Battletech technical archive

[PainRack]

Ghetto edit.

Such industry as remains in the Outworlds suffers from a lack of modern technology. Assembly lines are manual, for example, and little automation exists(even in government-sponsered conerns such as weaponry production)

The Outworld economy is described as being the weakest of Periphery worlds and part of the reason is its weak industrial base.

This suggest that their manufacturing techniques are stuck at somewhere at WW1 or even earlier dates, depending on what one means by automation.(Automated assembly line vs automata assisting in welding and etc).

It might explain the ratios seen on Lushann(6000 technicians and scientists amongst a planetary population of 28 thousand) working primarily for a diversified conglomerate. Ramora has 13 thousand technicians and specialists amongst a planetary population of 70 thousand, center of the largest weapon producing facillity in Alliance space including an estimated 100 lightnings yearly and engineering of space parts.

Periphery the Accessory.

Such industry as remains in the Outworlds suffers from a lack of modern technology. Assembly lines are manual, for example, and little automation exists(even in government-sponsered conerns such as weaponry production)

The Outworld economy is described as being the weakest of Periphery worlds and part of the reason is its weak industrial base.

The labour force ratios seen on Lushann is 6000 technicians and scientists amongst a planetary population of 28 thousand, working primarily for a diversified conglomerate. Ramora has 13 thousand technicians and specialists amongst a planetary population of 70 thousand, center of the largest weapon producing facillity in Alliance space including an estimated 100 lightnings yearly and engineering of space parts.

The capital Alpheratz has a population of 2,159,000. Its 3 cities has a population of "more than 100,000", with the rest being scattered amongst small farming communities. Given that "it has a population of about 2 million, most of whom are employed in industrial plants and research facillities.", said industrial concerns must be scattered amongst the farming communities.

Along with the lack of automation and etc, this suggest small, cottage industries rather than modern day factories.
Of note is the weapons industries profile.
Alpheratz has mech factories that produces 3 types of light mechs, Ramora produce two tanks and two aerospace designs and Lushann, despite its population comprising of almost 1/7 technicians+scientists, has lost most of its heavy industries and for weapons tech only produces small arms and ammunition, along with the large laser.

Its population is primarily agarian due to Omniss influence and their farmers lack even rudimentary education.

As such, the Long Road recovery, in the span of twenty years took this base and created an industry that could design an Omnifighter, couping the Lyran Alliance is amazing.
Given Comstar philosophies, despite Comstar involvement with AID and recruitment from OA, any technology upgrades from the WOB would had been post 3052, probably 3054 given the start of their Periphery machinations.

[Purple]

Having not been able to read this entire thread because it is way too long I have a question about autocanons. In particular, could it be that they are not in fact autocanons in our sense of the word but instead something like the main gun on the M551 Sheridan or BMP-3, high caliber launchers firing HE shells at low muzzle velocities. That might explain the limited range and range decrease with caliber perfectly. If they use the larger round to cram in more and more HE while leaving the same amount of propellant it would cause just that effect.

[LaCroix]

Having not been able to read this entire thread because it is way too long I have a question about autocanons. In particular, could it be that they are not in fact autocanons in our sense of the word but instead something like the main gun on the M551 Sheridan or BMP-3, high caliber launchers firing HE shells at low muzzle velocities. That might explain the limited range and range decrease with caliber perfectly. If they use the larger round to cram in more and more HE while leaving the same amount of propellant it would cause just that effect.

Autocannons are supposed to fire salvos of grenades. That makes it hard to compare them, but roughly, a AC20 fires 5x as many grenades as an AC5, of the same type. Game mechanics even coincidently has both at the same recoil value per "shot".

Novels don't have these ranges, you have 'real' ranges in there.

I rationalize that it means that the heavier guns take longer to aim and load, so at the 10 seconds point the round in game ends, the grenades only made it 'this' far, although they are fired at real speeds. Like, AC5 takes like 4 seconds to acquire target, load and put out the 5 rounds - AC20 takes 7 seconds for that (also due to number of rounds fired) - using exactly the same grenade, after 10 seconds, the AC20 salvo only has covered half the distance.

[PainRack]

Having not been able to read this entire thread because it is way too long I have a question about autocanons. In particular, could it be that they are not in fact autocanons in our sense of the word but instead something like the main gun on the M551 Sheridan or BMP-3, high caliber launchers firing HE shells at low muzzle velocities. That might explain the limited range and range decrease with caliber perfectly. If they use the larger round to cram in more and more HE while leaving the same amount of propellant it would cause just that effect.

My personal retcon is that it does work that way, however, the existing information from both novelisation and sourcebook fluff is that rounds are ultrasonic to "hypersonic". There's a couple of nice lists floating around in CBT forum, but I think I only kept one quote around here.

Similarly, calibre changes for autocannons is an established fact from day 2 of Battletech. Battletech Compendium which gives us the 20-80mm for light autocannon and 50-150mm for heavy autocannon.

So... the evidence is no.

[Tanasinn]

Real big bore autocannon can go higher. IS autocannons go at least as high as 185mm, and the Ebon Jaguar/Cauldron-Born A has a 203mm gun.

[Eviscerator]

.

Similarly, calibre changes for autocannons is an established fact from day 2 of Battletech. Battletech Compendium which gives us the 20-80mm for light autocannon and 50-150mm for heavy autocannon.
.

TR 3057 pag 36, Nagumo IS Dropship: "a 200-mm autocannon in the base of the tail"

[Balrog]

My personal retcon is that it does work that way, however, the existing information from both novelisation and sourcebook fluff is that rounds are ultrasonic to "hypersonic". There's a couple of nice lists floating around in CBT forum, but I think I only kept one quote around here.

Did you confuse supersonic with ultrasonic? Because supersonic is an actual measure of velocity, whereas ultrasonic deals with sound wavelengths.

