Hammer's Slammers on Naboo.

[TheMuffinKing]

For this scenario let us assume that the Naboo (Star Wars, Episode 1?) ruling council sees the coming actions of the trade federation and takes certain precautions. Prior to the attack on Naboo, Hammer's Slammers mercenary regiment (from the novels of the same name) are contracted to supplement the Naboo defence force in defending the capitol. They will have to defend the capitol up until Amidala returns from the senate.

The Slammers fortified the capitol city and are preparing for a siege by CiS forces. Slammers forces include 1000 combat personnel, fifty hovertanks, and 70 combat cars. The infantry are armed with powerguns and will work in conjunction with the Naboo defense forces already present. Five artillery pieces are available as are "red pills" as well. Assume ammo won't be a problem.

Whether this is counter to the original plot or not, assume the Trade Federation wants to capture the capitol for PR, politics, etc.. and will refrain from orbital bombardment within the city.

Can the Slammers prevent the Capitol of Naboo from being captured by the droid army? If so, how do you think this alters the situation vis a vis the Naboo fighter strike on the Trade Federation Droid control ship?

Any suggestions on improving this Vs.?

[Kingmaker]

Uh, proportions of infantry to tankers/vehicle crews would be useful.
So would the power of the various weapons, the armament of the vehicles, size of artillery pieces, and other relevant details.

Fortunately, through the power of internet we have some info. Unfortunately, it quantifies almost nothing. It does, however, provide the Slammers' order of battle, which is somewhat more extensive that what you've given. On the other hand, I've only read two Slammers short stories, so I don't know the degree to which they are willing to divide their forces for a contract.

With what little I've seen of Slammers firepower, and their total lack of air support, I suspect they're in for a world of hurt. They're badly outnumbered, and the Trade Federation will still have essentially total air superiority. Their best option is probably to turn Theed into a fortress ala Stalingrad and hope that the Trade Federation is unwilling to destroy the city to get at them. Of course, given how skittish the Trade Federation comes across in TPM, simply learning that the Naboo have hired the services of a mercenary regiment may scare them off.

[Samuel]

Do the Slammers use Star Wars technology or just what stuff from their universe?

Also, given the nature of their opponent, I see the Trade Federation simply sending in waves of droids until the Slammers run out of ammo and surrender.

[TheMuffinKing]

Uh, proportions of infantry to tankers/vehicle crews would be useful.
So would the power of the various weapons, the armament of the vehicles, size of artillery pieces, and other relevant details.

Fortunately, through the power of internet we have some info. Unfortunately, it quantifies almost nothing. It does, however, provide the Slammers' order of battle, which is somewhat more extensive that what you've given. On the other hand, I've only read two Slammers short stories, so I don't know the degree to which they are willing to divide their forces for a contract.

With what little I've seen of Slammers firepower, and their total lack of air support, I suspect they're in for a world of hurt. They're badly outnumbered, and the Trade Federation will still have essentially total air superiority. Their best option is probably to turn Theed into a fortress ala Stalingrad and hope that the Trade Federation is unwilling to destroy the city to get at them. Of course, given how skittish the Trade Federation comes across in TPM, simply learning that the Naboo have hired the services of a mercenary regiment may scare them off.

Hammer's Slammers Wiki

That's the wiki, and apologies to all as I copied my thread from SB and forgot to ensure my links were present. This wikipedia entry is kind of short on info so I'll get some relevant quotes from my books tomorrow. There is some neat stuff about relegating airpower to history and vaporizing people though, so based on my readings they might be comparatively powered in some areas. But as I said, I'll furnish some quotes as time allows. I'll also provide better info on personnel.

Do the Slammers use Star Wars technology or just what stuff from their universe?

Also, given the nature of their opponent, I see the Trade Federation simply sending in waves of droids until the Slammers run out of ammo and surrender.

The Slammers are using their technology but are supplemented by the Naboo forces present in the capitol. As for the droids, I failed to consider that, lol.

Thanks guys!

