Bioweapons

[Legbreaker]

Although they're nasty and somewhat indiscriminate, they have been used in the past and the Soviets were well prepared to use them again. My research has revealed that they had developed defences in parallel to their offensive capability - not perfect by any means, but it put them in a MUCH better position than the west.
Like any weapon there's a time and a place for them (hopefully nowhere and never, but should we really shove our heads in the sand over the possibility?) Certain regions lend themselves to the use of biologicals more than chemicals or nukes, and other regions make their use near suicidal (transportation links, population density, etc all factor into it).

So, getting back to my original question, has anyone stated them out, even in just a rudimentary way?

Here's a couple of videos on the subject and a link to a page I've found interesting and informative.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dvsXCnoETjw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xiR6SD_LFw
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3148622
Also worth a read is this book "Plague Wars: the Terrifying Reality of Biological Warfare".
https://www.worldcat.org/title/plagu.../oclc/47109070

[Silent Hunter UK]

The most realistic option in game would something like putting dead animals in the water supply.

[Legbreaker]

Originally Posted by Silent Hunter UK

The most realistic option in game would something like putting dead animals in the water supply.

That's certainly part of it, and absolutely something that would be (and has been) done all around the world. That though really only introduces "basic" diseases such as the rules already cover. I'm looking for the more "supercharged" stuff the Soviets had spent decades developing (and could well still be now given the Russians refuse to allow proper inspections of suspect sites).

[Raellus]

Originally Posted by Legbreaker

Although they're nasty and somewhat indiscriminate, they have been used in the past...

Aside from Japan's Unit 731's experimentation with bioweapons in China during WW2, when have biological weapons been used in modern warfare?

I tend to agree that bio-weapons weren't used on any significant scale in the Twilight War. First off, nukes and natural epidemics exacerbated by malnutrition, exposure, etc. would reduce population density to the point where bioweapons wouldn't be particularly effective. By the same token, by early 1998 or so, military units are smaller and more dispersed, making bioweapons a less efficient option than tactical nukes, chem weapons, or even conventional artillery.

However, if used before the nuclear exchange began, bioweapons would have been much more efficient killers, for the reasons stated by previous posters. However, with all three NBC genies out of their respective bottles, the global casualty rates would surely exceed what's described in canon. It's essentially overkill.

On a side note, in a T2K PbP campaign in which I play, the PCs may have discovered a crude attempt to introduce cholera into regional water supplies. They recently found a cache of urine jars that may contain naturally-occurring cholera bacterium in an underground bunker belonging to a cult-like bandit group in northeastern Poland. This after having encountered a couple of groups (one bandit, one civilian) suffering from a mysterious illness.

[Vespers War]

Originally Posted by Raellus

Aside from Japan's Unit 731's experimentation with bioweapons in China during WW2, when have biological weapons been used in modern warfare?

Rhodesia in the late 1970s, possibly South Africa in the 1980s under Project Coast, and arguably Vietnam (herbicides are technically chemical but often get grouped in with biological weapons because they work by triggering biotoxins in plants).


It's probably more well-documented in terrorist attacks, such as the 1984 Rajneeshee attack at The Dalles (salmonella), the 1990 and 1993 Aum Shinrikyo attacks (botulinum and anthrax), and the 2001, 2003, and 2013 attacks through the mail in the United States (anthrax, ricin, and ricin respectively)

[ChalkLine]

It's almost certain the USA used them during The Korean War

[Raellus]

@Vespers: Thanks. Those examples were all pretty limited in scope and scale. Most, if not all, of those uses appear to be primarily area-denial in nature- i.e. not intended to cause mass casualties, but to keep territory and resources out of enemy hands. Legbreaker can correct me if I'm wrong, but I took his OP to mean large-scale usage, for example, against major population centers or troop concentrations.

@Chalkline: A Google search doesn't turn up much in the way of conclusive evidence that this is true. The only things in abundance are allegations and counter-allegations leveled by and at both sides, and some circumstantial evidence (a few cases of atypical diseases in North Korea and China), all of it steeped in intense Cold War-era mistrust and propaganda.

It could be true, but the threshold for evidence is too low to conclude that American BW use is "almost certain" to have occurred. Even if the allegations of US BW use in Korea are valid, it appears that it was very limited in scope and scale, and more experimental than tactical/strategic in nature.

@All: The T2KU belongs to everyone, so if you want to include BW in your campaign setting, I don't presume to tell you that you shouldn't. I think limited, small-scale, localized use of certain, not-especially-virulent agents (like those Vespers mentioned) are fairly likely. However, IMHO, military use of something like Smallpox or Pneumonic Plague make the T2KU too deadly and depopulated to be a viable play setting.

-

[Legbreaker]

Originally Posted by Raellus

Legbreaker can correct me if I'm wrong, but I took his OP to mean large-scale usage, for example, against major population centers or troop concentrations.

