Hidden 5 yrs ago Post by Gunther
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Here is a headspace and timing check on the tactics I have written about in this most recent post.

In built up terrain, Light infantry or dismounted infantry (mech/motorized) is best suited to fight here. Built up or urban terrain has many great hiding places for an infantry soldier. Reinforcing a sniper position inside an attic with sandbags can create a wonderful hiding position and provide some cover from incoming fire. The earthlings are traveling in armored fighting vehicles. AFVs are best suited for open terrain or rolling hills and small copses of trees.

In our scenario, AFVs are leading with infantry, mounted. The assumption the leadership has taken to make this move is that the Salvesh are on the far side of the reconnaissance assets, like our squad. But since this is a MOUT environment it is quite possible they silently infiltrated behind the reconnaissance asset and established ambush sites along most major avenues of approach. The Salvesh are dismounted or light infantry and can hide just as easily as their human counterparts. Even if they are larger in size, they are still quite smaller than the AFVs they are targeting.

I recall once planning an area ambush employing depth using light infantry armed with anti armor weapons intent on taking out AFVs. There were several squad sized anti-armor kill teams established all over the place hoping to bag as many tanks and APCs as possible. They way I read this scenario, is one of these many ambushes was 800 meters to our front at 11 O'clock and one of these ambushes was set approximately one mile behind us along the main avenue of approach for Team Bravo, Task Force Cox which is advancing towards our position.

At this point in the story, Squad Park is cut off from friendly forces.
Hidden 5 yrs ago Post by Gunther
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I finally found time to read your last post. This was awesome. I pulled out three quotes I wanted to comment on.

The Plashi controller, a strategist that established objectives on a limited level to their hired mercenary units, was indicating other anomalies in the area, but seemed to still think that it was a new variation of automated systems, some sort of leap forward in computing.


This is pure genius. Yes, it is different and the Salvesh can tell it is different. When you encounter something different, isn’t it traditionally an Anomaly? Sure. Say it is a glitch with the system and drive on! Love it!

This felt like something different, Sahati grumbled to himself as the rounds hit. It was cruder than the typical Grathik technology, and his gut said that this was not the expected unexpected that they were reasonably prepared for.


Love it. The Salvesh can’t have it their way every time. Poor Sahati and Rysch are in trouble.

How large of an element was at that more distant ambush site? The one we struck with sniper fire and indirect fire? Would this be a squad? ~10 soldiers…or a platoon? ~40 soldiers.

"Sahati, I am sending coordinates," Rysch radioed, "and I want you to engage the location with fire very carefully. I think I have located a new enemy. I want to see their reaction."


What sort of fire should we expect in response from the Salvesh? Is this gunpowder indirect fire or energy-based weapons? Who is targeted? The Observation Post (OP) our squad is on or the lead elements of TF Cox moving toward the Salvesh forces?
Hidden 5 yrs ago Post by HeySeuss
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This is pure genius. Yes, it is different and the Salvesh can tell it is different. When you encounter something different, isn’t it traditionally an Anomaly? Sure. Say it is a glitch with the system and drive on! Love it!


Pretty much. I feel like the Plashi might be second guessing the Salvesh here.

Love it. The Salvesh can’t have it their way every time. Poor Sahati and Rysch are in trouble.

How large of an element was at that more distant ambush site? The one we struck with sniper fire and indirect fire? Would this be a squad? ~10 soldiers…or a platoon? ~40 soldiers.


Amorphous amount between 10-50 troops depending on leader experience and stature/success, etc. Packs fight fairly efficiently within their ranks, but larger groups are temporary and command structure is very decentralized. I would imagine that means there are a lot of good Salvesh small unit leaders, but the Plashi are their higher command and create staff/logistics/support etc. They tend to play Great Squad Leader in the Sky.

It might be more than one element operating on guidance from the same Plashi though.

What sort of fire should we expect in response from the Salvesh? Is this gunpowder indirect fire or energy-based weapons? Who is targeted? The Observation Post (OP) our squad is on or the lead elements of TF Cox moving toward the Salvesh forces?


