Let’s get tropicalizado! In today’s DevBlog, we focus on the upcoming WARNO - Tropic Storm “red” Venezuelan IV División de Infantería, or 4th Infantry Division.
Vamos, chamos!
The IV División de Infantería’s History
Alright, let’s rewind a bit. In our WARNO - Tropic Storm alternative history, Venezuela changes “sides” in a daring coup d'etat by the hands of Hugo Chavez in the spring of 1989. He immediately switches the Fuerza Armada Nacional or Venezuelan Armed Forces to the communist side. As Moscow and Havana become close friends with Caracas (much to Washington’s dismay), the South American country's military suddenly becomes a force to be reckoned with.
At the end of the Cold War, Venezuela had the best-equipped and arguably most powerful army in South America, thanks to the river of petrodollars, which allowed the nation to do its “grocery” shopping at some of the best and most advanced international and local arms dealers (mostly the United States, France, Israel and Brazil). By 1989, the Ejercito Nacional, or Venezuelan National Army, consisted of five standing divisions, a naval infantry brigade, and a host of smaller, independent formations.
The IV División de Infantería detailed
Despite its designation, the IV División de Infantería, or 4th Infantry Division, was a mechanized formation, hosting the nation’s sole armored brigade. Later, in real life, the formation was rebranded as an armored division in 1995.
Coming back to WARNO’s 1989 incarnation, the division was created in 1961 and saw little service during its active lifetime. By the end of the Cold War, it was a hybrid division, with one armored brigade, one (armored) cavalry brigade, an artillery brigade, and one airborne brigade (which had Hugo Chavez leading a battalion before his failed 1992 coup in real life, which was successful in 1989).
Stationed in central Venezuela, in the relatively rolling plains to the south of the Caracas capital, the IV División de Infantería acted as the country’s reserve and fire brigade, ready to be sent in any direction, depending on the threat.
The IV División de Infantería in WARNO
How will the IV División de Infantería be featured in WARNO - Tropic Storm? New units are both italic and bolded. As always, the following is still work in progress and subject to change.
LOG
A medium category.
- Command units include the M325, which is an Israeli-made light truck, the V-150 COMMANDO armored car, and the AMX VTT-PC (similar to the French and Belgian version of the unit).
- The logistical arm is made up of a PUNTO DE ABASTECIMIENTO (FOB), the new STEYR-MAN 20.280 LOG. medium truck and the AMX VTT-LT (a cargo variant of the AMX-13 VCI series) supply vehicles, plus the S-61A LOGISTICA helicopter (as seen with the Danish forces in WARNO).
INF
A pretty good category in terms of slots and availability.
- Mechanized infantry come in the form of FUSILEROS MEC., a 9-strong squad with 7x FAL and 2x FAP (which is the FALO light support machine gun) and the FUSILEROS MEC. (AT-4) variant, coming in the M35 truck or AMX VTT-VCI. FUSILEROS MEC. MANDO are 4-man leader squads with 4x FAL and Smoke grenades, coming in M151A2 MUTT and AMX VTT-VCI.
- Combat engineers are ZAPADORES, 9-strong squads with 7x FAL, 2x FAP and Satchel charges. A separate variant is the ZAPADORES (Flam.) squad, 6-strong with 5x mini-Uzi and one M9-7 American Vietnam War-vintage flamethrower. The command variant is the ZAPADORES MANDO 10-man leader squad with 2x Mini-Uzi, 8x FAL, and Smoke grenades. All these variants come with the Shock trait.
- Unusually so for a mechanized division, the organic airborne brigade part of the IV División de Infantería allows for the deployment of PARACAIDISTAS squads, 9-strong with 9x FAL, AT-4 and Smoke grenades. Additional variants are the 8-strong PARA. ANTITANQUE tank hunters with 8x FAL and 2x Carl Gustav recoilless rifles, and the PARA. MANDO leader, 4-strong with 4x FAL, Yugoslav M60 AT rifle, grenade, and Smoke grenades. All these units receive the Shock and Airborne traits, coming in softskin vehicles, be it either the M151A2 MUTT or PINZGAUER 712.
- Supporting squads and teams include the POLICIA MILITAR military police, with 4x Mini-Uzis and their own CUCV PM jeep, both with the Military Police trait.
