Road Of Advancement

"Alright, Theodore, I've sent you your family mech catalogue. The commandants have picked their assets based on the same catalogue. It's your task now to identify all the fielded mechs on the battlefield and infer why the respective commandants have chosen them. You have about five minutes to compile a file with all the used mech types and form an opinion on their respective use in this clash."

Theodore immediately got to work. With the limited time, he immediately put Summit to work, helping him analyze the two-hundred mechs. He was naturally drawn to the attacking side first. He felt there was a natural advantage to being the defending party and was curious as to how commandant Springer would try to negate the drawbacks of going on the initiative on short notice.

Commandant Springer had chosen to outfit his regiments with forty light mechs, forty medium mechs and twenty heavy mechs. The number of heavy mechs was quite surprising to Theodore. They were known to be very heavy and rather immobile. The rugged terrain would do their manoeuvrability no favours. The type of mechs was easy to distinguish based on their frame. A light mech weighed between twenty tons and 35 tons, a medium mech between forty and fifty-five tons and heavy mechs anywhere between sixty and a hundred ton.

Mobility was directly correlated with mass. An eighty-ton heavy mech would never move as fast and smooth as a thirty-ton light mech.

There were various expert-military models in superstates that tried negating this negative correlation by adding thrusters and gravity pads, but this was not only very expensive, it was also not very cost-effective.

A heavy mech was a huge target on a battlefield. This monstrous mech-type carried heavy firepower and sturdy defences to combat his deficiencies. Just the weapons alone could outweigh a light mech. Because of this, the frame was strengthened and the power supply increased. Add the extravagant amount of armour-plating and everyone could understand the heavy drain these mechs had on a regiments budget.

Because there was a slim window of half an hour, the fuel needed for these beasts was no concern! With no monetary budget to account to, there were no budget problems!

Knowing he had to strike hard. the commandant had chosen to take out the big guns!

It also showed how unreal the simulation could be. A regiment would usually not be able to field this amount of heavy mechs. The logistics, repairs, fuel and economics that are necessary to keep these beasts running simply made them a luxury!

Imagine scaling this up to a regiment where there were fifty of even more heavy mechs for every hundred mechs fielded! Scary! Both as a powerful force and as a drain to the outfit!

Light mechs were the complete opposite of heavy mechs. They were build to be light, to be agile and to be quick. They were relatively cheaper to build, maintain and fuel. In return, their firepower was severely lacking in comparison. Their light frame simply couldn't hold a heavy weapon!

They were used for scouting, flanking and surprise strikes. They were lightly armoured, so they were often trashed on a battlefield. They were, however, vital to any outfit as they were affordable and had great uses.

The heavier 35t light mechs were often employed as a strike unit. They retained most of their speed, sacrificed some agility, but gained more firepower! Summit reported that most of the light mechs chosen by commandant springer were either the lightest class or heaviest class of light mech. It seemed he went for their ultimate gains, rather than take a light mech that did not excel in any distinct traits.

Lastly, there were medium mechs. Medium mechs represented the compromise between heavy and light mechs. Medium mechs are the most popular mech, Summit reported, because of their versatility, economical performance and higher protective measures.

The medium mechs were heavier than light mechs and lighter than heavy mechs. Their ability to manoeuvre in combination with a better protective armour made them the main model of any force. No force could afford many pilots and no force could sustain a squad made up of solely heavy mechs.

Because of their traits, they are known as 'generalist mechs'. They are suited for many combat roled and the medium catalogue was therefore filled with most alternatives. Every model accentuated a different spec, creating a model suitable for a different role.

In general, these types could further be divided in melee and ranged mechs. These mechs also had their own unique role. Their role would generally coincide with their class and type.

A heavy mech would usually be a ranged type. They would either be assigned as cannoneers (both laser and ballistic) or as ranged support. A light mech would either be a scout or skirmisher. Medium mechs could take up almost any role.

The most common roles were scouts, strikers, skirmishers, assault, cannoneers and snipers. There were also uncommon roles like support, radar specialist and stationary ranged mechs.

