Solomani Confederation (Military)

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Solomani Navy: Post bellum Organization

I maybe letting my fondness for LHDs get in the way here.

Following the war and the need for internal security, most member worlds won't have much of a military to put up a fight, so actually a heavy cruiser, specifically the Minks class, would be sufficient for the subsector flagship, and if half survived, that's fifty odd to fulfill that role, and by my count, the Solomani only need seventy two, accounting for areas that may have been added as system density or actual political control is too small to justify have a separate command.

The balance could be made up by the Yamamoto strike cruisers, failing that, Victories, since the Navy would want their remaining tech level fourteen ships reorganized into task forces pointed at the Imperium.

 

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Solomani Navy: Twilight Naval Depot and home of the Solomani Navy's Strategic Reserve

Twilight 0911 is two parsecs rimwards from Home, and off any known trade routes. It's function isn't secret, but any unauthorized vessel will be shot at sight, if it doesn't surrender on initial communications contact.

The Strategic Reserve doesn't have mothballed ships, and divides it's assets equally between Twilight and Home, the primary naval base there being Wolfe's Lair, ensuring that it's FleetRons are ready to be deployed when ordered by either the Grand Admiral, or by a directive from the Secretary General, without a week or so delay to relay the order to Twilight.

Twilight has the only shipyard that specializes in manufacturing Beijing class deep strike cruisers, and has two slips that launch one every one hundred ten weeks each, just over two years construction time.

It also manufactures the Shinano class, an annual batch of six every one hundred thirty two weeks, or slightly over two and a half years, or fifteen reserved slips.

 

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Solomani Navy: Naval Depots

Trailing Military District: Keine 2132

Rimward Military District: Niva 0901

Coreward Military District: currently under occupation

Spinward Military District: Girral 1230

Each is isolated from the surrounding systems.

Niva's primary function is to act as a bulwark against any Imperium push against Home, the Solomani political centre, as well as act as the District's naval command headquarters, which it's located between the Solomani Rim and Home, whereas the other two naval depots are located more centrally within their districts.

 

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Solomani Navy: Fleet Squadron 5'623 anno domini

One hundred authorized Fleet Squadrons, each consisting six modernish fast dreadnoughts organized into three combat and a flag divisions. It is commanded by a Rear Admiral

The combat divisions are made up of two fast dreadnoughts, a deep strike light cruiser, three frigates, a fleet tanker, a fleet tender, and two fleet couriers. It is commanded by a Commodore (brevet), one of the dreadnought captains temporarily promoted to maintain the desired chain of command.

The flag division would have assigned to it a legacy major combatant, which could become the flagship of the squadron, two deep strike light cruisers, six frigates, a fleet tanker, a fleet tender and six fleet couriers. It is commanded by a Commodore.

Fleet Squadrons are usually distributed thirty to each military district, with ten in Strategic Reserve. In fact, a third are at any one time undergoing maintenance, minor refits, working up, or on training cruises.

 

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Solomani Navy: FleetRon formation alpha

I thought about it, and since it's three dimensional, the min-max formation would be grouping the six dreadnoughts in a wall, or an equilateral triangle, in the middle of a outer tetrahedron with a vanguard equipped with long range sensors, and a squadron of strikecraft each covering the three flanks.

Behind the wall would be the legacy major combatant converted to command ship, and behind that the logistics and support ships, surrounded by escort ships.

Probably could be adapted for other Solomani Navy ad hoc task groupings.

 

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Solomani Navy: Evolution of the Fleet Squadron

Antebellum squadron organization tended to be around four, two or even one ship of the described type, the number dependent on the expected difficulty of the roles or missions the squadron would be tasked with, supported by attached escorts and logistic assets.

During the war, combat attritioned those numbers to make the squadrons mostly nominal units, as their primary assets were destroyed or repairing damage.

Postbellum, Naval Staff decided to standardize the size of the FleetRon, as well as deciding to drop for all intents and purposes StrikeRons, repurposing the heavy and strike cruisers to the internal security role, as well as FleetRon command-control-communications ships. This made the FleetRon the only naval unit purposed to stand in the line of battle.

