fandomhigh | Macro-Tactics, Monday

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Macro-Tactics, Monday

"In this time period, most people would tell you that the siege is something of a relic, at best," Kerrigan began. They were back in the simulated class room again, all metal and seats up front, the large table with the various view screens at the back. "That it's something out of the Dark Ages. Which it is-- actually, it goes back longer than that. As long, in fact, as we've had armies holding one particular location, we've had other armies trying to break them out. A siege."

"Now I'm going to break your poor delusions, and tell you this: no matter how many airplanes you invent, no matter how many bombs you figure out how to drop, there's always going to be someone figuring out a way to keep you from doing it. Some feat of architecture or engineering that's going to make your big doomsday device bankrupt. It's a pain in the ass." She smirked. "Even right now, sieges are still happening. They're just taking a century off before the big stuff starts back in."

"Now, the essence of a siege is real simple. You have a home base--" She drew a large circle with her finger on the projection screen behind her. "...Built to withstand. You have an army--" She drew another circle around it, "--Trying to get in. You've got five strategies to deal with it if you're the one besieging the town. Well," and the class got another smirk, "And a bonus door number six..."

She reached over and wrote on the board with her finger.

1. Blockade
2. Escalade
3. Breach
4. Mining
5. Retreat
6. Being a Clever Jackass

"Number one. Blockade. Attrition's the strategy we usually associate with this kind of siege. You sit around and wait until your opponent runs out of food and water and dies. Tricky; you have to be sure they don't have a whole lot sitting behind their walls, or you're going to wind up with a supplies problem of your own."

"Number two brings us to the classic Middle Ages. Escalade: back in the day, it meant to climb over the walls. These days, I'd say avoiding their air defenses and trying to drop some troops on their asses would do it. Your guys can let the rest of the crew in - if they win. You have to win a lot of ground pretty quickly if you want this to work. And try to avoid getting your ass shot down?"

"Number three: breach. You just keep hitting their defenses from the outside until it gives way; then you keep pouring on the men. Slightly less dangerous than the previous option, but you'll probably lose a lot of people just going at those defenses, unless you've got a couple of nukes - large bombs - at your disposal."

"Number four, the sneaky way... I like it. In the old days, it meant digging a tunnel under the walls. You kept going until you wound up underneath your opponent's base, then you loaded it with explosives and blew it up. The only problem you had those days was running into your opponent under ground, if they were on to you. These days, there's a lot of sensor equipment to deal with. You'd have to go very deep... but it'd be worth it."

She turned back towards the class. "Or you can run like a little girl, and try it another day," she said. "Nothing to be ashamed of... for the most part. I personally prefer the sixth option. But there's no manual for that, though I'm sure one or two of our teachers is either teaching a course on it, or can be relied on to do so in the future. Talk your way in, and you might get on out with minimal casualties."

She crossed her arms. "Strategies change from era to era, but the basics remain in place. I want you all to find a classmate from another time or place and discuss which methods would work best where you're from. How you'd do it. And tell me how you think you can counter these methods.

"You can use the simulator to generate some terrain if you want to show off what."

Kerrigan would be listening, children. There might be useful intel here...

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Under siege.

James of Krondor

Prince Alexander of Daventry

Blackagar Boltagon

Emma Frost

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Make notes, try not to catch your telepathic teacher's notice...

Cally had probably long-ago lost at not catching said telepathic teacher's notice; it helped that, not expecting to be eavesdropped on, she wasn't even trying to avoid it.

What she was doing was shaking her head over the fact that Auron had nothing in the way of siege-defenses. Oh, they could shoot single ships out of the sky, but they'd be overrun in nothing flat by a concerted effort from anyone with a real army.

Karla took notes, trying to decide whether she'd ever be in a situation like this. Perhaps Hobart might try to hide in the estate and they'd have to get him out?

Of course, then she'd be the besieger, not the besieged, but, honestly, between the Winds and Craft, she was having trouble coming up with a scenario that fit. As long as she had darker Jeweled allies on her side, that's what would matter, right?

Faramir was leaning forward in his seat, his attention fully on the lecture. He occasionally wrote down notes in his own letters, but for the most part he was simply listening and thinking of ways to defend against each.

Had anyone wanted to evesdrop on the young squire's broadcasted thoughts, they would find him thinking of the terrible seige at Armengar, the fear of an army at least ten or twenty times as massive. With magic. Goblins. Dark Elves and human renegades. Giants. The horror, the death, and the pain of the defenders as they were overrun by sheer numbers. Of the retreat...and the city-wide explosion (comparable to a modern nuclear explosion) that followed.

Find someone of another time or place, and discuss: sieges, how would they be conducted in your time? Would your level of technology make them feasible? And how would you handle countering any of these strategies?

Cally tucked one side of her hair behind her ear, then leaned her chin on her wrist, thinking. Feasible? Yes, but with the winner pre-determined on a macro level, if an entire planet were laid siege to. A communication base, perhaps, though? Or a strategic military outpost?

"Do you have a partner yet?" Faramir asked. They were in the same discussion group in Aly's class and he would not mind hearing Cally's opinion on a different topic.

"I don't." Cally waved a welcoming hand to the chair nearest hers. "Are you familiar with siege tactics? It's nothing my world has faced personally in many years, though I think the principles could be -- probably have been -- applied in our galaxy."

"I have been taught the tactics of besieging a city," Faramir said as he slid into the chair. "Even though we're not in any position to lead a siege, my interest lies mostly with defending against one."

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OOC