Sunday 16 December 2012

ThreeA - WWR : Large Martin Iron Panda.





You take my life but I'll take yours too
You fire your musket but I run you through
So when you're waiting for the next attack
You'd better stand there's no turning back

- The Trooper, Iron Maiden.

F*** the Reds!
- Iron Panda warcry.


A (mis) intepretation :

Category type : Warbot.
Unit type : Mass production breacher siege warbot.
Model type : Large Martin MK1.
Designation : Harris.
Manufacturer : The Rothchild Corporation.
Affiliation : 14th TRP "Iron Panda" Mechanised Division, II Corps, First Army, Oceania Expeditionary Army Group, Terra Coalition Armed Forces.
Powerplant : Quad turbo BRINK supercharged diesel engine.
Armour type : Super hardened ceramic steel composite alloy.
Armour thickness : 250mm; plates : 300mm.
Height : 10 feet.
Weight : 4000 kg.
Std. armaments : "J. Holmes" - 203mm ONYD cannon x 1; "Crunch" - seismic power fist x 2; Auspex - multi scanner and sensor system; Task Intelligence System (T.I.) ver. 2.


The Large Martin (LM) warbot series is one of the earliest bi-pedal heavy infantry warbots introduce by the Rothchild Corporation as a replacement to the aging BOB artillery platform. The Large Martins are first deployed by the Terra Coalition Armed Forces, but eventually adopt by the Ecclesiarchy of Mars Frateris Templar and Militant army. The Large Martin series is known for their heavily protected and reinforced armours. They are almost completely immune to the Reds' Bertie MK1 20mm and 50mm calibre guns, assortments of artillery and howitzers. Reports from the Eastern Front by the Reds claimed that ammunition and explosives simply "bounced off the monstrous juggernaut". Each Large Martin is armed with a 203mm ONYD self-propelled cannon with 20 rounds of shells.The ONYD cannon is a short-range, large-bore ballistic cannon, a weapon designed to get up close and personal before it is fired. The  ONYD cannon is the weapon of choice when faced with dug-in enemy infantry in a dense environment such as urban warfare or the siege of a fortified enemy stronghold. The terrific blast unleashed by the detonation of the huge ONYD shells is often sufficient to bring down buildings in which the enemy take cover, crushing them beneath tons of fallen masonry. It is amongst the strongest weapons fielded by both Terra and Ecclesiarchy of Mars at the regimental level and is highly effective when utilise for smashing bunkers, siege warfare and urban bombardment. The sheer damage this weapon is capable of causing is enough reason to risk firing at close-range at an enemy position. The ONYD cannon's ammunition is a large calibre, rocket-assisted siege shell larger than that used in the standard Type 61 tank battle cannon, compose of an armour-piercing tip, heavy shell casing and large explosive charge. Each shell's rocket engine, fuelled by a solid propellant, is shaped to control time and rate of burn for maximum accuracy. In order to avoid the build-up of rocket back-blast, this gas is vented when the cannon is fired to prevent the barrel from deforming or bursting from the over-pressure. Once fired, the shell is designed to explode micro-seconds after penetration, achieving maximum damage to the target structure and its occupants. The cannon is most often used in a bunker-buster role, by moving up close to enemy fortifications and firing into them at very short range, and allowing other troopers to assault through the breach. They are also used in urban areas, where they are aimed at the base of an enemy-held building and fired, causing the building to collapse. The "J. Holmes" ONYD cannon uses by 14th "Iron Panda" Division fires a special siege shell, consisting of an armour-piercing tip, heavier shell casing and a massive explosive charge micro-fused to allow penetration of a building or bunker before detonating. The sheer size and mass of the Large Martin's ONYD shell, however, reduces its stowage capacity and accuracy when fired over long ranges, even with fin stabilisation and booster burns. As such it is also limited to being used for destroying enemy fortifications and fighting in close-quarters combat such as that which characterises jungle warfare.    
Incorporate into each of the Large Martin series arms are seismic power fists, one of the earliest power weapon develop by Rothchild Corporation. Mallet-like design, it produces an energy field which emits vibratory effect. Upon impact on targets, the fists effectively disrupt the molecular bonds of the target, effectively enables a Large Martin to punch and smash through fortresses, bunkers and heavy defence lines with ease. "Herds" of Large Martin series warbots are usually deployed by the Terran forces to break through enemy front and defensive lines, as well as engaging armoured formations. Often the only way to destroy a Large Martin was with a point-blank shot at the rear section. Replacing the caterpillar track of previous warbots and tanks with the bi-pedal leg system allows a Large Martin to transverse most form of terrains more effectively.
