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MGT Only: Planetary invasion ships

Missile bays are going to be of VERY limited utility against deep site meson guns. Especially if they use arrays of redundant passive sensors connected by meson comms.

The ways you stop the deep site meson guns:
1) Infiltration/Espionage
2) Meson guns from space
3) scrub the surface with pattern bombardment - Missile and/or meson.

note that 3) isn't an option if one intends to use the planet and its infrastructure.

recruit an team of eccentric soldiers with severe discipline issues, and prone to character clashes, deploy them in secret behind enemy lines...( of course they run afoul of traitorous allies, and escape through clever ploys) then at a climatic moment they strike using inginueity and daring...

you know I think I just described the plot of a movie....and a certain 1970s

sci-fi episode...
 
recruit an team of eccentric soldiers with severe discipline issues, and prone to character clashes, deploy them in secret behind enemy lines...( of course they run afoul of traitorous allies, and escape through clever ploys) then at a climatic moment they strike using inginueity and daring...

you know I think I just described the plot of a movie....and a certain 1970s sci-fi episode...

Several movies. If you allow for solo killer instead of a team, you have most of the 1970's espionage/infiltration movies covered.

It's a stock trope.
 
Would not some of the first assault drops would target suspected meson gun underground sites--after orbital control has been established by the invasion force? Yes either Marines or Ranger units.. ought to be tasked to silence such units or orbital strikes can't get to them.
 
recruit an team of eccentric soldiers with severe discipline issues, and prone to character clashes, deploy them in secret behind enemy lines...( of course they run afoul of traitorous allies, and escape through clever ploys) then at a climatic moment they strike using inginueity and daring...

you know I think I just described the plot of a movie....and a certain 1970s

sci-fi episode...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qVCrc48xHsI
 
Several movies. If you allow for solo killer instead of a team, you have most of the 1970's espionage/infiltration movies covered.

It's a stock trope.

sadly yes...but a fun one :D

Would not some of the first assault drops would target suspected meson gun underground sites--after orbital control has been established by the invasion force? Yes either Marines or Ranger units.. ought to be tasked to silence such units or orbital strikes can't get to them.
That was the plan at Normandy...drop paratroopers to cofuse responding troops. destroy communications, and take out key locations...send in rangers with the first wave to take out heavy gun batteries.


what I really want to know is how did a stone age Ewok know how to start up a speeder bike...
 
what I really want to know is how did a stone age Ewok know how to start up a speeder bike...

Made his intel check roll, with negatives for TL and no vehicle skill, but got plus mods for observing the storm troopers operate the bikes over several months, and probably had Jack of All Trades skill too.
 
Made his intel check roll, with negatives for TL and no vehicle skill, but got plus mods for observing the storm troopers operate the bikes over several months, and probably had Jack of All Trades skill too.
Oh, well that makes sense..I didn't realize he was a multi-term veteran Drifter.....
 
Amongst many miscalculation and/or mistakes the Empire made, wasn't clearing out a ten klick radius of jungle around their primary base, and make it a no go area.

As I recall, Traveller made it clear that taking out sensors are prioritized when they start shutting down deep meson sites.
 
Amongst many miscalculation and/or mistakes the Empire made, wasn't clearing out a ten klick radius of jungle around their primary base, and make it a no go area.

As I recall, Traveller made it clear that taking out sensors are prioritized when they start shutting down deep meson sites.

Overconfidence,and incompetent leadership. The deadly flaw of most military strategists...or those who think they are military strategists.

the lack of air cover, the reliance on large unwieldy vehicles that had plenty of firepower but not well suited to rugged terrain. A single site defense instead of integrate, interlinked systems... and on top of that..Poorly trained, bulk package troops....

lets face it stormtroopers were probably on sale at Costco.

Any competent commander would have pulled back formed a perimeter, and held the shield generators. Instead of chasing the natives out into the woods.The objective was to hold the site, not neutralize unruly locals.

Endor is a classic example of how to loose a planetary assault to a much smaller, less advanced force.

Swap out the shield station for a deep meson site/fire coordination center, and the imperials for any defender in a scifi setting. Presto one bad commander/defense scheme, you get a hole blown in your defensive net big enough to let a main assault force come in.
 
Overconfidence,and incompetent leadership. The deadly flaw of most military strategists...or those who think they are military strategists.
It appears that the Empire thought of the Ewoks as idiots, incapable of organizing anything like an assault. Besides being of very low tech level, they were furry and cute. How dangerous can a teddy bear be? It is quite possible the Ewoks encouraged such beliefs by acting cute around the storm trooper patrols.

Air cover may not be too effective through that forest canopy. The fact they put such a key facility in such indefensible terrain shows poor planning. So yeah, Overconfidence and incompetence.
 
Check out Cosmic Computer by H Beam Piper for some idea of this sort of thing. His assault vessels for the prospectors are former Army combat re-supply craft with lots of guns, missiles, and other things. Also Space Viking is another good read for ideas.
 
Since the MgT Imperium is much more receptive to warbots than other versions of Traveller, you could always hit a high-tech, high-pop world with waves of robots. You can carry more for the same space as a human soldier or human-crewed vehicle.
 
Since the MgT Imperium is much more receptive to warbots than other versions of Traveller, you could always hit a high-tech, high-pop world with waves of robots. You can carry more for the same space as a human soldier or human-crewed vehicle.

Ah.. EMP... and Virus... can shut down drones.... But not live human beings..

Hence even the Empire understood it was better to go clone than drone. ;)

This is why I am not a big fan of MgT.. they seem to miss the moderation and conservatism of CT and even MT.....
 
Ah.. EMP... and Virus... can shut down drones.... But not live human beings..

Virus cannot shut down human beings? Tell that to CDC...

And see that this kind of virus can be present on the planet, not only be a weapon (as in H. G. Wells' novel)...
 
Since the MgT Imperium is much more receptive to warbots than other versions of Traveller, you could always hit a high-tech, high-pop world with waves of robots. You can carry more for the same space as a human soldier or human-crewed vehicle.
I think the authors of MgT Imperium based stuff need to read Marc's novel and T5...

the Imperium appears to use synthetics and clones but not full on robots.

Robots/drones can be taken out with EMP based weapon systems more easily than organic based synthetics and clone troops
 
Robots/drones can be taken out with EMP based weapon systems more easily than organic based synthetics and clone troops

The EMP blast can just as easily fry the grav APC the organics troops are in, causing them to plummet to their death.

If you want to counter with "the APC can have systems hardened against EMP", so can a robot.
 
The EMP blast can just as easily fry the grav APC the organics troops are in, causing them to plummet to their death.

If you want to counter with "the APC can have systems hardened against EMP", so can a robot.
Nope, I would have combat armoured troops with no electronic equipment be resistant to EMP - yet another reason why chemically propelled rounds from ACRs and RAM grenades will still be a thing on a high TL battlefield.

It's all moot anyway since the meson guns kill everything ;)

By the way I agree with you on the hardening electronics thing.
 
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