Heavy Support Laser
Standard-issue on the Draconis Combine's Kanazuchi battle armor, the heavy support laser is the equivalent of vehicle-mounted medium laser systems. Its combination of range, armor penetration and sheer destructive firepower make it arguably the most powerful support weapon available to troops in the field.
Skill: SUP
Equipment Ratings: D/D/E
AP*Damage: 7*12D6
Type: E
Range in Meters: 150/500/950/1900
Shots: 20*
Cost/Reload: 40,000/-
Weight: 140kg
Afil: -
Notes: Crew: 3; recharge: 1

Lostech: The Mechwarrior Equipment Guide, pg43. Extreme range for a Medium Laser's equivalent at close to 2km.

[Balrog]

Limited Ranges and the Collapse of Civilization
In fact, the ranges published in journals and manuals which have drawn such fire merely reflect the practical considerations of modern combat. These considerations can be summed up as follows:

• The modern battlefield is ECM intensive. Long-ranged guided or "smart" munitions are at a distinct handicap from various electronic jammers and ECM devices which are relatively commonplace
• High-tech, long-ranged munitions are expensive, the technological know-how and industrial base required for their manufacture scarce. Cheap, easily-acquired and -stored, short-ranged munitions are more cost effective, as well as easier to come by.
• Modern BattleMech armor is extremely effective at dissipating the heat from lasers and particle weapons, as well as distributing and absorbing the shock from explosive projectiles. A 'Mech's armor combined with its movement means that even the intense burst of energy from a pulse laser tends to be distributed over a large portion of the target 'Mech at greater than effective ranges, and damage at those ranges is, consequently, reduces.
• A singular advantage possessed by BattleMechs over the conventional heavy armor of centuries ago is their mobility. The use of external sensors with scanner feeds directly to the pilot via the neruohelmet linkage, with the pilot able to respond quickly to any sensed threat, results in a machine which is capable of astonishingly quick movements, given its bulk. At longer ranges, it becomes increasingly difficult for a firer to hit a target which is able to sense an incoming missile in time to avoid it. In the case of beam weapons, the target 'Mech is not able to sense their approach, of course, but it is still much harder for the firing 'Mech to target and hit a rapidly moving 'Mech at extreme ranges.

Thus, achieving a target lock on a moving BattleMech at ranges of more than one or two or more kilometers, while possible, is difficult, especially in a battlefield environment clouded by smoke, by rapidly moving BattleMechs, by incoming fire, and by electronic jamming. For this reason alone, modern 'Mech-to-'Mech combat rarely takes place at ranges of more than half a kilometer.

A Note on Limited Ranges in BattleTech
There are various reasons that the ranges of most weapons have been limited in the various BattleTech simulator roles. The most basic reason is that BattleTech is, first and foremost, a simulation of 31st Century mechanized combat, and, for various reasons, modern 'Mech-to'Mech combat rarely takes place at ranges of more than half a kilometer (see: BattleMech Weapons: Crisis of Range and Accuracy on page 22).

Although the overall level of technology among the Successor States has fallen since the days of the Star League, it is generally accepted that weapons technology during the 31st Century is still at or above the levels common in the late-20th/early-21st Centuries on Earth. Indeed, many of the weapons still in use during the 31st Century are relics of the Star League of three centuries and more ago and represent the peak of human weapons technology.

Obviously, then, the ranges listed on the BattleTech Weapons Table do not give the maximum range possible for the various weapons. (If they did, a 31st long range missile could be out-ranged by a 20th century assault rifle!)

What the BattleTech combat tables do list are ranges typical for most combat. Even with the high-tech, long-ranged laser weaponry of the Star League era, 'Mechs rarely attempted to engage targets as large, as fast, as well-armored, or as maneuverable as other 'Mechs at ranges greater than a few hundred meters.

There are situations, however, when it becomes important to engage targets at greater-than-usual combat ranges. BattleMechs holding a line against enemy 'Mechs advancing across a broad, open valley might attempt to cause damage or shake the attackers' morale by opening fire long before the attackers close to generally-accepted combat ranges. BattleMechs might attempt to engage "soft" targets such as infantry or infantry vehicles at ranges of as much as several kilometers, in order to harass enemy movements or to create a diversion.

Extreme Range Table (in meters):
Small Laser: 450
Medium Laser: 1350
Large Laser: 2250
Particle Cannon: 2700
Long Range Missile: 3150
Short Range Missile: 1350
Autocannon/2: 3600
Autocannon/5: 2700
Autocannon/10: 2250
Autocannon/20: 1350
Machine Gun: 900
Flamer: 90

Maximum Range Table
All Lasers: Horizon - Line of Sight
PPC: Horizon - Line of Sight
Autocannon: Extreme Range x 1.5
LRM: -
SRM: -
Machine Gun: Extreme Range x 2
Flamer: -

I know the Battletechnology mags were "officially" declared noncanon by the new owners, however they also said they're not in total denial about them either; it also gives some perspective about how the matter of ranged fire was treated early in the line's run and gives some context to other sources which used the shorter range values at the time.

[PainRack]

Thanks for posting that Balrog. I read this before and it inspired the whole armour/range theory retcon I had but I couldn't find where the article came from.

[PainRack]

During the Clan invasion of the Inner Sphere, two of the Inner Sphere's largest weapons manufacturers, Kallon Industries and General Motors, made a bold decision. Realizing that the Inner Sphere might not be able to produce enough refitted BattleMechs to stem the Clan thrust, they decided to devote some resources to producing new conventional vehicles. Apparently, they reasoned that the greater ease and lower costs of manufacturing vehicles would enable the Great House armies to flood the battle fields with them and overwhelm the Clan OmniMechs by their sheer numbers. Many existing vehicles received field refits or minor modifications as part of this effort. However, Kallon and General Motors also decided to design an entirely new super-heavy main battle tank that could go head-to-head with most 'Mechs.

