thefusilier
Quote:
Originally Posted by chico20854
-Universities- we seem to see eye to eye on their desirability. ROTC students were gone by the end of the Spring 1997 semester - the seniors as officers, the rest of the students as NCOs or privates, the instructors to the battlefields of the world. Many lost a portion of their student bodies during the TDM (most students were home and were unable to return). Refugees were moved into the dorms of many of them. Even community colleges have libraries and labs full of priceless equipment and the educated personnel to make them work, while the many arts & humanities teachers can continue the existence of civilization by preserving higher learning and teaching the next generation. We will probably feature "university rescue or recovery" type missions in the recovery plan, where governments send a team (perfect for a group of PCs) to essentially raid a university campus and salvage library materials, lab supplies and bring back to a cantonment faculty and staff of a university in an unsecured area.
Reminds me of The Day After. The only 'hospital' was the campus one... they also rigged up a ham radio for trying to contact other towns, as well as measuring radiation from the fallout.
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The Fusilier
thefusilier
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DeaconR
Chico--I'm dubious about your general draft idea. The only reason for my wariness is that it reminds me of my doubts about the draining of even the training cadres for bases like Camp Lejeune or Valcartier for instance. If they were shipping troops out AFTER the TDM then surely there were still plans to train for replacements et al?
Another question--do you have some idea according to your canon modifications as to what relocation plans were successful?
DeaconR
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chico20854
Quote:
Originally Posted by DeaconR
Chico--I'm dubious about your general draft idea. The only reason for my wariness is that it reminds me of my doubts about the draining of even the training cadres for bases like Camp Lejeune or Valcartier for instance. If they were shipping troops out AFTER the TDM then surely there were still plans to train for replacements et al?
Another question--do you have some idea according to your canon modifications as to what relocation plans were successful?
Flamingo is working on the general draft issue. We are working off of US Army doctrine for full mobilization, contained in FM 25-5 (located here):
"The United States Military Academy (USMA) and military colleges and institutions will graduate the senior class as soon as possible and then reduce their programs to three years. At nonmilitary colleges and institutions, Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) programs will be suspended when full mobilization is called and mobilization tasks are completed. ROTC cadets who have completed the ROTC advanced camp will be commissioned immediately upon receipt of instructions from HQDA and will attend the appropriate officer basic course (OBC). However, ROTC cadets who are under contract and have completed basic camp or MS II training will be ordered to active duty as enlisted reservists to attend an officer candidate school (OCS). All other contract students will be ordered to active duty immediately as enlisted reservists to attend BT. If they complete BT and demonstrate officer potential, they may be offered the OCS option.
Upon full or total mobilization, State Army National Guard military academies will accelerate completion of the OCS classes in session. The assigned cadre will be reassigned to TRADOC and earmarked as OCS faculty. OCS graduates will attend an appropriate OBC.
Infantry, armor, field artillery, and engineers will establish branch-specific OCS programs. Others may be added as required. However, branch-immaterial OCS programs will be established at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Fort Bliss, Fort Gordon, Camp Robinson, and Fort McClellan with an input of 200 per week beginning at M+5 weeks. These programs will supply second lieutenants to OBC programs being conducted at other branch schools.
Qualified individuals with or without prior military service will be procured by HQDA as temporary commissioned officers in the Army of the United States (AUS). They will report for immediate active duty to meet mobilization requirements for those personnel who cannot be provided from the Reserve Components."
There are training cadres intact (we are projecting the training divisions continue some training even after conversion to infantry divisions, in addition to the rest of the training base). It's just that there are quicker ways to get Second Lieutenants than ROTC (and West Point and other military-academy type schools are churning ones out on a 3-year program). Other intact training centers are at the regular basic training sites - Sill, Dix, Benning, Leonard Wood, Jackson, etc.
We haven't got around to making any sort of comprehensive evacuation plan or analysis yet. We're still getting started identifying possible sites. I wonder how some of them would fare over a longer term, with limited food supplies and possibly limited arable land or hostile neighbors.
chico20854
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DeaconR
Thanks chico that clears things up a great deal.
DeaconR
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Webstral
If FEMA is identifying places with available rooms, it seems like northern New England is a natural for relocation—provided simply being away from the major cities is the primary criterion. Vermont and New Hampshire both have lots of ski areas that would be identified. It’s funny the subject of refugee movement should come up. I’ve been working on something for the past couple of nights I will put up soon.
On the matter of a general draft, do we believe the US goes to a general draft in 1996? I suspect most or all of us would do so were we President. However, that doesn’t mean the President thinks the way we do. He has a lot of competing realities. For instance, does he present a draft bill in October 1996, when the Bundeswehr crosses the border into the DDR? I think most of us can agree that Congress wouldn’t back such a move, although you never know. Let’s imagine that the President decides against a general draft at that time because the US is supposed to be staying out of the fight.
Does the President present a general draft bill in December 1996? There is a good deal more urgency, to be sure. However, the attack into the DDR is not supposed to be a part of general war. The US is acting to seal the West German victory. The Soviets are supposed to see reason (they are doing poorly in the Far East) and accept the situation in Central Europe. Can the President persuade Congress that a draft is necessary in December 1996?
