3064- How would you hit a massive support convoy?

[Colt Ward]

Chaos March, 3064

Mercs were hired to support a independence movement against a ruling noble who targets his neighbors for raids.  So far the rebels have done well but the reinforced raiding battalion the noble uses was offworld with his best troops and equipment- upgraded heavies & assaults filled most of its number.  The rebels, with merc support, had broken the noble's garrison armor regiment and the pair of mech companies were destroyed on the continent they were seeking to control as a starting point.  Merc led raids had damaged the noble's forces on the other continent as well as hampering his support structure to slow responses. 

When the raiders returned, the mercs dropships and ASF went to orbit to keep them from doing a combat drop or landing near/on top of the rebels.  The orbital battle could be considered a draw, the raiders lost most of their ASF and had a Union with one of the companies destroyed though a few of the mechs managed to survive being ejected in their drop pods.  Surviving raiders grounded outside the rebel's capital, meeting up with a heavy armor battalion that had snuck in system to land as support for the wiped out mech companies.  The two formations forted up, creating a firebase several klicks away from the rebel positions.  While the armor had plenty of fuel and ammo, the mechs had shot themselves nearly dry and taken damage in their raiding that was to be repaired on home ground.  The diversion had not allowed them to repair and the damage the dropships had taken made them too big a asset to risk without air superiority.

The noble then hired some of the wannabe mercs and pirates he had been sheltering on his world to take part in a push to wipe out the rebels.  Unable to use any of the remaining damaged dropships to transport supplies or reinforcements the noble had commandeered some of the planet's freighters (think Liberty ship) to sent what supplies and reinforcements he could gather.  The freighters launched VTOLs and had let off light mechs when approaching their target port which was seized quickly and easily since no rebel militia garrisoned it.  The rebels were informed that a new force had landed on the northern shore with the only logical objective to resupply the raider battalion in its push to the city.

Fragmentary reports of the supply convoy that had started to travel south from the port reached the rebel HQ.  Reports of the convoy outpaced its movement, letting the rebels and mercs know that the so far unmoving raiders were going to get the support they needed.  Intelligence was spotty, untrained and with the method of passing messages tended to be unclear.  The reported numbers estimated two companies of 'big' mechs though those reporting had only seen light industrialmechs previously.  Additionally, the noble had used light & medium mechs of older vintage for his garrison forces.  Lots of vehicles were reported though a few could be identified as tanks, others were assumed to be fire support or APCs.  Descriptions of vehicles also suggested part of the relief were technicals or more of the noble's homebrew gun trucks & tank destroyers.  A sizeable number would have to be trucks taken from the port or brought on the ships to move techs and supplies.  Spies at the port said that munitions and unknown supplies had been loaded in trucks in the port though no word on which trucks might have the munitions.  Lots of infantry was reported, enough to be a motorized battalion or two- if not more.  No towed artillery was reported, or if it was it was not large systems or Arrow IV- but descriptions did suggest field guns for the infantry.  A very few VTOLs were also reported, types unknown.

So you are part of the mercenary's planning group . . .

 . . . the forces the could respond would be the merc's medium company (5/8/5 at slowest) and the rebel militia's light & medium mech company  The mercs could also send a few hovers and VTOLs in support, the militia had a few hovertanks to also contribute.  The convoy route is along a major river with a four lane highway and a quick sortie could hit them and return before any expected push.  The strike force will not have any artillery or air support.

What type tactics would you suggest for the strike force?  What would be their targeting priorities?  What sort of conditions would you set for the engagement?

[Daryk]

In this scenario, I'd simply booby trap the road and call it a day.  There's no reason to risk a single 'mech.

[Weirdo]

Mines, definitely. Send hovers loaded with infernos, or any fast units with LB-X cannons. Target the trucks ONLY. Seriously, threaten your warriors with court-martial(or execution) if they make a single to-hit roll against anything else. Get in, make a few shots against those most vulnerable units, and then bug out.

[Daryk]

Mines are definitely the most likely method to trap the road, but I didn't want to discount any land slides or undermining into the river.

[trboturtle]

Ideally, you don't go head to head with the convoy...... You can mine the road, dam up the river so it floods the road, destroy any bridges they have to cross, block the road with fallen tress or rock slides if the terrain is right.

