Amaris Empire organizational scheme

[Crow]

It's well known that the TH/SLDF used homogeneous Lance's, companies and even battalions of the same design. But was this also the case for Amaris Empire forces during the SL Civil War?

[Tai Dai Cultist]

It's well known that the TH/SLDF used homogeneous Lance's, companies and even battalions of the same design. But was this also the case for Amaris Empire forces during the SL Civil War?

I'd imagine it was probably the ideal to which every army aspired.  During its existence, the SLDF was (considered to be) the gold standard on how to do anything military.  The House and Periphery forces probably aped the SLDF in this as well as most other ways.

Furthermore:  Hodge-podge forces are really only a thing as a survival from the Succession Wars.  The Clans have their own parallel legacy behind non-homogenous forces inserted as well.  I don't know if TPTB have been retconning in hodge podge forces prior to the Succession Wars era.. but if so they shouldn't be.

[Archangel]

It's well known that the TH/SLDF used homogeneous Lance's, companies and even battalions of the same design. But was this also the case for Amaris Empire forces during the SL Civil War?

While having homogeneous lances, companies and even battalions may have been the standard, even within the TH/SLDF there were plenty on non-homogeneous lances.  During the SL Civil War, as battlefield attrition ate away at Amaris' forces, and SLDF forces for that matter, unit commanders replaced lost units where possible with whatever was available and merged units when no machines or replacement pilots were available.  Obviously those with better access to replacement units or those not engaged until later (both of which units posted to Terra qualify for) would be able to keep homogenous units longer than those on the front-lines.

Furthermore:  Hodge-podge forces are really only a thing as a survival from the Succession Wars.  The Clans have their own parallel legacy behind non-homogenous forces inserted as well.  I don't know if TPTB have been retconning in hodge podge forces prior to the Succession Wars era.. but if so they shouldn't be.

And how would the Amaris Civil War than the Succesion Wars where the SLDF no longer had a powerful military industrial complex to back them up?  Instead they had to rely on whatever they had before the Amaris Coup, what little they got (indirectly) from the Great Houses (volunteers, donations, etc), whatever they recovered from Amaris' forces (salvage, captured supply depots, etc) and the few factories captured/liberated intact/relatively intact from Amaris' forces.  The SLDF didn't have the luxury of continuing to maintain homogenous units.  Units savaged in the fighting were merged with/into other units with little regard towards maintaining homogenous units.  If anything they simply tried to ensure that the units had similar capabilities.  Unless you think that a SLDF battalion commander won't allow Warhammers or Dragon Fires to join his Marauder battalion simply because they aren't Marauders?

[Weirdo]

The Liberation of Terra books address this(I forget which one). Amaris forces used mixed lances, just like the Houses. The SLDF gold standard was homogenous lances, but by the end of the Rim Worlds campaign, losses and a lack of access to much of their regular suppliers meant they could no longer keep that up. After the RWR campaign(so, the assault on the Hegemony and on Terra itself), the SLDF was forced to use mixed lances just like everybody else.

[ANS Kamas P81]

So did 1st Succession War. 

To reflect this homogeneousness, in battles set between 2786 and 2807, once the weight class of a particular lance has been determined, roll only once on the Random Unit Assignment Tables per lance; all ’Mechs in the lance are of the resulting type. In games set between 2808 and 2819, roll twice for each lance. From 2820 onward, normal rules for Random Unit Assignment apply.

As an aside, also from 1st Succession War (p 142):

Finally, remember the two “prime directives” of playing BattleTech:
1. HAVE FUN
2. DON’T LET YOURSELF GET SO CAUGHT UP IN THE RULES
THAT YOU STOP HAVING FUN

So basically, it IS reflected in the rules - but really, fun is more important, and a mixed force is always going to be more interesting than a homogenous one.  It's not like we're throwing entire regiments at each other, where you'd expect to see more variation.  Game scale makes it small-unit focused, though I suppose Alpha Strike could easily handle much larger, homogenous forces at a 'realistic' organization.

And in all honesty, even in modern militaries there's always mixed forces, especially as technology and lethality improves.  Look at an infantry battalion combat team, with attached weapons companies, each line company with weapons platoons, artillery and a glob of armor in support.  It's not THAT unrealistic, really, if you play with the ideas a bit.  Hell, even a modern rifle platoon has a mortar or two, a few machine guns, a couple dedicated grenadiers, and a dedicated command unit mixed in with all the rifles.

[SCC]

While I'd imagine that non-homogenous lances did start emerging as losses mounted, I doubt that it is as bad as we see later on, if only because there are so few designs. Also commanders can probably shuffle 'Mechs and pilots around when they've got the time to form homogenous units (No personal ownership makes this possible).

Also note that at the scale units would have operated on at the time non-homogenous movement profiles would have been bad, mixing Locusts and Wasps in the same Lance is a very bad move.

[ANS Kamas P81]

I disagree there, a wasp is still able to keep up with a locust at a run, and they both will end up with similar movement profiles if the Locust has to enter any slightly broken terrain or has to make a turn or two.

[SCC]

In the type of fighting we're talking about movement is more strategic and you'll be moving Lances and probably companies around, a mixed Lance like that won't really be able to take advantage of either the Locust's speed or the Wasp's ability to jump.

[Crow]

I'm planning out a Amaris civil war battalion vs battalion game, and I wanted to get the "feel" of the Amaris forces right. I was thinking slightly more hodgepodge than the SLDF. Thank you everyone for your input!

[bobthecoward]

Page 147 of first succession war describes the military as homogeneous. The RAT rules themselves describe it as 1 roll per Lance (I think SLDF would be 1 roll per company). That is at the start, so factor in wear and tear.