The USA is known to have aggressor units for training purposes. There were many opportunities to get some captured soviet equipment from Israel and maybe Iran.
As a tankie stationed in Germany in the mid 80's this is very familiar, we never doubted that we could take the three enemy tanks we needed to to allow the re enforcements coming from the UK and US to push forwards but most of us knew we probably wouldn't see the end of the war. A grim outlook I guess but we were realistic.
I was in Berlin with 2 Para 77/8. We knew we were just a tripwire force and were dead men walking. I never rated the Russian war machine apart from its numbers. I reckon when the Russian armour came across the Centurions and latterly, the Chieftains, you lads would have ate them up and spit them out. When I finally came eye to eye in Iraq with the t54/5/62/BTR/BMP etc etc, I saw whats a load of shite their stuff was. Ours was not to reason why etc etc.
@@peterstubbs5934 Maybe we would have while eating egg banjos and drinking Herforder Pils ;) Our head PTI was always a sergeant from the parras, I have no idea why but he liked to beast us as often as possible, some of the guys even went over to 2 Para, splitters
I was a young 🇬🇧 ‘courier’ in the late 80’s. We were regularly followed by KGB, who didn’t hide themselves. The Russian’s & East Germany were convinced NATO would invade them, just as we were.
It was always a concern for me right from my teenage years, but I always wondered how powerful the Warsaw Pact forces really were. Stories occasionally floated around of their troops not being paid properly and equipment being inferior, not wanting to be there etc. Nevertheless it was a huge force facing us, and of course either side had nuclear weapons to fall back on if things went badly. Once I happened to ask another kids' dad (who had been in the army) about the balance of power in West Germany and he that in his opinion the Soviets could be held off for only a few days. Worrying stuff, I wonder how their army that attacked Ukraine compares with what they had then....
@@rob5944 All this guessing what would be meaningless, only the fight can show who is stronger. We were also told that you would not be able to stand three days in front of the russian army, but the reality turned out to be quite different. I like your approach in the West that you always think you have it bad, self-confidence always leads to failure.
When you say 'them', you mean the commisars and officers who actually supported the ddr/polish regimes, the soldiers werent into the propaganda and the majority would have laid down their weapons or disbanded, mutineed, i read an article published by a german university on polls of ex-ddr and polish soldiers done in the 90s. After 40 years of propaganda the general population just didnt buy the bullshit . The russians on the other hand were a different kettle of fish like we see in the current war.
This takes me back! I remember as a BAOR soldier serving as an NCO with 2RGJ we would often do TEWT’s (Tactical Exercise Without Troops) where frequently we (officers and Nco’s) would walk our deployment areas and go through various scenarios and our reactions to them - sometimes with umpires, sometimes without - which we would then use as part of our training regime. It’s only since the fall of the Warsaw Pact and the collapse of the Soviet Union where information has been made available, that I realise what a real predicament we would be in if it had kicked off. If anyone has a genuine interest in what ‘could’ have happened, there is a vast resource available in the form of declassified documents as well as many books dealing with fact and fiction. Had I known then what I know now at 64 y.o., I wouldn’t have been so cocky………
@@teamidris when my Godson joined the Anglians and became a mortar man, he was using exactly the same gear as I was using in the 80’s! He enlisted in 2005! 😂 He was gobsmacked when I ran him through his fire control and bedding in orders…….
Do you have any suggestions regarding declassified documents or other books? The Cold War 1970s-80s has become my latest focal point regarding historical research.
….the books by Harvey Black are also well worth the read. Harvey served in the intelligence corps during the Cold War and his experiences form the backbone of his novels which cover the Cold War turning hot. I had some fascinating online conversations with him a few years ago, and was given some first had insight into what was going on behind the scenes as well as info that would have cast a different light on our ability if they had been open knowledge. For example: I didn’t know until 2012 that the soviets had spetnaz units whose sole task was to be parachuted into West German garrison towns once “we” had deployed and to capture any remaining family units to use as a “bargaining” chip. I have no idea what I would have thought knowing my wife and son were captured by Soviet troops…….It doesn’t bare thinking about….
@@ozanareyiz7773 dont be silly... Germany is democratic .. and regularly it chooses its current geopolitical course via that democratic process. if you think differently , then stand on a soap box and try to convince germans..
This was absolutely brilliant and brought back a lot of memories. This was just how we were trained although some things were glossed over. I was an A1 Chieftain tank crewman which meant I could do all trades on there but if I could I would prefer to be the driver. So having watched the video the Russians could have thrown as much smoke at me as they liked as it made no difference. I could still see the Russians but now they could not see me as they didn't have the sights that could see through smoke. Secondly using Sabot we were normally one shot kills. In a hull down position any Russian tank or vehicle poking its nose out would have been terminated immediately, the kit we had on Chieftains at that time were awesome. We would have an infantry unit assigned to us or we to them, and we would defend them to the hilt as we needed them as much as they needed us and together we were a bloody good fighting team. We were told the Russians had hardly any radios and did all their communication through flags which we now know was true so again we had a big advantage. As we have seen with regards to the Ukraine invasion, only a General has the means to think for himself and all ranks below do not. As it is now it was the same then which is a massive disadvantage. We all know how corrupt Russia is and I do not doubt it was much the same then, so it makes me wonder how much their vehicles were serviced at that time. I know we were always servicing our vehicles as our lives depended on it. Again a well made awesome video of the time.
Quote: '' I could still see the Russians but now they could not see me as they didn't have the sights that could see through smoke''. You don't know much about IR do you? ''Using sabot Chieftain was capable of a one shot kill''. Is that why the only time Chieftain won the Canadian Army Trophy was 1970? (search for this on Google). You've been listening to too much hearsay. Why don't you search for this information before you sound off and make a fool of yourself. Quote from the internet. ''The R-123 radio was widely used in Soviet and Warsaw Pact tanks and armoured vehicles like T-55 tanks, BMP-1, OT-64, MT-LB, BRDM-2. They were even used on many soft-skin vehicles like Gaz 69 and UAZ 469''. --------------- There is corruption in every country, the last US general election was the biggest scam of the 21st century. The west sees itself as being white and everything Russia does is bad. Typical anti-Russia phobia and ignorance.
@@I_Have_The_Most_Japanese_Music Huh? You can't be serious. Do you honestly believe people are daft enough to drink hydraulic fluid? It's poisonous! Tall story! One thing I remember well from 20 years in the military, there was so much bullshit people actually believed most of it.
I think the issue with Russian maintenance today is that the vehicles which were supposed to be used until the 80s have been neglected and ignored for decades until now, because we still see those same vehicles doing fine in the service of NATO countries such as Poland
@@Slaktrax A single Google search gave me: "Years ago I read an obviously ghost-written autobiography of a Soviet pilot who defected and flew a then-latest Mig from eastern USSR to Japan. The book discussed life in the Soviet Union. One of the things he discussed was grain alcohol. He said it was used as a coolant for electrical components in the the airplanes. I don't know how that would work. But he said the ground crews would steal the stockpiles of alcohol - imagine that - and that often the planes were grounded because there was no coolant available." "Sounds like something [drinking brake fluid] a collegue of mine, Ret. Colonel Art Alphin, described tank crews under his command drinking, probably mixed according to needs/flavor. " "'Jar a brake fluid, handful of raisins, set out in the sun for a few days to ferment. Filtered through some old stale bread, pretty good kick'...taken from the movie "The Beast". Great movie about Soviet tank crew in Afganistan separated from their column during their stint in the '80's." "I've heard similar stories from some of my Russian friends. Vadim was a motor pool Sgt in Afghanistan back in the 80's. They hadn't gotten their vodka ration for a few weeks but heard if you strain brake fluid through black bread you could drink it. He spent nearly a month in the hospital...'damn near killed me!' he said. Making a long story short. He was out of the army 3 months later and lives in the US now. Alcohol was used as anti freeze in their vehicles and it was known to cause toxicity an blindness. They knew guys who would drink it but they never messed with that stuff. They would never have enough for their vehicles they said. Yuri, a BMP driver, said it was pretty wide spread." "air brake systems use alcohol in winter time for drying air in pipes...my Father brought alcohol from his big public bus in 70-80es." "Being assigned to the ground crew on a MiG-25 interceptor, for example, was a good gig. The supersonic fighter was nicknamed gastronom - delicatessen - because its nose-mounted radar and generator were cooled by more than 200 liters of water/methanol mix." "Russian internet users still share the stories of unspeakable substances that alcoholics once consumed. 'They drank methylated spirits, eau de cologne, different lotions. As if that’s not enough, everyone became a chemistry master and they somehow managed to create spirits from car brake fluid, ‘BF’ glue, polish, tooth-powder, and so on,' Vladimir Bukovsky, a dissident who fled the USSR to the U.S., wrote in his memoirs To Build a Castle. Technically, the job of getting alcohol from such substances was hard. For instance, those trying to extract it from brake fluid “froze it out.” In winter, they took a hollow metal pole, left it in the cold for a night, and then poured brake fluid through it - believing that all the additives would freeze to the rail with only spirits left. This wasn’t an exact science." "True but they perfected the practice. In the invasion of Hungary, many tanks broke down because the Russians drank the fluid." "
Its not really a threat anymore, its clear as day that russia's military, and politcal/military leadership would be completely destroyed. Their military is trash, their gear is trash, and their leadership are also trash, who make incredibly stupid decisions. NATO would be inside the Kremlin within a few weeks
@@user-gk2vw6cz6dlol so please do explain why Ukraine has gone through 10 rounds of mobilisation whereas Russia has only done 1 and is still capturing territory
Reminds me of the Dad's Army episode where they are leaning how to destroy a German tank and Private Walker pipes up and asks "and what's the tank doing while we are doing all this...?😂
I don't know what's worse, being a Soviet vanguard commander sending untold amounts of men against a single wall or being a British rifleman told to glue yourself into place against those countless men hurtling toward your wall.
