Battletech Welcome to the Jungle
- Thread starter Speaker4thesilent
- Start date
Huh, that is interesting to know. From the mod post it sounds like there should be mods reviewing the thread and giving us a verdict post before it is reopened. Learn something new everyday.
Also nice edit for the chapter. It shows julia is thinking, even if she doesn't choose to say anything right now.
Also nice edit for the chapter. It shows julia is thinking, even if she doesn't choose to say anything right now.
PeaceMaker 03
Well-known member
Question for the hive mind?
What is the top 5 things Weber’s holdfast needs at this point to improve the defensive posture vs a raid or an attack?
Yes, probably to late for the expected attack.
What is the top 5 things Weber’s holdfast needs at this point to improve the defensive posture vs a raid or an attack?
Yes, probably to late for the expected attack.
1. Planetary Shield Dome....
Ok, ok, ok!
Top 5 possible things to acquire:
1. Increased ASF presence to include Assault dropships
2. Dedicated Air-Defense Artillery network, which should include 50% mobile assets.
3. At least a complete RCT (combined arms brigade) for dedicated on planet defenders.
4. System Defense Monitor in geo-stationary orbit above the main Catachan Site.
5. Defense Station to replace monitor at location so the monitor can defend the closest pirate point.
Ok, ok, ok!
Top 5 possible things to acquire:
1. Increased ASF presence to include Assault dropships
2. Dedicated Air-Defense Artillery network, which should include 50% mobile assets.
3. At least a complete RCT (combined arms brigade) for dedicated on planet defenders.
4. System Defense Monitor in geo-stationary orbit above the main Catachan Site.
5. Defense Station to replace monitor at location so the monitor can defend the closest pirate point.
paulobrito
Well-known member
1 - possible but expensive.
2 - only useful for very short range
3 - nice to have but again expensive
4 - that thing exist at that time?
5 - expensive as hell.
So, 1 and 3 but these only possible if the Steiner's provides them for now, Weber doesn't has the money / pull to obtain these much less in a short time window.
2 - only useful for very short range
3 - nice to have but again expensive
4 - that thing exist at that time?
5 - expensive as hell.
So, 1 and 3 but these only possible if the Steiner's provides them for now, Weber doesn't has the money / pull to obtain these much less in a short time window.
Bear Ribs
Well-known member
Similar to @The Whispering Monk but I'd change it up slightly.
1. Absolutely more ASF to hold off attackers. Thirty birds is a nice start but IIRC they're all Stingrays and one Centurion so no heavies or fast interceptors, it's an imbalanced group that lacks versatile options and the slowness of the Stingrays means they can be readily outmaneuvered or just bypassed by nearly-twice-as-fast Kurita Scholagars. If not affordable it might be worthwhile to see if you can horse-trade some of the Stingrays for fast lights.
2. A company of Partisans to give attacking ASF that do get around the Stingrays a bad day. AC/2 Carriers are a cheaper option.
3. Bunkers for non-combat personnel if they don't already have underground quarters. Astechs are hard to replace and the warriors will have better morale knowing their families are well-protected.
4. An infantry platoon (going to company if possible) equipped for urban-combat and CQB tactics to make sure Kurita ninjas/ROM suicide bombers can't get into the factory or settlement through the back door while the 'mechs are playing and either hold the dependents hostage or just blow critical equipment up.
Honestly I don't think there's five reasonably-priced options I would go with. The Defenses are halfway decent already and I'm of the opinion that the Warriors have done pretty well with what they have to work with.
1. Absolutely more ASF to hold off attackers. Thirty birds is a nice start but IIRC they're all Stingrays and one Centurion so no heavies or fast interceptors, it's an imbalanced group that lacks versatile options and the slowness of the Stingrays means they can be readily outmaneuvered or just bypassed by nearly-twice-as-fast Kurita Scholagars. If not affordable it might be worthwhile to see if you can horse-trade some of the Stingrays for fast lights.
2. A company of Partisans to give attacking ASF that do get around the Stingrays a bad day. AC/2 Carriers are a cheaper option.
3. Bunkers for non-combat personnel if they don't already have underground quarters. Astechs are hard to replace and the warriors will have better morale knowing their families are well-protected.
4. An infantry platoon (going to company if possible) equipped for urban-combat and CQB tactics to make sure Kurita ninjas/ROM suicide bombers can't get into the factory or settlement through the back door while the 'mechs are playing and either hold the dependents hostage or just blow critical equipment up.
