To Archon Melissa Steiner Davion My Lady, To answer your request for suggestions on how to handle the Clans, I must say that, as my esteemed colleague, M.P. Hoare has pointed out, rigid adherence to classic battle doctrines will be the death of us. All of us. Hoare has made several very good points which deserve serious study. I would think that smaller units would derive the greatest benefit from such a configuration, however. A large formation, such as Wolf's Dragoons or the Ericlani, would be hard-put to acquire the armor units necessary. However that may be, in my humble opinion, unless we can narrow or eliminate the Clan's technical edge, we should pay serious attention to armor. Tanks in sufficient numbers are the equal or perhaps the better of a smaller 'Mech formation. Our regimental wargames, and training situations within the Magistracy of Canopus, have shown this time and again. In ancient times, the Soviet tank armies, while never used in formal warfare in Europe after the Hitler War, were the terror of Europe, and forced the Western Powers into insane levels of military expense (like the Soviets). If nothing else, the tanks can soak off the Clan armored infantry. My formal suggestion regarding armor is that we spare no effort to upgrade our armor units, perhaps to the pint that three tanks would be the tactical equal of a frontline Clan OmniMech. If other service branches must temporarily slighted on new equipment, so be it. Our situation is not one in which we can rest on our reputations, confident that these will deter our enemies. Indeed, the Clans seem to be drawn to greater effort by an opponent's high reputation. A further proposal, and one that goes perhaps beyond the bound of your request, my Archon, is that aformal unified Inner Sphere command staff be established, to share information about the Clans, and to oppose them as one force. I realize that this will raise howls of indignation in may place, some of them very high, but do we really have the choice. I do not suggest the complete unification of the various House militaries. It would be folly to try. What I have in mind, however, is a joint command set up by donations of personnel, material, troops and basing areas, by particularly the three Houses presently under direct attack. The remaining Houses could easily provide logistical and supply support. This joint command would be able to draw units from the various armies available to them, and provide local intel and staging support at least. The forces deployed under this command would then be available when and where they were most needed; for example, a Federated Commonwealth Regimental Combat Team could be sent into the Dieron District of the Draconis Combine for operations or into the Free Rasalhague Republic to shore up its defenses. Or a regiment of the Sword of Light could attempt to liberate Federated Commonwealth worlds occupied by the Jade Falcons. Such an operation would be extraordinarily difficult, not least politically. However, if one considers the alternative, probable defeat and enslavement for all time to come, then the political pill may become more palatable to those who sit back and laugh when they hear of a new Draco world under attack or fallen, or who pray for more Federated Commonwealth worlds to be taken. We must learn to work together, or the Clans' task will be that much simpler. -- Name Withheld by Request Ed Note: The author is the leader of one of the Federated Commonwealth's major mercenary formations. Because of the political nature of much of this article, he wishes to remain anonymous. We agree with him that politics is not the proper province of a mercenary, but we are all now fighting for our very way of life Analysis The windy world of Twycross was lost to the Jade Falcon Clan in June of 3050. In early September, the Tenth Lyran Guard and elements of the Kell Hounds came to take it back. Intelligence sources indicated that frontline troops in OmniMechs would have already left the world to be held by a garrison. The garrison would be in top-condition conventional 'Mechs; against the best troops in the Inner Sphere, they would have even odds. The raid was considered a chance to test Federated Commonwealth troops against the Clans. It turned out to be more of a test than anyone had imagined. At first the fight went well. The Tenth Lyrans' superior knowledge of the terrain weighed evenly against the Clan's superior weapons. The wave of the conquerors spread toward the Great Gash near The Cloisters, when they got a nasty surprise. Frontline troops were still on the planet -- and they were ready to take up the fight. The elite Falcon Guards joined battle with the Tenth Lyran Guard at the Gash. We learned two valuable lessons at Twycross; one was that planets can be taken back from Clans forces, at least