OBT Forum
General BattleTech => Alternate Universe => Shattered Dawn => Topic started by: Takiro on December 03, 2013, 06:48:57 PM
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Just wanted to throw this topic up now as I am downloading the second Field Report 2765 as I type. Be forewarned -
SPOILERS TO FOLLOW!!
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Thanks for the notification!
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This is out!! Oooooo dear I need to go buy - back in a bit
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So the Combine had more ships than the Togura hidden in Mothball but they were as useless as the mothballed Carrier.
Being a WarShip thread here we go with the two ships in it:
The Narukami-class Destroyer looks pretty cool block I and block II shame about the technical problems
The Cruiser-class Cruiser... got to love committees. I love the look of the ship. For once instead of something that looks really sexy it's just plain and simple to the point "Beercan Battleship" or "Killer Space Keg" is what the class should have been called. I'm not an expert on WarShips but if I was facing this particular one I'd want Anti-Missile Systems.
One thing I hadn't noticed was numbers of ships - 8 active fleets based around the Samarkand-class Carrier but no real numbers from my first run through
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My first impressions I have to say are favorable especially when compared to CCAF 2765. Sword of Light formation is explained as is the Dieron Regulars and both are believable. A lot of Terran Hegemony focus which gives this product more of a then feel as opposed to CCAF. One oversight I will say is the lack of mention of the Luthien and Benjamin Shipyards which are known to exist also Midway would have been another shipyard candidate. I don't mind the strategy behind the DCA, small fast ships built around carriers, but the poor shipbuilding industry? Not sure I buy that completely although the Combine was never an industrial powerhouse. I just think some other canon established yards exist and they are overlooked to sell this maintenance hardship agenda. That being said I'm finding this one more palatable than CCAF. More later!
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Last lines of the Morale section of the Admiralty I like
Despite their small size and lack of heavy WarShips, the DCA cannot be easily dismissed. If Takiro continues to expand the DCA at its current rate, SLIC estimates that within twenty years, the fleets will be three times their current size.
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Other shipyards may not have been available as of 2765, but available by 2780.
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So far having read most of the FR I only have 2 complaints (besides my usual grips about grammar/wording). The first is the lack of a detailed fleet listing like in the CCAF report. We can probably come up with a fairly accurate listing but it would be nice to have an official one. The second is the bit in the Narukami fluff that a few survivors were mothballed and survived to the 3060s. What happened to LCAF Invincible being the last known warship in the IS between the 2nd SW and the 3050s? This is not the first time this has happened in relation to the DC- 1 Samarkand was said to survive as a museum. Sure they are in poor condition, sure no one during the 3rd SW really understands the technology involved but with the ships ability to make a huge difference on the battlefield why wouldn't the DC make an effort to return them to service? Hell why wouldn't Comstar try to destroy them like they did the Tripitz?
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I like the whole feel of the Report thus far Dragon Cat. It really gives you the feel that the Draconis Combine is coming to eat your babies or at least that is what the SLDF thought at this time. Which they did. Beside the Periphery Rebellion everyone was expecting Kurita to attack the Hegemony not Amaris. So the whole mindset behind the book is pretty damn good. It gives you the 2765 feel that Liao missed.
Other shipyards may not have been available as of 2765, but available by 2780.
Granted. Much of the Dragon's planned economy I had originally envisioned had centralized its industry around capital worlds like Luthien and Benjamin. This seemed to be better reasoning to me rather than having their main shipyards at Schuyler and Chatham because they existed in 3025 and were already known. Its the one thing I see that gives the book a now not then feeling for the Combine. I would have inverted development with Chatham and Schuyler being created to grow the DCA fleet structure. And don't sleep on Midway - as it is the DCA HQ and home to the Aerospace Institute even though I haven't seen that yet.
I haven't put all the warship data together yet Irose but the lack of detail benefits the small fleet situation. It gives it a bigger feel than the CCAF report which lists every single ship. I do like what I see of the DCA so far but the fleets are still too damn small. While others may take solace in several hints that it may double or triple soon I do not. However it was done better than CCAF FR.
Mothballing of ships could be addressed by their breakdown prior to the Invincible and ComStar could have screwed with their long term maintenance cycles destroying or distressing key components effectively killing these relics and stopping them from ever terrorizing humanity again. It does take some of the luster off the Invincible I grant you but maybe people thought that the ship was still active somewhere and could still return better than these known wrecks.
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I haven't put all the warship data together yet Irose but the lack of detail benefits the small fleet situation. It gives it a bigger feel than the CCAF report which lists every single ship. I do like what I see of the DCA so far but the fleets are still too damn small. While others may take solace in several hints that it may double or triple soon I do not. However it was done better than CCAF FR.
I took a quick stab at it and figured the DC navy looks something like this
Explicitly Stated in the FR:
8 Samarkand
6 Narukami
2 vincents
Assumed from other sources
6 Aegis
My guesses:
6 Vincent
4 Lola I
2 Essex I
3 Baron
3 Carson
2 Cruiser (what a stupid name they couldn't have come up with something better)
Over half the fleet has to be Corvettes & Destroyers- meaning less then 22 ships are cruisers or larger. the Samarkands & Aegis account for 14 ships, I picked 2 Cruisers since that would give each fleet a cruiser to escort the Samarkand. The rest of the ships are just a guess on my part- I could see numbers changing slightly - I could be easily convinced to increase the number of Vincents at the expense of some of the old HAF destroyers. We know the DC had at least 1 Baron class destroyer it is mentioned in the fluff in TR3057R.
What I do like about the fleet is the lack of larger ships. That is how we saw the Combine fleet in BTSD- largely smaller and faster. I also like the effort to explain the lack of home designed warships The fluff also leaves open the possibility that there are more Combine designed ships - the write up specifically states that the Samarkand and Narukami are the only 2 Combine designed & build warships currently in service- so others may have been retired or mothballed.
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My first impressions I have to say are favorable especially when compared to CCAF 2765. Sword of Light formation is explained
We might find the solution to our dilemma regarding these units.
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Can some one send me at least the stats for the ships so I can plug them into HMA to fool around with the numbers and try them out at a game this weekend ?
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I'm just going off of the preview up on DriveThruRPG (Forgive me, I just bought FM3145 and FR CC 2765 the other day, my budget is limited!), but I like the overall tone of the work. It fits in with the Combine military as we know it and serves as a good bridge between H: RW and the original House sourcebook. That said, I have a few nitpicks.
1) The general blandness of the DCMS in general. I guess this is a problem I've always had with House Kurita's regiments, even back in the day. The DCMS is defined by it's general philosophy rather than it's individual parts. You have the great mass of district regiments, the Sword of Light as the pinnacle, the Prosperpina Hussars as the mobile reserve, the Sun Zhang Cadres as training units, and the Arkab Legions as a unique subforce that provides an alternative to the 'samurai in giant robots'. Very conventional compared to the more colorful brigades of the other house armies. In 3025 and beyond you had some units that broke this mold (The Legion of Vega, Ryuken, Genyosha etc.) and give the Dracs some color, but I guess in this era there's no room for that... even with 114 regiments to flesh out. Is the Otomo even listed or are they not a full regiment?
2) The section on the training academies. No mention of An Ting Academy, I guess it was not formed for a few more years, so that leaves the usual suspects like Sun Zhang. Can't there have been at least one academy that existed exclusively in the Star League era? Sometimes it feels like the writers want to play it safe on the issues that have the most wiggle room. (And then retcon long-established canon with no warning. Looking at you planetary populations.)