Naval Staff concluded that line of battle ships needed to be deployed as pairs, for mutual support, and that Fleet Squadrons would contain three divisions of them, that would permit expected attrition and still accomplish their assigned mission. Depending on whether the Imperium standard battle squadron is four or eight battleships, either outgun them, or just hold their own.

I think that if each sector fleet only has one to two carrier squadrons each, with one or two carriers per squadron, with a total of four to eight hundred strikecraft, you might as well dispense with and give each dreadnought an organic fighter component.

With the same issue, having anywhere from one to four troop car4riers in one to two assault squadrons also doesn't make sense, considering the intent of the Solomani to recover their lost territories.

 

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Solomani Navy: Command Ship

The Solomani have assigned, rather than built, command ships to their FleetRons and subsector flag squadrons.

Command ships are legacy major combatants, that have been optimized for defence, and refurbished to act as the command, control, communications and intelligence hubs, with extensive quarters for a flag officer and his staff. A flag officer may choose a command ship as his flagship, without impugning his courage, as the command ship is not expected to stand in the line of battle, but in fact control flow of it.

Each modern dreadnought has one hundred and fifty strikecraft that it is expected to be able to control, though when the full squadron is engaged as the core of a task force built around it, and likely hoover up local forces, and possibly an additional one or two FleetRon divisions and cruisers, it is easier to coordinate naval assets and perhaps thousands of smallcraft from a vantage point that is behind the front line.

This does not question the courage of the flag officer, as the command ship can easily become, and has been, the focus of enemy endeavours to eliminate the central coordination point, and Aslan seem to be drawn to it like honey; it also acts as a honey trap, since any attempt to breakthrough runs the gauntlet of at least half the Solomani assembled firepower, as well as distracting from the more vulnerable baggage train.

In theory, the commanding officer should set up shop in a modern dreadnought, but Solomani tacticians feel that it's more important to have those dreadnoughts between the command ship and the enemy line of battle undistracted.

 

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Confederation Marines: Organization

Perusing through Ground Forces, I note that each numbered fleet has one Marine regiment, with about five thousand plus strength.

For all intents and purposes, the Solomani FleetRon is the core of an equivalent fleet, though termed as a task force. It has a reinforced brigade of around eight reinforced battalions, six in each dreadnought, one spread around the escorts, and one spread around the logistical ships, and possibly a battalion equivalent on the command ship. Their primary job is to keep unauthorized people off the ships, their secondary one is to board other ships, and the tertiary one is for planetary assault.

The Solomani maintain larger numbers of Marines per capita than the Imperium, though while their equipment is of the best tech level fourteen that money can buy, they have few few grav powered armoured fighting vehicles in their inventory, as this is rightly the province of the Solomani Army; the primary mode of transportation is the heavily armoured and armed assault shuttle, and their breakthrough instrument are the strikecraft from the Fleet.

Subsectors are divisional commands, as one brigade handles the detachments to the starports' highports (the Solomani Army handles security in downports) and communications waystations; one brigade handles detachments to the patrol and logistic ships assigned to the subsector fleet (excluding any FleetRons and StrikeRons); one brigade is responsible for units undergoing training and schools; and one brigade is responsible for the battalions assigned to garrison the subsector flagship, the subsector headquarters, and subsector quick reaction forces.

Full corps garrison the naval district depots, strategic reserve depot, and guard the Secretary General and the naval facilities in the Home system.

 

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Solomani Army: Organization

I wondered how the Solomani would model their army, whether they'd organize themselves along American, British, German, Russian or Chinese lines.

To the Solomani, harkening back to their glorious heritage means that they'd try to link their military formations with famous and/or legendary Terran units, though I think it was a mistake to try to link naval unit with famous ground ones.

Anyway, despite the fact the Solomani don't feel British, the foundation of both the Confederation Marines and the Solomani Army would be the regimental system, only insofar as it is the parent and administrative unit for battalions that assigned to field brigades. In a way, you start to suspect a similarity to the Imperial Guard, in that battalions are raised and trained, and then dispatched to a region where their expertise and presence is required, though unlike the Forty Kay universe, they will get reinforced from their regiment, and can cycle back to their originating planet.

