You command the Martian Invasion of Earth (RAR!)

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You command the Martian Invasion of Earth (RAR!)

Post by Zor »

It is the year 147 of the Martian Era (2368 CE). Mars has been successfully colonized, being home to some 34 million people living under the rule of the Unified Martian Federation. The UMF is the most technologically advanced human civilization to ever exist, if only because of being spared the ravages that had befallen earth.

Starting in 2048 CE, programs for the settlement and colonization of mars had begun, starting scientific bases and latter including civilian settlements for commercial purposes. By 2090 CE, more than 150,000 people had settled on the Red Planet. China, the EU, the USA, Russia, Japan, India, Canada, Turkey, Brazil and a few other countries made their claims on the Red Planet. This competition was peaceful due to a set of protocols and treaties involving national claims on extraterrestrial soil. Earth, however had a fair amount of problems due to climate change, renewed political radicalism and a few instances of economic recession led to international tensions. This eventually led to a nuclear war. Among the things which was done was a move to flood enemy coastal regions by nuking the polar ice caps to accelerate the process of flooding. The devastation was colossal and civilization collapsed.

Fortunately, Mars was spared this. By international treaty there was no nuclear weaponry on mars, though a degree of point defense systems were allowed. No warhead was set off on the red planet and the few that were sent towards it were intercepted. Bearing witness to of this nuclear exchange and it's aftermath the colonists, shocked at what happened resolved to make sure that such an event never happened again. A month after the exchange was founded the Unified Martian Federation by 75% of all martian colonies. The rest were brought into line over the next few years, either due to political pressure or in a few cases, force. Over the next year, Mars received and collected refugees and equipment from the Lunar colonies (which had faced bombardment), earth orbit, spacecraft crews and people working in the asteroid belt, more than doubling the population. Earth was left untouched due to fears of biological weaponry.

Over the next martian century and a half, the UMF continued development. There was some hardships early on due to having to make due without some higher end support from earth and dealing with a large population of refugees which prompted a cultural focus on regimentation, collectivization and thrift, but even so progress was made. The population increased steadily and colonies grew into cities. Terraforming efforts were perused. At the same time earth was monitored by probes. Life did continue on earth, including humanity, after the die off the population began to grow again. Though what emerged was pretty barbaric. As such, a long term objective was made by the Unified Martian Federation: invade and reclaim the Earth. For the last 15 years this has been on of the main objectives of Mars's industries. Now a force has been prepared for that task and is ready. You are it's supreme commander.