With this much as a base of information, Theodore tried to formulate a battle plan that must've inspired the choices made by commandant Springer. He felt that understanding the possible battle plans would enlighten him on the reasons why the roster was chosen in this particular way.

He also admitted to himself that he was not educated enough to understand the reasoning from scratch. He would need to cross-reference with Summit in order to hash out some convincing arguments for his inference.

In the end, the AI and Human duo decided on a simple but arguably effective battle plan, that would make use of the chosen battle rosters capabilities. They both agreed that the choices the commandant made seemed to indicate this was the most likely battleplan. A complete theory was spun around their speculation.

'The heavy mechs will definitely play a big role in their battleplan. Their firepower is off the charts. They will either target specific targets or be used as general suppressive/cover fire. The medium mechs ware split 50/50 in ranged and melee. They will presumably cooperate with the light mechs that predominantly melee mechs. They'll go for a quick push up the battlefield with the medium mechs backing them up. '

'Perhaps a part of the light mechs will try for a surprise strike in the rear. However, the terrain does not favour a surprise strike. They would probably be spotted before they can set fire to the backline.'

'I'm guessing commandant Springer will want to disable the cover advantage of the defenders by either storming the gates with the light mechs or destroying the defensive bulwarks by bombarding them with the assault of the heavy mechs.'

'It seems plausible, but very straightforward. I can't, however, think of anything else. I wonder whether the imposed time limit has led to a very narrow line of thinking by commander springer?'

'Or maybe I'm just assuming wrongly and he actually has a master plan that will astonish me.' Theodore thought deeply.

He was unfamiliar with war tactics and couldn't help but state the obvious after his analyse. It didn't help that his time was ticking. Five minutes wasn't long in his perspective. However, for someone as experienced as second-lieutenant Redford, five minutes on a battlefield were ages.

'Summit, what the composition on the defensive team?' He asked his trusty AI. The quick statistic analyse had quickly impressed Theodore, therefore he immediately relied on him once again as time was of the essence.

He couldn't help but glance at Redford, who had his eyes closed sitting beside him. Would he already have formulated his own answer? Or would he just idly sit by and wait for Theodore to come to his conclusions and then rip into his theory, leaving not even a shred of his dignity?

Theodore quickly dismissed his own thoughts, he was reading in too deep into his observation. It was never a good idea to overthink things and have your imagination take over.

He regained his calm and focused on the quick analysis of Summit.

The defending party under command of commandant Trustful had a significant different mech roster. Trustful had decided to field twenty-five heavy mechs, fifty medium mechs and as little as twenty-five light mechs.

He depended on robust firepower and more range to fend off the attackers. Theodore had suspected him to field more heavy mechs but swiftly concluded that their rate of fire was actually rather low. The attacker could, in between the barrages, swiftly move up if the defence was relying to much on the heavy mechs.

The bulk of the roster was made up of medium mechs, with roughly 75/25% ratio between ranged and melee mechs. He fielded thirty-six medium-ranged mechs and fourteen melee ranged mechs.

Theodore quickly saw the dilemma the defending commander faced: to commit to ranged forces and become very vulnerable at close range or to add more melee mechs that would only show their value when the opposing forces drew closer to the camp.

In the end, the clash would be decided in mid-range; if the attackers broke through, the defenders were doomed. The medium melee mechs would be used to intercept the light and medium melee mechs, with enough support fire they would be able to stave off the attackers.

This tactic was sound, but would inevitably ask for the melee pilots to sacrifice themselves, as the casualties would be highest there as they faced a melee force that outnumbered them by a fair margin. The heavy mechs of the attackers would also rip into them.

It was a risk the commander had to take, in order to patch up the vulnerability and win time for their superior ranged forces to defeat the attackers.

At least the rugged terrain would slow the attackers. Theodore wondered whether the defenders would be able to alter the terrain even more in their favour. Keeping them at bay or slowing them down would inevitably lead to more casualties on the attacking side.

Together with Summit, he solidified their theory once again and he reckoned he had done a good job at deciphering the motives of the commandants.

His time then ran out and as he looked up once more, he was faced with a penetrating stare of Redford, who evidently was waiting for a report.

"Well, then Theodore, please report your findings." Redford spoke in his usual confident tone.