Most dishonorable way to defeat the Clans

[Wolflord]

Get captured, gain power and destroy them from the inside by taking advantage of their inflexible caste system. Encourage genocidal war among other Clans by stoking the fires of their factional hatred.

Provide technology and intel to IS and periphery powers in order for them to wage proxy wars and coordinated attacks on other Clans.

You mean the Phelan Strategy?

[Wolflord]

I'd suggest crack sniper teams zeroed in on the latrines.

Option (a) take dump in the latrines and get headcapped.
Option (b) survive in your own filth

[stoicfaux]

Not sure this counts as dishonorable, but dig up Kerensky's body, hide it in one of seven fortresses on an uninhabited planet, and notify the clans that your faction will join/surrender/bondsmen whichever clan transports the remains to Terra first.

It should be easy enough to covertly trigger batchall violations and otherwise escalate the situation into a total war situation for most of the clans.

Also, popcorn, buy lots of it after you sell the rights to the TV footage from the fortresses on the planet.

[Mendrugo]

Defeat them in battle dressed as the Evil Monkeys from the "Adventures of Clan Spaniel" show. 

[deathfrombeyond]

Not sure this counts as dishonorable, but dig up Kerensky's body, hide it in one of seven fortresses on an uninhabited planet, and notify the clans that your faction will join/surrender/bondsmen whichever clan transports the remains to Terra first.

Uh, what guarantees that any Clan would want your faction as bondsmen after pulling an antic like that?

[cold1]

I'd suggest crack sniper teams zeroed in on the latrines.

Option (a) take dump in the latrines and get headcapped.
Option (b) survive in your own filth

These are the guys that don't have anywhere to use the potty in their mech cockpit... they are used to it.

[Col.Hengist]

Been tried, failed to kill them all, their scientists are too smart.

Nukes make them angry and they have more than you
Ortillery requires you to get in system past their warships, and they have more than you.  More aerofighters too.

The dishonorable batchall thing works fine as long as your reserve force is three times their reserve force.  Break the bid and they'll drop their entire force on you.

It only takes a few asf to kill warships with nukes.

[Wolflord]

These are the guys that don't have anywhere to use the potty in their mech cockpit... they are used to it.

I will believe that they get out for a pit stop until someone provides a currently in print canon reference to the contrary. And when they go poo-poo the snipers go pow-pow.  }:)

[False Son]

Imodium and an empty Snapple bottle will keep them waiting.

[Wolflord]

they cant wait forever and if they try to drug themselves up to do so they have saved me the cost of a bullet. Snipers are so effective once they get inside the enemy's head and they spend more time worrying about how not to get sniped rather than how to execute the mission.

[deathfrombeyond]

they cant wait forever and if they try to drug themselves up to do so they have saved me the cost of a bullet. Snipers are so effective once they get inside the enemy's head and they spend more time worrying about how not to get sniped rather than how to execute the mission.

So, I guess ClanTech toilets require more open space than a DropShip has or something.

[Wolflord]

So, I guess ClanTech toilets require more open space than a DropShip has or something.

Latrine IIC?

So what are they going to do, have a dropship burn fuel to hop forward to make itself available as an armoured toilet to avoid sniper fire? Or have the troops march back to the dropzone to use the facilities? Either way they are reacting rather than acting which ultimately means they are loosing, even if they dont know it yet.

[deathfrombeyond]

Latrine IIC?

So what are they going to do, have a dropship burn fuel to hop forward to make itself available as an armoured toilet to avoid sniper fire? Or have the troops march back to the dropzone to use the facilities? Either way they are reacting rather than acting which ultimately means they are loosing, even if they dont know it yet.

I guess it's unthinkable to have ClanTech toilets in a 'Mech hangar or any other easily secured facilities that limit line of sight.

[Wolflord]

I guess it's unthinkable to have ClanTech toilets in a 'Mech hangar or any other easily secured facilities that limit line of sight.

Absolutely -  that has been written out of SOP ever since the Ninja Plumber Incident of '51. Replacement Valves, ridiculous over pressure, backed up septic tank, triggered by a sniper shot flipping a lever of course - need I say more.  }:)

More seriously we have now reduced the mighty and proud clan warriors to guarding the crapper, instead of conducting manoeuvre warfare.

That pride has got to be be hurting, the object is to defeat the enemy that does not necessarily involve killing them all.

But it does involve making them not want to be on our planet anymore and/or putting them in the frame of mind to make stupid decisions.

[Atlas3060]

This whole thought process is constipated so I'll move it along now.  :P
Dishonorable ways to defeat the Clans, have you looked into York and how the Spirits act? I'm not too much of a Blood Spirits fan, but there has to be something about it in the books.

[deathfrombeyond]

Absolutely -  that has been written out of SOP ever since the Ninja Plumber Incident of '51. Replacement Valves, ridiculous over pressure, backed up septic tank, triggered by a sniper shot flipping a lever of course - need I say more.  }:)

More seriously we have now reduced the mighty and proud clan warriors to guarding the crapper, instead of conducting manoeuvre warfare.

That pride has got to be be hurting, the object is to defeat the enemy that does not necessarily involve killing them all.

