Ground Combat

This document outlines theories on ground warfare, focusing on "current" tactics and technologies of the 26th centuries    

GM'S Notes

These notes are written "in universe" but represent the views and knowledge of a top Terran academic in the year 2545. However, they cannot be considered to be totally factual in universe.

Notes

This article was written by Major General Devon Hollister at the Republic Marine Training Academy in Nairobi, Earth. The article was written with support from Dr Randyll Farland and Dr Cheryl Peake

Purpose

This article is intended to detail ground combat weapons, technique and organization from a Terran point of view, though it does touch upon alien races skills and capabilities in ground combat   This article was peer reviewed by the Republic Marine Corps General Staff and then reviewed by Dr Aileen Oakes at the College of Dhaka.

Organized Ground-Warfare

Terrans have fought in ground battles since they first were able to organize, with wooden clubs and animal bones gradually giving way to bronze swords and spears, then iron weapons. The invention of gunpowder changed warfare, replacing bravery and physical prowess with discipline, ability to organize and putting a premium on numbers   Since becoming a star-faring power, Terrans have fought in a huge number of armed conflicts against aliens as well as far too many Terran on Terran conflicts.   Organized ground warfare tends to revolve around:

• Locating your enemy
• Fixing them in place
• Isolating or destroying them
• Controlling key points
• Reducing the "will to fight"

Unit Organization and Cohesion

Most Terran units are organized into squads at the lowest level and all the way up to full sized armies, though these tend to be temporary units during combat.   During peacetime, most units are organized into battalions and regiments, though they are not always deployed as such as scratch units and Strike Groups are put together with the relevant and needed units from various formations   Critical to the function in the field is unit cohesion, which is based around the individual solders ability to work together, to be kept informed of their own objectives and the wider objectives as well as motivated to act and attack the enemy and objectives.   Reducing enemy cohesion is considered to be key to winning battles  

A Model Rifle Company

The classic model of the Marine Rifle company has endured for hundreds of years within Terran military tactics. The below model is shown for example and there are many variations  

• Company HQ - typically a five or six man element led by the company commander, usually a Captain and including the company first sergeant and a dedicated communications specialist
• Rifle Platoon - Company's are made up of three platoons, each consisting of three squads. A rifle platoon is usually led by a 2nd Lieutenant and is the most common billet of a newly qualified officer. They are assisted in running the platoon by a Staff Sergeant and will sometimes have a dedicated communications specialist with them
• Rifle Squad - usually the smallest unit seen on the battlefield, a squad consists of ten marines, led by a Sergeant. Most squads will have at least one marine armed with a heavy weapon, usually a LMG of some kind for suppressing fire.
• Squads can be broken down into fireteams of four or five marines for maneuverer

Shock and Awe

A popular doctrine, often considered the default attack for marine units has been that of Shock and Awe. As a concept it calls for an overwhelming use of firepower, particularly from air strikes and artillery. Concentrated attacks rob the enemy of their will to fight, as well as forcing them to take cover and limiting their ability to maneuvered   However some marine officers feel that the Shock and Awe tactic is overly aggressive and can lead to too much destruction of the infrastructure, as well as its likelihood to cause civilian casualties   There are also many alien races that are famously hard to break or have sufficient defences that heavy artillery and air strike tactics would be ineffective and wasteful

Small Unit Tactics

In terms of small units operating in the field, maneuverer tends to be the order of the day, where units will try to find superior ground to fire from and reduce its chances of taking casualties whilst delivering the maximum amount of firepower at the enemy   Low quality units prefer to fight in a stationary fashion from cover and are easily out maneuvered and outflanked.

Planetary Invasions

One of the most difficult military operations is that of the planetary invasion. Invasion forces tend to number in the millions at the highest and have to subdue a civilian population that will always out number them.   Planetary invasion doctrine generally revolves around taking and seizing key points with the planets downports a critical place to take control of so that the ground force can be more easily reinforced and resupplied. Combat shuttles are vulnerable to ground fire and cannot carry huge amounts of equipment   Planetary invasions also require the seizure of key infrastructure and "visible" sites of the planets government, such as the capital building or government districts.   Throughout the history of Terran warfare in the quadrant, taking a planet has been far easier than hanging onto it and planetary insurgencies are famously hard to suppress and defeat.  

