THE BRITISH ARMY
OF THE RHINE
INFANTRYMAN 1985
Continuing his journey through the
Cold War, Gareth ‘Gadge’ Harvey looks
at the 1980’s British Infantryman.
T
he 1980s British Infantryman
is perhaps one of the
most iconic images of
British military history: the
astounding success of the
British Army in the 1982 campaign against
Argentina broadcast the footslogging ‘Tom’
on TV sets around the world.
The British soldier has always been the
epitome of the quiet, dedicated professional
(and rightly considered among the best in
the world). Perhaps the real peak of the
Army’s morale was in the years following the
Falklands War, at a time when a future war in
Europe began to look more likely than ever.
In this article we’ll look at an airsofter with a
representative ‘1980s British Infantry’ look
and take note of any anachronistic additions
that have been made to make the loadout
safe and skirmishable!
The British Army of the Rhine was the
garrison force in Western Germany during the
1980s, chiefly tasked with delaying a Soviet
attempt to invade Western Europe and buy
enough time for the US to ship men and
equipment over from America. Given that
the odds against them were greater than
10 to one it’s not surprising that, in a WWIII
scenario, their life expectancy was measured
in hours rather than days. They did possess
a few major advantages over other armies
though: firstly the British Army was once
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Xmas 2011