A Start of a Plan

 I have two sets of rules I want to plan armies for; and by armies I mean an effective mix of figures to be able to deploy as large a force on my biggish table as the rules can sustain and substitute out to cover multiple years and strategic directions.  All, at least for now, in the context of the Great Patriotic War.

So lets look at Command Decision: Test of Battle first; a set of stand=platoon rules with extensive TOE material available.

I want to start with the years 1943 and 1944.  Equipment in this period evolved rapidly, but at least Soviet organizations were reasonably stable; starting with 1944 will get the task started.  German organizations were a bit more volatile so I will probably work back from 1944.  Some of the paper changes are interesting, but also the fact that I have seen a picture of a burnt-out Valentine in Germany from 1945 suggests that "waste not/want not" was a basic principal.

I will also work from battalion building blocks so a will leverage modularity where I can.

So lets set a target based really on a number of options with no one division type represented by an impossible number of figures.

I'll set down the red army today:

• From a regular Rifle division.  Note that this formation, except for the division command, is totally horse traction.
• Divisional command
• Engineer Battalion
• Antitank Battalion
• One Rifle regiment of 3 Rifle Battalions.
• One Artillery Battalion including guns and limbers for on table deployment.
• From a Mechanized Corps
• A mechanized brigade
• Brigade troops
• A Tank regiment (it's kind of small)
• 3 motor rifle battalions
• a mortar battalion
• a light artillery battalion
• An antiaircraft regiment
• A heavy SU regiment
• A medium SU regiment
• A light SU regiment
• An armored car battalion
• A motorcycle battalion
• Engineer battalion
• Guards Mortar battalion (Katjusha)
• Corps troops
• From a Tank Corps, add the following to leverage overlap with a Mechanized corps.  Because of the modular nature of Corps, this could as easily be part of the Mechanized Corps
• A Tank brigade
• 3 Medium tank battalions
• 1 Motor Rifle battalion
• From a Cavalry Division
• A cavalry regiment 
• A horse artillery regiment
• Divisional troops
• Separate Heavy Tank Regiment
• Both KV-1 and IS-2 versions
• Naval Infantry Brigade
• Brigade troops
• 2 (or more) rifle battalions
• Mortar battalion
• Antitank battalion
•  SMG Battalion
• Engineer battalion
• Artillery Battalion
• Artillery
• Army level artillery generally only need be represented by observers, but I have two of those lovely 203mm Howitzers and their tractors, and they will be represented.
  
  
  

Now this doubtless seems like a lot, but I have a truckload of painted and unpainted minis, so I just need to work on the plan for the sequence of operations.  And of course actually paint figures.