Republic of Dalmatia Imagi-Nation

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redleg
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Re: Republic of Dalmatia Imagi-Nation

Post by redleg »

Ground Operations Lessons Learned
1. The Army did not have enough long-range artillery capability. There are several brigades of cannon artillery in the corps artilleries, but we rely on the MLRS systems for deep fires and as our primary counter-battery asset. When the war started, the MLRS systems were grouped into the heavy division artilleries (one battalion of MLRS for each division) and a single brigade of MLRS in II Corps Artillery (3 battalions).

II Corps in Turkey was supported by MLRS fires, but I Corps in Poland and 3rd Mech in Egypt only had their DIVARTY MLRS battalions for rocket support. The light divisions had even less support, as their divisions only have a single HIMARS battery for GS artillery.

Later in the war, a new MLRS brigade was created to support the Belarussian Front. This brigade will remain on active duty, and the light division TO&E will be revised to include a full battalion of HIMARS systems.

2. I Corps did not have all necessary units for combat. Prior to the war, I Corps was a multi-national organization, and it did not contain all of the units that a standard ROD corps would field. Once the war started, the corps separated from its multi-national role, and it took command of ROD forces in Poland. As an ROD-pure organization, it lacked key capabilities such as engineering, air defense, and medical.

3. Neither ROD corps had an armored cavalry regiment. Despite lengthy discussions about the benefits of armored cavalry regiments, the ROD Army did not have any ACRs when the war began. As a result, divisions and maneuver brigades were tasked by Corps to perform reconnaissance, security, and other economy of force missions. This situation will be remedied with the creation of light and heavy ACRs.

4. II Corps aviation was large and unwieldy. Aviation assets include an attack helicopter regiment (3 battalions of Apaches) and an aviation brigade (4 battalions of transport and utility helicopters). There was a tendency to use the AHR and the AVN Bde as whole units, and a reluctance to task organize. The AHR provided a huge offensive punch when it was used, and the AVN Bde enabled us to conduct large air assault operations and artillery raids, but opportunities were missed for the employment of individual helicopter battalions.

We could have used the corps aviation assets to perform reinforcing or general support-reinforcing missions like we do with corps artillery. A corps Apache battalion could easily reinforce a divisional Apache battalion for a specific mission, or even provide direct support to an independent maneuver brigade. They also could have performed reconnaissance and security missions since we didn’t have an ACR.

One of the reforms that the ROD Army is considering is to maintain 2 full corps, each with 3 divisions (2 active duty and 1 reserve). One corps will be heavy (armored and mech infantry divisions, armored ACR, SP artillery) and one corps will be light (infantry divisions, Stryker ACR, and towed artillery/HIMARS).
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chrisswim
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Re: Republic of Dalmatia Imagi-Nation

Post by chrisswim »

As I was reading your assessment/review I have a question or two.
Your I Corps and the II Corps, how many Divisions in each or largest units that reported directly to Corp?
What other national units were assigned to a Corps and size?
Where more unit brought in or transferred out? If you care to share, why?

Artillery: for range, are you considering MLRS the long range artillery and tube artillery was NOT long range? Even with base-bleed? What types of artillery units did you employ (only if not TOP SECRET)?

Thank you for sharing whatever you do share.
Appreciate your evaluation and perspective.
Chris

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Re: Republic of Dalmatia Imagi-Nation

Post by redleg »

No worries – I hope these recaps and any subsequent questions can help us (especially me) perform better in the next conflict.

The ROD corps were very different. For I Corps, it commanded an ROD division and an RPNW division in Poland prior to the war. RPNW was not available for this war, so when the fighting commenced I Corps consisted of 1 armored division, medical brigade, military intelligence brigade, signal brigade, corps artillery brigade, and 3 corps support groups. As soon as the fighting started, 2 independent armored brigades deployed (forward deployed to Germany and Mahishmati). Later an infantry division deployed to Poland from the ROD. We received monthly replacements to either replace combat losses or to build new units, and I used these replacements to create a parachute infantry regiment and an artillery brigade.

