Stormtroopers

[Webstral]

While I was seeing a man about a wallaby earlier today, I was leafing through my well-worn copy of Gulf War Factbook. The authors mention that the Iraqis form special forces companies within their infantry divisions as a means of milking some offensive action out of divisions that are, towards the end of the Iran-Iraq War, not in great shape due to the transfer of skilled personnel and equipment to the Republican Guard and other mobile formations. I’m sure we all know that this practice can be related to the German practice of creating units of stormtroopers towards the end of WW1 to give the weary infantry some punch. It occurred to me that this probably would happen in many armies by 2000.

We see an example of this practice in the TO&E of 10th Guards Tank Division in The Ruins of Warsaw. The Security Group represents a pretty small fraction of the division’s manpower. The Recce Group is an even smaller slice of the pie. It stands to reason that combat formations with lots of re-tasked REMFs and recent inductees would see the need to create stormtrooper units that would have the best of what was left. These units might have a high percentage of the remaining AFV under their control.

[Panther Al]

I would be shocked if this wasn't the case in most units. It just makes too much sense for it not to be. If you only have a limited supply of equipment, be it armour or weapons, you want to be sure it is in the hands of those that will use to its utmost, without wasting it.

[StainlessSteelCynic]

An interesting thought and as Panther Al said, it's probably worth considering as something that became the norm by 2000 but please forgive me for straying off topic, it was this part that grabbed my attention: -
While I was seeing a man about a wallaby earlier today...
A wallaby? Do tell :D

[Legbreaker]

Agreed. The "cast off" combat troops could be used for less critical tasks such as flank protection, rear area security, night sentries and so forth to give the 1st line combat troops a bit of a break and leave them fresh for their primary tasks. Training and retraining would of course be ongoing with the aim of converting all combat troops into the elite type (but of course never quite getting there).
You might even see the elites becoming a sought after posting with various perks and privleges given to those who achieve and maintain the required standard.
A wallaby? Do tell :D

Web is obviously an animal lover..... ;)

[Raellus]

I don't know. I'm sure it would happen quite a lot, but some commanders may well see this sort of thing as a mistake.

The Germans were guilty of cherry-picking talent from the fittest new recruits and the Wermacht for the Waffen SS, to the detriment of the regular army. To extent, this practice was repeated for Goerring's pet Luftwaffe field divisions. Waffen SS units could be counted on, for the most part, to fight competently and with vigor, but the regular army suffered qualitatively for it. Quite a few military historians have noted this as being a serious strategic error on the part of the Germans. If they'd spread the cream a little more evenly, the army as a whole would likely have been more effective. It was usually regular Wermacht units that buckled under attack, and it was often the Waffen SS sent to plug up the gaps. I believe the applicable idiom here is "borrowing from Peter to pay Paul".

[Legbreaker]

I don't think we're talking about concentrating the cream into divisions or even battalion sized units, but more like platoons and up to a company.
I know it's already common practise for an infantry battalion to concentrate its best infantrymen in the recce and assault pioneer platoons. We're really just talking about extending that.

Some new units may be created to hold the injured and sick with a focus on getting them well again (unless crippled permanently), and fit for duty. These less able soldiers are still useful as we've previously discuss in other threads for supporting jobs, security and the like.

[Raellus]

I don't think we're talking about concentrating the cream into divisions or even battalion sized units, but more like platoons and up to a company.
I know it's already common practise for an infantry battalion to concentrate its best infantrymen in the recce and assault pioneer platoons. We're really just talking about extending that.

OK, I'll buy that. But with all units scaling down, a full-sized "commando" company is a larger percentage of the total unit strength than a pre-war recce platoon. Watering down your rifle companies is still something not to take lightly. I see your point, though.

[Webstral]

Perhaps we should think of the stormtroop company of a kampfgruppe like 28th ID as the tip of the spear. If any company-sized formation in the division is going to get the job done on the battlefield, it's these guys. The Germans and the Iraqis used these guys to crack the enemy's defensive lines so that the regulars could follow through and add mass--like the shaft of the spear. In 2000, the uses of the stormtroop company would vary widely; however, they would be used anywhere a group of confident, experienced, reasonably well-equipped, motivated troops would be needed to multiply the combat power of the remaining assets. A stormtroop company mounted in the divisions's remaining IFV and APC could play anvil to the hammer of a much larger follow-on formation. A stormtroop company might secure the avenue of advance for a larger formation. A stormtroop company might execute a raid, cover a withdrawal, put in ambushes, etc.

