Conventional Infantry 102: Alternate Formations I: Converting USMC organization to CBT TM Infantry Std.
Conventional infantry 101 Conventional infantry 102 II:
US Army Striker Company Conventional infantry 102 III:
U.S. Civil War Conventional infantry 102 IV:
Soviet Motorized Rifle Division Conventional infantry 102 V:
FASA’s Renegade Legion When “translating†real world military formations to Battletech standards, we often encounter a problem of scaling; to match existing formations and tactics we often have to compromise to the point where the formations are not really identifiable as what they are supposed to be or else they don’t play as desired. To address this issue, I shall be using the USMC as an example, as I have more readily available information on their field formations and owe a debt of gratitude to more than one. Semper Fi.
The first thing we must understand is the Battletech Infantry Platoon construction model, described in detail in the Tech Manual; the unspoken foundation of a battletech conventional infantry platoon is the
fireteam. Yes, the fireteam. I am fully aware that TM builds conventional infantry platoons from squads, but look closer; a BT squad is limited to a maximum of two secondary (i.e. “supportâ€) weapons; so that each squad has either zero, one or two of these. The limitation provided, along with the maximum squad size of ten troopers, clearly and implicitly describes the existence of fireteams, also known as “fire-and-maneuver†teams. Let’s look at these breakdowns:
One fireteam per squad: this works best for low tech, low trained, high trooper count squads or squads with high crew requirement secondary weapons; either everybody is armed with the same weapon (no secondary weapons) or one secondary weapon is available for the squad; the squad commander’s personal choice or a SAW-equivalent or simply a high-crew-requirement weapon like a heavy support laser (at 6 or 7 crew, precluding two in a 10-trooper-maximum squad). While in boardgame scale there is no perceptible difference between a one, two or three fireteam squad lacking any secondary weapons, in RPG terms there is a world of difference in small-unit tactics, showing a relative difference in training and doctrine. As a reference point, US Civil War squads were not divided into fireteams; everybody used the same rifle except for the squad leader (usually a Sergeant), who (if not armed with the same weapon) carried either a pistol (read: revolver) or a sabre. Clan conventional infantry squads also tend to be single-fireteam formations, either aping BA point tactics with everybody armed identically or having a squad-level support weapon supported by the other four squad members.
Two fireteams per squad: the most common squad composition in the Inner Sphere; either two “light†fireteams (no secondary weapons); one “light†and one “heavy†fireteams (one SW/squad) or two “heavy†fireteams (two SW/squad). Where specific crew requirements are not needed to man the secondary weapons, the 7-trooper standard platoon breaks down into two fireteams and a “separate†squad leader (Sargeant-equivalent) that sticks close to one of the fireteams. Comstar-formation infantry squads dispense with the separate squad leader.
Three-fireteam-per-squad formations are rare; either six (three 2-trooper fireteams) or nine (three 3-trooper fireteams) with or without a separate squad leader which may or may not be incorporated into one of the three fireteams (usually one without a secondary weapon in the case of “heavy†three-fireteam/two SW squads).
Now, we have seen the basic BT conventional infantry formations. Marines and others familiar with USMC formations will immediately see the problem in converting USMC real-world formations into BT TM-compliant formations.
For those unfamiliar with USMC squads, the problem is this: USMC fireteams are comprised of four marines: the team leader/rifleman (M4/M16), one rifleman (M4/M16), one grenadier (M4/M16 with M203) and one light machine gunner (M249). A USMC squad is composed of three of these fireteams plus a squad leader. That is 13 troopers; three more than the legal size of a BT TM conventional infantry squad. How can this be made legal? It is so simple as to be silly; change the name of the formation.
Let me explain; the BT TM infantry construction rules have three “named†formation levels;
squad,
platoon and “
sub-platoonâ€. These terms are used for purposes of unit construction and actually have no bearing on the final titles of the formations in play. What do I mean? The Clans field conventional infantry, but
they do not field platoons; they field “points†of 25 troopers. The Taurians do not field platoons either; they field “
maniples†of ten troopers and “
centuries" of ten
maniples. By the same token, we will use the proper terms for constructing the USMC platoons but will use different terms when we field them.
Let’s start:
A four-marine fireteam is… three assault rifles and a squad support weapon (it’s a crude, but legal breakdown). TRANSLATION: a four-trooper, one fireteam squad.
A three-fireteam squad is translated as: a 12-trooper platoon of three one-fireteam squads.
A USMC rifle platoon is composed of three squads, and a headquarters element made up of a Platoon Commander, a Platoon Sergeant and a Navy Corpsman. TRANSLATION: three BT 12-trooper platoons plus an independent one-squad (two-fireteam) “platoon†of 6 troopers (the HQ element plus the three “independent†squad leaders)
In other words; a RL-USMC rifle platoon of 42 troopers breaks down in BT as a short company of three 3-squad (12-trooper) platoons and a “company†command 1-squad platoon of 6 troopers, with paramedic capabilities.
The tactical/strategic flexibility of this arrangement should be obvious; without using “squad deployment†rules from TacOps, the “platoon†can deploy in squads for tactical advantage over “single-unit†BT platoons. Additionally, individual “squads†can be replaced for alternate sections, creating variant platoons, such as one with a mortar section (replacing the squad support weapons in the individual “fireteams†of one “squad†for mortars) or a heavy machine gun section (ditto, but with heavy MGs for the mortars); a single “platoon†consisting of two “rifle squads†and a “Heavy MG section†will have a huge tactical advantage over an equivalent-sized “generic†infantry units.
A full-on weapons “platoon†can be created replacing all three “rifle squads†for a mortar section, an MG section and a “heavy†support section (two support weapons per fireteam).
A
rifle company consists of three rifle platoons, a weapons platoon and a HQ element, let by a captain. A weapons company will substitute for the rifle platoons an 81 mm (BT: “heavy mortarâ€) mortar platoon, an anti-armor platoon, and a heavy machine gun platoon. A Headquarters and Service Company consists of a HQ platoon, a communications platoon, a service platoon, and the Battalion Aid Station.
By now it should be obvious that a USMC company is a pretty good match for a “standard†Inner Sphere conventional infantry battalion of the same basic motive type (foot, for example); looked at individually construction-wise, a 28-trooper BT platoon will usually outgun a 12-trooper “USMC Squad†platoon, but will be outmatched by the 42 (or even 36 if you decide to not use the HQ element squad/platoon) trooper “USMC Platoonâ€. A “USMC Company†is composed of three “USMC Rifle Platoons†(9 12-trooper platoons = 108 troopers) plus a “USMC Weapons Platoon†(three additional 12-trooper platoons) plus a platoon-strength HQ element. Compare to the 9 28-trooper standard IS platoons (252 troopers total).
A
battalion consists of three rifle companies, one weapons company, and one Headquarters and Service Company, commanded by a Lieutenant Colonel. Battalions and larger units have a Sergeant Major as Senior NCO and an Executive Officer (Major, in the case of Battalions) as second in command, plus officers and others for a military staff: Administration (S-1), Intelligence (S-2), Operations (S-3), Logistics (S-4), Civil Affairs (wartime only) (S-5), and Communications (S-6). Units of battalion size or larger may be reinforced by the addition of supporting tank or artillery units, such as in the Battalion Landing Teams comprising the GCEs of Marine Expeditionary Units.
A
regiment consists of three battalions, led by a Colonel.
A
brigade, commanded by a Brigadier General, is uncommon in the USMC, but is typically made up of one or more regiments plus support units.
A
division, commanded by a Major General, comprises three infantry regiments, an artillery regiment and additional specialized units, such as armor.
Any questions?