ROD II Corps deployed as a full corps with 2 divisions, MP, MI, engineer, signal, medical, and air defense brigades. Corps artillery had 2 brigades of artillery, and COSCOM had 3 corps support groups. They also had an attack helicopter regiment and an aviation brigade, as well as a parachute infantry regiment and a regiment of special ops troops. I added another corps support group during the war, and I deployed 2 independent brigades from the ROD to bolster the corps, but other than that the replacements just backfilled combat losses.

For a short time, I MEF was running 3rd Mech and 1st Marine Divisions. That entire force was moved by sea from Egypt and it was assembled just for a specific purpose.

Just as an interesting note, when building ROD II Corps, I used US V Corps from 2001ish as my model. I think it may have been beefed up, being the only US corps in Germany at the time, so I’m thinking I should slim the units down a little bit.

For artillery, we do utilize the MLRS and HIMARS systems for our long range fires. As a general rule of thumb, rockets have a greater range than cannons. The guns do have some extended range projectiles. Base burn/base bleed rounds and RAP rounds can range about 30k, and there is a new RAP round that may very well go out to 70k, but there are extended range rockets as well. The conventional ER rockets have a range of about 70k, and the GMLRS rockets can supposedly reach out to 90k. And then there is ATACMS, that can reach out to 300k with Block 1A, though the ROD did not use any ATACMS during the war.

The ROD does have some 203mm artillery, but they do not provide any real increase in range over the 155mm guns. Our direct support cannon battalions are always focused on the short-range fight, but the general support cannon battalions can fill different roles depending on the situation. The MLRS and HIMARS battalions almost never provide close fires – instead they tend to focus on counter-battery fires, or on hitting those deeper targets.
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MechCommander
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Re: Republic of Dalmatia Imagi-Nation

Post by MechCommander »

I think for the POP they may need a AEW aircraft so the member nations Air units can react to the enemy aircraft much quicker. and invest more into longer range artillery. Plus with the EE using more Submarines need to get more ASW units.

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Re: Republic of Dalmatia Imagi-Nation

Post by MechCommander »

redleg wrote:
Fri Apr 21, 2023 4:20 am
No worries – I hope these recaps and any subsequent questions can help us (especially me) perform better in the next conflict.

The ROD corps were very different. For I Corps, it commanded an ROD division and an RPNW division in Poland prior to the war. RPNW was not available for this war, so when the fighting commenced I Corps consisted of 1 armored division, medical brigade, military intelligence brigade, signal brigade, corps artillery brigade, and 3 corps support groups. As soon as the fighting started, 2 independent armored brigades deployed (forward deployed to Germany and Mahishmati). Later an infantry division deployed to Poland from the ROD. We received monthly replacements to either replace combat losses or to build new units, and I used these replacements to create a parachute infantry regiment and an artillery brigade.

ROD II Corps deployed as a full corps with 2 divisions, MP, MI, engineer, signal, medical, and air defense brigades. Corps artillery had 2 brigades of artillery, and COSCOM had 3 corps support groups. They also had an attack helicopter regiment and an aviation brigade, as well as a parachute infantry regiment and a regiment of special ops troops. I added another corps support group during the war, and I deployed 2 independent brigades from the ROD to bolster the corps, but other than that the replacements just backfilled combat losses.

For a short time, I MEF was running 3rd Mech and 1st Marine Divisions. That entire force was moved by sea from Egypt and it was assembled just for a specific purpose.

Just as an interesting note, when building ROD II Corps, I used US V Corps from 2001ish as my model. I think it may have been beefed up, being the only US corps in Germany at the time, so I’m thinking I should slim the units down a little bit.

For artillery, we do utilize the MLRS and HIMARS systems for our long range fires. As a general rule of thumb, rockets have a greater range than cannons. The guns do have some extended range projectiles. Base burn/base bleed rounds and RAP rounds can range about 30k, and there is a new RAP round that may very well go out to 70k, but there are extended range rockets as well. The conventional ER rockets have a range of about 70k, and the GMLRS rockets can supposedly reach out to 90k. And then there is ATACMS, that can reach out to 300k with Block 1A, though the ROD did not use any ATACMS during the war.

