T2K Fortification

[Raellus]

Although not as large or impressive as the fortifications that ya'll have already listed, there are still a few left-over late WWII-era German fortifications in Poland.

It'd be kind of cool for a party of PCs to come across a Panther tank turret emplaced in a reinforced concrete revetment.

[jester]

Although not as large or impressive as the fortifications that ya'll have already listed, there are still a few left-over late WWII-era German fortifications in Poland.

It'd be kind of cool for a party of PCs to come across a Panther tank turret emplaced in a reinforced concrete revetment.

There are several articles of German and Russian tanks being pulled out of ponds and swamps and bogs, and then being restored. Which is cool since the oxygen content is so low in many of these places and it is so cold they do not deteriorate as well as in other waters. A group in N. Cali found one that was pulled from a river or pond in Latvia I beleive, it was a Panther, they returned it to N. Cal and they rebuilt the thing bringing it to working order.

Then the group who rebuilt the vehicle did research as to why the vehicle was abandoned, I knew the answer since it was SOP, what is funny is they guessed but had no answer, until one or two went to the village near where the vehicle was salvaged and they told him. So, when in doubt ask the locals!

The vehicle got bogged down crossing the river so the Germans put a demolition charge in the vehicle, which was standard to ensure the Russians who were advancing couldn't use it.

Hmmm, that could be incorporated easy enough into a campaign, a small but skilled group amases a good amount of armored vehicles that had been abandoned in rivers, swamps and lakes, repairing them.

Or, there is a mystery around and no one knows what or why, but it is also hush hush, but the villagers all know, just no one bothers to ask them. Kinda like the 2nd Ed rules, with the part about, "Ah you mean Jones, the spy."

[headquarters]

I hear that

Nice adventure idea Jester. Unfortunately in my campaign or, say, Headquarters' the most likely end result would be that the fortress continues being used to dominate the surrounding communities, only the people in charge would change. It must be nice for those of you GMs whose players like playing the good guys.

Yep. But maybe a few chem rounds first to show the locals that the new boss is business like..

[bigehauser]

There were four main "systems" of forts throughout US history.

3 systems, and a 4th special type system that dealt more with ordnance being employed from hardened positions, i.e. not the shape of a typical truncated hexagonal fort with traditional walls, bastions, etc, but instead reinforced singular or grouped gun positions. Fort De Soto is a good example.

1st System was what we see in the frontier area of like say Florida, etc. Dug outs with wood from trees reinforcing the positions.

2nd System was what places like the 1st system showed, but had incorporated stone/concrete, and had employed cannons and similar ordnance at strategic points of the forts.

3rd System were the culmination of the fort systems of America, these being most all part of an intricate coastal defense system that lasted until humanity had begun to mass produce intercontinental aircraft, thus making these forts obsolete. A good group of Florida forts to study are Castillo De San Marcos, Fort Clinch, Fort Barrancas, Fort Morgan, and for a late 3rd System/Early 4th System example, Fort De Soto in my home of Pinellas County.

The 4th System had come about during a rapidly developing arms era of the early 20th Century just as aircraft had come into play. It had new ideas put into play, such as the use of extremely heavy "disappearing" guns in lieu of casemate, or wall top mounted howitzers or coastal guns. Anti Aircraft Artillery had become a factor as air power began to trump the paramount use large fleets of dreadnought ships, and other coast threatening vessels.

By the end of WWII, we can see that all the used forts had become obsolescent, and slowly became mere reminders of a way war was once waged.

[ChalkLine]

I recommend 'The History of Fortification' Ian V Hogg*

A brilliant read that provides a fantastic overview of fortification with an emphasis on the period of Vauban to WW1.

(*who died a few years ago! What a bummer, I always wanted to meet the man)

[pmulcahy11b]

It's a bit of an exotic location for T2K...but basically all over Oahu in Hawaii, you'll find abandoned blockhouses and pillboxes built before and during World War 2. Many are still in good shape, though overgrown with vegetation. Another interesting location would be Ulupau Crater on Kaneohe MCAS; it's the rifle range for the island, and is to an extent honeycombed with rooms and corridors (and you find even find some ammo!). On the other side of the island at Mokapu Point, there is an abandoned Nike site; I never had the chance to go see for myself, but it's supposed to have a decent array of blockhouses, old buildings, and underground rooms and corridors.

[pmulcahy11b]

I recommend 'The History of Fortification' Ian V Hogg*

A brilliant read that provides a fantastic overview of fortification with an emphasis on the period of Vauban to WW1.

(*who died a few years ago! What a bummer, I always wanted to meet the man)

Damn, no wonder I haven't seen any new books from him at Barnes & Noble lately!

[jester]

It's a bit of an exotic location for T2K...but basically all over Oahu in Hawaii, you'll find abandoned blockhouses and pillboxes built before and during World War 2. Many are still in good shape, though overgrown with vegetation. Another interesting location would be Ulupau Crater on Kaneohe MCAS; it's the rifle range for the island, and is to an extent honeycombed with rooms and corridors (and you find even find some ammo!). On the other side of the island at Mokapu Point, there is an abandoned Nike site; I never had the chance to go see for myself, but it's supposed to have a decent array of blockhouses, old buildings, and underground rooms and corridors.

