PF 006 Lonestar.

[Project_Sardonicus]

One of the first thing any resource poor military ditches is a sidearm, better to have everyone equipped with some sort of working rifle.

I wonder if a model for the Cavalry would be something closer to Teddy Roosevelts Rough Riders Which seemed to hit more the transitional stage the cavalry in Lonestar would be at.

e.g. mostly mounted infantry, whilst still having cavalry skills and starting to use light artillery and machine guns

I think if the cavalry had faced any sort of serious opposition with modern rifles and the ammunition to practise marksmanship. Then high visibility blue uniforms with yellow stripes would be seen as an act of madness and lead to mutiny.

But if not and if communications are poor literally being able to see where your troops are on the field from a hill top with a telescope becomes an advantage

As it is it does raise an interesting question of what technology would a society rebuilding prioritise

If radio communication was an essential way of getting fast reports from recon troops and moving limited forces where needed, would rebuilding even the most primitive of sets become an absolute priority

Conversely if most of the foes you faced were bandits who couldn't shoot straight. Then would any rifle that shot accurately out to 200 yards however poor the ROF be all that you needed

[.45cultist]

Get the M1911 volume 1 and 2 by Jerry Kuhnhausen. There is production notes and materials data.... It is something like 45 machining setups for the slide alone to manufacture an M1911. M1911 Volume 1

They are on my list as a hobby gunsmith.

[ArmySGT.]

They are on my list as a hobby gunsmith.

I have all the M1911s, the M14, the S&W revolver books, and the Mossberg shotgun book. Definitely worth it if you own and want to work on any of those.

Sardonicus,

This Texas. If you're not sure, just ask. They will definitely remind you every third sentence or so that you are, in fact, in Texas. They will have sidearms. Cowboy cult. Gun fighter lore. Code of the West. Revolvers and autos of all types will be on every adult that can purchase one.

[.45cultist]

M1917 revolvers are far simpler for a lower tech level to produce than the M1911. The M1911 requires milling machines and highly trained machinists making multiple setups and many, many, cuts. I would stick with the M1903 for the rifle, as the modules Krag-Jorgenson's are mechanically more difficult with the rotary magazine to justify manufacture. Additionally, the M1903 has a three lug bolt (it's a Mauser copy after all) and a much stronger action. I would throw in a twist with M1903s in 7.62 NATO instead of 30.06 since that is the brass and dies the Republic had. Probably would nerf them a bit because of lower quality propellants do drop 2 points off damage.

For uniforms...... I would stick with the blue denim and stetsons for the cavalry... It's Texas and that is all the justification they need. On the other hand..... the WW1 khakis, canvas web gear, and doughboy helmets is perfect for the Infantry and Armor troops of the Republic... justify this by saying patterns came from collectors and museums post war salvage.

As for a machinegun... going with the BAR for everyone with the exception of the M1 and M2 coaxial MGs. That the Republic does not have the tooling or equipment to make disintegrating link belts, thus all such are hoarded for the tanks and IFVs.

Grenades...... German potato mashers.. the complicated fuses of even the MK1 pineapple or british Mills bomb are out of the Republics reach. The friction pull igniter is not. Therefore, Republic grenades are the wooden handle variety with HE, Frag, and smoke being most common with a large demo variety and a 2kg charge for Engineers being uncommon.

Totally Ok with swords, sabers, trench knives, maces, spears, and lances.. though I would suggest working up a quick reference chart for damage based on PC or NPC strength and modifiers against types of armors to keep game play moving.

Anti armor weapons.. none modern. The threat from the Brotherhood comes as a surprise.. the M1s are the only AT defense with infantry or cavalry improvising using HE grenades and demo packs in close defense. TMP members don't have time to teach making mines, pole charges, and rockets, plus there isn't time for the Republic to make them. The Republic is going to make a crash program to make molotovs and ship those to infantry or militia in the defense.

Artillery.... The Republic doesn't seem to have any. We might assume that self propelled and towed versions did not survive the nuke strike on Ft. Hood. Additionally, no mortars... I chalk that up to no pressing need with the highly mobile horse mounted tactics of the Cavalry versus low tech and unsophisticated tactics of previous bandit threats. Something the TMP won't have time to teach and the Republic has no time to build.

Communications....... write it down and send a rider. Everything is worn out, broken, cannabalized, or destroyed. Even phone lines are out without a means to insulate cables.

