Wieczorek's Archers mercenary unit and the Wyatt Militia

[Daryk]

That story hangs together pretty well!  :thumbsup:

[Dragon Cat]

I like linking the two worlds from the ideas works neatly

[Failure16]

I dunno, F16, what do you think about the 13-unit company?

I'm okay with them, but I prefer my COs and XOs to have their own combat-capable machines (be they bipedal, conventional, small arms or whatever force-type you are dealing with). That is because I want any given force to be able to flex out and accomplish two missions at once. (As a side note, I used to give my senior NCOs combat machines as well, but then I got exposed to what they really do and realized that wasn't necessary.)

This aligns closely with my relative distaste for "integrated command lances". If my standard/triangular-battalion BC is also my lead company commander, then I really don't have three companies in my battalion, do I? No, I really have two companies and a flex-element to parcel out to my remaining line companies. Which is great for those companies, but I'd rather have the third company. Remember, two-up, one-back...

As an example: In my world, the First Regulan Hussars have dedicated command lances at all levels, because they are precisely and explicitly shown in the canon (FASA 1652, Rolling Thunder) regardless of what later Field Manuals, et al might want us to believe. On the balance, it might well explain why the FWLM has such a hard time conducting effective offensive/expeditionary operations--because their mid-level officers are forced to do too much without the requisite resources.

[Daryk]

The old German concept was the Kampfstaffel... essentially an extra unit of action available only to the overall formation commander to parcel out as you describe.

[Failure16]

That is an excellent point, sir. It should, however, be noted that they were effectively corps-level assets in actual usage (see Kampstaffel Kiehl in DAK; or rather there was a Kampstaffel DAK commanded by different officers, such as Burckhardt, Kiehl, etc.) and were technically all-arms miniature battlegroups often composed of captured and ad-hoc equipment. It could also be used to define the personnel of a rear-echelon unit that would be used to cover the retreat of the unit itself (e.g. spare cooks, mechanics that could be tasked with unit-defense).

A canon BattleTech paradigm would be the Galtor Tech Defense League that the DCMS used on Galtor (a unit of techs that basically got slaughtered) Go DCMS in an age of waning technical expertise!

But as a BC, I can just as easily make my Charlie Company my own personal kampstaffel instead of having two companies and a third unit, if you follow my drift.

Hell, modern Western militaries have their own "kampstaffel" in their Headquarters & Headquarters Company/Troop. All those loafers* can easily be formed into an extra maneuver unit to be used as necessary if the situation warrants it.


*I can say that with a sly, crooked grin, because I was one of those crooked, loafing** bastards.

**And if you want to see how much some of those loafing bastards loafed, you should remember that while the line troops were headed back to the rear, the HHT guys had been out in the box earlier and stayed out later.  ;D  ::) But the engineers had it even worse, since they had to fill in all the anti-tank trenches, and find all the mines, and recover all the wire after most everyone left the party.

[Daryk]

I ran across the concept in The Rommel Papers.  Interesting book...  8)

[ANS Kamas P81]

Hm...I'm being entirely convinced to run 14-'Mech companies with what you guys are describing, and stepping it down to a single company for transport reasons.  I know the US (and IIRC the brits) run 14-tank companies for their armor assets, giving the CO and XO their own track to move along with the rest of the force.  I'd like to hear more about the kampstaffel, I'm already curious as to what it is and how to involve such an arrangement in a company-sized force, or if a BattleMech company is too small to benefit from such an arrangement.

I took another look through DropShips and found the Seeker class, which actually fits the bill perfectly for a single company transport.  The bays it has are for light vehicles, but Sarna quotes them as being easily reconfigurable and cites a common swap for carrying a lance of 'Mechs onboard.  I can convert that to 14 'Mech bays and still have 440 tons of cargo space left over, which should be enough to haul supplies, food, and whatnot plus give all of my MechWarriors space to live in.  I originally thought of only loading four bays, but MML won't let me add quarters individually, so that option is out.  As it is, a Seeker is faster and has better cargo space as a transport than a Union, but it loses in the armor and weapons field - but as a mercenary company, I better not be getting my DropShip shot at in the first place.