Your assets include the following...
  • HG Wells Base: A base on the Lunar Surface serving as a global command hub and a staging ground for the Martian Army. It has a lot of warehouses, hydroponics facilities to provide food, quarters for 450,000 soldiers and support staff some industrial facilities to provide spare parts and ammunition to soldiers.
  • Ten Mechanized Infantry Divisions: 13,122 soldiers and 10,000 support staff (supply corps, technicians, grease monkeys, medics, cooks, combat engineers and similar). The bulk of them are Infantry given a powered exoskeleton, giving them five times the strength of the average human and resistant to fire from 7.62x45r. The standard armed with a bullpup 6.5mm gauss assault rifle (50 round horizontal magazine), a 5.5mm pistol (25 round magazine) and a 50,000 volt electro-pistol (15 meter range, 10 shot power cell), as well as 7.5mm gauss sniper rifles, gauss machine guns, hand grenades, underslung, grenade launchers, shoulder launched surface to air rocket launchers, RPGs and mortars. For vehicle support each division has 486 Earth Rovers, 3.25 tonne fuel cell powered six wheel vehicles able to travel at speeds up to 300km on road and 100 km off road with a roof mounted 6.5mm gauss machine gun. They also have, for heavy support 200 towed howitzers and rocket artillery launchers. The support staff has 500 five-tonne automated logistical trucks and a few hundred bulldozers, construction vehicles and some prefab factory equipmet. Non combat personnel have been trained in small arms use and each have a sidearm and a few. All Earth Personnel have been given vaccinations against Earthborne diseases and have receive drug and centrifuge therapy to live in a 1G environment, though some adjustment is still deemed to be necessary. These forces are well trained, but none have any actual combat experience.
  • Two Armored Divisions: Has the same manpower (both combat and non combat) as an infantry divison does. However, it has at its disposal a force of 250 T-139 Fighting Machine Main Battle Tanks. Each one weighs 44 tonnes, a 1,250kw engine, has a crew of two and has a 130mm cannon and two 7.5mm gauss machine guns. It also has 250 SPG-140 Self Propelled artillery vehicles, which have a 150mm cannon with a effective range of 25km and 100 Self Propelled anti-aircraft vehicles, each armed with a quad barreled 20mm Gauss autocannon. Each division also has 4,374 infantry for support and 200 APC-137 Armored Personnel Carriers. Each one weighs 15 tonnes, can carry 12 soldiers into battle and has a turret mounted 6.5mm gauss machine gun for defense and is amphibious. It also has 1,000 automated trucks for logistical purposes and a much more technical staff.
  • One Airborne Division: The Airborne Division is designed to provide air support. Most of it's personnel are maintenance related. It has 200 VTOL transports, able to carry up to 5 tonnes of cargo or 16 or 2.5 tonnes of cargo with a top speed (unloaded) of 350 km/h as well as 200 Gunships, each armed with a 12.5mm Gauss machine gun and 36 rocket launchers. It also has 36 Ground Support Jets (1,500km/h top speed armed with twin 20mm rail cannons and up to 16 100kg ATG or ATA missiles, 2,000 km range) and 16 Heavy Air Transports (50 meter wingspan, 75 tonne lift capacity). These vehicles have had some testing in Earth's Atmosphere over Antarctica and are reliable.
  • The Drop Fleet: Some 8,000 low range spacecraft, have the same basic shape of the space shuttle with some cheap modular chemical rockets strapped onto them, each is 25 meters long and has a 13 meter wingspan. Their function is simple, to carry personnel and equipment from the surface of the moon to the Earth's Surface. Once they have landed, they have served their purpose. Variants exist for tanks, aircraft, soldiers, personnel and infantry
  • The Lift Fleet: A hundred Scramjet Surface to Orbit launch vehicles able to get up to 100 tonnes of cargo to earth orbit. Needs a runway to launch.
  • Four prefab Torus Space Stations 150 meters in diameter in earth orbit (under construction)
  • Three new divisions will arrived from mars every year, as well as colonists.
As for what's on Earth, orbital reconnaissance estimates that there are some 500 million people living on earth. Sea levels have risen by 20 meters. Weather patterns have shifted. Technology has by in large regressed to a 19th to mid 20th century level of development, despite some examples of pre-war technology being employed in certain technical fields of manufacturing.

