Pop quiz

panzergator · Post by **panzergator** » Sun Apr 19, 2020 6:26 am

CAV DOG! You got out your MANUALS!

Cav Dog · Post by **Cav Dog** » Sun Apr 19, 2020 10:05 am

Actually going from memory. Haven't seen the manuals in a long time - I might've tossed them. I hope I remember the answers.

panzergator · Post by **panzergator** » Sun Apr 19, 2020 10:29 am

I have a '76 copy of 17-95 sitting out. I will wait for somone else to provide answers for a few days.

panzergator · Post by **panzergator** » Sun Apr 19, 2020 10:39 pm

While you are pondering cavalry missions, let's run another question.

It is 2020. You are a US brigade commander. You have been notified that you will receive a British armoured squadron in attachment. How many troops (subunits), and how many tanks will you receive? You will support them with fuel, ammunition, and chow. What must you keep in mind?

redleg · Post by **redleg** » Mon Apr 20, 2020 4:40 am

I don't have the manuals handy but here is my best guess:

Cavalry missions are screen, guard, and cover. For offensive missions the cavalry shoots and for defensive missions they shiit faster!

panzergator · Post by **panzergator** » Mon Apr 20, 2020 4:44 am

Redleg, I think your typo is probably quite accurate, but not the answer Cav Dog was looking for.....

redleg · Post by **redleg** » Mon Apr 20, 2020 4:45 am

My guess for the Brits: 13 tanks in a squadron with 4 subunits (4 troops of 3 tanks each). My concern would be that the challenger's 120mm main gun uses separate loading ammunition so I couldn't swap ammo with my US tanks. Plus I would need to have more tea on hand.

panzergator · Post by **panzergator** » Mon Apr 20, 2020 4:58 am

You are correct about main gun ammo, but wrong about everything else.

Cav Dog · Post by **Cav Dog** » Mon Apr 20, 2020 7:18 am

Redleg you got three out of four. But there are significant differences in what commanders are supposed to do depending on which mission they are assigned.

A screen mission only fights in self defense to retain freedom of maneuver to continue the mission. Best way to describe a screen mission is to liken it to a "Look Out block" in football. There they are and here they come. The goal is to report and maintain contact.

What about guard and covering force missions?

panzergator · Post by **panzergator** » Mon Apr 20, 2020 7:58 am

We sure could use more participants for both questions and answers.

redleg · Post by **redleg** » Mon Apr 20, 2020 10:45 pm

A guard mission is to protect another unit while it performs some other mission. the guarding force is to prevent an enemy unit from coming within direct fire range of the protected unit.

A covering mission is similar to both guard and screen missions, except that the covering force is self-contained and acting semi-autonomously. The covering force operates away from the main body to provide intel, deceive the enemy, or stack bodies.

redleg · Post by **redleg** » Mon Apr 20, 2020 10:47 pm

A British squadron has 18 tanks: 4 troops of 4 tanks each, plus 2 in the HQ for a total of 18. AT least that's what I found for a Type 56 Regiment. Not sure if there are other types out there today or not. Plus an extra truck for the PG Tips.

panzergator · Post by **panzergator** » Tue Apr 21, 2020 12:05 am

Redleg, you are correct. The Brit regimental organization has fluctuated wildly over the last 40 years, with organization tied to budgets. A Type 56 might put a troop in storage or have one tank in each troop in storage. Authorization strength also might depend on whether the regiment is active army orterritorial. They seem to have settled into the Type 56, with only three active battalion-sized regiments for now.

Now, you must also remember those thirsty Challengers take a different kind of fuel than your M1A2s. The crews will probably bring their own tea, knowing their American counterparts will be drinking instant with ice.

Now, one of your officers is going to be seconded to a French armored regiment as a squadron commander. How many tanks will he command? How will they be organized. Will he have an ORGANIC mech platoon?

During the US War for Independence, on occasionally encountered a "legion." To what kind of unit did this term refer?

Donald M. Scheef · Post by **Donald M. Scheef** » Tue Apr 21, 2020 3:34 am

During the (American) Revolutionary War, a "legion" was a relatively large (~ brigade sized) organization, often of irregular troops, typically assembled from local residents and led by a civic leader, after whom the legion was named.
Some examples:
Lee's Legion - led by an ancestor of Robert E. Lee, a part of the American Continental Army.
Pulaski's Legion - One of the few cavalry units of the American Continental Army.
British American Legion - Composed of loyalists, at one time led by Benedict Arnold.

Don S.

panzergator · Post by **panzergator** » Tue Apr 21, 2020 5:55 am

That is true, Donald. What I was looking for was that it was a combined arms force which included both cavalry and infantry.