"What Now, Mech Warrior?" is a war-game prepared as a set of training exercises by order of Archon Melissa Steiner-Davion as pail of an ongoing effort to merge the military doctrines of the former Federated Suns with the Lyran Commonwealth. The Archon has requested that BattleTechnology reprint selected scenarios from ever-expanding list of cases so others may benefit from the experiences of the past. The scenarios presented are versions of historical battles or situations 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 discuss the relative strengths and weaknesses of the offered solutions. In BattleTechnology's test of the workability of this method, we discovered that such discussions are apt to become quite heated so we recommend that they be conducted In a relaxed, in formal atmosphere conducive to the free exchange of opinions (We also recommend that the discussion area be kept clear of heavy objects that could be used as projectiles). It Is worth noting that there are no 'right' or 'wrong' answers to the presented problems. The historical Information simply shows how one commander handled the situation. Someone may well come up with a better solution. The Information contained with in these scenarios Is not classified or considered militarily sensitive. BattleTechnology magazine wishes to thank Capt. 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-bilis from your BattleTechnology magazine distributor. Please include the scenario name and programming language you want when ordering. The Best Tool for the Job You have been given command of a lance of light Battle Mechs that are being sent to garrison a planet that has recently been repatriated after nearly a hundred years of rule by anther Successor House. Your lance consists of two Locusts, a single Wasp and your own Valkyrie; you are to be placed under the command of local military. The planet is essentially Earth-like with nearly normal gravity and atmospheric conditions. The planet does have relatively high normal temperatures and heavy seasonal rain fall. In transit to your new duty station, you review the available information. In summary you learn that the local population is considered 'transitory', meaning some place between two Successor Houses. Apparently, there is a great deal of popular support for your house but there have been a growing number of 'incidents' showing support for the recently ousted government. These incidents have been growing more violent. On the plus side, Tactical considers it very unlikely you will be faced with any sort of invasion by an organized military force. It looks like civil guard duty to you. What Now, 'MechWarrior? (Recommended discussion items: The suitability of the 'Mechs for the assigned mission. What sort of information the officer should request. Status of the pilots. The use of 'Mechs against civilians.) Historical. The lance commander reviewed all the available data and interviewed his personnel, looking for any signs of planetary prejudice that might produce friction between his people and either the local command or the population. He also insisted all his personnel review crowd control texts and held a series of seminars on planetary politics, sensitivity to the local population's fears and concerns, and the use of 'Mechs to quell civil disobedience. Additionally, he insisted on a clear charter form his commander regarding the authorized level of force he could employ. During transit to your target, you spend the time getting to know your lance mates and find nothing to contradict your set of assumptions. Everyone seems resigned to a tour-of-duty on a belligerent planet. At least the possibility of a major 'Mech confrontation is unlikely. When you land, you check in with your garrison commander, a harried official trying to deal with a myriad of logistical problems. He sends you the planetary government liaison and instructs you to take orders from her. You track her down and find a polite middleaged woman who confirms your suspicions. You're working crowd-control and "it would be best if you minimize damage to people and property during your duties" (trying to make a good impression and all). She offers to help modify your 'Mechs if you wish to tailor them for their new duty. Seems like a good idea. What now, MechWarrior? (Recommended Discussion items: Use of 'Mech weapons on civilians. Possible modification strategies. How different weapons configurations might be used in urban, open terrain, or other settings. The problems in serving as police (warrior pride, morale, etc.). Possible dangers from civilian mobs.) Historical: The unit leader opted for weapons reconfigurations to better suite the mission profile. The Locusts loaded latex rounds in the machine gun ammo bins and the Wasp set smoke/tear gas rockets in the SRM launchers. All the lasers were powered down and recalibrated to produce a broadbeam, strobe light effect to blind attackers. The unit leader chose to leave his own laser intact though he used smoke/gas rounds for the first quarter of the ammo for his LRM. All the laser modifications could be switched back to normal weapons mode in about thirty minutes of 'Tech work. You have reconfigured your 'Mechs as listed above and now await your first assignment. It comes two weeks later. You receive a call to proceed to a section of the city and help break up a large, anti-government demonstration. As you and your companions mobilize, you review the available information. It's inconsistent. Some reports indicate a moderately large crowd of demonstrators, others indicate a huge mob of armed rioters. You figure it's somewhere between the two extremes. You arrive at the public square and find that several thousand people fill the area. Local police have contained the demonstration but some violence has sprung up at