The Large Martin warbots from the 125th "Big Red" Division from the 1st "CCCP" Shock Army achieves legendary status in the Eastern Front, Imperial Eurasia during the Great War despite their subsequent defeat by the Reds. During the Battle of Moskva-Petrograd between October 1941 to January 1942, the Eurasian defensive effort frustrates the Ecclesiarchy's attack on Moskva-Petrograd hive city capital of Eurasia. The city is one of the primary military and political objectives for Ecclesiarchy's Frateris Militia in their invasion of Eurasia. The Frateris Militia strategic offensive is planned to conduct two pincer offensives, one to the north of Moskva-Petrograd against the Kalinin Front by the 3rd and 4th Phobos Armies, simultaneously severing the supply line, and another to the south of Moskva-Petrograd against the Western Front, south of Tula by the 2nd Phobos Army, while the 4th Army advanced directly towards the centre of the city from the west. A separate operational Frateris Militia plan, is included in the final phase of the Ecclesiarchy offensive. Initially, the Eurasia forces conduct a strategic defence of the city by constructing three defensive belts, and deploying newly raised reserve armies as well as bringing troops from the Siberian and Far Eastern Military Districts. Subsequently, as the Frateris Militia offensives are halted, a Eurasian strategic counter-offensive and smaller-scale offensive operations are executed to force the Frateris Militia armies back to the positions around the cities of Oryol, Vyazma and Vitebsk, nearly surrounding three Ecclesiarchy armies in the process.
The Battle of Kursk is a Great War engagement between the Ecclesiarchy of Mars and Terra Coalition Armed Forces on the Eastern Front between July and August 1943. The Terra Coalition offensive seek to destroy large Frateris Militia forces near the Russian city of Kursk 450 kilometres or 280 miles southwest of Moskva-Petrograd. The offensive leads to one of the largest armoured warbots clash in history, the Battle of Prokhorovka. The Terra Coalition offensive is countered by two Frateris Militia counteroffensives, that decisively defeats the Eurasian military. For the Eurasian Army, the battle represents the final strategic offensive they are able to mount in the east. For the Ecclesiarchy, the decisive victory gives the Frateris Templar and Militia the strategic initiative for the rest of the war. The Terra Coalition hopes to weaken the Reds offensive potential by cutting off a large number of forces that they anticipate would be in the Kursk salient assembling for an offensive. By eliminating the Kursk salient, they would also shorten their frontline and relieve the strain on their overstretched forces. The plan envisions a double pincer attack, breaking through the northern and southern flanks of the salient. Victory would reassert Terra Coalition's ' strength in the Great War. Through accurate intelligence, the Frateris Templar are alerted to the Terra Coalition intentions months in advance of the attack. In response, the Ecclesiarchy Army constructs a massive and complex defensive system design to progressively wear down the powerful Terra Coalition armoured spearheads via a strategy of defense in depth. The defensive works around the salient—which included 6 spaced lines of minefields, fortifications, pre-sighted artillery fire zones and anti-warbots strong points built to an approximate depth of 300 km (190 mi)—represents what the Terra Coalition's Imperial Eurasia 2nd Army general, Lucius Titus calling it "the strongest fortress in Terra". The largest Reds Army reserve force are assembled, the seven overstrength field armies of the Steppe Front, which outnumbers the Terra Coalition Forces roughly 2:1 in warbots and infantry and nearly 3:1 in artillery and anti-tank guns. While the Reds Army prepare, Eastern Front 1st Army, Hannibal Rex repeatedly delays the start date of the offensive in an attempt to build up the Terra Coalition forces via the arrival of new weapons such as the new Bramble MK2 warbot and larger numbers of the Bertie MK1, giving the Eurasian army additional time to complete their defensive preparations. The resulting battle marks the first time a Terra Coalition Army strategic offensive is halted before it could break through the Reds defences and penetrate into its strategic depths. Though the Frateris Templar and Militia have succeed in winter offensives previously, their counter-offensives following the Terra Coalition attack are their first successful strategic summer offensives of the war and results in conquering of much terrain, the degrading of the Eurasian military strength, and seizing the initiative for the rest of the war.

