Mexican Army Sourcebook complete

[Turboswede]

I just finished my Mexican Army Sourcebook and posted it to

http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/t2k/

So now I am thinking about my next project, what about a T2K guide to the People’s Liberation Army, or maybe the Bundeswehr? I could try to tackle the Russian army and figure out how to integrate Belorussia and the Ukraine.

[kato13]

Just to help people find the files they are under
Files->Army Sourcebooks

If I get a chance I will map your Mexican units.

[Ramjam]

Very interesting read and very useful for a southern US game.

I never realized they used so many Shermans.

The People’s Liberation Army would be good. But after 4 years of combat against the Russians there's not alot left of them.

The Bundeswehr again would be nice to give a more complete picture for Europe.

[General Pain]

Originally Posted by Turboswede

I just finished my Mexican Army Sourcebook and posted it to

http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/t2k/

So now I am thinking about my next project, what about a T2K guide to the People’s Liberation Army, or maybe the Bundeswehr? I could try to tackle the Russian army and figure out how to integrate Belorussia and the Ukraine.

If you want I can post it on the big book of war - with creds offcourse

[pmulcahy11b]

I'll have that up on my site later tonight.

[Turboswede]

Well today is my first day of a two week vacation and last night I was up until 1:00am (late for the dad of a 2 year old) working on the Bundesheer sourcebook. To tie the actions of the Heer into the T2K timeline I am making the post reunification Germany much more agressive than they were in reality.

It’s interesting that the West Germans were worried about a real life T2K arising from reunification, i.e. the NVA officer corps would take a hard line on issues like the return of east Prussia and the aqusition of Bohemia. As a result they retired everyone above the rank of Captain from the Nationale Volksarmee (NVA) and only allowed about 10% of the NVA jr. officers into the Bundesheer.

Wow, you can really learn a lot from role playing games

[kato13]

Originally Posted by Turboswede

Wow, you can really learn a lot from role playing games

You just summed up why I still have an interest in gaming.

[Targan]

Originally Posted by Turboswede

Wow, you can really learn a lot from role playing games

Absolutely. I can confidently say that if it wasn't for T2K I'd know much less about Poland and the east coast of the USA.

[pmulcahy11b]

Originally Posted by pmulcahy11b

I'll have that up on my site later tonight.

It's up. (Actually, it's been up since about 11 PM CDT last night.) Accessible through Anders' page.

[Webstral]

I’ve just read for the first time the outstanding Mexican Army Sourcebook by Turboswede. What an accomplishment! What a contribution to the Twilight: 2000 community! Really, dude—this is tremendous work. I’m inspired by it. If I weren’t already working on another project that I’m trying to complete by the beginning of my student teaching in January, I’d be inspired to copy the format and produce a sourcebook of my own work. This is wonderful.

I’ll mention some of the things I think work well, starting with the fact that Turboswede really has captured the Twilight: 2000 flavor, the Wikipedia flavor, and the Jane’s Guide flavor in this work. Did I mention just how impressed I am by this work? Here are a few other items that deserve praise:

• The photos and captions
o Great creative use of RL photographs. There’s nothing like realia to give people an image of what you’re talking about.
• The back story
o Grounding the Second Mexican-American War in history is a great idea that is in keeping with the Twilight: 2000 mode.
o This took work. I appreciate that Turboswede took the time to write a framework covering the history of the Mexican Army and of Mexico herself.
• Russian nuclear strikes on Mexican oil facilities
o Yes, this is exactly what I have advocated. I’m delighted someone else has seen things the same way.
• Escalating border violence in early 1998
o Although Turboswede and I aren’t on the same page regarding Mexican refugees during this period, we agree that American citizens are likely to take matters into their own hands.
o Turboswede uses the term “militia�, while I prefer the moniker “State Guard�. When it comes down to it, these ideas are fairly easily reconciled.
• The 1996 Order of Battle and US Army Vehicle Guide-style table of organization. What a great resource!
• Weapons and vehicle guides, too! It’s like a Christmas stocking that is enchanted to hold the contents of a footlocker.
• The improved mechanization of the Mexican Army vis-Ã*-vis the official source material makes it much easier to understand how the Mexican Army could have achieved success in the initial invasion.
o I’ve always been hard-pressed to justify why Sixth US Army didn’t just roll down into southern California and kick the Mexicans out. A handful of M1 goes a long way against armored cars and APC.
 The improved Mexican Army OOB makes it ever so much easier to explain why the Mexicans enjoy so much early success in Texas and California.
o I LOVE the DN concept. I won’t comment on whether it’s realistic or not because I love the combination of creativity and disciplined approach to presentation.

Without shame, I’m going to say that I will pirate much of Turboswede’s material for use in Thunder Empire.
There are one or two items I want to address. They’re nit-picks, really.

One problem with controlling illegal crossings into the US by Mexico is that this runs counter to the perceived self-interests of the ruling caste of Mexico (Turboswede, 2009, p. 9). The people who have the gumption to try to cross into the United States are exactly the kind of people the folks running the show want to have leave Mexico. They are obviously unhappy with their lot in the current arrangement, and they are willing to take action. If the action is that they go to the US, earn some money, and remit some of that money, then it’s win-win for the Mexican ruling class. If the same group is kept at home by force of (Mexican) arms, the equation becomes lose-lose. Would-be expatriates, already dissatisfied with their lot under the existing arrangement, have no options left but to oppose the government. This has been the unstated and underappreciated (the US) dynamic underlying the movement of Mexican nationals into the US for decades.

Some mention should be made (it’s possible I missed it) of an improved logistical capability on the part of the Mexican Army. Supplying a more-mechanized force in the US is going to take a lot more trucks. A LOT more trucks. Still, the logistical situation helps us understand why the Mexican drive stalls in 1998. They just can’t keep their forces supplied as the supply lines move forward. The Americans, not being irretrievably stupid, destroy the rail network from the border north. Despite using requisitioned trucks, the Mexicans find that as their forces move further from the border their ability to provide support diminishes dramatically.


Once again, this work is tremendous!


Webstral

[kalos72]

My only issue with the source book was the way the units were organized and named. Trying to figure out what type of unit it was and where the hell it was now.

But Spanish confuses me. :P