3) Why define the size of the conventional and aerospace forces? They don't define it in the report on the Capellans, and who wants to bet that they won't on the other states? I remember that TPTB said at one point they were moving away from such things to prevent the setting from becoming too limited, but that concept is violated again, and not even in a consistent manner. You either get your writing staff to define these things for every faction or not at all. This problem goes back to FM: SLDF as well, but I'm not going to start getting into that one right now.
Overall I'm pleased with what I read despite my harsh words above, and getting this PDF will definitely be on my New Year's resolutions. Maybe by that time the AFFS report will be out too. I'd like to think this series will be finished by the end of spring at the latest so we can move on to the early Succession Wars material by late Summer or Fall. The size of the House Armies in 2785 is something worth spending at least a chapter or two of ink on.
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Explicitly Stated in the FR:
8 Samarkand
6 Narukami
2 vincents
Assumed from other sources
6 Aegis
My guesses:
6 Vincent
4 Lola I
2 Essex I
3 Baron
3 Carson
2 Cruiser (what a stupid name they couldn't have come up with something better)
I'm guessing you meant to put 2 Vigilant Corvettes instead of 2 Vincents?
So each DCA Fleet is 1 Carrier, 1 Cruiser and 3 Escorts?
Not a bad set up, how do you think that fleet composition would work against a typical Capellan Fleet?
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Yeah I meant Vigilants, not Vincents.
Personally I think the DC fleets would be far superior to the Capellan ones. The Capellan Fleets have 1 Du Shi Wang, 2 Cruisers (Soyal or Aegis) and 2-3 destroyers or Corvettes. The DC fleet has a huge number of fighters- 72 from the Samarkand alone, while the CapCon ships have almost no defense against fighters. Yes the CC fleet can carry fighter transports, but then again so can the DC Fleet. So I suspect in a 1 on 1 fight, the DC's fighters would shred the CapCon ships.
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Granted. Much of the Dragon's planned economy I had originally envisioned had centralized its industry around capital worlds like Luthien and Benjamin. This seemed to be better reasoning to me rather than having their main shipyards at Schuyler and Chatham because they existed in 3025 and were already known. Its the one thing I see that gives the book a now not then feeling for the Combine. I would have inverted development with Chatham and Schuyler being created to grow the DCA fleet structure. And don't sleep on Midway - as it is the DCA HQ and home to the Aerospace Institute even though I haven't seen that yet.
I've thought about this some more and I think you hit the problem on the head. The original Kurita book talks about the loss of the miles long Amalgamated Sword & Steel and massive DeHuego & Freschet dropships lines- they also talk about the massive Diplan facility that built the Jenner. As a result I have always envisioned the DC have a few truly huge factories, unlike the LC or FWL which had tons of smaller factories spread across dozens, even hundreds of war. The result is that the DC would suffer severely if they lost even 1 or 2 of their massive factories.
As to the shipyards- in the original House Steiner book it mentions that in 2787 the Tamar Tigers raided Luthien and destroyed the shipyards there. Is it possible these shipyards were built after 2765- yes it is, but given the importance of Luthien it is more likely they have been there for centuries. Just something we will have to consider in BTSD
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I am looking for info on Sword of Light units around 2765 and I wonder if any of them would be Assault 'Mechs oriented?
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I am looking for info on Sword of Light units around 2765 and I wonder if any of them would be Assault 'Mechs oriented?
The description in the FR says that all 5 regiments are "weighted toward the heavy end of the spectrum, but there still remain enough light and medium ’Mechs and fighters to give them a good response time in battle."
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The description in the FR says that all 5 regiments are "weighted toward the heavy end of the spectrum, but there still remain enough light and medium ’Mechs and fighters to give them a good response time in battle."
Quite a change over the House Sourcebook.
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Okay folks I’ll start at the beginning.
From the perspective of a Davion officer in the SLDF I find Field Report DCMS 2765 to be right on. The short Overview nicely keys on the strengths of the Combine and the fear of its aggression. The Bushido sidebar gives us a good dual look at the pros and cons of this warrior philosophy. The Strategic Assessment gives us the straight facts on the DCMS from number of regiments to common BattleMechs. I was surprised that only the Rasalhague Regulars are suspected of disloyalty to House Kurita as there is some distrust towards the Arkab Legion. I suppose it is a small oversight. It goes on to quite accurately paint the strengths and weaknesses of the Combine military apparatus.
Goals of the State is nicely done with one exception. Again there is a failure to factor in the Periphery here like the Capellan Confederation Field Report. However frequent mentions of the Terran Hegemony makes you believe you are in 2765 so I can forgive the oversight. Tensions with neighboring realms, hints at a covert build up, its reason for continued Star League membership and Kurita’s desire to dominate the entire Human Sphere really hit home. I also liked the Draconian push for self sufficiency and efforts to keep the Star League at arms length.
Mercenaries discussed in the Youhei sidebar on pages 5 and 6 are another fine piece of writing. While opportunistic you get the picture that Lord Kurita never likes their kind. I think this is a traditional stance for the Draconis Combine in almost any time period. This attitude was simply taken to the next step by Takashi with his infamous Death to Mercenaries order in 3020s but at its core the Dragon really never liked soldiers of fortune. Strict ISF oversight and the small units scattered throughout the realm all give the right feel for 2765. Of course I would have liked a unit name or two but all in all not bad.
Next up Logistics, Academies (Brutal Training), and Industry before I get to units!
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I haven't put all the warship data together yet Irose but the lack of detail benefits the small fleet situation. It gives it a bigger feel than the CCAF report which lists every single ship. I do like what I see of the DCA so far but the fleets are still too damn small. While others may take solace in several hints that it may double or triple soon I do not. However it was done better than CCAF FR.
I took a quick stab at it and figured the DC navy looks something like this
Explicitly Stated in the FR:
8 Samarkand
6 Narukami
2 Vincents
Assumed from other sources
6 Aegis
My guesses:
6 Vincent
4 Lola I
2 Essex I
3 Baron
3 Carson
2 Cruiser (what a stupid name they couldn't have come up with something better)
Over half the fleet has to be Corvettes & Destroyers- meaning less then 22 ships are cruisers or larger. the Samarkands & Aegis account for 14 ships, I picked 2 Cruisers since that would give each fleet a cruiser to escort the Samarkand. The rest of the ships are just a guess on my part- I could see numbers changing slightly - I could be easily convinced to increase the number of Vincents at the expense of some of the old HAF destroyers. We know the DC had at least 1 Baron class destroyer it is mentioned in the fluff in TR3057R.
What I do like about the fleet is the lack of larger ships. That is how we saw the Combine fleet in BTSD- largely smaller and faster. I also like the effort to explain the lack of home designed warships The fluff also leaves open the possibility that there are more Combine designed ships - the write up specifically states that the Samarkand and Narukami are the only 2 Combine designed & build warships currently in service- so others may have been retired or mothballed.
A note on you fleet make up here, the BattleCorps Hesperus II scenario lists the following DCA light WarShips.
DCS Galedon II - Samarkand II
DCS Pacheco - Vigilant
DCS Tamura - Bonaventure
DCS Georgia - Bonaventure
I would sub-out two Vincents for the Bonaventures, but the Vigilant poses a problem. It might have been a mothballed ship or a later prize, as the FR states that only 2 Vigilants are active.
The Galedon II is likely a new build ship post-2765.
From the same scenario and TR 3057r, we know that one of the Barons is the DCS Yedo.
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A note on you fleet make up here, the BattleCorps Hesperus II scenario lists the following DCA light WarShips.
DCS Galedon II - Samarkand II
DCS Pacheco - Vigilant
DCS Tamura - Bonaventure
DCS Georgia - Bonaventure
I would sub-out two Vincents for the Bonaventures, but the Vigilant poses a problem. It might have been a mothballed ship or a later prize, as the FR states that only 2 Vigilants are active.