The ROD does have some 203mm artillery, but they do not provide any real increase in range over the 155mm guns. Our direct support cannon battalions are always focused on the short-range fight, but the general support cannon battalions can fill different roles depending on the situation. The MLRS and HIMARS battalions almost never provide close fires – instead they tend to focus on counter-battery fires, or on hitting those deeper targets.
New Canada used the HIMARS, the M777, and the M109s in their artillery units. While the Felines used the TOS-1, and the PzH2000.

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Re: Republic of Dalmatia Imagi-Nation

Post by redleg »

Air Operations Lessons Learned
1. The Air Force needs a permanent headquarters above the wing level. In peacetime the ROD Air Force maintains four major commands that control all of the units (Air Combat Command, Air Mobility Command, Special Operations Command, and Air Reserve Command). These major commands are divided into wings, and there are no other levels of organization.

When the Air Force deployed 11 wings to Iraq and Saudi Arabia, they were organized into air divisions based on their primary function, but these air divisions were ad-hoc units, and the headquarters were assembled on very short notice. The Air Force would benefit from permanent deployable commands that could control multiple wings.

2. The Air Force needed more search and rescue assets to retrieve downed aircrew. There is currently only 1 rescue squadron in the Air Force, and it deploys as a full squadron, so the Belarussian Front had no Air Force rescue squadrons assigned. The aircrew recovery function is also performed by special operations troops, but this pulls special operators away from other missions. It is clear that more rescue squadrons need to be created to support air operations, but there is some discussion about how to best address the issue.

One possible solution is to just create more rescue squadrons and ensure that they are deployed along with combat wings. A second solution it to create smaller rescue squadrons (in reality half-squadrons) and make them organic to the wings so that the aircrew recovery operations become a routine part of air operations under the wing commander.

3. The Air Force lacked timely and accurate battle damage assessments (BDA). When Air Force aircraft conducted air interdiction missions against ground targets, they did not have BDA built into their operations plan, so it was difficult to determine the effectiveness of the air strikes. Sometimes additional missions were needed against a particular target, but the Air Force did not know this because they did not have any BDA. Reconnaissance aircraft were not included in the strike packages, and follow-on recon missions to determine BDA were not scheduled.

The primary resource for BDA in the ROD Air Force is tactical reconnaissance aircraft – either manned or unmanned. There was no shortage of recon aircraft in the air order of battle (U-2R, RF-4C, MQ-1B), but reconnaissance air tasking orders were issued in a silo and there was little crosstalk between the fighter / attack wings and the reconnaissance wings. Regardless of the BDA solution (including recon aircraft in the strike packages or assigning recon aircraft directly to the combat wings) the reconnaissance wings and squadrons must be included in all air planning, and tactical recon organizations must have the “secret squadron” mentality stripped from their organizational culture.
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Re: Republic of Dalmatia Imagi-Nation

Post by redleg »

Naval Operations Lessons Learned
1. The ROD Navy initially deployed its carrier battlegroups in a piecemeal fashion. At any given time, there are several battle groups at sea on patrol, as well as one battle group undergoing maintenance. Like all other navies, the ROD does not have carrier battle groups in port all loaded and ready to deploy at a moment’s notice, but the ROD Navy deployed additional battle groups as they became ready, and it wasn’t until late in the war that they deployed a large fleet all together (Task Force Thunder). Early war naval battles generally involved a single carrier battle group, or sometimes 2 battle groups when they were able to rendezvous prior to the battle.

2. Like the Air Force, the Navy struggled with BDA after the carrier aircraft conducted strikes against land targets. Navy reconnaissance squadrons deployed to overseas bases, but they did not embark aboard the carriers. Navy recon squadrons operated in a silo and were not integrated into overall air operations. A possible solution is to make a reconnaissance detachment a permanent part of each carrier air wing, much like EAW and EW aircraft.

3. Legacy aircraft and ships did not perform well. In the ROD we enjoy flying some of our older aircraft around, like the F-4 Phantom, but these platforms did not perform well against fighters like Su-27s and Su-33s. One notable exception is the A-6E, which conducted attacks against land and naval targets without inordinately high casualty rates, though the Intruders always had fighter escort. The F-4S, which embarked aboard several carriers, did not fare well.

The Navy still has several older ships in the fleet as well. The older Spruance class destroyers performed well, but the obsolete Garcia and Adams class ships did not. While the older ships will hopefully be replaced with newer designs, the older aircraft will still soldier on in reserve air wings, for no other reason than I like them!

