Surprise, surprise, surprise! We are back with a new Nation Pack for our ever-popular Wargame: Red Dragon, introducing the armed forces of Italy!
Thats right, an often-requested new nation is being worked on in Eugens workshop as we speak. The upcoming Wargame: Red Dragon - Nation Pack: Italy will feature the cool and striking Italian Armed Forces, with a release date in the very short future. In todays post, well take a first look at the Italian Nation Packs infantry. Future posts will detail new Italian ground vehicles to be followed by air forces. Lets dig in.

Play it cool with Nation Pack: Italy

We love to spring a good surprise on our player base. But you might be wondering, why now? As you all should know, Italy has been popularly requested by the community to be included in Wargame: Red Dragon for quite some time. In our opinion, the Mediterranean nation was the last missing piece in our game. With enough domestic designs to justify its place in Wargame: Red Dragon, it would have been a shame for Italy to remain excluded. Thats why the Italian Armed Forces will finally, and gloriously so, if we might say, make their appearance with the upcoming Wargame: Red Dragon - Nation Pack: Italy.

Whats in the box?

Wargame: Red Dragon - Nation Pack: Italy will feature Italy as a stand-alone NATO nation in Wargame: Red Dragon. They will bring their unique mix of domestic and foreign materiel to the battlefield, old and brand-spanking new. Fully voiced and featuring 104 new Italian units, 19 new models, many existing models redone or upgraded, and a score of new variants, Wargame: Red Dragon - Nation Pack: Italy will boast one of the most visually up-to-date arsenal of our game. The capable Italian Armed Forces were the linchpin of any NATO-led Mediterranean operation. They enjoy a long and proud military lineage, from its elite Alpine troops to the fast-moving armored units. So, too, the Italian automotive and armament industries, having produced iconic and noteworthy vehicles during the Cold War and beyond. Among others, these include the AR.76 Campagnola army jeep, the wheeled B1 Centauro, the C1 Ariete main battle tank, the hard-hitting A-129 Mangusta attack helicopter, and the A-11 Ghibli ground-attack aircraft.

Italian Infantry detailed

But first, the Italian foot soldier! Infantry in the Italian Armed Forces remained equipped with small arms stemming from World War 2 or immediate post-war designs for the longest time. The main individual weapon for most soldiers was the BM 59 battle rifle, a locally produced M1 Garand modified with a detachable magazine and selective fire. Some units requiring lighter weapons, such as weapon crews, scouts, and commanders, even retained the MAB 38/49 SMG (considered one of the best of its kind during the war).
The MG 42/59 was the preferred squad automatic weapon, which, as anyone can guess, is a locally produced World War 2-era originally German iconic MG-42 rechambered to the NATO 7,62mm round. Squad anti-tank weapons are either M20A1 Super Bazooka (another upgraded World War 2 weapon) or the Belgian RL-100 Blindicide. In some cases, the M18 57mm recoilless rifle is fielded. By the late 1980s, Italy has developed its own assault rifle: the AR 70/90. It also went looking for better anti-tank weapons, resulting in the APILAS and even a few PzF 3 becoming available to its troops. Italian Alpine forces favored the recoilless rifle, which resulted in a domestic design, the Folgore 80mm. Although a few special forces units received the Minimi as an off-the-shelves option, the previously mentioned MG 42/59 kept on being Italys main machine gun for the whole duration of the Cold War.
These straight-from-World War 2 weapons were the mainstay of the Italian infantrys armament for most of the Cold War. Only a select few units transitioned to more modern equipment in the late 1980s. This means that within Wargame: Red Dragon, only non-era restricted decks will have access to the most modern weapons.

The main types of Italian infantry

Which will be the main types of infantry for Wargame: Red Dragon - Nation Pack: Italy?

• FANTERIA DI LINEA will be your typical grunt, the bread-and-butter infantry.
• LAGUNARI and MAR are both considered naval infantry in-game. In real life, the former can be equated to more riverine or amphibious infantry. These are army units tasked with securing Venices lagoons and riverways. The latter are true marines, being Navy and sea-oriented. Both will provide Italys MARINES decks infantry. The latter units name is a contraction of SAN MARCO, their patron saint.
• PARACADUTISTI are Italys airborne troopers, heir to World War 2s famed Folgore.
• ALPINI are Italys light mountain troops. Though less famous abroad than the units mentioned above, these forces have always been considered the countrys best.

All Wargame: Red Dragon - Nation Pack: Italys infantry squads

Which infantry squads will be featured with the next Nation Pack?
LOG

• GRUPPO DI CONTROLLO - All-era command squad with MAB 38/49 and MG 42/59.

INF

• RISERVISTI - Militia 10-man draftees with BM 59 and Super Bazooka.
• FANTERIA DI LINEA - Regular 10-strong squad with BM 59, MG 42/59 and Super Bazooka.
• FANTERIA DI LINEA 90 - same organization but with more modern AR 70/90, MG 42/59 and APILAS.
  
• GUASTATORI - Regular - 10-strong combat engineer squad with BM 59 and T148 flamethrower.
• LAGUNARI - Regular 15-strong naval infantry squad with BM 59, MG 42/59, and Super Bazooka.
• CSR SA 57 M18 - Regular 5-strong fire support squad with MAB 38/49 and M18 RCL (with both AP and HE rounds).
• MILAN 1 - Regular 2-strong ATGM team with MAB 38/49 and MILAN 1.
• MILAN 2 - same organization as above but with MILAN 2. 1985 only.
• STINGER - Regular 2-strong MANPAD team with MAB 38/49 and, of course, Stinger missiles. 1985 only.
• MAR - Shock 10-man naval infantry squad with the original (trial) AR-70, MG 42/59 and RL-100 Blindicide.
• MAR 90 - same organization, but with AR 70/90, MG 42/59 and APILAS.
• PARACADUTISTI - Shock 10-man airborne squad with BM 59 ITAL-TA, MG 42/59 and Super Bazooka.
• PARACADUTISTI 90 - same organization as above, but with SCP 70/90, MG 42/59 and APILAS.
  
• ALPINI - Shock 15-man light infantry squad with BM 59 ITAL-TA, MG 42/59 and M18 RCL.
• ALPINI 90 - same organization as above, but with AR 70/90, MG 42/59 and Folgore RCL.
• CSR FOLGORE - Shock 5-strong fire support squad with MAB 38/49 and Folgore RCL (with both AP and HE rounds). 1986 only.
• COL MOSHIN - an Elite 10-strong commando squad with AR 70/90, Minimi and PzF 3. 1990 only.
  

RECO

• ESPLORATORI - Regular 5-man recon squad with MAB 38/49 and Super Bazooka.
• BERSAGLIERI - Shock 10-man recon squad with BM 59 ITAL-TA, MG 42/59 and M72 LAW.
• PARA. CECCHINI - Shock 2-man recon sniper team with BM 59 ITAL-TA and G3A3ZF.
  
• COMSUBIN - Elite 5-man special forces recon squad with MAB 38/49, Minimi and Folgore RCL. 1985 only.
  

What happens next?

Thats all for todays infantry preview of Wargame: Red Dragon - Nation Pack: Italy. Well be back next week with more insights and details on the DLCs ground vehicles! If you want to be kept appraised of all the latest Eugen has to offer, be sure to check out our Eugen forums, or (Facebook page and Twitter). Ciao!