TRO 3058.

This reflects that the quasi canon Battletechnology, in which Battletech experts argue that the Inner Sphere needs to pump out tanks to swarm the enemy under with superior numbers was acted on as an economic decision.

The Clans are depicted to be utter incompetents in combined arms because they do not use tanks in frontline roles. This despite the fact that tanks are just armoured combat units, the same roles Mechs play in.
My entirely heretical opinion is that this "combined arms" is just Spheroid propaganda meant to reassure the ego of Inner Sphere nobility. A good number of mechwarriors in 3058 were still drawn from the upper social classes. So, they justified the fact that the Inner Sphere swarmed the enemy down under by superior numbers, via spamming tanks was that Inner Sphere mechwarriors "understood" combined arms, unlike the Clans. Spheroid mechwarriors are "better tacticians", not gits who used superior numbers of a lesser class to win.

[PainRack]

TRO 3026 Partisan

One of the most destructive weapons on the battlefield is the strafing or bombing AeroSpace Fighter. To counteract these attacks, many companies produce some type of antiaircraft system. Two of the most popular are the Rifleman and JagerMech BattleMechs produced by Kallon Industries. These two 'Mechs are powerful AA systems because they can each deliver such a large volume of accurate fire.

Although Kallon no longer has the facilities to produce as many 'Mechs as formerly, they hoped to meet the demand for anti-aircraft systems to replace the damaged or destroyed AA 'Mechs already in use. They filled the gap with the development of the Partisan Heavy Tank.

TRO 3039

In some ways, the Partisan has been in design since the age of the airplane. As aircraft get more powerful, corresponding weapons to shoot them down keep pace. Kallon was famous for their BattleMech designs that let ground forces have a fi ghting chance against aircraft, but with the destruction of the Succession Wars, Kallon was unable to maintain their ’Mech output to match demand. The Partisan was the solution to this shortage.

Status of AA platforms numbers and the devolvement to vehicles.
TRO 3026

The Partisan's anti-aircraft weapons consist of four medium autocannon mounted on a quad turret. Though no different than other guns of the same size, these weapons do fire shells unlike those of other combat weapons. Most similar guns use regular-impact explosives, while the Partisan's guns fire proximity-fused rounds. This type of ammunition explodes when it gets within five to ten meters of an airborne target, which gives the whole system better accuracy than a normal gun shooting at aircraft

Proximity fused shells as opposed to the normal shells. This with other fluff regarding ammunition types suggest that there MAY be ammunition compatability issues, something that has been used to explain away the problems regarding Clantech ammunition and IS ammunition.

TRO 3026

Another difference between the Partisan and other gun carriers is the AntiAir Flak Systems-1 tracking and targeting equipment. This system can track up to 200 targets at once, determine the range to each, and then fire at the optimum target. The gunner is equipped with a Target Identification Screen (TIS) that read out a list of targets, starting with the closest and ending with the farthest. Using a simple light-pen system, the gunner can override the computer's fire orders with his own. (The gunner can also remove the TIS from the Partisan and use it up to 20 meters away from the vehicle.)

The Partisan's targeting equipment also has an optional fire switch that allows it to fire at ground targets. When engaged with battlefield targets, the gunner always chooses this option, and the computer will not switch back to anti-aircraft. As the computer does not have an identification system for ground targets as it does for flying targets, the gunner must use the system's sights to engage those targets. When the Partisan is firing at ground targets, the shells of the four guns are automatically disarmed of their proximity fuses, which makes them normal-impact rounds.

Another feature built into the fire-control system is a data-link that allows several Partisans to act as one large antiaircraft unit. All the computers hook into one large net that picks the best possible targets shown on all the radar screens. The computer then fires at either the most threatening target or the most dangerous group of targets. Needless to say, this antiaircraft defense line can be death to any fighter attack.

.....The proximity-fused shells of the Partisan's guns continually destroyed the missiles fired by the Shilones, and the heavy emplacements stopped their lasers.

Nature of the T&T system along with tis capabilities.
TRO 3039 apparently either upgrades or changes the fluff enough to add

Capable of tracking up to two hundred
targets simultaneously, it nearly instantaneously evaluates
which targets are optimal for the gunner, who can fi re on
the computer’s selection or override it and choose one of her
own. The input for the system is even removable from the
tank and can be used at a distance of up to twenty meters.
Another unique feature of the Partisan is that the computers
can be linked to one another. This network is more powerful
than any individual computer and can fi nd either the single
greatest threat or the most vulnerable opponents.

Apparently, Network capability was added to the system.

TRo 3026

The two MiniGuns are also hooked into the antiaircraft equipment. Although small and not suitable for anti-aircraft work, these two guns can provide useful extra defensive fire against ground targets. The driver of the Partisan controls the two MiniGuns, but the gunner has the option of overriding the driver's fire order if he needs the extra firepower.

Machine guns are ineffective against aircraft.


TRO 3058

Kallon Industries' revamped Partisan provides the Inner Sphere with its first anti-aerospace weapons platform effective against Clan OmniFighters. Using the old, battle-tested Partisan design as a starting point, Kallon upgraded the design's weapons array and added a highly effective C3 system to augment its targeting systems. The redesigned Partisan has proved a formidable opponent for Clan aerospace assets

The C3 system apparently augments the T&T... presumably, adding on the network capability.

This suggest that theroetically, the Partisan has anti missile ability by spamming large amount of flak..

