A Letter to the Archon

BattleTechnology
News From the Front

by MP Hoare

Archon Melissa Steiner Davion is a great believer in necessity as the mother of invention. Elsewhere in this issue you will see the first of a proposed Inner-Sphere-Wide Tactics learning and discussion series, What Now, MechWarrror? The Archon has also requested strategic and tactical observations and suggestions from all troops associated with the Federated Commonwealth, including Mercenary units. This letter was provided to us by a member of the AFFC headquarters on Tharkhad, on condition of anonymity. It is not known for certain if Archon Melissa has seen this letter. We at BattleTechnology feel that this information is important enough to you, our readers, to risk the anger of the Tharkhad government in publishing it.

To Archon Melissa Steiner Davion

Your Highness

I must admit that your request for my thoughts on tactics to defeat the Clans seems strange, but I will do my best. Thank you for the hearing.

Let me start with some basic observations on the tactics of most Inner Sphere units. The base unit of our 'Mech regiments is the lance of four 'Mechs, battalion of three 'Mech companies, and the regiment of three 'Mech battalions. Now for starters, notice that in all of these formations, there is seldom any integration of support units other than that dedicated to direct maintenance of the 'Mechs themselves. This is not quite so true forthe Federated Commonwealth regimental combat teams, but even they do not use combined arms as such.

Now the first problem we have in our present method of operation is command, or more properly the lack of it in our formations. If you are a lance commander, your 'Mech is such an integral part of the lance formation that once battle is joined you have few options but to be involved in direct combat. The lance commander therefore loses direction of operations and is nothing more than a highly-paid 'Mech gunner. This same symptom continues on through the chain of command up to the regimental level in many of our formation.

Another problem of the present lance formations is the tendency of these small units to fight their actions with little recourse to any tactics other than linear formation. With only four units to the basic formation this is one of the only options to a commander that brings maximum power to bear on their opposition.

Even worse than this is the almost total lack of coordination between divergent battle units. Many of our commanders lack any capacity to coordinate their operations with armor and infantry units. This to a lesser degree continues with support fire units such as artillery and aircraft-aerospace formations. Some of this lack of coordination can be attributed to the dominance of BattleMech mentality in the tactics of the last three hundred years or more. Another is that outside of the RCTs many units do not have the units available to work with in combined operations.

As noted above, with most units lacking a dedicated command staff, even in many cases up to regimental level, it creates a situation where coordinated efforts are almost impossible. How can an officer who is blazing with all PPCs be paying any attention to the situation beyond the front of his 'Mech cockpit?

Now I will shift focus to the invaders' forces for a moment to give a glimpse of their formations. The Clans' basic unit is the five 'Mech lance. This is continued in the company of three of these lances and extends up to regiments not unlike our forces. Most of these units take into battle integrated infantry able to fight alongside the 'Mech units. This opens the tactical options of the invader commander as his force has greater depth and firepower over his opposition. With five 'Mechs up on line the Clan force can use more divergent formations such as wedge formation, or hold back units in reserve. Along with this, his infantry can carry out many tactically important tasks from soaking off attacks, directing support attacks, area denial, even to tactical reserve operations.

There are some important areas that the Clans do seem to be weak in. They do not seem to use combat vehicles to any extent that has been recorded to date. Also I have not heard of any use by the Clans of long-range artillery. If these prove to be true, then these are two areas that should be rapidly exploited to our advantage. Our armor units could be used to negate some of the advantages they have with their armored infantry units, and be used by our commanders in the same sort of tactical roles alongside of our 'Mech units. Combine this with the use of long-range artillery to soften up Clan units before contact would go a long way in lessening the advantages enjoyed by the Clans.

Now to the heart of the matter, and that is -what is the best way to defeat these people, if they are people? Let me give you a piece of history. In the Hitler War of the mid-20th Century the forces of Germany were known to use what they called a Kampfgaippe, or as we would call it, a battlegroup. They created these forces out of desperate need. These forces were mixed groups of available armor and infantry fighting as combined arms teams. These forces combining the advantages of both kinds of resources were able time after time to defeat numerically superior foes.