4. Carrier Battle Groups were not robust enough for sustained naval operations with a near-peer adversary. CVBGs consist of a carrier, a cruiser, 2 destroyers, a submarine, and a support ship. This organization is very effective for routine global patrols, power projection, and responding to crises or contingencies around the world. It does not lend itself to a war of attrition, however. And even though the ROD tries to avoid a straight war of attrition, the Navy will certainly suffer casualties and lose ships. The loss of a single surface combatant seriously degrades the carrier’s ASW and ballistic missile protection. During a naval campaign, successive engagements can strip away the carrier’s defenses, and even destroy the carrier itself.

One solution that is currently being discussed is to reduce the core carrier battle group to the carrier and perhaps a single escort (maybe a cruiser). Destroyers would be organized into groups or squadrons and could be attached to the battle group as needed. 2 destroyers would be attached for patrol duty, but if the carrier was deploying for war, a full squadron (maybe 6) destroyers would be attached. A destroyer group could also be deployed independently and could link up with battle groups already at sea if the CVBG had to transition from a patrol to a wartime scenario.
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Re: Republic of Dalmatia Imagi-Nation

Post by redleg »

ROD units are still in the middle of their redeployment, but discussions are already underway about what organizational and doctrinal reforms should be put into place based on lessons learned from the recent war.

One issue under discussion concerns the size of the ROD Army divisions. Under the current TO&E, mech infantry divisions contain 16,665 personnel at full strength. Senior commanders have challenged the Army to reduce the division’s headcount to 15,000 or less (which is still a pretty damn big organization) in order to make the division more nimble in combat.

One of the possible solutions is to remove the division’s aviation brigade and place the helicopters at corps level. The justification for such a move is that a division with no helicopters would not be tied to airfield-like facilities that could support the aircraft. If aircraft support was required it could be attached from corps, but otherwise the division would be able to maneuver without managing those aviation support facilities.

The downside, of course, is that the division loses the firepower of an Apache battalion and the flexibility of a GS aviation battalion.

We are curious what others think about this issue.
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Re: Republic of Dalmatia Imagi-Nation

Post by MechCommander »

It’s nearly similar to what the POP is doing with their new Aviation Corps. They will have their own Helicopter Squadron to act as on site reinforcements.

Also in a bit of Irony the NC army is gonna field Aircraft of their own. Though they are limited to Small Prop Aircraft.

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Re: Republic of Dalmatia Imagi-Nation

Post by chrisswim »

PG sent these images over to us about training in ROD.

Sent a RQ-4 Global Hawk over a large island in the north central Pacific. To give a hint that country has a bunch of flat tops.
Observe armor training being conducted. Put their crews through their paces.

Image

Image
Chris

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Re: Republic of Dalmatia Imagi-Nation

Post by panzergator »

Such a SPECIOUS post, from Chrisdom! IF the Gator State even conducted such surveillance, it certainly would not tell anyone, let alone share that Intel with ANYONE. This appears to be a provocation for nefarious end by Chrisdom!
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Re: Republic of Dalmatia Imagi-Nation

Post by redleg »

Fake news. Unauthorized reconnaissance aircraft would have been shot down.
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Re: Republic of Dalmatia Imagi-Nation

Post by redleg »

This morning the ROD Air Force was alerted to the presence of military aircraft north of the ROD Air Defense Identification Zone. The alert aircraft for Air Defense Zone 1 were sent up to investigate – today the 17th Fighter Squadron “Mud Dogs” have the alert duty.

The ROD pilots identified several bombers flying from west to east, but they were unable to identify any national markings. The ROD aircraft did not interfere with the flight, which was tracking toward Vancouver Island.
Image
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Re: Republic of Dalmatia Imagi-Nation

Post by MechCommander »

TU-16s From an Unknown Imagi-Nation, where did they come from?

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Re: Republic of Dalmatia Imagi-Nation

Post by chrisswim »

At the CoC Eastern Pacific HQ in Panama…. Those might be the NC Stratojets, heavy bombers. So NC is threatening ROD and flying over Karmanaskis. NC has BIG Bal/$ now, certainly with those heavy as$ bombers.
Chris

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