What Now MechWarrior?: Stated Objectives
"What Now, MechWarrior? is a wargame prepared as a set of training exercises by order of Archon Melissa Steiner Davion as part of an ongoing effort to merge the military doctrines of the former Federated Suns with those of the Lyran Commonwealth. The Archon has requested that BattleTechnology reprint selected scenarios from ever- expanding lists of cases so that other allies in the fight against the Clans may benefit from the experiences of the past. The scenarios presented are versions of historical battles along with the decisions of the unit commanders.
The scenarios are intended to be used to prompt discussions. Each of the participants offers their recommended actions at each of the decision points, then the group discusses the relative strengths and weaknesses of the offered solutions. In BattleTechnology's test of the workability of this method, we discovered that such discussion are apt to become quite heated, so we recommended that they be conducted in a relaxed, informal atmosphere conducive to the free exchange of opinions. (We also recommend that qualified medical staff be located nearby.)
It is worth noting that there are no 'right ' or 'wrong' answers to the problems presented. The historical information simply shows how one commander handled the situation problem. Someone may well come up with a better solution. The information contained within these scenarios is not classified or considered militarily sensitive.
BattleTechnology magazine wishes to thank Captain Roquan of the New Avalon Military Information Center for his help in providing the information presented in this article. Copies of standard simulator programs are available for 100 C-bills from your BattleTechnology software distributor. Please include the scenario name and programming language you want when ordering.
Distance to Possible Attack Sites
- Site Distance from Capital in Kilometers
Space Port 2.0 by road
Fusion Reactor 24.0 by sea
Water Purification Plant 20.3 by road
Mining Center 46.2 by road
Southern City 22.1 by road
Northern Granaries 21.0 by road
Western Granaries 28.4 by road
Southern Granaries 10.2 by road
Tactics
You are a Major in the service of a Successor State. You have been reassigned to a guard unit on a periphery world that is often beset by bandit raids and, less frequently, by raidsfroma neighboring House. While intransit, you review the planetary data.
The place you are going has a gravity of 98% earthnormal and a breathable, if somewhat dry, atmosphere. The planet is a major food producer, despite the and climate, and utilizes irrigation water produced by a massive desalinization plant north of the capital city.
An old-tech fusion reactor on an island west of the desalinization plant produces most of the planet's electricity. Addtionally, there is a mining installation northeast of the city in a mountain range. Trace metals used in the production of semiconductors are mined f rom the mountains and extracted at the mining center. Three food collection centers are also located near the capital city. (See the table for approximate distances to each site.)
Contemplating the problems of guarding multiple sites, you turn to the listing of combat resources. The planetary garrison consists of four veteran BattleMech lances; two scout, afire, and an assault. All the BattleMechs are based in the capital city. Each of the cities has a company sized unit of infantry with light armor and artillery. No aerospace units are currently on-planet, but there are four wings of atmospheric fighter aircraft based at the starport. All of the other installation have only light security personnel.
Your ship grounds on the planet at 1930, local time, and you are met by the garrison's executive officer. The XO seems somewhat distracted as he drives you to your HQ. When ou see your off ice, you learn why.
The rast CO was a less than exacting record keeper who left things in a state of disarray. Your office is awash in a sea of papers that have probably never seen the interior of a file cabinet. Interspersed with the mounds of paper are data disks, numerous magazines, and coffee cups now filled with new life forms. You're sure that somewhere there is a desk under all that. The XO mumbles an apology and says that the unit is ready for a general inspection and that the officers have arranged a welcome party and mixer. What now, MechWarrior?
(Recommended discussion items: General approaches to personnel when taking over an existing command, priorities in data retrieval, possible problems in stepping over existing Chain-of-Command personnel.)
Historical:
The CO postponed the inspection until 0830 two days in the future and sent his apologies to the officers of the mess. He and the XO spent all night sorting the stacks of papers to find data on unit fighting strength as well as historical records of all past raids.
You suppress the desire to hit the office with an inferno rocket and start from scratch. Instead, you and the XO spend the night drinking bad coff ee and sorting through the wreckage left by the last CO. You discover that despite the bad impression given by the offices, all the fighting units seem to be up to strength and combat ready.
The historical information paints and interesting picture. The bandits come about twice a year, and seldom arrive with more than a lance or two of substandard 'Mechs. Food reserves are regularly hit; the mining center is hit less frequently. The urban areas are generally avoided (presumably because the bandits lack expertise in close 'Mech-to-'Mech combat).
The starport, power plant, and water purification facilities are infrequently targeted. The last CO's doctrine was to keep his units in the capitol city near the starport until the bandits arrived. Once the attacker committed to an objective, he would commit his forces to drive away the attacker. Accounts of past battles show the bandits generally withdrawing before significant combat occurred. However, some looting normally occurred before the units arrived. The lack of heavy air transport (ie, DropShips) prevents a rapid response to outlying areas, hindering troop deployment.
As dawn breaks, you sit back to consider your predecessor's strategy. Perhaps you can do better.
(Recommended discussion items: Relative importance of the objectives. Bandit objectives and how the objective affects their fighting style. The problems of long term troop deployment with respect to local populations and troop morale.)