Army units are stationed on planets, and are responsible for the security for Confederation ground facilities, just as the Marines are responsible for the security of designated Confederation spaceborne facilities. Subsector headquarters are a collection of facilities, but usually focussed on a patrolled and exclusive conglomeration, including a garrison with barracks and training areas, built around a downport that allowed easy embarkation of Army units onboard troop transports, though it also facilitated ease of travel for Solomani bureaucracy.

The Solomani Army is heavily mechanized, their primary units are grav tank and battle dressed infantry in heavily armoured infantry fighting vehicles, supported by equally mobile and armoured contingents of combat engineers, artillery and support troops. They include separate units of armoured personnel carriers, meant to transport medium infantry they activated from regional and local Home Guards, that are assigned to missions that the heavy infantry would be less than optimal for, and bulk out the numbers, supported by the very specialized troops of the Solomani Army.

Standard Solomani Army brigade would consist of two tank battalions, two armoured infantry battalions, two mechanized battalions, one artillery battalion, one combat engineer battalion.

Garrison/security brigades consist of two provost (military police) battalions, two mechanized battalions, two motorized battalions, one armoured infantry battalion, one artillery battalion. Motorized battalions are locally recruited short term troops. lightly armed and equipped with usually indigenous arms and equipment.

Battalions specialized to operate in specific environments can be specially trained elite units, such as SpaceTroopers, Army Rangers, AquaMarines and Drop Troops, or locally and/or regionally raised units who live and/or can operate in these environments.

 

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Solomani Army: Organization

I guess the Solomani Army doesn't have Rangers, they do have the Special Aerospace Service.

Mechanized battalions are essentially regional Home Guard/militia infantry battalions/battle groups complete with their arms, equipment and hierarchy, but the tech level fourteen armoured personnel carriers provided by the Solomani Army.

Motorized battalions, usually have indigenous transports, and their make-up varies widely. Indigenous transports means what's available on planet, even if that means camels. Motorized battalions are really auxiliaries, though not termed as such, meant to plug holes in capabilities. They can be mercenaries, barely trained levies, or environmental specialists, and may be wholly or partially staffed with seconded officers and NCOs, They could also be penal units. Or be the cover for some covert unit.

Motorized battalions are equipped, treated and trained as light infantry, with at least part of the officer hierarchy and senior NCOs drawn from the Solomani Army, and/or SolSec Interior Troops and covert operations. Equipment would be as far as possible sourced locally, or in the case of mercenaries, they could come pre-equipped.

There's a running gag where motorized battalion unit numeral designations are re-used as often as possible through out the Confederation, to confuse Imperium intelligence agencies, as long as it's not done within the current operational area.

Mechanized brigades are rare, since in that event, the Home Guard unit would become pre-equipped with their issued equipment, and would be referred to by their Home Guard designations. Activated Home Guard divisions might have Solomani Army and SolSec units attached, to support their operations, be the sharp end, and/or stiffen their resolve.

Motorized brigades in comparison would be less rare, but motorized divisions would be actively discouraged, because of predicted C3 issues, and probable logistic nightmares, despite in financial terms, they are probably cheaper to employ.

 

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Solomani Navy: Carrier Doctrine

I base current Solomani doctrine on carriers on the experience they most likely acquired during the War of Imperium Aggression.

It's very likely that widespread deployment of strikecraft probably saved the remnants of the Solomani strike forces facing the Imperium, buying them time to finally commit the reserves that safeguarded the Confederation's borders from alien threats while they secured their territories against imperium expansionism.

The Solomani could not pump out capital ships fast enough to cover their losses in the war, so they turned to something that they could really mass produce a lot of, fighters and bombers.

Contrary to Imperium belief, the Solomani Naval command didn't send them out in kamikaze waves, but their strikecraft were handicapped by the technological edge the Imperium had over the Solomani, and losses reflect that. The determination with which Solomani carrier squadrons pressed their attacks, though, allowed them to close in Imperium battleships, cruisers and troop carriers, where they could wreck havoc, and if a damaged strikecraft crashed into a nearby Imperium ship, that was most likely a coincidence.