[Bakustra]

The Slammers/FDF make little use of airpower beyond drone communication relays, but their tanks are designed to use their weapons as air defense/artillery defense, which can be controlled remotely if necessary, or automatically aimed. The Slammers are on par with SW when it comes to ground weapons. The best example we have of firepower is an incident where a tribarrel, a lighter anti-infantry weapon, vaporizes "fist-sized" chunks of iridium. Treating a fist as a cylinder 4cm long and 2cm in diameter, we get 12.56 cm^3 or volume. At iridium's density, this is about 284.5 grams of iridium, or 1.48 mol. Using iridium's thermal data to determine the heat necessary to vaporize indicates that a tribarrel's firepower is (or can be) about 1.03 GJ. The efficacy of their weapons decrease significantly with size, as a pistol is about as damaging to the human frame as a "shotgun full of buckshot", to quote from one of the books. The standard infantry powerguns are somewhere in between. All we known is that getting shot with one without armor is almost always fatal, and armor doesn't seem to help much against powerguns.

However, SW fighters are likely too maneuverable to be hit by the tanks' main guns, which are the only weapons the Slammers have that could go up against SW fighter shielding. While in theory they could use massed firepower from their tanks to deny specific areas to the TF air force, they don't have enough tanks to cover all of Theed, in all likelihood. Furthermore, they are significantly outnumbered and their enemies aren't as pathetic as they usually are when they're outnumbered. The Slammers either retreat from Naboo and break their contract in the face of likely inevitable destruction, or they are mostly killed and the survivors join the resistance movement.

[Aaron]

I would suggest that the Naboo hire a specialist air defence regiment to supplement the Slammers, if you intend this to be relatively even. Such regiments do exist and feature in a short story (don't have my books right now, so I'm not sure which), IIRC they had quad 2cm powerguns on trailers tied to an ADS.

[Bakustra]

I would suggest that the Naboo hire a specialist air defence regiment to supplement the Slammers, if you intend this to be relatively even. Such regiments do exist and feature in a short story (don't have my books right now, so I'm not sure which), IIRC they had quad 2cm powerguns on trailers tied to an ADS.

They may not be able to do much against the Trade Fed fighters, though. Nobody in the Slammers universe has any practical experience with fighters beyond the occasional use of high-speed dive bombers, and Trade Fed fighters are likely somewhat tougher thanks to their shields. While sustained fire would probably be able to take them down, they're also far more maneuverable than the satellites and artillery shells that air defense is used against. On the other hand, it's quite possible that the Trade Fed will squander their advantage in air power, but that's not something that the Slammers should rely on.

From what I can recall of dedicated air defenses (the "calliopes"), they use eight 3cm powerguns and are self-propelled.

[Aaron]

I'm sure they could hire a SW unit to do the same thing, though the Naboo have their own fighters.

[Bakustra]

I'm sure they could hire a SW unit to do the same thing, though the Naboo have their own fighters.

I forgot about those. The Slammers have a much better chance of survival then. However, the problem with hiring SW mercenaries is that they have to get to Naboo through the blockade. Still, the presence of a dedicated air defense regiment and Naboo's own fighters would help the Slammers successfully defend Theed until their supplies run out/the Queen returns.

[Crazedwraith]

I'm sure they could hire a SW unit to do the same thing, though the Naboo have their own fighters.

Problem with that is you're going to be trying to outbid the Trade Federation for the Mercenaries' loyalty. And they have deeper pockets than the Naboo do.

Plus the Trade Fed already hired the local mercs to harass the Queen at least if the Star Wars: Starfighter game can be believed. (The game storylines are canon IIRC)

[Imperial Overlord]

The Slammers don't have formal air defences because in their universe, the tanks and Central Fire Control's AIs will massacre anything that flies with powerguns. They can shoot down satellites with the main gun and the two centimeter tribarrel can destroy incoming artillery shells. The Slammers don't have a formal air defence unit because air power is suicide in universe (at least at their tech level) and each tank is an effective antiair/antiartillery platform.

The Slammers aren't likely to change side once contracted, but I see two serious problems for them when it comes to defending Naboo. One is orbital bombardment (which doesn't much happen in their universe) and the other is overwhelming numbers.

