Re: [GZG] Troop potential

On 7/28/08, Beth.Fulton@csiro.au <Beth.Fulton@csiro.au> wrote:

Sarcasm detection is left as an exercise for the reader.

> 2) This brings me round to point 2 of interesting implications for
> GZGverse background. What are the efficiencies of scale that you see
> once you reach a US (and presumably) UK troop size.

Let's start with the obvious:

With a Navy the size of Australia's (We won't even mention Canada's,
which is now significantly smaller than a WWII convoy escort), you'd
have a hard time manning an aircraft carrier even if you didn't bother
manning any other ships at all.  In GZG terms, small nations need to
figure out whether they want one big task force of capital ships, or a
bunch of little TFs of tin cans.

For land forces, armored and mechanized units require more support
units than light infantry.  That's why something like 2/3 or more (I
used to know off the top of my head, I don't anymore) of the brigades
in the US Army are heavy, whereas if Australia or Canada tried to do
that, they'd have to shut down a brigade (1/3 of Canada's army, not
much less of Australia's) to provide the support weenies.

With a bigger army you can afford to have more specialized support
units which, if they aren't needed, don't go.  You can also afford to
have a larger slice of 'tail' to support your allies that don't have
the manpower to provide those sort of troops.

Having larger formations allows you to buy better toys since you're
seriously buying in bulk--and since you're the lion's share of the
defense orders, it forces defense industry to take seriously your
requirements documents.  You also get to decide almost unilaterally
what calibers of ammunition your alliance uses.

John
-- 
"Thousands of Sarmatians, Thousands of Franks, we've slain them again
and again.  We're looking for thousands of Persians."
--Vita Aureliani

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