@@user-jr1wo9ot7e If you live in Russia, incase you didn't know- 70% of russian military history told to russian citizens is a lie. The only thing they want you to think is that Russia was great and is amazing. and won world war 2 themselves. They tell you the west lies about history and is ungrateful. Единственное, что они хотят, чтобы вы думали, что Россия была великой и удивительной. и сами выиграли 2 мировую войну. Они говорят вам, что Запад лжет об истории и неблагодарен.
As a one time infantry soldier ,deployed to stop the soviet juggernaut back in the seventies and early eighties,we all knew if it ever came to a shooting war,we'd not last much more than 48hours....plenty of gallows humour 😂
My platoon played 'enemy' for a sniper course in the late 80s. We were given Bulgarian AK47s and RPGs for weapon accuracy I.e for would be snipers to report on equipment we were carrying. I'm guessing a lot of this stuff came from Arab-Iraeli unpleasantness.
Remember watching this as a young trooper in 4rtr and then as a cold war warrior from 1983 to 1991 taking part in many many exercises from driver through to commander to practice the actual mechanics of warding off the soviet threat. That's when BAOR was a force to be reckoned with.
@@humphrey4976 as confident as one could be, well trained, decent enough kit given the technology of the time and all aspects of the threat had been exercised to death either on Soltau training area or BATUS and regular gunnery camps at Hohne meant every crew member knew the part they played and battlegroup training meant all other arms worked well together as well. Everyone knew we were there to slow the soviet threat unless the big red button was pushed and then it was over no matter what. Cest la vie eh.
@@stuartc734 as a concerned teenager I thought our main hope was that you guys would end up convincing those conscripts that it'd be a better idea to ditch their gear and go back home, seriously. I knew we were probably a superior force, but my worry was by how much...
@@rob5944 Rob, yup I think we all hoped that the Warsaw pact troops would turn tail and head for home, however they were probably more scared of their own commanders and political commisars etc than of us imoh.
I hope all the WARNO players out there are watching this. But seriously though, mad respect for the lads who would have had to face this Soviet Onslaught, if it ever came to it.
@@denarte6986 kind of Ironic in hindsight if you think about it, Ukrainians where a major part of the Soviet Union and would have been a part of some of the key breakthrough units if WW3 went hot in the 80s.
The Brits Chieftain was such a cool looking tank. At least it was for an 11 year old(in 83) American kid. I still have the plastic model one I built as a kid on my bookshelf.
I was stationed in then West Germany from December 1988 to February 1991 US ARMY 1st Infantry Division 1st Battalion 16th Infantry Regiment Panzer Kaserene. Got there thinking they had Bradley's boy was I disappointed to see M-113's instead, but we transitioned to Bradley's mid 1989. Can't believe 42 years ago I was supposed to defend Lower West Germany from a Soviet attack. Thank goodness that never came to fruit. Good times though and would love to go back in time too those 2 years if could. Where did time go.
I met the USA Football (Soccer) world cup squad at Pisa in Italy in 1990. Then I watched them play the Czechs in Florence (Firenze). So, they were in uniform, I wasn't.
I was stationed in BAOR in the 70,s. The British army was mainly a delaying force to ensure the families and civies reached the coast and ferries to take them BACK to the UK. Your life was measured in hours and days so although this vid shows us holding the enemy up and we had a very well trained and equipped army then l, other tactics would have been Used to stop them. Natural geography stood as the best defence for instance the river Weser which they needed to cross, that’s where main battles would have been fought before allowing the soviet forces en masse to filter into natural passes between hills and mountains. That’s when the main butchering would have been done but they had far superior numbers of tanks and Infantry available so eventually their armies would get through but very heavily depleted just through sheer weight of numbers. But one point it doesn’t show is which tank/bmp you would single out for the first and most legal targeting. That was the political commissar one which flew a certain standard. There are or where approx 20 different ruskie dialects so in the height of battle only one voice could speak to them all to be certain to be understood.. so take him out first and the ruskie tank battalion would hopefully fall into chaos without any clear orders they all understood. We had faith in our eqpt, not our Officers who where mostly hooray Henry’s but we knew that in a these sorts of battles it was every man for himself as we knew we would be in a very target rich environment lol… You where very aware of the threats etc but you couldn’t let it stop you living your life and West Germany was a great posting then.. just don’t attack on a Friday night.. most of us where out chasing girls and getting drunk lol
There are not 20 different "Russian dialects." By 1970 in the Red Army it would be unusual for someone to even understand a nonstandard Russian dialect, let alone speak it exclusively in preference to Moscow speech. There were a relatively few large ethno-national groups in the USSR where penetration rate of Russian language was low, such as the Uzbeks, but they were not mixed in willy-nilly with Russian speakers. Politruks were mostly just supernumeraries. If we're being completely honest about it, the source of these weird mistaken ideas about "Russians" with their "dialects" who would fall into racialized chaos and be easily handled as soon as the thin veneer of commisardom was removed is pretty straightforwardly just Naziism. Like I am not one of these hysterical pro-Russians who says NATO is all Nazis, but the historical fact is the Western Cold War-era understanding of how to fight the Red Army was overly and unfortunately influenced by a lot of Nazi nonsense.
@@tiivc That’s what we where told and what we would have done.. it wouldn’t have mattered really anyway because we would have taken out every Russian tank on the battlefield but been overrun through sheer weight of numbers
The “national minority” cliques undoubtedly were a thing in the soviet army, as well as non-russian-speaking conscripts. However, they were sent to very rear echelon forces such as construction troops (строительные войска), and were unlikely to be spearheading an invasion. Thus said, priority targeting of any combat vehicle with banners or extra antennas was absolutely justified - knocking out enemy command and communication vehicles is quite helpful to sowing chaos and enhancing uncertainty.
@@davidcorbett62 My old man was in the BAOR during the 70s too and told me the same growing up, Russians spoke so many dialects they'd have to use whistles to communicate etc. Total guff as we know now of course but an amusing thought
Yea, NATO tactic during cold war was to stop Soviet advance in its tracks with light foxholes on the very first line!.... Oh wait, it wasn't! The actual plan wasn't to stop, but to slow and the advance until US collects its power for a counter strike. But of course that's not what British soldier needs to know. British soldier must know that he's immortal, his equipment is indestructible and it's the enemy who was told lies.
There is another one showing a British combat team, Chieftain and FV432 doing an attack. I've searched for years to try and find it again, only ever saw it on vhs tape. Certainly high quality training aids
Ah yes. I remember it well. Your skills honed to perfection - and your life measured in hours from first contact. And ex-regular, I trained and trained with 2 Yorks (the 'old ones') as a section commander. Hard work.
Brings back a lot of memories of being part of BAOR during the 80's (Royal Engineers 81-87). We were all under the impression that we would get overwhelmed within 24 hours, the current situation shows that the Russians can be stopped, but back then it was the USSR... would it have been any better? Who knows, but I am pleased that Ukraine and NATO are showing that the war machine we feared in the 80's are stoppable and can be beaten. I'd like to think that if they had tried we would have fought them just as hard, and as well (if not better), than the Ukranians are doing today. I do remember being shown this film in 83 while I was at Dusseldorf. There are quite a few similar British Army films that were made during this time, would love it if you were able to find them and put them on your channel.
