Schwarzesmarken - Episode 4 Discussion / Poll

[Kairin]

Welcome to the discussion thread for Schwarzesmarken, Episode 4.

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[B214]

Thank god they didn't rush the Operation Neptune in 1 episode cause that would be just stupid. And Kirce appears.



Not really important but the anime finally added one of Irisdina's pep talk.

[Stark700]

I want to protect Lise's smile



Not bad I guess. It's interesting to see more of the characters' personal lives in this episode.

[Maverick05]

Ironically, this morning I had very high hopes for Gundam`s full action episode and low ones for Schwarzenmarken. I am glad that it was wrong and it was the opposite. Really loved this episode, yet I will appreciate if someone explain to me why the US/West Germany wanted to get the spotlight rather than 666th squad. Or they just wanted to make sure they survive?

[Hakuro]

This is the first good episode since SM started, I didn't feel the rush at all - thank god they didn'g cut Neptune -.

Well this time the show focused on the lives of the characters, speciall theo and his half-sister - I always find her annoying - which is a good thing considering how rushed were the first 3 episodes. And finally good fights, the animation looks a bit clunky but its ok for me.

[Wandering Soul]

Good episode. Theo is finally reunited with his sister, but she is a spy. He pretty much has to find a way to connect with her and while also uncovering what she knows.

I can't believe the glasses girl thought that getting a political victory was more important than making sure that their entire squad didn't get wiped out,

[mergele]

Of course the sister is not (closely) related by blood -.-
The brits are the one eating BETAs? Aren't the french the ones that eat everything?
The numbers for the ground forces seem a bit wierd. Thousands of tanks, but just 30k infantry? Maybe they have proven to be very ineffective and therefore largely reduced in numbers, but 30k are nothing in a modern war.

Pretty good episode.

In the end I was a bit confused of what all was going on. The east sent in some ship bombardement while their mechas engaged the betas in close quarter. I assumed a lack of communication capabilities, but then they got a warning about incoming bombardement. Didn't get why the political officer insisted on staying, after all now their artillery took over. The west sent in some artillery recons first then they also just send in the mechas, pretty unbothered with the bombardement from the easts ships. Where those rockets they fired the artillery they scouted for?

[Heir of the Void]

Excellent epsiode this time around. Good action, especially the A-6 Intruders. Pity there were no Warthogs present; they have a tenancy to resolve problems rather effectively. Plus, they can also fly.

Overall, though, seeing Commisar-chan break down after being exposed to dangerous levels of FREEDOM was the best part of the episode.

Originally Posted by Maverick05

yet I will appreciate if someone explain to me why the US/West Germany wanted to get the spotlight rather than 666th squad. Or they just wanted to make sure they survive?

I really don't think that there was much consideration of spotlight-theft on the part of the US/EU forces. A fixation on saving face and controlling appearances is a common trend with dictatorial regimes in Real Life; the causes would be beyond the scope of this discussion, but the Soviets did a lot of it, and we're seeing the Chinese do it now.

To wit: in IRL WWII, the Soviets were pretty fixated on being the ones to capture Berlin; Patton was reasonably certain he could have beaten them there, but determined that the extra casualties caused by the much more (recklessly) aggressive tactics needed wasn't worth it.

The US/EU forces were probably just doing better because they are better; both in MLA and real life, NATO always had better stuff than the Warsaw Pact, both because of tech superiority and vastly better quality control.

Originally Posted by mergele

The brits are the one eating BETAs? Aren't the french the ones that eat everything?

European Cuisine Insults (ECI) is a rather complex subject. The basics are as follows:

The British eat fairly normal foods, but their preparation is awful, and the end results are usually unique. Haggis, though Scottish, provides and excellent example.

Conversely, the French eat weird shit, but usually manage to make it actually taste good, if in a unique way. Sometimes an acquired taste, usually ostentatious naming. Escargot would be a good example.

Generally, I'd imagine that eating BETA would be something that everyone accuses everyone else of. Sort of like having romantic feelings for sheep in the British Empire. Everyone else does it.

Originally Posted by mergele

The numbers for the ground forces seem a bit weird. Thousands of tanks, but just 30k infantry? Maybe they have proven to be very ineffective and therefore largely reduced in numbers, but 30k are nothing in a modern war.

Infantry really isn't worth that much in the BETA war; at least not as we've seen it used (that being the assault rifle + RPG kit the NPA guys have). If everybody was part of a Heavy Weapons Team (.50 BMG), it might help, assuming they just needed to slow down the BETA long enough for artillery to wipe them out. If they need to hold the line alone, the will be eaten.

The West probably doesn't deploy lots of infantry for the simple reason that they don't have to. Infantry here will almost always run high casualties, and isn't terribly effective at the best of times; the Western armies simply have objectively better options. I would guess that the majority of the TSFs present are US/EU, as are a significant minority of the tanks, with an overwhelming majority of the infantry being Warsaw Pact.