[Aaron]

Well orbital bombardment is a non-issue by authors fiat. Theres plenty they can do to help tilt things to be more in their favour; mines, obstacles, use of nukes as the TF approach, etc. They don't have to win flat out, just delay them until the Queen returns. Thats what? Three to four days?

[Bakustra]

The Slammers have about three companies each of combat cars and tanks, and an understrength artillery battery, by my reckoning. That takes up 462 of their allotted 1000 personnel. The remainder will have to include a headquarters element with Fire Central, transport, communications, a medical service, an engineering unit, and a repair unit. While they can potentially dispense with the medical unit and rely on Naboo hospitals and doctors, and the interrogation sections are dead weight against the Trade Fed, the allotment given to them allows no room for either infantry or necessary support. The Slammers can hold out for three or four days with the forces given to them, especially if they can get police and other paramilitary units to harass Trade Fed troops throughout the globe and lower the amount of Trade Fed forces brought to bear. However, the Trade Fed's fighters are likely to be a problem, seeing as they're far more maneuverable and tougher than what the Slammers have faced in air defense before. A more interesting versus would allow the Slammers to bring a cross-section of the regiment to the assignment, or to have the entire regiment be hired to defend Naboo from the Trade Federation.

[Enigma]

Give the Slammers a MK33 or 34 Bolo. lol

Is there enough personnel to cover every access point to the city?

[Bakustra]

Give the Slammers a MK33 or 34 Bolo. lol

Is there enough personnel to cover every access point to the city?

We don't know just how large Theed is, or how easy it is to access. Since it appears to be located atop a mesa or small plateau, then the Slammers can probably shoot down the Trade Fed transports and focus on individual chokepoints where ground vehicles can access to defend the city effectively. Since Theed, according to the ITW, is divided into sections by bridges, the Slammers will probably focus on defending the city "section by section" and blowing the bridges as they retreat into the palace area if they have to.

[Eleventh Century Remnant]

There exists, in the back of The Tank Lords, an actual order of battle for Hammer's Slammers as it then stood (early middle period, regiment a large and mature organisation but none of the really crazy politics have happened yet); I offer this in case it happens to be useful.

Section I; Headquarters Batallion

Except for Artillery and Replacement, all the support elements were grouped for administrative convenicence in HQ Batallion. In practise, a large percentage of the strength of these units was parceled out to line companies according to need.

HQ coy- Colonel Hammer and personal staff, satellite launch and maintenance, finance, a security element- 153 effectives.
Maintenance- 212 effectives, inclused three tank, six combat car transporters
Communications- 143 effectives,
Medical- includes field hospital with full life support capability, 60 effectives
Supply- Mess and Quartermaster functions, 143 effectives
Intelligence- orbat analysis mostly by computer, human elements include photoanalysis, three mind probe teams- 84 effectives
Transport- 312 men, 28 air cushion trucks (NB; the official word here is that

true aircraft, flying above the nape of the earth, would have been suicidally vulnerable to powerguns

)
Combat Engineers- three 16- man platoons, each on a pair of tank chassis Engineer Vehicles. 50 total.
Recreation- field brothels.

the strength and composition of this unit varied from world to world.

Section II; Combat Cars
Eight combat car companies, each of a command section (one car) and four line platoons. Each platoon contains one command and five combat cars. One hundred effectives per company.

Twenty-five combat cars to a company, two hundred to the regiment- the number of effectives allow for four per combat car, driver and three tribarrel gunners? Must be. Senior gunner is vehicle commander, I think.


Section III;Tanks
four tank companies, each of one command tank, and four platoons of four tanks, 36 men per company; that would be two men to the tank apart from command vehicles, and 68 tanks among the entire Regiment.


Section IV; Infantry
four infantry companies, each of four platoons.
Each platoon contains four 10- man squads, two 2-man tribarrel teams (jeep mounted) one 100-mm mortar team, and a command element. Company total 202 effectives. NB;

All but Heavy Weapons were on 1-man skimmers.

Section V; Artillery
Three batteries of self propelled 200mm rocket howitzers, each battery contains six firing units, one command car, two munitions haulers.


Section VI; Replacement
The training and reserve component, 10 tanks and 25 combat cars attached for training purposes, 100 trucks for transport, usually runs a replacement pool around 1500 strong.