Men who are comfortable with the fanatical suicidal assault stuff are rare and the soviets would have run out of these men relatively quick. But the Soviets would have done better, Ukraine has real time digital communication and cheap drones. It wouldn't surprise me if Ukraine (with the West) has a real time database to keep track of every individual in the Russian army. Combined with long range precision ammunition.. in the 80's the Soviets would have been able to keep more things secret.
I think it's comparable. I'm of the opinion now that they would have been blunted and stopped in Germany. Ukraine has shown us that Russia's reputation was mostly propaganda.
@@garethoneill5676 That is a jump through too many hoops. The Soviets had more numbers, more funding and fighting a NATO not too much more advanced than themselves (in fact in the 80s NATO in some areas where behind, like AA systems). Russia is not even a third of the power of the old USSR. Soviets were lethal and capable, and don't forget Ukraine was also in the USSR too.
Dad was in BAOR Berlin garrison and were stationed with him. Soviets and DDR were always practicing invading. I thank NATO and US for deterring the brutal military dictatorship from invading
How does an Army practice invading in a city? The west was more worked up about it than the Commies were. Non-stop exercises to deployment areas, border patrols etc. During the eight years served in Germany we never saw a Soviet patrol of the IGB nor any sign of exercises near it.
I’m super impressed at the dedication to vehicle and weapon accuracy. Granted I shouldn’t be super surprised since it was made to show how to actually accurately counter the threats and not just represent them. I also remember seeing some of the footage used in 1998’s WWIII fictional documentary which I thought was cool to see where some of that stock footage came from
The Royal Navy had over 70 escort ships, 3 carriers, numerous minesweepers and patrol ships, and nearly 30 submarines in 1990 We now have 10 submarines, 2 carriers,and 19 escort ships. God help us.
Got loads more high tech stuff and so have our allies. Far better than then and far better than the enemy. But yes, the forces could do with a lot more, vote for a party that won't cut the military if that is what you want.
don't forget the transbender non binary, use my pronoun.....and hold the battle untill our muslim soldier goes into an open field to pray...crap wtf has the uk got to worry about. putin must have guts ache from all the laughin at us....
The 1st Battalion Queenie Scouts, and the Royal Elephantine Guards. The first want pronouns properly sorted before taking the slightest action. The second are so fat, they can barely waddle. Today's army! /
The West on defense? At the meanwhile in our Warsaw Pact countries, propaganda repeatedly stated that NATO is an agressor organization, that is why we needed lots of tanks, fighter jets and conscripts serving 2 years of mandatory military service to defend ourselves - apparently with an attack. Where did I see this logic recently?
Well... just look at the military Doctine, and you will get your answer. The Soviet Union didn't wanted to fight another war within their territory, so they wanted to attack first. Nearly everything within Soviet arms design is build for attacking, defensive operations are not an option. Just for one example, tanks: NATO tanks are tall, so they can be parked in a hull down position with sufficient gun depression to fight. And and they are fast, even in reverse. They pop smoke close to them, to cover a withdraw to an alternative position, or perform a berm-drill. None of it can be done sufficiently with a Soviet Tank, they are build to attack fast and forward, with a very low signature to have a low profile when attacking and to be hard to hit, because you can't hide behind an obstacle, while you're attacking a position. They pop smoke very far to the front, to blind the defenders, not to cover their own vehicle. They have almost no gun depression, because they are supposed to have the low silhouette for the attack. And Soviet tanks are ridiculously slow in driving reverse, because they are not to perform a berm drill and reverse to an alternative position, but to attack forward only.
My grandfather was a civil servant (an accountant, really). His job, eventually, was to audit the accounts of the entire BAOR. He was given by the government of whenever it was (late 50s I guess) the acting rank of a full Colonel so that he could - I suppose - open pretty much any file he needed to see. When I was a young lad of 11 or 12, some years after he had retired, he told me some stories about his adventures. Some of the stories he told me about some of the nefarious activities he uncovered belong in a book - or a movie! Mostly it was petty pilfering and the usual low-level corruption, but he also discovered (I think in the 1960s, so probably Centurion!) tanks (not a tank, but tanks) were vanishing into thin air. They existed on the books, but, upon his inspection, "no longer in what one could call 'physical reality'" (his words). What happened to those tanks is a mystery to this day. He never found out where they went, or how they could possibly have fallen off the back of a tank transporter. But "clerical error" rather "tanks stolen and sold to hostile nations" sounded much better in the report, according to essentially everyone, so that's what he wrote. I remember that he just sucked on his pipe and laughed about the lunacy, which seemed to appeal to his wonderful sense of humour. He died not that long after, in 1982. I still miss him; I just wish there'd been more time. And still wonder what the hell happened to those tanks.
If I have heard "The Fulda Gap" once I have heard it a million times. Going out a few times a year to plant sand filled cardboard Bar Mines in a farmers field...
This film assumes the soviets to be a worthy foe who've drilled and trained for this moment and should be underestimated or taken likely. It's the perfect training film.
*"Though the minefield takes it's toll, the Soviet tanks continue to press forward. The attack is finally stopped by a barrage of tins of cheese 'possessed' and packets of biscuits brown- for the use of. This distracts the Soviet peasant infantry, who debus from their BMP's and BTR 60's- in order to enjoy a tasty feast. This proves disastrous for the Sov's, as the 'sneaky' Brits brass the infantry up with concentrated GPMG SF fire, shattering the momentum of the attack and breaking the will of the enemy to press home the attack. Ivan is sent packing and the Brits crack a celebratory brew on!"*
Oh God - the labels on stuff... Trousers, waterproof, water, for the protection from. Spade, 1x, handle, wooden, for the operation of. Biscuits, brown, teeth, shattering, job security, dentists, for the purpose of.
It was a thrilled & interested military enlightening documentary coverage of suspected and supposed British encouragement against the USSR attack in the western Republic of Germany 🇩🇪 ....during cold War....thank you (Mike Guardia) channel for sharing
It's a fascinating look at what was expected of British troops in BAOR. Not something you can get from a book or even a history lesson, even supposing you could find someone teaching such recent events.
Cor, setting up the 105mm guns in AT mode were a ballache and not very effective, good idea on paper but unless its a fine day with no rain for weeks then maybe it would work but most times the spade would sink putting the gun on the piss and the gun captains blowing a bollock at the crew :( Remember the hit and a miss Carl Gustav stovepipes, yep abs brilliant bit of kit... only thing is unless you have a lorry load of 'em they were very much a one shot and if you scored a glancer or a miss you have the full attention of armour aiming at you. SLR rifle grenades were also a bit of a hit and a miss, get one off into a bunch of enemy and mangled bits is what you got but often the grenade would fall short or overshoot advertising to everyone "here I am" and again all enemy eyes focused on your position.
I like near the beginning how the tank and the APC just casually and effortlessly run over several chunks of split firewood that would completely destroy the axles, tires and suspension on my little corolla.
Two thoughts: 1: Hard to fathom russia's "MEAT ...Forwaaaard!" doctrine/ weapons never improved 2: Damn, Britian just fired off today's whole arsenal worth during this training vid
A few classic soft skinned vehicles at the start, obvious LR series 3, but a brief glimpse of a LR 101 fwd control with V8 engine behind the tank, and also a Bedford RL sneaking along the other side of the fence.
The irony is that the Soviets did consider assaulting the West in 1983, because they were convinced NATO intended to attack them! The West was blissfully unaware at the time. The Soviets suspected NATO would use their scheduled training exercises as a cover for the launch of an offensive. The next year, Nena's hit song, 99 Red Balloons would reach the Top 10 Hit Parades around the world. I was 15 at the time.
They only moved in Columns around Kyiv as thats the only thing you can really do. That city is perfectly situated in the middle of a swamp. Only the roads could be used unlike in Kherson, and Donbass with vast rolling hills and Russia was able to quickly reach the major cities with massive tank formations.
@@pilotman9819 Yeah but they are still using the same vehicle tactics, I saw 1 tank and 3 IFV/APC in several probes they conducted in the South East where the Ukranians laid minefields which is identical to the point of the arrow on this video from the cold war, ofc they've lost tons of equipment this way.
@@dc-4ever201 There was a great article - sadly, don't have the link - of US officer who worked with both Russian and Ukrainian officers a few years back. The Ukrainian were absolutely dead keen on modernising and learning modern, flexible tactics. The Russian straight up ignored everything and spent all their time in PX buying goods to send back home.
