The Defense of Shandücha

Ten Minutes Past Midnight Overview
This memorandum mostly deals with the defensive line Ten Past Midnight, but also details the entire defensive strategy of Shandücha. (Because-I can't share it with anyone else lol.)

By far the most vaunerable border of Shandücha is a wide stretch of flat open terrain without any natural obsticles to the east. From the Ohio River (Kentucky) in the south up to Michigan and the Great Lakes in the-north. Ten Past Midnight would sepperate Shandüchan Indiana from Los Lobos-controlled Ohio, 283 miles long.

The line of Ten Passed Midnight is designed to hold back an attack of any strength. It is a deep, multi layered design, slowing the enemy and cause massive casualties before general counterattacks drive the enemy back. Even if the entire line is breached, reserves behind the line will attack, ideally from three directions. This means that destroying the entire line, does not grant automatic victory.

The Line of 12:10
12:10 is not a singular line of defenses. It should be at least 7 miles deep- to avoid easy breakthroughs. 3 distinct zones make up the line: Outpost Zone, Battle Zone, and Rearward Zone. Emphasis is placed on gather intelligence and denying it to the enemy, good communication, exhausting the enemy, destroying the enemies logistics, and driving the enemy back when the situation presents it.

This is a rough map of what 12:10 should look like. It's not drawn to size, and is pretty rough.

Forward Positions (Outpost Zone)--
This Zone of the line has 3 primary objectives. 1.  It is vital that the enemy have access to as little information about the line as possible. Many dummy/fake positions will be made- to draw the focus of enemy artillery away from the real positions. Real positions will be camouflaged to the best of our ability. Our soldiers will use/be seen in the fake positions and will quickly move to the real positions at the beginning of an enemy attack/artillery bombardment.
 * 1) Deney the enemy information on our line.
 * 2) Gather information on the enemy.
 * 3) Blunt major attacks.

Pickets and patrols will intercept any enemy scouts, and engage raiding parties. This is of vital importance. If we can deny the enemy Intel on our line they will have a much harder job of coordinating artillery, massing troops against weak points, ect. The goal is to ensure that large amounts of enemy Intel on 12:10 is either missing or incorrect.

2.  The more we know about the enemies’ plans the better. Many listening/observation posts will be active in this sector (and in other sectors too). Their goal is to identify when and where an attack is going to take place, and alert our Assault Squads of raids and enemy scouts in the area. Listening posts have the additional goal of identifying the location and threat of enemy tunnels. Observation posts also seek to identify future target for our artillery.

3.  The Outpost Zone seeks to neutralize minor attacks- thus depriving the enemy of vital Intel. In the face of a major attack (by artillery or other units) our men would fall back to pre-prepared camouflaged fox holes well behind the dummy positions. From these positions they counter the enemy advance.

Anti-infantry and anti-tank obstacles will, ideally, slow down and disrupt the advance of the enemy, funneling them into well prepared kill zones.

Men defending these foxholes will withdraw further if and when enemy pressure becomes too great to hold against. These men are not to allow themselves to become surrounded/destroyed- but to slow the enemy and cause confusion and casualties.

The rear of the Outpost Zone is also Incorporated in the forward part of the Battle Zone. Each successive line will be more fortified. The initial shock of the offensive will quickly wear away, and momentum will dissipate.

Battle Zone
This is where the majority of fighting will take place. The Defenses are not passive- but relies heavily on assault squads providing counterattacks. Use of lost ground as a weapon will also wear away the attacker-- making it more difficult to gather intel, move supplies/reinforcements, communicate, ect.

Positions-- Troops (particularly troops retreating from the Outpost Zone) will use foxholes, but the Battle Zone has increasing amounts of pillboxes and resistance nests. Pillboxes and resistance nests will have enough supplies to withstand a siege for 2-3 weeks, enabling them to resist the attack even if isolated, until a counterattack can relieve them. All positions should be well camouflaged when possible.

Bypassing, destroying, or capturing one or even several hard points will not result in the rupture of 12:10 because these positions are meant only to slow down the attack. Reserve units in the rear should have time to analyze and seal the breach before permeant damage is done.

The Battle Zone will have numerous observation/listening posts incorporated into the defense tasked with gathering and distributing intelligence on enemy movements and strategy. Information and Communication are perhaps our greatest weapons.

Tunnels-- tunnels will be used extensively to 1. Outflank enemy units and attack them in the flank and rear. 2. Move our own troops out of sight of the enemy, and out of danger from most enemy weapons. 3. As a counter to enemy tunnels. All existing and under construction tunnels must be kept secret.

Purpose of Assault Squads-- These make up the active part of the defense. These squads help to seal off breaches, reinforce battered positions, and most importantly counterattack when possible. The enemy soldiers should not be allowed even one moment of rest, but should constantly be looking over their shoulder.

Assault Squads will delay an enemy’s advance with hit and run tactics and attack isolated or resting enemies in the flank or rear. The Battle Zone will thus be dozens or hundreds of tiny hammer and anvil battles, with assault squads as the hammer and hard points being the anvil. Leaders of these squads need to be well trained, (as do his men). He will have the authority over his squads targets, and how they carry out the attack.

