Amazing WW2 blueprints of East front German fortifications.

[ArmySGT.]

Really, really awesome. Make for some great ideas for a PD wanting to make the KFS army a little tougher.

http://www.allworldwars.com/German%20Field%20Fortifications%20on%20the%20Easte rn%20Front.html

[mikeo80]

Nice Find.

However, based on what I have read about the Rich Five and the constant infighting amongst the families, I do not think the "Military" side of the KFS would have been able to build such defenses.

My $0.02

Mike

[ArmySGT.]

Nice Find.

However, based on what I have read about the Rich Five and the constant infighting amongst the families, I do not think the "Military" side of the KFS would have been able to build such defenses.

My $0.02

Mike

Depends on whose interests they are protecting.

[ArmySGT.]

Nice Find.

However, based on what I have read about the Rich Five and the constant infighting amongst the families, I do not think the "Military" side of the KFS would have been able to build such defenses.

My $0.02

Mike

I don't understand why you would think so? These are logs, wattle, and sand bags mostly. Some wire in the form of fasteners and of course barbed wire, is employed. 1914 level of technology even though these were revived for WW2. Given the lower tech level and frontier like atmosphere of the KFS, it shouldn't be hard for them to put together labor that knows how to build with logs to create standing walls, bridges, roof or overhead cover, and elevated paths. The expenditure in material for the KFS is shovels, picks, mallets, wire, spikes, cross cut saws, and wire. Low cost and not won't threaten them if lost or stolen. Given that the KFS uses slave labor there is probably an Army unit, supervised by the Secret police the provides the labor to dig and haul logs.

The KFS has lots of frontier and quite a few neighbors that are hostile. A defensive network saves on manpower to hold an area. In the German doctrine of a stabilized front, works like this held down areas, like key terrain, to enable a larger, more mobile reserve to commit counter attacks.

[mikeo80]

Army Sgt.,

You bring several interesting point to the discussion. Yes, trenches, barricades, etc. are very low tech and could be produced with little investment. But why should they? As I read KFS, the neighbors are VERY disorganized, same or lower tech, much smaller militaries, and not really in a position to cause many problems for the KFS Army. I think the scenarios Bullets and Bluegrass and Fallback point out that the KFS Army was HUGE in contrast to everyone else in the area. They could field V300's with 90mm, 105mm towed artillery, and the Pretorian Guard had ersatz M60's and M1's. The KFS Air Force could field P-47's. I think that given the ongoing feuds between the Families and the general incompetence of the General Staff, the decision to build forts at the most critical points and reinforce as needed was all the KFS had to do. As I read B&B, the fort mentioned where the Science One was parked was fairly well done.

Besides, there is all of the graft and greed with cross border trade. You do not want to cut that off.

My $0.02

Mike

[ArmySGT.]

One of those neighbors are the Krell. Disorganized yes, but with Morrow equipment, support from captured Morrow bases, and a fanatical base.

The Africans on the coast are more than likely hostile.

The Amerind tribes are likely to let the infantry and V300s pass, then kill and burn the artillery and supply convoys after looting their small arms and ammo.

There is a lot of territory to tie down. Trade routes that must be secured. With a police state and a large standing army you need to keep them busy before they start thinking about a change of regime.

The KFS seems to like a frontier fort and cavalry system and their main method.

They need to secure things like their refineries, road junctions, rail network, power plants, airports, factory complexes, and river junctions.

A large state requires a large communications network.

[mikeo80]

One of those neighbors are the Krell. Disorganized yes, but with Morrow equipment, support from captured Morrow bases, and a fanatical base.

The Africans on the coast are more than likely hostile.

The Amerind tribes are likely to let the infantry and V300s pass, then kill and burn the artillery and supply convoys after looting their small arms and ammo.

There is a lot of territory to tie down. Trade routes that must be secured. With a police state and a large standing army you need to keep them busy before they start thinking about a change of regime.