The Galedon II is likely a new build ship post-2765.
From the same scenario and TR 3057r, we know that one of the Barons is the DCS Yedo.
I don't have the Hesperus II scenario so this is new info to me.
I agree the Galedon II is probably a new build ship - the FR is pretty clear the DCMS only has 8 Samarkands at this point.
As for the Vigilant...that's tougher. It could be in mothballs in 2765 and that is probably the easiest solution. In in 2750 the DCMS had only 30 active warships and there are only 6 Narukami in service in 2765, then at least 9 other ships had to be returned to service from the Mothball fleet ( the text is clear that this is the major source of ships for the DCA.) Is it possible that the Samarkands were in the mothball fleet- yes but I doubt it. More likely the Samarkands were kept in active duty and it was SLDF ships that were returned to service (or maybe some the Samarkands were built between 2750 and 2765). So I will say the DCS Pacheco was in Mothballs in 2765.
As to the Bonaventures- I would replace some of the DCA destroyers with Bonaventures. My revised fleet would be:
8 Samarkands
6 Narukami
2 Vigilants
6 Aegis
2 Cruisers
6 Vincent
4 Bonaventure
2 Lola I
2 Essex
3 Baron
1 Carson
I like the idea that the DCA had more corvettes. So this works nicely.
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Couldn't the Vigilant be a Rim Worlds defector or an SLDF ship that didn't go in the canon exodus?
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I guess it could be a Rim Worlds defector but it is not an SLDF that did not go on the Exodus. All the SLDF ships either went on the Exodus or joined Comstar. None joined the great houses.
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So far having read most of the FR I only have 2 complaints (besides my usual grips about grammar/wording). The first is the lack of a detailed fleet listing like in the CCAF report. We can probably come up with a fairly accurate listing but it would be nice to have an official one. The second is the bit in the Narukami fluff that a few survivors were mothballed and survived to the 3060s. What happened to LCAF Invincible being the last known warship in the IS between the 2nd SW and the 3050s? This is not the first time this has happened in relation to the DC- 1 Samarkand was said to survive as a museum. Sure they are in poor condition, sure no one during the 3rd SW really understands the technology involved but with the ships ability to make a huge difference on the battlefield why wouldn't the DC make an effort to return them to service? Hell why wouldn't Comstar try to destroy them like they did the Tripitz?
because Comstar is the poster child of incompetence? Seriously more and more as time went on they went from puppet master to the mean bitch in highs chool playing off all of the other girls for her own amusment. and I LIKE that fact.
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I guess it could be a Rim Worlds defector but it is not an SLDF that did not go on the Exodus. All the SLDF ships either went on the Exodus or joined Comstar. None joined the great houses.
Or the Combine salvaged a scuttled or "destroyed" SLDF ship in one of the systems they moved in on as the SLDF was attacking through the Hegemony; similar to the ships the Marik's salavaged with help from C* & WoB later.
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The SLDF did seem to leave a number of perfectly repairable ships laying around.
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Phew, just finished my overtime season at work guys so sorry about the wait but here we go.
The SLDF did seem to leave a number of perfectly repairable ships laying around.
Don't forget Six the SLDF was getting the hell out of dodge. Limited time to repair ships whose dependability on a long journey may be in question is a good reason for the amount of derelicts left laying around.
I'll get restarted at the end of this review with the sidebar entitled Brutal Training on page 6. Readers get a pretty good look at the tough training and strict demands placed upon the cadets of the Sun Zhang Academy. Four hours of sleep! Yikes!! I wouldn't be making it there.
The opening paragraph on Logistical Status of the DCMS in 2765 is short but very telling. The drive for military self sufficiency, the harshest military training in the known worlds, and efforts to clandestinely build up the DCMS are all hit on. Its a different mindset from the rest of the Star League making the Combine one of the most interesting places in this era.
Academies is a juicy topic for me. Lets start with the Sun Zhang where the number 850 cadets graduated every year is thrown out. That is Mechwarrior and Aerospace Pilots only folks. Previously we knew the premier DCMS academy graduated over 400 Mechwarriors a year. So what does this tell us? The number of graduates seems to have decreased as time has gone on. Why would this be? Attrition to the Draconis elite Mechwarrior class from the Succession Wars, recruiting issues caused by the lack of transport and lowered educational standards??? The Galedon Military Academy, which is presumably still located on Matsuida, is given as the second best DCMS training facility.
Unfortunately we don't hear about other Military District Academies which would exist at this time at least in my opinion. Benjamin, Pesht, and Rasalhague are MIA which is a little disappointing to me. Also missing is the Aerospace and Interstellar Institute which would likely produce most of the DCA's personnel cause there is no mention of any such naval training facility. That and a short blurb on the larger pool of recruits that the DCA could presumably recruit as opposed to the elitist DCMS is a missed opportunity. The Kensai Kami is perhaps another oversight which could have been included especially as the DCMS hones its edge.
However there is more to DCMS academies that is included. The Sun Tzu School of Combat is mentioned along with its combined arms approach to training as well as infantry and armor instruction. Apparently the bias against such team work tactics and the small number of graduates (? perhaps who rise to positions of influence ?) limits this thinking in the DCMS. The University of Proserpina, the Pagoda for Luthien Officers, and the Wisdom of the Dragon are also mentioned along with their field of expertise.
The one new addition is the Dieron Warriors' Academy (DWA) located on Shimontia which produces several dozen apolitical Mechwarriors annually. I'll get more into this facility when we get to the Dieron Regulars but the back story is well done and I am a fan. Think we can definitely fit this into BTSD. ;)
Lastly Infrastructural Assessment goes over the Military Industry of the Draconis Combine in 2765. I really like the goal to be self sufficient as it speaks to the central planning mindset of the Kurita economy even during the Star League. This state run monolith nearly reaching its goal speaks volumes to me about the economic strength of Star League. Especially cause of the Combine's myopic focus on military products as opposed to civilian goods.
While the major manufacturers of the Draconis Combine are mentioned including Amalgamated Sword and Steel which builds the Wolverine and Warhammer as well as a third of the DCMS small arms and infantry support weapons. Unfortunately there is no mention of DeHeugo & Fresht likely because of its naval connections. We do get an aerospace bone thrown to us by Wakazashi Enterprises which makes a fighter known as the Star Dagger.
Loving the ISF as the tool of industrial espionage which I could certainly see during this era. Stealing and sabotaging all it can for the Dragon at this time in history. The lack of Hegemony investment in the Combine is also spot for many reasons. Xenophobia, secret arms build ups, perceived threats to League unity, and a hostile reception all minimize Terran involvement with the Combine even during the Golden Age of Mankind.
Would this near self sufficiency have given House Kurita a distinct advantage over the other House Lords in the opening days of the Succession Wars? Steiner, Marik, and Davion have got to be extremely interdependent on the Hegemony and each other so when Amaris kicks out the supports they may have the most to lose. Liao is just in bad shape period but Kurita might be in a real good place to survive the resulting collapse in decent condition. I really wonder about the economic motivations for the Succession War.
I would have preferred an aggressive strategy of seizing nearby border industries and/or plans to expand buffer/safe zones around Kurita border worlds. Despite the Field Report citing construction on several new planets in the interior I don’t think this is kosher. The Star League economy would have fostered external rather than internal industrial growth making it difficult for reverse industrialization as I am calling it. BTSD will be sticking with border world industries on the fringes of Kurita space like New Oslo and Proserpina rather than creating new interior worlds
Onto the Draconis units!
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These are still incredibly disappointing for me, as they seem to be more geared toward Succession Wars gaming than focusing on the time period. The Combine made no military inroads into the Outworlds Alliance? No word on their military ventures against the Lyrans with the Republic?