Fuel..... actually, in abundance. Oils, grease, gasoline, diesel, and solvents in significant quantities...... Distribution is primitive and inefficient. Pipelines are proposed with effort into how to make pipe, valves, and hardwared being researched. The Republic doesn't have significant smelting and casting infrastructure.

Food. Abundant, but primitive. Rations are cooked at field kitchens or field bakeries. Luxurious, nutritious, and wholesome compared to the field rations of centuries before. TMP members will be curious about the hard tack, dried beef, dried vegetables, or fruit of the infantry or cavalry marching rations. The garrison and forward field kitchens produce hot meals twice a day of cereals, soups, stews, and anything else that can be boiled, baked, or fried.

I have been thinking about this and decided that the Texas remnants might be one of the areas that might salvage machine shops and their users.

[mmartin798]

A quick search for vendors that service the petroleum industry in Texas that offer machining services yields about 100, some with mobile on-site capabilities, many of which are in the greater Houston area. If some of these were considered necessary for survival, then it is likely that a few mills and lathes may have survived. The bigger questions are: did enough skilled operators survive that can mill replacement parts for the machines, can tooling be created of sufficient quality and hardness to keep up with wear and can the generators be maintained.

I would claim that on a small scale this is possible, but whether or not it scales to the manufacturing of arms for an army is your call.

[ArmySGT.]

Machine shops require huge quantity of consumables to make product.

High speed steel to make tool bits or tungsten carbide premade bits. Those are consumed as resharpened or chipped in use. Cutting oils and kerosene for lubricating parts as these are cut and generating heat. Sand paper in strips or sheets from 80 grit to 5000 grit to polish parts for fit gets used up fast. Sandpapers think three to six feet of strips for barrel polishing. Valve grinding compound in 40 to 600 for final fitting two parts that must have below .003 tolerances like gas valves. Drill bits (especially certain preferred sizes) last from a month to a year with periodic resharpening. Same goes for reamers to be sure a hole is true to the specified diameter.

Barrel reamers (cutters or buttons) are made by few specialized shops (Pacific Tool & Gauge is one) as are the specific reamers for a chosen caliber. These come in sets of three. One and Two basically open up and establish to chamber shape and size. Number three is the Final and cuts the chamber to SAAMI specs in depth, shoulder, and leed. One and Two would last about six months if you used a drill bit to hog out material. Three or Final has to be precise and would be out of spec if you were trying to cut several chambers a day for a month.

A machine shop needs three phase 240 or 440 watt power at 60 cycles without interruptions. Any loss or power that fluctuates will cause imprecise cuts a trained machinists would need to assess and recut.

Most of all a machine shop needs steel, iron, aluminum, copper, and lead in pure or as alloys in correct ratios. Most salvaged metals can't be trusted to make parts that must endure with out destructive testing first for hardness, ductility, etc, etc.

The Republic is must build a blast furnace to be fed with coke (cooked coal) and some metallurgists that know how to add in alloys like chromium, manganese, boron, and others to make steels for various purposes.

That is why I think the Republic and the KFS have a trade established about New Orleans with beef, ammonium nitrate, leather, motor oil, gear oil, lamp oil, kerosene, diesel, and plastic pellets going to the KFS. The KFS is sending back textiles, machine shop consumables, containers (55 gallon and 30 gallon drums, metal boxes with lids, and assorted tupperware or glass jars with lids), and horses for the Cavalry.

[Matt W]

That is why I think the Republic and the KFS have a trade established about New Orleans with beef, ammonium nitrate, leather, motor oil, gear oil, lamp oil, kerosene, diesel, and plastic pellets going to the KFS. The KFS is sending back textiles, machine shop consumables, containers (55 gallon and 30 gallon drums, metal boxes with lids, and assorted tupperware or glass jars with lids), and horses for the Cavalry.

Agreed.

There should be trade between the major "industrial" nations. But I don't think you have to go all the way to New Orleans. Somewhere like Vicksburg might be a "free city" that trades with Texas and KFS if you include Truckers .

A minor detail I would add is that synthetic rubber should be on the list of Texas exports. Somebody has to make tyres for the Truckers and Bikers

[ArmySGT.]

Agreed.

There should be trade between the major "industrial" nations. But I don't think you have to go all the way to New Orleans. Somewhere like Vicksburg might be a "free city" that trades with Texas and KFS if you include Truckers .

