Sector and Subsector Fleets

[Peleliu]

I am working on the background for a naval campaign and am having trouble sorting out how sector and subsector fleets are organized.

Many sources describe sector fleets as being the mainline Imperial Navy under direct Imperial control (i.e. a 1000 ship fleet) and subsector fleets as mostly far fewer and older ships under local control staffed by non-imperial crews (a batron, cruisers, and a gaggle of smaller ships). The Sector Fleet publication follows this ideal fairly closely, except that it shows subsector fleets being part of the regular imperial navy rather than under the control of some local noble.

Other sources, such as the Wiki entries for named and numbered fleets make it clear that a sector fleet is composed of the numbered fleets in a sector. This would mean the sector fleet exists only as a higher level command cadre with sector-wide support assets. In this organizational structure, the imperial nobility acts more in the role of advice and consent rather than active naval command.

I lean toward the second organizational structure as making the most sense to me, but I welcome any comments and suggestions that might help clarify my thinking.

 

[Spinward Flow]

LBB5.80, p2:

The naval forces within the lmperium are divided into three general categories — lmperial forces, devoted to the central ruling lmperium and answering only to it; subsector forces, which patrol their individual subsectors, filling the gaps that the lmperial forces cannot handle; and local (planetary) forces raised to protect individual worlds. The distinctions between such forces are primarily those of size, resources, and duties.

Hope that is of some use to you.

 

[Condottiere]

Grand Fleet, and the republished Sector Fleet, deal with the supposed organizational aspect.

Mongoose has a Naval adventures subset that tries to expand on it.

On the whole, you close an eye and play along, since it doesn't and can't make sense.

 

[mike wightman]

The organisation of the navies of the Imperium changes over time. I'm going with the organisation that exists at the time of the Fifth Frontier War boardgame. Prior to the Fifth Frontier War The Imperial navy fleets in a subsector was bolstered by what were called colonial squadrons which were ships from the planetary or subsector navies, you can see by their names where they are from. Reserve forces were regular Imperial navy squadrons and fleets from Corridor sector or elsewhere in the Spinward Marches and colonial forces now are nameless numbered reserve squadrons rather than granted a named world/subsector of origin - put another way they were drafted.

From CT S:9

Following the Fourth Frontier War (1082 to 1084), sometimes referred to as the False War, the Imperial Admiralty began a fundamental reexamination of their naval strategy in the spinward regions of the realm. Prior to that fourth war, naval policy had favored essentially a "crust" strategy, with major fleet elements well forward in potential trouble spots such as the Spinward Marches. For decades this strategy had been effective due to the tremendous technological and material lead enjoyed by the lmperium over its neighbors. The Fourth Frontier War demonstrated, however, that the Imperium's lead had narrowed to the point that a clear superiority could no longer be achieved at all points along the frontier.
The new strategy evolved in the decade following the war came to be known as the "elastic defense" posture. Priority in the new strategy has been placed on a minimum of fleet assets initially in the actual border areas, but with much larger reserves available for commitment to any one region in the event of war. Within the frontier itself, colonial forces have been strengthened and centered around selected "islands of resistance," high population, high technology worlds capable of withstanding protracted sieges. lmperial fleet elements in the Spinward Marches are intended to delay any hostile advances and disrupt sieges of key worlds until major fleet reserves, stationed in the Corridor Sector, can intervene and restablish the ante-bellum status quo.

 

[Condottiere]

I think there are two types of reserves in the Imperium Navy for the Spinward Marches, shadowed subsector numbered, and presumably local strategic from Corridor.

 

[mike wightman]

When the FFW starts the named colonial fleets are at their home ports, they only become part of a fleet when incorporated into a fleet counter.

The ships coming from the reserve that represent colonial squadrons from elsewhere in the Marches and from Corridor (different colour counters and are treated as a TL lower) have been drafted and so are now numbered rather than named.

 

[McPerth]

Being mostly a MT man, I'd advise you to read (if you have access to it) the Rebellion Sourcebook, pages 26-34, where the IN organization is described (not sure how consistent with other sources here queotes it is).

 

[aramis]

Being mostly a MT man, I'd advise you to read (if you have access to it) the Rebellion Sourcebook, pages 26-34, where the IN organization is described (not sure how consistent with other sources here queotes it is).

Fairly consistent with non-gurps sources... the one that's bad is FSotSI...