TACTICS OF THE IMPERIAL KLINGON NAVY Horn Tis material is translation and compilation of the various Pillon, offers the best descriptions of these groups. It is quoted at Inperial Klingon Navy training texts that have been captured during length below the course of many bor. s between forces of the Empire and the UFP. Material ein ean be considered current upto SINGLE SHIP OPERATIONS: Simply what the name im- Re tardate 2/2206, Any errors in translation are the respon- plies. A single ship soften sent out to explore anew section of space. sibility of the author. This often occurs when the commander of the ship in question is “This article is bei ctu. published in the hope that it will give Star considered athreatby someone highupin the Kingonpower Fleetofficers some insight into Klingon tactics, Itis important that we Thiseanalsoref Understand our enemies, so that we do not und hoped that thisinfo tunescorted rad (like the famous Genesis Raid) tethem, Iti oF an important courier mission. The only hard, fst rue is that only jonwillalsobeof someassistancetothose who one ship is involved. fact asthe aggressor forces in training situations. Please keep in mind that these are not firmly established do contents of various taining publications. Condit jimply the SQUADRON OPERATIONS: This refers to a mission under. may vary from taken by a Squadron, In Klingon naval jargon a Squadson is a group Sector to Sector. ‘ofthe ships (five if the ships in question are gunboats o escorts) that 'AllKlingon tactical publications break fleetoperations down into operates as anit, I-isusually commanded by aCaptsin who holdsthe four main levels: Single Ship Operations; Squadron Operations; title “Squadron Leader.” This concept is examined in depth ltr. Battle Group Operations; and War Operations. Before stud Klingon tactics, itismecessary tohave a working understanding of he __ BATTLE GROUP OPERATIONS: A Battle Group isa differences between these types of operations. “Basic Naval Units.” of Squadrons placed under a unified command, usually th aki 1g Publication writien by Captain Kizantizantai- Admiral. The e oup of an goncadet aii minimum of Squadrons necessary wo make up a BattleGroup is two, and the maximum is tee. This a Balle Group can contin from six to nine ships (ten to fiftcen inthe case of gunboats or escori) WAR OPERATIONS: Thisisthemostrare Klingon formation [cis a massing of Battle Groups (there is no upper limit) under the ‘conimand of either three Admirals or two Thought Admirals. This massing is only used during a declared interstellar war, and has not been seen since the Four Years’ War. SINGLE SHIP OPERATIONS Single ship operations are quite common in the Imperial Navy, ‘butnot as common asthey rein Star leo, Inmostcases acruisr (the famous D-7classis a favorite although the D-20 is also popular on the Romulan border) or a frigate (the L-9 is a popular choice) is detached from an existing Squadron and sent out on a raid, The flagship almost NEVER is detached in this ease, ‘These ships are often declared privateers in an effort to remove any tes to the Empire. This sort of tingle ship raiding is more common on the Romulan-Klingon border than tis on the Federation borders, due mainly to the Organian Treaty ‘nd the fact thatthe Klingons can usually hire Orion pirates to do their dinty work near the Federation. A second type of single ship operation has become more common since the Klingon-Romulan Technological Exchange of Stardate 2/ (0902, which gave the Klingons the cloaking device. Since that time the Klingonshave been sending small scout-type ships into UFP space ‘on an assortment of missions. This sort of operation, for obvious reasons, is not covered in any of the Klingon manusls captured a this time, butts safe to assume that such missions ar espionage-oriented. "A final, almost traditional single ship mission is that of the scout ship. Like their Federation counterparts, Klingon scout and survey ships ofien venture deep into unknown space alone, considered high-risk missions, and the rate of rewning ships versus These a ‘oulgoing ships is low. ‘There are no established tactical dactinss for single ship opera tions. In his definitive work “The Mailed Fists Warfare in Space,” ‘Thought