@@dc-4ever201it seems like Ukraine never changed old American tactic and they've paid dearly for that in their summer offensive lol. Bye bye expensive Leopard and Bradley, destroyed by: 40 years old Soviet mines and 30 years old Russian ATGM
Interestingly enough, this video is very relevant to the current war in Ukraine and a potential future NATO-Russia war, as all Russian and most Ukrainian officers either started their careers in the Soviet Union or were taught by former Soviet officers in cadet school, thus almost this exact way of conducting an attack is the basis of their craft.
Massed armoured attacks with aerial support seems to be a challenge for both sides, the latest Ukrainian offensive appears to be backing up the original experience of the Russians. Almost as if we are back to a first world war scenario where tactics have not kept pace with the technological advances made (WW I machine guns, rapid fire artillery = Ukraine ATGM's, SAMS etc).
Christ i wonder how much effort is needed to build those overhead protection dugouts. All that backbreaking work , to then survive a combined arms attack !
Liverpool markets mate.... can buy anything there, no questions asked! They were still teaching this crap on 2001 when I was on my crew commanders course in Warminster....😂
A lot of the ones that are in pieces probably didn't even see a fight honestly. Rotting away in a warehouse or field getting cannibalized for spares or pawned. I suppose a weapon system rotting away unused in a warehouse is almost optimistically poetic. It's a shame some of them have actually been used.
If only the British of the day could have seen how impoverished the average east bloc comrade was. There was never going to be a war. They were too feeble.
There should be a 2023 addenda to this reflecting Russian tactic after first contact to redeploy the army as a single column stretching back miles to its own national borders… and stopping to save gas.
@@Historyfan476AD the Russians inherited the whole rotten soviet system. Do you really think the satellite states of Poland, Ukraine, Romania etc. which contribute the bulk of the soviet forces would've gladly fought on behalf of the communist party members? I don't think so. Plus the corruption we see now that lets electrical wiring get sold off from airplanes and tanks is that which the soviets employed too. There was a brief gap after 1945 when they were the real deal, but the soviet 'beast' is a myth.
No mention of Britain's 'Top Secret' battle winning wpn. *TEA.* A few belts of well aimed NATO 7.62mm link delivered by a GPMG, and a couple of hot brews, and the Sov's would have been toast! :)
I was out in Germany in them years, and our battalion was written off because being infantry we would have been the first ones in, and thankfully it didn't happen although we had a couple of close calls.
A lot of Russian eqpt was captured by the Israeli army and handed over to NATO. I was guard commander of 3 Russian tanks for a few days.. not to guard against the Russians trying to take them back but the countless Mojo,s who worked cleaning the camp etc who at least 50% where ruskie spies. It was thought they would try and destroy them. Like now the tanks where if low quality
NATO actually believed they could check a soviet thrust in2 west Germany? They probably could've judging Russia's performance in there current conflict in Ukraine 😮
What I really wonder about this video is, how the Brits got their hands on the heavy Soviet Equipment in 1983. Multiple BTR-60, T-62 and BMPs, how did they do this? Even Rambo III from 1988 used pathetic mock ups. But those vehicles here are genuine.
Nice of the Soviets to cooperate in the making of this film.
😂
The USA is known to have aggressor units for training purposes. There were many opportunities to get some captured soviet equipment from Israel and maybe Iran.
@@charlesc.9012 So called "Redfor, OPFOR" and "Red CellS"
The Soviets wouldn’t have freely given the footage or cooperate in making films like this with Western countries. lol
Footage of actual Soviet battle training is most likely from the 70s.
Nice video, unfortunately there's no mention of me defending the NAAFI pie machine, armed only with a clasp knife and 200 JPS.
Haha! Quality comment mate! :)
Ahhhhh JPS…….I was a B&H man myself……..
You had a KNIFE!!!!
@@Ubique2927 He must have been one of those hard core specialists.
I got a tear in my eye you hero you, I would be beside denying them bastards the milk machine, no cold pinters for you Ivan 😮
As a tankie stationed in Germany in the mid 80's this is very familiar, we never doubted that we could take the three enemy tanks we needed to to allow the re enforcements coming from the UK and US to push forwards but most of us knew we probably wouldn't see the end of the war. A grim outlook I guess but we were realistic.
I was in Berlin with 2 Para 77/8. We knew we were just a tripwire force and were dead men walking. I never rated the Russian war machine apart from its numbers. I reckon when the Russian armour came across the Centurions and latterly, the Chieftains, you lads would have ate them up and spit them out. When I finally came eye to eye in Iraq with the t54/5/62/BTR/BMP etc etc, I saw whats a load of shite their stuff was. Ours was not to reason why etc etc.
@@peterstubbs5934 Maybe we would have while eating egg banjos and drinking Herforder Pils ;) Our head PTI was always a sergeant from the parras, I have no idea why but he liked to beast us as often as possible, some of the guys even went over to 2 Para, splitters
@Phil Staples that almost sounds like an AI generated response featuring lots of BAOR terms. Yellow handbags, Ivan, Fulda Gap, Korn, Crash Out etc.😊
@@Surv1ve_Thrive Well Nick you know the terms so you were probably there, BOAR was a meme of itself during it's own NAFI break.
@@philstaples8122 🇬🇧👍 🇩🇪🍻💣🪖🌭💨🌞 👜
I was a young 🇬🇧 ‘courier’ in the late 80’s. We were regularly followed by KGB, who didn’t hide themselves. The Russian’s & East Germany were convinced NATO would invade them, just as we were.
It was always a concern for me right from my teenage years, but I always wondered how powerful the Warsaw Pact forces really were. Stories occasionally floated around of their troops not being paid properly and equipment being inferior, not wanting to be there etc. Nevertheless it was a huge force facing us, and of course either side had nuclear weapons to fall back on if things went badly. Once I happened to ask another kids' dad (who had been in the army) about the balance of power in West Germany and he that in his opinion the Soviets could be held off for only a few days. Worrying stuff, I wonder how their army that attacked Ukraine compares with what they had then....
@@rob5944 the top NATO brass didn't think they could defeat it
@@rob5944 All this guessing what would be meaningless, only the fight can show who is stronger. We were also told that you would not be able to stand three days in front of the russian army, but the reality turned out to be quite different. I like your approach in the West that you always think you have it bad, self-confidence always leads to failure.
When you say 'them', you mean the commisars and officers who actually supported the ddr/polish regimes, the soldiers werent into the propaganda and the majority would have laid down their weapons or disbanded, mutineed, i read an article published by a german university on polls of ex-ddr and polish soldiers done in the 90s. After 40 years of propaganda the general population just didnt buy the bullshit . The russians on the other hand were a different kettle of fish like we see in the current war.
@@olivere5497 that's what I hoped they might do in the event of an invasion, however the Russians may not of such a different kettle of fish anyway.
This takes me back! I remember as a BAOR soldier serving as an NCO with 2RGJ we would often do TEWT’s (Tactical Exercise Without Troops) where frequently we (officers and Nco’s) would walk our deployment areas and go through various scenarios and our reactions to them - sometimes with umpires, sometimes without - which we would then use as part of our training regime.
It’s only since the fall of the Warsaw Pact and the collapse of the Soviet Union where information has been made available, that I realise what a real predicament we would be in if it had kicked off.
If anyone has a genuine interest in what ‘could’ have happened, there is a vast resource available in the form of declassified documents as well as many books dealing with fact and fiction. Had I known then what I know now at 64 y.o., I wouldn’t have been so cocky………
Being cocky was the only thing keeping you there :D what surprised me was same tactics being used in 2022 and 2023 :o
@@teamidris when my Godson joined the Anglians and became a mortar man, he was using exactly the same gear as I was using in the 80’s! He enlisted in 2005! 😂 He was gobsmacked when I ran him through his fire control and bedding in orders…….
"here is a vast resource available in the form of declassified documents " - any handy links or pointers? Cheers
Do you have any suggestions regarding declassified documents or other books? The Cold War 1970s-80s has become my latest focal point regarding historical research.
….the books by Harvey Black are also well worth the read. Harvey served in the intelligence corps during the Cold War and his experiences form the backbone of his novels which cover the Cold War turning hot. I had some fascinating online conversations with him a few years ago, and was given some first had insight into what was going on behind the scenes as well as info that would have cast a different light on our ability if they had been open knowledge. For example: I didn’t know until 2012 that the soviets had spetnaz units whose sole task was to be parachuted into West German garrison towns once “we” had deployed and to capture any remaining family units to use as a “bargaining” chip. I have no idea what I would have thought knowing my wife and son were captured by Soviet troops…….It doesn’t bare thinking about….
great respect to the brits from germany! thankful for having you as an ally by our side.
