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[ Ogre: Stragegy and Notes ]
[ Part One ]
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Note: What follows is an exact duplicate of the Second of the two books that
come with the game Ogre. Enjoy! From L.S.D.!
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[==ENCOUNTER==]
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The Command Post was well guarded. It should have been. The hastily
constructed, unlovely building was the nerve center for Paneuropean operations
along a 700-kilometer section of front--a front pressing steadily toward the
largest Combine manufacturing center on the continent.
Therefore, General DePaul had taken no chances. His command was located
in the most defensible terrain available--a battered chunk of gravel bounded
on three sides by marsh and on the fourth by a river. The river was deep and
wide; the swamp, gluey and impassable. Nothing bigger than a rat could avoid
detection by the camera icons scattered for sixty kilometers in every
direction over land, swamp, and river surface. Even the air was finally
secure; the enemy had launched at least fifty heavy missiles yesterday,
leaving glowing holes over half the island, but none near the CP. Now that
the jamscreen was up, nothing would get even that close. And scattered
through the twilight were the bulky shapes of tanks and Ground Effect
Vehicles--the elite 2033rd Armored, almost relaxed as they guarded a spot
nothing could attack.
Inside the post, too, the mood was relaxed--except at one monitor station
where a young lieutenant watched a computer map of the island. A light was
blinking on the river. Orange: Something was moving out there where nothing
should move. No heat. A stab at the keyboard called up a representation of
the guardian units...not that any should be out there, thirty kilometers away.
None were. Whatever was out there was a stranger--and it was actually in the
river. A swimming animal? A man? Ridiculous.
The lieutenant spun a dial, moving a dot of white light across the map and
halting it on the orange spot with practiced ease. He hit another key, and an
image appeared on the big screen...pitted ground, riverbank...and something
else, something rising from the river like the conning tower of an old
submarine. But he knew what it really was, he just could not place it...and
then it moved. Not straight toward the camera icon, but almost. The
lieutenant saw the "conning tower" cut a wake through the rushing water,
bounce once, and begin to rise. A second before the whole shape was
visible, he recognized it--but for that second he was frozen. And so thirty
men were suddenly brought to heart-pounding alert, as the lieutenant's
strangled gasp and the huge image on his screen gave the same warning...OGRE!!
Less than three minutes had passed. After the initial seconds of panic,
the Command Post had settled down to business. Instead of masterminding an
attack, it was fighting for its own life. Men spat orders into throat
mikes, eyes on the big screen. The orange dot that was the Ogre was six
kilometers closer, but green sparks were moving out to meet it--the men and
machines of the 2033rd.
The general entered at a run. "Get me a picture!" he ordered. The
screen flickered, moving dots gave way to an image. The huge machine rumbled
over the landscape, incredibly fast for something so huge. Guns bristled. The
tower top rose twenty meters high.
"A Mark V," said the general. "They really want us, all right. Who
had the watch?"
"I...I did, sir."
"Where'd it come from?"
"Sir, the river. I got a movement indication from the center of the
river--I saw it come up. Nothing before that. I swear it, sir."
The general started to reply, then checked himself. Suddenly, he stepped
to the keyboard. The map reappeared (the orange dot was closer) and shrank.
They saw their island from fifty--a hundred--kilometers in the air.
The general traced the river course. "Here...and here. Yes, they
could have done it."
"Sir?"
"Underwater. It went into the ocean here. Through the delta--up the
river and out. Very clever. I wonder...No, they just outfoxed us. As
you were, son."
**********
The Ogre was twenty kilometers away. On the big map, a ring of green
around it showed missile tanks ready to move in; more green dots, visibly
moving, were GEVs harassing the enemy machine. As they watched, one GEV
light went out. Another stopped moving and began to blink plaintively. The
Ogre moved toward it.
**********
Twelve minutes since the shooting had started. The Ogre was fifteen
kilometers away. Faced by eight missile tanks, it had slipped to the
side; three of the tanks were gone, and two others had never gotten in range.
But the Ogre had paid; it was moving slowly now. On the big map, three more
green dots moved toward it. The heavies were going in.
"Mercier to CP. We've spotted it." The general punched for an image.
There it was. Four of the six missile tubes were empty; two of the "small"
guns along one side were scrap. Loose tread flapped; damaged motors sparked.
Its guns moved and flashed. Then the screen dimmed as a nuclear warhead hit
the Ogre. The imae returned. There was a new crater along one of the
armored sides--nothing more.
"Get those guns, Commander," the general's voice was calm; Mercier's
reply was equally mild.
"Trying, sir. It ducks." Then jubilation.
"Good shot, Fair! You Got it! Hit the misbegotten pile of junk."
The big screen was completely dark. It came on again, from a different
angle. The Ogre was hurt. One of those big front guns was gone--
completely. The other was clearly wrecked.