Like most earlier heavy warbot infantry, the Large Martin series have their own weakness. The extra armour plates adds to its overall weight, sacrificing mobility and land speed. To recompense, it's BRINK engine is often overworked, often resulting in overheating and breakdown. Intercoolers are added in later batches, but it caused the surge in the fuel consumption, a natural resources which is already on the brink of exhaustion, one of the very cause of the outbreak of the Great War in the first place. Although Large Martin series are spared the unpredictability and anti-tampering issue of the Harold warbot series due to its Task Intelligence version 2, it is still comparatively not as "smart" as the Bertie Mk 2. Enemy who or which manage to get close enough and with enough speed to outmanoeuvre it could take out a Large Martin from its flank before it could rotate its head around. In the Eastern Front, there are reports, which is subsequently put into "memory holes" by the Terra Military Intelligence Bureau, of numerous Large Martin stuck fast in the glutinous mud during the rasputitsa period.
The 14th "Iron Panda" Mechanised Division of the Oceania Expeditionary Army Group comprise a tactical formation of heavy infantries and siege warbots, including the Large Martin series. Also known as "The Forgotten Division" because the Terra propaganda often overlooks its deployment and achievement in the Mranma Campaign, which is part of the Pacific Theatre, between 1943 to 1945. The campaign has a number of notable features. The geographical characteristics of the region meant that factors like weather, disease and terrain has a major effect on operations. The lack of transport infrastructure places an emphasis on military engineering and air transport to move and supply troops. The wounded grunts are left to die. The campaign is also politically complex, with Oceania, United Americana and Eastasia all having different strategic priorities.It is also the only land campaign by the Terra Coalition Armed Forces in the Pacific Theatre which proceeded continuously from the start of hostilities to the end of the war. This is due to its geographical location. By extending from Indochina to Indus Axis sectors, its area include some lands which Oceania lost at the outset of the war, but also include areas of Eastasia wherein the Frateris Militia advance is eventually stopped. The climate of the region is dominated by the seasonal monsoon rains, which allows effective campaigning for only just over half of each year. This, together with other factors such as famine and disorder amongst the population in the protectorates of Oceania and the priority given by the Terra Coalition to Eurasia and Pacific Rim, prolong the campaign and divide it into four phases: the Ecclesiarchy invasion which leads to the expulsion of Oceania forces in 1942; fail attempts by the Terra Coalition to mount offensives into Mranma sector, from late 1942 to early 1944; the 1944 Reds Army invasion of Indus Axis which ultimately failed following the battles of Imphal and Kohima; and, finally, the Terra Coalition offensive spearhead by the 14th Iron Panda Division from late-1944 to mid-1945 from Mranma and into Sindo-Malay Sectors. Although dismissed by historians as a "sideshow" compared to other campaigns, military analysts unanimously agrees that the victory by re-securing the Mranma Road, it leads to the only vital supply route in sustaining the warfront in Eastasia, as all the mainland space ports have been occupied by the Frateris Militia.  
By 1943, the Large Martin series have been a common sight on all battle theatres of war, and by the end of that year, a MK2 is announced and introduce into the Great War, known as the Damn Large Martin (DLM) which eventually replaces the MK1 primary role. Even the Ecclesiarchy of Mars, seeing the success of the Large Martin series, has procured from the Rothchild Corporation and forms their own divisions of the warbots. One of the Martians most devastating assault is the destruction of the Three Gorges Dam, Eastasia, carry out by their "Dam Busters" DLM Division. Nevertheless, as the war progressed, emphasis had shifted from large, heavy warbots to medium and light armoured warbot series which could provide greater tactical edge, especially in terms of greater mobility and equal or more effective firepower. Other factors include the increasingly higher costs of producing such large warbots due to increasing scarcity of raw materials availability, technological advancement of  anti-armour weaponries which could penetrate even the thickest of armours, high amount of fuel consumptions and the continuous upgrade of more advance Task Intelligence System would eventually rendered the Large Martin to secondary supporting role in later stages of the Great War. They would still be in service throughout the continuous war, however, but no longer mobilised in singular "herd" formation but instead organised into tactical armoured units, as support to other series of newer warbots and human infantries alike.


........................................................
This is another iconic warbot from the early days of 3A, the Large Martin. Tin can-like design, it is vintage Ashley Wood WWR vinyl goodness though the weathering has since leaped forward to another level for the newer ones. It is 'evy, more like a lump of vinyl with plastics combination. Just as the Berties remind me of R2D2, the LM reminds me of a Gargant or Stompa of the Orks from the Games Workshop's WH40K miniature gaming universe.  

No comments: