavily armed variant is the FUSILEROS (AT-4), which exchanges one FAL for an additional FAP, plus an AT-4 launcher. Both come in M35 trucks.
- Mechanized infantry comes in the form of FUSILEROS MEC. (AT-4), another 9-man unit equipped with 8x FAL, 1x FAP, and 1x AT-4, and next to the M35 also able to select as an extra transport option the YV-83 (a Fuch APC armed with a .50 heavy machine gun).
- Battlefield leadership is provided by FUSILEROS MANDO, 4-strong command squad armed with 4x FAL rifles, a FAL M60, and Smoke Grenades, transported in a M151A2 MUTT jeep.
- The battlegroup’s Venezuelan naval infantry is represented as the INFANTERÍA DE MARINA:
- The standard INFANTERÍA DE MARINA squad fields 11 marines armed with 9x FAL rifles, 2x FAP automatic rifles, and an AT-4 launcher, arriving in either EE-25 truck, LVTP-7 (an older model than the US Marines’ deployed unit), or the EE-11 M3-S6 (the ubiquitous Brazilian EE-11 Urutu) transports.
- The INF. DE MARINA (IFV) variant retains its 11-man strength but trades its anti-tank weapon for an M60 anti-tank rifle grenades (note, not the machine gun) while gaining the IFV trait, deploying from either the EE-25 and EE-11 M3-S7 units. The latter is an EE-11 variant with a 20mm turret.
- Command unit comes in the form of a 3-man INF. DE MAR. MANDO team, with 2x FAL rifles, a FAL Scope, and Smoke Grenades.
- A dedicated naval infantry weapon support team is the INF. DE MAR. Mk.19 40mm deploying in M151A2 MUTT jeeps.
- Combat engineers are organized as ZAPADORES.
- These come as the regular ZAPADORES 9-man assault engineer squads. More specialized assault troops come in the form of ZAPADORES (Flam.), a 6-man flamethrower squad.
- Command is provided by the sizable ZAPADORES MANDO, a 10-man command unit. All combat engineers can only deploy in PINZGAUER 712 transports.
- Elite infantry come in the form of COMANDOS, a 10-man special forces unit equipped with 8x FAL rifles, a scoped FAL, a MAG machine gun, and a Carl Gustav M2 launcher. They can deploy either from PINZGAUER 712 trucks or UH-1H helicopters. These troops come with the Special Forces, Shock, and Mountaineers traits.
- Rear-area security falls to two Military Police traited squads: the small POLICÍA MILITAR 4-man team armed entirely with Mini-Uzis and transported by CUCV PM vehicles. The larger Venezuelan Air Force’s POLICÍA AEREA fields six soldiers armed with 5x FAL rifles, an M60 machine gun, and a FAL M60, deploying from RBY Mk.1 Israeli-made armored car. Transports also feature the Military Police trait.
- A wide variety of weapon support teams can also deploy. These range from MAG 7,62mm teams arriving in M151A2 MUTT jeeps to heavier M2HB 12,7mm machine guns and CSER-106 107mm RCLs deploying in PINZGAUER 712 transports. Mobile fire support is provided by the nimble M151AC.
- Dedicated anti-tank support includes MAPATS ATGM teams (deploying in the same PINZGAUER 712 transport as above).
ART
Rather average with mostly light artillery options.
- Heavy mortar coverage is supplied by the French MO-120-RT61, while towed artillery comes in the form of the Italian-made M56 105mm pack howitzer. Both are transported by the ubiquitous PINZGAUER 712 trucks.
- Self-propelled artillery includes the new VBPM 81MM, a Dragoon 300 carrying a 81mm mortar.
- The division’s most distinctive new artillery piece, however, is the AMX-13 LAR-160, an AMX-13 chassis repurposed as an MLRS with 36x 160mm rockets, coming in both [HE] and [CLU] loadout.
TANK
An average category, with the I División de Infantería lacking access to main battle tanks, compensating with alternative mobile fire-support vehicles and tank destroyers.
- The venerable World War II-era M18 HELLCAT is available as a fast anti-tank but light (and old) tank, while the Yugoslav-upgraded M18A2 SUPER HELLCAT offers improved range and accuracy.
- The wheeled VBCC, a Dragoon 300 with a turret mounting an LVF2 90mm gun, serves as the battlegroup’s primary armored combat vehicle (not unlike the French ERC-90, although lacking any amphibious ability and only coming armed with HEAT rounds).
- The PINZGAUER 712 MAPATS provides a long-range anti-tank capability.
REC
A very good category.
- Infantry-based scouts form the base of the division’s battlefield recon:
- FRANCOTIRADORES are 2-man sniper teams armed with 1x FAL Scope and 1x Remington 700 sniper rifle, deploying in M151A2 MUTT or the new M151A2 RECO. recon transport with a MAG machine gun. They come with the Airborne and Sniper traits.
- RECONOCIMIENTO teams field 4 scouts, carrying 3x FAL, 1x FAP, and M60 anti-tank rifle grenades, and deploy in the same transport options as the snipers above, plus additionally the ALOUETTE III.