Among the number of lessons that the Solomani learnt, was, that there are never enough carriers, and there were usually never around where you needed them; and if they were, the enemy targetted them first, in order to render them inoperable, if not destroy them.That made it imperative for the Solomani, to provide their major combatants with their own organic carrier aerospace group.

The Midway class provided a Solomani commander with an overwhelming number of strikecraft that could take out an Imperium battle squadron. But the dispersed structure, while cheaper to construct, could not be armoured, and needed active protection systems, and it's slow speed meant it could not escape from pursuit, or even a breakthrough strike, making them a very weak link in that particular kill chain. The Solomani Navy hasn't bothered to build a successor class, and retains them because they're inexpensive to operate, and have become symbolic of Solomani commitment in the face of adversity (because if you can't run, you'd better be able to fight).

Pocket carriers are ultralite light carriers, as compared to escort carriers, and gave a task group commander a strikecraft capability which having specialized line of battle ships and gunned vessels would not have been designed with, but couldn't keep up with the more modern ships that the Solomani Navy was introducing before and during the war. This was less of an issue as the remaining task forces doggedly defended every system and only slowly withdrew, under tremendous pressure from superior Imperium forces.

Solomani FleetRon divisions have large contingents of strikecraft onboard their assigned dreadnoughts, so Naval Staff does not believe further reinforcement would be necessary.

However, their logistic and patrol groups do not, and apparently, you can never have enough strikecraft for the Army during a planetary assault, so the Navy is testing out various concepts for an escort carrier class, and exploring ways to easily convert merchantmen and freighters to strikecraft carriers.

 

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Solomani Navy: Carrier Doctrine

In a way, the Solomani have opted to stuff the most important capabilities of a task group within one armoured hull, that of standing in the line of battle, dishing out vast amounts of damage and able to absorb vast amounts of damage, and provide their own fighter screens and strike squadrons.

Essentially, the Solomani have an armoured box for their hangars. In contrast to the Midway class.

While in theory, it's unlikely that some debris will come out of the blue and hit smallcraft grappled to the hull, certainly not before point defence systems would eliminate it, it does leave smallcraft exposed, and maintenance and repairs are certainly easier in a large hangar. Hull grappling could be considered the equivalent to a deck park, but also likely blocking line of sight of weapon bays and turrets. For the dreadnoughts, loading them up with extra smallcraft would have an affect on their jump performance.

Ships could be considered to be steel boxes, but cargo ships are actual steel boxes with their holds. And so, to a certain extent, are carriers with their hangars.

Escort carriers tend to to be steel boxes built to commercial specifications, equipped with the minimum defensive systems sufficient to ward off opportunistic attacks, their principal form of defence and attack would be their carrier aerospace wing.

The Solomani Navy sees a need to provide their non Fleet Squadrons with strikecraft, but feels that a light carrier would be overkill, and even a pocket carrier may cost to much, thus the escort carrier. The escort carrier provides a platform for strikecraft, though in many cases it also becomes the mothership of the flotilla it's assigned to. They act not only as platforms for the Solomani Navy's srikecraft, but also as a staging area for assault craft, allowing troops to disembark from their overcrowded transports, and more comfortably stow their gear and themselves onboard the assault shuttles.

They're also used to provide a platform for the naval Hone Guard strikecraft squadrons, that are activated to support regional Solomani Navy and Army operations.

 

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Solomani Navy: Solomani Naval Reserve

One of the lessons of the War of Imperium Aggression, was the need to have trained, more or less, personnel ready to immediately fill the vacancies caused by new ships produced under wartime emergency programmes, and casualties in frontline squadrons, especially srikecraft, crews for support ships, and rear area patrolling.

While rear area security should have been considered a task performed by Home Guard naval units during war time, careful consideration by the Naval Staff came to the conclusion that local politics may prevent the necessary level of cooperation, while also giving the opportunity for reserve crews to work up and acquire the experience and proficiency to handle and operate modern warships.

