When Is Going Too Far With Regimental Attachments?

[SCC]

OK, an idea of mine from I think a year ago has resurfaced where I try and figure out how much lift is needed for forces of various sizes, but where first I need to figure out rough details of how big the forces are, starting what happens if you scale the RCT down to being built around a 'Mech Company. The exercise here is to figure out the parameters on a transport DS with hopefully 1k tons of transport for supplies (going out) and loot (coming back)

So that sort of sets a starting point:
1 'Mech Company;
1 Heavy Vehicle Battalion; and
2 Battalions Motorized infantry with field guns.

But once I start adding attchments it doesn't seem to stop.

A 'Mech Company gets a Wing Pair (2) of ASF to cover it so lets give this formation a full Flight of 4 and a squadron of 12 conventional fighters to round things out.

An air defense company and an Artillery Battery are both sound (more Motor Inf.)

A scout company (12 5-ton hovercraft with remote sensor dispensers)

An engineering company (more Motor Inf., this time with some extra construction vehicles)

Medical in the form of a few MASH trucks, and somewhere in this mess I'll need Mobile Kitchens.

Regimental command company in the form of a command van and maybe some extra air defense.

General security troops?

A company of light hovercraft to actually screen all of this and act as a quick reaction force?

Plus of course loots of semi-trucks (unloaded weight 10 tons but able to carry 20 cargo)

Is there anything I've missed or that I should drop?

[idea weenie]

You'll need a custom Dropship, likely an upgraded Mule for the sheer cargo capacity.

Are you planning on doing raids, or longer-term assaults?  If doing raids then plan for being on-planet for only a couple hours, and if taking longer then the loot should be a minor part of your paycheck.


Specific parts, assuming you are just planning on raiding and leaving:

Drop the full flight company and dozen conventional fighters.  Just 2 ASF should be sufficient, and if you have to leave quick then those conventional fighters will be left behind.  This is based on the Union having 12 Mechs and 2 ASF.

The ADA and artillery should only be put next to the Dropship to keep it safe, so the infantry is a good idea.  Maybe 3-4 hexes away to avoid most splash damage from enemy artillery.

The Scout company of a dozen 5-ton hovercraft will give you fits as you have to pick one of the following options for carrying them in the Dropship:
- carry them as 60 tons of cargo, but you have to prep them after you land before they can go out
- carry them all in Light Vehicle bays, requiring a total of 600 tons
- some mix where a few are prepped in LVBs before you land, and the others are hauled from cargo to be prepped

The Engineering group should just be a pair of bulldozers whose only job is to make berms so enemy artillery has reduced area effect damage.

Medical should be emergency recovery vehicles to bring back wounded people to the Dropship, rather than setting up MASH in the field.  Ambulances rather than surgical theaters.  Mobile Kitchens should be on the Dropship rather than needing to deploy.  During the mission your troops should be either using rations, or enjoying bag lunches prepared at the Dropship's kitchen.

Command van + air defense for a Mech Company with lots of hangers-on?  If raiding, use your Company Commander's mech as the command unit, with the Dropship having extra Communications equipment to do some processing.  Most of your stuff will be near the Dropship keeping it safe, so the Dropship can serve as the Command 'van', while the Mech force just has the Company Commander telling the hovercraft force commander where to go, or the ASF pair leader where to patrol.  After you get bigger (~3 Mech companies) then you look into a command van.

Security troops should all be motorized/mechanized so they can withdraw back into the Dropship real quick when the locals decide to crash the party.

Screening hovercraft might be a good idea.  I'd start with 4 of them to serve as a roving patrol/defense force at the Dropship, or even coming along with the Mechs.

Small semi-trucks would be good for loot, larger ones for Mech recovery.  Some of the smaller trucks should be hover depending on the local terrain.

[dgorsman]

With that many vehicles and infantry, some dedicated military police may be in order to keep everything moving in the correct directions.  Might have them have oversight on managing prisoners and interrogations as well.

[Daryk]

*snip*
A scout company (12 5-ton hovercraft with remote sensor dispensers)
*snip*

Remote Sensor Dispensers AND Recon Cameras! 

