I need help.

[Lt Col Andy Reddson, REF Profile Website]

My (well-earned) reputation notwithstanding, I have a problem- One I was hoping y’all can help me with.
I am trying to write a warfare doctrine; I figure it’s about 75% complete, but now I’m up against a brick wall.
I would appreciate any assistance in this; Mostly I hit the wall in the Ground Warfare and Space Combat Doctrine sections.

UGC Warfare Doctrine
The UGC’s Warfare Doctrine is divided into two main forms of warfare:
Orbital Warfare
Ground Warfare
There is, intermittently, discussion of open-space ship battles, but this is routinely dropped in the course of such reviews; Though Spacy and Patrol ships do routinely engage in ship to ship battles in open space (that is, space beyond a planetry or smaller gravity well) and occasionally deep space (beyond even a stellar gravity well), these battles are rarely conducted in such a way that a “defined” battle plan beyond that that a Fleet Commander can come up with on their own, often as the battle develops. However, to assist Fleet Commanders in their planning process, a Space Combat Doctrine was written.

Orbital Warfare
Orbital warfare is the primary method of war with the REF, due to the relative ease of maintaining a Battle Fleet in orbit, vs. the dangers of a ground war. The three main forms of orbital warfare are:
Orbital Bombardment;
Blockade;
Interdiction.

Orbital Bombardment
Orbital Bombardment is divided into 2 main types: Strategic and Tactical. Tactical Bombardment consists of the devastation of an entire planet. The targets include cities, factories, farms, roads, and militry bases. Essentially the entire surface area of the planet is destroyed , plus “high-value” subterranean and submarine targets. Strategic Bombardment is restricted to high-value targets: Factories of militry assets, most critically expendables (such as ammo) and aero-space craft (fighters, bombers, shuttles, etc), aero-space bases, main highways between cities (especially interchanges beyond main settled areas), and militry command centers.

Blockade
Blockade is the prevention of entry to the planet by spaceships other than those of the UGC. Limited strategic bombardment, targeting landing areas, may be used ISO a blockade, but usually are not. Unauthorized vsls are simply shot as they approach, ensuring they can not land. Typically, the drive systems are targeted, forcing the vsl to heave-to. Those that do so are boarded and towed to an impound anchorage, where they can be repaired and their cargos seized. Those that do not have a danger of re-entering the gravity well, without control- They crash, killing the passengers and crew.

Interdiction
Interdiction is a hybrid of both Blockade and Strategic Bombardment. The purpose of interdiction is to totally, hopelessly, isolate the planet. The commitment necessary to totally Interdict a planet, however, is fairly ship-intensive; The planet must be consistently scoured of anything that could be used either as a staging base for the launch/recovery of spacecraft, or as a base of operations for anti-ship weapons systems, while simultaneously remaining vigilant from attempts to enter the planet. Despite this, Interdiction is the most common form of orbital warfare.
Shuttle launch facilities are difficult, though not impossible, to disguise, though anti-ship weaps can be hidden far more easily. An example of a disguised shuttle launch facility from PTX-4451 was the construction of a skyscraper, the core of which was steadily ripped out. An ingenious plan, the plot was uncovered only when the lean of the structure was compared with both the rotation of the planet and prevailing wind patterns; The lean was consistent with that necessary for a launch facility, going towards the rotation, while prevailing wind patterns went the same direction, which worked against the building. This macroscopic miscalculation caught the attention of observers in orbit, which prompted a much closer look; Focused radar revealed that many of the upper stories were hollow, while movement activity around the site revealed a great deal of trash, far in excess of that which the building should have been able to generate, was going out.
Weaps sites are much easier to hide; One need only build a tube, put enough gun powder behind a slug or container, and light the fuse. Such sites are often disguised as factory smokestacks, using common enough personal elevators or even nuclear missile re-entry vehicles.

Ground Warfare
Prosecuting a ground war is the UGC’s last option; The invasion even of a friendly territory is fraught with many dangers, most especially from dissidents, saboteurs, and other partisans.
Ground Warfare is best divided into it’s stages:
Assault;
Foothold;
Consolidation;
Advancement;
Securement;
Development.

Assault
The Assault phase is both the simplest and most dangerous; The simplicity is that all you have to do is get to the ground alive. The danger is few, if any, defenders will allow you to do so unchallenged.
These dangers can be mitigated; Landing well outside central developed areas, ‘hot landing’, releasing Mecha, tanks, and power armor WITHOUT LANDING, akin to paratroopers of old (applicable mostly to the YOUNGER-class Assault Shuttle), and area saturation bombardment (softening up) can contribute significantly to a successful landing, but have their own drawbacks.
Even the most reliably survivable of shuttles, the FRANDLAR TILUVO-Class Assault Shuttle (the T’sentrædi Re-Entry Pod, not generally in UGC Service), works best in at least a level, hardened landing area (ie a landing strip). Hot Dropping can result in assault gear and personnel crashing to the planet (just like the paratroopers of old). Even the moderately psychotic 2[s]7[/s]1st Dragoon, with their WB-41[s]7[/s] Wing Boards, were RIGHTFULLY respectful of the dangers of hot dropping, with new members not being allowed to ‘wing in’ until they had successfully completing the maneuver 10 times in a simulator WITHOUT ERROR, then completing another 10 drops in a rear area- Well away from Invid guns, but with simulated attacks using down-powered RaiderX’s. “Softening up”, or area saturation bombardment, can badly harm enemy forces in the area, but gives them a bullseye as to WHERE the assault force is going to be landing, and may not necessarily hurt all the enemy in the area; Underground bunkers or unit’s too small to note can potentially survive the bombardment, creating the idea conditions for a trap. Worse, the bombardment could devastate the landing area, softening up the literally dirt under the feet of the assault force, into which the force can seep into (especially if inclement weather makes it all mud, which can cause Destroids to sink up to their knees or higher, getting, literally, “stuck in the mud”).

