03-17-2017, 08:25 PM
"Sun Tzu. An apt enough quote. Misconstrued at times; some take it out of its context, and believe that tactical command must be ever held by the highest ranks. That subordinate commanders must do only as they are directed by their betters."
It was fine example of the difference between Moltke the Elder and Moltke the Younger.
"As with all things related to philosophy, it is ever open to interpretation and debate. I believe it means that once the plan has been begun, one must instead rely heavily upon his subordinate commanders. Provide them with your intent, not a plan. Plans are seen as set in stone, intents are open to interpretation. Knowing your intent, they can then strive to make best use of their own troops, and respond to changes in the ebb and flow of the conflict."
As he spoke, signals from those very commanders in the field were flowing into the make-shift C2 station.
Liberians troops were fully established on the defensive bulwark, and were heavily engaged with the lead elements of the Expeditionary Force. Flanking elements of Liberian and Sierra Leonean troops had confirmed that the enemy's rear echelons were indeed bunched up along the narrow jungle roads, struggling to stay behind the armoured advance elements that were engaging the Liberians.
And F3LIN equipped Legionnaires had struck and cut off their retreat; cratering charges had been sited and detonated, leaving the roads back to Cote d'Ivoire impassible to vehicle traffic. And those same power armoured Legionnaires made the jungle itself impassible to dismounted infantry.
Word of those Legionnaires was already working its way up the line of the Expeditionary Force's advance, as survivors fled deeper into Liberia and the believed safety of the heavy armour elements that had led the advance.
What those survivors didn't know, and those armoured lead elements were starting to learn the hard way, was that there was no safety to be found. Two of the Legion's Type 90 main battle tanks commanded high features to the rear of the Liberian earthworks, where their superior range held dominance of the battle field. Coupled with the battery of M777s, the Nigerian-led Expeditionary Force quickly found itself under assault from all sides, with their only avenue of retreat cut off.
Captured Expeditionary Force radios were used to give false, hectic reports or to simply jam their frequencies with dead air. With poor communications and a lack of standard operating procedures between Nigerian, Malian, and Cote d'Ivoire forces, what reports made it to their commanding officers made the picture seem far more bleak then it was.
Jacques nodded slightly as Cruz spoke; he filtered through his forces reports and updates, funneling the necessary information to the various work stations around the cafe or to commanders in the field, "Well, let your friend know I would be interested in paying."
He had no context for 'a girl that hunted monsters,' dismissing it as some private investigator perhaps.
Indicators on the real-time map started to mark friendly troop movements; they were closing in on the flanks and rear of the Expeditionary Force, coordinated with artillery strikes from the M777 battery, and sections of Legionnaires in F3LIN suits and the out-dated heavy FELIN 2 kevlar body armour that the Legion had been famous in Africa for, began to appear on the front line, bolstering the Liberian forces there.
Chaos reigned among the Expeditionary Forces, as the disparate forces began to splinter and loose their cohesion. Malian troops were trying to launch a desperate break-out to the north. Cote d'Ivoire forces were abandoning the front line and pushing east, down the force's axis of advance and back towards their own border, only to run afoul of Nigerian forces trying to push them forward, and F3LIN Legionnaires advancing up their line from their rear.
Edited by Jacques, Mar 17 2017, 08:25 PM.
It was fine example of the difference between Moltke the Elder and Moltke the Younger.
"As with all things related to philosophy, it is ever open to interpretation and debate. I believe it means that once the plan has been begun, one must instead rely heavily upon his subordinate commanders. Provide them with your intent, not a plan. Plans are seen as set in stone, intents are open to interpretation. Knowing your intent, they can then strive to make best use of their own troops, and respond to changes in the ebb and flow of the conflict."
As he spoke, signals from those very commanders in the field were flowing into the make-shift C2 station.
Liberians troops were fully established on the defensive bulwark, and were heavily engaged with the lead elements of the Expeditionary Force. Flanking elements of Liberian and Sierra Leonean troops had confirmed that the enemy's rear echelons were indeed bunched up along the narrow jungle roads, struggling to stay behind the armoured advance elements that were engaging the Liberians.
And F3LIN equipped Legionnaires had struck and cut off their retreat; cratering charges had been sited and detonated, leaving the roads back to Cote d'Ivoire impassible to vehicle traffic. And those same power armoured Legionnaires made the jungle itself impassible to dismounted infantry.
Word of those Legionnaires was already working its way up the line of the Expeditionary Force's advance, as survivors fled deeper into Liberia and the believed safety of the heavy armour elements that had led the advance.
What those survivors didn't know, and those armoured lead elements were starting to learn the hard way, was that there was no safety to be found. Two of the Legion's Type 90 main battle tanks commanded high features to the rear of the Liberian earthworks, where their superior range held dominance of the battle field. Coupled with the battery of M777s, the Nigerian-led Expeditionary Force quickly found itself under assault from all sides, with their only avenue of retreat cut off.
Captured Expeditionary Force radios were used to give false, hectic reports or to simply jam their frequencies with dead air. With poor communications and a lack of standard operating procedures between Nigerian, Malian, and Cote d'Ivoire forces, what reports made it to their commanding officers made the picture seem far more bleak then it was.
Jacques nodded slightly as Cruz spoke; he filtered through his forces reports and updates, funneling the necessary information to the various work stations around the cafe or to commanders in the field, "Well, let your friend know I would be interested in paying."
He had no context for 'a girl that hunted monsters,' dismissing it as some private investigator perhaps.
Indicators on the real-time map started to mark friendly troop movements; they were closing in on the flanks and rear of the Expeditionary Force, coordinated with artillery strikes from the M777 battery, and sections of Legionnaires in F3LIN suits and the out-dated heavy FELIN 2 kevlar body armour that the Legion had been famous in Africa for, began to appear on the front line, bolstering the Liberian forces there.
Chaos reigned among the Expeditionary Forces, as the disparate forces began to splinter and loose their cohesion. Malian troops were trying to launch a desperate break-out to the north. Cote d'Ivoire forces were abandoning the front line and pushing east, down the force's axis of advance and back towards their own border, only to run afoul of Nigerian forces trying to push them forward, and F3LIN Legionnaires advancing up their line from their rear.
Edited by Jacques, Mar 17 2017, 08:25 PM.