Chris Kemp’s Not Quite Mechanised
Free .pdf copy of the guidelines for personal use.
COMMAND REACTION TIMES
CRT is the time taken for new information to reach the appropriate command level and be acted on.
If a single Battalion in a Division is attacked, then other Battalions from the Division can return supporting fire against the attacker in the first hour of the attack, (this would include organic battalion mortars, and artillery Regiments IN DIRECT SUPPORT with FOOs under command of the battalion being attacked), and the other Battalions can counter attack in the second hour after the start of the Enemy attack (ie next move).
The Division HQ can call for support to its Corps HQ in the first hour of the attack, so other units from the Corps could give supporting fire in the second hour of the attack if they are IN SUPPORT of the Division or UNDER COMMAND of the Corps. Batallions from another Division in the Corps could also move off to counter attack in the third hour of the Enemy attack.
If they had no such orders, it would take 1 hour for those new orders to be issued, so that counter attacks could begin in the fourth hour of the attack.
| COMMAND REACTION – Table 5 | |
|---|---|
| Div to Corps 1 Hr going up | These times may be halved for veteran armoured and
veteran motorised units. |
| Corps to Army 2 Hrs going up | Generals can short-circuit the CRT by being at the
point of action. |
| Army to Army Grp 2 Hrs going up | Orders are generated and take the same amount of time to come backdown the chain of command |
|
TASK TIMINGS – Table 6 |
|
| Task air support (Corps) | 4 Hrs |
| Task air support (Army) | 8 Hrs |
| Plan major river crossing | 8 Hrs |
| Establish inf bridgehead | 1-3Hrs |
| Establish vehicle bridge | 2-12 Hrs |
| Lay Minefield | 8 Engr Coy Hrs/Km |
| Major river bridge demolition | 8 Engr Pl Hrs |
| Minor river bridge demolition | 1 Engr Pl Hr |
| Dig in infantry Company | 6 Hrs |
| Fortify position using defence stores and engineer assistance | 1 day |
1. Air can fly 1-3 sorties per day, decided at the start of a campaign or scenario.
2. Where a time range is given, roll a die, or make an umpire decision.