from garrison troops. The second is that one-on-one, the Inner Sphere BattleMechs piloted by our very best could take on frontline Clans troops and win. That same September, Hohiro Kurita used the Clans own system against them. The Smoke Jaguars were holding Wolcott with garrison troops. The Yuutsu (Blue Devils) formerly known as the Genyosha-took the planet easily. Kurftan Intelligence realized that Clans tacticians gave an inordinate amount of credence to a unit's battle record, but paid very little attention to an individual's battle record. When the Smoke Jaguars' Galaxy Commander gave formal challenge to the planet, Hohiro offered the battle records of the individuals, and admitted that the Yuutsu had been created from other units. The challenge was accepted; the terms were: possession of the planet with no further attempt by the force involved to retake it, and, if the Draconis Combine force won, they would be supplied with an OmniMech and four BattleSuits for study. To the Smoke Jaguars' utter surprise, the Kuritans won. The Smoke Jaguars had underestimated their opponents and bid too low. Although Wolcott is now far behind enemy lines, and although Wolcott is being used as a staging base for Kudtan forays, the Smoke Jaguars have kept their word even after their return; so have the other Clans troops in this sector. The knowledge gained from this engagement: it is possible to use the Clans own assumptions against them. Thanks to Hohiro Kurita, the Inner Sphere has had a year to study the Clans' weapons and armor. October 31, 3050 is a date that should be remembered. A single Aerospace fighter, Kapten Tyra Miraborg, showed us that a single courageous individual can make a difference against Clanforces. Asthe planet Radstadt was being lost to the formidable Wolf Clan, this pilot for the First Drakons had taken critical damage. She chose to make a suicide dive into the largest of the invader JumpShips, taking as many as possible of the invaders with her. The ship she chose was the flagship, Dire Wolf. She managed to take out the bridge. Wolf's Dragoons' information off icer made us aware that Tyra killed the IlKhan, leader of all the Clans, with her deathblow. The Clans withdrew their frontline troops back to their home systems to elect a new Khan, leaving only their planetary garrisons. Their assault on the Inner Sphere hafted for more than eleven months. These crucial eleven months have given us vital time to study their weapons and tactics, and to come up with our return tactics. One brave woman bought us this time. Rhonda Snord seems to have fared best of all. Snord's Irregulars' Intelligence realized that a Star League Defense Forces base had been hidden in the Dark Nebula; they did not know the coordinates to the base. Further research suggested that an undisturbed Star League Astronomical Station on Apollo had a high probability of containing the coordinates. The problem was that Apollo was deep in the Jade Falcon's Territory. The Irregulars accomplished their raid on Apollo with minimal losses. In fact, they proved that even an OmniMech will go into heat shutdown if you kindle a forest fire around it! Snord's forces had to leave some of the duplicate data chips behind. A Cluster of the Jade Falcons' primary troops came after them into the Dark Nebula. But Rhonda got there first, gaining possession of a planetoid-wide Star League Defense Forces Base. The Dark Wing Cluster of the Jade Falcons followed a week later. By then, Rhonda's techs had a scant handful of the Star League weapons up and working. She challenged the Dark Wing to a 'Trial of Possession', winners to gain all ships, 'Mechs, people, and the base itself. The battle was fought, first on the planetoid's surface, then in the empty warehouses of the base. Snord's Briefing Officer required a careful approach and an astonishing number of PPC cocktails-before he explained their tactics to BattleTechnology's reporter. "Flexibility is the key," he told her, laying one finger owlishly against his nose. "Predict where they are going to take a stand - and mine that location. Predict how they will respond to a certain tactic - and then have a weapon pointing where they will not be looking. The tougher the Clans troops are, especially front line Crusader Troops like the Smoke Jaguars and the Jade Falcons, the more they will act in predictable ways ... except for the Wolves, of course." No amount of drinks would buy the secret of just how Snord's Irregulars know so much about Clans tactics, or about the differences in tactics from one Clan to another. Back to BattleTechnology 19 Table of Contents Back to BattleTechnology List of Issues Back to MagWeb Magazine List © Copyright 1992 by Pacific Rim Publishing. This article appears in MagWeb.com (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com