The Salvesh are firing at the OP to see what sort of reaction they get. Odds are, they are using gauss weaponry; magnetic propulsion rather than chemical propellant.
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Hidden 5 yrs ago Post by Gunther
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The M2 .50 Caliber Machine Gun, Heavy Barrel is frickin' heavy.
The gun weighs 84 Lbs. It is so much easier to separate the barrel from the receiver and the tripod. The gun should be carried in three separate pieces plus the ammunition.

Receiver: 60 Lbs.
Barrel: 24 Lbs.
Tripod: 44 Lbs.
Can of Ammo (100 rounds): 35 Lbs.
Hidden 5 yrs ago Post by HeySeuss
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The M2 .50 Caliber Machine Gun, Heavy Barrel is frickin' heavy.
The gun weighs 84 Lbs. It is so much easier to separate the barrel from the receiver and the tripod. The gun should be carried in three separate pieces plus the ammunition.

Receiver: 60 Lbs.
Barrel: 24 Lbs.
Tripod: 44 Lbs.
Can of Ammo (100 rounds): 35 Lbs.


Yeah, which is why the Salvesh mounted it on one of their drones, which can convert over to a mounted weapon for human use. The weapon is still large and bulky, but it can be moved quickly to the next position without burdening the humans with the weight. Since anti-grav is a thing, I felt like the drone tech and crewed infantry weapons would benefit as well. You can pretty much mount an M-2 on anything, after all.

A similar system might exist for heavier weapons systems like light fifties as well and other bulky squad/platoon supplies as well, which keeps the unit close to their supplies even when they do have to drop packs or other items and so that they don't have to carry it all. That can make a real difference for the maneuverability of weapons units as well as the stamina of the individual soldier with a greatly reduced individual load.

Down the line, exoskeletons, but that requires a lot of training the Salvesh didn't have time for, so I anticipate the idea that they designed systems that were easy to bolt human equipment onto with user friendliness as the most important feature.
Hidden 5 yrs ago Post by Gunther
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Maybe I should edit my post to reflect the portability of the .50 cal on a drone using hover capabilities.
Hidden 5 yrs ago Post by HeySeuss
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Maybe I should edit my post to reflect the portability of the .50 cal on a drone using hover capabilities.


Sounds like a plan!
Hidden 5 yrs ago Post by HeySeuss
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I would also add that in the event of having to descend from a height, they do have an emergency fall protection system built into their gear that the Centurion troops discovered works for when they need to soften a landing from a tall building. Might be faster than using ropes, but accomplish the same thing. That is in addition to other emergency systems for loss of gravity, loss of atmosphere and so forth, inherent to a habitat station. None of these technologies are tuned to their full potential, the Grathik cranked them out with the idea that they needed to adapt these systems to where the Human troops are, not to where they could be if they trained. But humans are adaptable, and so they probably learned about this equipment and have already started to pick up a few tricks.

Like the emergency landing system.
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Hidden 5 yrs ago Post by Gunther
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I rewrote my last post to include the anti-gravity equipment. I Like the nickname, "Donkey" and making it sound like Eddie Murphy. I'm covering a different classroom today and have time to work. The students all have Chromebook laptops to work on. Even though their teacher is not here, she can set stuff up in Google Classroom from home. I simply take attendance and give out some simple instructions.

I'll start work on a follow on post. The squad is now in its APC. If you can picture the M113 APC without tracks, but some sort of hover platform keeping it up off the ground. This version has a turret with weapons similar to the Bradley. Park will be in the turret with the gunner. Everyone else will be seated on benches with their personal weapons at the ready. The Donkeys and big guns will be stored towards the front of the vehicle now. If the APC needs to deploy its troops, the vehicle will stop and the rear ramp will drop. Park will also drop out of the turret to join the dismounts. There is a soldier on board who serves as vehicle commander when the squad leader dismounts. Once the squad leader is aboard, he has nothing to do.
Hidden 5 yrs ago Post by HeySeuss
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Is the weapons loadout on the APC similar to a Bradley's loadout? Some sort of autocannon and ATM's? I can see there being drone/remote weapons systems in play to reduce the number of crew involved in the operation.

