Cray
03/19/04 03:00 PM
147.160.1.5
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--From Military Vehicles of the Inner Sphere, a weekly, syndicated newssite column in the Federated Boeing Corporate State.
The M-7 is named after a DCMS general from the long-distant First Succession War, which means the name is completely obscure to not only foreign readers, but too obscure for most modern DCMS troops to remember. Therefore, this author will simply refer to it as the M-7.
The M-7's conception was a long time in coming. In 2872, the M-7 was proposed as a tank that was not only independent of supply lines, but would also help make infantry independent of supply lines. The infantry would be primarily laser infantry and the tank would be fusion-powered, preferably armed with a PPC. The tank's fusion power plant would enable it to keep the infantry's weaponry charged. The idea was attractive because, at the time, the DCMS had suffered from almost a century of absolutely savage warfare: the two "Succession Wars" and the beginnings of the Comstar Jihad. Highly independent units of inexpensive, easily produced combatants (vehicles and infantry) would alleviate the strain on the Draconis Combine's abused industry and the DCMS's overstretched logistics network.
However, the M-7 idea was shelved due to (ironically) a series of stunning DCMS victories against the ComGuards. It had "only" taken about 5 years for the DCMS to recover from the shock and ferocity of the unexpected foe. In a 4-month breathing space granted by ComGuard redeployments against unexpectedly strong resistance in the "Lyran Commonwealth" and "Capellan Confederation" (two of the five Inner Sphere-dominating super powers of the time), the DCMS mustered many of its remaining elite and veteran units. The shift in mentalities from the shock and panic of the first years of the Jihad was significant, because now the DCMS brought its strength (veteran troops blooded by the Succession Wars) against the weaknesses of the ComGuards (overconfident, barely blooded troops used to victory), and did so in a well-prepared, well-informed fashion that differed from the early, panicked battles of the Jihad. These dramatic, one-sided victories collapsed Comstar's Combine front and inspired the Federated Suns to launch a similar offensive that likewise crushed unnerved ComGuard troops in Federated Suns space. (Of course, none of the Great Houses at the time would admit the actions of any other Great House had aided their own efforts.)
How did victory result in the M-7 being shelved? A little more background is needed before that can be answered.
ComGuard soldiers came from many sources. Some were veteran mercenaries, ex-House troops, and other professional soldiers who had joined the ComGuards either out of faith or need for a job. Some were fresh volunteers from around the Inner Sphere taking up the call to arms against the warmongering Great Houses that had so wrought so much devastation over the past century. And many of the ComGuards were Terrans. The veterans were largely grouped together into the ComGuards' most effective combat units. Volunteers from the Inner Sphere were grouped in other units, usually lower tech units simply because they rarely had the education to use battlemechs or other complicated warmachines. And that left the Terrans to be grouped into Terran-commanded, Terran-staffed combat units. Terrans who, thanks to Comstar propaganda, had been raised in fear of the Inner Sphere barbarians for almost three generations. Terrans who, thanks to Comstar propaganda, saw their worst fears coming true as the Great Houses started a smear campaign against Comstar in the 2860s and launched sneak attacks against HPGs across the Inner Sphere. Terrans who, thanks to Comstar desiring a secret and plentiful source of soldiers, now thoroughly infested all ranks of the Comguards...up to the command staff level necessary to "release nuclear munitions for tactical applications."
The Terran-led nuclear blitz against tactical military threats had left jaws hanging in the First Circuit. After two suicides and 17 hours of debate amongst the First Circuit, Comstar decided that it would continue its policy of degrading the technology base of mankind so as to make saving mankind that much easier. Except now, it would be much more direct about the matter with widespread application of nuclear weaponry. After all, if Comstar did not keep the initiative, it would be exterminated for the warcrimes of their "pawns," the Terrans. And thus by 2876, the Combine was simply unable to build the M-7 due to the lack of factories building suitable fusion engines. The committee promoting the M-7 actually took the time to put the M-7 project "on indefinite hold," which is unusual for military projects in any Great House during the era. Most were simply abandoned or lost as personnel fled from or were killed by the Comstar's nuclear attacks.
