Military organization (BattleTech)

Military organization (BattleTech) article regarding military formations found in table top gaming Classic Battletech by Catalyst Game Labs.

The following is the fictional military organization article for some of the armed forces that exist in the fictional Battletech universe.

Inner Sphere House Unit Organization

Despite differences in politics, culture, and religious beliefs, the Inner Sphere's root TO&E base is drawn from the same basic unit structure. Though each separate House differs from each in slightly in almost every aspect, each house originally based their structure of military forces based on the first Star League's own unit organization. Such conformity has enabled writers and readers alike to be able to calculate force numbers, and better understand the tactical situation within the story without having to know several different tables of originations.

Mercenary Military Unit Organization

Many mercenary commanders, having either worked for one of the Great Houses or been part of a House's military, use a modified force structure based on the House's. The Wolf's Dragoons and other Clan-derived mercenary forces structure their units after the Clans'. A few mercenary commands derived from the periphera realms use the same organization as their home nations. Mercenary units rarely exceed more than a company or two in strength, and often field over-strength companies to give themselves an advantage against the regimental strength forces commonly used by Inner Sphere and Clan forces.

Note: A common tactic of some mercenaries is to restructure their forces to take advantage of Clan honor rules. However, such attempts usually have little effect in combat, as the Clans regard warriors who fight for monetary profit as honorless.^{[citation needed]}

Infantry

The standard base unit of an infantry unit is the squad usually numbering around 7 troops, four squads form a platoon, than creating a company consisting of 3 platoons, a battalion at least three or more companies is usually the standard size of most infantry commands, due to the logistical and command centralization, and most rare, is the Regiment consisting of at least three or more battalions.

At most times in a combined arms unit most of the infantry detachments are usually placed under company or battalion strength commands. It is very rare to find an entire infantry force under a command at the regimental level directly.

Battle Armor

In the same fashion as non-battle armor infantry units; the battle armor infantry base unit is the squad, formed around a four person unit instead, with three of these squads, usually most combat units field at best, is a platoon, in rare circumstances even entire companies of battle armor are fielded, but usually a platoon or less is detached to most sub-commands within the parent command

Armor

Covering every vehicle not a walking titan, the armored forces' basic unit is the four-vehicle lance, as most tanks are cheaper than BattleMechs and much easier to field and maintain. Most commands usually sustain several companies or battalions on a regular basis. In most planetary militias, the majority of the combat capability is in armored support vehicles.

BattleMech

The base unit of a formation of battlemechs is a single lance composed of four BattleMechs. Most Houses' front line commands normally wield several companies, battalions, or even regiments of BattleMechs. Only in front line combat units does a single command field such large numbers of Battlemechs at once. Most other units command companies of second-rate Mechs at best.

Aerospace

Normally referring to fighters and bombers the aerospace component of any houses force; most aerospace assets includes dropships, jumpships, and warships. The base unit is the lance consisting of two aircraft, three lances form a squadron, normally most aerospace components consist of at best a wing with a mix of fighters, bombers, and dropships composed of three squadrons in total at least, just as most forces in a rarity of chance a regiment is fielded as a whole in one theater of battle, with at least three wings, regiments are a fearsome force to oppose.

Clan Unit Organization

After the first Exodus the SLDF forces that fled the chaos of the Succession Wars first used the standard unit organization. During the Second Exodus, Nicholas Kerensky completely changed the culture and lifestyle of his followers as he shaped them into the original Warrior caste. He proclaimed that the use of the standard unit organization was the downfall of the Inner Sphere, so when the Clans were formed units would be derived from elements called Points, each of these representing the minimum effective number of each kind of warrior caste (infantry, BattleMech pilot, etc.). Points were organized in groups of five called Stars, equivalent to a Lance, that in turn formed higher-level organizations.^[1]

From a game balance standpoint, the Clan organizational structure allows BattleTech players to quickly assemble a balanced game of two Inner Sphere Lances (8 Mechs) versus a Star of Clan forces (5 mechs). Superior Clan technology makes up for the difference in numbers, assuming similar weight classes of typical Mechs. Other formations are such as using infantry, vehicles, and even warships typically use the Star organization format.

Typically, Clan military formation consist of 1 Point (can include single Battlemech, OmniMech, 2 Aerospace Fighters, 5 Battlarmor, 2 vehicles, 5 infantrymen, or even single warship.)

See also Ranks & Clans Military Formations

ComStar and Word of Blake Unit Organization

Just as the Clans use an idiosyncratic organizational structure based on five-Point Stars, ComStar's military arm, the Com Guards (and its splinter faction, the Word of Blake), base their organization on multiples of six. The ComGuards, ComStar's military branch, and the Word of Blake Militia share a common heritage and organization. Both militaries use combined arms tactics and a simplistic command structure to minimize the effects of the loss of an upper command echelon. Neither the Word of Blake Militia nor the Com Guards use a formal organization above Level 4.

Level 1 consist of a single BattleMech, armored vehicle or aerospace fighter, or even a single infantry squad; leading to Level 2, formed around six Level 1 units also called a demi-company (6 Mechs); level 3 is made of six Level 2 units and is referred to as a battalion (36 Mechs); Level 4 strength units consist of six Level 3 units (216 Mechs);also known as a division; Level 5 units are formed by six Level 4 units (1296 Mechs); also called an Army due to the size and scale of forces placed under a single command authority. Most Army commands are an administrative grouping, but few were deployed as field units. Commands at the Level 6 tier consist of six level 5 units, these are almost completely absent from the ComGuard military organization, and is used when regional command level of entire regions of space is needed.

References

1. ^ "The Legend of the Jade Phoenix Trilogy: Glossary pg 1"

• Field Manual: Mercenaries
• Field Manual: Mercenaries, Revised
• Mercenary's Handbook: 3055
• The Mercenary's Handbook
• Mercenaries Supplemental I
• Mercenaries Supplemental II
• Mercenaries Supplemental Update
• Operational Turning Points: Death to Mercenaries
• Experimental Technical Readout: Mercs

External links

• The BattleTech Wiki