[PainRack]

Mech strength

As if he had overhead Morgan Hasek-Davion's warning, the Crusader's pilot continued his rush forward, left arm raised to club Andrew's Mech. Andrew immediately dropped the Marauder under the blow, then lunged up and stabbed both arms into the Crusader's midsection. The double-claw punch shattered the armor over the humanoid Mech's abdomen and lifted it three meters into the air.

minimum Work done to lift the Crusader= mgh=65000*10*3=1950000joules or approximately 2 MJ.
Force* distance= work, so, min force is 650 kiloNewton.

The actual forces and momentum is a bit harder to calculate, since the Crusader is rushing forward at an unknown speed, the direction of the mech ascent is unknown, but forward momentum is probably cancelled out as Redburn mech wasn't charged into as the mech lifted off.
For fudge purposes, assuming that speed is 40km/hr(walking speed) and forward momentum is halted, while ascent is entirely vertical, the Marauder myomers were able to apply a Force of 40000*65000/60 = approximately 40 kilo Newton along the x axis and 650 kiloNewton on the Y axis.....


Can someone check my math on this?


And as usual, the game derived damage, even if you combined a charging attack and punch attack doesn't scale well with the energies involved.

[PainRack]

And I'm a dick for forgeting to quote the source.
Warrior Coupe.

As if he had overhead Morgan Hasek-Davion's warning, the Crusader's pilot continued his rush forward, left arm raised to club Andrew's Mech. Andrew immediately dropped the Marauder under the blow, then lunged up and stabbed both arms into the Crusader's midsection. The double-claw punch shattered the armor over the humanoid Mech's abdomen and lifted it three meters into the air.

[PainRack]

I'm back.

Heavy weapons fire can reduce woods from heavy to light or can clear the hex altogether.... Although the Mechs have awesome firepower, they do not have enough to alter a rough hex or a clear hex.

Btech rules of warfare.

Mechs carry enough firepower to clear wooden terrain.

The artillery train of any military force is a prime target for ground units, air strikes, and counter battery fire.

Rules of warfare

Anti artillery tactics. While the Long Tom (earlier detailed IIRC) has a slow set up time, the Thumper TRO(The vehicle cannot fire when on the move, but setting up the firing station requires less than one minute. The vehicle can move again in 30 seconds.) gives an example of the more mobile gun pieces of the IS.

Firepower of the SLDF artillery system can be seen in this.

the Thumper has excellent range and a good rate of fire. Employed in quantity, artillery groups can level a city block in a matter of seconds.

This suggests that the standard 3 gun battery carries enough firepower to level an entire city block in one combat round. Other interpretations is that an artillery group comprise of an artillery company of 12 guns.

During the SLDF,

Artillery was usually organized into Artillery regiments attached to divisions. There was occasionally an artillery battalion attached to an individual Mech or Armored regiment. There were also AirMobile Artillery batteries with their own special air transportation.

Star League manual.
Artillery require some form of sighting in 3025. Some potential capabilities can be seen in examples like the Drillson Heavy tank Evil Eye T&T. It is a post Succession War era system, it uses wraparound video monitor system and a helmet projected sight reticle that lines up the turret with whatever weapon the target the gunner is viewing. (TRO 3026). Since the system was used to estimate the location of Liao Battlemechs, utterly obscured in smoke and the use of radar systems to estimate firing solutions, similar technologies might have been available to artillery spotters. The system was revolutionary for Succession Era, however, the SLDF has even more advanced T&T systems.

A Star League warrior's neurohelmet could perform many more functions than today helmet even though it was smaller and lighter.The neural biofeedback apparatus was much more sensitive and did not require contact with the weaer's scalp as they do today.The feedback was so sharp and powerful that a warrior could actually fight with his visor and windows blackened, relying on the sensors that feed information directly into the brain.

Star League technology was so advanced that the helmets worn by vehicle crews performed almost all of the functins of the neurohelmets worn by MechWarriors today.The cameras and sensors on their vehicles helped the armored crew navigate and take advantage of the terrain far better than the tank crews of today, who have only optical periscopes.

Other potential sensing equipment range from the remote sensors carried both vehicularly or by men, for example, the Ferret scout VTOL.

Identifying targets for bombardment could be via satellites, aircraft like the Boomerang spotter and etc. The potential sensitivity of these sensors can be seen by these examples.

Portable Radar sensor is a small, compact radar emitter set up on a tripod stand. It can detect the movement of anything larger than 0.5 cubic meters in a 360-degree radius.

Portable heat Sensors detect any heat source larger than a lit match within a one-kilometer radius.

The use of dropships in sensor scans, such as the Northwind Highlanders strike against Tau Galaxy, the Bug sensors yield give some high end parameters regarding their performance.


Mech armour durability

It was almost dawn as I walked along a chalk cliff.. Suddenly I felt the ground give way beneath my feet. Firing my jump jets helped save me, but my Mech sustained damage around the cockpit, particularly the communication equipment. ......Looking around with the few sensors left operational, I could see that I was half-buried in rubble and that one huge boulder had my right leg pinned behind me.

As I watched incredulously, the Archer grabbed huge fistfuls of rock from around my Mech. One of the other Mechs, a Phoenix Hawk, moved forward and the two of them pushed the boulder off my Mech's leg.They helped me up and held me while I tested my Mech. It was in amazingly good condition, considering what it had been through.

Given the strength potential of mechs being able to easily lift multi-ton construction girders or even carrying mechs, physical jumping of mechs via the leg muscle suggest the scale of the rubble that hit the Stinger along with the durability of its armour against random impact. The vulnerable head sensors/communications was knocked out though. Also, this incident occurred during the Age of War, and it has been stated that Mech Armor was more bulky/less effective in the early years.

[PainRack]

Paved landing fields make it a lot easier for DropShips to land and take off. Dropships and their plasma drives weigh so much that they often dig huge craters when landing in open terrain.Taking off out of a crater is a complicated and often dangerous job, which is why all civilized planets have landing fields.

