Tank Warfare

**Tank Warfare,** also known as armored warfare or mechanized warfare, is the use of armored fighting vehicles in conjunction with infantry and other modern warfare elements to break through enemy front lines. It is a type of military doctrine that is relatively unknown to the New World and is mostly centered around the tank. During the birth of military mechanization on Earth, the tank was created to satisfy the need for heavy support to move with the troops as they crossed No Man's Land during World War I. Tank Warfare would further be developed with the invention of Blitzkrieg, a novel use of combined-arms tactics of tanks, infantry, artillery and air support, during World War II. Since then, tank technology has advanced dramatically over the next 50 years. The tank was also found to be very useful in defensive operations as well as offensive. The military forces of the New World would get first-hand experience of the power of the tank with the arrival of Japan and the Gra Valkas Empire.

## How it work?

On a strategic level a mechanized unit (let's call it heavy cavalry) provide a mean to achieve a breakthrough in the enemy defense line. After achieving that an army can either rush towards an strategic target (for example the enemy capital for force the enemy leaders to surrender) or try to encircle an enemy force in order to cut them from their supply lines (as time pass lack of food and ammunition will degrade their fighting power making easer to defeat them even if the enemy have numeric superiority). War is expensive, when fighting a peer or near peer adversary the objective is to maneuver the army to a position where the enemy is forced to surrender, a "checkmate". So is kind of like a battle ram for open a castle's door so the rest of the army can pour in. Otherwise the war will turn in to a long and costly conflict called attrition war.

On a tactical level if the enemy "dug-in" the attacker need a 3 to 1 ratio for defeat a peer or near peer defender. For example the defender dig trenches, setup barbed wire, landmines, machine gun nests, anti-tank weapons, etc... There are many variations but this is a simplified template of how modern combined-weapons tactics can look like.

1. Air-strike for "soften" the defenders.
2. Artillery bombardment for "soften" the defenders.
3. Tanks and troops transports get on firing range shot trying to suppress any surviving heavy weapon, artillery can shift to bombard the rear and flanks of the defending unit for prevent the arrival of reinforcements (area denial).
4. Dismounted Infantry get on firing range shot the defending unit.
5. Close range assault.

On earth many countries bowed not to use mines due to the civilian casualties many years after the wars ended. But if someone use it, then there is an extra step for find a way of open a path in the minefield. Also the assaulting unit probably is going to be under enemy artillery fire, so when to dismount the infantry from their armored vehicles need to be carefully timed. There is many things that can go wrong like aircrafts or artillery blowing their own troops by mistake, or the mechanized vehicles running over their own infantry. So the more training the unit get the better. If conscripts are used is better to widen the time between the steps for avoid accidents, but this give the defenders more time to recover and reorganize. The reverse is also possible, by compressing the time between steps the defender have less time to recover and reorganize, but the chance of accidents increase, a high-risk high-return tactic.

## Why armies are not made of mechanized units only?

Too expensive. Not just the upfront cost of buy tanks, the cost of maintenance and operation of a mechanized division or brigade is no joke. Even great powers can't afford it anymore. So modern armies are filled of cheaper units like motorized units (let's call it light cavalry) that can go from just military trucks to light armor vehicles using wheels instead of tracks. Another reason is that tactically tracks have better off-road mobility and can use heavier armor and bigger weapons, but strategically wheels allow light armor divisions or brigades to move faster.

There you have it, a key point of being a great power is "power projection", the ability to use military power abroad and do it fast in order to react to an international crisis. Even Israel a long believer of mechanized warfare is adopting some fast moving wheeled brigades, probably because the aforementioned increasing cost of mechanized units.

In the case of Japan, the geography of islands with lots of mountains make it a bad country for tank battles. The mechanized unit is a legacy from the Cold War when the main threat was a Soviet invasion in Hokkaido where mechanized warfare is more feasible. Notice that after the modern tracked Type-10 Main Battle Tank, Japan build the wheeled Type-16 Maneuver Combat Vehicle. So yeah, is a trend.

Also worth to mention that parachute troops and airmobile (helicopters) units have their own pros and cons that provide alternatives in a war scenario.

## Military Doctrines?

There is many variations but we can identify two main historic opposing schools of thought from the Cold War from Earth, the Western and the Eastern. But after Operation Desert Storm when both doctrines clashed and the Western school come up on top, the Eastern school become less popular. Keep in mind that it was a success probably thanks to "Shock & Awe", a massive surgical strikes bombardment against the enemy air-defense, command and communications with expensive PGMs (precision guided munitions). This seems to imply that air power is more important than ground power, but how much is debatable. Also surgical strikes are less useful if there is no good intel, bomb the wrong building is a waste of a limited stock of PGMs.

**WEST: LEVERAGE QUALITY**

Descendant of the German Blitzkrieg, it is the idea that a small but well armed and professional army is better. Weapons tend to be complex and expensive, operated by volunteers with extensive training. Because armies are smaller they try to get the breakthrough done in one push, the mechanized unit is like a spearhead piercing the enemy defense line for the army that follow behind. Is able to execute more complex maneuvers and tend to react faster to sudden changes in the battlefield, but having less manpower and weapons there is less room for mistakes. Also volunteers are politically easer to deploy abroad in military operations.

