"Getting Medieval..." Topic
4 Posts
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Mike Target | 06 Aug 2018 2:34 p.m. PST |
So this morning I read this article on the the bbc news website… bbc.co.uk/news/uk-45042294 …about how criminal gangs are increasingly targeting farms and the like, and the steps farmers are taking to fortify their land to protect their equipment and livestock. It caught my attention because I recently saw something from South Africa about farmers being targeted there , and I wandered if the South Africans had considered protecting their premises in a similar fashion , with ditches and palisades and the like. Now, obviously part of me slightly despaired of the society we live in and the depths it seems prepared to go to make a buck, but the Wargamer in me wondered two things: Firstly, what other lessons from medieval warfare could be adopted to deter thieves and murderers from stealing farm equipment? If the Farmers build walls, would the criminal gangs come up with siege towers? If they encircle their position with a flooded ditch what could the gangs easily (and presumably cheaply!) get hold of to help them cross this? And secondly, can we game this? You don't see many scenarios where you get to cross modern and medieval warfare. Might be an interesting twist on the old "defending the farmstead" sort of scenario… |
Griefbringer | 07 Aug 2018 3:17 a.m. PST |
Firstly, what other lessons from medieval warfare could be adopted to deter thieves and murderers from stealing farm equipment? Covering approaches with hidden spiky items (caltrops, punji stakes etc.) might be viable to catch the odd dude while they are trying to sneak up to the actual protective obstacles (walls, fences, barbed wire). This might also result in a loud scream to alert the defenders. If the Farmers build walls, would the criminal gangs come up with siege towers? Siege towers are quite resource-intensive to build and transport. I think ladders and grappling hooks might be more likely – or maybe just trying to break through with a bulldozer. As for gaming scenarios, I would probably try a post-apocalyptic setting, where the "civilised" survivors bunker up in fortified farmsteads that they need to defend from the barbaric marauders.
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Walking Sailor | 07 Aug 2018 7:07 a.m. PST |
Almost every piece of equipment has a serial number but there is no form of registration or titling á la automobiles. Without a title these items are hard to trace, and easily sold. |
Jacques | 07 Aug 2018 11:09 a.m. PST |
Even if the SA farmers were to have fortifications there would still have to be a gate / entrance. Many farmers are killed whilst using gates to enter/exit their soon to be redistributed property. Many of the attackers use advanced tech to block cell phone signals before attacking. Landlines have fallen into disuse in many rural areas of SA as the community have redistributed the cables already. In some cases nothing is stolen except to murder, torture and rape. When livestock is not stolen en masse the stock is just hamstrung leaving them to die a slow and painfull death. Caltrops etc are of limited use as your own livestock would step onto them.A Farmer could go to some lengths to protect his home but he would still have to go into the veldt to do the actual farm work, making them easy targets for attackers. Having seen at first hand the brutality that accompanies some of these attacks I find it too repulsive to even consider gaming it. |
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