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[TheBiggerFish]

+1 to suggestion.

[Parsely]

Infantry compartment? That's actually a cross between an alternate/emergency exit (allows for faster embarking/disembarking of the tank), and is a mini storage area for extra supplies in case your tank malfunctions and friendlies can't get to you in a decent time frame. The same way pilots have to learn survival skills for the same reasons. Could you garrison infantry in it? A small squad, yes. Will they have the same level of comfort as a Bradley Fighting Vehicle? No. The BFV is made to transport men. The Warmaster is a tank first, and everything else second.

I've noticed the changes. Nice post overall. I like the detail. Thanks for teaching me some stuff about tanks, and I guess you can expect an update before bed, even if you get no votes, since you're the only one in it right now.

Fun Fact: I noticed you had a Gundam SG some years ago (grrr!). The Breakfast Wars is similar to the One Year War in concept. But in BW, there is no plot armour, no Gary Stus, and no clear good guy or bad guy (even though that can be argued when it comes to Gundam).

The reason tanks have all their entrances on the top is because they're a huge weakness (seams in general are weak points), so if you have a door on the side, facing the enemy, it had better be necessary. I bring it up since the image you linked was an MBT crossed with an IFV, according to the guy's descriptions on his DeviantArt page, and had a passenger compartment below the fighting compartment for storing 6-8 men.

No sweat. And if you ever want to know more about tanks or military stuff in general, you should ask me in PM.

Good! Those are all the things I dislike most in Gundam and military fiction in general.

[Lermfish]

The reason tanks have all their entrances on the top is because they're a huge weakness (seams in general are weak points), so if you have a door on the side, facing the enemy, it had better be necessary. I bring it up since the image you linked was an MBT crossed with an IFV, according to the guy's descriptions on his DeviantArt page, and had a passenger compartment below the fighting compartment for storing 6-8 men.

No sweat. And if you ever want to know more about tanks or military stuff in general, you should ask me in PM.

Good! Those are all the things I dislike most in Gundam and military fiction in general.

A military fan on Bay12? Interesting. I'll make a mental note of that!

Yuuuup. Pretty much every Newtype has plot armour in Gundam. It wasn't that bad in 00 since Neil (Lyle?) died, but UC? Forget about it. Amuro, the King of Stus, Judau, and so-on were never in any real danger. Let's be real. But in Breakfast Wars? Ohhh, no. I said it in the OP; you can die. I'm actually hoping you guys finish the first war before that happens, but you are in danger! Update below!

Spoiler: Personnel File (click to show/hide)

[NAME]: Panov Cakekowski
[SEX/GENDER]: Male
[FACTION]: RCP
[BRANCH]: Army, armored division
[ROLE]: Tank crewman
[VEHICLE]: Warmaster MkII (Tank)
[CREW]: Jenkins (gunner/spotter); Pork (ammo loader); Parham (driver)

C: Orders to unit: "Bacon-Actual to all Bacons, keep moving until someone gets me a fix on those infantry, then once you spot 'em, open fire and suppress 'em! If you see armor, sing out and we'll take him down together. Keep BKs loaded for when the tanks show up."

Orders to tank: "Load BK (butter knife; armor piercing ammo for the tank cannon that can punch through Rolled Delicious Armor). Driver, accelerate."

Open our command hatch and try to get a fix on the infantry with our binoculars. If we have a dismounted infantry escort, yell at them to see if they saw where the AT hit us from.

As one of the tanks in your team become engulfed in flames, its crew dead on impact of the anti-tank round, you get out of the hatch and make a quick scan of the battlefield with your binoculars. You make sure to have your crew prepared for counter-fire. "Pork", you shout down the hatch, bent halfway at your waist, "Load the goddamned BK rounds! I'm sure those Union dogs have armour out there waiting for us!"

"Loading, sir!" Corporal Pork replies, hurriedly putting a round in the chamber and reading the tank to fire. "Ready!"

