Armored Brigade Nation Pack: Czechoslovakia – Netherlands

However, after a brief period of reform in the late 1960s, the armed forces were subjected to a political purge that culminated in the invasion by the armies of five other Warsaw Pact members. Large numbers of officers who had supported the reform movement either voluntarily retired or were forced out. Western analysts disagreed as to whether the Czechoslovak armed forces had been able to restore their pre-invasion size, quality, and morale by the late 1980s. Some questioned their reliability in a prolonged offensive war in Western Europe, or in a war that went badly for Warsaw Pact forces. Other outside analysts believed that the Czechoslovak armed forces were well trained, equipped, and motivated, and that they were fully capable of fulfilling their share of Warsaw Pact operations, especially in the defense of their homeland.

While the tactical organization largely followed the Soviet pattern, there was a degree of local variation and modification rarely seen in other Warsaw Pact armies. Thanks to a large domestic industrial base that predated communist rule, most of the small arms, crew-served weapons, and even vehicles used by the Czechoslovak forces were designed and produced locally, sometimes requiring minor modifications from Soviet small unit organization norms.

NETHERLANDS

During the Cold War, the Royal Netherlands Army (Koninklijke Landmacht) had two main missions in the NATO context: participating in the defense of West Germany against ground attacks across the North German Plain, known as the “forward strategy”, and ensuring the territorial security of the Netherlands itself and vital lines of communication.

Although often ignored in wargaming alongside major powers such as the US, West Germany and the UK, the Netherlands had a sizeable army and could deploy an entire corps in West Germany, responsible for the left flank of NORTHAG and the British I (BR) Corps. They had a very interesting array of equipment, ranging from the venerable Centurion tank to the upgraded Leopard 1-V and modern Leopard 2A4, along with the fairly advanced YPR-765 infantry fighting vehicle and the unique YP-408 wheeled APC, all supported by modern air power and artillery.

The long-haired, unionized conscripts often gave the Dutch army a bad name and raised eyebrows in other NATO armies, but the regular cadres were highly professional (and short-haired); logistics were efficient and equipment was modern, although the high reliance on reservists was a cause for concern.

Ultimately, despite some problems, the Royal Netherlands Army was a modern, effective, well-led and relatively large army, capable of carrying out its duties once fully mobilized and deployed to its home base in wartime.

FEATURES

– Two new factions: Czechoslovakia and the Netherlands

– Over 200 new vehicles and aircraft

– New map set in the Pilsen Region, Czechoslovakia

– Linear campaign inspired by the events of the Prague Spring