Admiral Kostamtin eptai-Kolor states hat™.nlividual ship actions must be left the skill of the Captain involved...tsthisone's opinion that riding missions can and should be used to sere Captains, so thatthe skilled may continue and the scum be eliminated. ‘This tatementshows that the Klingon High Command considers such ‘operations wo be tests of a Caplain's skill. As such itis safe to say that they will always be part of the Imperial Navy. SQUADRON OPERATIONS ‘Squadron operations are very common inthe Imperial Navy, and have boon covered by Klingon tactician in great detail, ASmentioned above 1 squaulron consists of thre (or five) ships under a unified ar Fleet, Klingon Squadrons are named after their commander, “Kolur’s Squadron,” for example. Depending fn the scope of an assigned mission, itis possible fora Si havea fleet tener (S-4 oFS-5 class ship) assigned tot Thi place on extended independent operations (see below). The composition of an individual Squadron varies, but there are some basie ground rules, One of the most common, and Famous, ‘groupings involves three D-7 cruise variants. ‘This has proven to be ‘one of the most flexible groupings in the Klingon Navy, especially since the addition ofthe D-7M and D-7S tothe Klingon inventory. AS general rulecrusers end tobe placed in Squadtons together, with the ‘exception of the D:10 class vessels. These ships in ation tothe L- 6,19, and L-A2 class frigates, are usually placed in a Squadron with ‘wo destroyer-clss ships (he D-2, D-14, and D-Relasses are popular) as escorts. A-Squadron centered around either a D:10 or one of the frigates is avery powerful fighting foree. Gunboats and smaller ships J. Unlike those in yuadeon v8 ly tes ‘operate in Squadrons offive ships. Inis worth noting that scout class ships will occasionally form Squadrons, but NEVER Battle Groups. “To give Star Feet officers an idea of atypical Squadron, let us look at one of the Klingons’ best; Kolar's Squadron, currently stationed on the Orion Border. Kolat's Squadron is made up of D-7 Cruiser clas ships; aD-7M (the flagship), aD-7A, and aD-7G. Since Kolar's Squadron is intended to be capable of mounting independent patrols, it has an $-5 class tender attached to it. An example of heavier Squadron is Kaz" Squadron, which is centered around a D-10H heavy eruser and has two D-I8B destroyers attached forsupport. Kaz" ‘Squadron operates mainly along the Romulan Border. ao A Regardless ofthe composition of a Squadron, they all operate in similar fashion. Klingon Squadrons travel in a formation known as tai, or the arrowhead, This is simply a wedge-shaped formation, Tike a triangle, with one ship at each of the three comers. Squadrons of gunboats or escorts usually travel in the arrowhead formation, but with additional ships on the sides. Ifa tender is accompanying a Squadron, ‘Thoshipat the point of the formation is usually the Squatron flagship. “The tactics used by Squadrons are defined by Thought Admiral fas aggressive warfare, tempered only by the needs of the ike being outnumbered). Klingon - for hit and run sd attack without is kept inthe hollow center ofthe arrowhe Kost Enipire and tacticaleonsiderations ‘Squaadron Leaders have shown a sttong tactics. They like to swoop down on their enemie waming. To achieve this tactical surprise (hich is highly praise in all Klingon tactical works) Klingon Captains will zo to great lengths. ‘When ambushing convoys they like to hide theirshipsin asteroid belts, using emote sensor drones w keep track oftheir Largs its impossible (or not practical) to achieve surprise, Klingon Squadrons will often atack at once, forming a Tine abreast out of the arrowhead formation, Such an attek is very dangerous wo most Star Floet ships, regardless ofthe class of the attacking Klingon ships, dae to the massive firepower Klingon vessels have in forward positions.Genain ships, notably the D-2B (Stingiongue) Clasr VI Desuoyer, have shown a definite preference forthe ine abreast attack, as it gives thom a chance to concentrate their massive missile firepower. To the average Squadron commander, Klingon warfare stresses ‘movement. Thus, during a batle a Klingon Squadron will spend greatdealoftime trying wo get behind their foes or