If forced to attack, hit and run --- pop up, fired on a couple of the trucks in hopes of hitting an ammo carries, then clear out. Repeat, rotating in lances so one attacks, retreats, then races pas the other two lances waiting to attack and take up position or another attack farther down the road. Strike at the head and tail to slow the convoy up. Fake some ambushes. If there's any air power, strafe and bomb them -- same as the ground force, hit and run, concentrating on the ammo vehicles.

It sounds like the convoy's guards are slow and cannot really chase or really get into a firefight. Stick and move it.

Craig

[JenniferinaMAD]

What's the saying? Something like 'an obstacle not under your guns won't be an obstacle to your enemey'?

Mining the road, collapsing bridges etc will slow the convoy down, but it cannot be expected to meaningfully damage it. As soon as their first scout hits a mine (and there will scouts moving ahead), they're going to send forward their combat engineers and clear the field.

Mines are going to either buy you time to bring heavier gear into position, or create a distraction you can use for an attack.

What I'd do is have a chopper drop of some infantry scouts to direct indirect LRMs onto the road from a hidden position. First to scatter thunder mines, and then once the convoy stops (thunder mines are going to be visible on a paved road), to target squishy transport vehicles.

[bobthecoward]

Whatever it is, I'm leaving 5 minutes earlier than originally planned. So whatever hijinks were going to happen on round 7 of the the fight happens after.

[Colt Ward]

Mines would be great and I checked my stocks after it was mentioned- there are a few tons of Thunder LRM munitions remaining from a previous contract.  Great idea I totally overlooked . . . probably because the only fast designs I have sporting LRM launchers is the pair of Blizzard APCs.

So it would have to be Jenniferina's comment about any mines needing to be part of a plan.  The rebels MIGHT have something with LRMs but from what I recall (at work) they have a few Phoenix Hawks, Locusts, Stingers and Wasps.  The merc medium company has Wolverine 8Ks, Nightsky, Chameleons, Uziel, Bloodhound, etc . . . ranged weapons are energy weapons.  I do not buy into the 'mercs should have flashbulbs!' but nearly all the merc's LRMs are on LRM Carriers or Zues, Orion, Bandersnatch, TBolt, etc.  Something to remedy is the opportunity arises.

So it might be on to more complicated plans . . .

[Kovax]

The convoy defenders fall into two categories: those that are fast enough to catch the Merc units, but are too fragile to survive the encounter, and those that are too slow.  By mining the road and using LRMs in IDF mode against the head of the convoy, it forces the convoy guards to the fore.  That's when a small group of fast, light Merc units hit the convoy from the tail end, targeting ANY vehicle or 'Mech that's easy enough to hit and immobilize or cripple.  Take the easy shots, do as much damage as possible in a couple of rounds, and then make like a shepherd and get the flock out of there.  The heavier defending elements can either shift to the rear, leaving the head of the convoy to be picked apart by LRMs, or they can abandon the tail to its fate, or split up and try to rescue both ends.  Any way they do it, it's to the Mercs' advantage, allowing them to engage the enemy force piecemeal and destroy the supply trucks, with any chance of isolating and swarming the individual heavier defending units as an extra bonus.

Sooner or later in the campaign, the rebels are going to have to face those heavier Loyalist units, and taking a couple of them out while they're damaged or low on ammo potentially makes the process a lot less painful.  A win now is good; setting the stage for the complete defeat of the opponent later is better.  The suggestion to limit shots to "supply trucks only" may be great for achieving the victory conditions in a scenario, but not necessarily the best idea for a campaign.  "Take out the easy targets" might be a better way of putting it.  Forcing the Loyalists to bail and abandon an immobilized tank might be more valuable in the long run than blowing up a supply truck.

[Archangel]

After using scouts to determine more precisely what the enemy unit composition was, what their route was and what terrain I had to work with I would likely stage multiple ambushes to slowly by using terrain to prevent the escort from bringing its full firepower to bear.

How?

Blowing up a bridge while the convoy was crossing would not only destroy part of the convoy but could potentially cut a portion of the convoy off from the rest.  Same thing works with a tunnel by either using a bomb to collapse the tunnel, using tear gas (to prevent a portion of the defenders from passing through without being rendered combat-ineffective) or simply using the tunnel as a funnel.  In either case, the defenders would have to leave a sizable portion of their force on the side not being attacked just in case there are more enemies on that side waiting to attack.

