User blog:LB&SCR/What if?....: West German Bundeswehr vs. East German National People's Army



What if indeed. Today's episode takes us back in time.. and to a alternate universe where the Cold War dropped into temperatures that everyone died!... no not really. More like it finally froze over and the bullets started flying. In my imagination, this boiling over would have been fought through proxies in the beginning, and that brings us to today's slugfest. In the US-backed corner, we have the Bundeswehr of the West Germany, the soldiers who see them selves not as successors to Hitler's Wehrmacht, but instead of Prussian Tradition and the Military Resistance (i.e. 20th July Plot). In the USSR-backed corner we have the East Germany's National People's Army, the protectors of the workers, farmers, and the defenders against imperialist aggression. In real life having never with each other, if they actually went to war, who would win? East or West?

West German Bundeswehr
After the dissolution of the Wehrmacht in 1945, the Western-backed part of Germany went without a military for about 10 years, and the fight to give the Federal Republic of Germany (from here on referred to as West Germany) a military had one opponent: France, who had been invaded by Germany twice in one Life-time. The French eventually caved, and West Germany got it's Bundeswehr in 1955, and they quickly became the backbone of NATO's defense plan of Europe. Although smaller than the Armies of the US and France at the time, historian John Lewis Gaddis (the Dean of Cold War Historians) dubbed the Bundeswehr "perhaps the world's best army."

Weapons

 * -| Assault Rifle =

Heckler & Koch G3




 * Weight: 9.04 lbs
 * Cartridge: 7.62 x 51mm NATO
 * Rate of Fire: 600 rpm
 * Muzzle Velocity: 2625 ft/s
 * Feed System: 30-round magazine
 * -| Submachine Gun =




 * Weight: 6.4 lbs
 * Cartridge: 9 x 19mm Parabellum
 * Rate of Fire: 800 rpm
 * Muzzle Velocity: 1312 ft/s
 * Feed System: 30-round magazine
 * -| Machine Gun =

MG3




 * Weight: 23.15 lbs
 * Cartridge: 7.62 x 51mm NATO
 * Rate of Fire: 1000-1300 rpm
 * Muzzle Velocity: 2690 ft/s
 * Feed System: 100-round belt
 * -| Pistol =

Walther P1




 * Weight: 2.2 lbs
 * Cartridge: 9 x 19 Parabellum
 * Muzzle Velocity: 1200 ft/s
 * Feed System: 8-round magazine
 * -| Sniper Rifle =

PSG1




 * Weight: 15.87 lbs
 * Cartridge: 7.62 x 51mm NATO
 * Muzzle Velocity: 2848 ft/s
 * Feed System: 10-round magazine
 * -| Anti-Tank =

Carl Gustav Recoiless Rifle




 * Weight: 19 lbs
 * Caliber: 84mm HEAT
 * Muzzle Velocity: 840 ft/s
 * Feed System: Single Shot, hinged breach
 * Usually needs two men, but can be operated by one at a slower fire rate
 * -| Tank =

Leopard 1




 * Weight: 42.2 Tonnes
 * Hull Armor: 21mm of Steel + 70mm of RHA (Rolled Homogenous Armor)
 * Gun: 105mm L7A3 Rifled Gun (Rounds: HESH, HEAT, Canister)
 * Machine Guns: 2 x MG3 Machine Guns (Coaxial and Commander Hatch)
 * Speed: 40 mph
 * Crew: 4

National People's Army
The National People's Army was the Military of the Democratic People's Republic of Germany (from here on out referred as East Germany). It was founded in 1956, less than six months after the founding of West Germany's Bundeswehr. While West Germany went with Universal Conscription from the outset, the People's Army was an all Volunteer Force until 1962, when they also instituted Conscription. On a more interesting note, the National People's Army was the only Warsaw Pact Army to provide non-combat alternatives to Conscientious Objectors. Note: In X-Factors, will be referred to as Volksarmee.