**EAST: LEVERAGE QUANTITY**

Descendant of the Soviet Defense-in-Depth, it is the idea that a big army with just good enough weapons and everyone conscripted is better. Weapons tend to be simple and cheap, operated by conscripts with little training. Because armies are bigger they try to overwhelm by attacking in consecutive waves in a small area of the frontline, the mechanized units are like a jackhammer crushing the enemy defense line for the army that follow behind. Plans are kept simple so conscripts can follow the orders more easily and tend to react slower to sudden changes in the battlefield, but having more manpower and weapons give more room for recover from mistakes. Also conscripts are more willing to fight for defend their country than in a military operation abroad.

**ISRAEL: THE EXCEPTIONS**

Some times the country is small, so even if everyone is conscripted the potential adversary still outnumber in manpower and there is no ally wiling to come to the rescue. If the country is relatively rich it can end looking like Israel, a nation from Earth. Weapons tend to be complex and expensive, operated by conscripts with extensive training. Operationally is closer to the West, but with emphasis in protecting the limited manpower. There is little or no strategic depth (terrain that can be traded for time), so retreat often is not an option. Is win or at least draw, because the day it lose the country will die. Also the military seems more willing to try new weapons and unorthodox tactics that promise to overcome or ameliorate numeric disparity.

## **Tank Warfare** in the New World

### Third Civilization Area

Surprisingly, despite having primitive weapons and relying on tactics that required sheer force of numbers, one nation in the Third Civilization Area did have a tank. However, this was not the mechanized kind. The Parpaldia Empire relied on a magical beast called a Land Dragon, as a kind of flame-throwing biological tank to support troops and artillery. However, these dragons were not used offensively or in frontal assaults, as their flame breaths had very short range. They were mostly used to defend the magical cannons, while the infantry still managed the direct attacks.

In the end, the Land Dragons were no match for modern firepower and were slaughtered by SABOT and HEAT rounds. Their tough scales were even penetrated by high-speed arrows launched by Compound Bows.

### Second Civilization Area

Despite having invented the internal combustion engine, Mu did not have a tank initially. This was due to the fact that their engines were not powerful enough to move a heavy, armored vehicle. As a result, Mu's ground forces were still limited to infantry, light armored vehicles and artillery. During the Battle of Alue, the infantry resorted to trench warfare to hold off the Gra Valkas invasion forces. This tactic might have worked against other New World armies, but the Gra Valkas had the one thing that was specifically designed to counter that tactic. They had tanks. As a result, the border town of Alue would fall.

Previously, Mu had plans to build their own tank after seeing the Japanese tanks in action during the Japanese-Parpaldian War. However, these ideas were still on the drawing board by the time of the Gra Valkas invasions. According to the Web Novel, their designs included riveted armor, armed with machine guns or small caliber naval guns. This is the basic idea of the WW1 tanks like the British Mark I. However, after seeing the Japanese tanks during the Battle of the Malmund Mountains, their ideas changed toward the more modern layout of a single main gun mounted on a rotating turret.

### Gra Valkas Empire

The Gra Valkas military believe in using brute force to overwhelm their enemies and the tank certainly fits that ideal. Their main battle tank, which is a virtual analog to the Japanese Medium Type 97 tank of World War 2, is more than a match for any New World infantry and is more mobile than most artillery pieces. The standard tank tactics mimic that of World War 2 with the tank at the front of the assault with infantry supporting it. Their armored forces easily broke through Mu defenses and would have gone to conquer the continent. Then, they met the Japanese armored forces. They soon realized that their tanks were hopelessly outmatched by the Type-10 and despite having a numerical superiority, their strongest tank division, the 4th Armored Division, was obliterated.

### First Civilization Area

Like Mu, the Holy Milishial Empire had no tanks, due to the fact that they cannot produce a magical engine powerful enough to move a tank. Furthermore, due to their arrogance over their supposedly 'unbeatable' magical cannons and jets, the Milishial forces felt that there was no need for a tank. Then they took notice of the Japanese tanks. Again like Mu, the Empire has begun to research and design their own tank. Currently they have no tactics developed for this weapon.

Surprisingly, a tank was developed using relics of the Ravernal Empire, but this was not done by the Holy Milishial Empire. The vehicle was called a Demon Flaming Tank and was created by the Archmage Ordo. It had iron armor and iron wheels, and was said to be able to deflect any human magic attacks. It is able to launch fire bombs about once every 5 seconds. It is propelled by what appears to be a magical engine. Though quite devastating against New World opponents, the tank is vulnerable to anti-tank missiles.

### Japan

During their transfer to the New World, Japan already had modern tanks in their arsenal like the Type 90 and the Type-10, primarily in its 7th Armored Division (JGSDF), which has been instrumental in a number of New World conflicts. Furthermore, they are already well-versed in modern day tank tactics and their tanks have every tactical and technological advantages such as night vision, advanced sensors, FCS, gun-stabilization, composite armor, and ammunition like HEAT and SABOT rounds that can pierce just about any armor or magical defense. At the same time, Japan has mechanized infantry to follow and support tanks with vehicles like the Mitsubishi Type 89 IFV, a model of organization no other country seems to have.

Like their aircraft, Japanese tanks are the template in which all other New World nations wish to follow.