The KFS seems to like a frontier fort and cavalry system and their main method.

They need to secure things like their refineries, road junctions, rail network, power plants, airports, factory complexes, and river junctions.

A large state requires a large communications network.

Let me see what I can comment here.

Krell: I agree disorganized, but they are pointed at Morrow. They might even help KFS find Morrow. And vice versa. KFS HATES Morrow.

Africans on coast: A LONG way away. Not a problem today. Maybe later.

Amerinds: A raid might work the first time. Then the P-47's are called in. Look what happened to the Souix and Apache once main US forces are committed.

Trade Routes: They must be guarded. But once inside of KFS, what is there to worry about? This why KFS seems to use fort system. Any legal trader just calls at the nearest fort. An illegal smuggler, well, the old saying goes there is a lot of gain for a lot of risk......

Major infrastructure: Yes it needs to be guarded, but most of it is centralized in the Major area of KFS. Army and secret police will make short work of ANY intruder.

Communication: Telegraph worked fine for Union Army during American Civil War. They also have radio. At most 1920's tech. Not a problem as far as I can see.

Large Army: Yes it CAN be trouble. That is why there is a secret police. Also, the average KFS soldier is a good soldier. Does what he is told. Fairly decent housing, rations, pay. An excellent way out of poverty.

My $0.02

Mike

[ArmySGT.]

The KFS is also setting up garrisons in new territory. That is more than boarding your troops in a hotel or taking over someones home.

I don't think the Krell are going to cooperate with the KFS. They may share a mutual enemy but, I just don't think the Krell will be making any allies. For the Krell, there is only Krell and prey.

In B&B we are seeing the KFS mobilizing for war because of a perceived internal threat and an actual one (assassination of a family member). However, just like times of old the KFS campaigns are going to grind to a halt when fall turns to winter. Roads will be to much trouble to pass, and they can lose troops to frostbite.

As for needing fortifications in the interior. They need them of course, they have a small scale insurgency in the form of the Brotherhood of Mars, and can be plagued by raids by Amerinds, Krell, or Africans that travel cross country on horse or foot avoiding the roads and water ways. This kind of state is going to have garrisons at cross roads, fords, and bridges just to monitor traffic internally.

[RandyT0001]

Does the KFS guard trade routes outside of KFS boundaries?

They need to secure things like their refineries, road junctions, rail network, power plants, airports, factory complexes, and river junctions.

Are you suggesting that the KFS have centralized their refineries, powerplants and factory complexes to a single (or three-four-five) location(s) for protection?

How extensive is the road network and rail network? Do they duplicate routes, side by side, (and by how much, a little or a lot) or is it primarily a rail network feeding local road spurs into the surrounding area?

Do they use the rivers for trade using steamboats or tugs and barges? Does the KFS maintain clear channels (cleared of snags, sandbars, etc.) and a minimum river depth by building dams and locks on the Ohio, Cumberland, Green, and Kentucky Rivers?

Is this level of detail included in the B&B module?

[ArmySGT.]

The KFS features in both "Bullets & Bluegrass" and "Fallback!"; both modules give you insight into how it operates.

[kato13]

The KFS features in both "Bullets & Bluegrass" and "Fallback!"; both modules give you insight into how it operates.

I have B&B somewhere around here and have read Fallback recently. Fallback seems to paint the KFS as more aggressively expanding than B&B correct?

One reason I can see the KFS having the defensive structures mentioned is their slave labor. The structures work very well with an army that is labor rich and that may be heavy equipment short. I also see the KFS low to mid grade officer corps demanding constant effort from their troops. Honestly even in a boring sector I could see officer corps wanting these structures simply because they have the time and manpower to do it.

[ArmySGT.]

I have B&B somewhere around here and have read Fallback recently. Fallback seems to paint the KFS as more aggressively expanding than B&B correct?