The opening of North Korea’s offensive in late December 1996 might be the impetus a draft needs. I have envisioned an Iraqi offensive into Kuwait in January 1997. The Pact launches an offensive into southern Germany in February, aiming to inflict major casualties on I & II Ne Corps, which have taken over for V & VII US Corps in southern West Germany. At any point along this road, Congress might be convinced of a draft. Then again, they might not be. A good deal depends on what the polls are saying the American public wants and/or will tolerate.
NATO opens its offensive across Poland in April. This attack is meant to drive across Poland and Belarus to the Dvina-Dnepr line, thereby knocking the USSR out of the war without actually destroying the Soviet state. (At least, the Western powers believe that the Soviets should be able to survive. Sauronski knows that his regime will not survive. This is all that matters.) I believe the White House and the Pentagon want to launch the offensive in early 1997 because they know it will be a year before a draft will yield large numbers of fresh divisions. In a year, both sides will have more men and more equipment in the field. Defeating the Pact will be that much more expensive. With the North Korean invasion crushed and driven back across the 38th Parallel and USAEUR as strong as it is likely to get for the near future, the American leadership wants to be bold and get this thing over with as soon as possible.
As a result, the draft passes when Congress gives its approval for the invasion of the Warsaw Pact. However, these things take time to set up. OIF has demonstrated that even the Army Reserve divisions have their limits of throughput—especially at the beginning of a mobilization. We won’t see a real increase in the flow of trained replacements until at least ninety days after the first draftees start basic training. This brings us to July—right at the start of the nuclear exchanges. Four more months brings us to November. We can hardly expect TRADOC to bring any appreciable percentage of the available manpower into the service in that time, much less train them and provide them as reinforcements. A lot of young men may have received draft cards by November, but very few of them will have been expected to show up. Two hundred thousand is a lot of people to train in seven months, but it’s a fraction of the US college population; there should still be a lot left on campus as of November 1997.
Except, of course, that they are all at home for Thanksgiving. I’m feeling a bit dim that I’ve never thought of such a basic fact. I don’t know how many to expect back at school. On the order of none? This is a problem I’m going to have to mull over.
Webstral
Webstral
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DeaconR
I have to admit that I quite forgot that Thanksgiving is a more important holiday in the US than in Canada. That is something I'll have to consider as well.
DeaconR
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FightingFlamingo
Web,
regarding the draft. The President does not require congressional approval to reinstitute the draft. It was halted by executive order during the Nixon Administration preemtively, to prevent the Congress from repealing the Selective Service Act. The Selective Service Act (1940), and the Militia Act (1791), give the President the power to draft members of the resident population (to include non citizens, legal residents or otherwise) it to the armed forces of the United States as needed to fill personel requirements at his discretion.
With the War in China, especially as you have described it, I think it would be difficult myself would find it difficult not to reactivate the draft at some point in late '95 or early '96.
After the Soviets invade China, the Bear has shown his teeth, and defense spending for their own defense (no counting military aid to the PRC) would go up immediately. The Sino-Soviet War just shows the West that the Soviets really mean what they have said for a generation, "We Will Bury YOU". And they're starting with the Revanchist Chinese.
Any President of the United States that didn't do so, election year or not, would be critized in the media, and repeatedly compaired to Chamberlin, and any attempts at accomadation would be called "Munich"...
I think the most plausible behavior for the US, which is much more engaged internationally than it was in the late 1930's, is a repeat 1940 call up of the National Guard for 12 months, and a similar form of consription as occurred then...
This explains how 116 ACR is in Germany prior to the Start of the Second Russo-German War (or is it the third)(prior to escalation into a general conflict).
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Cold Blue Steel - the spirit of the bayonet
FightingFlamingo
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Webstral
The State of Vermont
Pre-war Vermont was a surprisingly well-developed state, given its geographical size, location, and population. Most tended to think of Vermont as a state bed-and-breakfast hotels and maple sugar farms. While these ideas were not wrong, they did not represent pre-war Vermont as a whole. Dairy farming was widespread, as was the production of hay, corn, and oats to feed the cattle. Industry was also widespread in the small cities of Vermont, such as Burlington and Rutland. Electronics led the state’s manufacturing receipts, followed by finished metal goods and wood products.
As with all states, the war in Europe saw the call-up of Vermont’s National Guard and Reserve units. These units were subsequently deployed—never to be seen again, for the most part. Left behind was a core of VTNG personnel and the Vermont State Guard. The VSG originally came into existence in the early days of World War II—when National Guard units were being called into extended federal service. Governors were left without effective military forces. State guards were brought into being. The state guards were essentially National Guard units without a federal mission. Disbanded in the 1950’s, the VSG was brought back into being in the early 1980’s in preparation for possible extended National Guard deployments in the future.
The outbreak of the Sino-Soviet War caused massive alarm among Americans. Many were convinced that a nuclear holocaust was around the corner. Among the many reactions in state houses across the nation was the resurrection of defunct state guards and the rejuvenation of existing ones. The level of volunteerism varied from place to place. Vermont experienced an unusually strong level of support for its state guard.
