Vehicle of the Week: Main Gauche Light Support Tank
Don’t worry, Jade Hellbringer will be back next week. He agreed to let me slip back into things for a week with the Main Gauche, so let’s get to a carrier of the FWL’s favorite gun. Ironically named for a small, short parrying dagger, the Main Gauche is a light vehicle originally built by Brooks Incorporated as a response to an FWLM request for proposals to supplement or replace the upgraded Galleons operating in the 3050s. Their short range was a handicap against longer-ranged units and the Main Gauche designed to supplement them. Field trials began in 3062 and full-scale production started in 3064, with two variants following soon after. The design was sold mainly to the FWLM and the Word of Blake, although availability opened up after the Jihad to other powers including the Republic, the Capellans, and the Canopians. Whether those are sales or salvage isn’t specified but it’s worth noting that Kendall, home to the Main Gauche’s production line, was part of that section of the FWL that was independent following the political collapse of the League in the Jihad. Enough background, let’s get down to the guns!
The Main Gauche’s original purpose in life is fire support. If you’re expecting anything else, you’re going to be sorely disappointed. At 30 tons, there really isn’t room to do more than one thing anyway. Things start with a 120 rated fusion plant driving this “tank” at 64 kph flank speeds – slow for the size but not particularly bad for the role and a steal at a mere six tons. Five tons of standard armor is cheap, readily available, and encourages you to keep your front pointed at an enemy who should be
well away from you. The front is respectable at 29 points but JadeHellbringer’s preferred AC/20 will blow into the 19 points on the sides and a mere 13 points on the stern means that same AC/20 will blow the Main Gauche straight to hell. Many AC/20 carriers can catch you, too, including those cheap-ass Hetzers everyone’s still got stashed away in planetary militias if you don’t keep moving to avoid them. Okay, it’s not fast and it’s not tough, so what does the Main Gauche have going for it? Three words, my friends: Light Gauss Rifle. Back in the 3060s, the FWL had a bit of a mania for sticking those things everywhere. The results varied; some choices were abysmal (that poor Reseen
Warhammer…) while the Main Gauche is one of those that actually works decently. An LGR means the armor is less of a handicap – you’re a sniper, so stay back and snipe, don’t get close and encourage the enemy to kill you out of hand. One LGR isn’t that dangerous but neither is an AC/2. You don’t want to keep getting hit with either one; sooner or later, that round is going to hit something important and an LGR’s 8 points of damage will find that something much sooner. Main Gauches are also cheap enough to bring in groups, making up for their lack of individual punch with volume and reach. (That theory may not work well under Alpha Strike, where the range bands and aggregated damage smother the LGR’s advantages over similar Inner Sphere weapons.) One ton of ammo is unfortunately a bit thin for extended fire but passable enough. Two machine guns were provided to discourage infantry, sharing a single half-ton bin. The key word there is “discourage” – don’t go looking for trouble or you’ll find more of it than a Main Gauche’s armor will survive encountering. This is not what I’d call a high end vehicle but it works well for the FWLM or Word Militia and their combined arms doctrines.
One of the two variants that emerged before the Jihad replaced the cheap and cheerful fusion engine with a 180 rated XL reactor. Although that’s expensive and some players have been known to cry heresy at the mere idea, the swap moves the Main Gauche from supporting heavy formations to being able to pace older Galleons and many medium BattleMechs in good terrain… or to back away and extend its time out of someone’s immediate reach if they try to close. The C-Bill hit is still mild despite being three times the original but the hit is much more mild on the BV side. If you’re willing to splurge, this variant is more capable and more survivable (both from easier positioning and being able to generate a better TMM).
The other variant removes the machine guns to mount a C3 slave and an ERSL. While it’s not hugely useful to most Word of Blake formations, who prefer C3i, they did have limited numbers of standard C3 units and the FWLM also experimented with the system. LGR’s reach synergizes well with C3 but the proliferation of ECM during and after the Jihad has made the environment much tougher. Still, if you’re looking for something cheap to plug into a spare slot in a C3 formation, the LGR means a Main Gauche is a decent contender.
Record Sheets 3067 Upgrade brought a new variant for the Main Gauche, something rather different. Derived from the Main Gauche XL, this new model is an infantry fighting vehicle with four tons of space, perfect for battle armor squads or platoons of jump infantry. Gone is the light Gauss rifle. In its place, a plasma rifle was installed with two tons of ammunition – more firepower, drastically more against non-`Mechs, but a shorter range. Since it’s still 6/9, that’s livable. The machine guns were removed in favor of a brace of light machine guns – two up front and one on each side to annoy anyone trying to flank you. Finally, some thoughtful soul was kind enough to layer on a little more armor plating, bumping the protection to 30/21/16. It’s not enough to survive truly rough handling but the increase is still very nice to have considering that you’re being encouraged to get closer and do more damage. The lack of a turret can make closing hazardous but a Main Gauche IFV brings a decent bit of space and reasonable firepower on what’s still a reasonable price – not bad overall considering the vehicle’s humble origins.
The big thing to remember when using most of the Main Gauches is that they’re support units. A single light Gauss rifle isn’t going to impress anyone but it will supplement other units well without forcing you to get in everyone’s face. The other is that these are direct fire weapons. You need LOS and, preferably, something to reduce the opponent’s target movement modifier; that’s pretty much a given from the armament but my own testing brought the sensitivity to target numbers home. Main Gauches don’t exactly have unlimited ammo, after all. Unfortunately, clear LOS and keeping someone out of your supporting echelon’s face – or their rear arc – aren’t always compatible. Higher terrain helps. Despite their size, a Main Gauche works best supporting units engaging larger, slower targets – it aids in keeping target numbers practically low without obliging the Main Gauche to get too close. The IFV variant is a bit different. While it’s tougher and has a heavier punch, getting too close isn’t a great idea against anything but other light unit. Even then, it’s risky – no turret makes the Main Gauche’s flanks vulnerable. Drop your cargo and get out, then act like the light cavalry unit the Main Gauche IFV really is. If you want a close-in slugger, go talk to the Andurien branch of Brooks about a Moltke purchase.
The best way to kill a Main Gauche is get something decently heavily armed in close and gut it from the side or the back. Any number of light and medium ‘Mechs can serve well in that role; of particular note, given the Dark Age and the FWL’s usual propensity for shooting at itself, is the
Quasimodo. Your biggest problem is that the Main Gauche, by its nature, is not a unit you’ll usually encounter alone. If a formation of Main Gauches is parked somewhere, introducing them to the business end of a few artillery rounds should prove effective in dissuading them, possibly permanently.
References: The
Master Unit List will give you the details on who has access to which variants along with the Alpha Strike stats. CamoSpecs has a single example in the colors of the
3rd Free Worlds Guards.
