RE: [semi OT] Women wargamers

You're probably going to have smaller concentrations of people around
the 
economically important sites - we're gregarious, and don't like to be
far 
away from our work & friends.  But multiple sites could be spread all
over 
the planet, given a couple of decent runways (easy to make), fuel
sources 
(water for H & O) and a few reliable aerospaceplanes or shuttles (we've
got 
to have those, or how would people & stuff get to all those ships in 
orbit?).  When you have that situation, & you want to hold all of the 
sites, a cheap high mobility force seems necessary: Line infantry in
Grav 
APCs.  Granted, I'm thinking really reliable 'Traveller' Grav here,
where 
crossing the Pacific is an exercise in boredom, not something really 
finicky.  Heck, it might have very few moving parts, and a bunch of 
black-box-type spares stowed in the back.

Maybe I have a more cynical view of future war, but I'm not convinced
that 
the various politicians will send enough troops to do every job.  That's

where the fun starts.  OK, we've got a reinforced brigade, and HOW many 
different mining sites to watch?

Read Robert Frezza's 'A Small Colonial War' for a good example of a 
colonial operation.  Given the small amount of people and materiel 
involved, this would be more appropriate for a GZG far colony than a 
near-Core colony, but it's still pretty applicable.

Noah

-----Original Message-----
From:	John Atkinson [SMTP:jatkins6@ix.netcom.com]
Sent:	Tuesday, September 15, 1998 11:02 PM
To:	FTGZG-L@bolton.ac.uk
Subject:	RE: [semi OT] Women wargamers

You wrote:

>1. I imagine most skirmishes will be small (Brigade or smaller) in the
>future.

Good luck holding a planet with a million or two inhabitants with a
brigade.

>2. Transport will be at a premium.  Why transport APCs/Tanks/GEV
infantry >when most conflicts involve securing the high ground (orbit)
and picking >your battles.  And if you decide to bring the APCs etc.
you have to have >something big enough to transport them dirtside.

Who told you PA doesn't need transport?  I've found that it's gotta
have IFVs to keep up with the tanks et al.  And your operational and
strategic mobility is gonna suck rocks, which means your small force
(see your point 1) is going to be incapable of dealing with a sparsely
settled planet.  Remember, a lot of colonies are going to have the
population of, say, Long Island, spread out over the land area of, say,
Russia.

John M. Atkinson