Hiding something as big as a BattleMech might very well be described as impossible, even under the best conditions. The best one can reasonably hope for Is to confuse its outlines and/or reduce its signature. Mottled urban camouflage (top) and banded or striped camouflage patterns (bottom) are two very common types of camouflage that have been found to be effective in city environments and among the broken grays and shadows of ruins. The reduction of a 'Mech's infrared, magnetic, electrical, or radioactive signature is a task which must be left up to sophisticated electronic counter-measure equipment. Unfortunately, such jamming gear is becoming increasingly scarce, as the universe becomes more lostech. On the other hand, the outlines of even the largest BattleMech may be broken up and confused by the use of camouflage. The subject of camouflage is such a broad one that entire field manuals have been devoted to the subject. Such being the case, we will only be examining a single area of concealment at this time, that of urban camouflage. A city, with its straight lines and sharp angles, makes a difficult backdrop against which to hide anything. As a Steiner infantryman once put it, "Why are they issuing us camouflage uniforms? There aren't any trees within a dozen klicks of here. We ought to paint store-fronts and ground-car bumpers all over ourselves." During the latter part of the 20th century, most military units, and nearly all metropolitan police forces, were confronted with the same problem. A number of different, widely-varied patterns of camouflage were specifically developed for use in urban areas. Most were random mottlings of gray, white, and black. A few others relied on alternating bands of those same colors to confuse and break up the silhouette of the man or equipment upon which the pattern was employed. One urban camouflage pattern, scoffed at by critics but greatly praised by the soldiers who wore it, was developed on Terra during the middle of the 21 st century. This unorthodox design consisted of vertical stripes of black, gray, and white, interspersed with similar bands of dark blue, green, and mustard yellow. Amazingly, this "billiard table" camouflage was very difficult to spot among the shattered walls and ruined buildings of a city-become-battleground. Today, there are as many urban camouflage patterns as there are fighting forces to use them. Due to space limitationS, only two of the most common are being presented here. The first is the common mottled urban camouflage, which some people have likened to a black-and-white holo of woodland camo. Depicted here in what is called "high relief," this pattern is most useful in a city whose buildings are primarily constructed of light- colored materials. In its subdued, form, where all of the colors are muted and darkened, mottled urban camouflage will fit most Metropolitan environments. The second type of urban camouflage is one of the many banded (or striped) patterns. Most often running diagonally across the surface upon which it is displayed, this pattern of light and dark grays and black not only breaks up the outlines of a man or 'Mech, it also simulates the play of light and shadow along the lines and edges of a city's buildings. In using camouflage, however, one should always keep in mind that no camouflage, regardless of how closely it matches the surrounding terrain, is positive concealment. A trained observer will be able to spot the anomalies between camouflage and background with ease. Even an untrained eye will be able to spot it eventually. Many inexperienced warriors have made the often fatal mistake of relying too heavily on camouflage. It should also be noted that camouflage of any sort is only effective as long as the unit so concealed remains stationary. Even the slightest movement can obviate the effectiveness of camouflage. The human eye will pick up on motion before detail. This consideration is especially critical in an urban environment, where the background is static. In a forested or desert environment, there is always some kind of natural motion. In a city, there is nothing short of an earthquake that would make a building move. Urban camouflage, such as the striped pattern on the Archer shown above, help break up a BattleMech's form among the straight-edged and sharply contrasting shapes common to the city environment. Other factors which must be considered when selecting a camouflage pattern are: the age of the city; the appearance, condition, and construction of its buildings; and the predominant style of architecture. Even the relative amounts of industry and vegetation with the city must be taken into account. These factors, and others, may be illustrated by the following examples, both of urban areas which do not fit the common conception of a city landscape, and of camouflage patterns which may be used by their garrison forces. Taedang City: Situated on the northeastern land mass of the Capellan world, New Westin. Taedang City is built almost exclusively out of the reddish variform granite which is common to the surrounding highlands. Relatively young as cities in the Inner Sphere go, Taedang's buildings have not yet acquired the coating of grime and soot which is common to most urban areas. As a result, most vehicles and 'Mechs used by the garrison there employ a dark reddish- brown base color, with tan, dark brown, and rust-red tiger stripes. Toask: Built in the center of a heavily forested area on the Marik-held world of Ryerson, this city is one of the few metropolitan areas in the midst of a nearly worldwide logging industry. The sylvan environment surrounding Toask is reflected by its large parks and many tree-lined boulevards. Here, a garrison commander might opt for a modified woodland camouflage of brown and green intermixed with a graygreen urban pattern. Luthien: Often called Black Luthien, the capitol of the Draconis Combine is an old city whose many industries have layered its building with a thick coating of grime and soot. Here, many of the BattleMechs and armored fighting vehicles are painted with a mottled black, dark gray, and dark blue camouflage scheme. These, of course, are extreme examples. Most urban areas provide a regular background of various shades of gray. They can be handled with a standard camouflage pattern of those same colors. Considering the no-holds-barred, frequently no-quarter nature of urban combat, a well-selected and properly used camouflage scheme is vital to the warrior whose life depends upon seeing the enemy before the enemy sees him.  Back to BattleTechnology 5 Table of Contents Back to BattleTechnology List of Issues Back to MagWeb Magazine List © Copyright 1988 by Pacific Rim Publishing. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com