Hello!
As teased in last week’s blog post about the upcoming SUCHET milestone, two new divisions will make their way to WARNO.
The first one we detail today. Let’s welcome to the stage the British 2nd Infantry Division!
The Brits return
All right, at ease chaps. The mighty tank fist of the British 1st Armored Division is already in the game. Now it is time for their comrade-in-arms of the 2nd Infantry Division to join them on the battlefield.
The formation’s history dates back to the Napoleonic wars, and the 2nd Infantry Division even has the claim to fame of having fought at Waterloo in 1815. After many battles, ranging from the Second Boer War to World War I and World War II, where the division saw action in Burma against Japanese forces, the 2nd Infantry Division found itself on occupational duties in northwest Germany.
Once again, the formation underwent many rounds of restructuring, going from the 2nd Armoured Division to the 2nd Infantry Division in the early 1980s. The division was also assigned to the British Army on the Rhine (aka BAOR), the permanent British Army’s presence in West Germany. However, instead of being based in NORTHAG itself, the soldiers of the division found themselves in England, lightly equipped so that in case of war, they could deploy quickly overseas to reinforce I. British Corps.
The 2nd Infantry Division had a table of organization and equipment that, in true British fashion, did not resemble the official TO&E at all. For instance, the formation had one regular infantry brigade backed up by two territorial (reservist) brigades and even one engineer brigade.
The 2nd Infantry Division in detail
After a major overhaul in the early 80s, the 2nd Infantry Division had its sole regular infantry brigade converted to an airmobile one. What this means in WARNO is that the 2nd Infantry Division will field no regular Rifles infantry of its own, but either Airmobile troops or Terrier (Territorial reservist) infantry. The engineer forces, in turn, will come as Terrier Engineers.
Terrier squads are organized along the same line as their Army counterparts, but the reservists haven’t transitioned yet to the L85/L86 family of assault rifles. Instead, these troops retain the old L1A1 SLR battle rifles, L7A2 (and sometimes even old L4A4 Bren) machine guns and Carl Gustav recoilless rifles. These territorial units are veterancy-locked to level 1.
Looking at the rest of the arsenal of the 2nd Infantry Division, in terms of equipment, it is rather light. No FV432, Warrior IFVs, or even an organic tank detachment. The sole armored vehicles are Ferret, FV721 Fox and Saxon wheeled APCs.
However, it could count on some armored support from the 3rd Armored Division, I British Corps' reserve formation, which would detach brigades or even regiments in times of war. In historical precedence, during NATO exercise Lionheart in 1984, the 2nd Infantry Division also received the Heimatschutzbrigade 53, a German reserve armored unit, to bolster its forces. With a full-blown Warsaw Pact invasion, as depicted in WARNO, it is safe to assume this will happen again.
So, while being very light, the 2nd Infantry Division is also very mobile. Terriers can only deploy in trucks, but almost a quarter of the infantry will be Airmobile troops, deployable in either a fast Saxon APC or Lynx helicopter. Additionally, the formation has a ton of Territorial anti-aircraft units, resulting - without a doubt - in NATO’s division in West Germany with the most anti-air defenses systems!
What to expect in-game
Let’s look at the 2nd Infantry Division, category by category.
- LOG - Includes the same Rover CP, and Bedford and Chinook supply vehicles as the 1st Armoured Division. On top of this, you can also deploy a Gazelle CP command helicopter, as well as a M577 armored CV, courtesy of the attached West Germans.
- INF - A very generous category, with a wide selection of Airmobile units (vanilla, command and support versions) deployable in Saxon APCs and Lynx helicopters. Next up are Terriers squads, which once more are featured in general, command, anti-tank, and support variants, as well as Engineers squads, which are mostly Territorials but also come as command and regular variants. These squads can be brought to the battlefield either in a Bedford truck or Rover jeep.
- Continuing with the INF category. West German Jäger squads (regular and command), coming in Unimog trucks or M113A1G APCs, can be fielded. And, thanks to the 3rd Armored Division, there is a single card of Arm. Rifles in a Warrior IFV. Support squads include Wombat RCL, Milan 1 (Territorials, so only in Rover jeeps) and Milan 2 ATGM squads (Airmobile, so in a Lynx or Saxon). The West Germans furthermore provide Heimatschützen militia, while RMP military police keep an eye on the rabble. Cherry on the cake are SAS commandos, in a combat role, with their (now WRD classic) loadout of AT-4 and Stinger missiles.
- ART - The artillery forces present are light in numbers, with the 81mm Mortar, the towed L118 105mm and L121 155mm howitzers, as well as a few self-propelled M107A2 175mm lend from I British Corps. The Bundeswehr provides some additional Tampella 120mm heavy mortars.
- TANKS - An average number of slots that rapidly rise in cost. With no organic tank formation, the 2nd Infantry Division gets its tanks from two other sources. A few Challengers come courtesy of the 3rd Armored Division, while the Germans provide the more numerous M48A2GA2. Other vehicles include German Iltis Milan and British Rover Milan 2.
- RECO - Not the divisions’ best category with infantry Scouts, and only Ferret and FV721 Fox recon vehicles. Jäger Auflk. in Aufkl. M113A1G can also be deployed.
- AA - One of the 2nd Infantry Division’s most formidable categories with lots of cheap options and slots. You get Blowpipe, Javelin, Javelin LML and Tracker Rapier units, as well as towed Rapier AA systems.
- HEL - More and cheaper slots compared to the 1st Armoured Division, thanks to its airmobile brigade, but with the same units deployable: Gazelle Ah. 1 RKT and two variants of the Lynx HELARM.
- AIR - An average category, with several new loadouts for Harrier and Jaguar planes, and including the Phantom F.3 fighter.
The 2nd Infantry Division is light and mobile and not meant to engage the opponent in head-on encounters. Rather, its airmobile component allows for fast strike missions and rapid movement. The few heavy tanks provide an anchor for varied infantry and light tank forces to outmaneuver slower enemies. Add on top the heliborne and AA defenses, and the 2nd Infantry Division is an agile and versatile formation, flexible on the battlefield.
See you on the battlefield
That’s it for this week. Check back in with next week’s DevBlog, where we will shine the light on the second (French) division being brought to you by SUCHET.
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See you on the battlefield, commander!