Company Commander: Captain Andzelika Wieczorek (Veteran) ARC-2R Archer
Company XO: 1st Lieutenant Ricard Wieczorek (Regular) ARC-2R Archer
Bishop Lance "Jan's Hussars" Commander: 2nd Lieutenant Jan Fokker (Regular) ARC-2S Archer
Mechwarrior: Corporal Gerhardt Elster (Green) ARC-2S Archer
Mechwarrior: Private Aisling Chen (Regular) ARC-2S Archer
Mechwarrior: Private Jakub Wieczorek (Green) ARC-2S Archer
Rook Lance "Night Furies" Commander: 2nd Lieutenant Elizabeta Wieczorek (Green) ARC-2S Archer
Mechwarrior: Corporal Eva Rodriguez (Regular) ARC-2S Archer
Mechwarrior: Private Samantha Milliome (Green) ARC-2S Archer
Mechwarrior: Private Guy Le France (Regular) ARC-2S Archer
King Lance "Death From Beyond" Commander: 1st Lieutenant Mikolaj de Klerk (Veteran) ARC-THUMPER-ALT Archer
Mechwarrior: Sergeant Lieutenant Sven Murasame (Veteran) ARC-THUMPER-ALT Archer
Mechwarrior: Sergeant Lieutenant Lotti Laurier (Regular) ARC-THUMPER-ALT Archer
Mechwarrior: Sergeant Duncan Roord (Regular) ARC-THUMPER-ALT Archer

Fortunately that was an easy conversion of ranks and positions, and renaming what becomes King Lance.  I end up with a total of 10 ARC-2R and 4 ARC-THUMPER-ALT 'Mechs in total, and gives me more of a "specialist" force rather than typically trying to do every mission that there is like a standard 'Mech company would.  This is fire support, pure and simple, though I suppose in the 3000s when "Any 'Mech is a good 'Mech" I'm probably going to be pressed into all sorts of roles anyway.  At least it's a flavorful unit.

The more I think about it, the more I like the ARC-2S over the ARC-2R; it's not only got decent close-range firepower but it's got better endurance in the long range missile bays and can stay heat neutral while firing both LRM launchers (if not moving).  That's something the -2R can't do, and a whole lance firing two LRM-15s at something is going to hurt it pretty bad still.  I'll say that the recovery effort at Erdvynn found Archer skeletons, but since there's no record of manufacturing weapons or other components what was recovered was unarmed.  Ten had engines installed, while four didn't, the rest of what was salvaged was only subassemblies and limbs and spare components, plus Firestarter bits.  That plus the tooling was taken to Defiance on Hesperus on the way back to Zoetermeer, and traded for the completion of the Archers to the Lyran standard instead of the SLDF version.

I suppose that pretty much does it for Wieczorek's Archers, as far as an origin story goes.  I've got a commission in the works for a uniform design, so I'll post that in here when it's done.

[Failure16]

I see and approve of properly situated company, and I find myself in agreement that you are indeed a saint and scholar of discerning tastes.

Regarding the Kampstaffel, well...information is hard to find. This board seems to gel with every other bit of data I can find (but I cannot at the moment give you primary sources, since this is not my area of expertise):

https://www.feldgrau.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=15662

Remember, they are an ad hoc formation that was historically seen at a corps-level (in DAK under Rommel) or army (group) level (from '42 onwards), and were functionally rear-security troops (literally, as in troops providing security drawn from the rear echelon for the rest of the rear echelon) in other times and places.

[ANS Kamas P81]

I see and approve of properly situated company, and I find myself in agreement that you are indeed a saint and scholar of discerning tastes.

Hah, thank you - a saint is one thing, but I'm at least trying to be a scholar and work out a proper force.  As it is, I agree with you more and more on the idea of a 14 'Mech company.  It fits the three-subordinate rule at Lance and Company level, and giving the company XO their own ride does indeed let me split up the force - the most obvious to me is to send the XO to command/protect King lance deployed away from a target, while Rook and Bishop move in under cover of eight Thumpers (so much artillery) to their objective and close and destroy it.

I was thinking of moving back to the battalion force, but mercenary 'Mech companies are a dime a dozen in Battletech and if the company-sized force is suitable, then I'll stick with it.  I'll miss the infantry, but they were an adjunct force anyway, mostly there for RP reasons.