The various scares leading up to the Massacre gave Vermont some idea of what to expect in the event of a real US-Soviet exchange. Tens of thousands poured out of the metropolitan areas of southern New England. Of those fleeing to Vermont, most were from Springfield (MA), Hartford, New Haven, Worcester (MA), and Boston. There even were some refugees from New York. During the Alarm (July 1997), Vermont was nearly overwhelmed by refugees from further south. The details of events like these have been recited ad nauseum elsewhere and need not be repeated here. Suffice to say that the level of mayhem, suffering, and destruction caused by this human tide flowing into Vermont made the Vermonters determined that such a thing would not happen again. They were prepared to be generous to a fault to their fellow Americans. They were not prepared to be devoured by a tide of human piranhas. As soon as the panic of the Alarm died down and the crowds went home, Vermont prepared for the next time.
The most significant developments were the expansion of the VSG and quite thorough preparations for managing a refugee tide of a million. It became a point of pride among Vermont college students who had refused to join the military to enlist in the VSG to protect the state from the next wave. Civil defense was the vogue during that last fateful semester at the main UVM campus in Burlington. Elsewhere in the state, volunteerism was high. Everyone seemed to recognize that Vermont could only survive if the people fleeing New York, Connecticut, and Massachusetts cities could be managed when and if the bombs dropped on American soil.
FEMA, at the height of its powers between July and November 1997, lent a helping hand to Vermont in the form of tents, generators, and emergency supplies of every description. FEMA had taken a keen interest in the refugee problem resulting from the Alarm, to say the least. The federal government accumulated a working map of refugee movements following the Alarm and made predictions for the future. While some of FEMA’s predictions were wildly off, they did agree with Montpelier that Vermont could expect upwards of a million refugees in the event of a “significant exchange”. The results of the Alarm had been bad enough. If an exchange were to occur during the winter months, the death toll to exposure could very well run into the hundreds of thousands. While it was not possible to fix this problem overnight, resources were made available to federal agencies operating in Vermont and the State of Vermont itself.
Montpelier made plans to disperse the refugees among a number of camps throughout the state. Additionally, lists of available hotel, motel, and bed-and-breakfast rooms were compiled. These were surreptitiously earmarked the most desirable of refugees, once the desirables could be identified. Equipment and supplies would be pre-positioned in the camp areas. Resources for moving people from southern Vermont to camps in the central and northern parts of the state were allocated. When, quite early on in the planning process, Montpelier realized that the personnel, gear, and supplies at their disposal were going to be inadequate for handling a million hungry, panicked refugees, the VSG made backup plans for establishing a triage system in the state. Those areas that were completely overwhelmed would be isolated—by force of arms, if necessary. Those areas that could be helped by further aid (policing, food, shelter, fuel, medicines, etc.) and which played an important part in the health and welfare of the state, would receive aid. Naturally, certain areas were identified as “core” Vermont. These areas would be defended and supported to the greatest extent possible.
The TDM brought to Vermont a wave of refugees every bit as great as the pessimists had predicted. Although no final count exists, Montpelier estimated that in December 1997, 900,000 southern New Englanders and New Yorkers had entered Vermont in search of sanctuary.
The initial tide broke in southern Vermont. Montpelier had directed that the bridges across the Connecticut River be blocked to refugee traffic, thus sparing central eastern and northern Vermont from the numbers who drove through New Hampshire. Nevertheless, a tremendous number of people arrived in the Brattleboro and Benington areas in the space of a few days after the Thanksgiving attacks. Vermont National Guard (NVG) and VSG units, working side-by-side, attempted to shuttle them to camps in the central portion of the state. These efforts were at best partially successful. Refugees often refused to leave their cars—a prerequisite for movement to a camp further north. Refugees often refused to comply with the most basic of instructions. Refugees frequently resorted to violence out of sheer emotion. Many of them were promptly killed if they fired on uniformed personnel. As with all refugee situations, the one in Vermont was filled with every description of human agony and suffering. Perhaps a quarter million managed to reach prepared camps or rooms where their situation was stable, if not luxurious. An equal number found shelter of some sort in other ways. Upwards of a half-million died of violence, exposure, disease, and starvation during the 1997-1998 winter.
The situation around Brattleboro became untenable for Vermont by mid-December. The huge number of refugees simply swamped the ability of state and federal agents. Roadblocks at the Vermont border helped the situation briefly. Thousands abandoned their cars as the traffic backed up for miles. Refugees plunged into the woods and the towns of northwest Massachusetts, which were plunged into anarchy. Tens upon tens of thousands crossed the Vermont border on foot. Ironically, this made life easier for the Vermont forces, which found cold, hungry, and foot-bound refugees far more compliant than those which had to be separated from their warm cars. Nevertheless, after a time the sheer numbers of urbanites overwhelmed the local relief forces. On December 20, 1997, Montpelier gave the order for Vermont forces and assets to redeploy further north. Brattleboro was on its own.
[Soon thereafter, the nascent Black Watch, which had been riding out the storm in nearby Putney, got involved. They solved the problem of disorder in Brattleboro by shooting everyone and anyone who refused to do as they were told. Although many later excoriated the Watch for their MVD-type tactics, survivors in Brattleboro uniformly praise the Watch for doing what the state could not or would not do.]
