@phaidknott – Absolutely agree, artillery delivered smoke was usually not “hot smoke” to  my knowledge, outside of white phosphorus that was often delivered by mortar (the US Army 4.2 inch “chemical mortar” – 107mm I think – was originally called the “chemical mortar” just for this very purpose).  But howitzer batteries, no, pretty sure that was always “normal” smoke.

This is why great 1980s game systems like GDW Assault usually  had distinctions between “hot smoke” (that blinded everyone) and “smoke” that blinded only units below a certain tech level (overgeneralizing there).

I know the feeling re: having to build a huge amount of Soviet-style gear to match a realistic NATO-esque army.  You may have seen the recent The Arab-Israeli Wars Golan Heights battle we had on a live stream with @damon .  For both historical and game balance reasons, my Syrian AFVs (T-62s, T-55s, and BTR-60s, plus a few PT-54s and the like) had to outnumber his Israelis Sho’t Cal Centurions by almost 300 to 40 (about 7:1).   In minis, this is why I have 18 T-72s but only five Leopard 2s.  In counters, its easier but still a pain (you have to print, mount, and cut these).

In digital counters, it’s not so bad, the size of your Warsaw Pact force is limited only by how fast you can hit the CNTL-C and CNTL-V keys.  😀

Tosach Wargaming has an update of Panzer Leader for the 1991 and 2003 Gulf Wars (Tactical Combat: Middle East).  Panzer Leader is my favorite all-around game system, I just haven’t really had a chance to try this exact system of their counters yet. I really want to, and take an honest, realistic wargaming look at these conflicts.

But I agree, doing full-scale mechanized combined arms combat in miniature, realistically, is going to be tough given the technological disparities between historical (or even likely) opponents – unless you stick with 6mm or the like GHQ Microarmor, baby!  There’s a reason they’ve been doing this successfully for 50 years!

@rastamann and @torros – any battle reports from FFOT, or photos or even just recollections?  In 6mm, how large a force do you usually field?  How long does it take?  Do Warsaw Pact forces tend to outgun NATO forces by these kinds of margins?  Just asking, I have the rules somewhere but have never actually tried the game.