Most military conflict involves armies of soldiers armed with simple assault rifles often descending from Kalashnikovs, SMGs, bolt action and semi automatic rifles, basic RPGs and machine guns and grenades for infantry weapons. In less developed areas, breech loading weapons and muskets are also frequently used. Vehicle support also exists, at the most simple these are steam powered technicals, as well as ICE powered technicals burning bacteria produced gasoline, proper armored cars and in a few cases tanks at the level of T-56. Aircraft are rarer, but a variety of these exist ranging from steam powered biplanes to aircraft comparable to a Spitfire. Artillery ranges from civil war era cannons and home made rockets to WWII era artillery.
  • North America: Industrial city states and minor countries exist around the great lakes region, the coastal regions, southern Mexico and the Appalachians and sections of the rocky mountains. Minor agricultural communities live scattered across the great plains at a pre-industrial level. Some of them are pushing inland. No single state has a population of more than five hundred thousand. The Caribbean has become home to a number of comparatively prosperous merchant/pirate countries using solar power, frequently getting into conflicts with Texas and Central American powers while colonizing Northern South America.
  • South America: Similar to North America, Most activity happening on the West Coast and southern East Coast with the emergence of city states. Inland areas remain under-developed.
  • Europe, North Africa and the Middle East: Big areas of re-development include Southern France, Catalonia, Scandinavia, Scotland, Baltic Russia, the Ukraine, Poland, areas of Russia, Western Turkey, Israel, Libya, Sicily and Iceland. The rest are largely preindustrial agricultural regions, though on the whole the Europeans have been more aggressive at reclaiming these areas than their American counterparts. Save for Scotland, Iceland and Scandinavia, Europe sectarian Conflicts have gotten fairly bad. Struggles exist between a fractured Christianity (there are now six popes in Europe), Islamic and a new strain of Judaism which emerged out of Israel after the war and became actively assimilative. For the most part in the Christian areas, religious minorities (Muslims, Jews, Bhuddists and Hindus) are treated in a similar manner. In Russia a secular ideology with traces it's way back to Marxism clashes with Orthodox christianity. This contrasts with the Americas (which is mostly Catholic in South America and in North America where religious communities exist side by side with marginal conflict save for a few Morman splinter groups). Some redevelopment is happening in Iran, Georgia and Azerbaijan and a number of Muslims from around the middle east had worked to rebuild Mecca, but the middle east is at best sparsely inhabited.
  • East Asia: China is notable in that it is home to nine fairly substantial countries, all of which seeking to become the new Middle Kingdom. Korea has been divided among two of these powers. Surrounding each of these kingdoms however are various disputed territories of marginal development. India is divided into coastal City States with non industrial agricultural communities inland, many of which have to deal with the worst of climate change. At Sea, Japan has been re-united in recent years under the Hokkaido Empire and is engaged in Colonial Activities in Siberia, Alaska and the Philipines. Southeast Asia has become home to a number of commerce oriented city states.
  • Sub Saharan Africa: Affected more by bioweapons than by nuclear devastation, Sub Saharan Africa is fairly well developed technologically but is disorganized with industrial city states and minor nations both in coastal and inland areas. African Machinery has become prized around the world. Warfare in this area is more intense, however due to conflicts between city states. The biggest exception to this rule is Madagascar, which has been unified into a single state about a hundred years ago, but has adopted a policy of strict isolationism.
  • Oceana: Australia is now under the administration the Tasmania Empire, which has set up colonies around coastal Australia, but leaves the inland to Pre-industrial barbarism. It also has colonies in New Zealand, which often rebel. Hawaii is independent and comparatively peaceful.
Your job is to establish a foothold on Earth, conquer a surrounding area, get it's established population to accept Martian rule, make things ready for Martian Colonists, prepare the locals for eventual integration into the new society the UMF will build on Earth and then move on to continue expansion across all the world.

How do you do this?

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Re: You command the Martian Invasion of Earth (RAR!)

Post by FaxModem1 »

Is Mars terraformed, or just a bunch of domes?
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Re: You command the Martian Invasion of Earth (RAR!)

Post by Zor »

FaxModem1 wrote:Is Mars terraformed, or just a bunch of domes?
Terraforming is ongoing, things have improved to the point in which genetically engineered lichen exists in many of the warmer regions of Mars. Domed cities remain the norm.

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Re: You command the Martian Invasion of Earth (RAR!)

Post by madd0ct0r »

I've played enough Risk to know this one - Take Australia.

Our forces are green, and far to few to fight a long line across a continent against local guerillas. We take Australia, get some experience and focus on building a colony and heavy industry. A 2 year long supply line is a wee bit fragile for my tastes.

With a semi competent navy and orbital cover, we can then move freely around the planet and engage in a bit of gun boat diplomacy. The African States in particular will be hungry for Martian Tech (since who ever signs up might crush the other city states).
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Re: You command the Martian Invasion of Earth (RAR!)