This seems more like a military history book written in 2990 than 2765.
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I do agree with you TigerShark that so far neither of these books has really managed to make me believe they were written in 2765. FR DC does a better job than the FR CC cause at least you get major points of conflict with the Hegemony which the Liao report forgot. As I already pointed out shipyards is a red flag to me because of the centralized nature of Draconis industry. The Luthien yards should have been the center of the DCA Navy instead you get no reference to them even though we know they existed. If Chatham and Schuyler were the main centers why weren't they attacked during the First Succession War like Luthien was? Also regarding the Luthien attack it was only after that incident that the DCMS kept 4 Mech regiments there for defense previous having only 2. Make sense to me cause Kurita is always on the attack not the defense however the deployment map clearly has 4 regiments on the capital world 20 years prior to the Lyran raid. As for the Periphery I would have liked to have seen some mention of arms sales to unknown parties and ronin trainers for what eventually becomes the Periphery BattleMech Divisions. That and the Dragon's own secret build up would have been the answer to me how they are so ably fueling their military economy at this time.
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Wouldn't it be amusing if Kurita is funding its expansion by secretly buying from Steiner and Marik and then reselling (for a profit) to the Periphery rebels.
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I do agree with you TigerShark that so far neither of these books has really managed to make me believe they were written in 2765. FR DC does a better job than the FR CC cause at least you get major points of conflict with the Hegemony which the Liao report forgot. As I already pointed out shipyards is a red flag to me because of the centralized nature of Draconis industry. The Luthien yards should have been the center of the DCA Navy instead you get no reference to them even though we know they existed. If Chatham and Schuyler were the main centers why weren't they attacked during the First Succession War like Luthien was? Also regarding the Luthien attack it was only after that incident that the DCMS kept 4 Mech regiments there for defense previous having only 2. Make sense to me cause Kurita is always on the attack not the defense however the deployment map clearly has 4 regiments on the capital world 20 years prior to the Lyran raid. As for the Periphery I would have liked to have seen some mention of arms sales to unknown parties and ronin trainers for what eventually becomes the Periphery BattleMech Divisions. That and the Dragon's own secret build up would have been the answer to me how they are so ably fueling their military economy at this time.
The Dracs mad no inroads towards the OA due to the fact that they had 3 larger potential enemies in the Feddies, Lyrans and Terrans. Also, they had two SLDF armis in their own borders and another SLDF army was stationed in the OA. Basically they had bigger fish to fry, why worry about the guppy at your peaceful back door. Then there is the Piranha Principle to worry about, as well. If you go after the small fish, the bigger fish may/will come after you.
PS: IIRC, the OA at this time number nearly 100 regiments of troops plus 15 Warships so they wouldn't have been that easy to crack. I believe I read this in the Major Periphery States book
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PS: IIRC, the OA at this time number nearly 100 regiments of troops plus 15 Warships so they wouldn't have been that easy to crack. I believe I read this in the Major Periphery States book
That is largely the secret army which none of the IS leaders knew about until the Uprisings of 2765- the legal (and public) OWA army was 5 battlemech regiments and 4 warships. And as for the DC getting involved in the OWA- Takiro is not talking about military operations, but rather covert efforts to subvert the nation, using social and economic means.
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Quite correct Irose, I was writing about involvement with the Periphery such as the Dracs being some of the biggest arms salesman and trainers of the Periphery BattleMech Divisions. It is a possible that the Star League didn't know or suspect this activity instead suspecting the Dragon of keeping everything for itself. Still the Rim Worlds Republic and the Outworlds Alliance border the Combine and I am hard pressed to find a mention of them in the Field Report.
Okay lets talk Sword of Light. The first unit covered in the Field Report gives us the canon answer to the long awaited resolution of the mess begun in Field Manual Draconis Combine. For those who aren't familiar with what I'm talking about the history of the Sword of Light regiments was originally began in the year 2475 when one of their units took on a Steiner Occupation Force at the Battle of Nox marking the first Mech vs. Mech conflict. This major event in BattleTech history was first documented in the House Sourcebooks but Field Manual Draconis Combine destroyed this precious tie to the past by stating Takiro Kurita first formed the Sword of Light during Kerensky's Regency (2751-2755). This screwed up the continuity of the BattleTech universe to say the least leading to speculation of what happened, in universe theories, and proposed solutions to this mess.
Field Report DCMS 2765 takes Takiro's formation of the Sword of Light regiments as a grand reformation of their numbers in the 2740s changing the way they were assembled and outfitted. Previously there were twelve regiments (which does feed off the old sidebar in HSSB) after Takiro there were five. Later in the write up it say Urizen II made it a tradition that Kurita heir's served in one of these units. Despite missing on the dates of the Regency and ignoring other older sources like the Galtor Campaign (I think??) which list higher number Sword units indicating more than 5 during the Succession War the solution sort of works. However it kind of bothers me especially when you look at Regimental Status.
In 2765 the 1st (Ivory), the 2nd (Steel), the 4th (Jade), the 5th (Gold), and the 7th (Teak) are listed as the active five. Yet during the 1st Succession War which is only 20 years later the 3rd Sword of Light is lead by Jinjiro Kurita himself leads the 3rd Sword of Light against the Davion held world of Cartago (June 2787). Almost 10 years later Coordinator Minoru Kurita leads the 6th Sword of Light against the Davion held of Kentares in the early summer of 2796. So its still a mess. I guess the 6th could have been a newly formed unit to replace a damaged/deactivated one but the 3rd? Your barely two years into the fighting. Its a clumsy attempt at best to me to seal the breach. Kinda disappointed.
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In 2765 the 1st (Ivory), the 2nd (Steel), the 4th (Jade), the 5th (Gold), and the 7th (Teak) are listed as the active five. Yet during the 1st Succession War which is only 20 years later the 3rd Sword of Light is lead by Jinjiro Kurita himself leads the 3rd Sword of Light against the Davion held world of Cartago (June 2787). Almost 10 years later Coordinator Minoru Kurita leads the 6th Sword of Light against the Davion held of Kentares in the early summer of 2796. So its still a mess. I guess the 6th could have been a newly formed unit to replace a damaged/deactivated one but the 3rd? Your barely two years into the fighting. Its a clumsy attempt at best to me to seal the breach. Kinda disappointed.
I didn't see this as an issue. In the FR it says their are indications that the DC is forming additional SoL units. Even with Takiro's reformation, I can see raising additional SoL regiments- they are the elite of the DCMS and if you can have more why not? The reformation could even be a cover for the creation of additional units.
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Yeah, each has an extra battalion and some have two more companies, which nearly three instant regiments if you need them.
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I re-read the entry again and you are right Irose as Blacknova says you have a few "Shadow Regiments" as we call them in BTSD. I'm still left wanting on the whole solution and the door is wide open to expansion once again. I had thought there would be a strict observance of the five pillar system but apparently not. What are the other regiments to be based on then??
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I think in 2765 the 5 pillers is a smoke screen for hiding additional regiments. In 3025 when mechs are scarcer, the 5 pillers is observed because the DCMS can't add a 6th (or more) SoL regiment since they lack the equipment needed to equip it.
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Maybe there will end up being 15 of them, brigaded into five pillars.
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Maybe there will end up being 15 of them, brigaded into five pillars.
I like that idea a lot
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Maybe there will end up being 15 of them, brigaded into five pillars.
That is a definite possibility Blacknova but we know it never got above 12 which is a problem.
Sword of Light
In Buddhist legend, the Myoos are wrathful deities who drag unwilling souls to their salvation. Each Myoo carries a flaming sword that represents the radiance of Buddha’s teachings. This odd sense of salvation through the actions of a wrathful deity appealed to the earliest members of the Kurita ruling family. It rationalized warring upon one’s neighbors to save them from themselves. As the elite of the DCMS, the Sword of Light were always compared to the flaming sword of the Myoos.
