Term Paper - Strategic Maneuvers

[Durkin]

Strategic Maneuvers

The GT supplement "Fartrader" presented an interesting wrinkle to interstellar navigation.

Since a starship will drop out of jump space 100 diameters away form it's destination star. (This also would apply to a planet, if is clear of the stars 100d limit.) Because planets revolve around their star, at some times a planet may be blocked i.e. behind the 100d gravitywell of that star.

For commercial navigation this means that a ship will have to make a longer trip normal space trip, in order to reach the main world of a system. This can be handled by the navigation tables found in the back of the Starship Operator's Manual.

Consider however what this means from a naval point of view. Consider the crude map below.

..1
6...2
...B
5...3
..4...A

A task force from world "A", wishes to attack the main world of system "B". The actual distance between the two systems is unimportant. Now if the main world of system "B" were screened by the primary's gravity well -- say by being in direction "6". A direct approach would leave the task force on the far side of the system, with an increased likely-hood of being detected. Given the importance of surprise in any military encounter, this is unacceptable.

The Admiral in command therefore, should plot a course to positions 1,5, or ideally, position 6. With luck this would be a star system where the ships can refuel. It could even be into deep space, if the fleet had the range. From there, they could then jump into system "B", arriving as close as possible to their target.

Note: Call this flanking / Dog-leg maneuver what you will. (My apologies to our Vargr allies.) IMTU I tend to refer to it as the "Strider Maneuver", in honour of the Terrian hero of the Intersellar wars.

 

[The Oz]

Another strategic/operational maneuver I've thought TRAVELLER admirals might use is a false withdrawal via jump while actually microjumping inside the star system to a better position for an attack a week later.

How well this would work depends on how your referee interprets jump preparation, and whether the referee will allow any deception in the jump preparation as to your intended jump distance/destination.

Of course you also need to have enough fuel to make the microjump plus any fuel needed to try to make the deception (if needed/allowed).

 

[aramis]

Since it appears in canon (Regency Sourcebook, in the library data) that you can FOLLOW, a another ships' observed jump, it also follows that one can detect where it's will take you (although not of need in a timely manner...)

 

[The Oz]

Yes, it should at least be possible to detect how far the enemy appears to be going (from the energy signature vs the size of the ship, to get an idea of how much juice is going to the jump drive) and getting an idea of their direction can come from a variety of sources, depending on how your referee interprets the workings of jumpspace.

That's why I said "deception." If it's possible to determine where a ship might be jumping, it should be possible to at least attempt to deceive them as to where you're jumping. For instance, your referee might say it's possible to burn fuel for jump-2 but only make jump-1.

If I were a ref running a TRAVELLER campaign I'd allow players to attempt to track ships as they jump, and to attempt to deceive anyone trying to track them, through the use of skill rolls and expending resources (fuel, time, etc.) It'd give the players more chances to be creative and involved.

What other TRAVELLER tactics/strategies might be "old tricks?"

 

[mike wightman]

If you want to make an in-system jump, but make it appear that you are jumping out-system then make constructive use of jump masking.
Plot an out-system jump that is aimed to pass through (just) the 100D limit of an object within the system and then press the button.
You burn the fuel for a full jump 1 or whatever and hitting the 100D limit pulls you out of jumpspace still in-system.

 

[Jeff M. Hopper]

I seem to remember an old discussion on "jump hovering" where a ship would jump from just outside the 100D limit at a world and let its gravity well pull them out of jump. To the outside observer, it would like the ship jumped away only to reappear a week later dangerously close to the target world.

IMTU scouts are absolutely vital for invading a system because of the tactical and strategic data they provide. The main fleet stays one jump away from the target system and sends in scoutships to passively scan the system and then jump out to tell the awaiting fleet the disposition of the enemy forces insystem.

The key to that though, is whether or not you have indication of jump in or out be instantly known (by creating a detectable event gravitationally) or the indication of jump being limited to the speed of light for propogation of signal (some event detectable by electromagnetic spectrum). I've played with both and time lag only seems to help the intruding player protect his scouts, otherwise the effects are essentially the same.

 

[The Oz]

This isn't so much a tactic as a frame of mind an admiral in TRAVELLER would need....

Any fleet commmander would have to develop the habit of thinking a couple of weeks ahead, because any information you have would be at least a week old and probably older, and so you have to think about where the enemy might be =now= and where he might be a week from now after your own jump.

FFW did this with requiring you to plot your moves turns in advance. I'd like to see a computer version of FFW where the information is old and you give orders now that have to be communicated to distant fleets (taking weeks to get there) for movement based on that old information.

 

[BetterThanLife]

I would think that jump events would be, like in Harrington's Universe, would be detected on gravitics and hence an FTL Sensor. However book 5 says that a ship can jump with its black globe operating and arrive with the black globe operating and invisible with a vector set up very carefully before jump. (Because once you arrive, until you turn the screen off you have only your initial vector and no sensors.) Using this as a guideline you could turn on your black globes, jump, (They would probably still be figuring your vector from last position and firing where you would have been if you hadn't jumped.) WIthout a sensor return and being invisible they couldn't figure out where you had gone, when you had gone, when you arrived or that you had broken out from jump space again within the system. Gives new options with the Kokirrak, FC version of the AHL (according to Sup-5 not Sup-9) and the TL-15 Atlantic, not to mention everyone's favorite ship with no useful mission the Kinunir.

The Kinunir now becomes a Fleet Scout as well as a Commando insertion platform. Interesting. Problem comes up when your vector intersects a rogue asteroid, a Bulk cargo hauler and/or even a Free Trader or Seeker. Ship collisions with the Black Globe operating tend to do nasty things to both ships and since neither can see the other one.

For proper use of this tactic (the micro jump) bring a tender full of maneuver drives and powerplants, load them onto convient rocks load them up with fuel and commence planetary bombardment from the outer system. 4-6 weeks of maneuver drive flat out towards the planet is going to cause some damage, if you follow the bombardment in with your fleet they will have a difficult time seeing you (especially if you come in under Black Globe) and will be quite busy killing rocks while you engage them. Or they can choose to lose the planet to fight you. YIKES!

Of course if your objective is the planet and not the opposing navy then this tactic does create a problem.