[Arkansas Warrior]

Years and years ago, boilerman did a full writeup of an RCT’s TO&E, that you might find useful.   I’ll attach it here if the file is small enough.


For the specific questions you’re asking, I’d incorporate the scout hovers, various specialized infantry, etc., into the existing vehicle battalion and motorized infantry, rather than adding onto it.  Might go for a full ASF squadron, but leave the conventionals out.  An Excalibur should cover most of your transport needs, with maybe a Leopard CV for the fighters.  Actually, put the fighters in an old Seeker modified to carry them, it should also have room for extra infantry that won’t fit in the Excalibur.

[Kerfuffin(925)]

I would look at a LCT and split it into another third.
A reinforced mech company, a battalion of heavy and light vees each. A company of BA and a lance or two of transports. A lance of arty.

[Grizzly]

We've found the Suns player!

Seriously though good advice above.

[mikecj]

TAG'd.

[Kerfuffin(925)]

It’s also mentioned in LCTs that regular infantry are basically just base security as infantry even in transports aren’t hyper mobile like BA can be.

[Daryk]

Combined arms should be de rigueur down to at least the battalion, if not company level.  It gets tougher at the platoon/lance level, but can still be of value.  Personally, I call one lance of Goblins and two embarked Platoons of Foot Infantry a "Mechanized Infantry Company"... 

[Failure16]

I think you have gone too far if your line elements need to be bolstered to secure your attachments.

The BTU has always had an Achilles' Heel in that the ranges for their weapons are so truncated that one does need to have an ADA company, for instance, to cover a battalion with a sizeable support group.

I am pretty sure that you have vastly overstated the needs of a regimental task force. If none of your maneuver units have the abilities organically, I can certainly see the need for a dedicated scout element, but you can get your screen, recon, and QRF with a simple cavalry troop. I, too, would drop the conventional aircraft squadron (for a variety of reasons). Your headquarters may need some extra staff and a vehicle or two from its higher headquarters-echelon, but that is little compared to what you are already hauling. And yes, you will be having some trucks--a lot more than any BTU writer I've run across has ever envisioned. Your security needs will be accomplished by the line troopers in the armored and infantry platoons, but they will need the combat- and combat-service support elements.

[Daryk]

The way you do AAA with infantry is a single AA weapon as the support weapon in a squad, with the rest being one of the Sniper Rifles with 7/14/21 range.  This enables infantry to attack airborne units and gives them the all-important range to actually make it work... 

[SCC]

You'll need a custom Dropship, likely an upgraded Mule for the sheer cargo capacity.

The point here is to figure out what the DropShips will need to carry to transport a FedSuns taskforce built around a 'Mech company in the early part of the 31st centuary.

Are you planning on doing raids, or longer-term assaults?  If doing raids then plan for being on-planet for only a couple hours, and if taking longer then the loot should be a minor part of your paycheck.

Generic transport. Raids yes, but also other purposes, like transporting part of an RCT during an assault if larger, follow on transports aren't available, or simply force mobility.

Specific parts, assuming you are just planning on raiding and leaving:
-=Snip=-

As I said, not raiding, but for the scout hovercraft, they will be carried as cargo, it doesn't take long to unload them and if the landing is hot, that is directly into combat, the scouts simply won't be unloaded.

This isn't a 'Mech Company with attachments, it's a combined arms regiment, and with it purpose of independent action at functions like a Corps in some regards.

With that many vehicles and infantry, some dedicated military police may be in order to keep everything moving in the correct directions.  Might have them have oversight on managing prisoners and interrogations as well.

A company of foot troops do you think?

Remote Sensor Dispensers AND Recon Cameras! 

These aren't the combat scouts that BT and other games like it, both board and computer, like, these are real scouts not intended for battlefield use, they'll likely be out of range of fire support. But by screening hovercraft design does technically have a half ton going looking.

[Failure16]

The way you do AAA with infantry is a single AA weapon as the support weapon in a squad, with the rest being one of the Sniper Rifles with 7/14/21 range.  This enables infantry to attack airborne units and gives them the all-important range to actually make it work... 

That's absurd. The more I talk to you, Daryk, the more I find myself disliking every aspect of the BTU's infantry rules. What a travesty. Criminy.

