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Smokie Bandits

                                       

                                                   

Tactics Page

                             




                       An unlucky mechwarrior sees his opponent through his cockpit window before being killed by the radiation escaping from his fusion engine.

Flanking - Besides providing recon data, the Bandits' Recon lance has a large role in flanking enemy 'mechs.  Lt. Grant's light 'mechs often move around the sides of the main battle using terrain, speed and buildings to shield them from enemy fire. When the enemy units are distracted by the Assault and Frontline forces, the Recon lance moves out from behind their positions near the enemies' rear. The light 'mechs then open fire on the rear of the opponent's 'mechs, often using alpha-strikes to completely breach the enemies' rear armor. If the enemy turns around to fight the recon lance, the light 'mechs simply run back to their cover positions. However, turning to fight the recon lance is often suicidal, since an enemy 'mech would end up turning their already damaged rear armor towards the heavy units of the main attack forces. The Bandits use this maneuver many times in a single battle to frustrate an enemy unit.

Breaking through - The Assault lance's job is to punch through an enemy line while the battle rages around them. Major Travis' unit often charges the enemy formation head on, and in the brutal close range fighting, the Assault lance will normally punch a hole in the enemy formation. Units of Major Trotter's Frontline force will then push through the gap, while the assault lance keeps the enemies' attention. The Assault Lance has become quite skilled in this tactic, and they never back down from physical combat or alpha-strikes during the in-your-face battle.

Command Lance - The Bandits' command lance normally fights as part of the Frontline force, due to the fact that the command lance weighs in as a heavy unit. However, should either the CO or the XO be in danger, the two other members of the command lance will move to shield the commanders. One of the guard 'mechs in the lance is a Bandersnatch. This 'mechs main job is to fight off any Clan 'mechs that get too close to the commanders. The 'mech is also meant to keep Elementals and other battlearmor units away from the lance. It's two LB-10X auto-cannons, loaded with cluster munitions, 6 medium lasers, and 3 LRM-5's are more then ample at stopping battlearmor points in their tracks.

Upgrade Levels- The Bandits have tried to increase their technical upgrade levels in order to be more of a match for the much more advanced Clan units. While many of the unit's veteran members prefer to use there tried and true older 'mechs, Reid is planning on upgrading the weaponry on these 'mechs with Clantech salvage and advanced Innersphere technology. The Bandits recently sent some of their veteran technicians to Outreach to be trained by Wolf's Dragoons in installing and maintaining Clantech and advanced Innersphere tech, but they were not trained by the Dragoons in repairing damaged Clantech (guess they're still mad about that barfight...). The Bandits will use Clantech weapons, but they will normally swap salvaged Clan weapons for Advanced Innersphere technology. The Bandit's are very touchy about salvage rights, as they always make use of captured equipment to keep their 'mechs operational. They will normally be very lenient on other areas of a contract as long as the salvage rights are good (though they normally don't surrender tactical command rights). The unit makes it very clear to any employer that on missions involving the Clans, they will gladly accept exchange salvage rights, in which they will swap any Clantech for Advanced Innersphere tech, parts, and C-bills. Most contractors will accept this arrangement.

Anti-Infantry/Anti-Elemental Lance- This unit was created back in the Bandits early days, a few years before the clan invasion, and was originally made up of three lances. It was meant to mow down any enemy infantry in the unit's path. When the Bandits were serving under a pirate-hunting contract in the periphery, they were taken by surprise (as was much of the Innersphere realms) when they came under attack by highly advanced 'mechs, during the dawn of the Clan invasion. The anti-infantry lances were forced to engage the Clan battle-suited infantry, the Elementals. For the Bandits, the Elementals were a nightmare come true. Having never engaged armored infantry before, the AI/AE unit had to improvise on tactics to survive. The Bandits took heavy losses, including the death of their commander Jason "Smokie" Leer, but the unit was able to fight off the Clans and escape. The unit still has no set tactics to fight Elementals, though they are trying to purchase 'mechs that are meant to fight the battlearmor units. Their primary job is still to fight infantry, since the Bandits normally go up against the different houses of the Innersphere who still use normal Infantry.The AI/AE Lance works closely with the Bandit infantry and the unit's recently purchased battlearmor. Together, these units can fight the Elementals without taking heavy losses. Lt. Mcguire's Stinger does not have the armor to last long against Clan Elementals, so the rest of his unit tries to shield him from the Clan infantry. Despite his disadvantage, Mcguire still insists on charging into battle no matter how stacked the odds are against him (lay off the pipe Lt. Matt!).