Over a century later in 3001, the M-7 was resurrected by a Combine eager to accelerate the re-integration of worlds lost to central authority during the Comstar Jihad. This ability to seriously consider reconquest of lost worlds so early after the Jihad was due to another irony: thanks to its role in the collapse of the first "Comstar Expeditionary Force," the Combine was the target of the first tactical and strategic nuclear weapons deployed during the Jihad. This had quickly reduced the unprepared Combine to a shadow of its former itself or, as a contemporary in the AFFS phrased it, "A quivering, catatonic vegetable of a government." Due to this rapid collapse of resistance (and almost everything else) in the Draconis Combine, Comstar turned most its atomic attentions to the other Great Houses, who had been forewarned by the carnage in the Combine. This preparedness meant Comstar had to use a lot more nuclear weapons to break the other Houses, even shifting from military targets to "counter value" targets, like cities. When the central government of the Draconis Combine demonstrated coherent functions again (in 2880, when it mustered the largest portion of ships in the international task force headed for Terra), the Combine was effectively the only Great House left.
The M-7 of the post-Jihad era was similar to the Jihad-era paper design, but more advanced. This was because with almost a century of uninterrupted recovery under its belt and several dozen populous, advanced (~23rd Century) worlds, the Draconis Combine was an absolute super power for the era. It could afford specialty fusion engines for the military, and in large quantities. The bottleneck in this expansion was jumpships, so (once again) units that were independent of ammo were preferable. The M-7 was not selected as an offensive unit. The Combine fully recognized that battlemechs and aerospace fighters represented far more effective units for the number of dropships and jumpships required to move them. But having mass-produced ammo-independent tanks for defensive purposes...that appealed to the Jihad-scarred Combine. Those defenders would be able to function long after their bases and supply caches were nuked by invaders. The theory actually worked pretty well. Unfortunately, from the time the M-7 entered production in 3001 on a dozen planets (the shipping capacity to use central factories was not available) to the Clans Invasion in 3007, less than one thousand of the tanks were built. The Combine was wealthy, but not that wealthy, so it had kept the M-7 at low production rates until some other ongoing procurement programs ended.
The speedy main battle tank apparently did exactly what it had been designed to do: survive without resupply and continue to harass conventional invaders. The level of their success is uncertain because most of the worlds that fell to the Clan onslaught were subsequently lost to the Combine in the last years of the Clan Invasion. The Invasion rapidly devolved into a slugging match with weapons of mass destruction, with the DCMS racing to deploy nuclear weapons faster than the Clans could bombard Combine planets with their seemingly endless tidal wave of ex-SLDF warships. Once again, the Combine survived by falling into a catatonic state. And/or inter-Clan politicking. Apparently, some of the Clans involved in exterminating the Combine decided that the war criminals of the Draconis Combine were beaten thoroughly enough that it was time to make a dash for Terra, which seemed to be the goal of the Clans. The rest of the Clans followed in a race to be first. What happened then is uncertain. The Draconis Combine and other Inner Sphere nations had been trying to put together a fleet to deal with a Clan flotilla of over 60 warships, but this international fleet instead left for the Clan home worlds.
Why the Clan flotilla was ignored is uncertain, but it disappeared (whether before or after the Inner Sphere fleet's departure is uncertain), never again to bother the Inner Sphere. Likewise, the Inner Sphere fleet never returned from the Clan home worlds (as far as is known) but then, in the 115 years since the Clan War, neither have the Clans returned to the Inner Sphere. And what was left of the Draconis Combine (some 10 battered worlds that answered to the relocated central government) were incapable of manufacturing the M-7, especially its powerful 280XL engine. Even the M-7's PPC required scarce knowhow and components from factories bombarded by Clan warships.
