Robert S. Dean · 9 July 1991
I'm compiling the discussions on this topic, which have all been well thought
out and interesting so far. Permit me to retract my comments regarding
guerilla warfare as insufficiently considered, for the moment, and allow me
to make a few clarifications about some of the other implicit assumptions in
the narrative I posted:
Attacker's Superiority: A numerical and/or 1-2 level technological superiority
on the part of the attacker was assumed, since I was more interested in
discussing the mechanics of "ground" combat (obviously a bad name for a
primarily air/near orbit battle) than I was in investigating fleet combat.
Thus the attacker can be beaten by the system's defenders early on, before
they ever get to the mainworld, if conditions are right (e.g. the defender has
numerical or tech level superiority, the defender concentrates all of his
forces instead of guarding all gas giants, whatever.) We don't have to
restrict discussion to what happens when the attacker wins the initial
space battle, but it won't shed any more light on the invasion phase.
Invasion vs. Bombardment: We are all agreed that you would only invade to
capture, not to destroy, correct? Some interesting bombardment techniques
have been mentioned, but they are also divergent.
Planetary Defense Meson Guns: The prospect of espionage seems to me to make
concealment difficult (perhaps not impossible), but how does anyone think the
Imperium feels about these guns? Would they allow a planetary government to
build them as part of a secret program, or would they require the locations to
be on file somewhere in case the planet should rebel? (That could make an
interesting adventure, by the way, whether to penetrate a regional database to
look for data prior to an invasion, or to try to erase the data from a center
in enemy hands.) If the defending meson gun network cannot be located and it
is extremely capably, the invasion may end at that point. An attacker _might_
be able to make some headway by flooding the planet with 'expendable' craft
and staying as mixed as possible with the defenders.
Dogfight Phase: I think that this would be the phase of decision, and that
it would be quite possible for the defender to win here. I phrased my
suggestion the other way, so I could offer an opinion on the 'mop up'. I
do think that it would make more sense for the defender to put everything that
will fly into the air as early as possible, because I think that the pace
of operations will make any imbalance grow rapidly. If we had just seen a
European War instead of the Gulf War, I don't see the side with the inferior
air force trying to hide it, since it will be eroded piecemeal without being
able to shoot back. That erosion may be slow, but it would happen, and the
attacker would have the advantage. Thus, even if the defenders are outnumbered,
it would probably be better to fight at odds of 1-3 than to save half your
forces and fight at odds of 1-6 twice.
Mop-Up: Are we agreed that infantry would only be used for 'low intensity'
portions of the operations? And that ground forces would be devastatingly
outmaneuevered? (Making the TL12-13 tracked tanks in 101 Vehicles a little
silly...)
Occupation: Ruling a hostile population can only be done as long as that
population remains willing to be ruled. If every person on the planet agreed
that it would be better to die than to live under Emperor X, then Emperor X
made a mistake in invading that planet because it will probably result in a
net loss of resources for him. An incorrect assessment of the situation might
cause such an invasion to occur anyway.
Black Globes: What happens if you turn a black globe on while sitting on a
planet's surface?
This has been a good discussion so far...
Hope you are all having fun.
Rob Dean