[SCC]

Unfortunately I don't think it will work, I think you have to have two AA weapons per squad for it to be able to target aircraft, just like any other support weapon with special rules. Additionally those aren't legal yet (to my knowledge) because they don't have BV's assigned.

The real way to do infantry AA is field guns, AC/2's are 4/8/16/24 and LB 2-X's are 4/9/18/27, both of which can get -2 from firing AA ammo.

[Daryk]

Tech Manual (corrected sixth printing), table at the bottom of page 148:

Special Feature          Game Play Effect
A                                  Anti-Aircraft Weapon: Enables platoon to attack airborne aerospace units*
B                                  Heavy Burst Weapon: –1 to-hit at hex 0; +1D6 platoon damage (vs. Conventional Infantry)**
F                                  Flame-Based Weapon: Every time the platoon fires, before the to-hit roll is made, the player may announce
                                     he is applying the Damage Value as heat to the target, in place of damage*†
N                                 Non-Penetrating Weapon: Affects only other Conventional Infantry††

*Platoon special feature applies if one or more weapons assigned
**Platoon to-hit and damage bonus only if assigned to a minimum of 2 troopers per squad
†Including BattleMechs and IndustrialMechs; Standard damage only to units that do not track heat
†† Platoon special feature only applies if weapon is used to determine Base Range

So it's even worse than I proposed: you only need one per PLATOON.

[Failure16]

Tech Manual (corrected sixth printing), table at the bottom of page 148:
So it's even worse than I proposed: you only need one per PLATOON.

You see what I mean? You see?! 

I wonder if you can simply carry a bunch of appropriate support weapons and re-equip your infantry elements as required before a mission? I mean, real-world mech-inf do it (to a lesser degree, but the concept is there), and there are probably no rules against it, so...

So then, infantry would thus become the first OmniMechs. I find the circularity delicious.

SCC, I still think a simple cav troop would take care of multiple roles and thus lessen your need for attachments or slice elements.

[RifleMech]

You could use some really light small vehicles from TRO:VA for scouts. They're lighter weight should let them deploy faster than a 5 ton Savannah Master and are as fast or faster. They're also not made for combat so that would help encourage scouts to stay hidden.

Field gun and field artillery Infantry for fire support and AA duties.

Maybe some Beast Mounted Infantry, as combat scouts and patrols? Depending on the size of the animal they may or may not have support weapons but they can be  as fast as Mechanized Infantry. They also don't suffer double damage from vehicle scale weapons. Some animals even get a damage divisor.  And since I don't see anything about them not being allowed to be armored, that divisor can get increased. You could also go with MicroCopter and Microlight Infantry.  Even though they're called Mechanized VTOL Infantry they're technically motorized infantry so they'd miss that double damage Mechanized Infantry receive and they're fast.

[OatsAndHall]

My merc unit has two lances of Locusts and Urbies and a battalion of pickups with MG mounts. A platoon of infantry, reminiscent of "Stripes." 

[SCC]

You could use some really light small vehicles from TRO:VA for scouts. They're lighter weight should let them deploy faster than a 5 ton Savannah Master and are as fast or faster. They're also not made for combat so that would help encourage scouts to stay hidden.

I looked into that, but the limitations on armor are too extreme at this range, 8 total points on a 5-ton hovercraft.

[Minemech]

Typically in the type of operation that would involve a company sized formation, you would not bring more than a Leopard's worth of support vehicles. If a Company does manage to seize a world, it is either an accident, or a very low priority world.

 If you are talking about breaking apart an RCT to garrison a motley of worlds, you never want to distribute its assets proportionally. Infantry supporting your unit would more likely be independent assets rather than the RCT's own infantry, as they would probably already be tied to the planet in question.

[OatsAndHall]

It might already be tied into your infantry battalion but I was have a few squads of stealthy BA spec ops/commandos, just to raise some hell.

[RifleMech]

I looked into that, but the limitations on armor are too extreme at this range, 8 total points on a 5-ton hovercraft.

That is true but if they're not supposed to be in combat so they shouldn't need a lot of protection. Bicycle and Monocycle chassis also lets them hide in light woods.