One reason I can see the KFS having the defensive structures mentioned is their slave labor. The structures work very well with an army that is labor rich and that may be heavy equipment short. I also see the KFS low to mid grade officer corps demanding constant effort from their troops. Honestly even in a boring sector I could see officer corps wanting these structures simply because they have the time and manpower to do it.

Me, too. In the 18th and 19th century armies these would be fatigue details meant to wear men out physically and keep them fit. This kept them out of trouble fighting and such.

[ArmySGT.]

I have B&B somewhere around here and have read Fallback recently. Fallback seems to paint the KFS as more aggressively expanding than B&B correct?

One reason I can see the KFS having the defensive structures mentioned is their slave labor. The structures work very well with an army that is labor rich and that may be heavy equipment short. I also see the KFS low to mid grade officer corps demanding constant effort from their troops. Honestly even in a boring sector I could see officer corps wanting these structures simply because they have the time and manpower to do it.

Yes, in B&B it is a stable KFS and your team may need to enlist allies and create an insurgency to free the other Morrow members.

In F! The KFS is aggressively lashing out in all directions after a family member of the Rich Five has been assassinated. The system the Rich Five operate under hampers this effort in a myriad of inefficiencies and in-competences.

This is kinda a big plot device so a small group of PCs has some hope of pulling this off.

[clivegh]

I run the KFS very different than the standard timeline.

I have a lot of posts that describe my view.

http://henrick.com/ca4/?p=600

http://henrick.com/ca4/?p=561

This campaign is based loosely on the classic Kentucky Free State of the Morrow Project Books, but with a twist.

QUICK NOTES:

For one thing, my Campaign uses the new 4th Edition timeline (war takes place 2017 instead of 1989) so there was more people in the world, more technology, and a greater collapse (as the technology curve was even more digital than the late 80′s). But it also means that I have a greater level of rebuilding in general than the older 3rd edition timeline.

The Kentucky Free State (KFS) is still a huge problem for the Morrow Project Teams. Its population of 3 million or more people (2.2 million of them slaves or non citizens) plus its modern infrastructure, weapons, and production facilities make it the number one power in north america. It has an air force that is more than happy to drop any amount of bombs on a given team just to prove that it can, and it really does not care about most of its soldiers being killed in order to take down a enemy.

So why has the KFS not taken over the pitiful remains of the north america? Its [B]Lazy, decadent, and happy at the status quo .

ECONOMICS:

The KFS is based on an economic system that the few Rich families (the rich 5) control all the wealth and power in the land. If they took over neighborhood land, they would need to garrison the lands, build infrastructure to get its resources, promote more mid level management (someone has to run the new areas), and basically bring the areas under there control. In many ways the new lands would be better off as they would at least have safety of the KFS Army and more modern infrastructure. Yes they would lose almost all there political rights but they could gain security, good food supply, medicine, and maybe surplus agriculture. So I would think that the KFS has made a practice of NOT expanding past its current borders.

And thinking about economics (think the roman empire in 100 AD), the KFS just does not need to. It can dominate all the lands around it by exploiting the people to produce surplus goods and raw materials but making them dependent on finished goods and machinery. Think of the KFS as a first world nation and the rest of North America as a 3rd world country desperate for antibiotics, machined parts, and knowledge.

Why would the KFS do this? Its the easyest way to control people on the cheap!

The KFS does not need to send armies, It sends salesmen and traders.

It can more or less stop most other manufacture goods by undercutting prices or just by sabotage or military means. All its products are built on the cheap so there wear out quickly and thus make the people using them dependent spare parts.

Example: A local village gets a tractor with fuel from a KFS representative. It produces a large amount of crops and everyone see’s the value. The KFS allows for the village to pay for the Tractor with the surplus crops, but it needs the village to build a road down to the local river for pickup by KFS chartered river boats. The KFS (For more debt) will help build the road and will help to ship the crops. At the end, the village actually makes almost nothing from the work as its never allowed to keep the profit due to shipping, parts, and the representatives commission. And if the villiage does not pay its share of the debt? Then it is cut off from spare parts, medical supplies, and more important the good will of a KFS corporation (which are all controlled by the Powerful families).