Post by LaCroix »

First, WTF? Europe, of all continents, is having religious turmoil, every continent is fractured and warring, while the US is having a peaceful coexistence of various "States"? Oh come on - we know that one of the first things to happen would be the south to rise again!

The thing to do would be huge island outposts - Take Madagascar, Tasmania, New Zealand, Britain, maybe parts of Indonesia. Once you got these secure & built up as staging areas, you can launch for bigger targets, like Australia. Next would be the Americas. Avoid meddling in Eurasia as long as you can - many fractions and no way to keep a good single front. It's just too much territory at once to cover unless you have the manpower.
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Re: You command the Martian Invasion of Earth (RAR!)

Post by Zor »

LaCroix wrote:First, WTF? Europe, of all continents, is having religious turmoil, every continent is fractured and warring, while the US is having a peaceful coexistence of various "States"? Oh come on - we know that one of the first things to happen would be the south to rise again!
There are plenty of wars between the various states in the former US, mexico and canada. They are just by in large fairly secular conflicts.

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Re: You command the Martian Invasion of Earth (RAR!)

Post by FaxModem1 »

Can we just let Earth stew in its own juices while we finishing terraforming Mars and get started on the Moon?
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Re: You command the Martian Invasion of Earth (RAR!)

Post by Mr Bean »

Simple, drop rocks on centers of industry. If we can scramjet 100 tons to earth orbit that means we can chunk 100 ton titanium impactors at earth at 40 kilometers/sec which makes a nice two mile crater and 10 psi's anything within eight miles of the crater. Which is good enough to annihilate any troublesome governments who won't surrender.

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Re: You command the Martian Invasion of Earth (RAR!)

Post by InsaneTD »

I'd go a more peaceful route. Attempt diplomacy as much as possible, make examples of anyone stupid enough to try a double cross. Leave must areas to govern themselves while allowing much greater levels of travel, communication and education. While imposing some laws, mostly basic rights: food, water, shelter, free speech, self determination and choice. I'd set up enclaves in areas where the native population is low/non-existent. I'd allow the native to trade junk they have no use for; glass, metals, plastics, for credit with the enclaves and traders, with which they can buy things they can use, tools, clothes, vehicles, even weapons, but only basic firearms, no turning my own fancy toys on me.

The idea would be a cultural exchange, slowly bringing the natives into the fold at their own pace while keeping my casualties to a minimum. These guys have the home ground advantage, hardened veterans and invading them will give them a reason to fight back. While not all have the tech to fight back effectively, I don't want high casualties and a possible guerrilla war. Especially if I have no choice on when the colonists rock up, expecting to be given land.


If I have to do it risk style, then I'd go for the various island nations first, creating several fortresses where I can then launch strikes. Targets would be armies in the field, bases and other militarily important targets that are away from civilian centres. Those in or close too civilian centres will be attacked by special forces. If the locals prove to be too much hassle, scorched earth is always an option.
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Re: You command the Martian Invasion of Earth (RAR!)

Post by Zwinmar »

Orbital mass driver bombardment (titanium rods or just big rocks, doesn't matter which) and open the diplomatic channels. Why waste troops when you don't have to.
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Re: You command the Martian Invasion of Earth (RAR!)

Post by Flagg »

FaxModem1 wrote:Is Mars terraformed, or just a bunch of domes?
Why domes? They don't protect from radiation, they are vulnerable to weather, and they are a huge waste of space. Any real colony would be largely underground just to avoid sandstorms and radiation.
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Re: You command the Martian Invasion of Earth (RAR!)

Post by Simon_Jester »

Personally I'd expect some combination of underground and domed structures. Domes would be likely if you need a lot of square footage in a hurry, while subterranean tunnels are more appealing if you expect to spend all your time living there and need the extra radiation shielding.

It also helps if the domes can be kept at reduced atmospheric pressure. I'm imagining, say, a greenhouse-dome where the air is kept at reduced atmospheric pressure, with elevated partial pressure of carbon dioxide to keep the plants alive.
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Re: You command the Martian Invasion of Earth (RAR!)

