This content requires the base game Armored Brigade on Steam in order to play.
## About This Content
FRANCE
Just as the bloodletting of World War I has left the French military a firm
believer in the prevalence of firepower over manoeuvre, so did France’s defeat
by Germany in 1940 led it to a similar swing in the direction of mobile
warfare. Beginning in the 1950s, the French military began to experiment with
organizational structures aimed at facilitating rapid battlefield manoeuvre,
including the Javelot brigade and the 7e Division Mecanique Rapide, eventually
being standardised as the Division Type 1967. However, shortages of modern
equipment, caused in part by the economic crisis of the early 1970s and the
expense of the French nuclear deterrent, meant that the mechanized divisions
that were to follow the new divisional blueprint were being constituted only
very slowly. Although France was not officially part of NATO’s command
structure since 1966, there was an understanding, formalized by regular joint
exercises in West Germany, that France would go to the aid of NATO should the
Warsaw Pact attack.
A striking feature of the French formations of 1970s is the extent to which
they were tank-heavy, due to their intended mode of operations. Their tactics
were closer to US Armored Cavalry Regiments (or, indeed, their own pre-WW2
Division Legere Mecanique) in that they were not intended for holding ground.
Like the DLM of 1940, the mechanized regiments were to operate like the
earlier dragons portes, locating and delaying the enemy and preparing the
situation for a counter strike by the tank regiments. However, during the
1980s the heavy manoeuvre forces saw an increase in the proportion of
infantry, through the attachment of motorized infantry divisions to the corps
headquarters, addition of VAB-equipped infantry regiments to infantry
divisions, and an increase in the number of infantry companies in mechanized
regiments. France has opted to mechanize nearly all of its units, using
relatively light, wheeled armored vehicles that can be air-transported as well
as driven long distances over poor-quality roads and cross-country (e.g. in
sub-Saharan Africa). While lacking the level of protection of main battle
tanks, wheeled armor units of the French Army do provide considerable
firepower, often equipped with 90mm or even 105mm guns.
BELGIUM
As host to NATO since 1967, Belgium has always placed great importance on
functioning as a reliable and credible ally. Despite the small size of its
population and demanding colonial commitments, Belgium managed to make a
significant contribution to NATO collective defence, deploying half of its
Army to the FRG as part of the Belgian I Corps. The remainder of the army
comprised the Forces of Interior responsible for the defense of the home
territory, made up of regular army units which would be augmented in wartime
by the local gendarmerie and reserve forces. In addition, the Forces Interior
were supplemented by a regiment of elite para-commandos with two airborne
infantry and one commando battalion. However, much of its equipment remained
obsolescent; its main battle tank, the Leopard 1(BE) was of 1960s vintage and
its M75 and AMX-13 Mod 56 APCs, as well as its Alouette II helicopters were
almost museum-pieces from the 1950s. However, the Army went through a modest
re-equipment programme through the 1980s; upgrading its APCs and artillery,
increasing the numbers of ATGMs and replacing most of the Air Force’s fast
jets with modern aircraft. Nevertheless, the Belgian Army of the Cold War
remains a very interesting and challenging faction.
FEATURES
two new factions France and Belgium
new map: Ardennes, centered around Bastogne
overall more than 200 units
Minimum System Requirements | ||
CPU | 1 GHz | |
RAM | 1 GB RAM | |
OS | Windows 7 / 8 / 10 | |
Graphics Card | OpenGL 2.0 compatible video card with 512 MB VRAM | |
Direct X | Version 9.0c | |
SOUND CARD | Compatible sound card |