You can't see anything, or anyone, except your team. Your infantry is holding up in the small village a few klicks northeast. Luckily, Command attached a sniper squad and a mortar team to your infantry element. The Warmaster speeds up, headed in the same direction it's been since the mission began. A couple more anti-tank rounds try to introduce themselves, but miss, falling a few feet behind the back of the tank.

"Sir", your driver, SJG Parham begins. "We need to get a fix on that anti-armour!" Luckily, your decision to accelerate and keep driving straight drew the enemy fire towards you, revealing the anti-armour guns' position, according to your lovely sniper team buzzing in your ear over the TACCOM array.

"Sir, this is Longdog. Got the enemy anti-tank team in my sights. Engaging." Your sniper's voice is a soft whisper, dripping with anticipation. You don't hear the shots too loudly, but when you hear a soft, "tangos down", realise that's all the assurance you need. "Looks like they were coming at us from the west, sir. In the woodline there to your left". You use your own eyes, without help, to look at the woods and realise that a giant target on a dirt road doesn't have a good chance against anti-armour with heavy cover. Nothing you could help though. Just would've been a good idea to keep your eyes peeled. Knowing full well that the Union's light armour vehicles are out there, thanks to Intelligence. That was just the anti-vehicle infantry guns you dealt with. With more combat to come, you think that it might be a good idea to ...

A. ...regroup with your infantry and other tanks, then continue heading the way you have been until you find the Union combat vehicles.
B. ...regroup with your unit, and head off of the main path to a narrower dirt road in the woods to see if the Union armour division has another ambush, hoping to counter-ambush them.
C. (Insert custom suggestion here.)

[Parsely]

A. "Alright Bacon, let's head to the ville to hook up with our dismounts."

((Never go anywhere without your infantry. They have more awareness than a buttoned up tank and you need them to cover your flanks and clear buildings.))

((So was it a crew-served AT gun, or was it man-portable stuff like recoilless rifles?))

[Kashyyk]

Either way, I guarantee that wasn't the only one around here. Should we bother recovering anything from the dead tank first?

[Parsely]

Should we bother recovering anything from the dead tank first?

((The only thing worth taking would be their ammo but the tank is on fire. Modern tanks carry at least one fire extinguisher but it's not worth expending them (if you use one then that tank that's missing an extinguisher is very unlikely to save their tank if it catches on fire) just to get some ammo that, assuming we're fully stocked with ammo, has no where safe to be put inside our tanks.))

[Lermfish]

If no more options/votes soon, I'll go with GUNINANRUNIN's option. They were crew-manned guns, but more portable than the ones that actually exist. Keep in mind that the Union is the "America/NATO"/GDI of the three factions. They have advanced and experimental tech, so try to employ belief suspension/fictional immersion when you deal with their forces. You gon' see some sci-fi shit from them.

[Lermfish]

A. "Alright Bacon, let's head to the ville to hook up with our dismounts."

Spoiler: Personnel File (click to show/hide)

[NAME]: Panov Cakekowski
[SEX/GENDER]: Male
[FACTION]: RCP
[BRANCH]: Army, armored division
[ROLE]: Tank crewman
[VEHICLE]: Warmaster MkII (Tank)
[CREW]: Jenkins (gunner/spotter); Pork (ammo loader); Parham (driver)

Your infantry gets the regroup order and head for the tanks and rest of the friendlies. You decide to leave the tank alone. Nothing worth salvaging was inside of it, save for the ammunition...which wouldn't be something a wise soldier would risk his life for, not when he has plenty of ammo and more tanks at his command.

Eventually, you reach the village your infantry was at. They're scattered, but the entire element is visible on the main road, waiting to rollout. A few minutes after arriving, a Corporal First Class approaches you.