in some way confuse them. IfKlingon Squadron Leaders fel that they ae being outmaneu- vered, they willoften attempt to disengage. To the Klingons this isnot cowardly, butitis an attempt o save valuableresources for the Empire. Such movement warfare is more common inthe destroyer Squadrons, since their light weapons load (compared to the eruisers) makes ‘movement their best weapon. ‘The advent ofthe cloaking device has added anew dimension to Klingon Squadron tactics. Ships that are equipped with this device are always posted together, and form their own Squadrons. One of the most effective cloaked Squadrons is Kilistz’ Squedron, known ‘throughout the Triangle for their et black D-H4B Class VI Destroyers, Cloaked Squadrons, or Invisible Squadrons as the Klingons call them, will deploy to their patrol area, cloak, and wait in ambush for a pre determined emountof ime, Then they will move on to theirnext area and repeat the process unt their patrol eycle ends. Ake ‘There is final ype of Squadron operations tht is rather unique to Klingon tactical doctrine. This is the concept of Independent Operations. In normal circumstances a Squadron operates out of a base, be ita Starbase oradefense outpost. On Independent Operations, the Squadron is cut loose from all support and operates on its own. For these operations one or more tenders (S-4orS-S class ships) are added to the Squadron to help maintain the ships. The erews are expected to forage for supplies; this usually involves convoy raiding. Mostof the famous raiding expeditions undertaken by Imperial forces were done as Independent Operations. In some cases a Squadron sent on an Independent Operation is given a specific goal or mission. In this ease, combat will usually be avoided until after the mission is carried out. This is one ofthe few ceases when a Klingon ship will actually refuse combat regardless ofthe circumstances. ‘As might be expected, the most popular Squadron for Independ: entOperations isthe traditional D-7 grouping. Inrecent yeas, though, the L-9 Squadrons have gained a reputation for successful LO. that rivals that of the D-7, It should be noted that Klingons do take prisoners, but only if it is practical ornecessary. They will atack any ship, armed or not, that ventures intospace claimed by the Empire. They wil also attack ships that are more powerful than their Squadron, simply to prove that itcan be done. ‘An additional note is required concerning the position/tile of Squadron Leader in the Imperial Navy. While the Squadron Leader “usually holds the rank of Captain, he is the leader of his Squadron. This is understood by Klingon offices, and the title Squadron Leader is used instead of Captain inthis case. BATTLE GROUP OPERATIONS Battle Group tactics are similar to Squadron tactics. Te fire ‘power tends to be greater, especialy ifthe Battle Group is commanded by an Admiral in a battleship, but the general purpose remains the same, As mentioned above, « Battle Group is simply two to three Squadrons placed under unified command, usually thatof an Admiral ‘The individual Squadrons still exist, but they are now part of @ ‘numbered Batle Group. For example; Kolar's Squadron, Kaz’ Squad- ron, and Kilist’ Squadron are unified under the eommand of Admiral Katan zantai-Lisson as Batle Group ‘One. In addition to the ships belonging to the individual Squadrons, Battle Group One contains three tenders ($-5s) and the Admiral's flagship, the L-24 Emperor's Fist, Such a Battle Group would only be formed during a crisis situation, and would not remain in existence long. Itis worth noting that the three-Squadron version is much more common than the weaker version. Klingons believe in concentrating their striking power as much as possible. Battle Groups travel in a unique formation. Each Squadron remains in an arrowhead, bu these smaller arrowheads are combined to form what is known asa d'l'k'tai, or grand arowhead. In such a formation the strongest Squadron is placed st the point, with the weaker Squadrons forming the comers. In the hollow center of this formation isthe flagship and any tenders assigned to the Batle Group. During combat the grand arrowhead, like the smaller version, is ‘converted into a line abreast. "Two