- Yes
- No
Hi all, I would like to suggest the emblem of the GLC DOT I as a decal for War Thunder, which would help in adding further variety to the pool of other nations, while also representing the large Spanish community.
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GLC DOT stands for “Grupo de Ligero de Caballería de Defensa Operativa del Territorio”, Spanish for “Operative Territorial Defense Light Cavalry Group”, a unit created with the sole purpose of defending the homeland in case of an invasion.
These were created in a substantial military reform that took place in 1965, by the law Nº.85/65, which organized the Army following the French system, this divided the Armed Forces in 2 branches:
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Fuerzas de Intervención Inmediata (FII), Spanish for Immediate Intervention Forces. Mainly formed by 3 powerful Divisions (DAC 1 “Brunete”, DIMZ 2 “Guzmán el Bueno” and DIMT 3 “Maestrazgo”) which were intended to protect any region of Spain at any given time.
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Defensa Operativa del Territorio (DOT), organized in a Brigade and Cav Group per each Military Region. There were 11 Brigades (each with its respective Cav Group) that were tasked with maintaining security at the rear in fear of a possible Warsaw Pact invasion, while also performing counter-insurrection duties against terrorists and possible revolutions. For this task, the COEs (Compañías de Operaciones Especiales, Spanish for Special Operations Companies), nicknamed “guerrilleros”, were fundamental and thus present in every single BRIDOT. During peace the Brigades were usually at 40% or 50% strength, except for Spanish African territories, which were always at 100% in fear of an invasion by Morocco.
Regarding the equipment of these units, since most of the modern stuff (AMX-30E, BMR-600, VEC…) went to the FII, they were equipped with left-overs. These included the Panhard AML-60 and 90 (inherited from the Legion after the evacuation of Spanish Sahara in 1974) and M41 Walker Bulldogs (bought to the US and Germany).
During their short period of existance the DOT units didn’t participate in any war. The META Program brought their lives to an end during the eighties in an effort of modernizing the Armed Forces, which now had to follow up with NATO standards. Their equipment and history were transfered to other units.
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It was born as every other unit, in 1965. Its strength was composed by:
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HQ platoon.
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Light tank platoon (x5 M41).
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Light squad, composed by 1 HQ section and 3 mixed sections (composed by x4 recce AML, x2 recoiless rifles, x1 AML-90 plus x1 AML-60 and x1 M-81 mortar).
The GLC DOT I, along the BRIDOT I, was dismissed in 1985 under the META Program, which intended to modernize the Armed Forces.
It’s important to note that each DOT unit was supposed to carry the same emblem as their respective Military Regions, but this didn’t always happen. GLC DOT I did follow this rule, however.
The description of the heraldry is simple; A shield divided horizontally, with the left being red and the right silver. On the left we have a golden castle with 3 towers and golden windows/doors, while on the right we have a red, roaring lion with a golden crown. Beneath the shield you’ve got the symbol of Spanish Cavalry, that being 2 crossed lances with the national flag at the tip of each.
However, there were variants. Sometimes vehicles displayed the emblem alone, without the lances, but this doesn’t apply to this suggestion.
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