Final Preparations

Schedules & reviews on meetings [don't spam]

Moderator: Zanaikin

User avatar
Mr_Praetorian
High Lord of Ham
Posts: 3473
Joined: Mon May 01, 2006 2:57 am
Race: Paragon Gelatinous Cube
Class: The Classiest
Location: Charm City
Contact:

Re: Final Preparations

Postby Mr_Praetorian » Mon Nov 10, 2008 9:40 pm

"Though I'm weary of repeat tactics, the additional forces should make it doable. Given the amount of forces, and the predicament, using the Battlemasters to distract the main attack sounds like solid plan.

Though, to be honest, what concerns me most is the positioning of the rearguard forces. I scarcely believe that this Crimson Brigade that we've been hearing so much about is back there for purely defensive reasons. We've spurned the Imperials several times now, and I'd be kidding myself if I thought their commander was just tagging along. If I had to take a guess, I'd venture that they will be sent to break through our lines once we're fully engaged with the enemy. Meaning that we need to have a contingency planned for this.

By my count, we have to options for this: One, we have a force held back within our own ranks to brunt such a attack. This would require us, no doubt, withhold some of our more elite troops in reserve, but I've seen a well plced surge of troops turn a battle into a rout more than once.

Or, two, we manage to keep the rear of the enemy line distracted long enough to win or stalemate the battle in the Southern Theatres. Which in our case, would probably mean that we keep funneling more Battlemasters in, and occasionally strike with our more mobile forces just keep their attention divided.

Thoughts?"
You! Your character's build displeases me! Come to the boards for nerfing!

Active Characters:


User avatar
Squall255
The cake is a lie because I ate it.
Posts: 2211
Joined: Wed May 03, 2006 12:02 am
Race: All of them
Class: Support
Location: Command Center
[phpBB Debug] PHP Warning: in file [ROOT]/vendor/twig/twig/lib/Twig/Extension/Core.php on line 1107: count(): Parameter must be an array or an object that implements Countable

Re: Final Preparations

Postby Squall255 » Mon Nov 10, 2008 11:59 pm

"Considering our limited response time, and the enemy's superior speed, Especially with the METAAC's that are the main threat, I'd suggest we go with option 2. If we hold ourselves in reserve, I'm afraid we will take some heavy losses before we are able to get to where they are going to strike. Your second proposal offers us the chance to have them send their commanders all over the battle field trying to respond to new attacks. This not only lets us know where they will be, but will also use up their movement, minimizing the Crimson Brigade's effectiveness."
(|)
(|)





Look! He's a brainless, life-sucking god of death. At sunrise he'll vanish like a bad dream. ~Jigo (Princess Mononoke)

<Tal> Our chem teacher said it didn't really matter how we titled the graphs and tables in our semester prac
<Tal> but i still lost marks for having a Table of +2 Undead Slaying and Graph of Destiny :(

User avatar
TheDude51
The cake is a lie because I ate it.
Posts: 1088
Joined: Sat May 20, 2006 4:04 pm
Contact:

Re: Final Preparations

Postby TheDude51 » Tue Nov 11, 2008 2:13 am

The main problem I see with repeating the same tactics that we used in the last battle is that the enemy will be ready for them this time. One of the enemy artillery units kept a volley of missiles in reserve and managed to inflict significant casualties on the mage unit attacking them. We can expect every Imperial artillery unit to use a similar strategy this time. Combined with additional guard units likely to be posted, this will make assaulting the enemy artillery significantly more difficult, and we will need appropriately more powerful forces do destroy each enemy artillery emplacement. I would prefer to achieve decisive victories with few casualties against a smaller number of artillery emplacements than risk spreading our forces too thinly.

