On the topic of enemy uniform identification, we can't be speaking out of both sides of our mouth. So if for no other reason than that not throwing stones in glass houses alone - we NEED to get a grip on the bad guy uniforms and accoutrements so we can read them as well as they should be able to read ours.

In addition - much like we know there is value to the enemy in being able to identify us as Canadians or to pick out the Section Commander on account of the rank sewn onto his arms for example - there is just as much value for us to glean from our WARPAC counterparts.

To that end, I think it behoves all of us to take some time and familiarize ourselves with the uniforms and equipment of the East German Border Troops, East German Motorized Infantry and Soviet Motorized Infantry.

East Germany (German Democratic Republic / Deutsche Democratic Republik / DDR)

First of all, it's worth noting that both the Grenztruppen and the Mot. Shutzen are part of the East German Army (Nationale Volksarmee / "NVA") as a whole. However - they are separate entities, much the same as the Russian Border Guards are separate from the Russian Ground Forces (Infantry/Armour/Engineers etc.).

They both wear essentially the same uniform with some minor differences but I'll start with the commonalities:

First of all - ranks. To give you all an idea how East German Ranks Work, I've put together a chart below which shows all of them for non-commissioned ranks (which is the most likely kind we're apt to see on the field) but I've included some of the Officer Ranks to help you distinguish them in the off chance any of you come across a high mucky muck in your travels.

East German ranks are worn on shoulder boards, which as you can see below are fairly distinctive. In reality, the piping (the border on the outside edges) on their shoulder boards did denote which branch they were in, similar to WWII German shoulder boards.

East German Ranks:

For our purposes, you will normally see subdued ranks worn in the field (below) as opposed to the more brightly coloured ranks (above) worn in garrison.

Subdued Ranks (for use in the field):

Next is the overall field uniform of the NVA. The NVA use a unique camouflage pattern called "Strichtarn" also known as the "rain drop pattern".

As you can see, the uniform is generally a khaki type colour. Given the terrain in our area of operations, which is comprised of a lot of rocks, fallen leaves and barren trees - this primarily brownish coloured pattern is particularly effective.

Most East German field gear is either in this same camouflage pattern (ex. canteen covers, field packs) however, some items use a sturdy rubberized canvas that has a distinctive sheen to it. Likewise, their web-gear is made of a dull grey web material.

Here are a few relatively generic views of the East German Field Uniform (though a soldier wearing this much kit would likely be a Motorized Infantryman as opposed to a Border Guard)

The "Grenzers" (Grenztruppen Der DDR) - Border Troops of the German Democratic Republic

The uniforms that the East German Border Troops wear is very similar to that of the German Motorized Infantry (Mot. Shutzen).

Grenztruppen: Mot. Shutzen:

To that end, what you're looking for - are uniform pieces or equipment that betray the fact you're looking at a "Grenzer".

First of all, one of the more prominent Grenztruppen uniform quirks is that their uniforms and vehicle markings often incorporate a deep green colour. Specifically, on vehicles - the East German roundel will have that green trimming on the outside of the roundel:

If the Grenzers are wearing Forage Caps (which may be rare) - then that tell tale green band will go right around their cap forming it's prominent background:

It's worth mentioning that the appointment of "Postenfuhrer" or "Post Leader" within the small 2-4 man patrols can be identified by the green band worn on their shoulder boards such as in the example below. Apart from being able to dicern the Post Leader, the important take away here - is that if you're pressed for time and need to shake down the bad guys for intel, then the guys with green bands on their shoulder boards are the ones in charge of their patrol and are more likely to have something juicy on them.

Example of the green band worn on a "PostenFuhrer"'s shoulder boards:

The Grenzers will also tend to carry prominent binoculars and cameras which as equipment which may help identify them.

Keep in mind, that the role of the Grenztruppen is to patrol the border. While in the context of East Wind, this would be to primarily keep us nasty NATO folk from filtering into their backyard - in reality it was to primarily prevent anyone from East Germany escaping the German Democratic Republic.