Regarding the Kampstaffel, well...information is hard to find. This board seems to gel with every other bit of data I can find (but I cannot at the moment give you primary sources, since this is not my area of expertise):

https://www.feldgrau.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=15662

Remember, they are an ad hoc formation that was historically seen at a corps-level (in DAK under Rommel) or army (group) level (from '42 onwards), and were functionally rear-security troops (literally, as in troops providing security drawn from the rear echelon for the rest of the rear echelon) in other times and places.

I'll do some reading, thanks!

[idea weenie]

Dropship - the larger the better.  The Mule + Leopard means you need 2 Collars to get to your destination, but if you can refit the Mule you don't need the Leopard, halving your Jumpship costs.

One idea might be seeing if you can modify a Titan to carry a few Mechs instead of ASF.  A single platform, more accel than a Leopard, far more weaponry, and 3* the carrying capacity.

[ANS Kamas P81]

I'll stick with the smaller size force, eschewing the second 'Mech company and the infantry.  That way I only need the single Seeker as a transport, plus the Seeker's better protected than the Mule and better armed as well.  It's not a Union, but it'll do, and it has more cargo space onboard to carry supplies on deployments.  A Titan would be cool, but Sarna has them extinct during the Succession Wars. 

[Failure16]

Yeah, Titans are right out--which is a real shame because there is no true common (ASF) carrier between the Leopard-CV and the Vengeance. And a "Titan-LCM" in the 3000s would be the purest awesome and make me quite happy.

I often believe in at least two DropShips because they give you some element of flexibility and options in your deployments. It is useful to have a recon lance in a Leopard that can do a fast burn and drop them before the main body lands, and/or in a spot away from the primary LZ.

(As an aside, I never put command lances in Leopards; that staff needs to be with the main body to continue planning and deal with their problems, and units that are used to operating on their own go there. Leopards are "flex assets" to me while the bigger DropShips do the work of transporting the bulk of the unit.)

[Daryk]

Gentlemen, your Googling will go better if you stop dropping the third "f" from kampfstaffel: https://opposingfronts.com/rommels-kampfstaffel/

 ^-^

[Failure16]

One hundred percent true enough and great link. I am Jack's chagrin. :-[

But it doesn't change materially what I have said: the kampfstaffel was effectively a security detachment that Rommel went a bit crazy on; a conceptual paradigm that apparently already existed within the Wehrmacht. That link just crystallizes my thoughts on the matter that Rommel was just ultimately detracting from the combat power of the line units--though finding a use for the captured material and armor was inspired and a mitigating factor--by his decision to have extra mass to do his bidding at what he considered the schwerpunkt. And to save his bacon when ended up in places he shouldn't have been.

Even that link baldly states that he basically just created another kampfgruppe, but one that he could play battalion commander of.

[Daryk]

Pretty much exactly my point!  As for Wieczorek's Archers, I think a Command Lance atop a full company would be the best analog, and I'm pretty sure a Seeker can carry that...  8)

[Failure16]

That is not bad counsel at all. And I am not opposed to the burgeoning idea of this kampfstaffel. Personally, I would have them be different machines than Archers...but since that torches the driving paradigm, consider ARC-2Ks.

Now, now, I can hear the gritting of teeth already, but--as a long-time Rolling Thunder player--the ARC-2K can be made to work, and its peculiarities can be very beneficial to more traditional Archers (of which the -2S is surely a part). The large lasers can be very effective in discouraging strikes by lighter elements and their range bands pair nicely with the rest of the primary weaponry. And, well, it's 3025. If riding the 'Scale is a problem, play in 3050 and avoid the Coreward border. Having even a pair of -2Ks that the commander can detail out to the Main Effort can add some decent direct firepower to an otherwise scattershot attack or prepare a hot reception to those pesky buggers that break through the MLR and rush your HQ/logistical/rear-security zone.

[Daryk]

Agreed to all of that, but I also think you need to spend the 20 tons on four platoons of "infantry", aka "AsTechs".  My usual strategy is to "buy" a squad per 'mech or vehicle, the necessary Techs, and pay full "Scout Infantry" price for the Squad Leaders, Officers and Senior NCOs.  It's really not that expensive, and TOTALLY worth the price...  ^-^

[ANS Kamas P81]

Shame the Titans are gone, it'd be a cool looking DropShip to use.  Sure, it's an Aerodyne instead of a Spheroid, but rule of cool applies - this is Battletech after all.

