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Solomani Rim War fleets

AI could also be Assault or Armored Interface.

Armored Infantry is a possibility but Traveller generally leans toward US Army practice and I think the Armoured Infantry and Grenadier types are usually equivalent to Mechanized Infantry.

We could speculate for days without knowing what the designers were thinking.
 
AI could also be Assault or Armored Interface.

Armored Infantry is a possibility but Traveller generally leans toward US Army practice and I think the Armoured Infantry and Grenadier types are usually equivalent to Mechanized Infantry.

We could speculate for days without knowing what the designers were thinking.

"Assault Infantry" is the best guess I've seen yet. I did send an email this morning to John Astell, who appears to be still designing games. We'll see . . . given the time it's probably a long shot, but who knows?
 
Given the Solomani problems with reliable grav tech, and the theory that there was a transitory period from ground vehicles to air-cushion vehicles to grav vehicles, the Solomani probably had air-cushion vehicles for a longer period of time.

Long enough to have units with the AI designation.

No? Yes?

Airmobile Infantry sounds good to me.
 
Fleet Details

The only fleet details I have found outside of what is in Fighting Ships of the Solomani Confederation are as follows:

Imperial Navy Task Force 54: At the outbreak of the Rim War the task force was escorting a humanitarian supply convoy to Muan Kwoyen. it was caught by surprise and annihilated by elements of the Solomani 2nd Fleet (MT:SR p 9).

Imperial Task Force 212: Ambushed by the Confederation Strike Force Daring at the Battle of Kagukhasaggan 2 in early 1002 (MT:S p 70).

Imperial 17th Fleet: Late in the war, the 17th was advancing toward Terra when the Confederation Grand Fleet met the 17th's advance guard at Agidda and inflicted a major defeat. However, the 17th regrouped more quickly than Wolfe anticipated and arrived at the Battle of Dingir just in time to turn the tide in favor of the Imperium (CT:S p 11, GT:RoF p 59, MT:S p 70)

Imperial 1st Fleet: Late in the war, the 1st Fleet was striking from Vega toward Dingir. Following the victory at Agidda, the Confederation Grand Fleet moved to Dingir, hoping to defeat the 1st Fleet there. However the timely arrival of the Imperial 17th Fleet changed the course of the battle in favor of the Imperial forces. (CT:S p 11, GT:RoF p 59, MT:S p 70)

Solomani 2nd Fleet: Annihilated Imperial Task Force 54 at the outbreak of the Rim War (MT:SR p 9).

Solomani 46th Fleet: Stationed in Alpha Crucis in 1001 when an Imperial cruiser squadron slipped past the 46th and bombarded Kedin in Ximenes subsector, triggering a catastrophe that killed 20 million civilians (MT:S p 127). In 1002 the over-stretched 46th was consolidating its fleets for a defense of Cthonia in Orichalc subsector when the armistice was declared.

Solomani 69th Fleet: Stationed in Alpha Crucis in 1001 when an Imperial cruiser squadron slipped past the 69th and bombarded Kedin in Ximenes subsector, triggering a catastrophe that killed 20 million civilians (MT:S p 127). The 69th was subsequently destroyed in scattered engagements in McKenzie subsector (MT:S p 128).

Solomani Strike Force Daring: Led by the dreadnought Retaliation, ambushed an Imperial task force built around the fleet intruder Bard Endeavour in the Kagukhasaggan system in early 1002. The strike force drove off the Imperial force and destroyed the Bard Endeavor (CT Azhanti High Lightning p 27, CT Library Data N-Z p 21, MT:S p 70).

Solomani Grand Fleet: Formed in 1002 by consolidating Confederation naval assets in the Rim under Ivan Wolfe.Despite early successes defeated and forced to retreat after the Battle of Dingir. (CT:S p 11, MT:SR p 10, GT:RoF p 59, MT:S p 70)

Interesting that the two Mongoose books describe numbered Solomani fleets -- 2nd, 46th, 69th. Meanwhile the T20 book breaks the Diaspora fleet into Task Forces named after the commanding admiral -- Wolfe, Onjou, Koniev, Tiajama. I don't think the different schemes are incompatible. The Confederation may regularly maintain numbered fleets that can be broken up into mission specific task forces as needed.

The FSSC states that "For multiple operations within a sector, temporary command headquarters called 'Task Forces' are created on an ad hoc basis . . . One Task Force would be created for each task" (p 5); and "The squadron organizations [of the Diaspora Fleet of 990] are each part of a larger 'Fleet,' called in Solomani parlance 'Task Forces.' Task forces are usually named after the commanding Admiral or Commodore" (p 7).