Also, do we have a sense of what the squad loadout looks like? I figure they might well have taken a couple LAWs apiece or similar, or extra ammo for rifles and automatic weapons for this fight.
Hidden 5 yrs ago Post by Gunther
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Is the weapons loadout on the APC similar to a Bradley's loadout? Some sort of autocannon and ATM's? I can see there being drone/remote weapons systems in play to reduce the number of crew involved in the operation.

Also, do we have a sense of what the squad loadout looks like? I figure they might well have taken a couple LAWs apiece or similar, or extra ammo for rifles and automatic weapons for this fight.

Yes to all of the above. The only thing that is very different from what I am accustomed to is the addition of the dismounted .50 caliber MG on the hover rig. It is an innovative use to new technology. Dismounted infantry can now bring heavier weapons into combat at the lower levels.

Hidden 5 yrs ago Post by HeySeuss
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<Snipped quote by HeySeuss>
Yes to all of the above. The only thing that is very different from what I am accustomed to is the addition of the dismounted .50 caliber MG on the hover rig. It is an innovative use to new technology. Dismounted infantry can now bring heavier weapons into combat at the lower levels.


I would also assume the same sort of rig is available for other heavy weapons, including Mk.19's, M134's and a number of other weapons systems. It's probably a boon to the mobility of a weapons platoon especially.

The Grathik design principle was to make it user friendly to already-trained troops rather than retrain the troops, so there's that as well. It's easier for them to integrate into their tactics that way.
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Hidden 5 yrs ago Post by Gunther
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I rewrote my last post. It is slightly different than the first. I have a pet peave about writers who excessively use that, had and have in ways that can be written better. I am guilty of doing this on first drafts, but am compelled to change the words when I edit.
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I rewrote my last post. It is slightly different than the first. I have a pet peave about writers who excessively use that, had and have in ways that can be written better. I am guilty of doing this on first drafts, but am compelled to change the words when I edit.


It's all good. I often redraft my first posts too as well.
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Looks groovy to me!
Hidden 5 yrs ago Post by Gunther
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Motivation to get a post up! :D
I'll do it.
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I replaced Canadian CSOR, Guy Fournier with American Navy, Casey Becket as the squad's medic/AT specialist. I also updated the NPC list in the characters tab to reflect known KIAs and who is replacing the lost leadership. Our acting platoon Commander is a former Australian Commando Warrant Officer 2 Anderson. His rank would be equivalent to a company first sergeant.
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Do we have to speak French for this? Because I'm not playing a character who has to speak French.

Getting a strong Falkenberg's Legion feeling out of this. I like it so far.
Hidden 5 yrs ago Post by Gunther
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Do we have to speak French for this?
No. Not sure where you got that idea. This is not the French Foreign Legion. It is a Foreign Legion hired by the Grathik Race from some distant world. The Legionnaires are veterans of several nations on planet earth. Instead of being French, they all speak English as a common language.

The hider below contains the Non-Player Characters to include the few player characters involved in the RP. As you look through, you will note that I have annotated the character's age, rank in the military, and nation of origin. For the Americans, that would include their state.

You may also note the loss of both the 1st and 2nd Platoon Commanders in our Company, which is currently designated Team Bravo, 3rd Battalion, 1st (Earth) Infantry. Also, my character, Sergeant First Class Brian Park, who is the squad leader is listed as Wounded in Action (WIA). He just took some shrapnell to the buttocks and medically evacuated from the area.

If you look at the organizational structure of 2nd squad, 2nd Platoon you will see a list of people. Aside from the following positions, you can take any of the other slots for your character.

Squad Leader: Brian Park, 34, SFC, USA, SF, Korean American WIA (Gunther)
Rifleman/Sniper: Jake Robson, 28, Corporal, UK, SAS, British (HeySeuss)
Medic/AT Specialist: Casey Beckett, 27, Petty Officer 2nd Class, US, Fleet Marine Corpsman, American (CaptainBritton)

You can take any of these positions. Just tell me which slot you want and I will replace my NPC with your character once you post him/her.
Asst. Squad Leader: Dieter Vogel
Machine Gunner: Jeremiah Edwards
Machine Gunner: Robert Browne
Rifleman/Sniper: Preston Simmons
Grenadier: Diego Velez
Grenadier: Frans Madsen


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