To be accepted into a Sword of Light regiment, a candidate must have spent at least five years in a lesser BattleMech regiment and have scored in the upper 5 percent of a rigorous battery of political, religious, and military tests. Those who manage to make their way into a Sword of Light regiment are the crème de la crème. If he lives to retire, no easy feat, a Sword of Light warrior can look forward to a life of comfort and glory. There have been twelve different Sword of Light regiments throughout the history of the DCMS. There are currently five.
- From “Unique Regiments in the Armies of the Successor Statesâ€, General Malvos Steinburg (LCAF retired)
What about the battalion structure, does that remain reinforced?
What is there strength in 2785? 8 regiments? Cause we know about the 3rd and 6th in time period already exist. The 8th is a common unit from 3025 and it could be fielded by the numbers we know now. What nicknames would we go with for these units? And would Otomo be included here or kept as a noble regiment till 3025??
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That is a definite possibility Blacknova but we know it never got above 12 which is a problem.
Maybe 15 was the target but they never achieved it due to the destruction of the SWs. Interestingly one of the units is the 15th SoL - TR3025 P. 138 TR3039 P. 220
What is there strength in 2785? 8 regiments? Cause we know about the 3rd and 6th in time period already exist. The 8th is a common unit from 3025 and it could be fielded by the numbers we know now. What nicknames would we go with for these units? And would Otomo be included here or kept as a noble regiment till 3025??
I would put the strength at 7-8 regiments in 2785 that sounds about right. I think the Otomo would be a separate unit. Not sure what to do about nicknames, maybe they have names like the Shadow Teak Dragon, Shadow Jade Dragon, etc
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Yeah BattleTech Wiki gives a pretty good look at known Sword units.
http://www.sarna.net/wiki/Sword_of_Light (http://www.sarna.net/wiki/Sword_of_Light)
I still find it hard to believe they reached that goal of brigade level Sword of Light units. Even though it may have been an excellent idea. So how many exist in 2785? We could always write it as a mystery or best guess.
I'll look through nicknames again. Perhaps a variation of Gold for one of the regiments (Silver for the Combine's heir?), or a variation of Steel (Iron or something denoting another service branch of the military?), etc for Teak, Jade, and Ivory??
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The thing is the higher unit numbers could easily have been raised to replace the fallen "dishonoured" units so they might only have 4 or 5 active at a time but have high numbers
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Maybe there will end up being 15 of them, brigaded into five pillars.
That is a definite possibility Blacknova but we know it never got above 12 which is a problem.
What about the battalion structure, does that remain reinforced?
What is there strength in 2785? 8 regiments? Cause we know about the 3rd and 6th in time period already exist. The 8th is a common unit from 3025 and it could be fielded by the numbers we know now. What nicknames would we go with for these units? And would Otomo be included here or kept as a noble regiment till 3025??
Perhaps they tried to go for the 15 Regiments but found out somewhere along the way that against the SLDF, more raw strength was needed and so a 4th Battalion was added.
Or the 4th Battalions could be an idea to quickly increase if needed the numbers of Sword of Light Regiments.
Or the idea could come from the absorption of the remains of another Regiment as a temporary solution but one that was found quite efficient to spearhead assaults and was therefore kept.
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I think we will go with a cover story in Threat Assessments that the Five Pillars organizational doctrine for the Sword of Light, which is played up by the DCMS as much as possible, is a suspected guise for several Shadow (Hidden) Regiments. These are obviously the Combine's most dangerous hidden units for their possible capabilities. The Terrans will document 3 regiments and may suspect more while the AFFS discounts this possibility citing the 5 as sacred to the DCMS. The LCAF may believe some number in the middle but you get the picture. ;)
And now on to the Arkab Legions whose entry is not all that earth shattering but nonetheless well done. We knew that the Legions were excellent raiders but what I liked was the family touch bought to this write up which was two fold. Many families serve together in the Legion and most are taught by their family bringing a strong sense of tradition to the unit. These close ties also bleed over to the organization which views each branch (Mech, Vehicle, Infantry, Aerospace) as part of the family (unit). I really liked this touch to the unit.
They kind of double down on the insular nature of the DCMS preferring to operate independently and with views like the DCMS as an ally you can see why. They acknowledge the Coordinator as the Supreme Allied Commander certainly but as you can imagine this doesn't go over well with many in the Combine. As a result their Procurement status is low with only their ability as warriors earning them supplies. The ISF's inability to infiltrate the tight knit Azami usually means they end up as part of the Regimental Liaison Team (RLT) which is a new reveal and makes sense. Despite some suspicion incidents between the two parties are few and all regiments are indicated as reliable.
For Threat Assessments we originally had the Legions as three regiments strong but the Field Report has them at five regiments in 2765. I really can't argue the numbers so I think BTSD will just bump it up to five with no additional units by 2785. Not sure if as the DCMS I'd really trust them with any Shadow (Hidden) Regiments. What do you think?
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No chance the DCMS high command or the ISF would trust the Arkab Legions as hidden regiments.
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Yeah they just would trust them Six to manage the extra equipment and personnel.
Next up are the Benjamin Regulars who are the first District force covered in the Field Report. Nothing much new to report here. Just a rehash of what we already knew. I will say I'm disappointed in that because there is plenty different here. The Algedi and Ashio Prefectures for example which gives the District 7 total Prefectures by far the most. This isn't even touched on and here again you get the feeling that this is a 3025 product being shoved in the 2700s with no explanation. Just except it and move on. Nothing to see here. In one Battlecorps story we had mention of an Algedi Regular unit and this book could have been a good spot for them. Take 3 Prefectures (Algedi, Ashio, and say Proserpina) and you could easily form a 5th Military District. That would match Rasalhague's 3 Prefecture District but not even a glossing over to why such an arrangement ever happened. Plus with 19 regiments and three realms to face off against the Benjamin Regulars seem weak compared to their flanking Districts which have 7 and 10 more regiments to play with. So what was written in the report about the Benjamin Regulars is fine but uninspired and lacking. Maybe I'm being to rough. What do you think??
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Just to throw in a note, the Tenth, Eleventh, and Twelfth Sword of Light regiments fought in the War of Davion Succession, fighting alongside the Fourth. Were these regiments disbanded because of their performance in the war? It's possible, they fought very well against the AFFS but eventually surrendered when the SLDF launched Operation Smother. Only the Fourth fought back, and it was nearly destroyed in the process. Then again, other Combine regiments surrendered during the campaign and are present and accounted for in the Field Report. Maybe the DCMS was just waiting for the right time to reactivate the other Sword of Light units, reequipped and hungry for revenge on the Davions?
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Interesting FirstStarLord, can you site the source for this information?
From the disappointing Benjamin Regulars I go to the biggest surprise of the Field Report and may I say it is a pleasant one. I found the story of the Dieron Regulars to be outstanding. Reaching back into ancient BattleTech history for a planet that was at first seduced by Shiro Kurita only to learn they were being played by this would be Warlord. Dieron left the Alliance of Galedon for the expanding Terran Hegemony but before it did several volunteers and loyalists had already joined the Dragon and vowed to never leave. Top marks here gang. Love the back story which drew upon old canon texts and the drive to one return Dieron to the fold is an outstanding goal. My only nitpick is calling them Regulars isn’t quite right to me, I would have preferred something Alshain Avenger style. Warriors or Legion perhaps may have better described these exiles. Regulars makes me think of a District Force which clearly they are not. If TPTB wanted to go that route they should have kept the Dieron District as a rump state for the Combine and go from there. However this idea I will be pleased to add to the BTSD universe as it really fits on so many levels.