In spring, Vermont began preparing for its future. The government agencies had seized control of the fuel stocks, seed stocks, and stored food in December. The fuel was distributed to the farmers in the central portions of the state, where grain was grown to feed dairy cattle. This year, the grain all would go to feed the Vermonters and those refugees who were still alive and not interested in going home. The farmers received protection and direct support from military and police personnel.
In mid-1998, the Second Mexican-American War began. The federal government withdrew much of the remaining federal presence in Vermont to support Fifth and Sixth Armies in the Southwest. Left to its own devices, Vermont consolidated its control over the counties the in central third of the state, where the capitol, largest cities, industrial base, and most productive farming were located.
By January 2001, the state government still controls the central third of the state. Although life here is hard, there is enough food for the survivors. Montpelier controls a population of nearly 150,000, including residents of the state and refugees who have been absorbed. Electricity is scarce, but there is some available from hydro, steam (wood-fired), and wind. The Green Brigade, which includes all military forces of the State of Vermont, disposes 1700 regulars. Various militia units throughout the state add another 4000 men and women under arms. Motor transport is scarce, but alcohol fuel is generally sufficient for what remains.
Montpelier has managed to keep generally abreast of events in the surrounding areas, thanks largely to the tireless efforts of a small number of long-range scouts with the Green Brigade and the efforts of ham radio operators. Relations with the United Communities of Southern Vermont (UCSV) are somewhat strained, given that the UCSV feels that Montpelier left them high and dry in their time of need. However, both parties recognize that they have a common interest in bringing the areas between them under control and increasing trade between the two areas. Montpelier is unhappy that what amounts to an autonomous multi-county government has appeared in the southern part of the state. However, there is very little they can do about it for now.
The State of Vermont is also aware that the northern third of the state has fallen into complete chaos. Long-range reconnaissance has revealed the presence of a major marauder force—a horde in MilGov parlance—dispersed throughout a large portion of the northern part of the state. While the horde is in winter quarters, the rest of Vermont has little to worry about. Spring will bring a serious problem as the horde takes to the road in search of new supplies.
Sporadic radio contact with Manchester, NH has resulted in some exchange of information. The Vermonters are aware that Nashua has become a dictatorship and that Concord has been burned to the ground. Montpelier also knows that most of New Hampshire north of Manchester has become a land of scattered fortified towns, ruins sacked by marauders, and small groups of survivors.
The outlook for Montpelier is mixed. For now, the large cantonment is stable. Problems of supply remain. The horde phenomenon—the concentration of marauders into super-gangs—threatens to undo all the work that Montpelier has accomplished. How the State of Vermont will meet these challenges is anyone’s guess.
Webstral
Webstral
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Webstral
Flamingo, that’s good information about the draft. Thanks.
As for the Sino-Soviet War, I could see an increase in defense spending and an increase in the personnel caps for the various services. But I’m dubious that much of a draft would be enacted. Sure, the Bear has shown his teeth. But are people going to be scared enough to support a draft? After all, as you mention in 1995 and 1996 the President is going to be heading into an election. With the Chinese and the Soviets deadlocked in Manchuria, what kind of support is there going to be for a draft? Let the Communists beat each other into the ground without involuntarily calling up American boys, many will say.
Calling up Guard and Reserve formations for 30-90 days of refresher and advanced training might be politically possible, though. As a result of such a decision, Regular Army divisions with a National Guard roundout brigade are able to deploy on short notice. 5th ID is a good example of this.
Clearly, the situation in Germany will change things a good deal. If the President doesn’t require Congressional approval, we may see a draft enacted before the end of 1996. This would mean that the first trained replacements for USAEUR would be arriving at their units as early as March. This fact may give some support to the timing of the NATO offensive into Poland. From that point forward, the US can expect an increasing flow of replacements. (Whether this flow will match casualty rates is another issue.)
Webstral
Webstral
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DeaconR
Very good and very thorough, Webstral. A few thoughts:
1. What about southern parts of Canada? Fusilier and I might need to put our heads together because what affects N. Vermont will surely affect Canada as well...
2. Who are these marauders? I know some would just dismiss them as 'scum' but I like to know what KIND of scum--to get a sense of their scope of operations and capabilities and eccentricities.
DeaconR
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Webstral
Deacon,
I haven’t given a lot of thought to Canada, I’m afraid. It would seem to me that there is a lot less margin for error when it comes to survival in post-attack Canada. The growing season is shorter—too short for any cereal crops in some areas. The winters are longer and colder than in the US. Those who find themselves without food and proper shelter in November are in a tough spot. I know most of the population lives within 100 miles of the US border, which obviates some of the growing season issues. Still, a glance at the plant hardiness map of the continent shows that many crops have to go in the ground at a very specific time if they are to mature before the first frost. Marauders and civil unrest can really mess this up.