Another potential plan is to strike while their route takes them near a river.  Have the majority of the forces attack the convoy from the landside and after the enemy deploys to engage your forces as far away from the convoy as possible have the small strike force that had been hiding in the river rise up and strike at the convoy.  A few salvos would be more than enough to cause considerable damage among the transports.

And of course launching raids at random times of the day would wear the convoy down both mentally and physically.  With some attacks merely meant to stir things up with a salvo or two of long range fire while others meant to actually cause damage, the defenders would have to deploy 'just in case'.  If they send a patrol out in pursuit, the raiders could lead them into an ambush.  By rotating strike lances throughout the day (and night), most of your forces will be able to rest between missions while the enemy will be worn down and tired men make mistakes.

[Colt Ward]

The two medium companies are dispatched, one of the Blizzard APC's LRM launchers are loaded with Thunder munitions while the other keeps regular LRMs to cover the hovercraft platoon.  Among the rebel mech company, they have a Valkyrie which is loaded with Thunder munitions as well to contribute to the mine field.  Once in the field mechs with hands will help reload it with standard rounds transported in by VTOL to the strike force's field camp.  The hovercraft platoon of 2 APC and 2 hovertanks speed out ahead of the mechs with the Achileus BA squad and a platoon of foot infantry for recon purposes.  Using the river as a wide open highway (10-14 hexes wide at points) the four craft move as quickly as possible north to find the convoy's forward elements.  Also setting out at the same time was the merc's Karnov escorted by a rebel gunship with additional scouting elements to put the convoy under observation.

All three portions of the strike force set up a cold camp in a sheltered hollow a few hundred meters from the river valley.

The VTOL recon team start picking up signals from the convoy's vanguard mid day the next day after setting out.  After relaying a contact report to the strike force CO & hovercraft platoon the VTOLs found a good place to land so the scout team could move to a good OP.  The scouts set up a good hide and use passive sensors (IR/optical/etc) to begin collecting data on the convoy and its escorts as well as determining its speed of movement.  The hovercraft platoon races down the river getting a real look at the terrain as the rebels and supporting mercs did not have detailed tactical maps of the area.  Using civilian maps they were inspecting ambush points for criteria set down in the breifing before their movement.

The VTOL team reported 30 mechs sighted, mostly mediums, nearly as many lights and a few smaller heavies like a Thunderbolt.  Very few appeared to be upgraded designs.  The armor companies were similarly dated as well as being in the medium range.  A dozen of so vehicles appear to be technicals and some vehicles looked like heavy tracked APCs converted into tank destroyers.  The scouts also reported in the center of the convoy 4 Thumper artillery vehicles in travel set up along with what was likely a half dozen ammo carrier trucks that stayed close to the SP guns.  Motorized infantry were numerous and supported mechs in the vanguard as well as patrolling along the convoy and pushing into the rolling hills near the river.  No enemy forces were sited crossing the river, and with little need as the main highway never crossed it until the river until it reached the rebel city.

So . . . does this intel & material update change any plans?

[Kovax]

Minor changes of plan.  Rather than distracting the main body of defenders with a minefield, indirect LRMs, and threat of a major action to the front, and then attacking the rear and shooting at easy targets with a fast strike group, I would switch the secondary attack to primarily target the ammo carriers around the artillery, and the artillery itself (SRMs would be ideal, Medium Lasers also good).  If still heavily guarded, divert the secondary group to hit the less well covered rear elements of the convoy instead, as originally planned.  As before, don't get bogged down in a fight, hit and run.  Immobilized targets are as good as kills, and vehicles are easier to immobilize.  If easier shots on the 'Mechs than on the vehicles present themselves, take them, because any damage uses up whatever remaining supplies the convoy does manage to get through.

Taking out the ammo carriers might also damage or destroy surrounding units, including the artillery, and artillery with only their onboard ammo supplies would be a lot less of a threat, once the ammo carriers are gone.  Ideally, immobilizing a couple of those guns with an SRM hit to tracks or suspension (or a nearby ammo explosion) would force the opponent to either:
A) blow them up to prevent capture
B) halt the convoy for several hours for repairs (repair rolls in the field without extended time would be brutal) while under sporadic attack
C) abandon them for later capture by the rebels or mercs.

Any of those would be a big positive for the rebels.