diagrams are shown below, one for the three-Squadron formation and one for the wo-Squadron variant. As can be seen, the two-Squadron version involves the spiting of the second Squadron, > Battle Group tactics stress shock over surprise, as the Klingon tacticians feel that such a large formation would have a hard time sneaking up on anyone, When a Klingon Battle Group goes into combat, each Squadron tries to locate the opposing flagship and destroy it, In somecases a single Squadron willbe give this duty, whileeoaher Squadron) and the lagship engage the opposing ships ‘Admiral Kutan zantai-Lisson, one ofthe Imperial Navy's newest tacticians, has evolved a new doctrine known as das'i'chitan, literally “aisunified command.” According o this popular doctrine, the lag. ship and its attending Admiral exercise control over the Battle Group ‘only during non-combat situations. During combat, the separate Squadrons act at individual units. This gives the Klingons some ‘immunity from the problems that can result from the destruction of a Aagship. It also conforms tothe Klingon doctrine of mobile warfare, asitallows each Squadron to acta it would in Squadron combat. This disunified command approach often gives defending Star Flet off cersthe impression that they are being attacked by moreshipsthanthey really are. one ofthe Squadrons na Batle Group san Invisible Squadron, things often proceed differently. Disunified command is NEVER used insuchacase; instead anambushisset. Any ships that are able to cloak {at Teast three) do so, and the rest of the Batlle Group act as bat, attempting to lead any enemy ships into the cloaked ships’ weapons ares, Then the waiting ships uncloak and the fleeing vessels turn suddenly and open fire Tn addition to the usual Battle Group, the Klingons often use a very similar formation known as an Assault Group. This is similar to ‘Battle Group, exceptthat one ofthe Squadrons involved isalwaysan ‘Assault Squadron, This Assault Squadron is composed of anywhere from one to four Assault Ships of either the T-S or T-12 class. The ‘Assault Group is only used when a small planct is to be invaded or reenforeed, Ibis arare formation in the Imperial Navy, and i seldom soon near Federation borders. Independent Operations ae ektom undertaken by Batle Groups forthe simple reason that they are to large to be effective in such a function. The simple fact that batleships are often included in Batle Groups precludes their use on 1.0.5 since a battleship represents too ‘much of en investment tobe risked in such a fashion. Experience has also shown Klingon tacticians that Baule Groups are 100 hard 10 ‘support away from major repair facilities for the length of time an Independent Operation requires ‘This is not to sey that Battle Groupe do not operate on ther own One of the prime requirements ofa Battle Groups is that it should be able to suppor itself in a combat environment fo a reasonable length of time, In any ease, the planners in the Imperial Klingon Navy have ‘decided thatthe Batde Group i not suited for Independent Operations, ‘andthusitisneverscenon them, Thereasons for his decision are more politcal than military, as a Battle Group is considered much too ‘powerful 1 be trusted under independent command conditions. Tis worth noting here that it would be possible forthe Klingons to form an Invisible Squadron! Given the number of ships in the Imperial Navy that are fted with cloaking devices, such a formation ‘would bequite powerlul, Such a group might be organized as follows: 13D battleship, the flagship; Kinin’s Squadron (2D-7S cruisers and 1 D-7R cruiser; Kuln's Squadron (3 D-32C cruisers); and Kija’s Squadron (1 K-22B scout and 2 DMB destroyers). No tenders or ‘assault ships would be attached, unless specially:modified versions ‘with cloaking devices became available. Please note that all the ‘Squadrons mentioned above do exist. Its possible thatthe Klingons haven factused such aBatle Group. Iftdid exist, Batle Group 5 (my name) would be primarily araiding/espionage unit WAR OPERATIONS ‘The final tactical unit used by the Klingon Navy is the War Operations unit. This is one ofthe largest and rarest groupings in the Klingon Navy. Ithas not been seen by the Federation since