What are you, a NATO troll? You have no allies. You have been occupied ;D
@@ozanareyiz7773 dont be silly... Germany is democratic .. and regularly it chooses its current geopolitical course via that democratic process. if you think differently , then stand on a soap box and try to convince germans..
@@joecater894 Keep editing. And don't be fool. Democracy died in the West decades ago. Including The US.
@@ozanareyiz7773this trolling is weak
This was absolutely brilliant and brought back a lot of memories. This was just how we were trained although some things were glossed over.
I was an A1 Chieftain tank crewman which meant I could do all trades on there but if I could I would prefer to be the driver.
So having watched the video the Russians could have thrown as much smoke at me as they liked as it made no difference. I could still see the Russians but now they could not see me as they didn't have the sights that could see through smoke. Secondly using Sabot we were normally one shot kills. In a hull down position any Russian tank or vehicle poking its nose out would have been terminated immediately, the kit we had on Chieftains at that time were awesome.
We would have an infantry unit assigned to us or we to them, and we would defend them to the hilt as we needed them as much as they needed us and together we were a bloody good fighting team.
We were told the Russians had hardly any radios and did all their communication through flags which we now know was true so again we had a big advantage.
As we have seen with regards to the Ukraine invasion, only a General has the means to think for himself and all ranks below do not.
As it is now it was the same then which is a massive disadvantage.
We all know how corrupt Russia is and I do not doubt it was much the same then, so it makes me wonder how much their vehicles were serviced at that time. I know we were always servicing our vehicles as our lives depended on it.
Again a well made awesome video of the time.
Quote: '' I could still see the Russians but now they could not see me as they didn't have the sights that could see through smoke''. You don't know much about IR do you?
''Using sabot Chieftain was capable of a one shot kill''. Is that why the only time Chieftain won the Canadian Army Trophy was 1970? (search for this on Google).
You've been listening to too much hearsay. Why don't you search for this information before you sound off and make a fool of yourself. Quote from the internet. ''The R-123 radio was widely used in Soviet and Warsaw Pact tanks and armoured vehicles like T-55 tanks, BMP-1, OT-64, MT-LB, BRDM-2. They were even used on many soft-skin vehicles like Gaz 69 and UAZ 469''.
---------------
There is corruption in every country, the last US general election was the biggest scam of the 21st century. The west sees itself as being white and everything Russia does is bad. Typical anti-Russia phobia and ignorance.
Warsaw Pact "maintenance" actually degraded the condition of the equipment; soldiers drinking hydraulic fluid, e.g.
@@I_Have_The_Most_Japanese_Music Huh? You can't be serious. Do you honestly believe people are daft enough to drink hydraulic fluid? It's poisonous! Tall story! One thing I remember well from 20 years in the military, there was so much bullshit people actually believed most of it.
I think the issue with Russian maintenance today is that the vehicles which were supposed to be used until the 80s have been neglected and ignored for decades until now, because we still see those same vehicles doing fine in the service of NATO countries such as Poland
@@Slaktrax A single Google search gave me:
"Years ago I read an obviously ghost-written autobiography of a Soviet pilot who defected and flew a then-latest Mig from eastern USSR to Japan. The book discussed life in the Soviet Union. One of the things he discussed was grain alcohol. He said it was used as a coolant for electrical components in the the airplanes. I don't know how that would work. But he said the ground crews would steal the stockpiles of alcohol - imagine that - and that often the planes were grounded because there was no coolant available."
"Sounds like something [drinking brake fluid] a collegue of mine, Ret. Colonel Art Alphin, described tank crews under his command drinking, probably mixed according to needs/flavor. "
"'Jar a brake fluid, handful of raisins, set out in the sun for a few days to ferment. Filtered through some old stale bread, pretty good kick'...taken from the movie "The Beast". Great movie about Soviet tank crew in Afganistan separated from their column during their stint in the '80's."
"I've heard similar stories from some of my Russian friends. Vadim was a motor pool Sgt in Afghanistan back in the 80's. They hadn't gotten their vodka ration for a few weeks but heard if you strain brake fluid through black bread you could drink it. He spent nearly a month in the hospital...'damn near killed me!' he said. Making a long story short. He was out of the army 3 months later and lives in the US now. Alcohol was used as anti freeze in their vehicles and it was known to cause toxicity an blindness. They knew guys who would drink it but they never messed with that stuff. They would never have enough for their vehicles they said. Yuri, a BMP driver, said it was pretty wide spread."
"air brake systems use alcohol in winter time for drying air in pipes...my Father brought alcohol from his big public bus in 70-80es."
"Being assigned to the ground crew on a MiG-25 interceptor, for example, was a good gig. The supersonic fighter was nicknamed gastronom - delicatessen - because its nose-mounted radar and generator were cooled by more than 200 liters of water/methanol mix."
"Russian internet users still share the stories of unspeakable substances that alcoholics once consumed. 'They drank methylated spirits, eau de cologne, different lotions. As if that’s not enough, everyone became a chemistry master and they somehow managed to create spirits from car brake fluid, ‘BF’ glue, polish, tooth-powder, and so on,' Vladimir Bukovsky, a dissident who fled the USSR to the U.S., wrote in his memoirs To Build a Castle.
Technically, the job of getting alcohol from such substances was hard. For instance, those trying to extract it from brake fluid “froze it out.” In winter, they took a hollow metal pole, left it in the cold for a night, and then poured brake fluid through it - believing that all the additives would freeze to the rail with only spirits left. This wasn’t an exact science."
"True but they perfected the practice. In the invasion of Hungary, many tanks broke down because the Russians drank the fluid."
"
Who would of thought when this was made, this threat would disappear in Europe 7 years later. Then suddenly become very real 40 years later.
От советской армии сейчас 2% и вся российская техника это остатки российской .нового нет.
Its not really a threat anymore, its clear as day that russia's military, and politcal/military leadership would be completely destroyed. Their military is trash, their gear is trash, and their leadership are also trash, who make incredibly stupid decisions. NATO would be inside the Kremlin within a few weeks
Who would of thought they would be using the same tanks.
What threat? They can't defeat the ukrainians and will probably just get stomped by the Poles if they tried.
@@user-gk2vw6cz6dlol so please do explain why Ukraine has gone through 10 rounds of mobilisation whereas Russia has only done 1 and is still capturing territory
Reminds me of the Dad's Army episode where they are leaning how to destroy a German tank and Private Walker pipes up and asks "and what's the tank doing while we are doing all this...?😂
I don't know what's worse, being a Soviet vanguard commander sending untold amounts of men against a single wall or being a British rifleman told to glue yourself into place against those countless men hurtling toward your wall.
Это миф. В второй мировой войне РККА потеряла 12 миллионов а Вермахт 15 . Союзники убили только 20% Вермахта.
@@user-jr1wo9ot7e
If you live in Russia, incase you didn't know-
70% of russian military history told to russian citizens is a lie.
The only thing they want you to think is that Russia was great and is amazing. and won world war 2 themselves.
They tell you the west lies about history and is ungrateful.
Единственное, что они хотят, чтобы вы думали, что Россия была великой и удивительной. и сами выиграли 2 мировую войну.
Они говорят вам, что Запад лжет об истории и неблагодарен.
As a one time infantry soldier ,deployed to stop the soviet juggernaut back in the seventies and early eighties,we all knew if it ever came to a shooting war,we'd not last much more than 48hours....plenty of gallows humour 😂
@@martinblunden4689 48? Try 10. But them men must have had balls of steel.
@@martinblunden4689 Certainly a rough task. Your job was to hold on and slow them down as much as possible until REFORGER could kick in fully, right?
Surprisingly well done Video. They sure seem to have had a lot of Soviet Equipment available.
@Jockbigcox probably, yes.
@Jockbigcox It makes sense, because there's nothing too modern which was being used at the time such as T-72, BMP-2 or BTR-70
The Americans had unit that went around giving demos and a look around Soviet equipment, if I remember rightly they were called Red Star.
My platoon played 'enemy' for a sniper course in the late 80s. We were given Bulgarian AK47s and RPGs for weapon accuracy I.e for would be snipers to report on equipment we were carrying. I'm guessing a lot of this stuff came from Arab-Iraeli unpleasantness.
This is a Soviet made propaganda film smuggled to the West. Footage is most likely from the 70s.
Remember watching this as a young trooper in 4rtr and then as a cold war warrior from 1983 to 1991 taking part in many many exercises from driver through to commander to practice the actual mechanics of warding off the soviet threat. That's when BAOR was a force to be reckoned with.
