The Canadian Land Forces of the 1980s
In 1968 Canada undertook a radical reorgnisation of its armed forces by abolishing the distinctions between the army, air force and navy and instituting a unified service. The 4th Canadian Mechanised Brigade Group was part of the commitiment to NATO in Europe, consisiting of an armoured regiment, a mechanised infantry battalion, an artillery regiment, and recconniassance and engineer elements..
The 4 CMBG used mainly American vehicles although the main battle tank was the West German Leopard. This was designated the Leopard C1 as a distinct variant of the Leopard 1A3. Infantry weapons were standard NATO GPMG, Carl Gustav and M72, although the FN Rifle was replaced by a variant of the M16 in the mid-1980s
The Canadian armed forces were a regular service with a good standard of professionalism and a proud tradition. Troops should be rated as Regular or Professional and Trained or Expert.
Anyone looking to field the Canadians in the Cold War should read 'First Clash' by Kenneth Macksey, a very readable blow by blow account of how an engagement might have been conducted.
The Canadian lists can be downloaded here