Dropship operations.
The Clans technological superiority supposedly assisted them in dropship operations during the invasion.

Fast and deadly, the VTOLs deployed during the Succession Wars have the highest pilot mortality rate of any combat vehicle.

For sea superiority missions, Conventional and AeroSpace Fighters have assumed the duties of large naval vessels. However, small vessels for counterinsurgency and defense of underwater command posts have been retained.

It would be interesting to see what naval assets were used to defend the SLDF oceanic mech factories. Submarines superior to the Neptune perhaps?

Rules of Warfare.


(I seem to have lost my e-book of Tactical Ops, so I won't copy stuff from there atm).

Mercenary handbook

Though not as useful as aerospace fighters, most garrison units on planets with suitable atmospheres and weather use conventional fighters in some capacity.

The ubiquity of fighters in garrisons.

the anti-aircraft capabilities of Clan OmniMechs have inflicted incredible losses against these forces, and few commanders continue to use light fighters in bombing roles against the Clans.

The effectiveness of light ASFs against Clan mechs in bombing runs.

When engaging an armored or battleMech unit, infantry commanders generally place heavy infantry along the battle line. As mobile as regular infantry, these units carry weapons better suited to destroying vehicles and Mechs such as the portable SRM launcher,the workhorse of the heavy infantry arsenal. Machine guns, flamers and small lasers supplement the portable SRM launcher.

Other examples such as the Goblin TRO tells that 7 infantrymen form a support weapons team, carrying equipment like the medium recoiless rifle. Other more exotic tech would be the Manportable PPC. In 3067, the tech is expanded massively to include gauss weaponery.

Any type of infantry unit requiring greater mobility can use various vehicles and transports. To make such units permanetly mobile, the unit commander may supply his troops with GEVcycles or hovercycles.

Some infantry troops specialize in the use of motorized military vehicles. Though displaced by BattleMechs as lords of the battlefield, armored vehicles still maintain a strong foothold in the military, largely fue to the abundant quanity of well-designed

Infantry mobility.

modern units rarely employ helicopter gunships, though the H-7 warrior remains useful for harassing enemy units at long ranges. Effective against other Inner Sphere forces, this tactic often backfires when used against the Clans, who employ longer range weapons and more sophisticated targeting computers than their inner Sphere counterparts.

Yet, the Inner Sphere rapidly expanded its VTOL arm and many of them found employment in raids against the Clans. Their effectiveness may be due to the Clans widely spread troops and the targeting of relatively undefended sites.

Usually measuring nearly three meters tall, Clan Elementals use the most advanced technology ever designed for infantry.

Height of Clan Elementals.

[q

[PainRack]

The core of the Federated Commonwealth militia are Mech companies, which the commanders divide into lances and attach to infantry and armor battalions. Instead of rushing to meet the approaching Falcon Mech Stars, they waited for the mechanized units to slow the enemy advance.

Description of FC militia composition and tactics.

"If we can't push the damned invaders off our rock, then we'll sure as hell make life damned miserable for the SOBs,"neatly summed up the defenders new strategy. Federated Commonwealth militias abandoned organized resistance and melted into the untamed wilderness,

The absence of militia participation in battles against the Jade Falcons.

One should note that this isn't the only thing that plausibly explains why single regimental forces were the only visible opposition against the Clans. The Comstar/Wolfnet reports are deliberately sparse, and comparing them to subsequent accounts such as the Inner Sphere Atlas, Field Manual Mercenaries or Mercenary handbook reveals that a significant "unseen" force did field battle against the Clans that were not addressed in the official documents.

Problems with the canonicity of details such as the Black Omens aside, we learn that auxillary units comprising of the Avanti Angels assisted in battles against the Clans, led by academy forces and this was omitted in the official account of the battle. Other details such as the wholesale destruction of mercenary forces, many of them undocumentated in the official sources exist, although AGAIN, the canonicity of such details pop up, such as the Knights of St Ives. Save for examples where mercenaries formed the main force such as the Narhal raiders, the existence of the small mercenary commands that were wiped out, in the figures given in other literature suggests that they were omitted in the initial early 3050s reports.


Other possible factors regard the actual sparseness of data that got out from the Clan invasion. Comstar colloboration with the Clans was actively malingent, where they suppressed military communications and intel about the invaders. This means that the official, santisied reports we receive, even though derived from Comstar or Wolfnet may not represent the whole picture as details were lost due to the Communications interdiction. Even Clan intelligence is of little use, since

The ilKhan's all for an accurate exchange of information at the end of the first wave was forgotten. Balloon reports(flexible facts stretched around a lot of hot air) replaced battle reports, and

The last factor is probably the disruptive nature of the invasion itself and its effects on the military. This surely would have complicated attempts to detail resistance or skirmishes from the militia and other units that existed on these worlds, especially since the militia and forces assigned here were not of high quality.
(All quotes from Jade Falcon sourcebook)

[PainRack]

Clan naval vessels, remarkably adept at evading the Inner Sphere's electronic trip-wire systems,usually managed to approach to standard clan orbit(.75 IS standard) unchallenged,

Clan technical superiority at Electronic sensors and ECM.

As the defenders scrambled for their vehicles, they discovered the Clans' devastating ability to drop Mechs and Dropships into landing zones too rugged and demanding for all but the most elite Inner Sphere units.Clan units usually chose drop zones well within their enemy's defensive perimeters, and the Falcons often landed so close to enemy positions that they opened fire on the defenders before hitting the ground.

Clan drop assault tactics and abilities. Clan Nova Cat in particular would develop the last tactic, shooting at enemy mechs while jumping to a finese.