"Good man, Mercier! Who did that? Commander Fair?...Mercier?...Fair?..."
"This is Kowalkski in 319. It got Fair about three times. I can't find
Mercier."
On the screen, one heavy tank faced the Ogre. Two GEVs swept in and
out. Missile tanks and infantry moved closer--too slowly.
"Here it comes." Kowalski--commander of the last heavy. "You'll
have to shoot better than that, you gadget...GOTCHA! Took out its..."
Static. Then a new voice. It sounded quite human. And amused.
"Gotcha."
**********
The Ogre rolled on. It was within howitzer range now, and the big missile
cannons were scoring on it. Its missiles were gone, but it still had guns.
The infantry had met it--finally--but powered armor notwith-standing, they
were dying as fast as they came in.
"It's committed," said a big major, his eyes on the screen. "It can't
afford to stop now." The general nodded.
"Get behind it," he said into his mike. "It's after the howitzers.
They're killing it."
In the flame-lit darkness, men heard the scrambled transmission. Men,
and one other. The Ogre took in the surrounding terrain, considered the
location of the Command Post and the howitzers, watched the movement of its
enemies, weighed the order it had decoded.
"Behind..." it thought. "They have made a mistake." It chuckled.
**********
It was very close now. Had the Command Post had windows, the men
inside could have seen the explosions. The Ogre was moving very slowly now,
but two guns still spoke. It no longer dodged; it was a juggernaut,
coming straight for its target.
Inside, the general's face was gray. He spoke to no one in particular.
"Smart. That thing is smart." A scream still echoed in the big
room--the scream from the last missile tank commander. Out of Ogre's
path, safe behind a three-meter ravine, lashing out at the metal giant--and
the thing had changed course, ignoring the howitzers, walking over the gully
like it wasn't there, crushing the smaller tank. Two GEVs had died a second
later; their speed was their best defense and the Ogre had outguessed them.
The side trip had given the howitzers a few more minutes; then they, too, had
died.
The screen showed the Ogre grinding on--a shambling monster, barely able
to move. "The treads...hit the treads," whispered the general. "Stop that
thing." The image changed, and he saw what was left of his force; three GEVs
and a handful of infantry.
And the Ogre rolled on...
(C)opyright 1982, 1986 by
Steve Jackson Games, Inc.
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[Stragegic Suggestions for Alliance Commanders]
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Basic Stragegy
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The harsh truth is that you must *always* take whatever steps are
necessary, no matter how drastic, in order to hold your ground and to preserve
your Command Post. If your Command Post is lost, battle statistics suggest
that the remainder of your force will also be lost, as will the Conflict Zone
itself.
Successful defense against an Ogre means meeting two basic goals:
Disarming the Ogre and Immobilizing the Ogre. Any plan which meets these two
goals is a good plan! Alliance commanders have devised a wide variety of
battle plans which both disarm and immobilize Ogres. Though battle plans or
strategies have almost limitless variety, most successful plans have certain
basic features in common. For simplicity's sake, three basic defensive points
your plan should observe are:
1) Delay the Ogre as soon as possible! As it starts its invasion, an
Ogre is as fast or faster than all Alliance infantry squads, missle tanks, and
heavy tanks. There is a very real danger of the Ogre outrunning the first
wave of defenders it meets. If this happens, second wave forces will have to
bear the brunt of a full-strength Ogre attack. To prevent this sort of Ogre
maneuver, most successful defense strategies call for forces to strike early
and hard at the Ogre's tread sections (giving secondary attention to knocking
out the Ogre's longer range weapons). We must be candit: opening attacks
against the Ogre's mobility will cost you casualities. Failure to slow the
Ogre early on, though, will cause even heavier losses later on. As a general
rule, try to slow the Ogre's speed before it has progressed more than 1/3 to
1/2 of the way to your Command Post. To let the Ogre proceed at full speed
beyond this point is to invite disaster.
2) Eliminate Major Ogre Weapon Systems. As the Ogre approaches the
midpoint of the Conflict Zone, Alliance commanders usually concentrate on
knocking out its most powerful weapons. The rationale is that, from the
midpoint of the Conflict Zone, the Ogre's longer range weapons are almost
within range of your Command Post. You need to prevent a long range attack,
and instead force the Ogre to travel the full length of the Zone in its
attempt to destroy your Command Post. In this way, you force the Ogre to
expose itself to defensive fire which it cannot easily return. Appropriate
targets would be (in descending order of importance): Ogre Missiles, main
batteries (if any remain), and secondary batteries. While your forces
"whittle away" at the Ogre's weapons, it is important to continue your attack
against the Ogre's treads. Remember, the Ogre can hurt you both with its
weapons and its bulk.