The Mongoose Solomani Rim book notes that "The [Solomani Rim Sector] fleet [of 1105] is currently divided between Jardin, Capella, Gemini and Kukulcan subsector fleets, although this is a peacetime organisation. The Jardin fleet is significantly smaller then the others. In time of war, the sector fleet is reorganised into ad-hoc task forces" (p 30).
 
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So John Astell himself was gracious enough to weigh in -- and he was able to illuminate several of the mystery Solomani units:

UnitBest GuessJohn’s Response
LG Planetary Defense Corpsassigned to La Grange Starport in AustraliaLG = La Grange
AECO Planetary Defense Corpsassigned to North African StarportAECO = Arab-European Cooperative Organization
SP Planetary Defense Corpsassigned to Mesa-Phoenix starport in North AmericaSP = Starport Phoenix, if I recall correctly
1st Lt Planetary Defense RegimentLt=Light?Lt = Light
2nd Lt Planetary Defense RegimentLt=Light?Lt = Light
3rd Lt Planetary Defense RegimentLt=Light?Lt = Light
4th Lt Planetary Defense RegimentLt=Light?Lt = Light
NA Lift Infantry Field ArmyNA=North American?NA = North American
SA Lift Infantry Field ArmySA=South American?SA = South American
AF Lift Infantry Field ArmyAF=African?AF = African
AS Lift Infantry Field ArmyAS=Eurasia?AS = Asian
ARM Lift Infantry CorpsARM?ARM = Associated Regional Militia, if I recall correctly, in tribute to Larry Niven’s Gil the Arm stories in which ARM meant Amalgamated Regional Militia
AL Lift Infantry CorpsAL?Don’t remember. I’ll keep thinking about this one.
36 M Armored Lift Infantry CorpsM?Not sure. Possibly 36 M is a reference to the Soviet 36th Motor Rifle Division, with the idea that the unit evolved, got disbanded, reformed, etc., over time. I’ll keep thinking about this one.
16 H Grav Cavalry CorpsH=Heavy?H likely means Heavy but could also mean Hussars. I’ll keep thinking about this one.
Calg Armored Lift Infantry DivisionCalg=Calgary, named for the RCAC?Calg = Calgary. I would imagine it would trace back to the King’s Own Calgary Regiment of the Royal Canadian Armoured Corps, but I’m not certain if we were that specific when we made the game.
VN Armored Lift Infantry DivisionVN=Volunteer?Not sure. I’ll keep thinking about this one.
3rd Cent Lift Infantry Divisioncent?Cent = Centauri, if I recall correctly
6th Cent Lift Infantry Divisioncent?Cent = Centauri, if I recall correctly
8th L Grav Cavalry DivisionL = light?L = Light
12th L Grav Cavalry DivisionL = light?L = Light
LE Lift Infantry DivisionLE?LE = Légion Étrangère (French for Foreign Legion), with the assumption that the French Foreign Legion evolved and survived in some form to the Invasion Earth period.
1st SG Grav Tank RegimentSG=Solomani Guards?SG = Solomani Guards
2nd SG Grav Tank RegimentSG=Solomani Guards?SG = Solomani Guards
CSG Armored Grav Cavalry RegimentCSG?SG = Solomani Guards. I think the C might mean Consolidated (presuming a history where multiple armored grav cavalry regiments were eventually consolidated into one regiment, somewhat like how various British cavalry regiments were merged in the years between WW1 and WW2). I’ll keep thinking about this one.
5th SG Lift Infantry RegimentSG=Solomani Guards?SG = Solomani Guards
1st AI Grav Commando RegimentAI?Not sure. I’ll keep thinking about these.
2nd AI Grav Commando RegimentAI?Not sure. I’ll keep thinking about these.
3rd SG Armored Lift Infantry RegimentSG=Solomani Guards?SG = Solomani Guards
4th SG Armored Lift Infantry RegimentSG=Solomani Guards?SG = Solomani Guards
 
Brilliant. Thanks for going the extra mile, tracking him down and asking.

Quite funny that the AI designation that gave us so many possibilities is one that's stumping him too.

I like H for Hussars, but then I'm a Napoleonics guys :coffeesip:

Some very interesting pieces of color and background there including the French Foreign Legion.
 
Here are some followup thoughts from John:

AL Lift Infantry Corps - AL?

1st AI Grav Commando Regiment - AI?

2nd AI Grav Commando Regiment - AI?

