In fairness - Victor probably should have turned down Zion's request to join the FedSuns. Still that would have been a hard sell for a man who probably at this stage does see himself as something if a liberator. As well as a hard sell to the AFFS/man on the street who's just seen him curbstomp the entire CCAF. Plus for now he's put a single Avalon Hussar RCT into Zion. A veteran RCT granted with top end equipment but it's not like he doesn't have a fair number of those hanging around...
I'm honestly surprised his wife didn't talk him down. Or his other advisors for the most part, he doesn't seem to have a wide array of trusted people with varied opinions to draw on. Although to be fair that is NOT uncommon in Battletech leaders.
The Fox thing - I agree and disagree. On the one hand: yes, having those ships available now if war breaks out is a Good Thing. But although he knows war is hovering on the horizon, he can't be sure when it will break out. Squeezing in a few extra upgrades is worth some risk. Plus the PR/morals of sending men and women out to fight in what you KNOW is a flawed design that you could upgrade isn't going to sit well with the Warrior Prince.
It's flawed sure, but its hardly bad IMO. I can understand him putting the damaged ships into refit cycles at the same time as they are repaired, that makes sense, but taking more of the otherwise fine ships out?
I'd probably have, instead, reshuffled the Corvette Flotilas to concentrate the Fox IIs on the Combine and Terran fronts and shuffle the Fox Is back out to the now more 'calm' areas in the rear and League March, personally. Victor could really find himself missing those ships very soon...
The 4th FSAC - was mostly me trying not to make every single FSAC a carbon copy "cavalry" unit. Emphasising the "armoured" part of their name. Although as a small spoiler the unit is quickly going to end up as a heavy cav rather than assault cav unit.
I can understand that, although the carbon copy is a thing IMO because its exactly what should be done. These are a very specific unit formation capable of very specific actions. You can build a Dragoons unit or a Hussars unit or a Davion Guards unit if you want that instead...
Personally, I would have looked at augmenting the Mech force in a different way to get more striking power. Something like attaching a heavy VTOL unit of new designs? Or doubling the entire Aerospace complement outright, focused on Stukas and other very heavy attack craft?
But I can certinally dig that you want more flavor!
The Combines going to be a bit split in the war. The majority in effective HPG blackout stumbling around using black boxes and jumpships, struggling to respond, with a smaller part under Hohiro's command that will rely on their "allies" and will be much more aggressive/responsive.
So Hohiro crashes into the massed RCTs alongside the WOB in a bloody stalemate (that the AFFS can probably win through sheer attrition if necessary!), while the FSN with raiding units sweeps into the Combines rear and systematically destroys critical industrial targets, often outpacing the news? All the while ComStar quietly slips around the side, then Jumps Terra?
Sounds legit :D
Provisionally (VERY) I have the WOB currently at 30-35 Militia Divisions, 5 Shadow Divisions and around 10 Protectorate Divisions that are little more than planetary militia.
Sounds like a lot ... but when you think that they'll have to leave some of that on Terra at all times, split up a lot of the rest to at least have a token presence at HPGs, then the FWL mess they can't quite get away from and THEN going to war with the Federated Suns?
Man, the WOB crazies must be pulling their hair out at how one patsy after another KEEPS ON SCREWING UP AND DENYING THEM STUFF! The FWL imploding into a quagmire. The Taurian Concordat blew everything in a temper tantrum under a crazy man. The Liaos wasted their gifts and had a crazy Liao incite the wrath of the Federated Suns by unleashing her inner crazy, eliminating them as an ally...
Even if things are spinning out of control, they must think that Kurita at least isn't ****** around and just wants to hit the same guy THEY want to hit ... and then ComStar cockblocks them by destroying the first shipments of material AND ****** over the entire ComStar HPG network that now THEY have to try and rush massive resources to and fix at ruinous expense ...
Fun for the whole family here :D