Historical:
The commander considered setting a rotation 'Mech lances between possible bandit objectives, but decided to hold off making any decisions until after he had interviewed the Battle Group leaders.
Mulling over possibilities, you prepare to leave your much- cleaner office. The emergency com-link shrills just as you reach the door You race back and find tactical on line. They report that four DropShips are burning towards the planet. They will hit dirtside in five hours. As best they can tell, the JumpShip came in while the planetary moons disrupted observation of the zenith Jump Point. That, coupled with heavy solar flare activity, have given the attackers the element of surprise. Looks like you are about to test your new command. What now, MechWarrior?
(Recommended discussion items: Probable targets for the bandits. Ways to improve the off-planet sensors. Problems in directing unfamiliar troops. Minimizing collateral damage while on the defense.)
Historical:
The commander ordered a civilian curfew starting in two hours and alerted the civil defense authorities. He put all units on alert and considered his options. He decided that the space port and the capital city were unlikely targets. Since the mining center had been hit within the year, he decided that it too was an unlikely target. He decided to assume that food was the probable objective although he had to cover the power and water plants as well. He readied all air wings to scramble after the DropShips when they entered the atmosphere. He sent the assault and one recon lance north to wait near the northern food repository, and had sea transport wait at the coast should the power plant prove to be the objective. The fire lance was sent towards the southern food repository, and the other recon lance toward the eastern food repository. He then sat back to wait.
Wondering if you've chosen correctly, you wait for the DropShips to arrive. Reports trickle in: your units have reached their objectives; the civil defense forces are out enforcing the curfew; the mining center is shutting down. On your computer screen, you watch the incoming DropShips vectoring towards you. Far too soon, they enter orbit. One of the incoming ships starts in and the computer projects it will land northwest of you, either at the mining center or the food collection center. The other three remain in orbit. What now, MechWarrior?
(Recommended discussion items: Problems in shifting troops during an action. Possibilities of a feint The bandit objectives in this sort of raid.)
Historical:
The commander decided that the lone ship was a feint to draw off his troops from the real objective. He ordered the air wings to intercept the invader once it hit ground and report back. All other units remained at their assigned positions.
Your fighters scramble towards the incoming ship. They report that it isn't decelerating though drag chutes are controlling its descent. To you, it looks like a decoy. Moments before the first ship lands, the other three start down from orbit. Computer pro ections predict a northern orbit. What now, MechWarrior?
(Recommended discussion items: Problems in shifting troops during an action. Possibilities of a feint The bandit objectives in this sort of raid.)
Historical:
The commander ordered all units not on the northern location to move north atfull speed. Still assuming that the northern food stockpile was the target, he readied the two lances of 'Mechs for combat, alerting them of the projected landing site. He ordered the air wings not to engage the DropShips but to assault any land troops in conjunction with a ground-unit attack.
The single ship impacts and observers report it was a decoy, a heat resistant shell designed to look like an Overlord. All of your combat units are converging on the northern sites, though by your calculations, only the two 'Mech lances in place and the air support will be the only units able to engage.
Reconnaissance reports two Leopard Class DropShips and one Union class. At least three BattleMech lances are on the ground though no air support has been observed. Two lances are heading towardsthe Water purification plant and one is heading north, presumably towards the food reserves. You expect at least one other lance to be present, most likely to guard the ships. Your two lances of BattleMechs are between the raiders and the waterplant and your air support can hit at your discretion. What now, MechWarrior?
Recommended discussion items: Defense of multiple objectives. Possible effects of reserves, both bandit and your own. Orders of engagement for the combat units. Estimated makeup and charter of the opposing troops.
Historical:
The commander ordered the two BattleMech lances to engage the enemy in route to the water plant with air support to arrive once the battle started. Five minutes after that battle began, the scout lance was to disengage and proceed to engage the single lance heading for the granaries, calling on air support as needed. The assault lance was to assure no enemy units reached the water plant, then to proceed to engage the DropShips if possible. All reinforcements were to proceed towards the DropShips.
You have ordered your troops in the above listed configuration and wait in your command center for battle reports. The first reports come in. Your assault lance and recon lance encounter the enemy approximately two kilometers from the water purification plant. The attacking units are ten light to medium weight 'Mechs, apparently bandits. With aircraft support, your units rip into the enemy 'Mechs.
After a few minutes of battle, three of the raiders are down and the rest seem to be in full retreat. None of your 'Mechs have received serious damage, though two air craft have been shot down. The raiders which were heading for the food stockpiles are still unaccounted for. What now, MechWarrior?
Recommended discussion items: Pursuit of a fleeing enemy. Possibilities of a trap. The unknown force to the north, probable makeup and objectives. Overall strategy.
Historical:
The commander ordered his air units and recon lance to swing wide and intercept the northern raiders while the assault lance pursued the retreating force toward the DropShips. The recon lance encountered a force of six 'Mechs returning from a brief raid of the granaries and fought a short, hard action, disabling one enemy 'Mech and losing one of their own 'Mechs and three more air craft.
The assault lance destroyed two of the retreating 'Mechs and was forced to stand off from the DropShip guns and defending forces (three more 'Mechs and a company of light infantry). When the northern raiders reached the ship, the bandits immediately retreated off-planet. Damage to the granaries was rated as slight.
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