- Support weapon teams include the MAG 7,62mm medium and M2HB 12,7mm heavy machine guns, as well as the CSER-106 107mm (being the ubiquitous M40A1) recoilless rifle.
- The Venezuelan National Armed Forces began to field a handful of Israeli MAPATS ATGMs, which are in the same class as the TOW-2A. These missiles come with a tandem charge but offer slightly less penetration and accuracy than their American counterparts, which they offset with slightly more range.
- Lastly, you’ll also find the M151AC jeep with M40A1 recoilless rifle as a nimble fire support vehicle.
ART
An average category.
- The only mortars are the paratroopers French-made PARA. MO-120-RT61, towed by a PINZGAUER 712 truck.
- The IV División de Infantería’s armored and cavalry brigade provides the AMX VTT-PM 81mm (similar to Belgium's unit) and the V-150 COMMANDO 81mm respectively.
- The artillery brigade brings the big guns: M114 towed howitzer and 155/33 AMX MLE F3 (which is the French AUTOMOTEUR F3) self-propelled guns, both coming in 155mm calibers.
TANK
A pretty good category, with two main lines of main battle tanks, both being French (and much improved beyond what the French actually fielded).
- The division’s cavalry brigade rode to battle in the AMX-13V, which is an upgraded AMX-13/90 with much better sights, upgrading the tank gun’s range from 1925m to 2275m. Still only fires HEAT rounds, though.
- The armored brigade operated the AMX-30B in their original form, with a coaxial 12,7mm HMG instead of 20mm (the same as the Spanish AMX-30E), but retaining the French AANF1 light machine gun. These tanks come in vanilla and leader variants.
- We have also “Marched to War”, an upgrade of the above tank, ordered by Venezuela from France (and in real-life only made available in the early 1990s): the AMX-30V. While retaining the coaxial 12,7mm, it is superior to the French B2 version thanks to its much better tank sights and tank gun stabilizers.
REC
Pretty good, courtesy of the division’s very own cavalry brigade bringing some much-needed firepower and units.
- Scouts on foot include:
- RECONOCIMIENTO, which are 4-strong recon teams with 3x FAL, 1x FAP and M60 AT rifle grenades, coming in both an unarmed or armed (M2HB) M151A2 MUTT, as well as the ALOUETTE III.
- CABALLERIA, a larger 8-strong squad, with 2x Mini-Uzi, 5x FAL, 1x FAP and Carl Gustav, coming in a V-150 COMMANDO.
- PARA. RECO, 4-strong airborne scouts with 4x FAL and AT-4, coming in unarmed and armed (M2HB) M151A2 MUTT, and with the Shock and Airborne traits.
- The PARA. EXPLORADORES is a 2-man heavy sniper team with 1x SVD DMR and 1x Catatumbo heavy anti-material rifle (similar to the iconic M82 Barrett), which at the time was still in a prototype phase. They come with the Shock, Sniper, and Airborne traits.
- RECONOCIMIENTO, which are 4-strong recon teams with 3x FAL, 1x FAP and M60 AT rifle grenades, coming in both an unarmed or armed (M2HB) M151A2 MUTT, as well as the ALOUETTE III.
- Armored recon takes the form of a AMX-13 M51, similar to the French command AMX-13 T75 PC, but used exclusively in a recon role.
- And finally, the A-109A HIRUNDO helicopter is similar to the British "Falklands War booty" A-109 [RKT] helicopter, but used here by the Venezuelans in an armed recon role.
AA
Average, with the category’s arsenal being a bit of everything, from old, new, to… weird.
- Towed anti-air guns include the World War II-venerable BOFORS M1 (same as the French L/60) and the ROLAND 2 CAROL, which is a towed variant of the West German truck-based MFG FRR ROLAND.
- Self-propelled anti-air guns are mostly old-fashioned, with the AML-530S, an AML-60 with its turret replaced with a twin AA 20mm one, being noteworthy, as well as the good ol' M42 DUSTER.
- In 1989, aware of its aging AA defenses, the Venezuelan army was in the process of acquiring state-of-the-art Swedish-made RBS-70 MANPADs. These modern missiles are in the same class as the MISTRAL, but with greater range; instead of being fire-and-forget, they are guided (as with the British JAVELIN). The Venezuelan division will field one of these as regular MANPAD teams, and one card mounted on a truck, creating the PINZGAUER 712 RBS-70.