Of import is that landing zones limitations, by terrain and etc could be circuvemented with a combination of superior skill or technology. It would be interesting to see whether the Smoke Jaguars assault into a swamp is atypical of the Inner Sphere, although we do see that Comstar was able to rapidly shift forces as airmobile troops into delta/riverine terrain during the Battle of Tukayyid.

[PainRack]

Thanks to Nebfer for directing me to this.

The majority of the proud Arcturan Guards met their fate in Mercer Valley, which the Wolves had mined with vibrabombs. This action marked one of the few instances in which Clan forces used such weapons.The mines, combined with interlocking kill zones, produced a carnage from which few of the Lyrans escaped.

Clan Wolf sourcebook.

My own addition

For example, many in the Inner Sphere were shocked when the Jade Falcons 'ganged up' on Inner Sphere troops during the battle for Alyina....................In this situation, the honor of the Second Jaegers................ and its warriors took second place to that of Clan Jade Falcon as a whole,which allowed the unit to use tactics that would otherwise be regarded as dishonorable.

Morgan: So they can cheat as needed?
Phelan: Sort of. It depends on the Clan. We Wolves like to think of ourselves as flexible, adapting to the needs of the situation. When fighting another Clan unit, we generally play by the rules,but against Inner Sphere forces, who would likely attempt to use their perceptions of Clan honor against us, we wouldn't. Even the jarhead Jaguars learned that lesson on Wolcott.
Morgan: So we can't expect the Clans to play by "Clan rules" in combat?
Phelan: Again, sort of. Most of them will try to fight honorably, but will adapt if necessary. The Falcons are rigid traditionalists, so Alyina was an aberration for them.On Coventry and elsewhere, they have tended toward traditional tactics, but actually use a blend of old and ndew fighting styles that matches the rules of engagement to the situation.

One should note again Clan Jade Falcon use of artillery on Tukayid and Apollo, documented earlier in this thread(at least, I hope so.) and the use of bluff and other tactics, up to the threat of orbital bombardment to win a world.

Star Admiral Adrian Malthus positioned his ships above the capital city of Hohenzollern and bluffed the planetary forces into surrender by threatening the orbital bombardment he was barred from unleashing.

Zoetermeer, Clan Jade Falcon sourcebook.

[PainRack]

Recent stuff that been referenced recently.
Source: Warriors of Kerensky

Gene-splicing and chromosome modification ensures an equal balance of males and females born to each house,........To them, modifying chromosomes to determine sex is a primitive application of their knowledge. They can take DNA strands from two individuals and use recombinant techniques to splice them into sperm and ova gametes, creating a zygote irrespective of the gender of the donors.

Sex selection, choice, and other examples of genetic engineering.

In general, however, the Clans prefer not to meddle too much with nature, and so most often use simple in-vitro fertilization techniques.Likewise, they rarely use gene modification to modify physical or mental traits. Instead, they tend to use genetic engineering simply to identify and correct adverse recessive traits.

Their eugenics program and the actual use of genetic engineering in it is restricted to removing chromosomal disease.Again, the limits is cultural as opposed to technological.

no mention of cogenital diseases though.... perhaps they are aborted?

In most cases, Clan scientists allow nature to "take its course,"albeit in a laboratory.

Again, the extent of Clan culture and the limitations they place on genetic engineering in their eugenics program.

The Clans can sustain an injured warrior indefinitely, and can regrow or rebuild destroyed limbs.

Cloning limbs is a time-consuming process, however. Even with advanced hormones and nutrients, growing a replacement limb can take anywhere from a week(for ears and noses) to three months(for arms and legs).In the mean time, the wound where the limb is to be placed cannot be allowed to fully heal.

Lostech

The Heavy mortar calibre is 100-150mm.

Not a direct quote. If I do flesh out this in the future, I elaborate more on the weapons specs, comparison to carl gustav and stuff.... But to be honest, I doubt I will ever do that since it will require engineering knowledge to do more than just post contradictory idiotic stuff:D

The medium recoilless rifle has changed little since its first went into production in the mid-twentieth century.

V-LAWs weigh only 2.5 kg

[PainRack]

The armed might of the Star League traveled to the rendezous point at New Samerkand: thirty-two Battlemech divisions(each containing nine regiments), seventy-six infantry divisions and sixty-three independent regiments, a total of just over seven hundred line regiments. To put the figure into context for present- day readers, the ComStar battle group fielded on Tukayyid was equivalent to 144 combined-regiments. The allied force in the recent Operation Bulldog, widely cited as "the largest offensive operation of our time," involved roughly eighty-five BattleMech regiments, was just under two hundred support regiments............

Carried by 1,349 JumpShips, the fleet comprised over five thousand DropShips. A fleet of more than four hundred WarShips provided security.In all, two million troops and almost four million dependents went on the Exodus out of known space.

The scale of the Clan Exodus. There are some problems with the numbers as usual as well as what is the definition of "troops", because for only teeth, the numbers are slightly inflated and doesn't jive with the heavy losses the SLDF suffer and if it includes support personnel, well, its too small. There are also HUGE logistical problems with the ship scale, especially if one factors in the supplies needed during the Exodus.
Its entirely possible that the 6 million just refers to the surivovrs that the fragmented records of who arrived at Eden. We do know that several jumpships were lost along the Exodus road..... On the other hand, the jumpship that had the timetravel accident was not fully packed with civilians/soldiers, even though with less than two thousand jumpships, each ship should had have 3 thousand people onboard as an average......


What we do know is, that the SLDF as a military was an expeditionary force.

First to ground were members of the SLDF science corps; they surveyed the worlds, cataloging native flora and fauna. Ordinarily, they would have spent several months on world assessing threats before any colonization effort took place,but Kerensky knew that holding six million people on the ships so close to their new home would likely spark another revolt. Within ten days of the first landings, members of the SLDF engineering corps made planetfall and began setting up prefabricated buildings.