Weapons

 * -| Assault Rifle =

AKM




 * Weight: 6.83 lbs
 * Cartridge: 7.62 x 39mm
 * Rate of Fire: 600 rpm
 * Muzzle Velocity: 2346 ft/s
 * Feed System: 30-round
 * -| Submachine Gun =

PPSh-41




 * Weight: 8 lbs
 * Cartridge: 7.62 x 25mm Tokarev
 * Rate of Fire: 900 rpm
 * Muzzle Velocity: 1600 ft/s
 * Feed System: 35-round magazine
 * -| Machine Gun =

PKM




 * Weight: 16.53 lbs
 * Cartridge: 7.62 x 54mmR
 * Rate of Fire: 650 rpm
 * Muzzle Velocity: 2707 ft/s
 * Feed System: 100-round belt
 * -| Pistol =

Makarov PM




 * Weight: 1.6 lbs
 * Cartridge: 9 x 18mm Makarov
 * Muzzle Velocity: 1030 ft/s
 * Feed System: 8-round magazine
 * -| Sniper Rifle =

SVD Dragunov




 * Weight: 10.3 lbs
 * Cartridge: 7.62 x 54mmR
 * Muzzle Velocity: 2723 ft/s
 * Feed System: 10-round magazine
 * -| Anti-Tank =

RPG-18




 * Weight: 5.7 lbs
 * Cartridge: 64mm (HEAT)
 * Muzzle Velocity: 377 ft/s
 * Feed System: Single Shot
 * Fired by one
 * -| Tank =




 * Weight: 36 Tonnes
 * Hull Armor: 100mm Front, 80mm Side, 60mm Rear
 * Gun: D10-T 100mm Rifle Gun (Rounds: APHE, HEAT, HE-F)
 * Machine Guns: 1 x SG-43 (7.62, Coaxial), 1 x DHsK (12.7, Commander's Hatch)
 * Speed: 30 mph
 * Crew: 4

X-Factors

 * -| Experience =

Bundeswehr: 67

Volksarmee: 65

Neither the Bundeswehr or the Volksarmee took part in any full-scale operations outside of their respective Germany, but each did go and provide trainers and supervisors to friendly nation's under threat of Capitalist/Communist aggression. What gives the Bundeswehr the light push up is the fact that unlike the Volksarmee, the Bundeswehr took part in disaster relief efforts both domestic and abroad... not worth a major push up, but at least they left the home nation.


 * -| Training =

Bundeswehr: 75

Volksarmee: 69

While considered the most powerful proxy armies the US and USSR had, the Bundeswehr gets the training edge due to the more difficult training they put their soldiers through, as there were large numbers of training casualties for the more elite forces, and even some for basic training. The Volksarmee also were considered the best of the best, and even had military training in some schools, but their lack of expertly trained officers gives them the lower ranking.


 * -| Fanatiscism =

Bundeswehr: 68

Volksarmee: 74

The Volksarmee get's this edge because the armed forces were politically controlled, with the government vetting all officers. Support was garnered by military training in the school system. It was the symbol of the Communist institution - ideological, hierarchical, and disciplined. Not saying that the Bundeswehr weren't also prepared to die, but they didn't have ideology or military training in their primary schools.


 * -| Leadership Ability =

Bundeswehr: 70

Volksarmee 70

Neither foe was able to go and demonstrate leadership very often due to the fear of repercussions if a German Army ventured outside their borders again. Stereo-typically, Germans do make the best officers, and the East and West tie here. While the East Germans were given semi-military training in school, the fact that all their higher-ups and officers were chosen for their commitment to the ideology rather than ability, and most '50s and '60s officers reported their education to be (excepting military training) primary schooling at highest.. not saying their officers are awful or anything. Bundeswehr officers didn't receive the semi-training from childhood, but Bundeswehr officers weren't vetted as heavily for their ideology, and their commands rested on their ability, yet resulting them in being a bit more green than their counterparts, but managing a tie.


 * -| Logistics =

Bundeswehr: 71

Volksarmee: 76

Both armies are extremely well supplied, and in a pinch, their backing nations will also send them boatfuls of supplies should the need come down to it. The East gets this edge because their only backers are the USSR and it's puppets, so the supplies and weapons given to them are all Soviet-built/Sovietesque and will all tend to use the same ammunition. West Germany would have supplies from all it's backing superpowers: the US, UK, etc, and the weapons and ammunition vary greatly, making interchange fairly hard, which enables the East to pull up to this edge.