Post by Zeropoint »

Like InsaneTD suggested, I'd come in swinging the carrot rather than the stick. Talk to the Africans, offer a deal like "if you accept our leadership and unification, we'll supply our tech and political science know-how to turn you into a real superpower." In concrete terms, I'd start by putting my headquarters on Madagascar. They like isolationism, and with our Martian tech, we can make sure that NO ONE will ever set foot on the island without permission ever again. Next, get in touch with the industrial city-states on the African mainland and hire them to start building more hardware for us. Ideally, avoid vertical integration completely--it might be inefficient, but we want to get the city-states used to working together in peaceful interdependence and mutual benefit. Establish training centers--schools and universities--to supply technicians used to the Martian technology and philosophy (use a very light touch on that; accusations of indoctrination are inevitable, but we can keep them from having teeth).

Now that we have a good base of supply and personnel, we start inviting other parts of the world to join the UMF and enjoy the benefits such as a boosted economy and not dying so much. We may never get the whole world to join, but we should be able to get the civilized and industrial parts to join up if we structure it right--and we've got hard-won experience at making unity work.

Meanwhile, we keep developing our orbital infrastructure, for the purposes of commerce, surveillance, science, and global short-notice WMD delivery capacity. We emphasize the carrot, but we make sure we always have a sufficiently large stick. Our military policy will be that if a UMF state is invaded, we defend with everything we've got but we don't pursue forces beyond our borders--we make it clear that we're there to defend our own, not for conquest. Ideally, everyone will get the message that it doesn't pay to attack us, and the nations that don't join us will at least learn not to mess with us. In the hopefully unlikely event that a nation proves that it is terminally unwilling to refrain from attacking us, we hit them hard and thoroughly and take over completely, annexing them entirely and ending their existence as a political power. It's important that after we do this, we treat the new UMF state as one of us, devoting our resources to rebuilding and caring for our new citizens.

It'll be a long-term and often frustrating project, but I feel that the only way to make a long-term peace is to have most of the world join us voluntarily.
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Re: You command the Martian Invasion of Earth (RAR!)

Post by Ahriman238 »

Ahem... Behold! The Martian Invasion Fleet!

Diplomacy is good, especially with the Earth so changed by flooding. Africa looks like our best bet for technologically capable allies on the ground, but Europe should be our priority if our job really is to stop all the violence.
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Re: You command the Martian Invasion of Earth (RAR!)

Post by Zeropoint »

I forgot to Think Like a Martian and missed an obvious idea: colonize Antarctica. What, you say? Colonize that hostile and barely habitable wasteland?

Yes, I say. It's the worst place on Earth . . . but we know how to live and thrive on Mars. Antarctica will be like playing on easy mode for us; heck, you can go outside in nothing but warm clothes and not die. Not only that, but with the reduced technology of Earth, it'll be damn near impossible for them to attack us there.
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Re: You command the Martian Invasion of Earth (RAR!)

Post by Vendetta »

Use standard imperialist colonial practise, identify ethnic or national groups who can be useful client rulers and assist them with superior Martian military and infrastructure.

I mean really, this is how you Do Empire, you find the local underdogs and put them in charge for you, giving them control over the people who would usually be oppressing them for religious, cultural, or ethnic reasons which means they have a reason to collaborate and giving you useful local governance (your ability to hold on to an empire is limited by your ability to respond to developments in your holdings, hence the use of autonomous local governance via client rulers, see also: Roman Empire, especially further from the centre).

Most of the problems of ex colonial and imperial holdings in the 20th and 21st century are fallout from the British empire using this method to annex much of the globe, meaning that the sectarian factionalism we need is still rife among earthlings.
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Re: You command the Martian Invasion of Earth (RAR!)

Post by Beowulf »

Zeropoint wrote:I forgot to Think Like a Martian and missed an obvious idea: colonize Antarctica. What, you say? Colonize that hostile and barely habitable wasteland?

