Post by aimway921 on Aug 15, 2019 14:31:17 GMT -5
With the Empire's decision to greatly sacrifice the military size for the sake of being the strongest industrial powerhouse of the Northern Realms, the tactics and strategy had to adapt from a mass conscript army to a small professional army.
1. Superior Firepower Doctrine
The army is small, but the industry is giant. It's much more cost-effective to throw shells and bombs at the enemy rather than men. Attacks begin with massive artillery barrages and tactical bombing, first on the enemy frontline, and then moves back to cut off reinforcements from reaching the defenses, while the attacking forces approach the enemy positions to mop up the defenders and secure the position.
2. Strategic Bombing Doctrine
With the small size of the military, it is necessary to incapacitate the ability of the enemy military to fight. Destroying factories that produce the weapons for the enemy is one of the best ways to do it. Strategic bombing missions fly out to rain destruction onto enemy towns and factories.
3. Combined Arms Strategy
Each branch of the military supports each other. Tanks give cover to the infantry, infantry protects the tanks from enemy anti-tank units, air forces provides close air-support to the ground forces, who in turn provide flak cover to their pilots. This allows for maximum efficiency, as well as a strong psychological hit on the enemy.
4. Abandonment of non-vital areas
A large portion of the Empire's territory is a barren desert, which itself is a natural defense - hundreds upon hundreds of miles of total lack of infrastructure makes advances slow and logistics a big problem. For that reason, when on the defensive, the Imperial Army only defends vital areas, such as roads, towns, etc.
5. Schwehrpunkt Defense Tactics
When a smaller army defends against a larger force, encirclement is almost a guarantee. For that reason, all defensive positions are prepared to fight in conditions when the enemy would assault from all sides, and supplies would be limited.
6. Schwehrpunkt Assault Tactics
When a smaller army attacks a larger force, a frontal assault is almost always suicidal. For that reason, attackers move in a pincer maneuver, breaking into the enemy's rear and cutting off reinforcements, while attacking from all sides, all at the same time. This creates an illusion of overwhelming force, as well as confusion and, sometimes, panic among the enemy.
7. Terror War
Ultimately, the numbers always count. To have a chance of victory against overwhelming enemies, the weapons and methods of fighting must be designed in a way to terrify the enemy, and scare them into submission, rather than attempt to beat them in a head-on battle.
8. Civilian Militia
The constitution of the Empire allows all citizens (with few exceptions, such as criminals and mental patients) to keep and bear arms. This both prevents the government from turning tyrannical, as the citizenry is always armed to overthrow such a government, but also provide an almost limitless supply of guerrilla fighters, which, given the Empire's population, will always outnumber even several enemy nations armies combined.
6. Schwehrpunkt Assault Tactics
When a smaller army attacks a larger force, a frontal assault is almost always suicidal. For that reason, attackers move in a pincer maneuver, breaking into the enemy's rear and cutting off reinforcements, while attacking from all sides, all at the same time. This creates an illusion of overwhelming force, as well as confusion and, sometimes, panic among the enemy.
7. Terror War
Ultimately, the numbers always count. To have a chance of victory against overwhelming enemies, the weapons and methods of fighting must be designed in a way to terrify the enemy, and scare them into submission, rather than attempt to beat them in a head-on battle.
8. Civilian Militia
The constitution of the Empire allows all citizens (with few exceptions, such as criminals and mental patients) to keep and bear arms. This both prevents the government from turning tyrannical, as the citizenry is always armed to overthrow such a government, but also provide an almost limitless supply of guerrilla fighters, which, given the Empire's population, will always outnumber even several enemy nations armies combined.
8. International Cooperation
Finally, as an additional measure to make up for it's small size, the Imperial Armed Forces work in close cooperation with allied forces.