Re: [LoGH] Life expectancy, take 2
Hank Wong (hankwong@CSUA.Berkeley.EDU)
Thu, 14 Dec 2000 15:26:38 -0800 (PST)
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> Spoiler alert for episode 20 or so...
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> In the first Gaiden OVA series, Silver Valley, we saw a storyline centered
> on ground combat. Both sides used tanks and infantry, rather than oribital
> bombardments.
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> (I always wondered why they don't just drop some high explosives from space,
> but then war doesn't have to be logical.)
Because they want to occupy the planet, and thus, do not want to have to
destroy _everything_ on it. If conquest is the goal, then you need ground
troops to physically occupy the planet. If utter annhilation is the goal,
well, then you have Westerland.
> Thinking back, I can't recall a situation where both sides duke it out with
> tanks in a populated city? The civian death rate would be much higher in
> that case.
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> When the Empire or FPA conquer a planet, it seems that the political body
> just bend over when they see lots of shiny ships decend on their capital.
I'm thinking this is because most planets do not have planetary defenses
capable of repelling an enemy fleet.
> Also, where's the MAD factor? I can understand the hesitation in using
> NCB/genetic-genocidal weapons due to MAD factor (which leads to treaties
> that the leadership actually abide by). But if they had the capability,
> then it's more likely that both sides would be in a cold war instead of a
> shooting war.
I think it's mentioned somewhere that there is an agreement between the
Empire and the Alliance that the war would be fought by conventional
means. That was part of why there was such a shock over the use of nukes
at Westerland.
-Hank
Hank Wong hankwong@csua.berkeley.edu
LoGH List Admiral http://www.logh.net EFNet: #logh
"So swift... like a gale..." -Vice Admiral Al-salem
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