Yes, I say. It's the worst place on Earth . . . but we know how to live and thrive on Mars. Antarctica will be like playing on easy mode for us; heck, you can go outside in nothing but warm clothes and not die. Not only that, but with the reduced technology of Earth, it'll be damn near impossible for them to attack us there.
Antarctica is a bit worse for space launches. You lose above 600m/s of dV. But other than that, as a base, it's actually semi-reasonable. No native industry to speak of. Most of the radiation should be gone, and you no longer have a polar ice cap to worry about. On the other hand, you no longer have a runway to land on, and likely no way to make one initially. The drop fleet will almost certainly end up wrecking on the terrain, if you attempt such.
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Re: You command the Martian Invasion of Earth (RAR!)

Post by Simon_Jester »

Vendetta wrote:Use standard imperialist colonial practise, identify ethnic or national groups who can be useful client rulers and assist them with superior Martian military and infrastructure.

I mean really, this is how you Do Empire, you find the local underdogs and put them in charge for you, giving them control over the people who would usually be oppressing them for religious, cultural, or ethnic reasons which means they have a reason to collaborate and giving you useful local governance (your ability to hold on to an empire is limited by your ability to respond to developments in your holdings, hence the use of autonomous local governance via client rulers, see also: Roman Empire, especially further from the centre).

Most of the problems of ex colonial and imperial holdings in the 20th and 21st century are fallout from the British empire using this method to annex much of the globe, meaning that the sectarian factionalism we need is still rife among earthlings.
The typical rule is something like 1/10/90:

1% of the population is foreign administrators and technicians, plus garrisons of foreign troops with machine guns and artillery.

10% of the population is the Trusted Minority that you arm liberally with rifles and promote into all positions of trust, wealth, and responsibility in the colonial society, or at least all the ones that aren't occupied by foreign colonists. They understand the rest of the natives well enough to govern and police them efficiently, and because they're so badly outnumbered by a population that resents them they have little choice BUT to act as your vassals and support you against their former countrymen.

90% of the population is, well, peasants.

You can (and probably should) change up the percentages depending on local conditions, but that's the basic idea. Something like 2/20/80 is probably more practical, mind.
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Re: You command the Martian Invasion of Earth (RAR!)

Post by InsaneTD »

Beowulf wrote:
Zeropoint wrote:I forgot to Think Like a Martian and missed an obvious idea: colonize Antarctica. What, you say? Colonize that hostile and barely habitable wasteland?

Yes, I say. It's the worst place on Earth . . . but we know how to live and thrive on Mars. Antarctica will be like playing on easy mode for us; heck, you can go outside in nothing but warm clothes and not die. Not only that, but with the reduced technology of Earth, it'll be damn near impossible for them to attack us there.
Antarctica is a bit worse for space launches. You lose above 600m/s of dV. But other than that, as a base, it's actually semi-reasonable. No native industry to speak of. Most of the radiation should be gone, and you no longer have a polar ice cap to worry about. On the other hand, you no longer have a runway to land on, and likely no way to make one initially. The drop fleet will almost certainly end up wrecking on the terrain, if you attempt such.
I would of thought that after two-ish centuries, some of the ice cap would of reformed. It's certainly somewhere I would use, even if add just a training ground and surveillance post while I had diplomats learn local languages, two centuries are a long time and there will be some changes or possibly even a new dialect two.
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Re: You command the Martian Invasion of Earth (RAR!)

Post by Solauren »

I'm tempted to create a bioweapon to unleash on the planet to make everyone week and sick, for months on end. Then contact the various the various governments an offer: Join the new 'Solar Federation' which is HQ'd on Mars, or too bad for you.

Everyone that joins, gets cured. Everyone that doesn't, the diseases effects will eventually weaken the governments for either internal revolt to join and get the cure, or for simplified invasion by soldiers in environmentally sealed suits.
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