Olefin's Twilight 2000 Universe thread

[Olefin]

Will be putting some things here as to how things differ from canon in my Twilight 2000 Universe as compared to canon. Remember this is strictly my opinion and also campaign experience and used for my campaign only and is presented here only for discussion and to represent one way the game could play out.

Have said before several times why I dont use Howling Wildnerness and Kidnapped in my campaign because of why I dont feel the drought it presents is realistic - especially as both of them seem to show survivors of the 1997-98 events in the US not having much in the way of food in early 2001, even though they would have had to be planting and harvesting for several years already just to be alive to that point (canned food and harvest from 1997 time frame would have been gone by 1999 at the very latest so either a lot of agriculture is already going on or they would be dead before both modules even started) and unless you are a really bad farmer you should be able to stockpile some food - no farmer worth his salt has nothing left in reserve

However the other reason I dont do it is because the US military basically falls apart due to desertion and apathy in those modules, with only about 2000 or so men from the 43000 who returned to the States being used as reinforcements and the rest just "going over the fence" some night or being released from military service.

I dont see this as realistic for several reasons (oh by the way I talked to several active duty and retired military personnel, both enlisted and officer on this issue and this represents their inputs)

1) The US is still in a state of war with the Soviet Union and its allies and Mexico. That means that if you are in the military its for the duration. You would only be released if you were physically unable to do duty that could help the military.

2) The US itself is under military law, either CivGov or MilGov in nature. Again if you are in the military in that situation you are in it for the duration.

If you desert you get shot - period. if you try to desert you get shot - period.

3) The United States is under occupation in southern CA, AZ, NM and south and central Texas by foreign invaders as well as in Anchorage AK. The US military, whether under CivGov or MilGov, wouldnt be releasing soldiers until those invaders were driven off - period. Anyone who ordered US troops released while enemy forces were on US soil and thus weakened the ability of the US to drive them out would be seen as a traitor and again

you get shot - period

4) The United States, if you play New America or if you only have marauders in place, has many places either in a state of anarchy or outright rebellion against the central government, whether it be MilGov or CivGov in nature. Such a rebellion and anarchy would need to be put down - so again failure to send in military forces to put this down is treason in time of war and....

you get shot - period

5) While many units disintegrated during Going Home many others came home intact. Those units, with intact command structures and unit cohesion, would be sent out to either fight the Mexicans or the Soviets or New America.

they include

3rd US AD – 5000 men - pre- war regular division

28th ID – 1000 men - National Guard

4th US MD – 1000 men- pre- war regular division

1st US AD – 4000 men - pre-war regular division

3rd US MD – 5000 men - pre-war regular division

6th US ID – 2000 men - pre-war regular division

38th US ID – 4000 men - National Guard

278th US ACR – 400 men - pre-war regular ACR

thats 22,400 men in organized units with their officer, NCO and unit cohesion intact - seven divisions and one ACR and two intact Army HQ orgs to command them (of which only two are Guard units)

even if you say the Guard units would desert that still leaves 17,400 men in regular units

Thats the kind of force that takes back Texas from the Mexicans and drives them out of Los Angeles and San Diego and makes short work of the New Americans in the Ozarks.

6) This isnt Vietnam and these men arent draftees. Most of them would be regular volunteer military who would be very patriotic and very much for defending their nation no matter what. Those men would never abandon their units and their country and let foreign troops remain in control of US soil while they still lived.

And there is no way that 22,000 men all die in "shipping accidents" or are "too wounded to be able to serve"

And thats just the intact units - I didnt include the ones that broke up into mobs because those units are the ones that wouldnt be ready to be put into the fight as soon as they got home. But the others would.

7) The US is still engaged in a hot war with the Soviets in the Middle East, one that they just sent 6000 men to. So more men could be sent there too - and again deserting a unit being sent overseas is desertion in time of war and ...

you get shot

8) CivGov still has an intact army in Europe - one that needs reinforcements. So any men who defect to CivGov could be sent to Europe. Oh you dont want to go? See above.

Now remember this is in my universe only and is not in any way an attempt to challenge the overall canon of Twilight 2000. However it is based on what the US military became by 1996 in reality which apparently is not what the authors based their US military on - which appears more to resemble a draftee army in how it is handled, at least in my opinion. Note I said in my opinion only.

Not all modules or sourcebooks are used after all by all GM's or referees and everyone's campaign universe is free to diverge as they see fit (as ours did by our own actions which made several modules moot by what we did during it)

And I didnt say they stay together forever - frankly once the last Mexican soldier is back across the Rio Grande I can see them saying ok now can we go home? But not before.

Oh and for the record - I dont apply these remarks to the light divisions that basically did get drafted in 1997 and 1998. They would have small cadres of professional soldiers and draftees and reservists to round them out. Those units could have large scale desertions as could the National Guard units as well in some cases (but remember these weekend warriors are now experienced combat vets). But not the regular military units.

Again my two cents on how my campaign universe differs from canon.