Usually, training takes place in one of the older capital ships, though the large numbers of strikecraft crews requires a delegation to the less impressive escort carriers, though their most likely assignment.

The Solomani Naval Reserve consists of Naval personnel who have retired from the service, as well members of the merchant marine who are considered to have a desirable skillset, and members of the electorate who wish to serve in the Navy on a part time basis, without making it a career.

The Solomani Navy does not maintain a mothball fleet that the Reservists can immediately crew, as every major combatant is in commission. Instead, in the initial stage of the war, they'd reinforce existing complements, and replace casualties, and as new construction comes on line, will form together with an experienced cadre, their new crews.

 

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Solomani Navy: Home Guard Naval Units

Home Guard ground units can range across the spectrum of quality, preparedness and equipment, usually a reflection of their home world's political climate and industrial base.

While the Solomani Navy can exercise little control over Home Guard naval units during peacetime, it does exert a great deal of influence, by mandating that minimum standards have to be maintained, through the judicious use of monetary grants and subsidies, that need to be signed off by Naval Staff before it can be allocated to any member world for improving their naval forces and/or fleet infrastructure.

All hulls and armour have to be made of crystaliron, and ship designs must allocate space for upgrades.

Since the Solomani Army don't maintain COACC as either a separate branch nor concept, except insofar as grav vehicles roled for close support and transport can fulfill these functions, since the Navy is tasked to provide them with their superior aerospace fighters and strikecraft, Home Guard ground forces are encouraged to follow similar doctrine, and allow their Home Guard naval forces to similarly fulfill this function, though some Home Guard militaries maintain such services in order to retain this as an organic capability.

Though there are more than enough private military contractors who can provide this service without requiring the member world to build up an industrial base to cater for it, or import the equipment.

 

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Solomani Confederation: Armed Forces

Not counting spaceships, which would make the Solomani Navy by far the overwhelming military power within the Confederation, which includes their control of the Confederation Marines.

It would start with the Solomani Army, since they have the numbers and fairly modern tech level fourteen equipment, though pound per pound the grav belted battle dressed and FGMP-fourteen armed Confederation Marines would be far more superior, though they lack heavy equipment and are dependent on the Navy for support.

SolSec have their own troops, which I think we'll term Security Troopers instead of Interior troops.

Then you had planetary Home Guard ground forces, at varying degrees of competence and effectiveness.

The Imperial nobility has huscarles, whereas the Solomani corporations have their own security forces. Well, Imperium corporations have them too, but it probably is more overt for the Solomanis, since their rivals are less inhibited from direct actions.

Then you have the private military contractors.

 

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Solomani Navy: Major Combatant Command Slots

By my calculation, there are going to be less than a thousand captaincies available at any one time, for heavier cruisers (heavy, strike and deep strike) and capital ships (battlecruisers, dreadnoughts, fleet carriers, battlerider tenders and battleriders). At the very least, a line officer will have to command a subsector flagship in order to get a permanent promotion to Commodore, though preferred candidates would have commanded a deep strike cruiser, a fleet carrier, a battlerider tender, a FleetRon command ship or a dreadnought and had been brevetted to Commodore to command a battle division.

Light cruisers also rate a captain, but this posting doesn't qualify officers for flag rank. There might be less of these around than one might think.

Frigates and corvettes rate a Master and Commander.

I don't know about escort carriers, it really depends on the complement.

 

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Solomani Army: Motorized Battalion

GURPS Ground Forces lists an Imperium Marine line company with three hundred and nine personnel, divided into five platoons and a headquarters element, not counting reinforcements and attached support elements, like tanks and artillery. And a regiment has nine line companies.

The sources that I consulted seemed to agree that three hundred is about the minimum number of people you can organize into a battalion; remember, armed people on horses count twice.

Unless they are a pre-existing military unit co-opted or hired to operate under the aegis of a motorized battalion headquarters element, it's likely the motorized battalion has to be raised mostly from the local recruiting pool, and equipped from available equipment. So basically an ad hoc military unit built up for scratch.