Did it make you feel confident? Sounded pretty overwhelming to me.
@@humphrey4976 as confident as one could be, well trained, decent enough kit given the technology of the time and all aspects of the threat had been exercised to death either on Soltau training area or BATUS and regular gunnery camps at Hohne meant every crew member knew the part they played and battlegroup training meant all other arms worked well together as well. Everyone knew we were there to slow the soviet threat unless the big red button was pushed and then it was over no matter what. Cest la vie eh.
@@stuartc734 thanks for the insight. Glad it never happened.
@@stuartc734 as a concerned teenager I thought our main hope was that you guys would end up convincing those conscripts that it'd be a better idea to ditch their gear and go back home, seriously. I knew we were probably a superior force, but my worry was by how much...
@@rob5944 Rob, yup I think we all hoped that the Warsaw pact troops would turn tail and head for home, however they were probably more scared of their own commanders and political commisars etc than of us imoh.
I hope all the WARNO players out there are watching this. But seriously though, mad respect for the lads who would have had to face this Soviet Onslaught, if it ever came to it.
And for the lads in Ukraine who are stepping to do it for all the west
@@denarte6986 kind of Ironic in hindsight if you think about it, Ukrainians where a major part of the Soviet Union and would have been a part of some of the key breakthrough units if WW3 went hot in the 80s.
@@Historyfan476ADyea but that’s all in the past
@@ch-53esuperstallion76 True but I do enjoy the irony of it.
@@Historyfan476AD yea i suppose
The Brits Chieftain was such a cool looking tank. At least it was for an 11 year old(in 83) American kid. I still have the plastic model one I built as a kid on my bookshelf.
I was stationed in then West Germany from December 1988 to February 1991 US ARMY 1st Infantry Division 1st Battalion 16th Infantry Regiment Panzer Kaserene. Got there thinking they had Bradley's boy was I disappointed to see M-113's instead, but we transitioned to Bradley's mid 1989. Can't believe 42 years ago I was supposed to defend Lower West Germany from a Soviet attack. Thank goodness that never came to fruit. Good times though and would love to go back in time too those 2 years if could. Where did time go.
I ETSed in 87 from A 1/16 Inf.
@@robertanderson1272 I was in Bravo Company.
I met the USA Football (Soccer) world cup squad at Pisa in Italy in 1990. Then I watched them play the Czechs in Florence (Firenze). So, they were in uniform, I wasn't.
Great doc video! Tkanks for posting it!
The British were the best in this kind of military documentaries.
I was stationed in BAOR in the 70,s. The British army was mainly a delaying force to ensure the families and civies reached the coast and ferries to take them BACK to the UK. Your life was measured in hours and days so although this vid shows us holding the enemy up and we had a very well trained and equipped army then l, other tactics would have been Used to stop them. Natural geography stood as the best defence for instance the river Weser which they needed to cross, that’s where main battles would have been fought before allowing the soviet forces en masse to filter into natural passes between hills and mountains. That’s when the main butchering would have been done but they had far superior numbers of tanks and Infantry available so eventually their armies would get through but very heavily depleted just through sheer weight of numbers. But one point it doesn’t show is which tank/bmp you would single out for the first and most legal targeting. That was the political commissar one which flew a certain standard. There are or where approx 20 different ruskie dialects so in the height of battle only one voice could speak to them all to be certain to be understood.. so take him out first and the ruskie tank battalion would hopefully fall into chaos without any clear orders they all understood. We had faith in our eqpt, not our Officers who where mostly hooray Henry’s but we knew that in a these sorts of battles it was every man for himself as we knew we would be in a very target rich environment lol… You where very aware of the threats etc but you couldn’t let it stop you living your life and West Germany was a great posting then.. just don’t attack on a Friday night.. most of us where out chasing girls and getting drunk lol
There are not 20 different "Russian dialects." By 1970 in the Red Army it would be unusual for someone to even understand a nonstandard Russian dialect, let alone speak it exclusively in preference to Moscow speech. There were a relatively few large ethno-national groups in the USSR where penetration rate of Russian language was low, such as the Uzbeks, but they were not mixed in willy-nilly with Russian speakers.
Politruks were mostly just supernumeraries. If we're being completely honest about it, the source of these weird mistaken ideas about "Russians" with their "dialects" who would fall into racialized chaos and be easily handled as soon as the thin veneer of commisardom was removed is pretty straightforwardly just Naziism. Like I am not one of these hysterical pro-Russians who says NATO is all Nazis, but the historical fact is the Western Cold War-era understanding of how to fight the Red Army was overly and unfortunately influenced by a lot of Nazi nonsense.
@@tiivc That’s what we where told and what we would have done.. it wouldn’t have mattered really anyway because we would have taken out every Russian tank on the battlefield but been overrun through sheer weight of numbers
The “national minority” cliques undoubtedly were a thing in the soviet army, as well as non-russian-speaking conscripts. However, they were sent to very rear echelon forces such as construction troops (строительные войска), and were unlikely to be spearheading an invasion.
Thus said, priority targeting of any combat vehicle with banners or extra antennas was absolutely justified - knocking out enemy command and communication vehicles is quite helpful to sowing chaos and enhancing uncertainty.
@@davidcorbett62 My old man was in the BAOR during the 70s too and told me the same growing up, Russians spoke so many dialects they'd have to use whistles to communicate etc. Total guff as we know now of course but an amusing thought
‘All Officers are Hooray Henry’s’. YAWN. Same old crap.
Absolutely brilliant and very informative and educational. To see the actual battle tactics of the cold war period, very interesting.
Yea, NATO tactic during cold war was to stop Soviet advance in its tracks with light foxholes on the very first line!.... Oh wait, it wasn't! The actual plan wasn't to stop, but to slow and the advance until US collects its power for a counter strike. But of course that's not what British soldier needs to know. British soldier must know that he's immortal, his equipment is indestructible and it's the enemy who was told lies.
There is another one showing a British combat team, Chieftain and FV432 doing an attack. I've searched for years to try and find it again, only ever saw it on vhs tape. Certainly high quality training aids
I'm no expert but was quite impressed.
I'm sure I've seen that on here.
th-cam.com/video/b9zSIyt-JDg/w-d-xo.html
This one? th-cam.com/video/3zo5f6l-ZP4/w-d-xo.html (Part 1); th-cam.com/video/pDAQV4fMaUk/w-d-xo.html (Part 2)
@@phippsdl Thats it, Thank you so much. That brings back my instructing days
Superb film it was shown for the first time to me that year!!✊️💥
Ah yes. I remember it well. Your skills honed to perfection - and your life measured in hours from first contact. And ex-regular, I trained and trained with 2 Yorks (the 'old ones') as a section commander. Hard work.
Which company?
@@grahamprice3230 D (Green Howards) Coy based in Scarborough with Whitby & Filey Detachments. I was with Whitby at the time.
Remember you .I was CSM and later RQMS Coulby Newham Middlesbrough .Milan platoon etc etc.
We were taught most Soviet attacks would start with a massive chemical attack then several simaltaneous armoured thrusts, not a pleasant thought!
Brings back a lot of memories of being part of BAOR during the 80's (Royal Engineers 81-87). We were all under the impression that we would get overwhelmed within 24 hours, the current situation shows that the Russians can be stopped, but back then it was the USSR... would it have been any better? Who knows, but I am pleased that Ukraine and NATO are showing that the war machine we feared in the 80's are stoppable and can be beaten. I'd like to think that if they had tried we would have fought them just as hard, and as well (if not better), than the Ukranians are doing today. I do remember being shown this film in 83 while I was at Dusseldorf. There are quite a few similar British Army films that were made during this time, would love it if you were able to find them and put them on your channel.
USSR is a whole different beast from Modern Russia. They actually had a budget to fund their huge war machine, they had the drive to fight.
Hurrah for the CRE!
RE. 1976 - 1991.
Men who are comfortable with the fanatical suicidal assault stuff are rare and the soviets would have run out of these men relatively quick.
But the Soviets would have done better, Ukraine has real time digital communication and cheap drones. It wouldn't surprise me if Ukraine (with the West) has a real time database to keep track of every individual in the Russian army. Combined with long range precision ammunition.. in the 80's the Soviets would have been able to keep more things secret.
I think it's comparable. I'm of the opinion now that they would have been blunted and stopped in Germany. Ukraine has shown us that Russia's reputation was mostly propaganda.
@@garethoneill5676 That is a jump through too many hoops.
The Soviets had more numbers, more funding and fighting a NATO not too much more advanced than themselves (in fact in the 80s NATO in some areas where behind, like AA systems).