The marauder army in northern Vermont during the 2000-2001 winter is part of a growing phenomenon MilGov calls “hordes”. Having rejected the “Howling Wilderness” drought, I find myself nonetheless obliged to examine changing conditions. Going back to my description of circumstances in New England in January 2001, I see the civilization as being a contest between the medieval towns and the forces of destruction. During the first couple of years after the TDM, American civilization goes through a shakedown process. The elderly and infirm die, along with lots of children and people who are killed by violence and starvation. Some survivors will take to highwaymanship as a means of filling their bellies. Masses of refugees are especially susceptible to the leadership of a would-be warlord. GDW addresses this phenomenon in “Allegheny Uprising”. Predatory bands will gradually clear out the less well-defended sources of supply, thereby adding to the refugee problem. Better-organized cantonments will survive the depredations of smaller bands.
As time goes by, a sort of distillation process will result in larger, more effective bands of marauders, more concentrated groups of survivors, and more sacked and wasted areas that used to be suburbs and small towns. Perhaps crystallization is a better term. At any rate, by January of 2001, New Englanders will tend to live in armed and organized cantonments like 1st DST, UBF territory, Manchester and Nashua, and even the megapunk turfs in Boston. The status of the producers in each cantonment will vary, but the overall dynamic will be quite similar. Just as in feudal times the farmers and craftsmen supported a fighting class who protected them from outside violence, the survivors in 2001 New England largely support the armed forces that keep the highwaymen at bay.
For their part, the highwaymen have become increasingly organized and concentrated. The very success of the marauding over the past three years has either depleted the easily hunted game or driven the game into protected areas. Small bands of marauders find tackling fortified communities difficult—more so as natural selection produces increasingly well-defended cantonments. As a result, groups of marauders are increasingly banding together into small capable of going after the remaining cantonments.
MilGov has observed this process. The MI family has given the consolidating marauder groups a name: horde. A horde is a marauder band with 500 or more combatants (as distinct from dependents, who are often found with larger marauder groups). They live on plunder and survive by moving from one location to the next. The very size of the group necessitates frequent moves. Larger groups are capable of taking larger targets, and so the trend is for surviving marauders to combine forces.
Hordes often are either motorized or mounted. In some locations, they are foot-mobile. However, as hordes grow they tend to accumulate baggage that has be carried somehow. Thus even foot-mobile hordes acquire a wagon train for their possessions.
It should be noted that a horde is defined by its disinterest in taking over production in the conquered areas. The group that conquered Nashua, NH merely replaced the existing leadership with its own warlord and his lieutenants. Otherwise, the base of production remained intact and continues to serve the needs of the city-state and its armed forces. This sort of thing has happened all over the US during the past three years.
As a marauder band becomes a horde, the likelihood of its leaders assuming the throne of the cantonment, as it were, decreases. Hordes must be fed. As the numbers of marauders increase, fewer and fewer settlements are capable of providing the sustenance the horde needs over the long term. As the horde grows in size, its members become increasingly rapacious when combat devolves to sacking. Each sub-group within a horde becomes anxious that the best booty will be taken by another sub-group; and so everyone literally takes everything they can lay their hands on. The basis of subsistence often is shattered, leading to a crippling of the cantonment. Thus even if a warlord wanted to stay in a conquered cantonment, his troops often ensure that the cantonment no longer can support the horde. The survivors of the cantonment often join the horde out of desperation, and the cycle of destruction continues.
The horde in northern Vermont is motorized. Like most hordes, it is a polyglot of sub-groups from many backgrounds. This group is exceptionally dangerous because it is fairly well-organized and has all the components typically associated with a surviving military unit in Europe of 2000. There are stills in trailers to provide methanol for the vehicles. There are towed tool shops and trailers of spare parts. There are mechanics, engineers, expert scroungers, and even logisticians. The members come from the military, police, motorcycle gangs, criminal elements, and average pre-war citizens from both sides of the US-Canada border. The fighting force includes infantry, cavalry, and even light artillery (mortars). No one is quite certain how the horde was formed, but some elements of it plagued upstate New York and southern Quebec in 2000. Other elements were known to operate in northern New Hampshire, northern Maine, and inland New Brunswick. Now, however, the group has taken up winter quarters in northern Vermont. The towns and farmsteads that have survived up to this point will be stripped bare by spring. Like army ants, the horde will move out looking for new sources of labor and food. Both the Black Watch and the Green Brigade have had long-range scouts conducting reconnaissance to estimate the scope of the threat. Reports indicate that the horde has between 8,000 and 15,000 members, of whom half are likely to be combatants. Interrogation of a few prisoners taken by the scouts indicates that the horde is eating everything in sight—including some of the surviving locals. Despite the fact that the horde is spread out over a wide area, the land cannot sustain them—at least not without the vital seed they are ravenously consuming this winter. Food will run out by spring. Montpelier and Brattleboro (seat of government for the UCSV) agree that hunger will keep the horde together as long as the marauders believe that numbers will enable them to survive by pillage where small groups would fail to eke out a living. The horde knows of the existence of the State of Vermont super-cantonment, the UCSV, the city-states of New Hampshire (Manchester, Nashua, Keene, and a handful of others), the Maine cantonments outside of First District, First District itself, and even such far-off cantonments as Westover AFB, New Haven, Providence, and Cape Cod. No one knows exactly what the horde will do when the snow breaks. One thing is for certain: the horde will go someplace. It has no choice.