The modern M-7, introduced in 3088, is finally doing the original, long-gone designers of the M-7 proud. It isn't as dramatic or flashy as the short-lived turn-of-the-millennium M-7, but it is providing the Combine with inexpensive, common armored defensive units for its planets. The modern M-7 uses one of the few fusion engines (the 120 GM) in production at its introduction. The PPC used by the first M-7 was beyond the abilities of the Combine's weaponsmiths, but medium lasers were possible. With energy weapon capacitors, the Combine is able to build gauss rifles, a pleasantly low maintenance class of weaponry with easily-made munitions. The M-7 thus uses the 150mm/25 caliber gauss rifle with a limited 24-round magazine. For "secondary" armarment, the modern M-7 carries a pair of 25mm machine guns. These often prove to be the workhorse weapons of the M-7 because of the rarity of military opponents. The automotive systems are extremely reliable, as would be expected of a tank designed to be independent of supply lines. The tank is not heavily armored, but there's a "Sherman mentality" (to quote Coordinator Oharu) in the DCMS toward the M-7. Just let numbers do the work, and depend on the plentiful production to offset losses.
DEPLOYMENT
Each of the seventeen planets in the Combine fields thousands of the tanks, which are deployed in multi-regiment strength at multitudes of military bases across each world. They are supported by even larger numbers of mechanized infantry, primarily laser infantry. The tanks are mostly built locally, though some planets require the importation of specific high-tech components (key fusion engine components, typically). The crews of the M-7s are professional soldiers (green and regular), but only a few have been in combat (rebels, rioters) because the Combine has not been invaded since the Clan Invasion. The M-7 is not deployed during conquests ex-Combine ("re-asserting the Combine's hegemony over those worlds in denial of their heritage"), instead being built locally after some areas of the planet are pacified. This has given a handful of M-7 divisions combat experience when they are deployed against unpacified areas of planets.
Despite the lack of battle field experience, the M-7's are considered to represent the strength of the DCMS ground forces. Mechanized infantry units support the M-7 while the M-7 smashes rebels, rioters, or even local "denier" resistance. (Because many of these denial planets are also steadily recovering from the Jihad and Clan Invasion, industrialized opponents are not unusual, so some deniers are not to be trifled with.) Even the new battlemechs are viewed as support units for the M-7, simply because mechs like the XBM-1 Miyogi and the (still in field trials) BM-3 Taragi are too rare (and because of their expense, will probably remain rare). Battlemechs are expected to be used as all-terrain flankers and raiders, while battle tanks like the M-7 wear down the opposition with numbers.
NOTABLE CREW MEMBERS
As a sixth child and daughter, Coordinator Oharu Kurita had no expectation of becoming Coordinator. Instead, she applied herself to her studies, vowing at the age of six to become a productive member of society. (Which, as the daughter of the Coordinator, meant an influential government position.) The studious youngest child of a family of dipshits and spoiled brats, she was picked on and teased by her elder siblings while her distant parents rarely intervened. (Of course the servants would never intervene, because elder siblings were more important and more able to get them executed). Like any proper subject of the Combine, Oharu tucked her head down and bore those hardships. However, as daughter of the Coordinator facing those hardships, Oharu abandoned thoughts of civilian administrative careers (perhaps the honorable Order of the Five Pillars, like her mother) and applied herself to learning how to kill, somewhere around the tender age of eight. Any pop psychologist can trace this change in lifepath to her childhood, but where it took Oharu would be surprising to a pop psychologist. She did not learn how to personally kill her siblings - that was too trite and, of course, improper. Plus, the political squabblings of her siblings (who were all gunning to be Coordinator) were simply distasteful and embarassing. No, Oharu translated her anger and humiliation into a fast-paced military career in the DCMS's Armored Corps.