[Adm.Lee]

I agree with this concept. Were I a division commander in 2000, I'd have my tanks & IFVs concentrated in one task force, and the rest leg infantry, and kept in the cantonments whenever possible. Moreover, I bet the guys who have been wounded repeatedly or just "tired" would be shuffled to the security-style units. I bet the formation or designation might fall to the division commander's opinion of the best battalion COs, too.

FWIW, it's an old idea. The medieval Swiss mercenaries put their veterans (with the best armor) in the front lines (and paid them double). The ancient Roman legions sometimes had a double-strength 1st cohort, commanded by the ranking centurion. That was their hammer in the assault, and the legion commander's reserve.

[headquarters]

I would think that 10 guys with great motivation and skill would be preferable to 100 guys with lackluster motivation and poor skill.

As for the overall efficiency of the German army during ww2 who did skim the milk to create elite combat team units - the regular army statistically outperformed comparable conscripts of allied nations. So much so that I hear they talk of a "ratio" of 5:1 - that is 5 allied soldiers killed to every German soldier.

Be that as it may - automatic weapons mean that unskilled fighters can take on security forces and what have you as we have seen in recent events in the middle east. But if odds are equal they cant be expected to make a significant breakthrough. Professional and skilled troops though, can.

I guess it comes down to the old question of attack or defend. As you well know, attacking and mobile warfare demands something else than guarding or having a static role.

You want the bestest with mostest where you aim to make a change..

just my 2 cents

[Webstral]

I was thinking about this concept a bit more today in regards to hunting rifle and shotgun militias (HRSM).* These security forces almost certainly will be based on the local police department. As trainers, as the arm of the local civil authorities, and the owners of a stock of military-grade weapons, the police naturally form a high-quality force-within-a-force for the HRSM. Naturally, wherever and whenever former military personnel (especially the infantry) join a HRSM they will tend to move towards this cadre. The same can be said of seasoned hunters—at least to some degree. Military-grade weapons also will come from outside the cadre; these too will tend to migrate towards the kernel of high quality, with or without their original owners.

Thus at the inception of an HRSM, the idea of a distinct body of higher-quality men within the corpus is present. There may be an additional layer of quality in the form of SWAT teams or their equivalent in a sufficiently large municipal police force or in sheriff’s departments and state police regiments. It isn’t much of a leap to create a stormtrooper unit within an HRSM. This small force generally would have the best gear and best personnel available. They would spend little time at the checkpoints or on sentry duty and a lot of time patrolling, responding, and ambushing in whatever combination local circumstances dictated.

Now I’m off on a tangent.

This would be an interesting way to build a party for use in a specific locale or in a region. Characters could be police, former military, or military stragglers who never managed to rejoin their units but who are not deserters per se. The need for local missions of all types would be great. Such smaller missions might be wrapped into bigger picture items like the usual Twilight: 2000 modules. The party could come into being serving the interests of a legitimate government, a warlord, or something in between. Once on the move, though, the PCs who have to make up their minds whom they serve, if anyone. Game play probably would have a different feel than a game with all military characters who are comparatively footloose and fancy free in the modules.

Does anyone know of a character generation concept for the police?

*Hunting rifle and shotgun militia, or HRSM, is a term I coined to describe many of the militias of surviving cantonments across the US. Although we Twilight: 2000 players like to focus on the personnel of regular (full-time) units who have access to military equipment, the overwhelming majority of men [and women] under arms in 2000-2001 in the US will be part-timers using hunting rifles and shotguns.

[raketenjagdpanzer]

Didn't the Germans build a couple of divisions out of Ukrainian police late in WWII?

[Badbru]

From Traveller The New Era, the following edition of GDWs' House system and very similar to Twilight 2.2 as near as I can tell. Bold Refers to skill clusters within which there are a choice of several skills.

Law Enforcement
It takes a tough cop to keep
people in line, and that's where you
come in. You've worked hard to
establish a reputation as a hardbitten
officer who's tough but fair.
You're proud to think of yourself as
a peace officer, someone who not
only enforces the law, but who also
defuses confrontations before they
escalate into violence.
The trouble is, off-worlders don't
know your reputation. With them,
you have to prove yourself anew in
each encounter. Sometimes you
resent the added trouble they bring
to your beat.
Prerequisites: STR6+. Homeworld
Law = Low+. No prison record.

First Term
Commission: 9+, DM +1 if EDU
7+, DM +1 if INT 8+. If on Low Cov
world, DM +2 for SOC 8+. If on
High+ Cov world, SOC 8+ receives
automatic commission. A commission makes the character a detective; all other characters are uniformed police officers.

