Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!att!cbnews!military
From: dee@linus.MITRE.ORG (David E. Emery)
Newsgroups: sci.military
Subject: re: Request info on force ratios in European theater
Message-ID: <6735@cbnews.ATT.COM>
Date: 20 May 89 03:17:05 GMT
Sender: military@cbnews.ATT.COM
Lines: 26
Approved: military@att.att.com



From: dee@linus.MITRE.ORG (David E. Emery)
This is a real bag of worms!  For instance, do you count the
following: (Artillery, because that's what I know best)
	NATO:	U.S. III Corps and other POMCUS Active Army units
		Reserve and National Guard Artillery Brigades
		Reserve and National Guard Divisions
		German Territorial Units (They DO have some artillery)
	WP:	East German, Polish, Czech, etc
		Soviet Units not in GSFG, but potentially depolyable
		   in the same amount of time as U.S. reinforcements

Next, you need to come up with some way of comparing apples to
oranges.  For instance, how do you count 1 MLRS launcher?  In 'single
volley' firepower, it equates to about a battalion (rough guess, not
GMET figures) of 155 Howitzers.  However, we can fire 155's all day
long compared to MLRS.  

Finally, the limiting factor for Artillery is not tubes, but bullets.
I strongly believe that we'll run out of bullets by Day 23 if we shoot
everything we see.  Ammo reinforcement is THE key issue in artillery
deployment in a High-Intensity conflict.

			dave 
			emery@mitre.org