Webstral
Webstral
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DeaconR
That's very good Webstral. The dynamic of such a group is a necessary description. It's easy enough to accept that the big marauder groups in say Poland are deserted and mutinous military units, but in the USA it is not so clear.
I also like the fact that these hordes are made to visibly differ from say warlords or cantonments--I had always wondered what would make them different.
One possibility btw for what might have slowed down the USCG and the UBF from venturing too far afield:
The Year of the French
(coming soon--ideas welcome)
DeaconR
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Webstral
Adventure Plots in New England early 2001
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There are a number of forces at work in New England during the second half of the 2000-2001 winter. Player characters have plenty to keep them busy. Most of the work revolves around reconnaissance and courier work.
The great horde wintering in northern Vermont is going to get on the road sometime after the snow breaks. Four to eight thousand desperate, battle-hardened combatants will be unleashed on the surviving cantonments of New England (and maybe Atlantic Canada) at that time. Currently, no one in the region has the combat power to defeat such a group without being destroyed themselves. The smaller cantonments will simply be overrun.
The commander of USCG 1st DST has received word of the horde through an informant in the United Brotherhood of Fishermen, who occasionally trade with the City of New Haven, who found out through the 43rd MPs, who found out from the Black Watch, who have been sharing information with Montpelier. The USCG admiral wants to assemble a brigade-sized force with proper support to meet the horde and destroy it away from any of the cantonments. The Coast Guard possesses no such force. At best, the District could put a 1,000-man force into the field. However, if an alliance could be arranged between the various surviving factions in New England, it might be possible to put together a combat team that could destroy the horde.
The District intends to bring the UBF into the fold by decapitation. The Port Security Units (PSU) of the District will be landed on Nantucket to capture or kill John Carlucci, head of the UBF. All three cutters of the District, plus numerous armed boats, will be used to interdict all seaborne traffic off Nantucket. Naturally, the island will have to be subjected to thorough reconnaissance before several hundred Coast Guardsmen go ashore. This would be an excellent job for player characters.
Electronic communications between the various cantonments have broken down completely. The District wants to ensure that the leaders of the cantonments have a more reliable means of communication than couriers and word-of-mouth. The Isolationists in Providence have the necessary equipment to provide the requisite number of radios and replacement parts so that the New England cantonments can talk to each other and coordinate activities without worrying about their messengers being intercepted. Someone is going to have to take those radios to their destinations.
Another critical duty will be engineering reconnaissance. No one has a very accurate picture of the conditions of the roads in New England. Assembling information possessed by the various cantonments will be useful, but this is only part of the picture. The District’s engineers will want to see primary and alternate routes throughout the region before committing forces to a (hopefully) mobile campaign. Someone is going to have to provide security for the engineers.
Webstral
Webstral
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DeaconR
Those are good adventure hooks Webstral, all of them are plausible. Also they are all highly relevant most importantly.
BTW: what about the Isolationists?
DeaconR
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Webstral
More Manchester
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I've been doing a bit more research on and thinking about Manchester, NH and the conditions in the area. I think I am going to have to do some revising. I still see Manchester as pretty isolated from the outside world, but I don't think I can make the place as isolated as I had originally conceived. To feed a population of 60,000 with grains and vegetables requires approximately one acre per capita. Obviously, there is wiggle room in this figure, but it suits my purposes for planning. 60,000 acres is 96 square miles of arable land--a fair chunk of arable land. If the Granite Brigade controls everything within 10 miles of Manchester, the city can defend 314 square miles. Only some of this land is suitable for agriculture, even if all the trees are cleared. There will still be a fair amount of that territory under buildings, under roads, underwater, and otherwise unsuitable for growing things. Fishing, hunting, and gathering the fruit of the woods will add measurably to the larder of the community. Nevertheless, I have to wonder if 60,000 people can be fed by 314 square miles of territory in southern New Hampshire.
Even 314 square miles might be too much for the brigade to handle. The brigade has 400 regulars, about 150 full-time militia, and 1250 militia. The militia are on-duty one week in every four and are on-call at all times. The regulars are organized into a single rifle battalion with two rifle companies and supporting troops, plus the brigade command and staff, support units, cadre for the New Hamsphire Military Reserve (which handles all the training), and a platoon of full-time police/MPs. The militia are divided into three battalions, which are commanded by full-time militia and staff. Each battalion has three rifle companies, which are commanded by a full-time captain, XO, first sergeant, and a couple of staffers. The companies are divided into five sections, each with about twenty troops. One section provides support, such as the weapons squad with two machine guns each and the mortar section with two 60mm mortars. The other four sections are on active duty one week in every four. This gives the brigade nine sections of militia riflemen, or about 180 troops, who will active under normal circumstances at any time. Only half of them will be on-duty at any time under normal circumstances. The 90 troops who are on-duty must help the police maintain internal security, man checkpoints, conduct patrols, and train. Is this enough?
