Quote:
Originally Posted by Olefin
Even if you accept the (completely unrealistic) drought as canon and its effects on the US and try go forward from there the simple fact is that the history of the American units in the US is frankly nonsensical - especially considering that it has multiple MilGov units basically melting away and disappearing between June 2000 and April 2001 - when if anything those units would be getting bigger either by adding reinforcements from Europe or by recruiting locally since the best way to stay alive in a low food environment would be to join the military similar to what happened in Krakow
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Not unrealistic. Completely in line with military history right up to modern times. For America you can use the Revolution (Valley Forge) and The Civil War (Union Forces in the first two years, Confederate in the second).
When the soldiers are not paid or fed they desert. Some slip off with their equipment and become criminals. Some take their stuff and go home, like literally home, to be with and take care of their families. Some changes sides, since if the enemy is paying their troops and feeding their troops something must be right.
Your also not factoring in disease. By 98 large scale pharmaceutical manufacturing is lost and tender 20 century immune systems are not up to the challenges of dysentery, cholera, typhus, and other diseases. Even a small outbreak and a few rumors of disease would turn small desertion into large desertion with troops stealing vehicles plus supplies to get far away.
Last, racial tensions. Minorities are a larger percentage of Services than represented in the larger civil population.
Military history of every kind of campaign anywhere in the world shows us multiples examples of desertion fading armies into small pitiful war bands.