Foothold
Once the first assault force lands, it is CRITICAL to land additional forces as quickly as possible; Securing this foothold consists of backing away enemy forces to at LEAST a 10 mile perimeter, then establishing temporary aero-space landing fields, often using Marston Mats (interlocking aluminum or steel ‘planks’ with little holes in them to lighten them up) or Coup Mats (Kevlar mats that can be rolled out to cover about 100²’ area), and often both (overlaid) for EXTREMELY heavy loads (such as the PLANETMASTER-Class assault shuttle).

Consolidation
The Consolidation phase involves rotation wounded personnel out, fresh troops and replacement equipment in, securing theater perimeters (generally around a 50-mile front), and bringing in extended-duration facilities (tent cities, conexes for holding spare artillery shells, etc). As possible, dead troops and damaged equipment that can not easily be repaired (or totally irreparable) are rotated out, though priority goes to the wounded; Until space becomes available, the dead and damaged are stored in conexes. (It may not be dignified, but it is NECESSARY.)
This phase often co-incides with the Foothold phase, and continues throughout the invasion.

Advancement
Advancing the perimeter is a critical mission in war, taking the war to the enemy being the purpose of an army. The Advancement phase involves capturing the surrounding cities, closing roads to enemy traffic, and killing or driving off (preferably the former) enemy troops. This phase counter-incides with the Securement phases- that is, the ground forces Advance, Secures and Consolidates, then Advances again, and repeats as necessary.

Securement
Securing gains is as critical as MAKING gains; Searching captured areas for hidden troops, booby traps, abandoned/damaged equipment, and rebuilding mission-critical equipment (such as power generators and relays needed to supply the REF Army). Transferring enemy POWs and partisans to brig ships often occurs as part of the Securing sup][size=-1]and[/size][/sup]/or Consolidation phase. Consolidation and Securement are typically the same phase, but not necessarily so.

Development
Developing gains means cleaning up the mess; Collecting spent shells, expended Depleted Uranium munitions (these are radioactive), clearing away other rubble, rebuilding roads, hospitals, schools, and other critical infrastructure, and treating potential long-term problems. Other aspects of developing gains may mean negotiating peace/surrender terms, installing/re-installing governmental bodies and key personnel, making reparations to civilians caught in the cross-fire, and arranging funding to re-build the planet’s economy.

Space Combat Doctrine
To assist Fleet Commanders, this Space combat Doctrine was written to provide only GENERAL guidance; It is meant only as a framework for the development of a plan, not as a replacement to using your head.
Consider the following factors in the development of your plan:
• Your fleets strength versus that of the enemy’s; If your fleet is NUMERICALLY and TECHNOLOGICALLY stronger, you may want to consider meeting them in open space; If you are weaker in one aspect or the other, you may want to consider meeting them in a gravity well, giving weight to how far they out match your forces; If your meeting an enemy who’s technology is so vastly inferior that individual laser batteries can easily overwhelm the enemies numerical advantage, you should continue to consider an open space engagement.
• The position of nearby gravity wells (planets, etc):

The presence of gravity wells makes hyperspace folds difficult, if not impossible. This works both ways; you can’t fold space, and neither can they. FTL Drives are also unusable inside a gravity well, though the difference is that an FTL won’t work inside a gravity well at all, whereas a hyperspace fold drive will work- Often unpredictably.
Gravity wells also hold the ships in the area- Yours and theirs. When maneuverability favors your forces, other than aero-space fighters, bombers, etc, you may wish to meet the enemy in open space. When maneuverability favors the enemy, you may want to arrange your forces around a gravity well, preferably the strongest one you can find that will not overwhelm your own ships.
Gravity wells also serves to hold disabled vsls; Keep in mind that dozens of REF vsls damaged and abandoned during the IPA/Atorian War were recovered, in some cases as much as 20 years later (after radiation levels had dropped to safe workable levels), when caught in a gravity well (shipwrecked).

• When approaching the enemy, do not arrange either your weakest (fifth-class) nor strongest (first-class) ships at the lead of the formation, but the second- and third-class ships, such as CONSTITUTION- and VEROCHA-Class Warships. Working back, intersperse light and heavy, then towards the rear medium and light warships.
• Ring your Fleet Ships with Patrol Ships; The Patrol excels in defensive fighting, and can cover even an Ultra-Dimensional Fortress- Provided the heavier Fleet Ships protect the Patrol Ships from enemy fighters and, more importantly, enemy warships. Patrol Ships generally can protect themselves from enemy fighters and missiles, though against massed formations can become overwhelmed.

It is important to note that this doctrine is not written in stone, but was written in blood- Every aspect of the doctrine was developed from prior conflicts, from the Control War (the Tiresian’s war to gain absolute dominance over the Local Sector) to the Ganude Conflict.

[COBRA Profile]

I'm not sure what might be added to your doctrince, Andy. Since I'm not one of those smart ones on MRC who can point it out, I will leave it to them and shut my mouth.

However, would it not be better if this Doctrine was put in the Statistics Discussion Thread instead?

[Lt Col Andy Reddson, REF Profile Website]

However, would it not be better if this Doctrine was put in the Statistics Discussion Thread instead?

[FONT="Times New Roman"][SIZE="3"][COLOR="White"]It’s not about the stats- It’s the general doctrine. But maybe it covers both…
Either way, at 8Ø views with one reply (and that being “I can’t really help), I go the impression that I’m not gonna get any. (There is no “generally irritated/disappointed smiley. Imagine one here.)[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]