"Hey, Sergeant Cakekowski. Corporal Tender, with the 1st Infantry Division. My team was attached to your armour unit. Nice work drawing out the anti-armour fire, but you don't need a Training NCO to tell you that, huh?" A soft chuckle escape the Corporal's mouth before he continues. "Oh, yeah. Command buzzed me a while ago. Apparently, they want you to hunker down with us since Intelligence says the Yolks' amrour is coming to us. We'll have the garrison advantage if we root here, plus, the men will get to recharge and get a little R&R. These ladies take kindly to us meats. See us as the good guys. Heh."

There goes Command being douchebags again. Why didn't they advise you after the action earlier? It would've been simple as "Hey Sergeant. Change of plans. Bolt up in that village after you link up with 1st Inf. The Yolks' are headed to you. Estimation: sometime 'round nightfall.". Was that so hard? Apparently, since they had to go to an underling to have the message get to you. Trying hard not to let the frustration get to you, since you were hoping to rollout and bring the fight to the Yolks' Patton style, you simply exhale deeply and glance at your crew, who are all sitting on various parts of the tank, looking like they're about ready for a Band of Brothers calendar photo shoot.

A. Get on the radio, and get at Command to see if they'll allow you to rollout. You are NOT trying to babysit a bunch of juniors, even if you aren't the only SJG in the area.
B. Take this opportunity to have your men recharge and acquire more morale. The physical half of winning the war is nothing without the mental half to bring it full circle, after all.
C. Consult the motley crew (your three tank crewmen) on the best course of action.
D. (Insert custom suggestion here.)

NOTE: "CONSULT" isn't really a hard-coded feature, since this SG has freeform choices in it, it's more of an advisory note. Still, the only other people you're close to on this god-forsaken planet is your men. You've somehow all been together since Basic Military Skills Training (boot camp or basic training). You went to the same AMSACT school, and you've been in the same unit since you were put to fight in this war. Of course you'd value their input. You should take advantage of the perspectives and 'wisdom' of your brothers-in-arms. Their unique personalities and experiences will offer some insight as to the best course of action. They will NOT always tell you what you want to hear, but they WILL make decision-making easier, as they always have.

TL; DR: Ask your crew shit. They have different personalities which you will see in contrast when you engage with them, or during the general course of the RP.

[Parsely]

D for dig in. We're gonna set ourselves up a fighting position. I want everyone to find good positions covering the roads so that if the Yolks try to roll in here with their light tanks they're gonna get a face full of 120mm BK. If we shore up our front armor with dirt and rubble we'll be impenetrable. Get to work guys. I'm gonna go talk to the infantry COs and see if we can coordinate with their AT.

[Kashyyk]

If appropriate we should mutilate the local flora for camouflage as well. Evan if it doesn't make our tanks look like bushes, it may give us that slight advantage.

[Parsely]

If appropriate we should mutilate the local flora for camouflage as well. Evan if it doesn't make our tanks look like bushes, it may give us that slight advantage.

Bushes won't look natural in an urban scene. But yeah we can do something similar with rubble and dirt and stuff, to break up our tank's profile. We'll get the first shot, and he who shoots first in tank warfare, lives.

[Kashyyk]

True. I wasn't sure if we were in a heavily built up area (where you'd be totally right) or surrounded by cottages with giant gardens (where we could do both).

[Parsely]

True. I wasn't sure if we were in a heavily built up area (where you'd be totally right) or surrounded by cottages with giant gardens (where we could do both).

That's true. I assumed the area was really built up, but "village" seems to fall more into what you're thinking of.

[Lermfish]

D for dig in. We're gonna set ourselves up a fighting position. I want everyone to find good positions covering the roads so that if the Yolks try to roll in here with their light tanks they're gonna get a face full of 120mm BK. If we shore up our front armor with dirt and rubble we'll be impenetrable. Get to work guys. I'm gonna go talk to the infantry COs and see if we can coordinate with their AT.