Honestly I don't think there's five reasonably-priced options I would go with. The Defenses are halfway decent already and I'm of the opinion that the Warriors have done pretty well with what they have to work with.
PsihoKekec
Swashbuckling Accountant
RCT is wasted on the Catachan as the environment is simply too lethal for conventional forces to operate outside of Holdfast. Best option would be one mech regiment, one infantry regiment for protection of Holdfast and one mixed armore regiment, with battalion of AA tanks, battalion of close quarter vehicles for Holdfast defense (with perhaps platoon or two of regular tanks for road patrol) and VTOL battalion for recon and CSAR.
What he most needs at the moment are dropper choppers.
Does not exist at this time and even if it did, they are limited to systems where they were made.
What he most needs at the moment are dropper choppers.
Doomsought
Well-known member
In order of priority:
1) Some urban combat units for garrisoning the hold-fast: a mix of infantry, combat vehicle LRM carriers and Urban Mechs
2) Some artillery, mix of mobile and some artillery turrets placed to deny landing zones. Make invaders have to deal with the wild wife.
3) More ASF to deny landing to enemy forces.
4) A dedicated Combat engineer unit, this is a specialization that can be covered by a combination of urban combat units and civilians, which is why it is on a lower priority.
5) A capital weapon's emplacement, most likely a capital missile launcher since those are still being made and can be used as cruise missiles and ICBMs if someone actually managed to set up camp.
PsihoKekec
Swashbuckling Accountant
No, those are still lostech, rulewise they all become available only in 3050.
PeaceMaker 03
Well-known member
My take on the wish list:
1) Aerospace assets dropper shoppers, assault Dropships, and some type of marine force delivery system to take Jumpships that come into the system. ( which leads to #2).... Defending the system means defending the space station and orbital infrastructure.
2) If the JS NEVER RETURN THE secret is safe.
Example a Drost II with 2 small craft and marines.
If possible modded to hild a few ASF.
3) It is a dwarf hold, use the power of rock. Have miners create defense positions for artillery and AAA.
- The artillery fires recoil used to move the gun back while closing shutters that protect the artillery.
The holdfast is at the top of a pass in the mountains. A few Long toms should have every possible land zone pre-registered for Anti Dropship fire. Thunder/FASCAM to channel enemy or limit enemy maneuver
Something like this also would be invaluable because Flak rounds for artillery was or is a thing.
Pollux ADA Heavy Tank
4) - For mobile assets., hull-down / firing points dug into rock with multiple fire points.( and preset engineer destruction for tunnels. And/ OR traps, because nothing says “ you made a mistake attacking my dwarf hold, like dropping the front and back of a tunnel trapping enemy and opening the valves to the inferno gel.)
5) - Better sensor network around the holdfast, landlines for secure transmission.
Either infantry forward OP/ FO’s or detection equipment or mix of both.
3025 Ferret VTOL had a variant with remote sensors, a sensor net around the dwarf hold should be doable. If you know where the enemy is and his strength you can maintain localized superiority.
And
Strike where he is weak.
1) Aerospace assets dropper shoppers, assault Dropships, and some type of marine force delivery system to take Jumpships that come into the system. ( which leads to #2).... Defending the system means defending the space station and orbital infrastructure.
2) If the JS NEVER RETURN THE secret is safe.
Example a Drost II with 2 small craft and marines.
If possible modded to hild a few ASF.
3) It is a dwarf hold, use the power of rock. Have miners create defense positions for artillery and AAA.
- The artillery fires recoil used to move the gun back while closing shutters that protect the artillery.
The holdfast is at the top of a pass in the mountains. A few Long toms should have every possible land zone pre-registered for Anti Dropship fire. Thunder/FASCAM to channel enemy or limit enemy maneuver
Something like this also would be invaluable because Flak rounds for artillery was or is a thing.
Pollux ADA Heavy Tank
4) - For mobile assets., hull-down / firing points dug into rock with multiple fire points.( and preset engineer destruction for tunnels. And/ OR traps, because nothing says “ you made a mistake attacking my dwarf hold, like dropping the front and back of a tunnel trapping enemy and opening the valves to the inferno gel.)
5) - Better sensor network around the holdfast, landlines for secure transmission.
Either infantry forward OP/ FO’s or detection equipment or mix of both.
3025 Ferret VTOL had a variant with remote sensors, a sensor net around the dwarf hold should be doable. If you know where the enemy is and his strength you can maintain localized superiority.
And
Strike where he is weak.
The questions wasnt what Weber can get RIGHT NOW. It was what should he get.