Two points immediately, relative to the OP; the Slammers are largely based around their combat cars, which can and do use tribarrel powerguns to shred lower- tech armour; they don't have a thousand infantry without dipping into the replacement pool, and they don't have all that many more than fifty tanks- and if I can believe what I'm reading, the infantry are independently hover- mobile, reads like actual vehicles rather than flight/bounce pack.

I think we're basically looking at high- tech dragoons here, ride to the fight, dismount and exploit cover to fight a normal (as far as any ever is) infantry firefight, transition back to being hoverbikers from hell in pursuit or retreat- something like the droid army STAP, but much more prevalent. A hit- and run delaying campaign back to the gates of Theed, then force the droid army to pay for it building by building, but the kill rate they need to hold out for long enough is absurd. They're good, but they're not that good.

Considering how many droids one of those warfreighters is supposed to carry, 550 heavy transports with 112 droids each, only trade federation stupidity- failing to concentrate at the decisive point; or trade federation stupidity- rules of engagement that, in order to preserve property from collateral damage, don't allow the use of weapons sufficient to get through Hammer's panzers' iridium skin; only that could stop them being buried under a tide of expendable metal.

Even if wholesale defensive nuclear warfare happens (and how likely are the peaceful Nabooites to acquiesce in large areas near their capital being made to glow?) there are still going to be more droids to come. They will make the trade fed pay, but- actually, that's about the only possibility I can see. "The droids we're losing, think of the cost! This is too expensive, retreat." Victory could only happen in the minds of the trade federation commanders, and with Sidious shoving them forard, I doubt they would be allowed to hold back.

[Vehrec]

Trade Federation on the other hand has an almost entirely repulsor mobile force, so it's hard to say how effective that dropping the bridges will be. Certainly calm water is no obstacle. Its hard to say what the maximum altitude on those hovertanks and MTTs is, but if it's greater than three meters, they'll have a hard time throwing up any kind of obstacle that can stop them. STAPs are even more annoying, able to fly in anywhere and use their little blasters to make lightly armored vehicles or infantry have a bad day.

The biggest threat is definitely the fighters however. Remember they're not just aerospace attack craft, but also can land and become the first wave of an occupation force. Add in their missiles-scaled in terms of yield and acceleration to attack fighters and small capital ships, not ground targets and you have a very dangerous enemy.

[Teleros]

However, one might expect the fighters to limit the yield on their weapons to avoid large-scale destruction (OP and public relations, remember). This will make them less effective, although I suspect they will still prove a pain in the arse for the defenders even if they can't drop multi-megaton munitions on people.

[Imperial Overlord]

Trade Federation on the other hand has an almost entirely repulsor mobile force, so it's hard to say how effective that dropping the bridges will be. Certainly calm water is no obstacle. Its hard to say what the maximum altitude on those hovertanks and MTTs is, but if it's greater than three meters, they'll have a hard time throwing up any kind of obstacle that can stop them. STAPs are even more annoying, able to fly in anywhere and use their little blasters to make lightly armored vehicles or infantry have a bad day.

The biggest threat is definitely the fighters however. Remember they're not just aerospace attack craft, but also can land and become the first wave of an occupation force. Add in their missiles-scaled in terms of yield and acceleration to attack fighters and small capital ships, not ground targets and you have a very dangerous enemy.

If hover tanks elevate, they become targets without cover. The Slammers operate in a universe where picking off artillery with a computer controlled automatic weapon is normal and planes aren't used because they die. STAPS are just going to die and the fighters are ungainly even when deployed on the ground.

Swarming the Slammers with cheap battle droids and portable AT rockets would be the best strategy. Why lose expensive fighters and tanks when you can muster huge numbers of cheap infantry? The Slammers defences make AT rockets only somewhat useful against their tanks, but those tanks cost a fortune. Ten battle droids and launchers are cheap. The value of tanks in city fighting is limited and fighters are only so useful when you want to take the city intact.

