• Registered: 2005-03-28
  • Posts: 379

Topic: Land warfare in the Iron Stars universe?

Knowing next to nothing about this game to date, would it be a good way to try a large scale land warfare game in the IS universe?

I have a long-standing interest in the Russo-Japanese War o' 1904-1905.  Got books of my own, read others owned by friends. But there are precious few games tackling the time frame.  And I also have an interest in IS.

So I'm hoping there'd be potential to represent battles at Yalu and Nanshan where you not only have riflemen and machine guns and quick firing 76.2mm guns, you also have the first gen, crude warmachines driven by captured Martian tech :-)  ...putting it in the sci-fi realm.

I have orders of battle for all the various battles, along with maps and deployments.  I know the rifle strength of the typical East Siberian company, battalion, rifle regiment and brigade.  I know how many Cossacks were in a squadron and regiment.  I know the number of guns to batteries and how MGs were organized.  Got similar info on the Japanese, as well as some notes on how they fought -- ie, the Russians still tended to fire in volleys, even with bolt action rifles. 

I just think it would be fun.  Historical weapons along with Heat Rays, gas, etc.  And eventually, timeline wise, it could be walked up into WWI.

But I don't know if it's compatible.  I was thinking of individual infantry / cavalry units being represented as companies.  As each company was 250 men strong - and each squadron about 160-170 men, each step of damage would equate to 50 guys?  So a company would be a "5," a squadron a "3."  Batteries would have a value equal to each gun.  Hexes would be 100 metres each? 
Would it be feasible?  If so, I gotta think up of how I would actually rep the units with playing pieces.

Matt

  • Registered: 2005-03-28
  • Posts: 379

Re: Land warfare in the Iron Stars universe?

If the 50 men to 1 Size were applied, and each company is 250 men, you'd have a company with a Size value of 5.  There'd be three companies to battalion, three battalions to a regiment.  So you could represent a regiment with 9 playing pieces.  Similarly, a cavalary squadron would be a single piece with size "3."  Six squadrons to a regiment.  And a battery would be a single piece with a size of "8" -- maybe you'd break them into half-batteries. Sci-fi land vehicles would be marked individually or as sections of 2.

But I don't know what kind of special unit traits could be applied.

  • Registered: 2022-11-16
  • Posts: 516

Re: Land warfare in the Iron Stars universe?

I think QL would work for this.
QL has a similar feel to the C&C series of games by Richard Borg.
It'd just be a matter of deciding on what scale each unit would represent.
And by unit I'm meaning all of the pieces in a single hex.
When Dan first showed me this I thought that it'd handle historicals (as well as the non-historical stuff) just fine.
Kevin

  • Registered: 2005-03-28
  • Posts: 379

Re: Land warfare in the Iron Stars universe?

I've come up with a few ideas re: IS sci-fi units to include.  The first AFVs were, in reality, appearing around this time frame without Martian tech.

But...
Armored trucks similar to the Putilov truck that carried twin MGs and a 75mm gun...except I see it firing black gas.

Landships crewed by a dozen or so layered in 47mm guns or the first, semi-suicidal heat rays.

Japanese tunnelers carrying engineers to breach the walls @ Port Arthur.

VTOL aeronefs conducting bombardments.

Big old armored trains.

Sure, concepts ain't that original but they could be modeled in QL.

Tweaks to historic formations....ie, reducing the AD of field arty batteries, seems a lot more reasonable after die tosses.

Need terrain rules for barbed wire, mines.