Airsoft Action 04 - Xmas 2011 | Page 80

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 080 Xmas 2011