The SLDF science and engineering corps.
Normal timescale for planetary survey.

Anticipating this problem, Kerensky and DeChevilier had "invited" farmers, miners and engineers to accompany the Exodus.

Non Star League personnel dragooned into the Exodus force. Left unspoken here are the support communities for the numerous SLDF research stations, bases and etc stripped by Kerensky prior to Exodus. We know the scientific staff eventually formed the basis for the Clans Scientist Caste, but what of the support staff like adminstrators and labourers(Assuming Miops is a typical SLDF research/astronomical facillity).

Sheer speculation here. I personally believe that given the scale of the SLDF fleet, the bulk of the equipment stripped from the SLDF bases found its way into Comstar storage or into warehouses/bases that Comstar knew and could tap on.

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Only about thirty Potemkins remained intact to flee the Inner Sphere during General Kerensky's Exodus. Most of these vessels transported the families of SLDF troops during.....

The children of the first post-Exodus generation were born in these communities,

Potemkin, Troop cruiser, TRO 3057.

[PainRack]

Evolutionary development of Clan Elementals.

It was not until 2410 that General Mechanics succeeded in developing the first viable industrial exoskeletons. Though they would be used extensively throughout known space, they were not suitable for deployment as combat units.

but secret development of power armor resulted in the Mark XXI Nighthawk in 2718. The Nighthawk was deployed in Royal Infantry Divisions and the Special Forces Command.

The deployment of the Nighthawk was never made public

Though concentrated on Mechs and aerospace development, the strides made by Clan scientists would also have a profound impact on infantry.The origins of modern battle armor can be traced back to the pressurized diving units developed by Clan Goliath Scorpion for use in exploiting the resource-rich oceans on the planet Dagda.This proto-armor featured myomer musculature,self contained air-supply and life-support systems, and heavy, atmospherically sealed bodies designed to withstand the high pressures of deep-sea work.When Clan Wolf observed these suits in use, they quickly realized their combat potential.Consequently, the Wolves obtained a few of the suits and set about adapting them for combat by adding armor, weapons and small jump jets.

Classic Battletech companion.
Not an engineer here, but using wiki, deep sea mining on earth is done between 1.4km to 3.7 km.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deep_sea_mining
So, the initial Clan Goliath suits were able to withstand pressures of that depth and function as a form of survival/mining gear.

Nicknamed "water elementals" by their labor-er-caste operators, the suits sported monstrously shaped titanium hulls and mounted a large-bore drill and grasping claw.

Variant armor fielded by other Clans led Scorpion scientists to devise a suit tailored to an underwater environment. As it turned out, the modifications were fairly simple, due in part to the fact that Elemental suits evolved from undersea exoskeletons. The most difficult challenge was to equip this suit with appropriate weaponery for its mission,

Field Manual Warden Clans.
There is no evidence to suggest that Clan Elementals retain the ability to withstand the pressures involved in deep sea operations, although the above quote suggests that they are still able to operate underwater. Instances of this can be derived from Clan Wolf operations against Jade Falcons, where elementals have accompanied Battlemechs in underwater riverine crossing.

Early versions of Clan battle armor were tailored to specific combat roles and environments. Clan Wolf perfected the battlesuit known as Elemental battle armor, a compromise between the various types that was designed to function equally well in any environment and on virtually any type of mission. None of the earlier versions could match the Wolf suit's versatility, and so they faded into obscurity as Elemental battle armor gained wide acceptance among all the Clans.

Classic Battletech companion.


The reasons why Clan Wolf suit won out over other types of battle armor. It is also interesting to note the spread of technology and later stasis in this era. The popularity of the multi-role Elemental was so much that development in Battle armor stagnated until the Inner Sphere developed other models of Battle armor. Similarly, the Clans possessed means of spreading technology around if they wanted so, through both trade and Trials of Possession, including the political wrangling involved.

For example

The Wolves first deployed their new battle armor in 2868.Later that year, the Wolves faced off against Clan Hell's Horses in a series of Trials. Hell's Horses had been breeding genetically enhanced conventional infantry troops, later called Elementals. After the Trials were concluded, the Horses had obtained battle armor technology and the Wolves had obtained the knowledge needed to create their own Elementals. Almost immediately, the two Clans initiated the tradition of matching Elemental troops with battle armor. Within a short period of time, battle armored Elemental troops were deployed throughout Clan forces.

Classic Battletech companion.

In a series of pre-arranged trials, both Clan Wolf and Hell Horses squared off in a series of "fixed" matches so that each could obtain what it wanted. We simply do not know why both Clans did not simply trade the technology. Perhaps such revolutionary changes in the Touman required a trial of arms to complete.

Straightforward sale of military resources, from Harjel to Battlemechs/Omnimechs have occurred before, indeed, the sale of equipment to the Invading Clans in return for resources from the Inner Sphere help accounts for their revivial post Tukayyid. ON the other hand, HarJel is often noted to be a resource that Trials of Possession are launched for.
Ultimately, this could be a simple case of politics. Which side brought home the bacon so as to speak. The Warriors caste or the Merchant caste. Another example of how the political wrangling between caste powers, along with inter-clan/inter warriors induces both strife and competition amongst the Clans.

Clan Wolf initially developed several suits, each tailored to specific environments, and the discovery of HarJel by Clan Diamond Shark(previously named Clan Sea Fox) enhanced the resilience of the suits even more. However, the Wolves soon opted for general-purpose battle armor suited to most battle-field conditions. The Clan battle armor fielded during Operation Revivial(the Clan invasion of the Inner Sphere) differed little from the original Wolf design.

Classic Battletech companion.

In 2842, Goliath Scorpion scientists developed an enclosed industrial exoskeleton to aid underwater mining efforts on Dagda.

Field Manual Warden Clans.