I am unsure about the strategy of "funneling" small numbers of battlemasters continuously into the enemy forces. If we pursued such a strategy, it would mean certainly losing all of the battlemasters used, as the enemy fire would be able to tear apart a smaller force with ease. If we send to few of our forces, the enemy could continue advancing despite the distractions of surgical strikes and battlemasters. However, if we sent to many, our forces will be depleted too far to effectively oppose the enemy in Airindale. It comes down to how long we need to keep the Imperial force here pinned down and what we believe they will do once Naralan's forces capture Trias. Theres a decent chance that the Imperial and Norinth defenders at Trias will manage to hold their positions for significantly longer than expected, in which case this strategy would lead to our Battlemasters being greatly depleted. I also think it is a bit presumptuous to assume that the Imperial forces here will immediately disengage once our allies achieve local superiority in Trias. Once Trias falls, the Imperial commanders may decide to force an engagement here before they retreat back to Norinth to engage the Naralan forces. In that case also, spending battlemasters on a delaying action would be disastrous for this theater: the enemy would simply fight their way to Thatahl and force an engagement there, attempting to eliminate Airindale's forces before returning North to deal with Naralan's.

Due to these considerations, I would prefer to engage decisively here. My initial idea is to attack all along the enemy line, hitting from both flanks also if possible. Most of these forces should be extremely diffuse, with relatively few Battlemasters, while the majority of our forces would be concentrated in a single area. The idea being to have the spread out forces force the enemy battle line to engage them, while the concentrated force is powerful enough to achieve local superiority even if the Crimson Blades are deployed against it. Obviously such a tactic would be accompanied by forceful strikes against artillery positions. This approach could run into problems if the Imperials were able to deal overwhelming damage to the concentrated force with their artillery, or if the battle line were able to mostly ignore the more spread out battlemasters, at least enough to re-orient their battle line and bring the bulk of the firepower of all four brigades to bear on the concentration of our forces. Thoughts on this?
Would it not be easier
In that case for the government
To dissolve the people
And elect another?
-Bertolt Brecht

User avatar
Mr_Praetorian
High Lord of Ham
Posts: 3473
Joined: Mon May 01, 2006 2:57 am
Race: Paragon Gelatinous Cube
Class: The Classiest
Location: Charm City
Contact:

Re: Final Preparations

Postby Mr_Praetorian » Tue Nov 11, 2008 2:51 am

"Unfortunately, allowing the fight to come here reveals to problems. One, if fight here, our Battlemasters loose their ability to dimension-door. They're still damn fast, but I'd rather let them keep their maneuverability if I had my choice. Secondly, letting the enemy get so close means that this very Keep will be in range of their artillery. Not that I doubt the skills of the defenders, but I don't think anyone in this room needs to be reminded of the capability of their long range weaponry.

Instead, let us keep our theatre of war in the area Daerthelar has suggested, and focus on reducing their reaction time by drawing their attention in several directions at once. Between our forces we possess seven war magic sections, and with the addition of our Sky Galleons, another three.

We could open the battle with our strike as intended, and when their forces are moving to react to us, we would have our WMS' begin casting tactical solid fogs, cloudkills, and other wide area effects to force them manuver around them to counter our attacks. Their naturally loose disposition will reduce the damage, but our intent is only to cause confusion. Furthermore, as soon as the battle in imminent, my three Sky Galleons can being firing off shots from distant location.

Samael, you look as though you're dying to say something."
You! Your character's build displeases me! Come to the boards for nerfing!

Active Characters:


User avatar
TheDude51
The cake is a lie because I ate it.
Posts: 1088
Joined: Sat May 20, 2006 4:04 pm
Contact:

Re: Final Preparations

Postby TheDude51 » Tue Nov 11, 2008 2:58 am

Speaking of tactical spells, a Tactical Storm of Vengeance from Lady Kati could be very beneficial. If we timed it to take effect just as the battlemasters were reaching Imperial direct-fire range and used it to cover the front lines of the enemy forces, it could blind a significant number of the enemy for long enough to let the battlemasters close. Once they got close enough to engage, the Storm could be dismissed.

