----- Three Hours Later -----
Date: April, 3023
Location: Quentin
Title: The Fox, the Hound, and the Dragon
Author: Jim Brunk, Dale L. Kemper & Michael Lee
Type: Scenario (The Kell Hounds)
Synopsis: Three hours after the scattered combat drop, the Fifth Sword of Light’s First Battalion managed to gather together its components – Death Knell Company, Thunderstrike Company, and Demonblade Company, and launch a furious attack on the garrison – the Kell Hounds Battalion and the 143rd Davion Combined Arms Regiment (the planetary militia).
The Kell Hounds, now armed with live ammo, engage the Sworders as they’re in the process of massacring the 143rd’s infantry. Militia Colonel Van Adams mistakes the Kuritans for the Kell Hounds (the Hounds had been simulating a Kuritan raider battalion during several weeks of wargames), and orders an artillery barrage, indiscriminately targeting friend and foe alike.
The 5th Sword of Light wins if his losses are smaller than those inflicted on the Kell Hounds by the end of turn 10. The Kell Hounds win if they’ve inflicted more than 50 percent casualties on the Sworders by Turn 10.
The Hounds commit two Elite/Medium ‘Mech lances, one Veteran/Light scout lance, and one Elite/Medium AeroFighter lance. The 143rd deploys three Regular Heavy Infantry platoons, two Green Motorized Infantry platoons, and three vehicle lances (one Type 3 and two Type 5). It appears that they’ve already lost a Motorized Infantry platoon by the time the Kell Hounds arrive.
Notes: The First Battalion of the 5th Sword of Light is evidently not Tarwater’s Battalion of the 5th Sword of Light, since Sorenson’s Sabres and the rest of their parent battalion were pulling garrison duty on Luthien in April 3023, and preparing for a change of duty station to New Caledonia.
I’ve gone through the PDF of the BattleForce rulebook three times, and for the life of me I can’t figure out what the Type ratings mean. Perhaps there’s a page missing where it indicates how Type 1, Type 2, Type 3, etc. translate into statistics, but I can’t seem to find it. There is such a list in the NAIS Atlas of the Fourth Succession War, Volume 2, however, so that can serve as a ready reference.
That would give the 143rd two Demolishers, two Von Luckners, four Vedettes, four Goblins, five infantry platoons, and four Long Toms – putting it at slightly under battalion strength. One would infer, then, that the full AFFS planetary militia regiment consists of one armor battalion, one heavy infantry battalion, one motorized infantry battalion, an artillery support company, and a ‘Mech command lance (a militia liaison officer in a ‘Mech featured in the previous scenario.) The House Davion sourcebook indicates that Planetary Guard Units (PGUs, though often corrupted into PUGs – aka Ugly PUGs) are infantry regiments used for scouting, but perhaps they’re “infantry” regiments in the sense that SLDF Infantry Divisions were 2/3 infantry, and 1/3 armored units (‘Mechs and tanks).
On the Kuritan side, Death Knell Company fields a Dragon, 3 Grasshoppers, a JagerMech, 3 Griffins, 3 Panthers, and a Wasp. Thunderstrike Company fields a Dragon, a Grasshopper, a JagerMech, a Griffin, a Wolverine, 3 Jenners, 2 Wasps, a Stinger, and a Spider. Demonblade Company fields 3 Wasps, a Stinger, a Spider, a Griffin, 2 Panthers, a Scorpion, a Hunchback, a Phoenix Hawk, and a Whitworth.
It’s not clear where the Sworder Marauder, Warhammer, Thunderbolt and Hunchback from the earlier scenario fit into the TO&E. Perhaps it was the Battalion HQ lance, since it seems noticeably heavier than the rest of the Battalion, on average.
Given the scenario parameters, the Sworders should use their superior mobility to simply avoid contact with the militia and concentrate exclusively on the Kell Hounds. With some careful use of terrain and maneuver, you could avoid taking fire from infantry units prior to turn ten, while taking advantage of your three-to-one numbers advantage to whomp the Hounds and get far ahead in the exchange of lost units. If you get in close with the Hounds, the artillery will do as much damage to them as to you. If the infantry starts to become bothersomely close, blow a hole in their lines and saunter out at 2x to 3x their speed, leaving them in your dust.
All the Kell Hound/143rd player should care about is getting an average of 1.6 kills per turn. You need to get your infantry into the game as quickly as possible. The Goblins can each carry an infantry squad, so load a Heavy Infantry platoon aboard and deploy it with the Goblin lance. Try to use your slight numbers advantage to corral the Sworders and focus your firepower on their lighter, weaker units. Use the Kell Hound aerospace units to strafe and/or bomb the weakest Sworders – getting your kills wherever you can. Keep your Long Toms firing, even if the sides get mixed together. You don’t really care how many of your own troops get hit, as long as you can get 16 Sworders down and out by turn 10.
There aren't any rules to cover this sort of thing in BattleForce, but technically, since the Militia thought the wargame exercises were still ongoing, their ballistic and missile weapons should still have paint loads, including the Long Toms. However, neutering the 143rd would make the scenario seriously unbalanced in favor of House Kurita.