Nevertheless, the Grenztruppen are lightly armed to suit their role. In a tactical sense apart from their border patrol duties, they might be most closely be likened to reconnaissance troops.

On the border, the Grenztruppen will likely be wearing their wedge caps (referred to as "overseas caps"):

However, if it's colder out or at night, they may be wearing their fur hats (the East German version of the better known Russian "Ushanka"):

It's also worth mentioning, that other than in time of war - the Grenztruppen did not typically wear the distinctive East German helmet. However, this alone can't always be counted on as a tell tale indicator.

By virtue of their job (patrolling the East German Side of the East German / West German border) - the Grenztruppen are typically arranged in 2-4 man teams. Sufficed to say, the number of troops you see - even if they are too far away to make out more subtle uniform differences, may help in determining who you are up against or observing.

So too, is how they are armed.

MPI-KM-72:

MPI-KMS-72:

Ultimately, the Grenztruppen as border guards - were equipped for their daily patrols, not to go to war. My point being, that the amount of equipment and how they are armed may be one of the easiest ways to tell whether you're looking at border guards or motorized infantry.

Small Arms:Just like the rest of the Nationale VolsArmee, The Grenztruppen typically carry the standard service rifle which is the East German version of the Russian 7.62mm AKM and AKMS respectively. The East German designations for these rifles are the Mpi-KM-72 (fixed stock AKM) and Mpi-KMS-72 (the wire/folding stock AKMS) as shown below:

The Mot. Shutzen (Motorisierte Schuetzen) Motorized Infantry of the East German "Nationale Volksarmee" (NVA)

As mentioned above, the Grentruppen had that dark green banding around some of their markings and uniform accoutrements. You'll notice that the plain jane Easy German Army - known as the "Nationale Volksarmee" or "NVA", have no such dark green banding.

This distinction is important, especially with respect to vehicles that have any troop carrying capacity - as it can tell us whether the troops we're looking at are border troops (again in teams of 2-4) or whether they're NVA / Mot. Shutzen - in which case there's likely an entire section of them kicking around, even if we can't see them.

Of most prominence, would be markings on vehicles. If you look at the Grenztruppen roundel above, you'll notice the regular NVA roundel below doesn't have that dark green banding/outline around it:

In terms of the Mot. Shutzen's uniforms and equipment, this picture below serves as a good example.

First, in this picture you can note the distinctive NVA roundel on the BMP 2, but in looking at the troops in the picture you can also see some are carrying kit on their backs and they have a LMG-K (East German RPK) with them. The overall point to take away from this - is that these lads are equipped for operations lasting for more than a few hours and they're more heavily armed than their Border Guard Kameraden.

East German LMG-K (East German version of the Russian 7.62mm RPK)

East German RPG-7

Ultimately, when you're looking at East German troops you're not likely doing so at close range. As such, apart from the more subtle details (such as deep green bits to identify them as Grenztruppen vs Mot. Shutzen) you'll need to be mindful of what they are doing and what they are carrying with them and how many of them there are.

SMALL ARMSApart from the Mpi KM-72 and Mpi KMS-72 as the standard service rifle used throughout the National VolksArmee as a whole – the Mot Shutzen also employed Section weapons as well.

Union of Soviet Socialist Republics

Ultimately the Soviet Red Army employs several different types of uniforms. With an Army as large as theirs, phasing one uniform out for another has never been a clean cut transition. As such, during the time frame that OP East Wind takes place, it's conceivable that a number of different uniforms would have been in service.

Generally speaking, the Motorized Infantry (the Motorized Rifle Regiments) were the backbone of the Red Army's manpower. To that end, the uniforms I will cover will be ones relevant to the Soviet Motorized Infantry.

Soviet Motostrelki

(Soviet Motorized Rifle Troops) of the Soviet Red Army / Group of Soviet Forces Germany (GSFG)

Soviet Soldiers stationed in the German Democratic Republic, would normally be part of the "Group of Soviet Forces Germany" (GSFG) and would have had the corresponding insignia on their vehicles denoting as much, similar to the East German Roundel.

