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Re: HFQ Official Snippet #16 | |
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by n7axw » Fri Jan 09, 2015 9:53 am | |
n7axw
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Hi Lyonheart,
Your scenario does make sense. The last textev does have Alverez on the Fort Sandfish road, but it really doesn't make sense for him to stay on it. I wonder if he will be able to forage well enough to keep his men fed. The other question is if he will be tipped off to Hanth before running into him. Don When any group seeks political power in God's name, both religion and politics are instantly corrupted.
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Re: HFQ Official Snippet #16 | |
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by Graydon » Fri Jan 09, 2015 9:54 am | |
Graydon
Posts: 245
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If they're using air tools for assembly lines, they've got something close to a regulator just so the first tool on a given air line doesn't steal all the air. So a SCUBA regulator doesn't seem like much of a stretch from there.
Ok CaC lights are Right Out. (Though bulk cryogenic acetylene did give the English language the wonderful phrase "precipitous disassembly".) Still, upon further reflection, the idea that they have to swim upstream from below the Temple forces' limit of observation, find the sunken barges, figure out a demolition plan by touch and hand signals they can't see in the dark, plant the charges they've been lugging with them, also by touch in the dark, and float home downstream seems implausibly strenuous even by demolition diver standards. So now I'm wondering if the stick headed upstream was a snorkel for a tiny compressed-air powered submarine, thinking, no, that's crazy, they're just not there yet, maybe it's just a guy with a snorkel scouting to find the barges? But if you can't stick your head up, you can't get landmarks, so the utility of your report is going to be rather diminished. And if you can't see because it's dark, it's going to be an even worse report. All that makes me wonder if this is the lead guy for a bunch of assault swimmers, there to take out the sentries to allow guys in boats an unopposed landing, but that gets into the distance and gear-towing issues again. |
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Re: HFQ Official Snippet #16 | |
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by isaac_newton » Fri Jan 09, 2015 10:32 am | |
isaac_newton
Posts: 1182
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hmmmmmm, thats nearly 40 miles/day, sustained for a long period maybe thats possible on the Fort Sandfish road - I dont know, don't have the real experience to know if that is plausible , especially for a badly defeated, exhausted army, but once off that road... well, I really just don't see that rate can be maintained, and still have an effective fighting force. Here's what Earl Hankey 'snarled' at the second to last Army of Shiloh command conference at/near Karmych at the north end of the Sandfish Road:
I sort of have it in my mind that marching 20miles a day is reasonable... any more knowledgable comments welcome! |
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Re: HFQ Official Snippet #16 | |
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by Randomiser » Fri Jan 09, 2015 10:43 am | |
Randomiser
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Actually, the last textev has him 'halfway to Thesmar', as I quoted in my last post. That comes from a summary in the authorial voice so I think we can take it as being fairly well established. But I agree with Isaac Newton that Lyonheart's suggested rate of progress is far too fast. They don't have a highroad once they turn west, they do have a baggage train to slow them down and if they have to forage as well, that's going to be even slower. |
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Re: HFQ Official Snippet #16 | |
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by dwileye13 » Fri Jan 09, 2015 11:17 am | |
dwileye13
Posts: 447
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Halfway to Thesmar was at the end of February, the BOOM that is coming (wherever it will BOOM) is IMO early March. I agree with the Post that it is unlikely Merlin will let Hanth be caught by suprise but Hanth is quite good and will have cavalry sweeping for remnants of the Battle. That Eastshare was cleaning up and when he could start in pursuit Alvahrez was halfway to Thesmar. He would most likely send a significant force West out of the Forest and be in a position to flank Alvahrez. Alvahrez's best choice is to head for Dohlar by the shortest route available. He knows North/northwest is impossible, He will guess that Thesmar is not surrounded by friendly forces and this gives him a route basically towards where the snippet has Hanth on the West side of the Seridahn and south of Trevyr. This will be a complication to Hanths plans. Cheryk is held by the ICA and is a major crossroad so Alvahrez will skirt it rather than force battle. The key will be when and where Hanth learns Alvahrez's position. Of course he will want to delay Alvahrez and catch him in the open between his various forces and Eastshare. Also capture any crossing points on the Seridahn with the Riverboats I am not young enough to know everything!
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Re: HFQ Official Snippet #16 | |
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by BobG » Fri Jan 09, 2015 11:32 am | |
BobG
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I think helmet diving (which was used before SCUBA) would be more viable. However, that would take a hose from a hand-driven pump on land to the divers. I am assuming the ship is not close enough for a pressure line, because it would otherwise be visible. SCUBA seems difficult, although possible. High pressure tank metallurgy is the biggest issue as far as I am concerned. A steel tank capable of holding 72 cu in of compressed air will last about an hour close to the surface. Both CaC and Photoluminescence seem like nonstarters to me. The former generally requires electric arcs, while the latter requires some mildly complex organic chemistry. I suppose that the source of CaC could be secret, aka from OWL, but I doubt it is otherwise doable. -- Bob G SF & Fantasy: The only things better than Chocolate.
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Re: HFQ Official Snippet #16 | |
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by OlorinNight » Fri Jan 09, 2015 11:41 am | |
OlorinNight
Posts: 54
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And soon we'll see if Alvarhez is just "not dumb" (like a Desnairian general) or if he is really smart.
If he is really smart, he may deduce that, if DE managed to fool him and bring behind their back another army to close the road while pretending that he is outnumbered (hich was true, in fact^^)and leading a starving army even if, in the same time, he was preparing his assault on thir position when they would turn their back on him, he may suspect that the attack on the forest road was not the only jaw of the trap and that maybe general Rychtyr met more trouble than expected... He knows now that their information on the number of heretics was totally inaccurate. Maybe he'll realise that if the Allied had even more troops than they finally realised, they may have taken Rychtyr by surprise, too... Ho, I Can't wait to know more... |
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Re: HFQ Official Snippet #16 | |
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by BobG » Fri Jan 09, 2015 11:42 am | |
BobG
Posts: 288
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XofDallas wrote:
JeffEngel replied:
I think that he might be thinking of using makeshift rafts to cross though the passage in the marshes at night, in the hope that he can cross without being seen. I.e., option 3. (humorous thought) I wonder if the passage is narrow enough that he could run zip lines across? Of course, the ropes he used would wear out from friction fairly quickly, but... This would be a desperation move, but what, as observed above, is his best choice to preserve his troops? I suspect he knows nothing of the batteries, which could come as a very unpleasant surprise. -- Bob G SF & Fantasy: The only things better than Chocolate.
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Re: HFQ Official Snippet #16 | |
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by isaac_newton » Fri Jan 09, 2015 11:57 am | |
isaac_newton
Posts: 1182
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IIRC the channel is several miles wide, so zip wires would be 'interesting!' Last edited by isaac_newton on Fri Jan 09, 2015 12:06 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: HFQ Official Snippet #16 | |
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by Kakai » Fri Jan 09, 2015 11:59 am | |
Kakai
Posts: 162
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He may think twice about going through the marshes. I believe they were described as "appearing to be impassable" and it's questionable how many Temple Loyalist marshers stayed there and are able to give Alvahrez any useful information. As a wild guess: what if he went southeast from Fort Sandfish and tried to get across this passage between Tabbard Reach and Sandfish Bay? It's maybe a little bit wider than marsh passage. -----------
When in mortal danger, when beset by doubt, Run in little circles, wave your arms and shout. - Ciaphas Cain |
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