Team Yankee is a game, not a simulation. While working on Red Tide, I was forced to make some unpalatable compromises. Each time, I reminded myself that TY is a game. It is OK to include (or exclude) something that would make a professional analyst snicker and a neck-beard huff if the overall gaming experience is preserved. Now, after several revisions, I feel the few remaining compromises are justified. Declassified information concerning Soviet Naval Infantry is incomplete and often contradictory. It is almost as if the Cold War were ongoing. I believe it is more important that Red Tide gives the player the feel of the the SNI rather than focusing on the minutiae of their TO&E that have minimal impact on the game.That does not mean that long hours of research weren't spent to achieve reasonable accuracy based on the available data. What it means is that some inaccuracies were permitted to allow Red Tide to fit within the bounds of TY (exactly like all the other TY armies). Ultimately, I believe Red Tide introduces SNI to TY as a viable and balanced force that is also hopefully enjoyable to play.
David Dean
9/21/2019
There are supposedly stories of non-coms telling new recruits that the SNI never venture beyond the range of the 152mm naval guns. This makes a good story, but of course is untrue. However, it does show the dependence on naval guns. Although an SNI battalion does have organic MRL and howitzer support that a motorized rifle battalion lacks, it comes up short compared to the MR battalion when division resources are included in the equation. Naval fire support, provided primary from Sverdlov class light cruisers, brings the SNI back to parity with the MR battalion and arguably gives the SNI battalion the advantage.
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