[Bakustra]

Trade Federation on the other hand has an almost entirely repulsor mobile force, so it's hard to say how effective that dropping the bridges will be. Certainly calm water is no obstacle. Its hard to say what the maximum altitude on those hovertanks and MTTs is, but if it's greater than three meters, they'll have a hard time throwing up any kind of obstacle that can stop them. STAPs are even more annoying, able to fly in anywhere and use their little blasters to make lightly armored vehicles or infantry have a bad day.

The biggest threat is definitely the fighters however. Remember they're not just aerospace attack craft, but also can land and become the first wave of an occupation force. Add in their missiles-scaled in terms of yield and acceleration to attack fighters and small capital ships, not ground targets and you have a very dangerous enemy.

If hover tanks elevate, they become targets without cover. The Slammers operate in a universe where picking off artillery with a computer controlled automatic weapon is normal and planes aren't used because they die. STAPS are just going to die and the fighters are ungainly even when deployed on the ground.

Swarming the Slammers with cheap battle droids and portable AT rockets would be the best strategy. Why lose expensive fighters and tanks when you can muster huge numbers of cheap infantry? The Slammers defences make AT rockets only somewhat useful against their tanks, but those tanks cost a fortune. Ten battle droids and launchers are cheap. The value of tanks in city fighting is limited and fighters are only so useful when you want to take the city intact.

Looking at the overlay of the city, the fighters will be useless under the rules of engagement specified in the scenario. Theed is too densely packed with buildings, beyond the main plaza, to allow for the Trade Fed to use them without smashing the city altogether and in that case, they do have spaceships in orbit. It's doubtful whether the Droid army had any man-portable AT weapons at Naboo, too, but if they do, then they do have a chance, but not within the timeframe of the movie. Of course, with the Slammers present, the Trade Fed may leave more ships in orbit around Naboo.

[Artemas]

I'm not sure the Federations' droids have the intelligence necessary to actually gain ground in an urban setting. Walking forward and shooting (at people in strong points and and other buildings) is probably just going to result in a large, impassable wall of metal bodies. I suspect that it would probably take at least a day for the Trade Federation to deploy forces numerous enough to swamp their enemy, assuming that they figured that part out.

Hammer's Slammers are tough professionals. The Trade Federation droids are...not?

[Simon_Jester]

Hammer's Slammers are tough professionals. The Trade Federation droids are...not?

Roger-roger to that, I'd say.

...and if I can believe what I'm reading, the infantry are independently hover- mobile, reads like actual vehicles rather than flight/bounce pack.

I think we're basically looking at high- tech dragoons here, ride to the fight, dismount and exploit cover to fight a normal (as far as any ever is) infantry firefight, transition back to being hoverbikers from hell in pursuit or retreat- something like the droid army STAP, but much more prevalent.

Confirmed; they ride "skimmers" that are effectively hoverbikes. Their mobility is limited by the fact that there's only one man on each bike and they can't drive forever, but they are hover-mobile.

[Benedick-Arnold]

The Invasion is still a success! The Gungans refuse to take part in defense of the surface since they shun the large force of "foreign mercs".

Naboo's only hope is if Hammers Slammers are supplemented with a larger force of Mercenary Infantry-men like those written about in Jerry Pournelle's "The Mercenary".



Hammers' 1000 troops just wouldn't cut it against all those droids...

[Vehrec]

I'm not sure the Federations' droids have the intelligence necessary to actually gain ground in an urban setting. Walking forward and shooting (at people in strong points and and other buildings) is probably just going to result in a large, impassable wall of metal bodies. I suspect that it would probably take at least a day for the Trade Federation to deploy forces numerous enough to swamp their enemy, assuming that they figured that part out.

Hammer's Slammers are tough professionals. The Trade Federation droids are...not?

If you believe their billing, the Trade Federation droids will keep fighting as stationary gun turrets if their legs and one arm are blown off. More realistically, the invasion the Theed will necessitate different deployment strategies than the battle outside the city against the Gungans. Droids are dumb, but they aren't so dumb that their only tactical option is line abreast. They have good enough fire discipline not to engage in friendly fire, they interrogate unknown persons, and they at least understand the concept of covering fire. Processing power won't be the big problem. Simply entering the city will be problematic enough since it's on a plateau and has all those waterfalls.

I wonder if battle droids are waterproof, maybe they can wade into the city.