The thoughts of creating an additional lance...that'd bring me to 16 'Mechs, nominally a four-lance company but how's this sound instead.  Keep the rest of the 14-'Mech company as it is, but attach an extra pair of ARC-2S as an independent team assigned to whichever lance is leading the main effort.  Call them Queen One and Queen Two, they can hang back as additional bodyguards for the company commander or the artillery lance, or move up forward to reinforce either Rook or Bishop lances.  (The command team is Knight One and Knight Two.)  I can suffer some losses on Alexandria, and shuffle Queen One and Two into the regular lances and put captured ARC-2Ks in after the Alexandria battle.  The nice thing about ARC-2Ks is that they're sharing LRM-15s with the ARC-2S, so I'd have repair commonality and ammo resupply commonality as well.  As far as transport goes, I've got enough room in the Seeker to install two more 'Mech cradles and still have 140 tons of cargo, that's twice what a Union carries and is clearly more than enough as far as Battletech cares.

On attaching Astechs - yes, yes I think I will definitely do that.  I'd need one platoon for each lance (giving a full 7-man tech team to each 'Mech) so four platoons...that'd leave me 120 tons of cargo space, which is enough for immediate resupply but I'm going to be tied to the logistics of my employer rather than being properly indepdendent.  Okay, so switch up the Seeker some - give it just eight 'Mech cradles and keep the four infantry bays that come with a Seeker, and load the rest of the 'Mechs as 560 ton separate cargo bay.  That gives me 843.5 tons of supplies, which I'm a lot more happy with considering the main weapons of these 'Mechs.  I'm going to need a lot of LRM-15 ammunition.

How's that sound with Queen Team being a flexible attachment, Knight Team being the commander and XO, and Bishop, Rook, and King lances being the main force?  I wonder where Wieczorek would come up with an odd organization, it's not what the LCAF uses but she's a historian, maybe she read about the SLDF attaching all sorts of units to regiments and brigades and divisions and decided to replicate that in miniature.

[Failure16]

Daryk will have to chime in, but your set-up pretty much what I am advocating. The plus-two 'Mechs to get you to the Sweet Sixteen would be the flex-force for the commander. In this case they will act as her bodyguards 9/10ths of the time and her bully-boys when she needs some extra mass on a mission (just as you said).

And, yes, you need some infantry. While Daryk and I differ greatly on the viability of considering astechs to be infantry and vice versa, it's okay within the milieu. But you need people on the ground with small arms to do all the things you don't think about.

And I like your DropShip configuration. Enough that I shall be looking into it more deeply for my own nefarious purposes.

[Failure16]

But don't forget the softskins. All that ammo needs to get to the front somehow. Unless you plan on just requisitioning that aspect of your log-pac locally (which is doable if your business model incorporates such a thing).

Minimum I'd say you need a HQV, 2 trucks per lance/platoon (one for ammo, one for supplies), and a handful of jeeps (scouting, security, errands, etc.), one each per lance plus some for headquarters. Maybe a draggin'-wagon. A lot of those could be stacked bumper to bumper in the cargo hold, so it shouldn't be too onerous. But don't forget them!

[Daryk]

The 25 rated engine is the secret sauce here.  That gives you 9/14 5-ton jeeps, 5/8 9-ton trucks, 3/5 15-ton trucks, and 1/2 45-ton prime movers.  Fusion is of course ideal, but ICE can do most of the work.

As far as F16's position, I'll at least allow I only double task the line troops.  The Squad Leaders, senior NCOs and Officers are all first and foremost INFANTRY.  I figure that gives the troops some incentive to seek promotion, either on the technical or combat arms side...  ^-^

[ANS Kamas P81]

Alright, some thoughts on the DropShip.  Keeping the eight mech cradles to drop Knight, Queen, and either Rook or Bishop depending on the mission, and unloading either Bishop or Rook along with King as cargo.  That leaves me 1423.5 tons of cargo space, 560 of which goes to storing eight 70-ton Archers.  That leaves 863.5 tons.  Now for the infantry addition.