Pace of Clan Wolf R&D efforts. Within 4 years, Clan Wolf was able to notice Goliath technology, acquire and then introduce multiple specific environment/mission suits(an unknown number) along with at least one variety of GP battle armor. Matching with Elemental genetically engineered infantry and HarJel occured within the next few years and this combination of technology spread throughout the Clans in a "few years".



And just to end things up.

Battle armor manufacturing requires access to materials that are somewhat scarce on the resource-poor Clan worlds, but are more abdundant(given the significantly greater number of developed worlds) in the Inner Sphere.Posession of captured Inner Sphere planets has allowed the Invading Clans to step up battle armor manufacturing to the point where the expansion of their battle armor formations is only limited by the availability of suitable personnel. Even second-line formations are receiving new suits rather than the hand-me-downs they previously had to work with. The Diamond Sharks have been quick to move inon a lucrative market, trading excess Jade Falcon and Ghost Bear battle armor for advanced Home Clans technology, such as the advanced tactical missile system and heavy lasers.

Other sources indicate Diamond Sharks along with falcon merchants selling IS resources, something I address later.

Interesting to note that resources constrained military manufacturing for the Clans, which can be seen in examples like the Smoke Jaguar adoption of Protomechs. It could also explain why Jade Falcon abandoned the protomech project, as they enjoyed unparalled access to resources that the home clans do not enjoy.

Another thing to note is that Clan Jade Falcon and Ghost Bear has excess elemental manufacturing capabilities, but Clan Wolf does not or were unable to participate in the market to Diamond Shark. Alternatively, Clan Wolf has the mercantile fleet to participate in such trades directly and does not require the intervention of Clan Diamond Shark to obtain such weapons.

[PainRack]

Shit. how did I miss that typo? It should read between 6 years(2468 and 2462), Clan wolf developed several variants of battle armor.

[PainRack]

Once I recovered from my night shift, I be moving on to Clan combined arms tactics.

But before that, just two bits of info.

The Inner Sphere could have the advantage in the coming conflict,however, by improving its armored forces. The Clans fight with BattleMechs and infantry exclusively;if the Inner Sphere upgrades its armor so that four vehicles are a match for one OmniMech, it could win by sheer numerical superiority.

Mechwarrior Objective raids.
Again talks about the IS numerical superiorty if it uses tanks. I invite readers to again ask the question of what the IS mean by their combined arms propaganda vis a vis the Clans.

I mean, its clearly a sop to the Mechwarriors so precious ego that the IS beat the Clans by spamming large number of tankers at them.

Now that the Clans have settled into more permanent garrisons, we at ComStar are bale to more accurately tally their strength- and it is considerable. We estimate that the Clan armies possess one of their OmniMechs for every four BattleMechs held by the Successor States.

Mechwarrior Objective raids.

Mechwarrior 2nd edt(a contemporary document) gives a rough 600 regiments for the IS(ignoring militia garrison and household units).That means that there would be approximately 60 thousand mechs, which translate to 15 thousand Omnimechs for the Clans.

This figure is easily wrong. It clearly refer to the invading clans, and using the "typical" cluster, that figures translates to 50 galaxies!

Alternatively, it could refer to the debiliated state of the IS regiments, and subsequent text states that the Clan invasion makes it neccessary to designate regiments as having single battatlions or so.(and then subsequently fails to do so in the force listing itself. Grrrrr)

If so, it COULD be used to highlight the number of mechs the IS has available, by counting mechs from the Wolfnet/Comstar sources regarding the Invading clans. Since I'm too lazy to do so,rough back of the envelope calcs suggest this "could" mean a mech strength of 24 thousand mechs. Which would mean that the bulk of the IS regiments are less than 1/2 strength.


Which would then contradict with the statements regarding IS and Clans regenerative abilities.


The LAST possible explaination is that the figure refers to the number of Omnimechs, including replacements the Clans have stockpiled.

This would mean that if we divide this by 6(Wolfnet stated that they lost track of Shark forces post Tukayyid, and this probably applies to Comstar too : Invading Clans), that translates to a mech force of 2 thousand 500 per clan.


Which is actually possible, since we know the Clans stockpile mechs obsessively and salvage units from the battlefield. It also explains how the Clans recovered from Tukayyid, they simply swapped out destroyed units with their stockpiles. Indeed, this tallys with text that I'm sourcing that says the Clans were able to regenerate from the losses of tukayyid, but the IS states would not have been able to.(once I find out which damn TRO and comstar manual it belongs to......)



Of course. The easiest way to treat this info is to simply abandon it like the shit it is.

[Nephtys]

Mechwarrior Objective raids.
Again talks about the IS numerical superiorty if it uses tanks. I invite readers to again ask the question of what the IS mean by their combined arms propaganda vis a vis the Clans.

I mean, its clearly a sop to the Mechwarriors so precious ego that the IS beat the Clans by spamming large number of tankers at them.

It really isn't too unreasonable. A Mech is the most powerful land combatant for it's tonnage, and prestigious as it's piloted by one soldier (plus 300 years of cultural baggage). But Tanks are substantially cheaper and more cost-effective. What they are not, is tonnage effective. In a setting where space transport has very limited payload space, your combat power/ton ratio is a big deal. That squadron of Alacorn VIIs may cost way less than an assault mech and be able to outfight one, but it masses four times more and presumably has greater logistics issues.

IS Combined Arms seems to be sparing dropship capacity with things like scout VTOLs or extra aerofighters instead of more mechs, as indicated by vehicle and aerospace bays aboard a standard Union or Leopard-class Dropship. While the Clanners don't really practice the same level of coordination between their mech forces, and all other branches except Elementals. IIRC, Clanners dislike calling for air support if it's not absolutely vital to a mission, and one of the first things to get bidded out during their entire process.