the edges. No weapons beyond rocks and clubs have been confirmed. The incident commander requests your help in dispersing the crowd. What now, MechWarrior? (Recommended discussion items: How to achieve mission objectives without causing undue civilian casualties. Possibilities of panic and the effect of the presence of 'Mechs on the crowd. Appropriateness of the use of 'Mechs in this situation.) Historical: The commander determined the prevailing wind direction was from the north. Not wishing to cause a panic, he requested the watch-commander open a corridor towards the east, away from the city core, to allow the demonstrators to withdraw. He then formed his 'Mechs up to the east, out of sight of the crowd and slowly advanced. Once the 'Mechs came into view, the demonstrators wavered and began to fall back. One volley of tear gas dispersed the rest with no loss of life. Your first action in your new role goes quite well. None of your 'Mechs are damaged, no one was killed and the riot was quelled with a minimum of property damage. Everyone, except the demonstrators, seem happy about the outcome. Things proceed for several months with you and your forces called on occasionally to back up the civil authorities. One night, during your fifth month on planet, you get an emergency call to respond to a major riot in an industrial sector. The civil authorities have been unable to control the violence and there are confirmed reports of light field weapons being used. Your tactical map shows that roughly eight square blocks are involved and the violence seems to be spreading. You respond at once, moving your people out. You should reach the scene in ten minutes. What now, MechWarrior? (Recommended discussion items: Tactical orders for your units. How to distinguish looters from the civil guards. Possible political objectives for the riot.) Historical: The commander contacted the incident commander and requested orders. He was directed to the core of the rioting where it was suspected foreign agents were directing the action. This would remove him from any areas where the civic authorities might be. You move though the flaming ruins of torched warehouses towards the core of the rioting. On the way, you disperse numerous clusters of looters with sprays of latex bullets fired by the Locusts. At your target, you find a cluster of cargo lifters centered around what must be the command post. Small arms fire begins bouncing off your armor as you move forwards to fully assess the situation. A sudden kick on your magnetic senors draws your attention east, towards an near by factory. The outer fence rips free and some sort of 'Mech lumbers into view. Your computer can't ID it but it looks like an industrial 'Mech in the 60-ton range outfitted with weapons salvaged from the an assortment of armored vehicle. An arm mounted PPC fires from the construct, blowing a leg off one of the Locusts. Looks like a trap to you. What now, MechWarrior? (Recommended discussion items: Relative mission priorities, The possibility of retreat and what effects that would have on the tactical situation, If you fight, do you use physical or ranged attacks, Possible strategies for combat or retreat.) Historical. The commander ordered the Wasp to assist the downed Locust and all three of the other 'Mechs to evacuate, knowing they did not have effective ranged weapons. He contacted the incident commander and informed her of the situation. He chose to fight the patchwork 'Mech, not wanting to let it inflict major damage on the surrounding buildings. He decided not to close with it, since it was substantially heavier then his Valkyrie, and chose to assume its piecemeal weapons systems were apt to be less accurate then his integrated systems. With the Wasp helping to drag the wounded 'Mech away, all three of your lance mates pullback. You launch several spreads of LRMs at the command center to clear the gas rounds, then turn your attention to the Patchwork 'Mech. It counters with a pair of industrial lasers, one of which scores the side of your machine. The two of you exchange fire for several minutes and in that time, you get a good idea of what you're facing. The Patchwork 'Mech is slower and more massive then yours. You think that if it connects with a kick or punch, it should be able to do serious damage. For weapons, it carries two industrial lasers (slightly less powerful then medium weapon-type lasers) a salvaged Lord's Light PPC and a number of one-use SRM packs. The warrior piloting that monster appears to be quite competent, though hampered by his machine. You have taken damage to about 30% of your armor though its unbreached. You've landed a few good shots but considering the unconventional nature of your foe, you have no idea how badly off it is. You can either stand and fight, or withdraw, waiting for reinforcements to help out. What now MechWarrior? (Recommended discussion items: When to fight and when to run. Possible problems of waiting for reinforcements. A commander's responsibilities. How best to fight a single target that's larger and better armed.) Historical Hoping to demoralize the resistance and destroy what he suspected was their major weapon, the commander decided to stand and fight. He landed several hits with his laser then took a solid PPC hit in the torso, crippling his 'Mech. Before the enemy unit could finish him off, several squads of jump infantry arrived and destroyed it. The commander lost his right arm in the conflict, but he was credited with keeping the Patchwork 'Mech in place until it could be destroyed. The planet subsequently had no major incidents of civil disobedience. Back to BattleTechnology 21 Table of Contents Back to BattleTechnology List of Issues Back to MagWeb Magazine List © Copyright 1994 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