Catalyst 35FR009 - Field Report 2765 - DCMS [2013].pdf

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STAR LEAGUE PLOT SUPPLEMENT
In 2765, the Star League
Defense Force was the
greatest military ever as
unparalleled in numbers
sembled,
and technological prowes
s—but it was not alone. Th
and the rules of the Territo
e House Lords
rial States in the Periphery
each amassed armies of th
none of these powers alon
eir own. While
e could challenge the shee
r size and might of the SL
ready to defend their own
DF, each stood
interests against the avarice
of their neighbors.
Field Report 2765: DCMS
de
scribes the state of House
Kurita’s Draconis Combine
just before the events desc
ribed in
Historical: Liberatio
n of Terra (Part 1)
, including
the overall military and lo
gistical condition of one
of the Great Houses that
eventually survive the colla
would
pse of the Star League an
d face a new age of endles
s war.
STAR LEAGUE ERA CLAN INVASION
ERA
®
GATHERING FORCES…
JIHAD ERA
ERA
DARK AGE ERA
©2013 The Topps Compan
y Inc. All Rights Reserved.
BattleTech Field Report 276
BattleMech, and ’Mech are reg
5: DCMS, Classic BattleTech
istered trademarks and/or tra
, BattleTech,
demarks of The Topps Compan
countries. Catalyst Game Lab
y Inc. in the United States and
s and the Catalyst Game Lab
/or other
s logo are trademarks of InM
ediaRes Productions, LLC.
SUCCESSION WARS ERA
CIVIL WAR
TO: Aleksandr Kerensky
FROM: Aaron DeChavilier
Date: 11 January 2765
Alek,
Attached is the latest report on the Combine’s military
forces and it’s not good. I pulled this report out of the SLIC, as
they’re the ones in the best position to explain things.
While it would be easy to simply think of the Combine
as Samurais in Space, it would be a gross understatement
of the DCMS’s threat to our operations. Takiro is cut from
the same cloth as his ancestor Shiro, only with about
four hundred years of “polish.” Takiro also has a lot bigger
sandbox and more toy soldiers to play to play with than
Shiro ever did.
I feel I should point that while the author of this
report, Major Crevan Mallory, is from the Federated Suns,
his previous analysis of Combine actions and thoughts have
been highly accurate and thoroughly sourced. He’s been
SLIC’s senior Combine watcher for the past three years and
takes his responsibilities seriously. Still, I think he’s being
generous in his time estimates. My own thoughts are that
we’ll be embroiled in a serious military confrontation with
the Combine before the decade is out.
Of all the Inner Sphere powers, the Combine is the
one most likely to provoke an interstellar incident. They’re
already been pushing us, looking for a weakness they can
exploit. Subtle they’re not.
TO: All RAF Brigade Commands
FROM: Brigadier General Evan Falange
Date: 18 October 3090
While the DCMS of today barely resembles the DCMS of 2765,
there are enough parallels between the two that make this document
relevant even today, three hundred years later.
As you can see from this document, the Draconis Combine of
three hundred years ago differs little from the Combine today. Even
though the current Coordinator is disposed to friendly relations with
the Republic, we cannot count on that goodwill with successive
Coordinators. It is clear that the Combine was expanding its military
back in 2765 and there was a good chance that war would have broken
out between the Star League and the Combine. The destruction of the
Jihad has made any rapid military build-up impossible. For the DCMS
to reach its pre-Jihad force levels, it will take decades, if not a century.
However, the Combine would be willing to wait that long.
There is no telling what the mindset of the third or fourth generation
Coordinator from today will be. But it should be noted that there
have been more Shiros and Takiros as Coordinator then there’s been
Theodores and Hohiros. The Combine culture demands an aggressive
military, and while it’s a shadow of its former self, it will not remain so.