Some parts of the Battle Zone will have artillery pieces (in addition to the field guns of resistance nests). These forward artillery can be retreated if enemy forces threaten them. They must be heavily camouflaged, and if possible fortified. Their main task is to counter enemy artillery, and disrupt movement in the enemy’s rear.

Rearward Zone
This zone holds our artillery, communications centers, supply centers, and the reserves. Important but often overlooked.

Out of range of enemy artillery, our own heavy guns will be tasked with firing on enemies as they advance across our line. This will help slow the enemy, reduce their cover, aid in counterattacks, disrupt resupply/reinforcements, ect. The entire 12:10 line will be pre-plotted- as in the guns will know exactly where to aim to hit any point- a major initial advantage.

The reserves will be well rested, and well supplied. These will be the vanguard of any general counterattack. This would give them an advantage over the now exhausted and under supplied forces of our enemies, and our own forward Positions. The reserves can also plug any hole made in the line and thus stop a breakthrough.

The rearward positions also house supply centers, command centers, medical facilities, maintenance facilities,and other vital support systems.

Additional Information
Communications--- each of the hard points (with the exception of foxholes) will have a minimum of 3 separate communications lines. All 3 must be protected from disruption- example telephone wires must be deeply buried to protect against sabotage and heavy artillery strikes. Communications between the front and the rear must be maintained.

Good communication allows forward position to report on the strength, position, and movement of enemy troops. Artillery and counterattacks can thus be called in at the best moment and with accuracy. Reinforcements and supplies can be coordinated for the best results. Good communication is a force multiplayer and every effort must be made to keep ours intact and the enemies disrupted.

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Purpose of the counterattack--. There are 2 types of counterattack. 1.  Immediate- counterattacks carried out by assault squads meant to add chaos, smash enemies against the hard points, slow/disrupt large formations, ect. These are carried out by the assault squads leader supporting and supported by the hard points. 2. General-- Counterattack by all levels, led by the reserve. This is meant to steamroll remaining enemies and push them back all the way to starting positions. This should be done as soon as the enemy loses momentum, before they can establish their own defensive positions. This lost ground will be retaken, and the work of restoring the strength of the defenses can begin. All counterattacks will be aided by the hard points, artillery, and aircraft.

Airforce- Our air forces should be used in squadrons with the long term goal of gaining air superiority/supremacy. Shorter term goals include 1. Intercepting enemy reconnaissance planes. This is vital as it will hinder their artillery, and overall attack plans. If successful the enemy's attacks will lack precision. 2.  Gather useful information on the enemy attack and supply lines. 3.  Intercept enemy planes that would bomb or strafe our ground troops. 4.  Deliver strafing and bombing runs of our own.

Superiority of numbers on the entire border is not vital, but a local superiority is. Focus on reducing the total number of aircraft the enemy has access to. (Doing this is a topic all in it's self, but it's safe to say that can be our goal.)

Tunnels-- as mentioned earlier tunnels provide a unique advantage for moving troops unseen. This will be used to outflank the enemy and or damage their position via explosives placed in the ground under them. Troops will need to be trained in tunnel warfare, and we will need experienced minors to do the digging.

It will also be vital to intercept enemy tunnels. The use of listening posts can limit this threat, though it may not remove it entirely.

Assault Squads-- highly trained and well led groups of 12 men. (Assault companies=multiple squads working together). These are comprised of 1 leader, 7 riflemen, 2 machine gunners, 2 machine gun ammo-carriers. (The second in command is one of the riflemen). In addition to light machine guns, they would have many grenades (perhaps 1 dedicated grenadier.). If we have access to reliable submachine guns and pump shotguns these will be issues instead of rifles to all but the 1-2 designated marksman of the squad.

Anti-tank Squads- Squads of infantry trained to disable tanks. Ex- pouring gas on the ventilation shaft of the tank.

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Obsticles-- 12:10 will be covered in anti-infantry and anti-tank obstacles that slow down and funnel enemies into dangerous killing fields. 1. Barbed wire 2 meters tall 10 meters thick. 2. Anti-tank ditches. 3. Dragons teeth- (another anti-tank obstacles) ect. In some areas the antitank ditches will be filled and overflowing with barbed wire-- making it difficult to quickly overcome by throwing a large bundle of sticks on it.

As the Infantry and tanks move through the obsticles they will be hammered by machine gun fire, anti tank rifle fire, anti tank artillery, and grenades all fired from protected position.

Positions.
1. Fox-holes- created by artillery shells or dug into the ground providing shelter from gunfire and artillery (except for direct hits). Excellent matching gun and mortar positions.

2. Pillboxes-- Reinforced concrete positions from which machine guns can be fired.

3. Resistance Nests-- A position consisting of several trenches with anti-tank and anti-infantry obsticles surrounding it. Holding 2 machine guns, a field gun (artillery/antitank) and a mortar. Infantry squads as well. Holds a small bunker to protect the men from artillery.