3) Bring the Ogre to a Standstill. when an Ogre is slowed and mostly
disarmed, commanders usually make an immediate and concerted effort to shoot
away the Ogre's remaining tread sections. Naturally, the idea is to bring the
Ogre to a halt before it has a chance to roll over your Command Post. Oddly
enough, inexperienced commanders sometimes overlook this point; it seems they
become so preoccupied with fighting the Ogre's weapons that they forget the
machine is about to crush them. This is a fatal mistake. A key point to
remember is this: An utterly disarmed but mobile Ogre can still accomplish
its combat mission (i.e., destroying your Command Post). The same is not
(usually) true of a completely immobilized Ogre. Let these simple truths
guide you as you set your combat priorities.
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[Three Approaches to Defense]
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As mentioned above, Alliance commanders have been inventive in creating
defenses which can defeat Ogres. We hope you will carry on in this tradition
of creativity. However, we feel your training will not be complete until you
are exposed to what feel are the three "classic" Alliance defense strategies.
The Multiple Howitzer Defense
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The basic concept behind this defense is easy to grasp. You build your
entire defense around a sizeable number of our most powerful and longest range
weapons: namely, the howitzers. By placing three, four, or more howitzers so
that their fields of fire and reinforce each other, you create a "Howitzer
Wall" through which the Ogre must pass if it hopes to reach your Command Post.
The theory is that the Ogre can reach your Command Post only by exposing
itself to punishing fire from several sides. Naturally, the Ogre will try to
eliminate your howitzers as quickly as it can. If your howitzers are
correctly placed, though, the Ogre will have to knock out more than howitzer
in order to clear a path toward your Command Post. In the time it takes the
Ogre to do this, the outlying Howitzers and supporting mobile armor and
infantry should have a chance to harass the Ogre, and, it is hoped, bring it
to a standstill. Three Key Points determine the success of the Multiple
Howitzer Defense:
First, supporting mobile armor and infantry must eliminate many of the
Ogre's longer range weapons before the Ogre reaches the howitzer field. If
this point is not observed, the Ogre will have a relatively easy job of
rupturing your howitzer wall. If the wall collapses too quickly, your Command
Post will soon be destroyed.
Second, proper placement of howitzers is critical. You must be careful
to make sure that the howitzer wall surrounds your Command Post with a thick,
dense cushion of defensive fire. If you inadvertently leave a gap or thin
spot in the wall, the Ogre will spot this flaw and take advantage of it. You
must also design your wall so that all howitzers share an equal part of the
wall's defensive load. If you happen to overload a single howitzer, the Ogre
will recognize the imbalance and focus its attack on the overstrained
howitzer. When that howitzer falls, your entire defense collapses.
Finally, your reserve support armor and infantry must be prepared to
augment (and to complete) the howitzer's attacks. Ogres are enormously sturdy
vehicles, and it is foolish to believe that howitzers alone can stop them. As
the Ogre and howitzers lock in battle, it is imperative for support forces to
press home the attack (especially the attack against the Ogre's tread
sections). If support forces hang back, they are likely to be overrun by a
badly damaged but still mobile Ogre.
Comments: The Multiple Howitzer Defense can be used against both Mk III
and Mk V Ogres, but it is much more likely to succeed against the Mk III
version. This is true primarily because of the Mk III's relative shortage of
long range weapons (the Mk III carries only one main battery and two missiles,
while the Mk V carries two main batteries and six missiles). Against a Mk V
Ogre, the multiple howitzer defense does not fare so well. The larger tank is
all too likely to evade or out-gun your first wave defenders, and then is apt
to approach your howitzers will full speed and a full complement of long range
weapons (not a desirable scenario).
Be aware that howitzers are very expensive weapons. Thus, when you
choose to use a multiple howitzer defense, you must be ready to accept a
tradeoff in the side of your mobile armor support force. You must also be
prepared to manage that small support force with consummate skill.
The GEV-Centered Defense
========================
The GEV-centered defense is built around a mobile armor force composed
primarily of GEV's (some commanders go so far as to use nothing but GEVs!).
The GEV may seem an unlikely vehicle upon while to base a defense, but we must
not sell the GEV short. While it is not heavily armed nor heavily armored,
the GEV has a tremendous advantage in sheer speed.
A basic axiom of defensive warfare is that the defender must somehow
direct more fire toward an opponent than the opponent can return. With this
simple axiom in mind, the importance of the GEV's speed advantage over the
Ogre becomes clear. Swarming GEV attack groups can close on the Ogre, fire
their weapons, and then escape to relatively safety--all within the time it
takes a conventional vehicle to close and fire. At first, not all GEVs will
escape the Ogre's pursuit. But if GEV attacks are concentrated early enough,
the Ogre's ability to pursue will soon be cut down. Once the Ogre's
maneuvering speed is cut back, its weapons systems become fairly easy prey for
the remaining GEVs (and other support forces). Finally, when the Ogre is
disarmed (or all but disarmed), remaining Alliance forces the Ogre's tread
sections without facing much return fire. If the attack sequence is
well-timed, the Ogre will be brought to a halt before it can touch the Command
Post
Key Points: By attending to several key points you can help your chances
of making a successful GEV-based defense.