The sheer size of the defending force rules out a major direct engagement against the unified group, so the only options are delays (mines, obstacles, and forced deployment for combat that doesn't happen), constant harassment attacks (mostly indirect fire, where any return fire will be unspotted), a fast hit-and-run attack (to kill or cripple the cargo carriers or artillery group), or various combinations of the above.

Ideally, the merc unit should be prepared at a couple of points (if/when conditions favor it) to engage a smaller portion of the defenders (a Merc unit doesn't stand to gain from an even battle), if they can be induced to pursue with a fraction of their force, and prepared to send in fast hovers and light 'mechs in a series of fast slash attacks against the poorly escorted convoy if the loyalists decide to pursue in force.

[Daryk]

How many transport trucks were sighted?  It's beginning to sound less like a supply convoy, and more like an assault force.

[Colt Ward]

It is also reinforcements, but they are very green/light.  They came in with the supplies & extra techs to repair the heavy raider battalion which will be the real hammer against the rebels.  Plus the infantry which was not with the raiders will be needed to clear the city.

My campaigns tend to be very war game-y where logistics and other detail-driven items matter . . . hence the spreadsheets and buying the Campaign Ops PDF when it came out.

[Daryk]

Rog... my question still stands.  If the supplies are the main concern, we need to at least have a rough order of magnitude.  Plus, that tells us how thinly spread the escorts have to be to defend both ends of the convoy.

[Demon55]

In this scenario, I'd simply booby trap the road and call it a day.  There's no reason to risk a single 'mech.

You remind me of the first half of the Bomberman mission from Arma!

[vidar]

This sounds like an opportunity to hit something where the assault forces are not and make them break up and chase you.  Like say the drop port and all the thing there that must be defended:).

[idea weenie]

If the ambushing force has any sort of artillery, this would be a good time to use it.  Even barges on the river would be useful.  Thunder rounds constantly deploying minefields along the route would annoy/aggravate the combat engineers constantly.  Pre-plotted hexes along the route would make excellent choke points.

Or just a fast helicopters with AC-2.  Keep it at long range, and fire 1 shot per turn.  If the convoy guards pursue, break off the attack.  When they return to the convoy, have the helicopters return to keep up the harassment.  Make sure you have a LOT of AC-2 ammo though (and spare pilots, good mechanics, etc).

[Dayton3]

How about tactical nuclear weapons!   When in doubt,  make'em glow.

[Colt Ward]

Realizing the later battle (Regulars retaking the city from the rebels) would require recon assets . . . I started off with a scout skirmish- a 8/12 light lance followed by a 6/9/6 lance with a infantry battalion in heavy APCs.

The opposing commander used the speedy to try to envelope the rebel militia lance- with the lance being 6/9 led by a Wolverine 7D it resulted in early sparring as they walked backwards.  The Wasp 3W trying to ambush from being prone in water resulted in it skidding on pavement into a wooded hex out of range.  Unknown to me, initiative ended up lopsided since I was testing hidden unit rules . . . which resulted in the Phoenix Hawk 3M letting a few speedsters behind it.  Combined with the Wasp skid, this had the rebel militia on a downward trend as they fell back.  One flanking Locust ran into close range of a pair of hidden Wolverine 8Ks . . . and the first one cored it which left the 2nd one shooting up scrap (fine since they could not really salvage anything).  The rebel militia played the bait well though the whole lance became combat ineffective- PXH had a open back and leg damage, WVR pilot had two head hits, engine hit and back opened, Wasp 3M lost the shoulder on the MPL arm and the -3W got beat up.  Merc medium lance was in much better position with a bit of armor damage on a Wolverine . . .

 . . . but they took the leg off a enemy Stinger, Wasp, cored a Locust and knocked out a Raven while a Hussar got away even if crippled (Gyro & LL crits).  The convoy's screen has been seriously crippled but so were two of the few mediums sent on the raid.  Not sure there is any chance I can punch in to hit the cargo carriers in the center of the convoy . . . especially against the heavy mechs escorting them, though I might have to try with a mix of mines and ERPPCs/PPCs/ERLL as well as running when the heavies close.

[Colt Ward]

Let Princess defend the convoy . . . which could sort of have been a disaster if we played with any reinforcements because the bot pushed the mid & end defenders are the two lances of merc mediums trying to blow trucks up.  The front, facing a single lance of a 3025 Chameleon, 2 PXH-1 and a PXH-3 did not get any reinforcements but the Warhammer 7A, Cestus, 2 IS Std, pair of Saladin and pair of Galleons were enough to drive them back.