They are there.

One of my links was to a nike site, they were pretty universal.

You have 1 command site in the area and a dozen or so satelight sites. Like the one at Whites Point was the comand center for all of the ones from Ventura, Los Angeles and Orange Counties which had about a dozen.

Each site had an underground silo, elevator venhilators and then a comand center. Some of the facilities had two elevators, each elevator was about the size of a semi trailer if i recall right.

Most topside facilities had a place for the personel to stay, a mess facility, a admin center, a guard post or two, some had firestations and missile asssembly areas and kennels as well. The one we used had three primary buildings.

[ChalkLine]

Fort Scratchley in Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia is a victorian era coastal battery with some nice underground galleries. It's not too big to defend, PCs could manage it.

Go to the link above, there is ground plans of the fort. If you don't want to use the fort as a coastal battery, just site it on a bluff looking towards the probable direction of attack. It's international design makes it perfect for anywhere in the world and it is small enough to to be overlooked on many maps.

[ChalkLine]

Fort Scratchley in Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia is a victorian era coastal battery with some nice underground galleries. It's not too big to defend, PCs could manage it.

Go to the link above, there is ground plans of the fort. If you don't want to use the fort as a coastal battery, just site it on a bluff looking towards the probable direction of attack. It's international design makes it perfect for anywhere in the world and it is small enough to to be overlooked on many maps.

I'd just like to add that this battery makes an ideal base for riverine or sea-going PCs.

[chico20854]

It's a bit of an exotic location for T2K...but basically all over Oahu in Hawaii, you'll find abandoned blockhouses and pillboxes built before and during World War 2. Many are still in good shape, though overgrown with vegetation. Another interesting location would be Ulupau Crater on Kaneohe MCAS; it's the rifle range for the island, and is to an extent honeycombed with rooms and corridors (and you find even find some ammo!). On the other side of the island at Mokapu Point, there is an abandoned Nike site; I never had the chance to go see for myself, but it's supposed to have a decent array of blockhouses, old buildings, and underground rooms and corridors.

Post-TDM, we (in the DC group) have proposed moving PACOM HQ to K-Bay. There is a large airfield, housing, ammo dumps, a pier, radar station, intercept/signal station and a mountain honeycombed with fortifications. The mountain was outfitted during 1942-4 as a coastal artillery position, equipped with the heavy guns salvaged off the USS Arizona from the bottom of Pearl Harbor. The positions are still there (the guns are not) and probably have extensive tunnels to support them. The prevailing winds are from the north, assuring that any fallout from the strikes on Honolulu don't effect the post. And the only landside access to the post is over a pair of causeways from the main part of the island. Ideal, IMHO...

[pmulcahy11b]

Post-TDM, we (in the DC group) have proposed moving PACOM HQ to K-Bay. There is a large airfield, housing, ammo dumps, a pier, radar station, intercept/signal station and a mountain honeycombed with fortifications. The mountain was outfitted during 1942-4 as a coastal artillery position, equipped with the heavy guns salvaged off the USS Arizona from the bottom of Pearl Harbor. The positions are still there (the guns are not) and probably have extensive tunnels to support them. The prevailing winds are from the north, assuring that any fallout from the strikes on Honolulu don't effect the post. And the only landside access to the post is over a pair of causeways from the main part of the island. Ideal, IMHO...

Actually, Kaneohe has a Back Gate (also called the Pali Gate, since it faces the Pali Outlook). This does not connect via causeway, though you do go through a winding mountain highway to get to it.

[jester]

Actually, Kaneohe has a Back Gate (also called the Pali Gate, since it faces the Pali Outlook). This does not connect via causeway, though you do go through a winding mountain highway to get to it.

Actualy Paul there is a causeway.

Once you enter the base after comming through the neighborhood in Kailua, ocean and beach on one side, Nuapia Ponds on the other. Just like the maingate.

And the base has other things,

1.) It has the crater near the rifle range filled with bunkers and what not, but also KT as well which sits in the center of the Island.

And then of course they have a few islands small ones but islands, one in the center of Kaneohie and another on the otherside we called "Rabbit Island"

And the Nuapia pond used to be the Hawaiian Royal Families private fishing pond, although now it is more marsh that stinks to high heaven.

As for the Dock, they used to have LSTs pull up and people sailed away on deplopyment that way. It isn't that big a dock as it has limited capacity but it could do the job for one or two ships.

The airfeild, well one issue is it faces the ocean on either end so that could pose a problem if you have any issues with aircraft. It can handle C-131s mind you, and I oftten wondered if one central street could do the job as it bisected the base and was much longer.

Another protector from radiation is the Pali mountain range bisects the island so there is the tallest point of mountains on the island seperating the base from Honolulu and Pearl which again is seperated by hills.

[pmulcahy11b]

Actualy Paul there is a causeway.

Oops, left out a word. It should have read, "Actually, Kaneohe also has a Back Gate..."

Amazing how leaving out one word can screw up what one is trying to say.

[Raellus]

Has anyone seen the Israeli film, Beufort [sic] I haven't seen it yet but it's about an Israeli unit occupying a Crusader castle in Lebanon during the '90s. It's on my Netflix list.

Seems like it could provide some interesting flavor or scenario ideas for fortifications in T2K.