Re: [VV] Gate defence

Ryan Gill wrote:

>>Very much so. However, relying on fixed defences means that you're 
>>voluntarily handing over the initiative (on that front, at least - you

>>could of course be on the offensive along some other warp chain).
>
>MY concept of fixed defenses is a cost saving efficiency measure that 
>allows other mobile units to be more flexible and know that certain 
>avenues are covered.

And the point I and Grant - more in reply to Rrok Anroll than to you, 
though - were making was that unless you spend very large amounts of 
resources, the fixed defences by themselves won't be enough to hold the 
line. If you spend those very large amounts of resources on fixed
defences 
your mobile forces are severely weakened; if you only use trip-wire
fixed 
defences you're still going to need serious mobile forces to back them
up.

>>It is also noteworthy that Weber (who created most of the StarFire
game 
>>background) decided to add a non-WP FTL concept when he created his
next 
>>space opera series, ie. the Harrington books :-/
>
>But still included some fixed wormholes that fast tracked transit times

>between two points from the edge of an empire to the core of it. And
there 
>they had fixed and mobile defenses on both sides of the gate.

Manticore had *one single* warp junction to protect, and until very late
in 
the war against the PRH it was only fortified on the Manticore end (the 
forts in Basilisk weren't fully operational when they came under attack
in 
"Echoes of Honor") - yet fortifying this single junction to an
"unbeatable" 
level made a *huge* dent in Manticore's mobile naval strength (as
witnessed 
by how the mobile naval strength jumped when they finally stood down
some 
of the forts after re-taking San Martin). The Star Kingdom literally 
wouldn't have been able to fortify a second junction to even close to
that 
level.

Also note that the only warp point assault we've read about in the HH 
series was made *by* Manticore (into San Martin) - but only after
another 
Manticoran fleet had already drawn the Havenite defenders out of
position, 
thus preventing them from blocking the warp point :-/ As Bujold points
in 
the Vorkosigan series, a warp point is best taken for both ends at once 
even in the HHverse :-/

Later,

Oerjan
oerjan.ohlson@telia.com

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