- RECONOCIMIENTO (GSR) also 4-strong scout teams, armed with 4x FAL, plus the GSR # trait, and the same transport options as above.
- Heavier CABALLERIA are larger 8-man squads equipped with 2x Mini-Uzi, 5x FAL, 1x FAP, and 1x Carl Gustav M2, deploying in VBPT (Dragoon 300) armored cars and UH-1H helicopters.
- Lastly the COMANDOS DE MAR provide an elite 6-strong Venezuelan Navy commandos, armed with 6x Mini-Uzi, Satchel Charges, and 1x AT-4, transported by PINZGAUER 712, and sporting the Special Forces, Shock, and Airborne traits.
- Vehicle recon is provided by a VBCC, same as the TANK variant, but in a recon role.
- Aerial recon is supplied by both an ALOUETTE III helo, and the OV-10E BRONCO. The latter is a slow-flying surveillance recon plane also sporting plenty of fire support, with no less than 4x M60C machine guns, one GPU-2/4 pod (featuring the same M197 triple-barreled 20mm cannon as the AH-1 gunship), 24x FFAR rockets, and 2x AIM-9B anti-air missiles.
AA
Pretty good.
- Towed anti-air defense include the Israeli-made dual-barrelled TCM-20, transported by a RBY Mk.1 armored car. This weapon system is comparable in performance to French or West German counterparts and is capable of providing close-range air defense.
- The weirdly shaped Italian-manufactured BREDA-BOFORS L40/70 (or the ”Fast Forty”) is transported to the battlefield by a STEYR-MAN 20.280. Derived from a naval gun and retaining the odd cupola shape on wheels, this combined twin-gun system is autoloaded for a high rate of fire and features great accuracy.
- Anti-air missile defense comes in the form of the ROLAND 2 CAROL, also transported by STEYR-MAN 20.280. This is the towed trailer of the West German-made MFG FRR ROLAND, although using Roland 2 missiles.
- SPAAGs are represented by the new RBY Mk.1 TCM (mounting the TCM-20 directly on the RBY) and M35 FENIX, the M35 truck with the turret from a retired M42 Duster combo.
HEL
Bad, and even then it actually features some helicopters (unlike its cousin, the I División de Infantería); it's heavily limited.
- First up is the UH-1B gunship with two 24-tube FFAR rocket pods.
- Provided by the Navy and used to hunt down enemy naval vessels, the AB.212ASW could also be turned into an overkill tank destroyer. This Bell 212 variant is equipped with two powerful long-range AS.12 missiles, which lack accuracy when used in land combat. This particular helo is very close in performance to the East German Mi-14PL prototype (but with two missiles instead of one, and with less HP).
AIR
Pretty good.
- The Fuerza Aérea Venezolana provides the following aircraft for ground strike missions:
- AT-27 TUCANO [HE], with 4x Mk.82 227kg bombs.
- The OV-10E BRONCO [ICM] deploying with the same 4x M60C machine guns and GPU-2/A pod as its recon counterpart, but also 4x TAL-1 250kg HE Cluster bombs.
- The MIRAGE 5V with two 20mm guns and 8x 227kg bombs.
- Multirole aircraft are VF-5A [HE] and VF-5A [NPLM], being the same ones as described in the IV División de Infantería. We have decided to move these planes from that division to this new one, in order to distribute the aircraft load-out more evenly.
- Air superiority is provided by the MIRAGE 50EV, a Dassault upgrade exported to Venezuela in real-life in the early 90's, but which we've “Marched to War” to just before the coup. This aircraft carries the usual guns, 2x R550 Magic II, and 1x Super 530D one, with 20% ECM.
The I División de Infantería is a well-equipped, infantry-heavy light division with strong recon forces, as well as anti-air and air cover. A serious deficiency is its tanks and armored vehicles, as well as its artillery and helicopter forces, to a certain extent.
WARNO - Tropic Storm in Brief
WARNO - Tropic Storm will give you access to 6 new divisions from this brand-new theater of operations, including 4 new nations, and a host of new units, models, weapons, new terrain sets, and maps, and more. And equally important: it will contain 1 new Army General campaign. More details will come in the coming weeks.
Check out all the previews for WARNO - Tropic Storm divisions below:
- First up is the Western-aligned U.S. 4th Marine Division earmarked for the Cuban invasion. Check out all the details in this preview here.
- The Communist-aligned Cuban 1a División de Tanques gets its place in the tropical sun in this detailed preview.
- The combined U.S.-Colombian division 7th Infantry Division (Light) also contains a hefty covert CIA contingent. Read more about it in this DevBlog here.
- The “red” Venezuelan IV División de Infantería receives its preview in this dedicated DevBlog.
- Newly minted Brazilian allies deploy the mobile 3ª Divisão de Exército as part of the Western-aligned battlegroup. Read more about this division and the prolific Brazilian armaments industry in this DevBlog.
Until Next Time
That’s all for the WARNO - Tropic Storm’s divisional previews. We’ll return next week with a sneak peek into the expansion’s Army General campaign.
Don’t forget to check out the ever-awesome WARNO community. Find 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.