Typical Arms and Equipment

The typical arms and equipment of the Republic Marine in the field consists of:

• ES14 Rifle - 10mm caseless rifle
• Two EH1 frag grenades
• K1 close combat knife
• EM10 entrenching tool
• MS01 combat webbing
• MS05 body-armour
• MS11 backpack and field kit

Armour - Tanks and Mechs

Armour still has a place in modern warfare, though it is not quite as vital as it once was.  With the size of modern battlefields often being planetary, slow moving ground based formations such as heavy armour can be too slow to deploy and are expensive and time consuming to transport.   Tanks, tracked or with hover-treads are generally used for heavy fire support and for attacking fortified fixed positions.   Armoured transports such as APCs and IFVs are still used but skimmer's and dropships are generally preferred, again given the huge distances between battlefronts   Mechanical battle-suits, referred to as mechs, are driven by pilots and are able to put huge amounts of firepower down range as well as being impervious to most small arms.  However they are slower and less maneuverable than infantry and often fare poorly in urban combat  

Autonomous Battle-Mechs (Droids)

Terran military history has seen autonomous but non-sapient combat robots or droids used in large numbers ranging from simple drones used for target acquisition, command and control all the way to human sized combat droids able to fight in the field.   Combat droids have many advantages over biological troops.  They do not need to be fed, watered and do not tire.  They are also impossible to demoralize and cannot be broken.  Droids are cheaper to use than biological troops and can be purchased in huge numbers   Droids have many disadvantages too though.  They tend to be slow to react and adapt and they can be easily tricked.  They are also vulnerable to being sliced and hotwired or shutdown.  They are also vulnerable to EM attacks  

Sentient AI's In Combat

Since the advent of 10th and 11th generation AI, very few sentient AIs have ever been deployed into combat.  They have, however, been deployed as part of ground campaigns serving in advisory or supply roles.   10th and 11th generation AIs are capable of fighting and have significant advantages over droids.  9th generation AIs, whilst not sentient, are often used to help with command and control during ground operations  

Artillery

Heavy artillery such as howitzers and missile launchers are heavy, expensive and vulnerable to attack especially from the air or orbit.  However they are still used and mobile artillery such as the Cormorant ES113 mini-howitzer is capable of delivering a 140mm shell at ranges of up to 20 kilometers   Missile artillery is much more popular and whilst it is vulnerable to being shot down by anti-aircraft, it has significant advantages over howitzers firing solid shells

Air Support

Far more popular and useful is air support.  Skimmers and dropships armed with air to ground munitions such as cluster bombs, missiles and napalm can be deployed quickly and guided in by anyone with a clear line of sight or guided in by orbital spotters   Skimmers and dropships are also excellent at delivering troops quickly to the battlefront as well as performing auxiliary functions.  

Medical Aid

In combat, soldiers will take wounds from various sources, not just enemy fire.  Medics deployed to forward units can perform triage and stablize the wounded before they pulled out of the line and taken back to field hospitals   All Republic marines are given basic medical training and have a small medical kit on them as well syrettes of morphine for acute pain relief.   Critical casualties are removed for surgery at field hospitals and surgeons and experts are very seldom deployed into forward areas.   10th generation AIs have been known to serve as medics and field surgeons.  

Casualty Clearing - CASEVAC

When marines are wounded or killed, there is a duty to remove them from the battlefront.  This is done for many reasons, not least of all is to reduce the impact on the morale of friendly units.   Arranging CASEVAC is a key duty of a senior officer in the field and some conflicts have seen ceasefires to arrange for CASEVAC.   Under the Republic Marine Standing orders, a field officer must account for any marines lost under their command and not returned, dead or alive.

Melee

Melee combat is fairly unusual but not unheard of and many alien cultures (see below) make extensive use of close quarters combat.   Melee attacks have a significant morale effect when successful and the use of knives, entrenching tools and rifle buts as well as barehand or other improvised weapons have been known.   Republic marines are trained in hand to hand combat as well as the use of knives and fixed bayonets, though the ES14 rifle does not have a bayonet fixture as standard.  

Unusual Tactics and Weapons

Throughout the history of warfare, improvised tactics have been critical, especially during asymmetric warfare.  The use of booby-traps, trip-wires, IEDs and other tricks are often a great way for a smaller or less organized force to cause significant problems for a larger force   The use of chemical or biological weapons is generally frowned on by most races in the quadrant and is banned under the Republic law.  

Aliens in Ground Combat

The Terrans have fought against or alongside every race in the quadrant at some point and faced the capabilities and vulnerabilities of the other races.  Terrans have a reputation for fierceness in combat and a willingness to absorb casualties far beyond many other races

Vatu

The Vatu are widely considered to be the physically strongest race in the quadrant.  A Vatu adult is bigger, stronger and tougher than a human and their thick carapace can stop or deflect low caliber weapons as well as turning back melee attacks from daggers.   The Vatu excel at close quarters and have fearsome natural weapons (teeth, claws and a tail) as well as most of their weapons having a sharpened butt to allow them to wield them as cutting weapons in battle   The Vatu put a premium on bravery and have disdain for evasion and other subterfuge.  However they are not simple minded barbarians and can execute impressive feints, flanking attacks and counter-marches.  

