The Alpha-pass: an excerpt from an independent naval combat study on the GCW
…...in an era where one power holds most of the resources, all-out confrontation would be unwise for the other. Thus many of the naval engagements between the Empire and the Alliance to Restore the Republic occur in relatively small skirmishes; due to smaller, more spread out task forces, to mitigate losses or increase search zones, and objective picking of specific tasks on either side. Many of the naval engagements could be summed up in three phases: ships enter the combat zone and maneuver into position near the objective(s), ships contact and clash, and finally each force passes out the other side crippled. The reason for this has been attributed to the current ship design trend of most thrusters being placed to the aft, and also due to the high inertia resulting from a ship’s mass that prevents it from being able to face its foes in the same manner throughout an engagement. Hence the majority of combat can be said to occur during what is called the Alpha-pass.
Alpha-Pass
The alpha-pass can be generalised as the period of an engagement from when the first ships open fire, to when the last ships to release their opening salvo have done so. Often the objective has been achieved or destroyed after the pass, while one or both forces are too crippled to continue, hence most fleets do not turn around to re-engage and will instead proceed to hyperspace out. Some smaller and nimbler craft are known to turn back for another round after the alpha-pass, and may catch the enemy while they are still charting hyperspace coordinates.
The alpha-pass, or “alpha-mess” as some ship officers like to call it, typically has engaging ships maneuver extremely close to one another. The current maximum effective distance of turbolasers before they lose their energy is not very far(Range, pg67). Ramming and contact damage is often inevitable. Ships packing only turbolasers try to stay at “long-range” while those carrying short-range heavy missile payloads want to get in close and often are designed with the speed and equipment to do so. Maneuver therefore plays a very important role in every skirmish. Knowing when and where to maneuver and delivering commands at the right time are key to winning the engagement(Maneuvers, pg74). Commanders need to have a feel of the movements of enemy vessels as much as their own.
Due to the nature of the alpha-pass, firepower and shielding placement will also determine the engagement. Although many starfighters are only equipped with forward guns, they have much less inertia and so can turn quickly and keep their weapons pointed towards their enemies after the alpha-strike(Alpha-strike, pg 94)(Starfighter design, pg238). Most ships on the other hand cannot keep their front arc trained on individual targets for very long. In a conventional alpha-pass the target would pass from a ship’s front arc, to its side, then to its back. This has made armament and shielding placement very critical to a ship’s role and survivability(Weapons, pg 80)(Defenses, pg 87). Choosing the right ship for the right scenarios goes a long way in ensuring mission success and sustainability of the fleet. Again, good maneuvering commands from the commander also help in making the best of each ship’s maneuvering limits, as well as presenting the right arc zone(s) to the enemy.
Initiative has been a growing catch-phrase among several senior and even junior commanders, and from after action reports, appear to be a very valid phenomenon in current naval engagements(Initiative, pg103). The idea is that the fleet that hyperspaces into the combat zone, or otherwise initiates contact, has the advantage. The ships and crew are usually well-prepared and ready for combat upon leaving hyperspace. Waiting fleets(such as patrol or guard fleets) do receive intel and scenarios on possible enemy contact and can prepare while waiting, such as setting up targeting beacons or an ambush. However, they will never be as ready for a fleet that chooses when it wants to make contact(even when entering an ambush). This is due to the fact that each fleet requires many beings to crew, and compounds the response and reaction time of any waiting fleet. Thus the fleet that initiates contact or the fleet with initiative usually has the upper hand, often putting the waiting fleet into a reactive or retaliatory stance. Waiting fleets therefore try to circumvent this issue by preparing their zone of influence for different scenarios of engagement as much as possible so as to mitigate this disadvantage(Zone preparation, pg113).
Numbers and positioning play a crucial part in every alpha-pass. Having a numerical advantage, or more ships than the opposing force, enables a commander to distract or occupy the enemy with more ships while being able to manoeuvre some of his own ships uncontended. Also, if the numerically superior force is also the initiating force and thus has the initiative, its commander can easily dictate when and how the Alpha-pass will occur. For example, if a ship is commandeered to hang back until the others have moved into position, it can manoeuvre while enemy ships are occupied and cover almost twice its usual maneuver unchallenged before commencing its own firing sequence. This phenomenon has caused most commanders to be very particular when reviewing their fleet composition.
It is not easy to express or teach the alpha-pass in words in any combat study. According to reports and eyewitness accounts that this study has gathered(appendix iiiiii) of those who experienced(and survived) an alpha-pass, the nature and flow of this type of engagement needs to be felt and practiced by aspiring commanders. Technical knowledge is essential but not complete to understanding current engagements and commandeering. Furthermore, commanders will often try different approaches to the alpha-pass, resulting in inconsistent, unconventional tactics that try to surprise. Hence much practice time in command simulations is crucial to truly understanding an alpha-pass and how to manipulate the battlefield to one’s advantage during that period. On another note, intel on the enemy fleet composition beforehand does go a little way in understanding what are the possible tactics that an enemy might employ with his forces, so employing reasonable scouting and observation resources will contribute in determining the outlook of any possible battles(Intelligence, pg200)(Spynet, pg210).
The alpha-pass continues to evolve even at the time of this writing, as the Galactic Civil War progresses on, with the recent deployment of some starfighter squadrons equipped to manipulate field objectives, and the ushering of weapons employing experimental technology such as the Empire’s new Interdictor-class destroyers, which threaten to shift the playing field and the nature of contact and combat in new ways(Emerging Technology and its Employment, pg568).
It would need to have a clear disclaimer that it is armada lore and not actual gameplay rules/guidebook