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I think the Benjamin Regulars are small compared to the others as the Dieron Regulars would probably be deployed within the Benjamin District to threaten the Hegemony.
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You could also site the Proserpina Hussars and the Arkab Legion as well as their homeworlds are within the rump Dieron Prefectures.
Also the Galedon Regulars who are next up are really featured as the main body of the DCMS and to some extent this is true as the Draconis Combine grew out of the Alliance of Galedon. With nearly 30 BattleMech regiments it is the Galedonians who come in just behind the Sword of Light regiments as the DCMS elite. Well at least in thought as their Mechwarrior elite tend to look down on conventional forces as standard Drac cannon fodder policy at this time. Again there is no big surprise here in this write up as it follows known information. I guess the size and importance of the Galedon Regulars somewhat alarmed me to begin with but it does make a certain amount of sense.
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Interesting FirstStarLord, can you site the source for this information?
Era Report: 2750 pg. 29-32.
It gives a summary of the war and all the Combine and FedSun regiments involved.
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FSL, I think you may have misread the entry.
It talks about the 4th SOL Brigade going to Breed and then talks about what the 3 regiments of the brigade, the 10th, 11 and 12th SOL did there and where they went after.
This is where I got the idea that the SOL was/will be comprised of 15 regiments in 3 regiment brigades.
However, the quote in ER 2750 seems to have this organization completed too early, of the DCMS had hidden units in hand for the SOL already.
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Ah yes, I recall that entry in Era Report 2750. If you notice Field Report 2750 makes several dozen uses of the word brigade referring to a BattleMech regiment and its supporting units. I think TPTB went out of their way to squash a BattleMech Brigade (3 'Mech regiments operating together as a unit) by referring to typical supporting elements listed for each Mech Regiment. The Brigades found in Field Report DCMS 2765 resemble Davion RCTs and don't include two or more Mech regiments.
I don't think FSL misread the entry Blacknova but it never goes above the 12th Sword of Light which we know to exist. Field Report 2765 implies that Takiro reformed the organization during Kerensky's Regency which is two decades after the War of Davion Succession. It also brings to mind, where were the cuts in the DCMS?? I wonder what units were trimmed (supposedly) by the Edict of 2650. The in universe author never bothers to tell you this unit was this size and expanded etc.
I'll have to look back at the Era Report again and the fact that such a Brigade style unit previously existed could point to it as a possible goal for the DCMS. One that was never reached.
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For the answer about what the writers intended on SoL organization, I direct you to the following threads:
http://bg.battletech.com/forums/index.php/topic,19103.0.html (http://bg.battletech.com/forums/index.php/topic,19103.0.html)
http://bg.battletech.com/forums/index.php/topic,35899.0.html (http://bg.battletech.com/forums/index.php/topic,35899.0.html)
Combine that information with the line from the FR saying that the SoL was a collection of a dozen mech and armor regiments until the reorganization of the 2740's and the answer becomes much clearer. The ideal number of Sword regiments was twelve, and that could be attained by having some of them organized as tank units during times it was legally impossible to organize all of them as mech units (i.e. the implementation of the Edict of 2650). Only five of those regiments represent the pillars of Combine Society, the others must have titles related to other concepts.
We don't know the full composition of the DCMS of the 2720's, but we know that the Fourth, Tenth, Eleventh, and Twelfth Sword of Light were all mech regiments at that time. By 2765 only the Fourth is still on the active list and the others disbanded, if only temporarily, while the Combine continued to secretly expand it's military.
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Thanks FirstStarLord, very helpful info. I'll have to think about the Sword of Light carefully.
Onto the Pesht Regulars who go from the Gray (older veterans) Warriors to the Show Warriors in 2765 which is spot on. Like their parade regiment duties and crowd control methods. Despite being somewhat Lyran in their personnel selection I wouldn't call them inept but rear echelon troops which is very Pesht. They are obviously loyal to the Coordinator and likely share the Mechwarrior bias of the DCMS at this time who use conventional forces as cannon fodder. Our assumptions that the Regulars would not exceed 10 regiments was proven correct as the 10th was the highest numbered unit that existed in previous canon texts. There is little surprising in the write up not that I expecting much here but it is a solid job on this unit.
Next up are the Proserpina Hussars ;)
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Dieron left the Alliance of Galedon for the expanding Terran Hegemony ....
A slight nit, Dieron was so close to Terra that it would have remained in the Alliance after the Outer Reaches revolt and the Terran abandonment of all worlds more than a jump from Terra.
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Correct CJvR, Dieron is within the 30, ahem, 22 light year single jump radius of Terra and therefore was not really given up by the Alliance. Owing to canon statements that Dieron and Altair were free however there is an unwritten story of independence in BattleTech history. If you look on maps of the time Dieron is free. I'd love to hear what happened to Dieron but since the whole story is contradictory already I think the current PTB will leave it alone.
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Correct CJvR, Dieron is within the 30, ahem, 22 light year single jump radius of Terra and therefore was not really given up by the Alliance. Owing to canon statements that Dieron and Altair were free however there is an unwritten story of independence in BattleTech history. If you look on maps of the time Dieron is free. I'd love to hear what happened to Dieron but since the whole story is contradictory already I think the current PTB will leave it alone.
Well it isn't hard to imagine that the isolationist regime in the Alliance at the time wouldn't insist to violently to a system determined to go it alone, particularly not if it broke away before the fallout from the ORR had settled into a new status quo.
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Another potential division of DCMS troops to keep in mind for future expansions are the 'Draconis Regiments' of which only one reference has ever been made. In the old 3025 Mercenary Handbook, the 20th Draconis Regiment stationed on New Wessex under Sho-sho Jinjo Yamashiga got savaged by the Black Widow Company in February of 3021. 18 out of 27 lances suffered some form of damage and Yamashiga committed suicide in the aftermath of his defeat. The regiment might have been disbanded in the aftermath.
You can always keep this organization as a "free-floating" force developed in the decades between the Star League Civil War and the start of the 1st Succession War.
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Interesting FirstStarLord, I don’t believe I was ever made aware of the ‘Draconis Regiments’ before your posts. The generic nature of their name and their sole appearance in the 3rd Succession War could make them a conscript force of sorts. I’m thinking that as the cataclysmic Succession War drag on the Dragon may assemble whole regiments of local Mechwarrior on a need basis. Assembling retired veterans, noble guards, corporate security, and planetary militia into national regiments sort of like the American National Guard could give birth to these units. Thanks for the info and I’d love to hear what you think.
Now back to reviewing FR DCMS 2765 starting with the Proserpina Hussars. While their entry gives a good accounting of this effective mobile force there really isn’t anything new here. Two older corvettes attached directly to this rapid reaction formation almost gave me flashbacks to Calbeck’s Eridani Light Horse “profileâ€. Also “ability trumping loyalty†snapped me into the Clan philosophy especially with Proserpina commanders having the right to test any personnel sent to them by the DCMS. Don’t get me wrong I liked the write up but found it to be a rehash of many different threads. The part I liked best about the Hussars was their nomadic lifestyle which moves so quickly supplies and personnel have difficulty catching up. That was the most unique piece of info gleaned. That and the fact Procurement oversupplies them which leads me to wonder if they could disguise Shadow Regiments either within the Hussars or around the Combine.