the Four Years" War, ‘A Wat Flect is composed of any number (usually from four to ight) Battle Groups and Assault Groups. This entire fore is placed ‘under the command of ether three Admirals and two Generals or wo “Thought AdmirasandiwoGonerals. Th chain of eommand forthe simple reason that they command al the Imperial Marines on the Assault Ships, and they handle the land actions, A War Fleet travels in a special box formation known as Knan‘oliae, or the Emperor's Foruess. This box is formed by individal Bate Groupe acting asthe sides with he Assault Groups, the Command Squadron (two bauleships (f either type) and one L- 42A or B frigate escon), and the Support Squadron (any tenders and “Mobile Reps Facilities) in te center ofthis Fortress. 'A War Fleet forming vp for combat is, according to Admiral Kuan, one ofthe most impressive sighs in the universe. While ‘Admiral Kutan might be exaggerating, the sight of anywhere from tht to one hundred fighting starships forming a Bae Line must be truly awesome, Since the War Fests rare, itis difficulto find any ‘established guidelines forts use in combat. Iteanbe assumed though, thatit acts like a large version of the Bate Group. Teis unlikely that disunifiedcommandwould beused witha foreeothissize, War Fleets NEVER engage on Independent Operations. Given th size ofthe Klingon Empire, itis probable tha there are other tactical doctrines in existsce that the Federation i not yetaware of. The existence of another Klingon foe to coreward (revealed by findings of Operation Dixie andthe factthat certain lasses of Klingon vessels (he D-20 class cruisers ad the K-24 and K-27 class esconts being three good examples) are almostnever encountered by StarFleet ships make this almost certain. Thus Siar Fleet oficers must always ‘boon thse guard when facing Klingon vesels. Its possible that your ship might bea est subject for anew Klingon tactical ideat ‘What follows are some historical examples ofthe Klingon tat cal ideas discussed above, Each example is drawn from Sta Fest fecords when possible, o rom de-clasifed Operation Dinie mater- fas no Flet records exist. Remember that these ae only examples. Klingon tates are constanly changing! SINGLE SHIP COMBAT ‘THE BATTLE FOR FREIGHTER QX-12 “This action took place on Stardate 2204 in the Orion Neutral “Zone. In ation othe Aakenn class freighter, the battle involved the USS Montgomery (NCC-4438),a Larson lass destroyer, and the VK Falcon, a D-2A destroyee. The Montgomery was escorting freighter QK-12 to Starbase 12 when its sensors picked up an unknown ship ‘losing fast. Monigomery made challenge at once, as per regulations, and warned the other ship off. The Falcon, which was operating as a privateer, ignored the challenge and opened fire with the twin photon torpedo fubes mounted forward. This salvo ripped the port warp engine from Montgomery and disabled her fire control computers. Before the Engincering Officer could begin repairs, the Fafcon tured ‘quickly and fired the two rear mounted torpedo tubes, This salvo destroyed the bridge and tumed Montgomery into a vacuum-filled ‘cemetery. Freighter QX-12 was never heard of again, anditis assumed that the Faleon destroyed it, 100. SOURCE: COMMUNICATIONS BUOY 4438-2C, STAR FLEET RECORDS COMPUTER SQUADRON COMBAT BORDER INCIDENT #45612 ‘This famovs action also took place in the Orion Neutral Zone, and it marks the first defeat inflicted on Kolar’s Squadron by Star Fleet forces. The date of this historic combat was Stardate 220), Kolar's ‘Squadron consisted of a D-7M cruiser (the flagship), a D-7A cruiser, land a D-7G erviser, The Federation force, Task Force 4l, was lead by Captain Tracy Henderson. Her flagship was the USS Bismarck (NCC- TS1704),aConsthutionclass cruiser. Thetemainderot Tusk Force dl was the USS Yamato (NCC-1705), another Constitution class cruiser, and the USS Dallas (NCC-2758), a Loknar class frig ‘As would be expected, Kolar's Squadron arrivedin Sector Alpha 19 at high warp speed, hoping to catch Task Force 41 napping. Unfortunately for Captain Kolat’s plans, the Captain ofthe D-7G was 10 anxious, and he broughthis ship outef warp oo soon, allowing the Bismarck o pick up the Squadron on sensors. Captain Henderson called her Task