The military historian, B. H. Liddell Hart wrote over a thousand
years ago, “The practical value of history is to throw the film of the
past through the material projector of the present on the screen of the
future.” It is from the past where we will get an idea of what the future
will hold.
—Brigadier General Evan Falange, for the RAFHQ
Field Report: DCMS
2765 is a
BattleTech
supplement designed to provide players with information about the state of the Draconis Combine Mustered
Soldiery (DCMS) during the height of the Star League
This first section of this book—the
Combine Overview—is
divided into two broad sections, a
Strategic Assessment
and the
Goals of the Dragon.
Strategic Assessment
is a brief overview of the DCMS’ current condition and perceived objectives, while
Goals of the Dragon
presents the political and
suspected military benchmarks the Kuritans are likely to use in the future.
The next chapter,
Logistical Status,
covers the state of Academies and Command Centers throughout the Combine, while
Infrastructural Integrity
will
present an overview of the state of the Combine’s manufacturing infrastructure just before Amaris’ coup.
The next chapter,
Military Readiness,
will present a specific update on the status, officers, and notable events of the various brigades of the DCMS,
with an eye toward their likely future employment. Included are ratings for the experience and estimated combat strengths of each regiment within the
subject brigade.
HOW TO USE THIS BOOK
CREDITS
Project Development:
Herbert A. Beas II
BattleTech Line Developer:
Herbert A. Beas II
Writing:
Craig Reed
Strategic Assistance:
Øystein Tvedten
Production Staff
Cover Design and Layout:
Ray Arrastia
Evolved Faction Logos Design:
Jason Vargas
Map:
Øystein Tvedten
Record Sheets:
Ray Arrastia
Additional WarShip Designs:
Jason Donahue,
Térence Harris
Factchecking/Playtesting:
Joel Bancroft-
Connors, Nicholai Duda, Joshua Franklin, William
Gauthier, Keith Hann, Johannes Heidler, Daniel
Isberner, Chris Marti, Luke Robertson, Andreas
Rudolph, Chris Wheeler, Patrick Wynne
Special Thanks:
To my parents for never
finding that drummer I’ve been marching to all
these years and Robert Madson, for those great
times across the table back when BattleTech was
just getting started. Special thanks to Amanda
Duran, whose knowledge of the Japanese
culture and language has help me breathe some
life into the Combine.
Developer’s Thanks:
A very huge thanks
to Joel Bancroft-Connors from helping me get
this series done!
Developer’s Note:
For more information
about the Draconis Combine Mustered Soldiery,
or the state of warfare before and during the
Star League see
Historical: Reunification War, Era
Report 2750, Field Manual: SLDF, and Historical:
Liberation of Terra Vol I and Vol II.
1
2
BUSHIDO
Known as the samurai’s code of chivalry,
bushido
describes the principles of honor
followed by the military class that ruled feudal
Japan. It is a synthesis of borrowings from three
sources. It borrowed stoic endurance and scorn
for suffering and death from Zen, worship of
country from Shinto, and the social ethic of the
five relationships from Confucianism.
Bushido
emphasizes constant physical and mental
training to maintain and improve fighting
techniques, and discipline to develop the
character, confidence, and inner self-control
that the samurai needs to unflinchingly face
an opponent in battle to the death. The Kurita
samurai owes his Coordinator uncompromising
loyalty until death. Indeed, he is willing to
sacrifice his life without a moment’s hesitation.
—From
The Resurgence of Japanese
Culture,
by Darby Pollack, Dragon Tooth
Publishing, 2751
COMBINE OVERVIEW
The Draconis Combine is aggressive, xenophobic, and militaristic, with a mindset
based on the samurai culture of medieval Japan. Four hundred and forty years ago, Shiro
Kurita created his Draconis Combine through dynamic statesmanship, deceit, and force
of arms. His decedents have continued his work for the most part, leaving the Combine’s
relationship with the rest of the League at best tepid, at its worse, actively hostile.