Dhau

The Dhau are generally considered the second strongest race in a physical sense.  Dhau adults are bigger than humans and possess incredible endurance.  The Dhau also exist in huge numbers and are able to deploy massive numbers of troops in combat   The Dhau are excellent shots and their rifles fire an "adaptable shot" that can match the needed range to hit a target as well as adapting to be armour piercing to defeat a well protected target.   The Dhau are fierce in battle and possess very high morale, personal bravery and are well organized and martial.  "Alpha" Dhau are hugely powerful and truly devastating in close quarters  

Salborians

The ground troops of the Karkouri Regime, the Salborians are strong and tough, far tougher than the average human.  They also possess eye-sight adapted for low light and they have superb night-vision.   Salborians are fierce, brave and very aggressive, able to shrug off high numbers of casualties.  Karkouri battle doctrine generally calls for concentrated heavy firepower and the average Salborian is armed with a plasma rifle which is very effective against armour.   However, Karkouri indifference to casualties amongst their Salborian troops can see them suffer needless casualties in frontal attacks.  Salborians have also been known to be indiscriminate in occupations, causing very high levels of collateral damage  

Indirians

Indirians have fought as mercenaries and auxillaries in nearly every army in the quadrant and millions of Indirians have served in Terran uniform as marines and sailors.   Indirians are physically similar to humans but possess incredibly good eyesight and better than human reflexes, making them superb scouts and snipers.  Indirian shock-rifles are still a prized weapon with an effective range of 4 KM   Indrians are also skilled in hand to hand combat, with ritualized combat taught to almost all Indirians.  

Tazzyn

The Tazzyn are much more agile and faster than the average human, with most Tazzyn able to make a vertical leap of around seven to nine feet from a stationary position.   The Tazzyn are hugely technologically advanced too, with many of their ground troops having personal shields that make them impervious to all but the heaviest firepower.   The Tazzyn use of laser weapons makes their fire very accurate and able to punch through unarmored targets with ease.  The Tazzyn are also famous for their superb use of skimmers with their interceptors considered to be the best in the quadrant   Tazzyn are trained for hand to hand combat and use their agility and superior senses for ambushes.  Up close, a Tazzyn's shield is less effective but few warriors can survive the fast, armour piercing strikes of a Tazzyn in hand to hand combat  

Tranoans

The Tranoans are not a warlike race per se but their warrior caste are strong, tough and agile.  They are disciplined and careful, preferring very heavy firepower over brute force.   The Tranoan shock-lance is considered the most devastating personal weapon in the quadrant and its variable charge can be changed to fire bursts of fire against groups, high powered shots against armour or focused shots to defeat shields.   The Tranoans also make extensive use of both personal shields and active camouflage, making their troops hard to spot and hard to pin down with ranged fire.   The Tranoans are known for their caution though and are generally adverse to taking losses in battle  

Gannid

The Gannid are much tougher than humans and possess a very high level of endurance.  However they are not a naturally aggressive race and Gannid have slightly worse than Terran eyesight.   The Gannid prefer to use heavy firepower with their meson weapons very effective against armoured targets and also good against shields.  The Gannid prefer to use defensive positions and to make slow, careful advances and the Gannid have been accused by some as too cautious in battle.   The Gannid do not seek out melee combat but Gannid Sappers are often armed with mattocks, war-picks or war-hammers and are dangerous in close quarters.

Future of Ground-Warfare

The Terran's have been seeking ways to make their ground soldiers and marines harder to kill, which has seen personal armour evolve to the current level of carapace style armour protecting the body and the head.    Personal shielding would be considered a game changer but is still some-way off.  Portable shield generators are expensive and still quite prone to malfunction and few militaries make much use of them   There has been speculation of a greater use of droids and AIs, with Republic "Tech Commando" regiments using large numbers of drones in combat.  

Notes from the Author

This article is presented by the author, Major-General Devon Hollister.   General Hollister is a graduate from the University of Montana, on Earth with a BA In military history.  He also has a MA in strategic studies from Dhaka Military College.   General Hollister is a serving marine with the General Staff, serving as deputy commander of the training facility in Nairobi.   General Hollister is married with two children.  He has a dog called Keiji