Re: Re: [GZG] Small thought re: Orbital Assault

John Atkinson wrote:

>If you can see it, you can kill it.  Surviving an assault with orbital
>fire support will depend on one of three factors.
>
>[...]
>
>Getting into terrain/foliage so dense that it partially or totally
>defeats the orbital sensors.  And if you are doing that, you are
>1)dispersed and 2)probably not close to the vital objectives on your
>planet.

Let's pray that your orbital sensors are better at finding targets than
the 
US was in Iraq in 2003. Eg. on April 3rd, when a US batallion en route
to 
Baghdad was attacked by a concentrated Iraqi brigade (70-100 armoured 
vehicles of various types, and 8-10,000 infantry) that no-one on the US 
side had a clue was there at all... the US troops defeated the attack,
but 
the grunts weren't very happy with their intel people afterwards :-/

>If you disperse and erect camoflage systems to defeat air/space
>support, then the ground forces rolling in will pick you off in penny
>packets--defeat in detail.

Don't bet your life on the "penny packets" theory, John - particularly
not 
if the enemy is better trained than the Iraqis were in 2003, so they 
actually manage to do something once they get into combat. The US forces

were very lucky in that respect - even when Iraqi tanks had clear flank 
shots at Bradleys ranges under a mile, they didn't hit anything.

> >Also the starships will have problems staying on station in low
orbit. 
> They will be travelling >over the planetary surface at high speed and
so 
> can't "stay on station" over a given point of the >planetary surface.
>
>That's why you have multiple small gunboats doing support rather than
>One Big Ship.

Small gunboats are a lot more vulnerable to anything the defenders might

hit back with, though - particularly if you disperse them to cover
larger 
areas.

Regards,

Oerjan
oerjan.ariander@telia.com

"Life is like a sewer.
  What you get out of it, depends on what you put into it."
-Hen3ry

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