My poor merc Chameleon 7Z was unlucky enough to take a AC/20 hit to the CT and a bunch of PPCs to the leg . . . which was then kicked off, other leg pristine.  So I had a pilot captured and lost a mobile medium.  In exchange, the convoy lost a Sherpa and Flatbed to the river (3t Gauss ammo, 4t AC/5 ammo, 3t SRM ammo & 3 DHS), 2 Flatbeds to a Saladin's ammo explosion (4t rifle ammo, 1t MG ammo, 3t replacement IS), 2 Galleon 100 destroyed & a 200 crippled (open side), 4 3025 Saladins (one kick resulted in the mentioned ammo explosion) and assorted armor damage to 4 heavy mechs (two head hits on separate mechs).  A fuel truck that took motive damage was drained to refill the remaining fuel tanks & tankers and then abandoned.  The whole convoy slowed from 45 kph to 34 kph which should help the defenders as they continue to prepare and dig in.  Not sure if the Gauss ammo (decent portion) ending up in the water would ruin it like AC & SRM ammo.

With that damage done . . . my primary mediums armor is now in bad shape having been in two engagements without the ability to repair any of the damage.  The less damaged lights and mediums can still cause delay by putting obstructions on the highway and collapsing bridges but . . . probably time to fall back to assume positions on the defensive line.

[Natasha Kerensky]

Wikipedia has a good primer on different ambush types employed by the Viet Cong.  The "L" and "Manuever" seem especially suited to ambushing a convoy:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NLF_and_PAVN_battle_tactics#Ambush_types

The Battle of Tuetoburg Forest, where German tribes under Arminius wiped out three Roman Legions in 9AD, was essentially an "L" ambush with a lot of insider information and deception.  Here's a map of the ambush:

http://www.ancient.eu/uploads/images/6330.png?v=1486373433

Sorry this is late to the party, but these historical standbys may generate some ideas.

FWIW...

[Nightgaun7]

Pathetic frails.

[Force of Nature]

Here is what I did with my convoy attack scenario (3025). No traps, artillery, mines etc. The convoy (four companies, 48 vehicles) was en-route to its destination (off table) and an ad hoc mech unit of 16 mechs were assigned to catch up to it and prevent the convoy from arriving to its destination.

Conditions

Vehicles that get off of the right side of the table (see the convoy starting position pic) get full tonnage value.

Vehicles that get off the table sides via the road get half tonnage value.

Vehicles that are tracked will continue to fight on an 8 or less on a 2D6 roll at the end of every turn. If failed, the crew bails and the mech players get full tonnage value.

The command company (in the middle of the convoy in the Kursk camo, Schreks, Ontos and Partisans) if they are tracked, they will continue to fight on a 9 or less on a 2D6 roll at the end of every turn. If failed, the crew bails and the mech players get full tonnage value.

Vehicles that are destroyed, the mech players get full tonnage value.

Mechs destroyed have no value to the convoy players victory conditions.

The game ends in exactly 6 real time hours!!! Players had to stay focused!

One mech lance is the command lance. Players choice. It has a 2/3 pilot and three 3/4 pilots. They must all be from the same lance! The rest of the mechs are all 4/5 pilots.

All vehicles are 4/5 crews.

Which ever side has the most tonnage wins. I forget offhand (this game was from 2006) the exact tonnages for draw, minor, major and decisive were. But the convoy ended up winning a minor victory by about 30 tons.


The puffs of smoke seen in the End Game pics are denoting tracked vehicles and from which side. Mechs with smoke on them are destroyed. Vehicles with the turrets removed are destroyed.

All 8 players had a great time and it was all over in 6 hours. As seen in the End Game picture, there were only three mechs left, none of which were in the command lance (green and brown camo lance was selected)

Hope this helps.

[Force of Nature]

Lead, middle and tail vehicle starting positions (closer)

[Lamont-Cranston]

Intelligence is too fragmentary from the locals, try to put some of your own scouts in the area escorted by locals to report back.

Have your hover and VTOL and recon mechs scouring the presumed area, saturate it.

Control flow of movement  by mining roads, demolishing bridges, block mountain passes, flood dams, try to control what choices the enemy has in where they go and how they they get there but determine the size and nature of their force before engaging. Try to hire some more fliers from Outreach, air superiority.