Possibly Al = Alaskan. Alaska may have been regarded as the last frontier of the United States and attracted “rugged individualists”, creating a tradition that continued to the Invasion: Earth time with commandos and above-average military service.

16 H Grav Cavalry Corps – H=Heavy?

Most likely H = Heavy. I now doubt the Hussars possibility.

VN Armored Lift Infantry Division – VN=Volunteer?

Possibly VN = Vietnamese. There may have been a view that Vietnam’s tradition as a small country defiant of larger ones (China, the US, France) continued in some cultural-military tradition form to the Invasion: Earth time.

36 M Armored Lift Infantry Corps - M?

Still not sure on this one. Possibly 36 M is a reference to the Soviet 36th Motor Rifle Division, with the idea that the unit evolved, got disbanded, reformed, etc., over time.
 
I always thought that Imperial fleet strengths were too small/too weak for a real Fleet. IIRC somewhere (maybe FFW?) a Fleet was a couple of squadrons (6-10 ships) so a fleet was 60-100 ships max? That seems small for the areas, and descriptions given.
 
I always thought that Imperial fleet strengths were too small/too weak for a real Fleet. IIRC somewhere (maybe FFW?) a Fleet was a couple of squadrons (6-10 ships) so a fleet was 60-100 ships max? That seems small for the areas, and descriptions given.

For a subsector fleet? A sector fleet is 1000.


Some nice spreadsheet material here on this thread. Hopefully someone will add it to the Files.
 
Fighting Ships of the Solomani has a few stray details (pp 7-8) on some ground units, all of which were assigned to Diaspora Sector at the onset of the War:

  • “Kursk” Grav Jump Division, carried by the 5th AssaultRon, assaulted Depot (Diaspora 2018)
  • “Tannenburg” Grav Jump Division, carried by the 14th AssaultRon, assaulted Depot (Diaspora 2018)
  • 101st Grav Jump Division, carried by the 2nd AssaultRon; assaulted the Imperial Naval base at VeeJay (Diaspora 2321)
  • 2nd Mars Highlander Grav Jump Division, carried by the 11th AssaultRon; involved in the assault on Remington (Diaspora 1820)
The 101st, of course, survived the Diaspora campaign and was involved in the Battle of Terra.

The 2nd Mars Highlander Jump Division suggests to me that the "M" in 36 M Armored Lift Infantry Corps possibly means "Mars."
 
And here are the squadrons named in Fighting Ships of the Solomani's account of the Diaspora invasion:

SquadronTypeNicknameOriginNotes
Solomani 11th AssaultRonAssaultThe Mars HighlandersSolomani Rim reserve fleetAssigned to Task Force Koniev; carried the 2nd Mars Highlander Jump Division
Solomani 2nd AssaultRonAssaultThe Green BeretsDiaspora FleetAssigned to Task Force Onjou; carried the 101st Grav Jump Division
Solomani 14th AssaultRonAssaultThe JagdtigersDiaspora FleetAssigned to Task Force Wolfe; an elite squadron, carried the “Tannenburg” Grav Jump Division
Solomani 5th AssaultRonAssault5th Soviet GuardsDiaspora FleetAssigned to Task Force Wolfe; carried the “Kursk” Grav Jump Division.
Solomani 8th CarrierRonCarrierLe InvincibleDiaspora FleetAssigned to Task Force Koniev
Solomani 3rd CarrierRonCarrierThe Jutland DivisionDiaspora FleetAssigned to Task Force Onjou
Solomani 7th CarrierRonCarrierThe Hokkaido SamuraiDiaspora FleetAssigned to Task Force Tiajama
Solomani 17th CarrierRonCarrierRim StrikersSolomani Rim reserve fleetAssigned to Task Force Wolfe
Solomani 16th DSRonDeep StrikeThe Knights of AlphanorSolomani Rim reserve fleetAssigned to Task Force Wolfe
Solomani 23rd DSRonDeep StrikeThe ANZACsDiaspora FleetAssigned to Task Force Wolfe
Solomani 4th DSRonDeep StrikeThe Saratov StrikersDiaspora FleetAssigned to Task Force Wolfe
Solomani 18th FleetRonFleetThe Vahana HussarsDiaspora FleetAssigned to Task Force Koniev
Solomani 29th FleetRonFleetL’steich Ukraine KnightsDiaspora FleetAssigned to Task Force Onjou
Solomani 21st FleetRonFleetThe Aosta Grenadier GuardsDiaspora FleetAssigned to Task Force Tiajama
Solomani 14th FleetRonFleetThe Rann Black WatchSolomani Rim reserve fleetAssigned to Task Force Wolfe
Solomani 1st FleetRonFleetOld IronsidesDiaspora FleetAssigned to Task Force Wolfe, an elite squadron, "the largest and most powerful squadron in the Solomani Navy. . . a core component of the Diaspora Fleet"
Solomani 22nd FleetRonFleetThe Diaspora RangersDiaspora FleetAssigned to Task Force Wolfe; an elite squadron "with high esprit de corps . . . noted for its extremely aggressive tactics."
Solomani 33rd FleetRonFleetThe RosicruciansSolomani Rim reserve fleetAssigned to Task Force Wolfe
Solomani 4th HSRonHeavy StrikeRemington Star HussarsDiaspora FleetAssigned to Task Force Koniev
Solomani 1st HSRonHeavy StrikeVegan Royal GuardDiaspora FleetAssigned to Task Force Wolfe
Solomani 3rd HSRonHeavy StrikeThe Tau Ceti KnightsSolomani Rim reserve fleetAssigned to Task Force Wolfe
Imperial 53rd BatRonBattleship-Diaspora FleetDestroyed fighting Koniev at Remington (Diaspora 1820)
Imperial 18th CarRonCarrier-Diaspora FleetFought Wolfe at Layne (Diaspora 2420); forced to retreat
Imperial 301st BatRonBattleship-Diaspora FleetFought Wolfe at Layne (Diaspora 2420); "virtually wiped out"
Imperial 77th CruRonCruiser-Diaspora FleetBeat back Tiajama at Mason (Diaspora 2226) and encountered Onjou at Veejay (Diaspora 2321)
 