Because of the likely exigencies of time, training will tend to be basic, and equipment cheap, cheerful and easy to maintain.

At first I thought, headquarters and support elements, and two line companies.

And then it occurred to me, what if we skip the company level, and divide them into nine manoeuvre elements, allowing maximum flexibility?

The smallest element would be a three man fire and manoeuvre cell. They're probably equipped with some type of smallarm, hand grenades, and a rifle grenade. They make up the major component of a fire ream, which includes a driver and what we'll term for our purposes a jeep.

Four fire teams plus a headquarters element make a platoon. The headquarters element consists of the platoon commander, the platoon executive officer, medic specialist, and driver. Nine platoons equal a total tone hundred eighty personnel.

Heavy weapons platoon, consisting of two heavy machine gun teams, nine medium machine gun teams, two medium mortars crews, two recoilless cannons teams. The heavy weapons are by default mounted in suitable vehicles, though can be easily dismounted. The machine gun mountings are also configured for the anti-aircraft role. Heavy weapons teams consist of the heavy weapons three man cell and a driver, except for mortar crews, that have five gunners and a driver. The medium machine gun teams, or Manoeuvre Support Team, are assigned one to each rifle platoon, the remainder are attached as required, but usually under the direct command of the heavy weapons platoon commander, the heavy weapons platoon headquarters element consisting of him, his executive, and two drivers. Probably you need a general purpose man portable missile team, to take out aircraft or armoured vehicles.That would be seventy two men.

The motorized battalion headquarters platoon consists of the battalion commanding officer, the battalion executive officer, the battalion adjutant, the SolSec political officer, the intelligence officer, the supply officer, the operations officer, the signals/computer officer, the battalion surgeon, the engineering officer, the transport officer, and the battalion senior NCO. Because of the ad hoc nature of a newly raised motorized battalion, not all officers need be commissioned, or even warranted specialists, since they're considered more like necessary slots that allow the battalion to accomplish whatever mission it's given. A transport team is attached. And I guess you need a sensor team. So that's twenty.

The battalion mess team, the battalion designated sniper, the battalion reconnaissance team, the maintenance team, the medical team, the assault team, the quartermaster team. That's twenty five.

That leaves three spaces for task group commanders.

About a quarter of the battalion are drivers, nominally commanded and assigned by the transport officer, who's in charge of the motor pool and maintenance section. Drivers aren't expected to participate directly in combat, because their function is considered to be equally important, that of providing mobility. But they are also trained as Jack of all Trades, how to handle communications equipment, and expected to plug a gap in capabilities as they occur. They are issued a smallarm, and if they cannot withdraw from a firefight, are expected to participate in it.

 

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Solomani Army: Motorized Battalion

The Solomani Motorized Battalion is basically light role infantry mated with SUVs. The key is mobility, and economy of force. By force, meaning cannon fodder, and by economy, cheap.

To be fair, the Solomani Army prefers to use their own troops exclusively, and if not, activate sufficiently capable Home Guard units to make up the numbers.

SolSec prefer their own troops, or requisition the requisite Solomani military units within reach.

The Confederation Marines just come, bang around the natives, and would like to leave,

Authorization of the creation of a Motorized Battalion needs the SolSec to sign off, both on the need as well as the funding, something that only Army Command seems to have the patience and foresight to apply for.

SolSec founded Motorized Battalions tend to be formed around a core of private military contractors and SolSec officers. Army ones around special forces cadre.

The Navy prefers to hire large company sized private military contractors, and if necessity dictates a bigger contingent, creates the convenient fiction of a Great Company, being a collection of companies. This skips the requirement of SolSec approval.

 

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Solomani Private Military Contractors: Rules of War

The Confederation might mandate that none can have a permanent establishment that is larger than company sized, defined as two hundred fifty combat and support personnel, with a twenty percent variance.

Anything larger is a battalion, and requires both a charter and a SolSec liaison.

 

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Solomani Confederation: Special Forces

Army Special Aerospace Services

Marines Commandos

Solomani Security Special Purpose Enforcement Troops Sanctioned Nullification Authority Zero

Navy Shipboard Weaponed Assault Troops