I'll keep the four platoons of techs, but add infantry to the force - there's plenty of tonnage for extra infantry bays.  Six platoons would net me a total force of a battalion (counting four of those platoons as techs) and take 50 tons of cargo space for their bays.  With two companies of infantry...that'd be six platoons or twenty four squads, so I'll need 240 additional tons of cargo space for standard APCs loaded as cargo for that force.  Maybe I'll take half that as a mechanized force then, and only 120 tons for twelve APCs.  So I have one infantry company that's mobile and able to take the field under its own power, and one infantry company that's left behind as guards for their base.

That's one option anyway, the other is to bust out the Segways and use Motorized Heavy Infantry from TRO3085 instead.  For ease of play, the MHI is by far the better choice, but there's something to the idea of actually tracking combat vehicles and deploying troops that way that appeals to my autism.  I like the looks of the Wheeled APC the most, but the terrain advantages of the Tracked APC makes it by far the preferable option. 

What's the consensus on infantry, anyway?  Separate foot platoons and combat vehicles, or the granularity of Mechanized infantry?  The former still leaves me 693.5 tons on a Seeker for supplies, and brings me back to being a full battalion in size, albeit a compact one.

Queen Team:
Mechwarrior Corporal Sumire Shostokovich, Regular, ARC-2S Archer
Mechwarrior Private Ion Da Vinci, Regular, ARC-2S Archer

Logistics are a good consideration to attack next.  The jeeps...okay, I'll make one company of infantry Motorized, to reflect that - let them be the jeep-bound scouts/security/errand boys.  That increase in size cuts my cargo down to 681.5 tons  The other company remains foot, but with its twelve APCs to transport.  Four 'Mech lances plus six platoons of infantry gives me a requirement of twenty trucks...ten ton Flatbed Trucks would be ideal but that would be a whopping 200 tons of cargo space whittled away.  If I doubleduty the twelve APCs as cargo carriers for infantry support when they're not hauling troops around, I can get away with two ten-ton trucks per 'Mech lance and only eight vehicles that way.  That takes up 80 tons of cargo and lets me add a single Heavy BattleMech Recovery Vehicle to transport a downed Archer at 70 tons.  That leaves me 531.5 tons of supplies, gives me a decent if small logistics trail, gives me a recovery capability, and still lets me haul enough cargo to make a viable resupply point on my own. 

Oh yeah - a headquarters vehicle...well a Mobile HQ is only 25 tons, but is that overkill for what amounts to a reinforced 'Mech company?  I suppose I could double-duty it as both a battalion HQ and FDC for King Lance, hm...that poses a question, what about battalion staff?  I can put an extra two Foot Platoon infantry bays in, to cover my truck drivers and the APC/HQ crews, so I'm packing everything that way.  That leaves me with 500.5 tons of total cargo space and gives me a logistics capability that probably helps with contracts and makes the Archers a more viable force than simply sixteen guys standing around in giant robots.

How's that looking, for stream-of-consciouness ideaspamming?

I'm probably still buying missiles from the Lyrans by the bucketload, but at least that should address my logistics sufficiently, even if it's a little tight aboard the DropShip.

[Daryk]

Don't forget Heavy APCs!  They're only twice what normal APCs weigh, but carry eight times as many infantry!  Plus, you can take a Heavy APC and throw three tons of Communications Equipment in place of ONE of the platoons to have the equivalent of FOUR tons (enough to reach satellites).  If you really want the full seven-ton bonuses, you can just swap out both platoons...  ^-^

[ANS Kamas P81]

Hm, instead of a true (and admittedly rare in the Succession Wars) Mobile HQ, a converted HAPC with three tons of communications equipment and a platoon of infantry, make that the command vehicle and FDC for the unit.  I like the idea of deploying the infantry by squads, plus a convoy of APCs escorting those flatbeds would get a lot more respect than a single vehicle.

[Daryk]

Perfect!  :thumbsup:

[ANS Kamas P81]

So I had the idea of resurrecting the force Gray Death Legion style for the ilClan era.  Say a descendent of the family heard about the exploits of their great-aunt and decided to turn their inheritance over to Defiance Industries to churn out some custom ARC-5S models based on my latest design over at the Artillery Archers thread.  The idea is to reconsitute Wieczorek's Archers during the 3150 timeframe, centered around a single 'Mech lance to start with, and build a logistically and technically independent force and see just how big that gets. 