But it does involve making them not want to be on our planet anymore and/or putting them in the frame of mind to make stupid decisions.

:: shrugs ::

I guess I interpreted the question in a more strategic sense.

[Hersh67]

Something involving infantry.  Maybe a pre dawn raid while everyone is in their beds.

Okay, General Washington...  It's been done.

[vidar]

Nukes been tried, biological war too, even cultural contanination, none of them worked.  So I say challange them to fight without arms, skill against skill alone, and then bring several platoon for each of thier personal.  We're trying to fight on level ground, really we are! >:D

[Marveryn]

hey I just think dropping a warship on them would be good

[stoicfaux]

Writer's Fiat.

[GreekFire]

You know, I've never been on a forum where "fiat" is thrown around so much. Every other thread, without fail, someone is going to mention fiat.

EDIT: before this gets taken the wrong way, it's not an attack or anything of the sort. Just an observation.

[Mohammed As`Zaman Bey]

You mean the Phelan Strategy?

  It was either that or introducing collectable card games and watch their civilization crumble...

[Gustav Kuriga]

  It was either that or introducing collectable card games and watch their civilization crumble...

Not just any collectable card games... children's card games.

[cold1]

This whole thought process is constipated so I'll move it along now.  :P
Dishonorable ways to defeat the Clans, have you looked into York and how the Spirits act? I'm not too much of a Blood Spirits fan, but there has to be something about it in the books.

The Spirits refused zell to any invaders of York.  And currently York is an uninhabitable smoldering ruin due do systematic ortillery destruction.  Yes, refuse to honor the clans (especially the homeworlders these days) and the response will be some where between drop a galaxy on you and burn your planet down.

[gooseman]

  It was either that or introducing collectable card games and watch their civilization crumble...

Smoke Jaguar, I choose you!

[RunandFindOut]

The Spirits refused zell to any invaders of York.  And currently York is an uninhabitable smoldering ruin due do systematic ortillery destruction.  Yes, refuse to honor the clans (especially the homeworlders these days) and the response will be some where between drop a galaxy on you and burn your planet down.

Which is why I prefer my method, make the entire Sphere poisonous to them.  So that every person, animal, and biosphere is infected with a bunch of engineered diseases that kill only Trueborn.  Then gather up every spaceforce and nuclear warhead in the Sphere and sterilize the Homeworlds in nuclear fire.

[cold1]

Which is why I prefer my method, make the entire Sphere poisonous to them.  So that every person, animal, and biosphere is infected with a bunch of engineered diseases that kill only Trueborn.  Then gather up every spaceforce and nuclear warhead in the Sphere and sterilize the Homeworlds in nuclear fire.

Currently the homeworlds already think the Sphere is poisonous, it's the root of the taint concept.

It would take a coordinated attack on every clan enclave on every clan planet at the same time; and I'm afraid in the current setting on through the Dark Age the sphere doesn't have the ships to pull it off.  Not to mention the fact that the sphere will never be that united by what they see as a minor threat that far away.  The IS powers simply arent worried about it.  Plus, no one outside of Ben, Paul, Herb, and a few others has any idea what the homeworlds look like after 3095.

Heck after the HPGs go down the Falcons and Wolves start ripping a quarter of the sphere apart and no one rushes to help.

[stoicfaux]

You know, I've never been on a forum where "fiat" is thrown around so much. Every other thread, without fail, someone is going to mention fiat.

EDIT: before this gets taken the wrong way, it's not an attack or anything of the sort. Just an observation.

Meme.  A meme never changes.

[Tai Dai Cultist]

I  think sabotaging their creche programs/genetic repositories is the way to go, as a few people mentioned.  It'd take a while, but it's the best way to ultimately destroy (not just defeat) the Clans.

If you're looking at defeating a given force on a given planet, terrorist tactics are definately a way to go.  Blow up their barracks (preferably while their trueborns are sleeping in it).  Assassinate/target their civilian support staff until noone knows how to maintain their mechs.  You may not be able to keep them from TAKING a planet, but you sure can deny them CONQUEST of it.. even if your strikes only end up in keeping the Clanners holed up in whatever fortress to prevent assassinations.  They've got their fort, you've got the rest of the planet still.

[deathfrombeyond]

If you're looking at defeating a given force on a given planet, terrorist tactics are definately a way to go.  Blow up their barracks (preferably while their trueborns are sleeping in it).  Assassinate/target their civilian support staff until noone knows how to maintain their mechs.  You may not be able to keep them from TAKING a planet, but you sure can deny them CONQUEST of it.. even if your strikes only end up in keeping the Clanners holed up in whatever fortress to prevent assassinations.  They've got their fort, you've got the rest of the planet still.

Terrorist tactics against Clan warriors aren't going to achieve the primary objectives that terrorist tactics are supposed to do.

That is, the threat of physical death doesn't scare Clanners, or at least, Clan warriors.

Threatening their genetic legacy would scare Clan warriors, but since genetic storage is duplicated on Strana Mechty and elsewhere, it's doubtful an Inner Sphere power could reliably threaten genetic legacies.