The BAOR

Great review on Amazon:

Having served in 1 BR Corp during the 80's and early 90's it was interesting to say the least. The life expectancy of a RCT driver was 7 minutes and to read in the book that the Soviets advance was held along the Weser and most probably along the Minden ridge where I served was very thought provoking. Could we have really held them at bay? I am so glad that I never put the theory to test. Looking forward to the next book.

Playing GMT Games' Third World War I always had a high opinion of the British Army of the Rhine.

Third World War used points to describe combat power and combat proficiency. A British Armoured divisions looked thusly: 8 8 8. That is 8 points for attack and defense and 8 for proficiency. To contrast a Dutch armoured unit rated 6 6 5 while a Soviet Category A Armoured Division rated 11 9 6. What the BAOR lacked in combat power it made up for in training. For the record a mighty American armored division rated 15-14-7.

Looking back, the 8 8 8 score this is probably right. The BAOR had a certain jerry-rigged feel to it. At one point the great General Sir John Hackett took command to find something like half his tanks were not field ready. The entire British military had that problem. Look at pics of HMS Hermes as it sales for the Falklands and you can see rust on the hull.

Making up for certain equipment deficiencies was British military professionalism. Nobody is better at peacetime soldiering that the British. How many colonial and native armies did they raise? Dozens, really.

The reviewer above is thankful he never had to fight the Soviets. I'm thankful he read World War: 1990 and didn't feel the need to point out errors. Maybe he didn't find many.