Force to batle stations and wamed the Klingons off. ‘The D.1G chose to open fire, but the range was too great for his Romulan plasma torpedo ‘By now Kolar realized that his attack had failed, and he tried to disengage. But Captain Henderson's blood was up, and she was determined to cripple Kolae's Squadron before itleft Federation space. She directed the Yamato and the Dallas o concentrate their fire on the hapless D-7G while she took the Bismarck aftr the Klingon flagship. ‘TheD-7G cameapartunderthe concentrated fire, andits Captain chose to self-destruct rather than surrender. ‘The duel between Kolar and Captain Henderson was less deci sive, As many analysts on both sides had feared, the two cruisers proved to be more or less evenly matched, After a couple of volleys ‘of torpedos, Kolar moved off at high warp spoed and Captain Hender- son declined to follow. By then the D-7A had been heavily damaged and captured, and Task Force dl retumed to Starbase I2 with itscapiive intow, Task Force dl sustained minor damage in the encounter, most, ‘of it being inflicted on NCC.1704 by Kola’s flagship, the D-7M SOURCE: ARTER-ACTION REPORT #998438CH, STAR FLEET RECORDS COMPUTER BATTLE GROUP COMBAT DE.CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS: DENT {AS the title indicates, there are no recent examples of Bate Group combat against Federation ships, so we must tum to the Klingon-Romulanconflits. This batletook placeon Starate 10804, jostbefore the signing of the first Klingon-Romulan agreements. This ‘combat took place in the area known asthe Triangle. Exact details about this bate are not known, s0 itis only possible to give a rough outline ofthe forces involved. The Klingons wsed Battle Group Ten, which was composed of two Squadrons of D-21A cruisers and the Battle Group commander's DOA. An addtional ‘Squadron of D-8A destroyers was involved, There were atotal of en Klingon ships involved. Facing Battle Group Ten was the Romulan First Flotilla. This unit was composed of amixed group of V-4 cruisers and V-8 cruisers. ‘The exact breakdown isnot known, but there were en Romulan ships involved, THE ROMULAN INCL ‘The Klingon ships were caughtinan ambush by the V-8 cruisers, ‘who had been cloaked, and appeared suddenly to fire their plasma torpedos, In spite ofthis the Klingons managed to make short work of the V-4s, sustaining the loss of two cruisers and one destroyer. Then the V-8s began using their plasma tonpodos to great effect and the destroyer Squadron was smashed in a mattor of minutes. ‘The remaining Klingon ships apparently formed a circle around the area that the V-85 were firing from and used blind fie to force them touncloak. Once the V-s were visible, the D-10 quickly crippled wo ofthem, Before they could finish te job, one of the D-20As detached as a guard ship detected a large Romulan rescue force closing at warp two, and the remains of Battle Group Ten departed at high warp speed. SOURCE: OPERATION DIXIE DE-CLASSIFIED FILE #RSKI4090 "ro known examples of any recent Wa Fleet operat sono example this type of fleet operation will be given. The simple fact that War Fleets only exist during wars explains this. There has ‘been no major war foughtby the Imperial Navy since Stardate 210902, the offical end of the Romulan-Klingon conflict. I is the hope of the author that this article will help Star Feet officers eam about their enemy, Any updates regarding Klingon tactics should be forwarded to the author fo Star Fleet Training Command “This material has been reviewed by Star Fleet Intelligence (Sta- tion ZR-12) and contains no unauthorized information. Iteonforms in cevery way with Federation Security Act AIS Sec. 45.45 Para 189. ‘This article is based on independent rescarch and itdoes not necessar- ily reflect the opinions of Star Fest Command, “The author extends his thanks tothe members of Operation Dixie who gathered much ofthe information used inthis article. Additional thanks are also due to Commander Stephanie Thomas of Star Flet Public Relations, for ining Opctation Dixie documents era The Imperial Klingon Navy wants YOU to join them in combat at any time, any place of their choosing. Every meeting should be an enjoyable fight to the finish (yours they hope!). a