A minor detail I would add is that synthetic rubber should be on the list of Texas exports. Somebody has to make tyres for the Truckers and Bikers

Truckers and bikers works. I was thinking of the Shipmen/Boatmen... I would have sworn there was a separate encounter group for the traders/pirates moving cargo and people up and down the Ohio, Upper Mississippi, Illinois and Tennessee.

[ArmySGT.]

I like New Orleans as a trade center just for the historical reference to it always having been one. Vicksburg works too, maybe the Natchez Trace is once again running mule trains

[mmartin798]

The problem with New Orleans is that the Mississippi River likely would have changed course and no longer empties near it. The Army Corp of Engineers fights a continuous battle to maintain the course of the Mississippi at no small cost. It would not take long for the Old River Control Structure (ORCS) to fail.

This was a major concern in the late 70's, since the flood of 1973 almost did undermine the ORCS. There was a paper written about the physical and economic consequences of such a failure in 1980 by two professors at Louisiana State University. An excerpt from the abstract reads:

"Were a major flood to destroy the ability of the ORCS to control the distribuion of flow between the Lower Mississippi River and the Atchafalaya River, then major flooding would occur in the Atchafalaya Basin, highway and railroad bridges would be destroyed, gas pipelines severed, and industrial production along the Mississippi River between Baton Rouge (BR) and New Orleans (NO) would be reduced. The dry weather period following the flood would result in reduced discharges in the river between BR and NO. This would permit salt water from the Gulf of Mexico to fill what is now the main stem of the river. The present channel would become a salt water estuary of the Gulf of Mexico."

It goes on to discuss the saltwater making existing potable water supplies unusable requiring a plan to replace them. It is a good read if you want a realistic idea of what likely happens in the lower Mississippi River after the war. The paper is the "Louisiana Water Resources Research Institute, Bulletin 12, September 1980". Using that as a search term in Google will take you to a PDF of the entire paper.

[ArmySGT.]

My recollection is imperfect, but wasn't the city of New Orleans far removed from the ports and docks until very recent modern times

Miles and miles if I am not mistaken.

[dragoon500ly]

The problems with the Mississippi River and its change of directions over 150 years on non-human control will almost certainly make New Orleans-Vicksburg-Baton Rouge almost useless as ports, on the other hand Mobile Bay would almost certainly be still usable, so how about a shipping route from Mobile Bay to Galveston or Port Arthur

For Lonestar's long term plans, the Republic's efforts to recapture Galveston and reopen the trade route would be interesting.

[ArmySGT.]

The problems with the Mississippi River and its change of directions over 150 years on non-human control will almost certainly make New Orleans-Vicksburg-Baton Rouge almost useless as ports, on the other hand Mobile Bay would almost certainly be still usable, so how about a shipping route from Mobile Bay to Galveston or Port Arthur

For Lonestar's long term plans, the Republic's efforts to recapture Galveston and reopen the trade route would be interesting.

Fair enough. The mighty Miss is to valuable as a carrier to commercial freight with access all the way to the Great Lakes. Carrying freight almost for free with the current. The KFS could be taking over all freight going up stream. A fusion powered tug boat pulling multiple barges would be very, very, very profitable. Something that TMP personnel would be interested in because of its long term reconstruction efforts and at the same time the way that strengthens KFS power.

Also, there is the chance to throw in mysterious sailing ships that come from the Caribbean with sugar, spices, coffee, rum, and cocaine.

[dragoon500ly]

Fair enough. The mighty Miss is to valuable as a carrier to commercial freight with access all the way to the Great Lakes. Carrying freight almost for free with the current. The KFS could be taking over all freight going up stream. A fusion powered tug boat pulling multiple barges would be very, very, very profitable. Something that TMP personnel would be interested in because of its long term reconstruction efforts and at the same time the way that strengthens KFS power.

Also, there is the chance to throw in mysterious sailing ships that come from the Caribbean with sugar, spices, coffee, rum, and cocaine.

Also explains the KFS interest in the Ohio/Tennessee/Mississippi Rivers network. I can see a small flotilla of river boats tug boats and barges trading KFS goods throughout the Midwest. Talk about a stranglehold on trade!

As far as a nuclear powered MP tug boat...Hit the sledgehammer website, there is a very nice write up on a project ship that can be used for the river and intercoastal trade and its large enough for the island trade.

[ArmySGT.]

Hit the sledgehammer website,

A name without a link Are you taunting me, Sir