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Bingo. From Signal GK: "The major official Solomani presence on Ochre is a Solomani naval base situated at the starport; the base includes a Solomani Army regiment (the 412th Assault Infantry), a Solomani Navy fighter squadron (the 972nd Strike Fighter Squadron), and several support units" (12).

Based on that, I think the mysterious "AI" in the 1st and 2nd AI Grav Commando regiment is "Assault Infantry."
 
Updated List of Solomani Forces

So here's an updated list of Solomani Confederation units from the Battle of Terra:
Solomani UnitNotes
1347th SDB Wingper Invasion Earth, "a SDB wing represents a fighting formation of about 50 system defense boats. These small craft are designed for the defense of a stellar system; hence they are capable of operating in a wide range of interplanetary and planetary environments."
1349th SDB Wing-
1350th SDB Wing-
1351st SDB Wing-
1362nd SDB Wing-
1368th SDB Wing-
1363rd SDB Wing-
1370th SDB Wing-
1336th SDB Wing-
1369th SDB Wing-
1303rd SDB Wing-
1288th SDB Wing-
1289th SDB Wing-
1281st SDB Wing-
1441st SDB Wing-
1442nd SDB Wing-
1443rd SDB Wing-
1444th SDB Wing-
1445th SDB Wing-
1446th SDB Wing-
1386th SDB Wing-
1426th SDB Wing-
1437th SDB Wing-
1372nd SDB Wing-
1387th SDB Wing-
1390th SDB Wing-
1395th SDB Wing-
1394th SDB Wing-
1246th SDB Wing-
1252nd SDB Wing-
1267th SDB Wing-
1260th SDB Wing-
1269th SDB Wing-
1268th SDB Wing-
390th FleetRon-
375th FleetRon-
409th FleetRon-
432nd FleetRon-
172nd FleetRon-
216th FleetRon-
173rd FleetRon-
512th FleetRon-
LaGrange Planetary Defense CorpsListed as LG; LaGrange Starport in Australia
AECO Planetary Defense CorpsAssociated with North African Starport per GT:RoF p 107 AECO = Africa-Europe Cooperation Organization
Starport Phoenix Planetary Defense CorpsListed as SP; Mesa-Phoenix Starport in North America
1st Planetary Defense Division-
2nd Planetary Defense Division-
3rd Planetary Defense Division-
5th Planetary Defense Division-
8th Planetary Defense Division-
10th Planetary Defense Division-
11th Planetary Defense Division-
4th Planetary Defense Division-
6th Planetary Defense Division-
13th Planetary Defense Division-
14th Planetary Defense Division-
16th Planetary Defense Division-
17th Planetary Defense Division-
7th Planetary Defense Division-
9th Planetary Defense Division-
12th Planetary Defense Division-
15th Planetary Defense Division-
1st Light Planetary Defense RegimentListed as L Planetary Defense Regiment
2nd Light Planetary Defense RegimentListed as L Planetary Defense Regiment
3rd Light Planetary Defense RegimentListed as L Planetary Defense Regiment
4th Light Planetary Defense RegimentListed as L Planetary Defense Regiment
North American Lift Infantry Field ArmyLift Infantry Field Army, listed as "NA"
South American Lift Infantry Field ArmyLift Infantry Field Army, listed as "SA"
African Lift Infantry Field ArmyLift Infantry Field Army, listed as "AF"
Eurasian Lift Infantry Field ArmyLift Infantry Field Army, listed as "AS"
Associated Regional Militia Lift Infantry CorpsListed as "ARM," per John Astell, named in tribute to Larry Niven’s Gil the Arm stories in which ARM meant Amalgamated Regional Militia
158th Lift Infantry Corps-
116th Lift Infantry Corps-
