OBT Forum

Would a more plausible outcome be Hanse calling Theodre's bluff and taking 50+ border worlds before peace kicks in the the Combine is left as little more than a weakend realm.

Hmmm Both have their appeal.

Perhaps it would be simpler to combined the two:

Katrina decides to enter one more battle and does so alongside Morgan Kell and the Kell Hounds. Deployed into the Draconis March they arrive on Xhosa VII in August 3039 and proceed to do a number of unpleasent things to the Ryuken-go battalions there, including capturing Theodore Kurita (although Katrina Steiner dies in action, something not announced at the time). The loss of the Kanrei doesn't cause the DCMS to crumble but it does affect their cohesion and seriously boosts AFFC morale. On that basis Hanse decides to press his luck... and it works out for him. Scores of DCMS forces are forced into hasty retreats or over-run as the AFFC continues to advance.

A third wave of attacks leaves pockets of DCMS regiments still resisting in Dieron while pushing the functional frontline to Buckminster, Benjamin, Iruzun, Matsuida and Kazenjoy. With the succession shaky (Hehiro is barely old enough IIRC), the Combine has little choice but to accept a peace that functionally surrenders most of Kaznejoy, Matsuida, Iruzun and Proserpina Prefectures as well as all of Dieron District. As a face-saver for Takashi (since the AFFC will be rather stretched to garrison all these worlds and subdue the various stubborn holdouts, Hanse agrees to relinquish the handful of worlds in the Benjamin District that were taken.

While the Combine remains largely intact and appears healthy on the map, it's been stripped of several key industrial worlds and the DCMS is a hollow shell of its former glory. Hanse can afford to wait a few years and consolidate before he has to decide if he wants to finish off the Combine, finish off the Confederation or smash the Free Worlds League in a similar fashion.

I was watching the Shootist with John Wayne when I saw a lot of FedCom calls the Combine's bluff in the War of 3039. So I thought of Katrina Steiner refusing to wait for death but rather plunging into a full scale assault of Luthien (with the Kell Hounds and a few other select regiments of volunteers) to fulfill her life's work. To that end I don't want to compromise on the radical attack into the heart of the enemy and to hell with the consequences. However that being said yours is a more reasonable course of action drakensis. Except I wanted to fling that out the window and go for broke with Katrina's action. [Funny how this would somewhat mirror Frederick Steiner's actions and I'm thinking that Hanse would follow it up with nothing less than finishing blows to the Dragon]. That being said what do see happening realistically if such an assault went down on Luthien? Which regiments participate in the battle? I think the Combine would fall in on itself with factions trying to liberate Luthien and various Warlords attempting to setup their own zone of control.

Oh and new rule - Don't jump ahead of me yet to the Clan invasion!

Well, knowing Katrina, she would want the units to ba able to make it back, I would not be suprised if her task force came in through the Alberio Prefecture, after skirting the FRR, minimising the chance of detection.

Such a knockout blow would need to contain troops from all sectors of the realm, firstly to make it an AFFC action, not an LCAF or AFFS one.

Looking at spare units in the Lyran Commonwealth in Historical:3039, this what I would send in, leaving already assigned units alone, so as not to generate suspicion from the DCMS:

UNIT (Experience/Reliability/Equipment Rating/Post in 3038)

20th Avalon Hussars RCT (Vet/Fan/A/Freedom)
6th Crucis Lancers RCT (Vet/Rel/A/Loburg)
4th Deneb Light Cavalry RCT (Reg/Rel/A/Alcor)

4th Donegal Guards RCT (Vet/Rel/B/Chateau)
14th Donegal Guards RCT (Reg/Rel/A/CMO 26)
6th Lyran Guards RCT (Elite/Rel/A/Althastan)
2nd Royal Guards RCT (Reg/Fan/A/Tharkad)

The Bad Dream (Vet/Rel/A/Newtown Square)
3rd/12th Star Guards (Vet/Rel/A/Icar)

Approx Force: 9 Mech Regiments, 15 Aerospace Wings, 21 Armoured Regiments, 35 Infantry Regiments

Facing them on Luthien would be:

UNIT (Experience/Reliability/Equipment Rating/Post in 3038)

1st Sword of Light (Vet/Fan/A/Luthien)
7th Sword of Light (Vet/Fan/A/Luthien)
Otomo (Elite/Fan/A/Luthien)
Dragons Claws (Elite/Fan/A/Luthiem) - They may have been available at this time.

These additional units are based on what is presented in Luthien.

3rd Aerospace Wing (Vet)
7th Aerospace Wing (vet)
Black Dragons Aerospace Wing (Vet)

6th DEST (Elite)

These units are likely armour and infantry
12th Luthien Defence Regiment (Reg)
54th Luthien Defence Regiment (Grn)
96th Luthien Defence Regiment (Vet)
122nd Luthien Defence Regiment (Reg)
143rd Luthien Defence Regiment (Reg)
178th Luthien Defence Regiment (Reg)
191st Luthien Defence Regiment (Reg)
201st Luthien Defence Regiment (Reg)
7th Imperial City Militia (Reg)

1st Amori Militia (Reg) - Combined arms battalion
Luthien Armour Works Security Company (Reg)

Anti-Mech Infantry Regiments
1st Omega Regiment (Vet)
2nd Omega Regiment (Reg)

Approx Force: 5 Mech Regiments, 7 Aerospace Wings, 5 Armoured Regiments, 20+ Infantry Regiments

If I was the AFFC, I'd also toss in a couple of Assault DropShip wings and an Independent Aerowing or three.

It would be a savage battle and the AFFC would want to leave after a month of dismanteling DCMS units and infrastructure as by that time Alshain and Pesht units would start to arrive.  I don't think the task force could hold the world, but they could wreck it and cop 50% casualities doing it.

The Kell Houds Regiment was on Summer, but not posted to active duty, so an elite regiment works well.

The FC-RCT's are all in the Sarna March, so I left them out of it, focusing only on the Lyran state command to reduce red flags for the DCMS.

As it is, although the AFFC has a 2:1 ratio, that is the absolute minimum I would recommend, due to the DCMS's more experinced line units and fanatical defence of the homeworld. Additionaly. local knowledge would play a part.  Also important is the lack of resupply for the AFFC taskforce, hance why a short campaign would be important.

In the end, you universe, your call though, this is just my own point of view based on our game's big battle results.  Battle where the attacker has less than a 3:1 overall advantage bog down to nothing but attirition, so the number and specific units I listed were designed to prevent that from happening.

As to Brochi's cluster, the abondoned world of Ulsan is 35LY North West of Luthien as well and could be a better option close to the capital.  Perhaps launch the strike from Ulsan, hit Luthien, leave Luthien and scatter, raiding as they go and regroup in Brochis for the run home?

I think the opposite would happen, the Black Pearl is too important.  Only Chatham, Avon, Irece and Pesht are viable, and you could hit those on the way back, after thier garrisons come tearing ass over to support Luthien.