Can the two companies of regulars really control 314 square miles around Manchester? It seems like an enormously tall order to me. Granted, having the locals on their side will make the job much, much easier. By 2001, the countryside beyond Manchester's reach will be pretty well deserted. This should make the Granite Brigade's job much easier. Still, it seems like a lot. There will still be numbers of interlopers of every description who will need intercepting and dealing with. 314 square miles seems like an awful lot for two rifle companies, even if they are occasionally supplemented by militia out in the field. I suppose if platoon-sized patrols are constantly out and that these patrols are supplemented by LP/OPs, they have a good chance of intercepting any large groups entering Manchester turf. Small groups will be easier for armed farmers and other citizens to deal with. Anyway, it's a matter that bears more thought.
Webstral
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Last edited by Webstral : 06-10-2007 at 01:33 PM. Reason: poor grammar
Webstral
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DeaconR
I think it would be a constant struggle. Like consider the difficulty of the 78th ID controlling a good half of New Jersey and there only being about 1000 combat effective troops. What I had done is suggested that there were about four main zones of control each held by a company and that the road between them as well as the coastline were well patrolled but the rest of the state was not. This is part of why Rover Team was necessary in order to help the CDC conduct field research in the area.
DeaconR
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Ed the Coastie
Sorry I've been gone for so long (again), but real life keeps intruding upon me...you would think that there was a war on or something.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Webstral
Here’s my creative question: what should the Coasties of a Port Security Unit (PSU) be called? Coast Guardsmen just seems like a mouthful. Also, the PSU is a specialty unit within the Coast Guard. Don’t they deserve their own name? I thought about calling them Marines, since they will essentially behave as Marines. However, that name is already taken by the USMC—a few of whom will find themselves serving with 1st District in 2000 and 2001. Also, the United Brotherhood of Fishermen (UBF) troops are called Marines. It won’t do to have the UBF infantry and the USCG infantry be called the same thing. Too confusing. So what should I call these guys? The best I’ve been able to come up with so far is “troopers”. Neither exciting nor inspired, I’m afraid.
Back in the '80s, the Coast Guard toyed with the idea of getting a slice of the Special Operations pie for themselves. Coast Guard Combat Operation specialists -- nicknamed "Hammerheads" -- were envisioned as being formed into 12-man teams composed of a variety of specialties. Extensively trained in a variety of duties from small-boat operations to damage control, Hammerhead teams were intended to be capable of pretty much anything from high-risk boardings to combat-zone beach security to serving as forward observers for naval gunfire.
After the Coast Guard dumped the idea, a lot of the former Hammerheads finished out their active duty enlistments and went into the Reserve so they could join Port Security Units. Many more simply returned to civilian life, but stayed in touch both with their former teammates and with the local Coast Guard Auxiliary...
...because when the Navy calls, 98% of the Coast Guard's personnel gets assigned to the Navy. The remaining 2% serves as cadre for the CGAux, who steps forward to take over the duties of the Coasties who have left. It was an unspoken agreement that the local ex-Coasties would also return to uniform and serve alongside the Auxiliary...expecially those former Hammerheads who had been "hidden" from the Navy.
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Magician, Sailor, Adventurer...been there, done that....
Ed the Coastie
Visit Ed the Coastie's homepage!
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Webstral
Ed,
I love it! I'm going to adapt the Hammerhead name to the PSU in 1st District.
Have you ever done anything with character generation for the Coast Guard?
Webstral
Webstral
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Ed the Coastie
Quote:
Originally Posted by Webstral
Have you ever done anything with character generation for the Coast Guard?
I keep meaning to, but I never seem to be home long enough to actually work on it. However, I'm supposed to be home for the next fortnight or so...maybe I will have an opportunity to work something up and put it on my website.
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Magician, Sailor, Adventurer...been there, done that....
Ed the Coastie
Visit Ed the Coastie's homepage!
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Webstral
I have been learning some very cool things as I further research my New England concepts. The Internet rocks! One of the tidbits I have come across is a page on the suitability of various crops for conversion to biodiesel. Biodiesel can run trucks and other diesel engines—in some cases without modification. Sunflowers are one of the best sources of vegetable oil for biodiesel, and they are about the best candidate for the New England climate. If 1st District can cultivate enough sunflowers for seed, the cutters and boats can be kept mobile.
Of course, this is a tall order. The numbers I have found indicate that 100 gallons of biodiesel is a good reference number for an acre of sunflowers. The Hamilton class high endurance cutter (of which 1st District has one—the Gallatin) tops off at 230,116 gallons of fuel. Assuming for the moment that all of this fuel will be applied to the two diesel engines, this means that 2,301 acres planted with sunflowers are necessary to yield a full load of fuel for Gallatin. This means 3.56 square miles of sunflowers. A lot of land and a lot of labor for no food value, although the biomass of the sunflowers will be useful as compost and methanol fuel stock. How many fuel loads will Gallatin consume in a year? Not that many if 1st District is fueling her with agricultural resources. Of course, there are two Island-class cutters and a number of boats in line for biodiesel, too. And let’s not forget that the District needs lubricants. And let’s not forget that a certain percentage of the seeds have to be held back for next year’s crop. This may help explain why the District hasn’t flexed its muscles a lot more. Fuel constraints and the need to escort the fishing boats working George’s Bank will keep the cutters on a tight leash. The occasional operation against smaller pirate enclaves along the northern Maine coast and in remote areas of the Maritime Provinces is probably the best that can be done until sunflower acreage increases further. Or until a better source of diesel comes along.