It's quite certain that Oharu earned every promotion, but much of her success was enabled by her family name in one way or another. She escaped the harassment and molesting most females in the male-biased DCMS experienced, which probably helped her self-confidence and reputation. Also, her actions had to be interpreted in the best light, unlike most females in the DCMS. And Oharu was exposed to a broad education few nobles could hope to access, not when even higher education in the Combine was very vocationally-oriented. This manifested in her battlefield tactics, which were absolutely brilliant in comparison to those of her contemporaries (who thought forming a line of battle before charging was pretty clever). Of course, it also meant her contemporaries looked at her as though she was deranged when she shouted, "Rommel, you magnificent bastard, I read your book!" after one particularly outstanding victory. Finally, her family name meant that when she joined the ranks of DCMS High Command Tai Shos at the age of 28, the other generals had to listen to her "novel" plans for reorganizing the DCMS.
Though only an average-to-good M-7 driver and gunner, Oharu excelled in command. She understood logistics instinctively, was cool under fire, led troops well, had a diplomat's talent for local nobles and civilian leadership, and even governed recently pacified regions of "denier" planets capably. Indeed, the DCMS gave Oharu most of the experience she needed to be an excellent Coordinator. After her siblings had finished killing themselves and her parents off [1] and the Combine's leadership was looking at the two potential candidates for Coordinator (Oharu and her third eldest brother, youngest of her brothers), the DCMS provided the winning "vote" to install her as Coordinator. (The DCMS High Command did not state support for Oharu free of reservations, but a younger, female, "eccentric" tactician with a proven battle record was a preferable candidate to an elder male, womanizing, hotheaded hedonist and probable assassin with only perfunctory military training.)
[1] Eldest brother: stabbed to death in a brothel in 3110 by an irrate male prostitute. Next eldest brother: died of a heroin overdose in 3115; youngest brother suspected of supplying overdose. Eldest sister: crushed by a falling battlemech at a military parade in 3109; eldest brother suspected of arranging the fall in response to a failed assassination attempt against him. Next eldest sister: executed in 3111 by her father for an out-of-wedlock pregnancy on the eve of an important arranged marriage. Father: gunned down by an unknown assassin in 3116; youngest brother suspected. Mother: stabbed to death by unknown assassins in 3116; youngest brother suspected. Youngest brother: executed in 3116 by Oharu.
Oh...and the tank. Almost forgot about it.
M-7 MAIN BATTLE TANK
40 tons
4 tons internal structure
6 tons 120 fusion engine
....Cruise: 3
....Flank: 5
0 tons 10 SHS
2 tons controls
2 tons turret
6 tons armor
....Front: 21
....Sides: 21
....Turret: 21
....Rear: 12
15 tons Gauss Rifle (turret)
3 tons GR ammo (body)
1 ton 2x MG (turret)
0.5 tons MG ammo (body)
0.5 tons CASE (body)
VARIANTS
The numerous M-7 appears in quite a few variants. The two most common are the M-7S "Scout" and M-7LR "Long Rifle." Variants with the Scout's 100mm/50-caliber light gauss rifle have appeared before, but the M-7S is the first to benefit from the Combine's improving fusion engine technology. Improving technology enabled the Combine to create a new, more powerful light fusion engine to take advantage of tonnage freed by light gauss rifle. The M-7S uses a 160-rated fusion engine to increase its ground speed and mounts a ton of applique armor. The M-7LR trades the standard gauss rifle in a one-for-one swap with the Samarkand Metals' 120mm "Thumper" artillery piece with 60 rounds of ammo. The M-7LR fills dual roles as self-propelled artillery and main battle tank.
The 3001 model M-7 is an entirely different beast. It mounted a 280XL fusion engine, PPC, twin pulse small lasers, and an SRM 2. The only operating examples (three) known to exist in the 32nd Century were (past tense) in the hands of deniers claiming Clan descent. The intact but non-functional survivor is now in the DCMS War Museum on New Samarkand.
Mike Miller, Materials Engineer
Disclaimer: Anything stated in this post is unofficial and non-canon unless directly quoted from a published book. Random internet musings of a BattleTech writer are not canon.
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