In time of war though, it's also possible that Soviet Army elements not part of the existing GSFG would have been brought forward into the German Democratic Republic. Needless to say, care must be taken in identifying enemy vehicles and distinguishing what they are, who they belong to and who is operating them.

As for Motorized Infantry as a whole, one might glean from their name that they are "motorized" by virtue of the Infantry fighting vehicles they are assigned to. This meant that they were allocated to BMP and BTR armoured fighting vehicles respectively just the same as many of NATO's mechanized Infantry were paired with M2 Bradleys, M113s, Bisons, Marders etc.

Being organic to an armoured fighting vehicle meant that these troops typically didn't need to carry all of their kit on their person. Ultimately, they carried what they needed most immediately in order to fight and left the bulkier and heavier pieces of their kit (such as sleeping gear for example) with their vehicles.

However, this wouldn't preclude the Soviet Motor Rifleman from operating away from their vehicles and effectively functioning in a light infantry role. The Soviet Motor Rifleman only needed to throw on a rucksack (veshmeshok) and add a few additional items to his soldier's belt - such as an entrenching tool and mess tin. This would have been in addition to the grenade pouch, water canteen, magazine pouch and bayonet he was already carrying.

This would have given the Soviet Motor Rifleman the ability to sustain himself away from his BMP or BTR and unto its self, may help betray what what he is up to.

With respect to Soviet Ranks (when worn), I would say they are similar to the East German Ranks, but it would probably be more correct to say the East German ranks are more modeled after the Soviet Ones. The Soviet ranks are also worn on shoulder boards.

The chart below shows you the Soviet Rank system, again with only a few Officer ranks shown for comparison:

Subdued Ranks (for use in the field)

A couple of things worth noting; Despite the presence of "Sergeant" Ranks, there are no NCO's in the Soviet Army in the same context that there are in Western Armies. "Sergeants" in the Soviet army, are typically senior enlisted men.

In addition, the ranks illustrated above in bright colours would not be the ones seen in typical use in the field. Just like western armies, the Soviets wear subdued version of their ranks in the field.

Compared to western Armies, the Soviet Lieutenants typically take on the duties and responsibilities that Sergeants would be responsible for in most western armies.

In terms of field uniforms, the Soviet Motor Rifleman from this period (late 1980's to early 1990's) could have worn any of the following uniforms / camouflage coveralls:

M69 Hebe

This uniform is the oldest one still in service and dates back to the 60's. It's designed to be worn with the Russian jackboots and the hat worn with this uniform is the Russian wedge cap, known as the "pilotka". It's unlikely you'll see this uniform as it is being replaced with the newer M88 cut uniforms in Khaki/Brown, Butane/Three Colour Camouflage (TTsKo) and in the new Dubok/Schofield (VSR) camouflage pattern (more on those shortly).

M88 "Afghanka”

This was the original M88 cut uniforms brought into service in the Red Army and would have been one of the more predominant uniforms of the time. It saw extensive service in Afghanistan and by the late 80's while the pattern (or "cut") was kept, the original solid khaki/brown colour was slowly being phased out in favour of newer camouflaged variants of the same uniform. All of the M88 series uniforms had their own matching field cap known as the "Kepi".

It's also worth noting that there is a winterized version of the same uniform, which uses the same cut - but incorporates removable liners for insulation, as well as faux fur collars for warmth. The faux fur, is a distinctive bluish grey colour which matches that of the infamous Russian "Ushanka" fur hat also pictured below.

M88 Butane/Three Colour Camouflage (TTskO)

Was the first series of camouflage uniforms in the M88 cut. This camouflage pattern used largely varring shades of browns.

M88 Dubok/Schofield (better known as "VSR“)

This camouflage pattern is the newest pattern to enter Soviet Service. Again, it retains the original M88 cut but now incorporates a pattern of vertical splotches which help make it fairly distinctive.

Here is an example of the cap ("Kepi") which goes with the M88 series uniforms:

However, another field hat known as the "Panama Hat" was also worn with the uniform:

The Soviet Army also employs disposable camouflage coverings for their standard uniforms. The most prominent of which, is the jumpsuit known by the designation "KLMK". This jumpsuit is reversible, the "brighter" side being a green back ground with random white/grey splotches known as the "Sun Bunnies" pattern which is surprisingly very effective.