I thinkg you're under estimating how much space the hold fast occupies. Thankfully, a great deal of it sounds like it's at least partially underground.
From the descriptions so far, it sounds like Catachan has several facilities at different locations. (Within easy supplly range of each other.
This means they will need multiple independent commands to cover each site and support the other ones. (Unless I'm completely misreading the situation.)
Thats why I recommmended a full RCT/BDE.
Mechanized or Airmobile infantry will be a must just to keep the PBI from tiring out too quickly.
VTOL gunships will be invaluable in the type of restrictive terrain were talking about.
Mobile Arty Will be a must because the terrain will create a lot of blind spots for the artillery.
Tanks should focus on urban brawlers, indirect fire, and some reconnaissance specialists.
Yellowhammer
Well-known member
#1: TIME.
#2: Heavy LIC support to prevent against infiltration leading to espionage or attack.
#3: ASFs, ideally a squadron or two of Dropper Choppers
#4: A battalion or so of armor, ideally Demolishers, Partisans and LRM carriers (one company each) to backstop the Mechs. Eventually build to a regiment.
#5: Artillery with hidden firing positions in the Holdfast.
Knowledgeispower
Ah I love the smell of missile spam in the morning
Would a company of Behemoths to make the armor battalion a reinforced one be useful as well? I assume they would be. Mind you the variant that ditches the MG and SRM-2s and their ammo for more armor would probably be more useful. And you could probably swap out the two AC/10s with their LBX Cousins while you're at it
PeaceMaker 03
Well-known member
Behemoths for defending the tunnels to the factories, with added armor to the front and turret.
Just put a few doglegs in the tunnel so that AC 10 is always in the optimal range.
With a few T intersections so enemy have their back to a pair of Behemoths in hull-down positions and bunkers with MG’s and flamers to stop infantry.
Wargamer08
Well-known member
Eh, shame about the Spacebattles thread. I mean, being asked to keep the politics and religion out of a Battletech story seems at best ignorant. I did love the usual suspects engaging in their full internet atheist act walk off without comment or points.
Oh well, I'm looking forward to reading more about the incoming attack when you get around to it here.
Oh well, I'm looking forward to reading more about the incoming attack when you get around to it here.
SB and SV ironically tend to have problems with classic sci-fi and space opera. Given one of the major themes in sci fi is a "what if" for political systems and groups. A good example are the Kurita Space Weebs, how would that society work anyway? It also tends to group things along groups. The alien race X that are Y in government/outlook/religion is pretty classic.
We should be seeing if an invasion is immanent soon story wise, and I am looking forward to it.
We should be seeing if an invasion is immanent soon story wise, and I am looking forward to it.
bobnik
Memetic Warfare Specialist
Glad this was just moved, not flat canned. Also like the additions, and @Yellowhammer wrote an excellent response for Julia. While people have already commented that Julia is wise enough to realise she doesn't know what she needs to know, she also displayed two more superpowers: 1) Delegation ("Daddy, as a historian could you please find me someone who DOES know,") and 2)the Steiner superpower ("-then hit them with my money until they agree to come and teach me.").
Yellowhammer
Well-known member
Yeah, unfortunately, by necessity the process of setting up a new colony involves the politics of whatever society forms it, especially in this case where it's not a direct transport of an extant social matrix from Spess!Wherever. And Weber and Julia are in positions where the buck stops on their desk regarding it.
This very much this about Sci-fi being a 'what if' for political systems, groups and the like. As much as we joke about Future of the 1980s, BT is no stranger to that with Space!Japan, Space!Austria-Hungary, Space!Ireland in Skye, and the like.
I'd also include 'connections' in #2 since having that last name asking you for advice does get you taken more seriously in your next research paper 'On the Political Organization of Catachan' than if it was Olivetti, or Doons, or Mallos or the like who you can namedrop as their expert political advisor on colonies.
But yes, Julia got the idea that her (gold-plated) shit can in fact stink worse than the standard variety when she got the real story on the kind of monsters and madmen that the Steiners have cranked out at times (and Claudius the Cruel being her ancestor was even more sobering; having the setting-equivalent of Caligula be your direct ancestor eight generations back does that). So she got pretty thoughtful and tends to 'measure twice and thrice before cutting once' by nature and training. Therefore, she asks herself 'am I right or am I just thinking that I'm right' fairly often if she has the time to ponder, along with making it a policy to not shoot the messenger.
(Which Weber is happy about since she keeps a lid on things, even if he wishes that he could read her poker face better, although he will do better with time and experience.)
So am I, honestly.