Author Topic: Question regarding off-size formations for ACS  (Read 1732 times)

theagent

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Question regarding off-size formations for ACS
« on: 21 April 2017, 19:02:58 »
Somewhat of a related question to my prior post (http://bg.battletech.com/forums/index.php?topic=57245.0).

How do you handle "off-size" formations?  What I mean by that, is how do you handle units that would normally convert to an ACS Combat Team or ACS Combat Unit, but technically violate the size restrictions?  Some examples that I've come across:
  • LCAF/LAAF Reinforced BattleMech Battalion (Field Manual: Lyran Alliance, p. 25):  Listed as having 4 Companies & 1 Command Lance.  Technically, this should be an ACS Combat Team, but it's over the 48-Element limit (having 52 BattleMechs in it)
  • TDF Armor Battalion (Field Manual: Periphery, p. 52):  No problems with their lances (2 CV per Maniple, 3 Maniples per Lance = 6 CV per Lance) or their Companies (3 Lances = 18 CV per Company), but you can't build an ACS Combat Team from their Battalions (3 Companies = 54 CV per Battalion, well above the 48-Element limitation)
  • MHAF Cohort (Field Manual: Periphery, p. 73):  The MHAF's Roman-inspired units are OK at the ACS Unit level (Century = 5 BattleMechs, under the 6-Element limitation) & the SBF formation/ACS Combat Team level (Maniple = 2 Centuries = 10 'Mechs, well under the 20-Element SBF or 30-Element ACS limitation), & you can even squeeze a Cohort into an ACS Combat Team (Cohort = 3 Maniples, or 30 'Mechs), but that's too much for an SBF Formation. And you're stuck if you want to build a Legion (3 to 5 Cohorts, or 90-150 'Mechs, is well over the 48-Element limitation).

Would this be a situation where I should ignore the Element size limitations, working under the assumption that the extra number of Elements is simply a reflection in the difference in organizational doctrine, & (especially with the lower tech level of the Periphery elements) should expect to see very little uptick in combat power in these "oversized" formations?

Or, again, am I overthinking it too much?

Alexander Knight

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Re: Question regarding off-size formations for ACS
« Reply #1 on: 21 April 2017, 19:40:12 »
One thing I've looked at is making the Combat Units be "demi-battalions".  To take your example, assuming a LCAF regiment of 3 reinforced Btn, I would deploy it as 6 Combat Units, 3 of which are 2 companies + 1 lance, and 3 of which are 2 companies.

theagent

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Re: Question regarding off-size formations for ACS
« Reply #2 on: 29 April 2017, 02:26:02 »
One thing I've looked at is making the Combat Units be "demi-battalions".  To take your example, assuming a LCAF regiment of 3 reinforced Btn, I would deploy it as 6 Combat Units, 3 of which are 2 companies + 1 lance, and 3 of which are 2 companies.

That would definitely work for the LCAF reinforced battalions.  Not sure how well it would work for the TDF armor battalions, but maybe I could let them slide (54 isn't that much larger than 48, after all...only about 12.5%, LOL).

For the MHAF...I might just have to say that they're stuck being "lighter" units:  1 SBF Unit = 1 MHAF Century (5 Elements), 1 SBF Formation/ACS Combat Team = 2 SBF Units = 1 MHAF Maniple (2 Centuries, or 10 BattleMechs/Elements), 1 ACS Combat Unit = 3 ACS Combat Teams = 1 Cohort (3 Maniples, or 30 BattleMechs/Elements), & 1 ACS Formation = 3 to 5 ACS Combat Units = 3 to 5 Cohorts (90 to 150 BattleMechs/Elements).

Although I guess the next question is how to handle their pesky conventional infantry.  Although the question on that is more of a "how big is that Marian platoon in the window?"  TechManual says the maximum platoon size allowed on the map is 30 troopers (p. 145), but a MHAF "platoon" is actually the Century (10 squads of 10 troopers each for Foot/Motorized, 5 squads of 10 troopers each for Jump Infantry), which is confirmed in the Force Size table (p. 147).  For Total Warfare play, the table says you have to split the Platoon/Century up into "sub-platoons"...but for SBF/ACS play, I'm wondering if you could treat the entire Century as a single Element (albeit very large compared to other factions' Elements), or if you'd have to stick to that "sub-platoon" organization instead:
  • going with the "1 Infantry Element = 1 MHAF Century", your SBF Unit would be an entire Cohort (3 Maniples = 6 Centuries = 6 Elements), & for the ACS Combat Team you could have the full Legion (3 to 5 Maniples = 18 to 30 Centuries = 18 to 30 Elements), but for SBF Formation purposes you'd either have to limit yourself to 3-Maniple Legions (18 Centuries/Elements), or use a "Demi-Legion" setup (1st SBF Formation = 2-3 Maniples, or 12-18 Centuries/Elements)
  • going with the "1 Infantry Elemment = 1 MHAF 'Sub-Century', the easiest method would be to divide the Century into 5 'Sub-Centuries' (2 Squads each for Foot/Motorized, 1 Squad each for Jump).  That would allow them to mirror the same SBF/ACS construction as the BattleMech & Armor units.

 

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