Strategic Arms Quest 3/2: Armor Edition

It was about two months into your five month lag that news came in on the telegraph, followed by the largest scandal to rock the Imperial Palace since Count Rosenburg had been found selling secrets to the Bahlks for a pleasure estate in the Macedon Highlands. Apparently, at one of the rather large and formal cross-the-isle Landwere/Reichsmarine events, someone had cocked up in the kitchen and delivered several dozen kilos of garbage shellfish, of which was then cooked and served to all and sundry. Your wife and children were down sick, the Kaiser was hideously ill, the entire Reichsmarine First Fleet flag staff were down as well as most of the general Navy staff who'd come in from Hamburg, and then there was the Landwere High Command.

Apparently, as the joke was going around in the papers between funerary announcements, the only thing that could kill a member of High Command was some foul sea-beast served half-raw on the table. The catch was it looked too damn true, with four fifths of the highest echelon coming out and dying (which wasn't too terribly expected, most having won their spurs back when the Cavalry Branch were still the Imperial Hussars and Curriasiers) and most of the other designated old farts were horribly horribly sick and incapacitated.

When things all shook out a week later and several cooks were jailed and three pursers shot in private, it looked like you'd been unofficially promoted in terms of social circles your name went around in. Of the twenty-five officers who made up the Army High Command Board, five were still the usual old farts, twelve were new moderate reformists who had field staff experience in the Great Pig War, and eight were full blown members of the neue Techniken, coming off field command in the Great Pig War's earlier stages before it all went completely to shit. Most of the Field Marshals were the Moderates, while the neue Techniken were focused on the technological aspects like the Armor Branch, Intelligence Office, Educational Department, and Logistics Branch. Naturally it was one of the old farts who still sat in the chair of Procurement, so you weren't getting more money.

That said, though, your star had still shot up immensely, and you had nothign better to do while you were waiting around for people to finish their designs. Time to crank out some whitepapers, and not get dragged back into the academia. Given the way Lt. Vorbin was laughing into the newspapers, it would probably be a good idea to look very busy so things stayed nice and calm until Anne-Marie and Ilse Volta got out of the hospital. Poor things must be half mad by now with boredom. Doctrine would be a good place to start, right?

Also Jumo had sent you a telegram about this new engine plan he'd cooked up for a double headed double crankshaft thing that wasn't as powerful as the last one, but wasn't nearly as angry-acting in a number of ways you'd throw at the companies when you were done with this.

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VOTE

It's a Whitepaper. Lines are free, so go big or go home. Your topic is DOCTRINE. Remember, if someone manages to write a 1000+ word whitepaper as an actual address on the topic, that paper will automatically win.

So get cracking, and don't forget to ask questions and read the thread. I'll try to include information for everyone in every post, so read things carefully.

Purpose and Organization of the Armored Branch

Tanks are uniquely suited to overcoming the obstacles that get placed in the way of an advancing army and keep the keeping up the advance. These advantages should be exploited in their use on the battlefield and enhanced through the organizational structure of the armor branch.



This armored brigade is a highly independent unit. Each armor company has its own motorized maintenance and supply platoon and each armor battalion has motorized infantry support. The Brigade Headquarters also comes with an attached pioneer troop to help pass obstacles, be they natural or created by the enemy, and an artillery battery able to support the attack of the armor either through attacking the same target or through counterbattery fire if the enemy is trying to counter the armor with his own artillery. All members of the brigade should be motorized to the highest possible degree to increase its maneuverability on the battlefield.

All tank companies forming the brigade only have a single type of armored vehicle to ease logistics and to make them more effective at their role.

The heavy tank company concentrates the firepower and armor to where it is needed most, being a strong threat to enemy armored forces and fortifications. Individual platoons can be detached to the armored battalions, but them being independent means that they do not hinder the speed at which the other tanks can move across the battlefield.

The light armored vehicle company is the exact opposite: it has the fastest, most maneuverable vehicles, which do not have to be tracked as long as they have very good offroad capability. These vehicles cannot resist medium and heavy field guns, but should be able to resist anti-tank rifles and if possible light anti-tank guns. They can be armed with either a high or medium velocity tank gun or with an autocannon. If armed with a tank gun, they are able to lend firepower, but not armor, to the front where the enemy armor is pushing. But the main purpose of them is to act as scouts and skirmishers as well as to exploit openings. Their speed should be high enough to make them able to pursue retreating motorized infantry, and when there is an opening in the enemy lines, they can go into the rear and destroy as much of the supply and transportation network as possible.

The remaining armor companies make use of a mainline combat tank. Combining most of the speed and mobility of the lights with most of the armor and firepower of the heavies, they are able to fulfill most tasks without assistance from either. In the frontal section, their armor should be enough to resist its own gun from at least the outer edge of combat range, ideally closer. The gun should produce a decent muzzle velocity to enable fire at enemy formations that are advancing or retreating without having to leave their position in the larger formation for something more vulnerable as well as to make it easier to hit tanks at medium ranges. On the attack, it falls to these tanks to engage enemy armor. If the threat enemy armor poses is too strong, then they are to call for assistance from the heavy tanks. If the enemy front is broken, these tanks also have the task of preventing the enemy from closing it so that further troops can move through.

The motorized rifle companies that are part of the armored brigade should have at least one weapons team.

All headquarters and all platoon lead tanks are equipped with a long range radio, if possible the remaining tanks and the trucks of the motorized infantry are to carry shorter-range two-way units, but receivers have to be present in all tanks.

This formation can make a strong push and, with the artillery, infantry and supply units, is able to also defend it until the rest of the army catches back up. However, such a push can leave the front vulnerable to a counterattack that bypasses the armored brigade still involved in combat. The infantry should thus have its own anti-tank guns. Since attacking armor is able to concentrate its force to a far higher degree than the defending infantry, these anti-tank units should be very mobile so that they can be brought to where the attack is happening. This role can be filled by a tank-gun armed light armored vehicle, but this should be an infantry program.