Sticking with the 'Mechs listed, I'd have four of them with four to six tons of ammunition requirements each.  That's the protected load of one Flatbed Truck, so each truck would be able to deliver a single combat load of ammunition each time.  More if I pile on an extra ten tons of ammunition, but that slows my transports down to half speed which I'm not favoring.  Two trucks per 'Mech would give me good range from my resupply point, so that's two lances of Flatbeds.  I'll say three crew per Flatbed, driver/rifleman/mechanic standard, which is close enough to a single platoon of troops that I can handwave the difference. 

Tech teams are simple enough, one seven man "squad" per 'Mech equals one single platoon equivalent as well.  When they're not working on the 'Mechs they can service the other vehicles in the unit, which aren't going to be very many I hope.  I'd also need a 'Mech transport, but it's going to have to be a Heavy BattleMech Recovery Vehicle instead of the standard model.  The techs can drive that, so that doesn't increase my personnel size.  With the below infantry force...say four more tech teams for the vehicles, adding another platoon of troops to the field.  That spreads my vehicle repair capability pretty thin, but they're not primary combatants and the vehicles are simpler and easier to maintain than 'mechs are so I can get away with it.  Maybe.

That brings up how much infantry would be suitable for guards for a force this size, what's the opinion on that?  The infantry would need transports, which means APCs, so four vehicles plus four squads of infantry makes one standard platoon.  Their primary mission would be protecting the logistics and repair facilities, so...let's give them some teeth and call it four standard Goblins carrying one platoon and eight APCs carrying the other two.  That'd be for each infantry company, can I get away with one without overworking my infantry or should I have two?

So far I'm at one lance of mechs with a support company of two lances of trucks and two platoons of techs and drivers.  Adding two companies of infantry would turn this 'Mech lance into a combined arms battalion, which might be the best for the ilClan era.  The more I think about it, considering the infantry is going to be both protecting a technical area and providing convoy protection, two companies might be the route to go.

Transport requirements for a DropShip go as follows:

'Mech lance plus pilots - four Mech bays (600 tons)

Technicians and Astechs - two Foot Infantry bays (6 tons)
Flatbed Trucks - Cargo (80 tons)
Heavy BattleMech Recovery Vehicle - Heavy Vehicle Bay (100 tons)
Logistics Vehicle Crews - one Foot Infantry bay (3 tons)

Two Infantry Companies - six Foot Infantry bays (18 tons)
Eight Goblin IFVs - four Light Vehicle bays (200 tons), Cargo (180 tons)
Sixteen Tracked APCs - Cargo (160 tons)
Vehicle Crews - two Foot Infantry bays (6 tons)

That brings me to a total of 1,353 tons of transport space required.  Four BattleMech bays and four light vehicle bays gives me repair facilities for everything but the recovery vehicle, which gets its own Heavy Vehicle bay.  That's a preliminary list, but then it needs to consider something new for the ilClan era - Battle Armor.  I could replace one company of foot infantry with one company of Inner Sphere Standards, twelve squads of suits could make a strong force.  I wonder how much I can tweak a Goblin to carry BA suits...I'd need to go with Heavy APCs for the rest of the squads, but that's still a doable thing. 

If I go with BA suits, I'll need twelve bays to carry them, for a total of 96 tons of cargo space.  I'd give back three foot infantry bays, for 9 tons.  The eight heavy APCs would require 160 tons of cargo space on their own, raising my total APC transport requirement to 240 tons.  That brings me to 1,520 tons of bays and cargo requirements...and looking at DropShips a Jihad-era Union-X from 3071 fits the bill nicely.  It leaves me with 511 tons of cargo left over in the DropShip for supplies, spare parts, food, ammo, and whatnot.

Any suggestions, things I should consider, have I forgotten anything?

[Taron Storm]

Look at the Triumph class dropship.  Very common, easy to reconfigure with many variants, and a large capacity.