HEL
Non-existent. Not a single helicopter will be featured by this division.
AIR
A pretty good category with a variety of different aircraft on offer.
- First up are the T-2D trainer aircraft with 28x Hydra rockets.
- The Fuerza Aérea Venezolana VF-5A are similar to the Dutch NF-5A, but with different payloads:
- VF-5A [HE] with twin 20mm guns, 4x M117 340kg bombs and 2x AIM-9B air-two-air missiles.
- VF-5A [NPLM] come with twin 20mm guns, 4x Mk.5 230kg incendiary bombs and 2x AIM-9B air-two-air missiles.
- VF-5A [HE] with twin 20mm guns, 4x M117 340kg bombs and 2x AIM-9B air-two-air missiles.
- Venezuela also deployed the British Canberra bomber in two variants:
- CANBERRA B.82 [HE/NPLM] with 6x Mk.18 RET 513kg HE bombs and 2x Mk.5 Incendiary napalm bombs.
- And the CANBERRA B.82 close air support version with 4x 20mm in ventral position and 18x SNEB rockets for strafing runs.
- CANBERRA B.82 [HE/NPLM] with 6x Mk.18 RET 513kg HE bombs and 2x Mk.5 Incendiary napalm bombs.
- And finally, Venezuela was the lucky owner of the F-16A, courtesy of the US Congress, which allowed the sale of this advanced fighter in 1982 when Cuba acquired their own MiG-23BN. The communist strike aircraft were nominally capable of striking Venezuelan oil fields (never too far on Washington's mind) and needed to be protected. They come as:
- F-16A [AA1] with 4x AIM-9L.
- F-16A [AA2] "aerial shotgun" with 6x AIM-9P.
- F-16A [HE] with 2x Mk.84 925kg HE bombs and 2x AIM-9P.
- F-16A [AA1] with 4x AIM-9L.
The Venezuelan IV División de Infantería is, altogether, a mobile and strong mechanized infantry division with a “light” armor component (courtesy of the French main battle tanks). However, it has a varied arsenal, lots of different capabilities, from Forward Deployed-paratroopers, strong recon cavalry, and potent air.
WARNO - Tropic Storm in Brief
WARNO - Tropic Storm will give you access to 6 new divisions from this brand-new theater of operations, including 4 new nations, and a host of new units, models, weapons, new terrain sets, and maps, and more. And equally important: it will contain 1 new Army General campaign. More details will come in the coming weeks.
Check out all the previews for WARNO - Tropic Storm divisions below:
- First up is the Western-aligned U.S. 4th Marine Division earmarked for the Cuban invasion. Check out all the details in this preview here.
- The Communist-aligned Cuban 1a División de Tanques gets its place in the tropical sun in this detailed preview.
- The combined U.S.-Colombian division 7th Infantry Division (Light) also contains a hefty covert CIA contingent. Read more about it in this DevBlog here.
Nemesis #7 - State of Emergency Out Now!
In case you missed the news: Nemesis #7 - State of Emergency is available now!
https://store.steampowered.com/app/4579490/WARNO__Nemesis_7__State_of_Emergency/
Nemesis #7 - State of Emergency highlights two defensive battlegroups tasked with protecting their state’s vital infrastructure, as well as internal security and rule of law during WARNO’s World War III. Bringing their unique arsenal and hard-hitting infantry, Nemesis #7 - State of Emergency contains the French Zone de Défense - Paris and the Soviet DON-100 battlegroup.
Nemesis #7 - State of Emergency lets you lead an arsenal of new units to battle, from GARDES RÉPUBLICAINS, BROUSSARD MH-1521 recon planes, GIGN operators, and the MSC prototype, to MVD security infantry, OMON troops, first-generation Mi-24A gunships, and advanced MiG-29S fighters.
Until Next Time
We’ll return for the next DevBlog with some news about the maps and environments coming with WARNO - Tropic Storm.
Don’t forget to check out the ever-awesome WARNO community. Find the latest news on the Steam News page or visit the Steam Forums. Get together with other players on either the excellent Discord server, Reddit page, YouTube or our Instagram.
See you on the battlefield, commanders.