4. Fortified Zones. Heavily fortified positions with artillery batteries, machine guns,mortars, and relatively large amounts of troops in secure artillery-proof bunkers. General counterattacks are launched from these positions.

All of these positions should be camouflaged, and effort should be made to keep them hidden. These 4 hard points types provide overlapping fields of fire, and mutual support. With the exception of the foxholes these positions can withstand being encircled for weeks, by which time a counterattack should be able to relieve them. They all will directly support counterattacks, and relay orders and supplies to the assault squads.

Expected Effects
Effects of Artillery on 12:10—Dispersal, depth, camouflage, fortifications are our best counter to enemy artillery. Because the positions are spread out over several miles and only direct hits will cause casualties (in general) even an intense blanket of artillery will not break the line or cause massive casualties. If we are successfully able to camouflage positions artillery will not be able to focus on them.

Effects of Artillery on the attacker- Devastating. Artillery can be used to disrupt communications by cutting enemy telephone cables, disrupt reinforcements and supply, break up formations (infantry and tanks) and to aid in counterattacks. The enemy will have less cover than us, and hard points will be able to call in accurate strikes. The entire line must be pre-plotted by our artillery- allowing us to quickly aim the big guns.

Effects of Infantry on 12:10-- minimal. Large scale attacks would be easily countered by machine guns. Each of the defenders positions would offer far more cover than anything the attackers would be able to access. The defensive positions could be taken by infantry-- but this would likely require much sacrifice. Since all defensive positions provide mutual support, an attacker would mostly be required to assault the positions directly from the front. Small enemy formations would be less vulnerable to machine guns, but more vulnerable to our own assault squads.

Effects of Tanks--. Tanks do provide a legitimate threat. But between anti-tank obstacles, heavy artillery, anti-tank guns, anti-tank rifles, and anti-tank squads the threat can be minimized.

We would probably use our own tanks as a reserve. If the line was completely breached, our tanks and the rest of the army would rush to hit the enemy from all sides before the breakthrough can be exploited.

Need to be adaptable. By slowing the advance of the enemy we buy time to counter the attack. Good reserves allow us to commit them where needed.

Additional Reasons why 12:10 is Ideal for Shandücha.
This particular design isn't the only effective type of defense but it has many advantages. A series of massive and we'll built fortress would be more effective against an assault, but the cost of such a system would be massive- in terms of money and manpower. Most of our defenses consist of barbed wire, ditches, and concrete—all of which are pretty cheap.

Fortress obviously represent significant prizes. Their loss can damage moral. They must always be guarded-- lest the enemy simply walk it and take it. Our system presents no real prize. Soldiers guarding large sections of 12:10 could be re-deployed elsewhere, if the situation was dire.

Forts can’t really be moved if the border changes, or the country wants to go on the offensive. 12:10 though can be moved. Almost everything, from the artillery, to the barbed wire, mines, even the concrete pillboxes could be shipped out. We just have to fill in the trenches.

Stuff I Just Added
Everyone will be issued a gas mask. Hopefully no one uses chemical weapons, but the men will be ready just in case.

The job of the reserves is by far the most important. plenty of reserves should be maintained to seal breaches and reinforce heavily attacked areas.

Areas where the enemy is not attacking may go on the offensive if the situation is good. If they encounter resistance they should fall back

We need to use anti aircraft weapons to make sure the air over 12:10 is as dangerous for them as possible.

We need to be adaptable in our defense. If the enemy finds a strategy that works, we must adapt and overcome it. 12:10 is not a passive defense, but an active one.

Other Defenses.
The southern, and South Western borders are dominated by two great rivers. The Mississippi and the Ohio. To defend these areas a rapid response will be required, thus roads and railroads will be vital. The goal will be to meet an attacking force before they can establish a working bridgehead. Overwhelm the enemy with superior numbers in a quick counterattack.

Alternately we could wait for a large number of enemies to cross the river (but while still maintaining numerical superiority) and then drive them back into the river- causing capitulation or the destruction of the enemy.

If theses cannot be effected, the river should slow the attack long enough for us to mass our troops some distance away. This would give us at least a decent chance of defeating them in the field.

The extreme western border is up against the Unclaimed Teritory. It is highly unlikely that the natives would, let alone could mount any massive attacks. The border need not be guarded by anything more than small scattered forts, and regular patrols. The threat of an attack by Brewtan is quite small.

The northern approaches can mostly be guarded by the Navy. Our forces easily dominate Lakes Huron, Michigan, and Superior. We also could support some ships in Lake Erie.

An attack over theses areas would most likely be discovered and intercepted. If a large force did slip past, we would be able to stop any reinforcements and supplies from reaching the front. To avoid the total defeat of the Navy, we would concentrate our fleet near the Detroit choke point.

Men on the Front Line must closely watch the border, and gather intelligence on the force accross from them. They are to notify High Command immediately if they sense a buildup of enemy forces, to avoid falling prey to a surprise attack. Also careful monitoring of all nation's should be practiced

Ohio River-- 25 feet deep. Mile wide