STRATEGIC ASSESSMENT
The Draconis Combine Mustered Soldiery (DCMS) fields one hundred fourteen
BattleMech regiments, with thousands of conventional regiments, and several hundred
aerospace fighter wings. The bulk of these regiments are organized into nine divisions, each
fielding anywhere from five to twenty-nine brigades. Common BattleMechs in the DCMS
ranks include
Stingers, Stinger
LAMs,
Wasps, Panthers, Shadow Hawks, Dragons, Thunderbolts,
Archers, Bombardiers, Warhammers, Victors, Stalkers
and
BattleMasters.
SLDF BattleMechs
sold to the Combine are concentrated in the Sword of Light or other fanatically loyal units.
All BattleMech regiments have an attached aerospace fighter wing, and with the
exception of the Sword of Light and the Sun Zhang Cadres, also have attached Infantry
and armor regiments. These brigades are named after the BattleMech regiment, and vary in
number from division to division.
The DCMS is large, robust, and except for Rasalhague Regulars elements, completely
loyal to the Coordinator. The current Coordinator, Takiro Kurita, is a twenty-eighth century
combination of a Japanese emperor and shogun in both his power and authority. Below
Bushido
is an outdated code that is both
him, the four district warlords jockey against each other for the Coordinators’ favor. Below
barbaric and bizarre. It has the effect of making
the warlords, the military, and below them, the civilian castes that serve to keep the military
the average Combine soldier a mindless killer
supplied.
with no sense of self-survival. Their goal is to kill
Combine soldiers, especially the MechWarriors, are steeped in
bushido
from the
the enemy, or to die, either on the battlefield or
first day of training, and consider themselves the Inner Sphere’s elite warriors. They pride
through a disgusting and brutal form of suicide.
themselves on being tenacious in defense, relentless in attack, ruthless in combat, with no
Bushido
robs them of the need for compassion
fear of death. DCMS training is much harsher than elsewhere in the Star League and only
or mercy; for on the battlefield, there are only
the best warriors become MechWarriors.
their fellow samurai and the enemy.
However, the DCMS does have weaknesses. Initiative, especially among junior officers,
—From
Know the Enemy: Draconis
is actively discouraged, and few regimental commanders have the latitude or ability to
Combine,
by Raymond DeChenne, Yellow Bird
change strategy to adapt to changing conditions. Orders from superiors are expected to be
Publications, Robinson, 2754
obeyed without question. There is also a tendency for officers to allow personal ambition
to cloud their judgment and their actions on the battlefield. Combined with soldiers’
willingness to sacrifice their lives have led to DCMS units taking unnecessary casualties over the years.
Another flaw is the Dragon MechWarriors’ ingrained belief that they are the pinnacle of the Combine military caste. These MechWarriors
view infantry and armor as lesser soldiers, only useful for soaking up enemy fire or guarding locations. This arrogance has led to poor coordination
between different DCMS branches more than once, leading to heavier casualties and failed missions.
The last weakness is the Combine’s social stratification. Only a handful of Combine citizens from outside the warrior families have become
MechWarriors and female MechWarriors are rare. The unwillingness to accept talented people from lower castes keeps the pool of MechWarriors
smaller than it would be otherwise.
GOALS OF THE STATE
The Draconis Combine’s stated goal is to rule the entire Inner Sphere and its leaders make little effort to hide it.
From the Alliance of Galedon’s founding and expansion, the invasion and occupation of Rasalhague Principality, through the War of Davion
Succession, the Draconis Combine has always been an aggressor state. The retaining the Dieron Regulars’ name, despite Dieron having never
been a part of the Combine, shows that the Dragon’s dreams of expansion are still alive.
The Combine exploits its neighbors on all fronts—militarily, socially, and through espionage. DCMS units probe for weaknesses among
its neighbors and SLDF garrison units, the
Ronin
War (also known as the First Hidden War) being a prime example of this probing. The ISF
3

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