The KLMK comes with a partial face mask in the same camouflage pattern. Likewise, helmet covers in the same pattern are available as well.

The next disposable camouflage covering is known as "KZS" and comes in tops and bottoms. The material is extremely porous, similar to burlap. It's not uncommon to see the top along worn by its self over top the soldiers standard uniform. This pattern uses a slightly darker shade of green than the KLMK for it's background, and it uses similarly shaped splotches which are more of a yellowy/gold colour as opposed to the KLMK's white/grey.

It's worth noting that the corresponding hoods on both the KLMK and the KZS are large enough to be worn over top the soldiers helmet while he's wearing it.

For load bearing equipment, the Soviet Soldier has an antiquated, but effective rubberized canvas web-gear system which looks like leather. The belt can be used with or without the corresponding suspenders. On the belt, the Soviet Motor Rifleman usually carries his grenade pouch, water bottle, entrenching tool (known as a "Saperka"), a magazine pouch and the soldiers bayonet for his service rifle.

Soviet harness / web-belt and pouches:

The Soviet Motor Rifleman is also well equipped with body armour (known as the "6b3") which apart from giving the soldier some measure of protection from fragments and small arms fire - also acts as a load bearing system. The 6b3 has four Velcro enclosed magazine pouches and four grenade pouches built into the vest in addition to a cargo pouch on the front and a larger cargo pouch and or ballistic plate/cargo pouch on the back.

It's worth noting that the soldier's belt from his webbing system, is designed to be fitted underneath the front magazine and rear grenade pouches, allowing the soldier to easily and more accessibly carry his water, saperka and additional magazines.

6b3 Body Armour:

Small ArmsWith respect to weaponry - the Soviet Motor Rifles are well equipped.

The standard service rifle in the Soviet Army is the AK-74 which uses a smaller 5.45mm cartridge as opposed to the larger 7.62mm cartridges used in the earlier AKM and AK-47 series weapons.

AK-74

AKS-74 (Folding Stock version of the AK-74)

Much the same as the RPK was the light machine gun version of the AKM, the RPK-74 is the light machine gun version of the AK-74. It uses the same 5.45mm round that the AK-74 and AKS-74 service rifles use interchangeably. The RPK-74 has a larger magazine and a heavier barrel for sustained suppressive fire.

RPK-74

One of the more notable differences between how Soviet and Western Armies organize themselves and their firepower, is the fact that the Soviets have one designated marksman integrated within each of their sections.

Those soldiers, whom have presumably proven their skill at shooting, are issued the SVD "Draganov" Sniper Rifle which includes the PSO-1 optical sight which is a 4x powered optic. The Rifle, just like the AK-74, AKS-74, RPK-74 and RPG-7 - is also designed to work with Soviet Night Vision scopes, such as the 1PN34 and 1PN58.

Dragunov / SVD

1PN34 (on top) and 1PN58 Night Vision Scopes:

It's also not unusual to see Soviet Motor Rifle Sections carrying anti-armour weaponry either. Specifically, they may have a dedicated "Grenadier" or RPG-7 Gunner or they may have RPG-26s issued to a number of the troops within the section. The RPG-26 is the Russian equivalent to the U.S. 66mm Light Anti Armour Weapon "LAW".

RPG-7

RPG-26

On occasion, Soviet Motor Rifle Sections might also include one 7.62mm AKMS with a suppressor - presumably on missions such as ambushes where stealth is paramount, and a suppressed rifle worth it's weight in gold.

Soviet Motor Rifle Platoons have a number of 7.62mm PKM Medium Machine Guns. These are often tasked with or too individual Motor Rifle Sections or may be fixed to vehicles.

PKM (MMG)

These are the highlights to help you familiarize yourself with the types of enemy troops you are likely to run into within our area of operations.

Study them and know them - as the application of your knowledge of the enemy in the field will make the difference between life and death, mission success and mission failure and even the loss of the war.

Questions ?