Also, I support Daethelar on the position to engage them, for the reasons he mentioned. However, I would like to note that any artillery that the Imperials direct at Thatahl keep itself is fire not used to hit our combat forces, and a position of fixed fortifications is much easier to defend against artillery than infantry are.
Would it not be easier
In that case for the government
To dissolve the people
And elect another?
-Bertolt Brecht

User avatar
Zanaikin
Tsunshun
Posts: 4433
Joined: Fri Apr 28, 2006 2:37 am
Race: Tofu
Class: Strategist 5/Worldforger 3/SW Engineer 5
Location: Lost in my virtual universe
Contact:

Re: Final Preparations

Postby Zanaikin » Tue Nov 11, 2008 5:38 am

Kanaer gets rather annoyed and starts a rant:
"Have you paid any attention at all? The purpose of sending in strikes is not to pin them down from retreating to Trias, it's to force them from taking a mobile defense stance unopposed. Not the whole world fight in Phalanx formations where the only time of engagement is when advancing or holding ground - we don't, and you can bet the Imperials don't. Why hold when they are both faster than our Battlemasters and have longer range? They can just steadily withdraw and pound your concentrated attack to ashes!"
...and finally ending it after he notices Daethelar glaring at him...


Tharivol:
"If the enemy attempts to withdraw to Trias in the middle of a confrontation as such it would work greatly in our favor. But we should not count upon such luck in our planning."


Daethelar:
"Furthermore, that last proposition is not true. Should the enemy bombardment our fixed defenses here, our losses would be far more severe than in the open, where our Battlemasters can actually maneuver and spread out to reduce their losses. Yet at the same time, Thatahl Keep has no significant value. It may be our forward base, but the true value is our Battlemasters positioned here. It is because of that reason we have yet to rebuild a Force or Prismatics ward projector for this keep. It would be folly to assume the Imperials would choose to bombard the Keep when it is the Battlemaster that pose a more direct threat upon them. The problem with defending closer to the keep is that one, as Lord Derovarr stated, the Battlemasters will lose their ability to Dimension Door, and it is that ability to allowed the Battlemasters to evade the bulk of the Imperial Battle Line's defensive missile fire during their charge. Two, the woods here are more of a hindrance to the Battlemasters than they are to the enemy. Based on what we've seen of their firepower they will have no problem destroying entire patches of the forest with their bombardment, and the trees' fall will cause more collateral damage and leave large quantities of debris that would make it harder for our Battlemasters to maneuver. Unless that is we engage above the tree line, in which case we might as well be taking the enemy on our in the open north of Airindale."

"While I fully support the idea of advancing all of our forces upon their line at once to overwhelm them, what if they refuse to meet us within our range? What if they steadily withdraw while continue their bombardment? Our Battlemasters have no means to catch up, and it would be folly to rely upon our mage assaults as the only means to crippling the enemy long-range fire. It is for that reason I propose to send in small units into and behind their lines - small enough so that they loss with not impact us much, but just numerous enough to pose a threat to the enemy and force them to maneuver in their position to fight back rather than being able to withdraw steadily without interference. The purpose of these attacks is not to pin the enemy down from withdrawing from the field, but to pin them from moving back and buy our Battlemasters time to be brought to melee range."

"Regarding the enemy's Crimson brigade. I support Lord Derovarr's suggestion on distracting them through smaller assaults. After all, we cannot guarantee our response forces can beat their units to critical battlegrounds should they have the initiative. Therefore it would be best that we take the initiative from them. Yet at the same time this requires moderation. Any Battlemasters who use as fodder against them, and any teleportation circles conjured to send them over, means they would not be available for other uses. I do not believe we need to distract them in the early stage of the battle. But once both forces have been fully engaged, that is when the Imperials may pull up their Crimson brigade for a decisive assault."