Detectives: Gun Combat 2, Melee 1, Charm 1, Determination1, Interaction 1, Perception 1, Vehicle 1 .

Uniformed Police Officers: Gun Combat 2, Melee 2,
Charm 1, Determination 1, Vehicle 1, Personal
Transport. 1.

Subsequent Terms
Commission: 7+, DM +1 if INT8+, DM +1 if CHR8+.
Skills:
Detectives: Gun Combat, Melee,
Determination, Charm, Interaction,
Perception, Vehicle.

Uniformed Police Officers:
GunCombat, Melee, Charm, Determination,
Vehicle.All Terms
Special Duty: 8+ for Archaic
Weapons, Acrobat, Vice, Crime,
Language, Medical, Technician.
Promotion: 6+, DM +1 if CON
7+. If on Low Cov world, DM +1
for SOC 8+. If on High+ Covworld,
SOC 8+ receives automatic promotion.
Contacts: One criminal and one
law enforcement contact perterm.
Other Effects: If more than one
term is served, add +l to Initiative

[Legbreaker]

Or from 2.2:

Federal Law Enforcement
Entry: Law school or graduate university, no prison record
First term skills:
* Interrogation 2
* Observation 1
* Small Arms (Pistol) 2
* Unarmed Martial Arts 1
Subsequent Term Skills:
* Armed Martial Arts
* Autogun
* Computer
* Instruction
* Interrogation
* Language
* Observation
* Small Arms
* Stealth
* Unarmed Martial Arts
Promotion: 7+ DM +1 if INT 7+
Contacts: One per term, government or criminal.
On a D10 roll of 8+ this contact is foreign government or criminal.
Special: If more than one term is served, add +1 to Initiative.

Government Agent
Entry: Undergraduate Degree, Intelligence 6+, Charisma 6+
First Term Skills:
* Interrogation 1
* Language 2
* Observation 2
* Small Arms 2
Subsequent Term Skills:
* Autogun
* Computer
* Disguise
* Forgery
* Interrogation
* Intrusion
* Language
* Small Arms
* Unarmed Martial Arts
Promotion: 7+, DM +1 if INT 7+
Contacts: One per term, government or intelligence community.
On a roll of D10 for 8+ the contact is foreign.
Special: The character will not be drafted in the event of war; but continues as an intelligence agent.

Private Investigator
Entry: Intelligence 5+, Charisma 5+
First Term Skills:
* Disguise 1
* Interrogation 1
* Observation 2
* Persuasion 1
* Small Arms (Pistol) 1
Subsequent Term Skills:
* Armed Martial Arts
* Disguise
* Forgery
* Interrogation
* Intrusion
* Observation
* Persuasion
* Small Arms (Pistol)
* Stealth
* Unarmed Martial Arts
Promotion: 6+, DM +1 if CON 7+
Contacts: Two per term - criminal, law enforcement, or government.
Roll D10 for 9+ for the contact to be foreign.
Special: none.

State/Local Law Enforcement
Entry: No prison record
First Term Skills:
* Armed Martial Arts 1
* Interrogation 1
* Observation 1
* Small Arms (Pistol) 2
Subsequent Term Skills:
* Armed Martial Arts
* Computer
* Instruction
* Interrogation
* Language
* Observation
* Small Arms (Pistol or Rifle)
* Stealth
* tracking
* Unarmed Martial Arts
Promotion: 6+, DM +1 if CON 7+
Contacts: One criminal contact per term.
On a D10 roll of 10, this contact is foreign criminal.
Special: If more than one term is served, add +1 to Initiative.

[95th Rifleman]

I can't speak for the US military, but the British form their brigades into battalion strength battlgroups or company sized groups. This seems to favour the idea of an elite fire brigade.

I envisage entire brigades being based around one full/overstrength battlegroup to while the rest of the brigade form cantonment security or reserve/rear line duties.

Better to have one full strength force than 3 under strength.

[Adm.Lee]

Didn't the Germans build a couple of divisions out of Ukrainian police late in WWII?

Yes, they had lots of rear-area security units that found themselves in the front line. Some were Ukrainian, some were Baltic, some were Russian, as well as every other nationality they found to recruit from. These would have division numbers, but next to nothing in heavy weapons and artillery. Their combat careers were typically short and inglorious.

FWIW, one of the Waffen-SS divisions was named "Polizei" and was formed at least in part from SS members who had been policemen. IIRC, this division went East in 1941 or 1942, and lost its all-cop quantity.

[Webstral]

Leg, thanks for posting that info. I've never moved beyond v1, so this is all new to me. I have no idea what the numbers and specialized terms mean, but it's good to know that someone thought this through.