Spoiler: Personnel File (click to show/hide)

[NAME]: Panov "Ironshell" Cakekowski
[SEX/GENDER]: Male
[FACTION]: RCP
[BRANCH]: Army, armored division
[ROLE]: Tank Crewman (Commander)
[VEHICLE]: Warmaster MkII (Tank)
[CREW]: Jenkins (gunner/spotter); Pork (ammo loader); Parham (driver)

Corporal Tender, upon your instruction, scurries off to fetch the 1st Inf CO. While he does that, you buzz the tank commanders in your unit and inform them of what's going to happen. They're told to look for natural materials and apply them to their tanks in order to hide in plain sight. Rubble, blankets, even foliage from the local flora are fair-game, as long as they somewhat distort the profile of the tanks. The men were hoping to get some downtime, but the sooner they got done, the sooner they could go play grab-ass with each other.

You're at a large, important-looking building, likely the acting Field Command for this mission. You're cleaned-up a bit and ready to chat with the CO of 1st INF, Petty Captain Char. He's a gruff-looking fellow, with a matching personality to boot. Too bad you didn't have enough time to get filled in on the celebrities around here, you'd have been warned that Char can get a little...douchey.

"You wanted to see me, Sergeant?"

You were looking around the Field Command interior when he clears his throat, giving you an impatient look like every second there isn't a word leaving your lips you're wasting his time. Perhaps he's correct in that regard. "Oh, sir", you respond, turning around quickly. You were about to raise a hand to salute, but remember to never salute indoors OR downrange. An NCO who got two strikes from one mistake would likely look like a fool, compared to a CO. "SJG Cake-"

"I know who you are", he spits, cutting you off. "Sergeant Junior Grade Cakekowski. Nicknamed 'Ironshell' for your apparent 'excellence' in armour warfare, specifically tanks. Let's get on with it."

Slightly taken aback by the unwarranted attitude, you inhale sharply before informing PC Char of your plan. You give him the entire spiel. The whole Assassin's Creed doctrine but with tanks. Hide in plain sight, shoot first, win. In that order. During your spiel, you notice him stroking his chin, as if he's seriously giving credence to your plan, but his reply proves otherwise.

"So, hotshot here wants me to coordinate my mens' movements with his tank unit, where the power of teamwork will save the day. Is that about right? Listen here, hotshot. I know what you're about. You made a name for yourself because you spent the first half of your military career smacking dicks with the Allies (Pancakes/Waffles). You wanna play peek-a-boo with the flatcakes, that's fine. But this right here? This is the big leagues, kid. I don't care what Command told you. I'M the one with boots on the ground and it's MY men putting their asses on the line without a big, fancy metal box on wheels to keep them dry! Now get out of my FACE!"

...Wow. Okay. Clearly, the stick is so far up the guy's arse he's unable to see things clearly, like how measuring penile size isn't called for in warfare. On the bright side, you learn that you have quite the reputation in the Red Army. Ironshell, huh? You like the sound of that! Anyway, you walk away from PC Char, but remain in the Field Command building. It's very...vintage. Almost like something out of a WW2 series. Lots of browns and beiges with high ceilings and wooden...everything! Well, that didn't work, but maybe you can do something else?

What will you do?

> ...

Spoiler: Thoughts (click to show/hide)

((Nice catch with the infantry. I just realised I said "grab-ass". That's what my Drill Sergeant used to say we did on free time. "Go upstairs to your bay, and go wash up and play grab-ass, privates." To be fair, we did get a little rowdy sometimes. I did as well. Even a gentleman needs to blow off some steam once in a while. Also, I didn't give suggestions because there isn't much to do here unless you go full-up with the imagination. I won't always give you ideas, as this is an SG at its core, rather than a CYOA.)))

[Kashyyk]

Assuming we have a decent relationship with whichever infantry were assigned to our tank specifically, we could under cut the captain, but that'd be a monumental dick move and probably court martial worthy. I guess getting our squadron members to disseminate the plan to the infantry platoon would be safer.