Aelisar:
"As far as a Tactical Storm of Vengeance, I believe it'll be certainly worth a try to see how effective that may be at blinding their equipment. The Battlemasters have already shown that using their Dimension Door to cross the final distance of their charge against the Imperial line will significantly reduce the enemy's effectiveness in firepower. With an additional effect to provide cover, we may be able to nearly nullify their defensive fire capabilities."
|

()

"Hurrah, Warsaw's ours!" / "Hurrah, Field Marshal!" - Battle report & promotion notice between Alexander Suvorov & Catherine the Great

User avatar
Mr_Praetorian
High Lord of Ham
Posts: 3473
Joined: Mon May 01, 2006 2:57 am
Race: Paragon Gelatinous Cube
Class: The Classiest
Location: Charm City
Contact:

Re: Final Preparations

Postby Mr_Praetorian » Wed Nov 12, 2008 2:16 pm

"Then we'll need to brunt that decisive assault. I'm already planning to call forward two full companies of Crusaders, and our half-company of warmages. They're good soldiers, and their equipment has improved considerably since the engagement at Blackbog. Yet they're much slower than all of our troops. My suggestion would be to keep them on the reserve wing, where, in the instance of an enemy surge, the reinforcements would be more, well, reinforced. My command squad itself will remain flexible during the early stages of the attack. Once we've confirmed where this surge is coming from, we can move into that location and aide in taking the fight to the enemy.

For the matter of the tactical spells. I'm not sure if I see the issue in pinning down their forward units. Armies that focus on high maneuverability seem to become disorganized when forced into tight ranks. Besides, it was only a suggestion to provide cover for tactical shots which I presumed we were going to be peppering the enemy with throughout the battle. But, if this is not a viable tactic, then I'll just let it go."
You! Your character's build displeases me! Come to the boards for nerfing!

Active Characters:


User avatar
Zanaikin
Tsunshun
Posts: 4433
Joined: Fri Apr 28, 2006 2:37 am
Race: Tofu
Class: Strategist 5/Worldforger 3/SW Engineer 5
Location: Lost in my virtual universe
Contact:

Re: Final Preparations

Postby Zanaikin » Wed Nov 12, 2008 9:37 pm

Aelisar:
"The tactical spells should work fine in consideration... unless that is, the enemy brings up their war magic (several of the elven commanders around the room shuddered), in which case we'll have to gather the bulk of our war magic capabilities, if not all, to oppose them."

Daethelar:
"Lord Derovarr, I believe it may be a suggestible idea to keep your warmages and golem-armored crusaders as a reserve, transported by the Sky Galleons, which allows them to be readily deployed anywhere on the battlefield within a minute's time to count enemy advances, such as this Crimson brigade."
|

()

"Hurrah, Warsaw's ours!" / "Hurrah, Field Marshal!" - Battle report & promotion notice between Alexander Suvorov & Catherine the Great

User avatar
Mr_Praetorian
High Lord of Ham
Posts: 3473
Joined: Mon May 01, 2006 2:57 am
Race: Paragon Gelatinous Cube
Class: The Classiest
Location: Charm City
Contact:

Re: Final Preparations

Postby Mr_Praetorian » Wed Nov 12, 2008 10:03 pm

"Very well. Unless there is anything else that needst be discussed, I believe we have our general strategy in and logistics are in order. I shall see at once to summoning my forces. Unless there are any further issues, expect roughly 300 soldiers and three sky galleons to be here within the hour.

Samael, Teodor, Urlich. Anything you like to put forth before we begin our final preparations?"
You! Your character's build displeases me! Come to the boards for nerfing!

Active Characters:


User avatar
Zanaikin
Tsunshun
Posts: 4433
Joined: Fri Apr 28, 2006 2:37 am
Race: Tofu
Class: Strategist 5/Worldforger 3/SW Engineer 5
Location: Lost in my virtual universe
Contact:

Re: Final Preparations

Postby Zanaikin » Sat Nov 15, 2008 12:17 am

At almost 5am... Daethelar calls one last coordination meeting.