My recommendation to you, my Archon, is to give serious consideration to the formation of similar units in the Federated Commonwealth forces. We are facing a situation not unlike that of Germany, and new ideas and tactics must be tried. Let me explain what I have started with my own force and try to state the advantages.

The basic reconfiguration involves upgrading the basic tactical unit to a seven 'Mech, seven tank combined arms team. This would create a company of two platoons for practical purposes. The first advantage of this isthe greater firepower available to the company commander. It will also help to prevent the squandering of units in penny-pocket lots as has been the case so often in the past. Note that the company commander's options have increased as to formations that he can deploy and units at his disposal.

The options that he has are now almost limitless, but for starters: he can hold back one platoon while advancing, use support fire overbounding attacks, use one platoon to support fire and the other for flanking operations, etc... There are now possibilities to use wedge formations, put tanks in direct support of 'Mechs (not a bad answer to close combat with armored infantry), or even to break his platoons into two- unit fire teams.

In all of this the company commander should try to bring maximum firepower concentration to bear on his opposition. Effort should be made to be flexible while trying to maintain concentration of force at the area of tactical contact. Use the force to rapidly overwhelm the invaders, using concentrated units to defeat the enemy while he is disadvantaged.

If the clans, as it seems, do not use artillery, then maximum effort should be made to use this to our advantage. Company commanders can extend the depth of their defense or attack with the thoughtful use of this type of weapon. With artillery alone the range of a unit extends to kilometers versus a few hundred meters available in 'Mech firepower. Add to this the use of aerospace and conventional aircraft, and you have added thousands of kilometers to the range that you are able to rain destruction onto the enemy. While the company commander will not have these weapons at his direct command, he should make every effort to stay in contact with them and to use them to his full advantage.

The battalion reconfiguration involves three companies forms as is the above company. Along with this these should be a battalion command staff and a battalion weapons platoon (long range artillery). When possible it would be advisable to attach VTOL units to these formations for added versatility.

The command staff would be responsible for control of the battalion and coordination of artillery assets. They should not engage in combat unless there is no other option. They will also be responsible for synchronization of battalion operations to those of higher commands.

The battalion commander's tasks are going to be much the same on a larger scale to those of the company commander. To a great extent the battalion commander should strive to keep his companies dispersed enough to discourage massed aerospace-air attack as possible while being in position to concentrate forces at the point of decision in lethal mass. Delivering the combined weight of attack of such a battalion in like-sized enemy formations should prove to be devastating.

New emphasis must be instilled in unit commanders of the value of concentration of force. The ability must be fostered to maneuver and place the enemy in a position of weakness in relation to ourforces. Even if the enemy 'Mechs are superior technically, attacks by concentrated battle groups should prove to negate their advantage. Even if a force is outnumbered, it should with careful use of these ideas be possible to gain local superiority over the Clan units and gain victory over them.

All effort should be made to attack Clan forces at the greatest ranges possible creating a battle zone of a depth no used in hundreds of years. No more is it practical to consider only the immediate area controlled by the BattleMech. Unified command of the entire battle, ground and air, must be used. All units need combined arms training and established coordination centers to exploit this.

When I speak of concerted attacks by all possible strength, look to the actions of some of the great commanders of the past. If you look to the battles of Generals Manstein and Guderian, you will see the expert use of combined-arms assault. Their tactics were able to defeat enemies of superior strength and in many cases enemies with technological superiority. The basic principle of these operations was the concentration of strength at the point of attack to ensure victory. Again if you look to the battles of Napoleon such as Austerlitz where the French launched their attack with decisive weight and gained the victory over numerically superior forces.

I cannot overstate that we must strive for tactical flexibility. To revive the study of tactics and to develop and adopt newer, more useful tactical methods is imperative. Our military systems have become intellectually bankrupt, living as if time and theory died with the Star League.

BattleTechnology News From the Front

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