Originally Posted by mergele

In the end I was a bit confused of what all was going on. The east sent in some ship bombardement while their mechas engaged the betas in close quarter. I assumed a lack of communication capabilities, but then they got a warning about incoming bombardement. Didn't get why the political officer insisted on staying, after all now their artillery took over. The west sent in some artillery recons first then they also just send in the mechas, pretty unbothered with the bombardement from the easts ships. Where those rockets they fired the artillery they scouted for?

The Artillery Spotters were from the Western forces; they were F-5s. Maybe they were spotting for an artillery assault by the combined fleet assets, though I wouldn't be at all surprised if the East Germans were hoping to inflict some blue-on-blue fire on the EU forces.

I would guess that the warships were firing smart shells with their normal naval rifles; those have been around for a while. The Excalibur shell was an early 90s thing, so I don't think it would be unreasonable for them to have something similar ten years early. That would help explain the spotting team; providing precise targeting information through the AL cloud.

[Nvis]

666 should just defect, already!

[Heir of the Void]

Originally Posted by Nvis

666 should just defect, already!

They would need advanced prototype suits first, so as to effect a Whole Plot Reference to Hunt for the Red October.

[MgMaster]

Excellent episode mixing both a reunion between two characters and some good action. Always enjoyed the strategic anti-BETA operations of Muv-Luv.

I honestly expected someone from squad 666 to die right at the end to the artillery fire. Someone like Jeckeln who probably dreams of politics at night and seems angry most of the time. I wouldn't want her as my commander(who would?)... Thank goodness for Irisdina.

[mergele]

@Heir of the Void Thanks for cleaning that much up.

[watisit]

Wait, the one who ordered the artillery strike is the East Germany geezer on the ship wasn't it? How did Tornadoes from the West come there and according to Katie as artillery recon?

And a training exercise turning suddenly into an operation? What the?

[B214]

Originally Posted by watisit

Wait, the one who ordered the artillery strike is the East Germany geezer on the ship wasn't it? How did Tornadoes from the West come there and according to Katie as artillery recon?

And a training exercise turning suddenly into an operation? What the?

The west side send in their forces as recon to make sure there's no ally units before bombarding the area, the east commander just straight ahead and demanded the artillery strikes without caring about the ally units there. In short that geezer is a scum.

They were sent to the operation but since they have to travel a certain distance, Irisdina used that time to do training for the new member as well.

[Kakurin]

Originally Posted by watisit

Wait, the one who ordered the artillery strike is the East Germany geezer on the ship wasn't it? How did Tornadoes from the West come there and according to Katie as artillery recon?

Those BETA were advancing at the boundary zone between the East German and West German sectors. So it's no surprise that the West Germans noticed them too.

And a training exercise turning suddenly into an operation? What the?

They probably just tagged the flight to the assembly area as "training exercise".

Originally Posted by mergele

Thousands of tanks, but just 30k infantry? Maybe they have proven to be very ineffective and therefore largely reduced in numbers, but 30k are nothing in a modern war.

Considering the general ineffectiveness of mere infantry against BETA and the scale of the operation, which is more designed as a raid, 30.000 men is quite a number.

[Top Sergeant]

I'm really liking this anime.

[Heir of the Void]

I think I've said this already, but the A-6 intruder is awesome. It has a remarkable similarity to an Imperial Battle Titan. Obviously a lot less pimped out, but still awesome.

EDIT: Also, does the novel mention weather the warships we see killed by laser fire were hit by regular Lux units or the Magnus Lux heavy variant?

[watisit]

Originally Posted by mergele

Of course the sister is not (closely) related by blood -.-
The brits are the one eating BETAs? Aren't the french the ones that eat everything?
The numbers for the ground forces seem a bit wierd. Thousands of tanks, but just 30k infantry? Maybe they have proven to be very ineffective and therefore largely reduced in numbers, but 30k are nothing in a modern war.

The TL screwed up, it was 300k

[MgMaster]

Originally Posted by Heir of the Void

I think I've said this already, but the A-6 intruder is awesome. It has a remarkable similarity to an Imperial Battle Titan. Obviously a lot less pimped out, but still awesome.

Damn, I really want to see a titan ep in the If the Emprah had a Text-to-Speech-Device series now = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rR8S...zNbqzrlMGID5WA

[Botan_TM]

Originally Posted by Kakurin-san

They probably just tagged the flight to the assembly area as "training exercise".

Preparing a real attack under "training" is a known practice. Like in 1941 Germany made a very big training attack on Britain. In occupied Poland. A few month later they were near Moscow.

By the way, there is no French forces in landing troops? It reminds me old meme