Daethelar:
"Ladies and lords, our troops have been dispatched to within 5miles of the northern lockdown perimeter and the Imperials have kept their advance towards them. It seems the Imperial commander is ordering his troops specifically to fluctuate their approach vectors at a constant basis to make it hard to predict out their future position. But nevertheless, they should be upon us in between half an hour to one hour of time."

"The general enemy formation however has not changed. They are still array in a three battle line front, with 22nd Brigade on the west, the 36th & 38th in the center, and the 77th on the right. The Crimson is still split into two battle lines behind the main line acting as if a reserve force."


Tharivol:
"I don't understand why the enemy is using a center composed by a new and relatively inexperienced half-brigade merged to a battered and demoralized unit. Although I guess it is possible the enemy may still shift formations at the last moment."


Aelisar:
"Strange, but don't underestimate them either. Our reports have it that the 38th Half-Brigade, despite being a new formation, has one of the highest morale amongst the Imperial forces and outperformed expectations during the First Battle of Trias. Their confidence is probably exactly what the crippled 36th Brigade needs in such an hour, while the 36th's troops provide them with the veterans they need."
|

()

"Hurrah, Warsaw's ours!" / "Hurrah, Field Marshal!" - Battle report & promotion notice between Alexander Suvorov & Catherine the Great

User avatar
Laharl
Overlord of the Netherworld
Overlord of the Netherworld
Posts: 2290
Joined: Fri Apr 28, 2006 2:23 am
Race: Demon
Class: Tennis Player 4/Geek 5/Software Simian 2
Location: Between the keyboard and chair
[phpBB Debug] PHP Warning: in file [ROOT]/vendor/twig/twig/lib/Twig/Extension/Core.php on line 1107: count(): Parameter must be an array or an object that implements Countable

Re: Final Preparations

Postby Laharl » Sat Nov 15, 2008 3:07 am

(For the record, this is during the first meeting, when Derovarr asks for the others' input. Fucking homework.)

Teodor pipes up, "Are we sure we want to risk Lady Kati's life for this? Keep in mind that their shielding technology would prevent nearly all the strictly damaging effects from working and their ranged weapons are not arrows, so they can still shoot. METAAC sensors will not be blinded by the driving rain and wind, and even their infantry can link to a radar unit, likely only giving us a few seconds to exploit the storm before they're back on their feet, almost completely unaffected, while our troops cannot fight particularly effectively, even in melee."


Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pron surfed, weak and weary,
Over many a strange and spurious site of ' hot xxx galore',
While I clicked my fav'rite bookmark, suddenly there came a warning, and my heart was filled with mourning, mourning for my dear amour,
"'Tis not possible!", I muttered, "Give me back my free hardcore!
...quoth the server, 404.-Bash.org

User avatar
TheDude51
The cake is a lie because I ate it.
Posts: 1088
Joined: Sat May 20, 2006 4:04 pm
Contact:

Re: Final Preparations

Postby TheDude51 » Sat Nov 15, 2008 6:40 am

The storm also reduces mobility to a mere fraction of what it would normally be, which is the primary reason for deploying it. Also, even with their 'radar', I doubt that they can be nearly as accurate without a direct line of sight. The strictly damaging effects, while peripheral to the effect of the storm, are mostly from the hail that it creates, which seems to bypass most of their shields. I feel that these benefits far outweigh the small risks that Lady Gant would take in the casting, especially low because of the half-dozen or so other war magic sections that will likely be casting at nearly the same time.
Would it not be easier
In that case for the government
To dissolve the people
And elect another?
-Bertolt Brecht


[phpBB Debug] PHP Warning: in file [ROOT]/vendor/twig/twig/lib/Twig/Extension/Core.php on line 1107: count(): Parameter must be an array or an object that implements Countable

Return to “Game Summaries”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 5 guests