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Certainly the Combine (and the Houses in general) formed a lot of new brigades during the course of the Succession Wars. The Draconis Regiments could have just as easily been formed in 2950 as they could have in 2780. I like the idea of them being formed out of shattered units and irregular forces, Jinjiro Kurita seemed to be a big fan of such tactics, but their description in the Mercenary Handbook gave them the appearance of front-line forces. They were on New Wessex to prepare for a deep raid into Lyran territory, and the Widows were deployed in part to gain counter-intelligence and sabotage those efforts. That Yamashiga was so incompetent that he allowed his regiment to be picked in detail by Kerensky and her men was more or less a reflection on him. The 20th seemed like a decent DCMS command otherwise, but that's conjecture on my part.
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For the Rasalhague Regulars all things seem colored by disloyalty. This should be expected given the region’s history with the Dragon but I would have liked to have seen something else. Two pages of don’t trust was too much for me. How about some background information on Rasalhague like the Sorensons’ backing of the renewed Kurita dynasty. There is a mention of a Warlord Sorenson but nothing else about the Prince of Rasalhague or their special status. It is interesting that the SLDF was asked by the Coordinator to crack down on “anti-League terrorists†and that Sword of Light units along with Pesht Regulars get the call to suppress any rebellions.
My problem with the Regulars as presented by FR DCMS 2765 is the size and scope of the force. The second largest division, why? Twenty six regiments is a massive force but they garrison the smallest Military District in the Draconis Combine. They aren’t called to suppress rebellions and can’t be trusted with much but we outfitted them with more than two dozen Mech regiments. I can’t really figure that out. The write up for Rasalhague just left me wanting more info and less force.
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My problem with the Regulars as presented by FR DCMS 2765 is the size and scope of the force. The second largest division, why? Twenty six regiments is a massive force but they garrison the smallest Military District in the Draconis Combine. They aren’t called to suppress rebellions and can’t be trusted with much but we outfitted them with more than two dozen Mech regiments. I can’t really figure that out. The write up for Rasalhague just left me wanting more info and less force.
And if they are so big and eager to get free, why don't they rebel?
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And if they are so big and eager to get free, why don't they rebel?
Well there is the ISF, personnel assigned from other regions, Procurement dangling carrots for those who behave, frequent base world rotation, and frequent personnel reassignment especially among support units. Other than that your guess is as good as mine Ice. ;)
For our final DCMS unit lets talk Sun Zhang Cadre which while somewhat repetitive is a solid entry at least in my opinion. The harsh training and discipline has fostered some of the finest Mechwarriors ever known. It should be no surprise that Mechwarrior elitism is in vogue here as you don't want to be a lowly support unit for these guys. Think typical infantry cannon fodder horror stories you've heard and ya got the picture. I liked the typical assignments that were described in the write up and what exactly each cadet is expected to learn while part of the Cadre. Quite extensive and may I say they are ready to command when they reach their first true DCMS assignment.
I could see the Cadres as excellent auxiliaries for a Sword of Light unit during the Succession Wars participating in planetary conquests together with SoL drawing necessary replacements as needed. An angle I'm thinking of for BTSD's Threat Assessments is one of Generational Shift. The Field Report says of all DCMS units the Cadres are the most hostile towards the SLDF. The reasons they give make sense but I wonder if this hatred has been taken to a new level by cadets who will come of age in the Jinjiro era who have seen the League degrade. Just as in 2600 as there could have been an uptick in cooperation (yeah nothing overly friendly but a mutual respect) with the Cadres and the SLDF. This cycle towards the start of the Succession War would see some of the worst hate for the SLDF expressed ever.
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First off I like the fact that the Draconis Combine Admiralty (DCA) was given special attention in this Field Report. Regardless of the decision to limit warship numbers for this era which I strongly disagree with it was good to see a Navy featured so prominently.
Again while I do buy the fact that the Combine doesn't have as much industrial infrastructure as other powers of the time (I'd rank the Hegemony, the Commonwealth, the League, and the Suns ahead of them) I can not accept their "small fleet" in regards to numbers. Given the advantages of their neighbors concentrating on a smaller (size wise) and faster fleet does make sense. Steiner likes to build it big and likely slow, Davion has four classes (three of which we already have the designs for) indicating a solid naval organization, and the Hegemony is far and away the bast. In the face of these naval powers the DCA should concentrate on overwhelming their larger opponents with swarms of mobile warships and fighters. I'm proud to say that BTSD agrees with these canon conclusions in this regard. Spot on.
Far from the Mechwarrior Elitists of the DCMS, the Admiralty recruits from a deep pool of candidates than the high born ground force. This is certainly something I'm going to highlight for BTSD and could have several profound effects on the DCA perhaps making it a more highly skilled organization than the DCMS. Although I'd doubt the DCMS would ever admit that. Talent more than anything seems to govern the DCA which this fosters pride and a skill level that could exceed any other Navy in the InnerSphere. The caveat is of course that no matter how high the DCA rises it is always at the mercy of the DCMS which could limit its effectiveness. Such thoughts will be on my mind as I write Threat Assessments.
Next up I'll comment on the naval designs included in the Field Report and wrap up my thoughts on it all.
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The Narukami class Destroyer represents the second example of confusing House built warships presented in the Field Report series. It is another example of the Houses get it right the first time but could never again construct a successful warship class for the next 4 centuries! True the Samarkand class gives the DCA an exception to the rule that the Capellans didn't have. Forcing this rationale seems silly to me but hey....
I really liked the design itself and the high maintenance issues it had. Makes me wonder in light of the failure of the Tatsukami class in the Clan era why the DCA didn't commission a Block III of the Narukami. This fast hard hitting tin can is a nice fit for any Navy despite any use issues. More of a hard charger than a broad side fighter this attack vessel could be a real hit and run asset.
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The Narukami class Destroyer represents the second example of confusing House built warships presented in the Field Report series. It is another example of the Houses get it right the first time but could never again construct a successful warship class for the next 4 centuries!
This isn't necessarily true. From the DCA write up:
As a result, there are only two Combine designed-and-built WarShip classes currently in service.
This can be read that there are/were other DC designed ships, but none are in service in 2750. Maybe they were scrapped or mothballed in favor of "superior" (i.e. easier to maintain) TH/SLDF ships.
And to comment on an earlier post - I wonder if the DCA has a disproportionate number of women. Maybe women face less discrimination and just more on their merits then there sex, unlike in the DCMS. Just something to think about.
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Yeah you can read into that Irose that there were other ships but how did the first Combine warship ever not get replaced? No other Destroyer classes were made to take its place? And the age of some of the Terrans cast offs like the Cruiser is too much for me looking objectively at canon information.
While I'm on the topic let's talk Cruiser class Cruiser. The comedic relief of warships In appearance is not a bad combat vessel. Outdated certainly as getting parts for the Drop Shuttle bay has gotta be hard after 440 years. Strap on some nukes to them capital missile launchers and your ready to wreck it.
However during the Star League and with Kurita this slow destroyer sized Cruiser doesn't really fit in service. In mothballs I could see but other Kurita vessels had to be able to outperform the beer can battleship. I gotta start a new topic analyzing warship development but I find it hard to believe that the Cruiser Cruiser could outperform a second generation house warship from the mid 2400s.
And yes Irose the DCA is full of lesser warrior candidates unlike the sexist DCMS. ;)
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Keep in mind the DCA mothballed ALL of the Narukami's during the 2600s. The Narukami entry talks about mothballing the class, which leads to the implication that the 6 in service in 2765 were returned to service between 2750 and 2765. Now why did the DC decide to return the Narukami to service if they had better, newer destroyers in Mothballs? Maybe the Narukami had a better reputation (not that they were necessarily better, just a better rep- much like on December 6th, 1941 most US Navy officers would have preferred a Battleship to an Aircraft Carrier). Maybe the follow on to the Narukami was worse then the Narukami- it's not like this hasn't happened in real life. I don't disagree with you about the lack of native ships in the house fleets (especially seeing as how the LC and FS have at least 3-4 home built warships to the DC's and CC's 2 ships) but I think you are being a little bit harsh to the writers in this case- given what they had to work with I think they did a decent job.