[ANS Kamas P81]

Triumph is a good choice, but I admit I'm liking the raw firepower and armor of the Jihad-era Union-X variant.  It also comes with half the transport bays already configured, so that's a plus.  It's probably also still not that commonplace in 3150, I'll take a look at the Triumph and see what can be done as far as conversions go.

I can't really change a Goblin into a BA carrier, unfortunately.  Not without a radical redesign, which I'm loathe to do as a mercenary force with all our money invested in the 'Mechs.  I suppose what I could do for the infantry transports is one company of Goblins transporting one company of foot infantry, and one company of Heavy APCs transporting my company of battlesuits.  I suppose I'll need one more platoon of Technicians to have four tech teams to work on the BA...so that's a full maintenance company there.

Mech Lance: one ARC-5S Archer "Mirage," three ARC-5S Archer "Wieczorek"

Infantry Company: Three platoons Foot Infantry
Transport Company: Twelve Goblin tanks, one platoon Foot Infantry equivalent

Infantry Company: Twelve platoons Gray Death Infiltrator BA
Transport Company: Twelve Heavy APCs, one platoon Foot Infantry equivalent

Maintenance Company: One Heavy BRV, three platoons Foot Infantry equivalent
Transport Company: Two lances Flatbed Trucks, one platoon Foot Infantry equivalent

So I need four 'Mech bays, one heavy vehicle bay, four light vehicle bays, nine infantry bays, twelve battle armor bays, which comes to 1041 tons.  The rest fits in 680 tons (8 tanks, 12 APCs, 8 trucks) of cargo space, for a total of 1,721 tons.  With a Triumph I could fit vehicle bays for everything and still have thousands of tons of room on board, hm...bays for everything comes to 2,441 tons total and plugging all that into MML leaves me 3272.5 tons of supplies.

Logistics time!  I'd say it's safe to assume a 'Mech or vehicle goes through one ammo load a day in combat.  Most 'Mechs and vehicles only carry about 20 rounds per weapon, give or take, which is more than enough to get through one fight in Megamek - usually - with a few rounds left over.  Maybe an extended battle brings everyone down to lasers, but I'd say a fair approximation is one load a day.  Machine Guns are stupid and don't count.

Four 'Mechs with their ammo supplies is 22 tons.  Goblins have practically no tonnage for resupply, call it one ton a day for the whole company and that's being generous.  One ton for machine guns for the APCs, and I'd be generous and say one ton of ammunition for the battle armor and infantry combined.  That's a total of 25 tons of ammunition supplies per day of combat.

Food and water - this is harder to calculate, but I'll cheat a bit and use the life support figure of one ton for twenty people for one day.  I think that's the figure, that gives me a budget of fifty kilos for food and water per person per day.  Probably too much.  According to MML my DropShip crew is 9, but there's a total of exactly 500 bay personnel in addition to that - that covers the rest of my vehicle crews and infantry, plus additional cargo masters and loaders.  509 personnel on board makes it an estimated 25.5 tons of food and water per day, which adds to the 25 tons of munitions being expended daily comes to 50.5 tons per day.  This comes to a total of 64.8 days of combat endurance with a full load of supplies, though it's probably safer to assume a 3-1 combat/noncombat daily expenditure.  Three days at 25.5 tons per day and one day fighting at 50.5 tons per day, that's 127 tons over four days - that gives me 103 days of deployment before I need to restock a DropShip.  Yeah, I'll take a Triumph.

I'm probably pressing the heavy APCs into transport duty as well when they're not convoying battle armor around, giving extra capability to haul stuff around alongside the Flatbeds. 

...you guys quit reading this a while ago didn't you.

EDIT: And now it strikes me I don't have an operations staff or a command vehicle; I suppose I should add a heavy APC with a platoon and three tons of communications equipment onboard it for an HQ.  That slightly shifts my cargo tonnages and consumption but not by a whole lot, so I'd still have good field endurance with my logistics above.  Which I think are incorrect; is it one ton per 20 people or one ton per 200?  Anyone know?

[Taron Storm]

Still reading and following.  BBL, got an appointment to keep.

[ANS Kamas P81]

Note to self - an engineer demi-platoon of two squads of troops and two Goblin CEV vehicles is a good addition to the force.  I'll add it to things later.

Anything I'm missing, as far as useful additions?