Russia is not even a third of the power of the old USSR. Soviets were lethal and capable, and don't forget Ukraine was also in the USSR too.
Dad was in BAOR Berlin garrison and were stationed with him. Soviets and DDR were always practicing invading. I thank NATO and US for deterring the brutal military dictatorship from invading
Thank the Nukes.
How does an Army practice invading in a city? The west was more worked up about it than the Commies were. Non-stop exercises to deployment areas, border patrols etc. During the eight years served in Germany we never saw a Soviet patrol of the IGB nor any sign of exercises near it.
This British army looks better kitted out than today’s
🤣🤣🤣
And larger
What I like about NATO is how it sounds like a Scotsman telling his doctor where the pain in his foot is.
I want part 2!
Freaking cool
I’m super impressed at the dedication to vehicle and weapon accuracy. Granted I shouldn’t be super surprised since it was made to show how to actually accurately counter the threats and not just represent them. I also remember seeing some of the footage used in 1998’s WWIII fictional documentary which I thought was cool to see where some of that stock footage came from
This is when we had a military to be proud off ! 900 battle tanks, a large navy and air force !! What have we got now !! The boy scouts !!
The Royal Navy had over 70 escort ships, 3 carriers, numerous minesweepers and patrol ships, and nearly 30 submarines in 1990
We now have 10 submarines, 2 carriers,and 19 escort ships. God help us.
Got loads more high tech stuff and so have our allies. Far better than then and far better than the enemy. But yes, the forces could do with a lot more, vote for a party that won't cut the military if that is what you want.
don't forget the transbender non binary, use my pronoun.....and hold the battle untill our muslim soldier goes into an open field to pray...crap wtf has the uk got to worry about. putin must have guts ache from all the laughin at us....
Well you’re not funded by a quarter of all the stolen wealth in history any more. You’re just an island off the edge of Europe.
The 1st Battalion Queenie Scouts,
and
the Royal Elephantine Guards.
The first
want pronouns properly sorted
before taking the slightest action.
The second
are so fat,
they can barely waddle.
Today's army!
/
“Although overhead cover will prevent any casualties” 😅
Yeah I thought that was a bit overly optimistic.
The West on defense? At the meanwhile in our Warsaw Pact countries, propaganda repeatedly stated that NATO is an agressor organization, that is why we needed lots of tanks, fighter jets and conscripts serving 2 years of mandatory military service to defend ourselves - apparently with an attack. Where did I see this logic recently?
NATO was not set up to invade the Warsaw Pact. All the planning was for a Soviet invasion.
Well... just look at the military Doctine, and you will get your answer. The Soviet Union didn't wanted to fight another war within their territory, so they wanted to attack first. Nearly everything within Soviet arms design is build for attacking, defensive operations are not an option.
Just for one example, tanks: NATO tanks are tall, so they can be parked in a hull down position with sufficient gun depression to fight. And and they are fast, even in reverse. They pop smoke close to them, to cover a withdraw to an alternative position, or perform a berm-drill. None of it can be done sufficiently with a Soviet Tank, they are build to attack fast and forward, with a very low signature to have a low profile when attacking and to be hard to hit, because you can't hide behind an obstacle, while you're attacking a position. They pop smoke very far to the front, to blind the defenders, not to cover their own vehicle. They have almost no gun depression, because they are supposed to have the low silhouette for the attack. And Soviet tanks are ridiculously slow in driving reverse, because they are not to perform a berm drill and reverse to an alternative position, but to attack forward only.
BAOR’s job was to fight a delaying action until the apocalypse happened
My grandfather was a civil servant (an accountant, really). His job, eventually, was to audit the accounts of the entire BAOR. He was given by the government of whenever it was (late 50s I guess) the acting rank of a full Colonel so that he could - I suppose - open pretty much any file he needed to see. When I was a young lad of 11 or 12, some years after he had retired, he told me some stories about his adventures. Some of the stories he told me about some of the nefarious activities he uncovered belong in a book - or a movie! Mostly it was petty pilfering and the usual low-level corruption, but he also discovered (I think in the 1960s, so probably Centurion!) tanks (not a tank, but tanks) were vanishing into thin air. They existed on the books, but, upon his inspection, "no longer in what one could call 'physical reality'" (his words). What happened to those tanks is a mystery to this day. He never found out where they went, or how they could possibly have fallen off the back of a tank transporter. But "clerical error" rather "tanks stolen and sold to hostile nations" sounded much better in the report, according to essentially everyone, so that's what he wrote. I remember that he just sucked on his pipe and laughed about the lunacy, which seemed to appeal to his wonderful sense of humour.
He died not that long after, in 1982. I still miss him; I just wish there'd been more time. And still wonder what the hell happened to those tanks.
Probably went to Israel or South Africa as an off the books (literally) arms export and I wouldn’t be surprised if it was the Foreign Office’s doing.
If I have heard "The Fulda Gap" once I have heard it a million times.
Going out a few times a year to plant sand filled cardboard Bar Mines in a farmers field...
This film assumes the soviets to be a worthy foe who've drilled and trained for this moment and should be underestimated or taken likely. It's the perfect training film.
*"Though the minefield takes it's toll, the Soviet tanks continue to press forward. The attack is finally stopped by a barrage of tins of cheese 'possessed' and packets of biscuits brown- for the use of. This distracts the Soviet peasant infantry, who debus from their BMP's and BTR 60's- in order to enjoy a tasty feast. This proves disastrous for the Sov's, as the 'sneaky' Brits brass the infantry up with concentrated GPMG SF fire, shattering the momentum of the attack and breaking the will of the enemy to press home the attack. Ivan is sent packing and the Brits crack a celebratory brew on!"*
This is the most British thing I have ever heard
@@matthewjones39"biscuits, brown" were truly lethal. God knows what they put in them!
Oh God - the labels on stuff...
Trousers, waterproof, water, for the protection from.
Spade, 1x, handle, wooden, for the operation of.
Biscuits, brown, teeth, shattering, job security, dentists, for the purpose of.
It was a thrilled & interested military enlightening documentary coverage of suspected and supposed British encouragement against the USSR attack in the western Republic of Germany 🇩🇪 ....during cold War....thank you (Mike Guardia) channel for sharing
Quality battle action.... superb video
It's a fascinating look at what was expected of British troops in BAOR. Not something you can get from a book or even a history lesson, even supposing you could find someone teaching such recent events.
This is much better than any Hollywood war movie
Holy crap this was awesome.
Training videos always know exactly what enemy will do and everything on own side will function perfectly...
Cor, setting up the 105mm guns in AT mode were a ballache and not very effective, good idea on paper but unless its a fine day with no rain for weeks then maybe it would work but most times the spade would sink putting the gun on the piss and the gun captains blowing a bollock at the crew :( Remember the hit and a miss Carl Gustav stovepipes, yep abs brilliant bit of kit... only thing is unless you have a lorry load of 'em they were very much a one shot and if you scored a glancer or a miss you have the full attention of armour aiming at you. SLR rifle grenades were also a bit of a hit and a miss, get one off into a bunch of enemy and mangled bits is what you got but often the grenade would fall short or overshoot advertising to everyone "here I am" and again all enemy eyes focused on your position.
Thank you for your service, every day is poppy day
I like near the beginning how the tank and the APC just casually and effortlessly run over several chunks of split firewood that would completely destroy the axles, tires and suspension on my little corolla.
I was stationed in West Germany , 1987-1999 D. Co. 336 Inf. later to become Delta Squadron 5/5 Cav. Third Armored Div.
Brings back memories of the Cold War era...
Two thoughts:
1: Hard to fathom russia's "MEAT ...Forwaaaard!" doctrine/ weapons never improved
2: Damn, Britian just fired off today's whole arsenal worth during this training vid
Не было такой доктрины это миф. Но Путин этот миф показывает
@@user-jr1wo9ot7e I meant their horrible policy of not caring about their own soldiers lives and threatening them to move forward.
Just like Ukrainian commander who forced his troop jumped into Russian minefield in Zaporozhye.
Yeah pretty much all ex soviet countries who are not in nato @@mrmakhno3030
A few classic soft skinned vehicles at the start, obvious LR series 3, but a brief glimpse of a LR 101 fwd control with V8 engine behind the tank, and also a Bedford RL sneaking along the other side of the fence.
The Russian forces of today cannot be compared to the Soviet forces of 1983.
Well yeah because the Soviets where conscripts and the modern Russian army is a highly technological trained army still with high numbers .
@@joshuarooney8614 I'm .... 95% sure that was sarcasm. But that last 5% ....