Clearly, the business of supporting a machinery-intensive cantonment isn’t a game for the poorly organized or casual warlord. I guess the good news is that those who can support this kind of effort have a major advantage over those who cannot—materially, at any rate.
Webstral
Webstral
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kato13
A few disjointed points which I hope come together in the end.
Sunflowers are a nitrogen fixer. They can be planted in alternating rows with corn or such. One of my friends is doing yield experiments with Illinois farmers this year but the effect on corn crops is supposed to be negligible.
I have done a ton of research on this for my morrow games. The biggest problem with biodiesel is that you need some form of pure alcohol, preferably methanol and the game's description of how to make methanol is completely false. You can make ethanol from cellulose stock using bacteria rather than yeast but it takes longer with a theoretical peak output being 3.95 kg of dry wood producing 1 liter of anhydrous ethanol.
Methanol (before the widespread use of petrochemicals) was created from the destructive distillation of wood not from any form of yeast reaction. Yeast actually will metabolize methanol.
Distillation of wood produces the following
Yield per ton (1 000 kg) of air dry wood
Acetic acid 50 kg
Methanol 16 kg
Acetone and methyl acetone 8 kg
Soluble tars 190 kg
Insoluble tars 50 kg
As you can see the numbers given in the game are way off base.
Going back to my original point you need a form of alcohol to make biodiesel. I think the numbers i came up with were 16 liters of alcohol per 100 liters of biodiesel. Ethanol can be used but it must be over 99% pure which is impossible using only distillation. You need some for of hydrophilic material to filter the water out of the ethanol.
In my game with 862kg of light weight equipment (still, biodiesel refinery, Ethanol Dehydrator,seed grinder and press,ect) my teams can make over 100 liters of biodiesel per week if they have the right oil source. It takes up 200 cubic feet however (mostly in the form of plastic storage tanks). If they chose to go for pure ethanol from grain stock i think they can produce 64 liters. And ethanol from cellulose stock 24-32 liters (These are rough numbers).
Hope some of this information was useful.
edit changed weight and volume as i chose the per unit weight column from my spreadsheet not the total weight and volume
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Last edited by kato13 : 06-15-2007 at 04:06 AM.
kato13
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Webstral
Great stuff, Kato! An ethanol requirement can be a good thing, provided cellulosic stock can be used. There will be plenty of cellulosic stock available after each harvest. Obtaining the bacteria might be a bit more problematic. I'll have to look into that.
I see 1st DST setting up a major centralized operation for something so important as fuels. Perhaps Portsmouth, Portland, Brunswick NAS, and Bar Harbor all will eventually have large-scale operations for the production of oils, alcohol, and biodiesel from agricultural products.
Webstral
Webstral
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kato13
This is what i have found
Sugar to ethanol
Ethanol resistant yeast
this can take the fermentation to ~25% alcohol
this is extremely high end 15% is more likely in non optimum conditions.
Celuose to ethanol
Zymomonas mobilis, Clostridium thermocellum, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and Escherichia coli have all been used. (There are also some enzymatic solutions but I have not researched these much).
I believe non genetically engineered versions of these bacteria can only process up to maximum of 10% alcohol solution before they will be inhibited. This means you need a larger (more cellulose diluted) fermentation tank when compared to sugar based fermentation.
Distillation from these lower percentages to 96% can take place with heat alone. The size and weight for such a still are surprisingly small. From several home brewing websites I have found 50kg distillation rigs which can produce 20 liters per hour of 192 proof (96%).
The last step in removing the remaining 4% water is extremely hard without the right equipment. This is due to the fact that if you attempt to boil 192 proof alcohol as much water will evaporate as alcohol. So the water must be removed chemically or by fractional filtration. In my scenario the alcohol is run through pipes containing zeolite. Zeolite will absorb the water and not the alcohol. After filtration the pipes can be heated causing the water to evaporate and the zeolite pipes can then be reused. I found Zeolite on ebay during my research so it is not too hard to come by (it is used in aquarium filtration among other things).
edit just discovered that Saccharomyces cerevisiae is bakers yeast. This has been successfully modified to metabolize cellulose on a small scale. Most of my research has been Zymomonas mobilis which I expected to be genetically modified for my morrow teams.
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Last edited by kato13 : 06-15-2007 at 09:30 PM.
kato13
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Webstral
Dude, you are the man.
Webstral
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Webstral
There are a few examples of this sort of thing in Twilight: 2000. It's to be expected, given the volume of material generated. Anyway, I read the same thing in the Challenge article I received yesterday on the state of affairs in New Jersey. How can there be 4,000 Garands if Annapolis was hit? We have to make some choices when we encounter these little snafus. No bad on GDW--they did great work. I'm inclined to interpret Annapolis being hit as being close enough to DC to receive some damage from the DC attack.
Webstral
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