The Defensive "Scramble:" To prepare for Zone defense, your GEVs should
be spread evenly across an intercept line placed fairly close to the mouth of
the Conflict Zone. We stress the need for even distribution of forces on the
line. If you leave thin spots in your defensive line, the Ogre will discover
and take advantage of them. Instead, your aim should be to place your GEVs
such that most of them can intercept an encroaching Ogre soon after an
invasion begins.
Early Attack: When your frontline GEVs make initial interceptions, their
fire should be directed almost exclusively toward the Ogre's tread sections
(with perhaps a bit of fire aimed toward the Ogre's main batteries). During
these early attacks, your GEVs primary goal must be to reduce the Ogre's speed
by one third (or more). Attacks on treads will be costly in terms of lost
GEVs; however, failure to slow the Ogre early on can prove much more costly in
the long run. Resist the temptation to make premature attacks on Ogre
weapons. Once an Ogre's pursuit speed is cut down, it is much easier for GEVs
to eliminate weapons without facing severe return fire.
Middle Phase of Attack: After the Ogre's speed has been cut by 1/3, your
forces should shift the focus of their attack to the Ogre's weapons systems.
The aim of the middle phase of attack is to eliminate almost all of the
Ogre's weapons systems (leaving it armed with nothing more than its
antipersonnel guns and perhaps one or two secondary batteries). The idea is
to prevent the Ogre from destroying your Command Post with a "cheap shot"
taken at long range; instead, you need to force the Ogre to expose itself to a
prolonged attack from your GEVs and infantry.
Final Phase of Attack: When the Ogre approaches your Command Post, it is
time to redirect your focus of fire once again. Whether or not your middle
phase attack on the Ogre's weapons was successful, you must now throw all the
firepower you can muster against the Ogre's tread sections. Recognize that a
disarmed but mobile Ogre is still a formidable weapon. If, at this stage in a
battle, you have lost a great number of GEVs, infantry forces become critical.
Infantry must present solid resistance to the approaching Ogre, and must press
home the attack against its treads. Infantry casualties will likely be very
high. A spirit of sacrifice is essential. In fact, if your situation becomes
desperate, you may need to sacrifice GEVs or other vehicles by ramming the
Ogre (to destroy its few final treads). If you must use (fatal) sacrificial
maneuvers, make sure they prevent the Ogre from crushing your Command Post.
Otherwise, we suggest your preserve your armor units in the hope of destroying
the Ogre before it can escape.
Comments: the GEV-centered defense is built on three distinct phases:
First, slowing the Ogre somewhat; second, disarming the Ogre almost
completely; and third, bringing the Ogre to a complete standstill. It is very
important to execute each phase in a crisp, disciplined way. When
GEV-centered defenses fail, it is often because the defensive commander fails
to pay attention to the basics. For example, the commander fails to slow the
Ogre early on, and hence loses too many GEVs to follow through with later
phases of his attack. Or the commander continues the middle phases of his
attack too long, only to see a disarmed but quite mobile Ogre flatten his
Command Post. If you use the GEV-centered defense, do you best to complete
each phase of your attack in the proper sequence.
Commanders should be wary of the Ogre's attack algorithms. We have
reason to believe the Ogre can recognize a GEV-centered defense, and that is
it programmed to do all it can to disrupt early phases of the GEVs attack.
For example, and Ogre may respond to early GEV attacks by moving laterally or
rearward to pursue escaping GEVs. If the Ogre employs these tactics, it is
important for you to regroup your forces and calmly proceed with your battle
plan. If you let yourself be thrown by unpredictable moves on the Ogre's
part, you are apt to lose sight of your combat goals. Steady nerves and sound
tactics can help prevent from happening.
On a tactical level, we suggest you pay close attention to the escape
paths your GEVs take after they first fire on the Ogre. All too often,
commanders take the unsophisticated approach simply of ordering their GEVs to
get as far from the Ogre as possible. The problem with this approach is that
is also tends to leave small groups of GEVs isolated far from each other.
This approach can even leave GEVs trapped behind the Ogre. Beware such
"divide and conquer" ploys on the part of the Ogre. When your GEVs escape,
they need to think not only of temporary safety, but also of second and third
attacks to come!
The GEV-centered defense can be very successful against both the Mk III
and Mk V Ogres. Be aware, though, that the defense requires discipline,
insight, and a keen sense for split-second timing.
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[End Part One]
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