How would you invade a planet?

[Agemegos]

Originally Posted by malloyd

This is the most likely way to set up a disaster like this really. Many species here on Earth respond to attackers that can demonstrate they obviously can severely injure or kill them by submitting. If the aliens arrive expecting humans to give up without a fight, or at worst after a short demonstration that shows resistance will hurt a lot, they could get into serious trouble. If they aren't willing to let it turn around and become slaves of the humans themselves....

As in Niven & Pournelle's Footfall.

[Joseph Paul]

Clarify your objectives.

If you are wanting to conduct an Invasion campaign then you need to decide if the natives are worth keeping. If yes you may want to watch Earth: Final Conflict for a view of how to try to pull off an invasion by trickery and stealth.

If the answer is no then it comes down to do you think you can cow enough of the population that you can accomplish your objectives with little interference. If so, then you need to pick where you are going to be, shoo any natives out, and make it stick. Destroying the infrastructure that is there as an example of what happens if the natives resist may be good. Other states may try to appease you and may even wage war on others that would interfere thinking to keep you from retaliating against everyone.

If you think that the natives are always going to be trouble then you need to commit genocide to take the planet.

In either case localised or worldwide destruction of the native infrastructure starting with space assets, power generation/distribution, and food stores and crops is called for.


Just how much do the space politicos desire the environment to be usable?

If the answer is "Very" then you have some problems.

Tricking or forcing the balkanized states to nuclear war messes it up for you. Firestorms and fallout.

Rods that hit like nukes mess it up for you. Firestorms and dust , no radiation.

You need to take the nuclear option away from them early. It is dangerous to you, spoils your objective, and you have no idea if going out in a blaze of nuclear Hellfire is actually appealing to them.

The highest drama is if the politicos demand retention of the natives and the environment. You need to set up areas for your species and make the natives like it.

Not an exhaustive list of the possibilities but something to get started with.

[Dwarf99]

This may or may not have already been said, but I like these steps

1) Gather intel on the important parts of the infrastructure.
2) Geosynchronous orbit over things like capital buildings and major utility contro centers.
3) Put tungsten telephone poles through as many of them as is simultaneously possible.

[Joseph Paul]

Originally Posted by Agemegos

As in Niven & Pournelle's Footfall.

Loved the Masai scene in that.

[jason taylor]

Why do I want to invade? If I want slaves to do diabolical experiments on, it will be fairly easy to snatch and grab. If I want a base to extend the domain of my glorious empire, I might be better off gaining control of a few square miles of wasteland as I probably have the technology to develop it. I might not even have to conquer it; buying it might be a better idea and will likely keep me on better terms with the locals. I probably better fortify it though.

Once I have a base, the interface with the off-world trade will be as good materially as having an empire on the planet. Some time in the future there might be a reason for the flag to follow trade, but that is for later folks to deal with.

[Turhan's Bey Company]

Originally Posted by jason taylor

Why do I want to invade?

Everything is in reruns. What else you gonna do?

[ericthered]

other important questions include:
how big of a timescale do I have?
where do I want the people to be afterwards?
am I willing to settle for 70 percent?
How scared I am of reverse engineering?

[Agemegos]

Originally Posted by Joseph Paul

Clarify your objectives.

Not just pretty words, but a code to live by.

Originally Posted by Dwarf99

2) Geosynchronous orbit over things like capital buildings and major utility contro centers.

Technical quibble: you can only do geosynchronous orbits over points on the equator, and at 38 thousand kilometres it's a bit further away than is ideal for dropping rocks from. Apart from anything else, the missile trajectory that costs least delta-vee and gets most out of gravitational and orbital energy involves doing half an [elliptical] orbit, so it gives you a point of impact on the diametrically opposite point to the point you release it above. Best effect from OKKs is from a low, fast orbit.

Originally Posted by Joseph Paul

Loved the Masai scene in that.

"Thumbs!"

Originally Posted by jason taylor

Why do I want to invade?

I think His Immensity the Leader has ordered "Invade" and no-one dares to question his orders.

[Anaraxes]

Originally Posted by Gedrin

""You are denied flight. We will be taking possession of Australia."

Sure, it's pretty easy to concentrate into Southeast Asia, but you're only getting two bonus armies per turn. The rest of the world is still getting 15*, so they're bound to wear you down eventually.

* 22 if you're fortifying Indonesia instead of SE Asia. Much better to take that bit out of Asia and hang on to it.

[zoncxs]

Originally Posted by Nereidalbel

Find a virus that is lethal to the locals and highly contagious, but unable to make the species jump to humans. Abduct small numbers of locals. Infect them, and carpet bomb major cities with plagued corpses.

This.

Find a virus that humans are immune to or can't get effected by but is lethal to the aliens and bombard them with it.

I would genetically mutate it so that is can travel by air, water and contact and survives for only a few days. After that they die off.