Bandit and slaver attacks are well know to happen to villages that do not pay there bills on time. So it is common knowledge that you never default on debts own to the KFS.

Again, why spend all that money to conquer lands when you can make a profit and do it without a lot of chaos to the markets? And the best part is, the local population does not even know its been controlled till its to late. Once you sign a deal with the devil, you are already damned.

GOVERNMENT:

Pretty much unchanged from the standard lore.

There few people that control almost everything. These are the true 1% who control the means of production, the armed forces, and the media. The do not allow for any sort of democracy or local control more than rubber stamped town councils. If they bother with elections for mid level positions, they are all pre selected and pre approved (“Jessica, we have another Election with 100% enfranchised voters voting for the candidate of the people. The Government and the people are lock in step moving the KFS into a bright new future!”).

The Bureaucracy is firmly entrenched and bribery is rampent at every level. The Families are fine with this as it slows down change and keeps the people worrying about day to day life instead of pushing for reform.

Again to make it clear, the power families actually control everything that matters in the KFS and will do everything they can to keep it that way.

SOCIETY:

The 1%:

Perhaps less than 1000 people own almost everything that matters. They are a detached from the common people in almost every way and relying on the mid level technical classes to run the government and keep the machinery of state running. They use the secret police to keep tabs on everyone and especially the Middle Technical classes.
All upper ranks in the armed forces tend to come from the 1%.
Middle Class can marry into the 1%, but it is quite rare.
The 2% to 5%: This would be considered the upper to middle class. They are college educated and actually run the day to day operations of the KFS. These are generally always working to become in the 1% but as above, it rarely happens. They generally are left to there own devices and can have quite a lot of wealth, but it is always under the umbrella of the 1%. Most army and air force officers come from this class. In general they are not an oppressed group of people and are not interested in upsetting the KFS structure (unless its to get to be in the 1%). These are part of the Franchised voter class. They usually have domestic slaves and slave helpers at work.
The 6%-15%: This is the lower middle class. They are the store owners and small business owners. They might have college education (one child per family due to cost). They have some freedoms, but are watched closely by the secret police. They are heavily taxed, and in general tended to be low level officers in the armed forces.. These are part of the Franchised voter class. They are generally NOT happy with the current systems, but have learned not to speak in public about there concerns. They might have from 2 to 3 slaves per family.
The 16% to 35%: The working poor. Education stops at 6th grade for perhaps 50% of this group. These are the small farmers, trades peoples, enlisted in the ranks. Most of these peoples are actually content in there role as they do not have the education to know there treated so poorly. Most of them have few contacts with the government and tend to be pretty arrogant and proud of the KFS and all the stability it brings. When the corruption are shown to them, they will get angry but the KFS will also be the most harsh against them. They do not have any voting rights. They might have 1 slave on the farm or household slave.
The 65%: Slaves. No rights at all besides some laws to protect investment of the owner and basic treatment. The KFS does not in general try and treat slaves any harsher than needed as its bad for business and slaves actually cost a lot to train and keep alive. Slaves do most of the manual work and even some skilled work but this is used to keep the lower middle class in line (and keep the lower middle class aggression healthily for slaves). In theory slaves can win there freedom, but its very rare.
MEDIA:

The KFS does have quite sophisticated media outlets to control the people and the local area. They uses churches, radio, films, newspaper, and limited TV. Almost all media is controlled by the government and used to enforce unity of thought. (Think late 1930′s Nazi movement).

The KFS makes sure than even the working poor can afford simple radio recievers so they can get the “good message of the prosperity the KFS brings to the people”. The radio tends to be a mixture of radio dramas, gossip radio, news, and a heathly dose of propaganda. Think 1930′s wartime radio, and its about right.

Newspapers are around but mostly read by the top 15% and heavily censored.