The people of 1800 would be in awe of Russia's technological marvels.
@@joshuarooney8614 As proved in Ukraine. 🤣
Their tactics haven't changed much
19:04 Gets to the dug-out: 'Hiya I'd like to defect please!'
This is fascinating.
No Russians were hurt making this Film
That was really good!
These films are so well done, puts Hollywood to shame
The irony is that the Soviets did consider assaulting the West in 1983, because they were convinced NATO intended to attack them!
The West was blissfully unaware at the time.
The Soviets suspected NATO would use their scheduled training exercises as a cover for the launch of an offensive.
The next year, Nena's hit song, 99 Red Balloons would reach the Top 10 Hit Parades around the world.
I was 15 at the time.
Same year as Threads, Project RYan and Able Archer 83. Scary year.
4:56 OMEGALOL that "All clear, go ahead" is so freaking funny i can't xDD
Good thing those Chieftans have working engines
Did that wire a few times..in tne 70s..I was Recce platoon..
I remember the one about comms security.
Where the Soviets new everything we were doing.
Watched that as part of my gunner sigs training.
Where were these BTRs sourced from?
Fascinating detail on 1980s BAOR forces and what they faced. Obvs quite different now . K
( .....and THEN ! The Ukrainians rewrite armoured combat rulebook 😁 )
Odd how the Russians haven't changed deployment tactics in Ukraine from Soviet times and they've paid dearly for that.
They only moved in Columns around Kyiv as thats the only thing you can really do. That city is perfectly situated in the middle of a swamp. Only the roads could be used unlike in Kherson, and Donbass with vast rolling hills and Russia was able to quickly reach the major cities with massive tank formations.
@@pilotman9819 Yeah but they are still using the same vehicle tactics, I saw 1 tank and 3 IFV/APC in several probes they conducted in the South East where the Ukranians laid minefields which is identical to the point of the arrow on this video from the cold war, ofc they've lost tons of equipment this way.
@@dc-4ever201 There was a great article - sadly, don't have the link - of US officer who worked with both Russian and Ukrainian officers a few years back. The Ukrainian were absolutely dead keen on modernising and learning modern, flexible tactics. The Russian straight up ignored everything and spent all their time in PX buying goods to send back home.
@@dc-4ever201it seems like Ukraine never changed old American tactic and they've paid dearly for that in their summer offensive lol. Bye bye expensive Leopard and Bradley, destroyed by: 40 years old Soviet mines and 30 years old Russian ATGM
@@hoilstsure modern and flexible tactic did a lot in Bakhmut,Mariupol,Melitopol and of course, Zaporozhye.
Very flexible tactic for Leopard huh?
Interestingly enough, this video is very relevant to the current war in Ukraine and a potential future NATO-Russia war, as all Russian and most Ukrainian officers either started their careers in the Soviet Union or were taught by former Soviet officers in cadet school, thus almost this exact way of conducting an attack is the basis of their craft.
Massed armoured attacks with aerial support seems to be a challenge for both sides, the latest Ukrainian offensive appears to be backing up the original experience of the Russians. Almost as if we are back to a first world war scenario where tactics have not kept pace with the technological advances made (WW I machine guns, rapid fire artillery = Ukraine ATGM's, SAMS etc).
2:00 One of the very few modern tanks that has a rifled barrel. Everyone else uses a smooth bore cannon.
WOW, another gem from the back of my mind
Like most of you watching this i remember watching this as a sprog
Christ i wonder how much effort is needed to build those overhead protection dugouts. All that backbreaking work , to then survive a combined arms attack !
What is the name of the abandoned town in the video
I was stationed in West Germany I remmeber watching this..
Any idea who played the "Soviet" forces for the video? Mostly I'm curious how they got all that hardware during the height of the Cold War.......
could have been captured stuff bought from Israel perhaps? I can't explain the uniform and arms though. Maybe seized shipments heading to Africa.
Liverpool markets mate.... can buy anything there, no questions asked!
They were still teaching this crap on 2001 when I was on my crew commanders course in Warminster....😂
@@johnhughes8016 Did you enjoy Warminster? It's a ghost town now.
South Africa Israel Vietnam etc plenty about
@@reubendobbs8011 Yeah of course, once you all mentioned it it made perfect sense. Thanks.
Its strange seeing the SSVC logo after so long.
18:43 "Under current Soviet military doctrine, that's all he needs to know"
Well it's been proven now that they never improved upon this
no even need to improve anything to smash weaklings.
@@kirilld6206 they should clearly change it then
@@kirilld6206 2nd best army in the world (?) to the second best army in Ukraine.....................
@@justwhenyouthought6119 english-speaking countries shouldn't be speaking of war. They are just simple traders and pirates.
@@justwhenyouthought6119the best army in Ukraine are kinda busy with their failed summer offensive.
As a former Dutch Army Soldier how was based also in Germany, this is a realistic scenario of the things we had to expect from the enemy,.
I bet most of these Russian tanks stationed on the boarders during the cold war are no longer in one piece.
A lot of the ones that are in pieces probably didn't even see a fight honestly. Rotting away in a warehouse or field getting cannibalized for spares or pawned.
I suppose a weapon system rotting away unused in a warehouse is almost optimistically poetic. It's a shame some of them have actually been used.
That is until you have a 64 gun tracking you..
simply fascinating, 40 years later how much has changed with N Laws and Javelins and copious amounts of drones!!!
Lancet and TOS 1A have some nice replies to you
You kids get to dust this off, now...
Us old guys can still brief you by heart.
8:34 he says "the demolitions are blown". Not mentioning that it is, in many locations, a frugging underground nuke!
I can't get enough of these cold war videos
brings back memories...jt
If only the British of the day could have seen how impoverished the average east bloc comrade was. There was never going to be a war. They were too feeble.
There should be a 2023 addenda to this reflecting Russian tactic after first contact to redeploy the army as a single column stretching back miles to its own national borders… and stopping to save gas.
We gratefully acknowledge the co-operation of the Red Army in the making of this film.
Little did we know how much we over estimated thier quality.
Oh no, the Soviets where the real deal, Modern Russia is just a shadow of that power.
The USSR and Warsaw Pact was a very different beast.
@@Historyfan476AD the Russians inherited the whole rotten soviet system. Do you really think the satellite states of Poland, Ukraine, Romania etc. which contribute the bulk of the soviet forces would've gladly fought on behalf of the communist party members? I don't think so. Plus the corruption we see now that lets electrical wiring get sold off from airplanes and tanks is that which the soviets employed too. There was a brief gap after 1945 when they were the real deal, but the soviet 'beast' is a myth.
No mention of Britain's 'Top Secret' battle winning wpn. *TEA.* A few belts of well aimed NATO 7.62mm link delivered by a GPMG, and a couple of hot brews, and the Sov's would have been toast! :)
There you have it..
1st bn The Duke of Edinburgh's Royal Regiment at the front again, just like they are at the beginning of this training film..
Couldnt get my head round a regiment from Gloucester being called Edinburgh when i first joined. Sadly merged a few years after.
what the drum march called
Mistrust on all sides sad but most of the people in countries never wanted this.
Ah, the Sid Sausage Video Club, fond memories !
Was stationed in west Germany 1982 as danish support for the British 7 armored brigade , we were real soldiers 🤗
I was out in Germany in them years, and our battalion was written off because being infantry we would have been the first ones in, and thankfully it didn't happen although we had a couple of close calls.
Like a live action version of Red Storm Rising 😃
Does anyone where they sourced the Soviet gear from?
A lot of Russian eqpt was captured by the Israeli army and handed over to NATO. I was guard commander of 3 Russian tanks for a few days.. not to guard against the Russians trying to take them back but the countless Mojo,s who worked cleaning the camp etc who at least 50% where ruskie spies. It was thought they would try and destroy them. Like now the tanks where if low quality
I like the T'Cheftainsky at 15:37
Fascinating
"You're seeing almost all of his military knowledge now."
:derp charge:
NATO actually believed they could check a soviet thrust in2 west Germany?
They probably could've judging Russia's performance in there current conflict in Ukraine 😮
the doctrine hasnt really changed, and it shows
Давайте жить мирно, на зло правящим элитам, привет из России!
What I really wonder about this video is, how the Brits got their hands on the heavy Soviet Equipment in 1983. Multiple BTR-60, T-62 and BMPs, how did they do this? Even Rambo III from 1988 used pathetic mock ups. But those vehicles here are genuine.
Probably vehicles Isreal captured.
Probably from the Isralies.
@@BroadHobbyProjects Uh.. that might have been possible.
I wonder what the training videos by the opposition were like?