Anything at all is what I'm after. Large scale or single target. Just looking for stats for weaponized diseases, etc (infection and recovery numbers, treatments, etc - basically an expansion of the existing disease rules to cover the REALLY nasty stuff).

[Legbreaker]

"Plague Wars: the Terrifying Reality of Biological Warfare" (link above) details a lot of what was really going on but swept under the carpet. Well worth the read.
If you can't find it, or don't have the time, the second youtube video link above is a reasonable albeit incomplete summary of the book.

[swaghauler]

Originally Posted by Legbreaker

Anything at all is what I'm after. Large scale or single target. Just looking for stats for weaponized diseases, etc (infection and recovery numbers, treatments, etc - basically an expansion of the existing disease rules to cover the REALLY nasty stuff).

I don't see either side using Bio Warfare because it is simply too hard to control. Non-Persistent Chemical Weapons would be the go-to weapon of mass destruction.

Genetically-engineered bioweapons would see a modification to either the INFECTION NUMBER or the FATALITY NUMBER of a common version of that disease. So a Bioweapon version would be the base disease enhanced accordingly. I would recommend using NON-VIRAL diseases (Bacterial) so that your attackers can use ANTIBIOTICS to fight the Bioweapons IF they lose control of those diseases. A VIRUS requires a VACCINE made from either weakened or dead Virus cells which means replicating that Virus to produce the vaccine. Remember that Antibiotics DO NOT WORK on viruses. Also, Bacterial Diseases tend to be bigger [in Microns] than Viruses which is important when you consider what standard PPE will shield you from and what it won't.

[RN7]

Originally Posted by Vespers War

Rhodesia in the late 1970s, possibly South Africa in the 1980s under Project Coast

South Africa had a highly developed chemical and biological warfare capability and the Apartheid regime would have used it in the blink of an eye against their own black population and their enemies in Africa if it felt threatened by them.

South Africa developed the ability to produce chemical weapons during the Second World War, when South Africa manufactured phosgene and mustard gas to assist the British war effort. By the 1960's independent South Africa produced quantities of riot control chemicals such as tear gas and CX powder as a deterrent against internal uprisings. In the 1970's South Africa became involved in Angola against Soviet backed SWAPO guerrillas and Angolan and Cuban forces. A perceived threat from Soviet battlefield chemical weapons led to the development of a South African programme known as Project Coast to develop more sophisticated chemical and biological weapons.

Project Coast was run by the South African Medical Services and was centred at a biochemical facility known as Delta G Scientific in Pretoria. This was later moved to a new facility in Johannesburg in the 1980s, and consisted of two manufacturing plants: a pre-production plant and a large laboratory complex. Delta G focused on military projects to preserve public order such as the large-scale production of riot control agents such as CS and CR gas. Delta G also produced small quantities of mind-altering narcotics to test their viability as calmatives. The South African military intended to use biochemical weapons only as a last resort, and Delta G was not involved in large scale production of chemical weapons. However it did produce small quantities of blister mustard gas, nerve agents like sarin, tabun and VX, and the military grade psycho-incapacitant BZ. Delta G also tested protective gear and developed antidotes to protect security force members and South African agents who might be exposed to chemical agents.

Project Coast also researched biological warfare at the Roodeplaat Research Laboratories in Pretoria. Roodeplaat worked with many biological agents and viruses such as anthrax, botulinum, cholera, Ebola, E. coli, hepatitis A, HIV, organophosphates, Marburg, necrotizing fasciitis, ricin, Rift Valley hemorrhagic-fever, salmonella and thallium, and produced crude toxins for use by the military and police as biological weapons.

A more sinister aspect of South African biological research was its adoption of Soviet techniques to create ordinary looking objects that could be used for assassinations with biological agents, and its research into using biological weapons as a component of racial warfare. South Africa conducted research into reducing the black birth rate through creating race-specific bacterial weapons such as vaccines and contraceptive drugs that would clandestinely make black males sterile. There were also plans to spread cholera and yellow fever among the black population by contaminating South Africa's water supply. South African agents are alleged to have used biological agents to try and assassinate opponents of Apartheid, including members of the ANC and United Democratic Front, and members of the South African Defence Force who threatened to expose it. In the 1980's it was alleged that South African Defence Force and former Rhodesian security forces personnel used biological agents to kill hundreds of SWAPO prisoners in South West Africa.

Basically Apartheid South Africa was hard core. They also had their own nuclear weapons, an advanced and highly resourceful arms programme, the best army and air force in Africa, a military trained and armed white civilian population, and counter-insurgency and special operations forces that were better than most NATO countries. They were also self sufficient in most raw materials and food, and could produce oil from coal in large quantities. They also cooperated with the Israelis in many areas, and I'd say the Israelis learned quite a few things from them!!