As for the Cruiser Cruiser- you hit on the biggest problem with the design it's not a Cruiser it as Destroyer. The weight is too low for a cruiser- even an early cruiser given that the Dart Light Cruiser from 2305 was 680K tons. If the Dart was a Light Cruiser then the Cruiser is what an Ultralight Cruiser? I hate trying to invoke logic into Battletech but it would be nice to to see a design that fit in with it's contemporaries.
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Granted Irose and very plausible real life examples. The Narukami could have built a solid reputation for stunning rapid assaults and become legends in the DCA which is pretty cool idea. We could certainly use this angle in BTSD but if you really look at all the information there should be more. New canon pushing smaller warship numbers bothers me and it doesn't make sense. The DCA has two native designs in this 2765 Field Report and thanks to the Samarkand breaks the Capellan example of one native design. The Dragon being such an aggressor would not receive the greatest Terran cast offs and even with their industry which yes is better than the Capellans but no one else should be able to build more than just two ships! I am gathering info on known canon warship classes and I will post it soon but by 2765 the DCA should be constructing fourth or fifth generation warships.
We know the Lyrans (with the best industry outside Terra) have at least three native warship designs. Two, the Tharkad and the Mako, are fresh out of the shipyards (Third Generation - Star League era warships) while the third (Commonwealth) will most likely be detailed in their Field Report. Then the Federated Suns (who I'd place ahead off the Combine but behind the FWL in terms of industry) has at least four native warship designs. Three; the New Syrtis, the Robinson, and the Davion, are already detailed and a fourth (the Defender) will like get cover in FR AFFS 2765. Plus you can make a strong case for native built Congress class Frigates (lower tech then SLDF vessels) which gives them a high tech advanced fleet compared to their poor neighbors. Which leaves the poor Free Worlds League Navy who many thought would be the premier House fleet and a relatively powerful economy/ industry. However we only have two known examples of Marik warship designs and I'll bet you they will be the only ones we see in existence in 2765. The Atreus we know and the League is there pathfinder Dreadnought Warship which will likely be featured in their Field Report. You see I think they are cramming it all in. Known designs will be there in 2765 supplemented by Terran favorites. I'd prefer it if they just left House fleet composition a mystery rather than detailing them with named hodgepodge.
So I was disappointed by Field Report DCMS but the way the DCA was briefed was much better than the Capellan Navy. Leave it a mystery and outline things with broad strokes. Details that don't make sense don't interest me. So while I don't like tiny House fleets it was a better job done here with the Admiralty. The start of the document was well done and set the proper mood and I loved the Dieron Regulars! Great job taking an old canon question mark and turning into a bright spot which fit the history of the Draconis Combine, I can't say enough about it. TPTB took advantage of this unknown and gave us a little more detail. They could have gone further but I give them credit here. I also liked the Sun Zhang Cadres, the Arkab Legions, the Pesht Regulars, and yes even the Galedon Regulars. There was some repeating of known info or themes but I think they built on it with these units. I was disappointed slightly with the Swords of Light and Proserpina Hussars whose entries left me wanting more. I'll save my biggest critique for the Rasalhague Regulars and the Benjamin Regulars. Benjamin was the other side of Dieron and here the writers played it safe. Nothing interesting and information that didn't make sense.
The map included might best show the 3025 view from which this 2765 work suffers from. Look at the worlds per military district and the Prefecture/District borders which remain almost wholly unchanged. It is here that the illusion of this document being from 2765 falls through. Benjamin is just plain too big with 7 Prefectures and approximately 123 inhabited worlds. Whatever happened to the importance of five?! If you split off the two one day Dieron Prefectures you get a 30 world rump district and a more 2765 Benjamin with 93 worlds and 5 prefectures. The Rasalhague District has only 64 worlds in the Field Report map but 26 Mech regiments?! That is nearly a Mech regiment for every other world in Rasalhague. Only Pesht has 5 Prefectures for its 111 worlds and Galedon misses only one Prefecture with 102 worlds. And lets not forget the four BattleMech regiments defending Luthien. Before the infamous Lyran raid early in the 1st Succession War (20 years in the future from 2765) the DCMS kept two regiments on planet as a sizable garrison which were likely augmented by the unlisted Otomo. Just didn't give me the 2765 feel.
But it wasn't all bad and I'm sorry if I made it sound that way. I can be a little rough. Looking ahead I want to see the Athena class Cruiser which presumably replaced or served along side the Aegis class Heavy Cruiser which was mentioned in the Cruiser-Cruiser fluff. And in the end FR DCMS 2765 and its CCAF predecessor were thought provoking. I Known I got a lot of new ideas for my Threat Assessment series. ;)
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This just got posted over on CBT as Errata for FRDC2765:
Many of these vessels are older Terran Hegemony designs, and includes five older Aegis-class and two two Cruiser-class heavy cruisers, five Baron-class, five Essex I-class and five Lola I-class destroyers, and four Vincent Mk39-class corvettes
Overall not too bad. I would have had 6 Aegis so that each fleet had a Cruiser but this works for me. Of course the question is where did the DC get its 2 Bonaventures that are listed in the Hesperus Scenario- were they captured from another state or are they still in Mothballs as of 2765? I'd lean towards them being in Mothballs, but anything is possible.
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So 26 Hegemony Castoffs currently in operation. Doesn't sound horrible to me either. Just not enough Draconis designs but hey. Yeah the Bonaventures are likely in mothballs which along with the Narukami write up does leave a lot of territory for quick expansion. There is also the very real eventuality that has the DCA operating a Secret Fleet.
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I just noticed something in TR3057R- the Bonaventure entry talks about the THS Cochran during a Combine raid on Imbros III. The entry states that a Combine destroyer squadron arrived in system and fought the TH forces. The Cochran lead the Combine forces through the systems asteroid belt ambushing the Combine squadron several time (and here's the important part) "using superior speed to escape". The Bonaventure is only capable of 4/6 thrust- the Narukami (the only Combine destroyer we know of so far) is capable of 5/8 thrust. So clearly the Combine must have had a destroyer that could only achieve 3/5 thrust. (well either that or the text in the Bonaventure entry has been effectively retconned.)
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After we comply the Liao fleet Irose, I was going to move to the DCA which given the Narukami is going to need a lot of work. More than Liao and given the fact that the Narukami's massive engines were a huge maintenance concern I could see the Combine over compensating with a smaller but adequate Destroyer Drive System that was far easier too maintain. This would also build upon the Narukami's performance legends which have that ship outpacing even its predecessor. We had a few Kurita Destroyer designs in BTSD TRO 2800 to choose from including the Kumo (or Cloud which went 4/6 and was introduced in 2540) and the Nami (or Wave based on Lola I goes 4/6 and was out in 2577) which could fit but they could be destroyers 3 and 4 in the DCA history. The Kaze (or Wind which went 5/8) was introduced in 2619 during the Star League and is far too late IMO. When do you think the raid on Imbros would have occurred, some time during the Age of War?? The is no mention of the raid in the SLSB or HKSB.
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The Bonaventure entry talks about the raid happening at the beginning of the age of war. The Bonaventures began to be retire in 2432 so I would put the raid some where between 2398 and 2420, probably closer to 2400 then 2420.
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I suppose we could make it nearer 2400 which would make a new Kurita destroyer possible after 20 years of Narukami service. Perhaps this was its first action. A test if you will.
Historically the Battle of Lyons occurred in 2408 with other smaller Kurita raids (accidental or unintentional attacks) occurring earlier.