The Competition & Teaser Thread

[ComradeP]

In terms of TOE's, there was not a spectacular difference between Guards and regular units until late in the war.

Guards units were more likely to have advanced equipment shortly after it became available.

In mid-1943, Guards divisions would have I believe

-2 battalions worth of submachinegunners instead of 1.
-A full sapper battalion instead of 2 companies.
-Slightly more mortars.
-More machineguns and AT rifles.

Guards Tank and Mechanized Corps would in mid 1943 primarily have more mortars on paper.

Note that all of this is in theory/on paper. In practice, some Guards units might be far more lavishly equipped than regular counterparts in combat conditions or the other way around, mostly depending on which units would've been in combat longer and whether replacements were received. Note that in many cases Soviet units would be running at about 1/3 to 1/2 of effective strength in any case, with Guards being in a somewhat more favourable position but also taking more losses if used for critical breakthrough missions.

Generally speaking, the primary differences were mostly in support weapons and earlier access to new weapons.