ihatei Lift Infantry CorpsAn Aslan unit fighting for the Solomani? MGT:S references a mercenary unit p 71
AL Lift Infantry CorpsJohn Astell speculated "Al = Alaskan. Alaska may have been regarded as the last frontier of the United States and attracted “rugged individualists”, creating a tradition that continued to the Invasion: Earth time with commandos and above-average military service."
15th Grav Tank Corps-
65th Armored Grav Cavalry Corps-
124th Armored Lift Infantry CorpsThe ‘Alpha Crucis’ Corps, drawn from Solomani Party youth organisations in Veracruz, Regulus and New Holland subsectors, per MGT:S p. 127. Trapped and destroyed in the Battle of the Spanish Pocket per MGT:S p. 71
36th Mars Armored Lift Infantry CorpsListed as "M"; Assumed M = Mars based on "2nd Mars Highlander Grav Jump Division" from FSotS 8.
22nd Armored Lift Infantry Corps-
59th Armored Lift Infantry Corps-
16th Heavy Grav Cavalry CorpsListed as H? Listed as duplicated 124th in Counter Inventory
82nd Grav Jump DivisionNamed after the old-Terran American unit, per MGT:S 40.
101st Grav Jump DivisionNamed after the old-Terran American unit, per MGT:S 40. Defended Phoenix-Mesa starport during the invasion, per MGT:S p. 71. In 990 carried by the 2nd AssaultRon; assaulted the Imperial Naval base at VeeJay (Diaspora 2321) per FSotS p7.
7th Grav Tank DivisionPossibly named after the old Terran American "Lucky Seventh" 7th Armored Division
Calgary Armored Lift Infantry DivisionCalgary, named for RCAC?
Volunteer Armored Lift Infantry DivisionListed as VN; "Volunteer" is speculation
12th Armored Lift Cavalry Division-
58th Lift Infantry Division-
3rd Centauri Lift Infantry DivisionListed as Cent; Centauri per John Astell
6th Centauri Lift Infantry DivisionListed as Cent; Centauri per John Astell
117th Lift Infantry Division-
342nd Lift Infantry Division-
511th Lift Infantry Division-
8th Light Grav Cavalry DivisionL = light?; Listed as a Lift Infantry Division in the counter inventory
12th Light Grav Cavalry DivisionL = light?; Listed as a Lift Infantry Division in the counter inventory
Loki Lift Infantry DivisionDrawn from Loki (SOLO 2228)? Not listed on Counter Inventory
Légion Étrangère Lift Infantry DivisionListed as LE; per John Astell named with the assumption that the French Foreign Legion evolved and survived in some form to the Invasion Earth period.
1st Solomani Guards Grav Tank RegimentElite unit; listed as SG
2nd Solomani Guards Grav Tank RegimentElite unit; listed as SG. The ‘Black Rose’ regiment led by General Maya Sartorius during the Battle of Terra, fought the last major tank battle of the Rim War per MGT:S 85.
Consolidated Solomani Guards Armored Grav Cavalry RegimentElite unit; Listed as CSG
5th Solomani Guards Lift Infantry RegimentDesignation based on counter; listed as SG
1st Assault Infantry Grav Commando RegimentElite unit; Assumed AI = Assault Infantry based on reference to "412th AI regiment" in Signal GK
2nd Assault Infantry Grav Commando RegimentElite unit; Assumed AI = Assault Infantry based on reference to "412th AI regiment" in Signal GK
3rd Solomani Guards Armored Lift Infantry RegimentNot listed on Counter Inventory
4th Solomani Guards Armored Lift Infantry RegimentNot listed on Counter Inventory
 
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