TV is only used by the Top 15%, and is considered a sign that you are up and becoming when you can watch the one station broadcasting from the government. Many prewar movies are shown, but most in the light of showing how corrupt and wrong the old USA was.

Films are still being made, but there almost always playthings of the 1% or propaganda movies.

The Internet is only used by the government and the top 5% and is more of a business tool than and media outlet.

OTHER:

Places to find more info about the KFS:

Morrow Project Yahoo User Groups
Excellent Website of all sort of things Morrow Project: http://morrowproject.wordpress.com/category/kfs/
Bullets and Blue Grass – Morrow Project Module
Fall Back – Morrow Project Module (I do not use much of this one)
The Primary Book would be Bullets and Blue Grass (out of print) but my campaign in general is about 20 years after the tradition Morrow Project (3rd edition) timeline

- See more at: http://henrick.com/ca4/?p=561#sthash.al9gQoGV.dpuf

[dragoon500ly]

The purpose of fortifications is to control selected areas with a minimum of personnel, I can easily see the KFS using bunkers to control choke pints, such as bridges, fords or passes. Although they would more likely use US Army-style fortifications.

As for protecting key factories, chain-link or barbed wire fenching with guard posts...unless its something really vital, then bring out the captured HAAM Suits I Say!!!!! ;)

[ArmySGT.]

Let me see if I can answer this as best I can.

Does the KFS guard trade routes outside of KFS boundaries? The goals of the KFS are limited to what the self serving interests of the Rich Five or their minions the 2000 desire.

If a resource or trade route outside of the KFS is important to them, then the KFS Cavalry, then the Army, then the Air Force will be used to keep it open.

Until the KFS or a Family doesn't need it anymore.

Are you suggesting that the KFS have centralized their refineries, powerplants and factory complexes to a single (or three-four-five) location(s) for protection?

No, the KFS appears to be salvaging and restarting infrastructure in place. They get it going where it is, if restarting it supports the goals of the Rich Five. I don't think they would bother restarting a powerplant unless that power plant was necessary for something that supported or enriched the Rich Five. Certainly not for the people or to elevate the standards of living. The poverty and the ignorance are means of control.

Unlike the Morrow Project, the Rich Five did wake up after the War. They have had presumably 150 years to consolidate power, learn from their mistakes, and cripple any competing empires or American government.

How extensive is the road network and rail network? Do they duplicate routes, side by side, (and by how much, a little or a lot) or is it primarily a rail network feeding local road spurs into the surrounding area? They appear to repair the existing network. However, only so much as it would be necessary for themselves. The poor do not appear to travel at all. The trade appears to only come to the borders, then is distributed within the borders of the KFS by order and direction of the Rich Five. I would expect "Official" roads for the travel of civilians and other minimally maintained roads that are patrolled by the Cavalry.

Do they use the rivers for trade using steamboats or tugs and barges? Does the KFS maintain clear channels (cleared of snags, sandbars, etc.) and a minimum river depth by building dams and locks on the Ohio, Cumberland, Green, and Kentucky Rivers? Does not appear so. They use the tugs that were there before the war or manufacture wood and steam powered versions from old plans. What is best and most capable belongs to the Rich Five, what is necessary for the State is operated by the 2000. Anything else would be salvage run by civilians or non KFS people. Anything non KFS does not appear to operate inside the KFS borders such as Rivermen, or Gypsy Truckers.

Is this level of detail included in the B&B module?

More in "Fallback!" than "B&B". Some of it really is plot device. The built in incompetence and backbiting within the KFS military and bureaucracy is what makes the raids and fledgling insurgency by MP personnel even plausible.

Otherwise is it 4-6 PCs possible 1-6 NPC Green Berets vs hundreds of enemy infantry, motorized infantry, and horseback cavalry, supported by artillery, close air support, with logistics tail including trucks, air drop, or steam locomotives. All on their hometurf with more than 100 years to prepare and full knowledge of who and what the MP is.