BATTLE SCENARIO: Siege of AR-558

Dominion Objective: Retake a communications array captured by Federation troops.  The troops must be moved off the array before reinforcements arrive.

Enemy Assets:

• A Federation ground team, originally numbering 150 personnel and commanded by a captain.

Friendly Assets:

• Cloaked anti-personnel mines that were set at the array before it was captured.
• A ground base, and dozens of personnel (between 50 and 100 Jem'Hadar).

History:

• When Sisko and crew arrived from the Defiant, to deliver supplies, they find that Lieutenant Larkin is commanding the remaining 43 personnel after five months of repeated assaults.
• After a random casualty, we find out about the 'Houdinis' (cloaked mines) that hide in subspace and reappear at random times.
• Nog identified a group of Jem'Hadar while on a reconnaissance mission.  His unit was attacked; Larkin was killed, and he barely escaped with his life.
• Ezra and the field engineer was able to detect and take control of the Houdinis.  At Sisko's order, they mined the valley that ran between the Jem'Hadar base and the array.
• Surprisingly, the Jem'Hadar did what was expected of them, and walked through the valley.  Dozens of them were killed by the mines before they started their war cry and berserk charge.
• The defenders set up behind a series of barricades facing the opening to their position.  This opening served as a chokepoint that attackers were expected to come through.  They tried to catch the Jem'Hadar in the chokepoint with withering cross-fire, but were unable to lay down sufficient fire to keep them there.
• The battle devolved into a brutal melee combat where most of the defenders (and all of the attackers) were slain.  Reinforcements arrived not too long afterwards.

 Could the Imperial Guard succeed where the Jem'Hadar failed?

• First, we must define their assets.  Since both sides had access to nothing but infantry weapons, the IG will be restricted to small-arms weapons.
• The phase-cloaked mines are replaced with much better conventional mines.  This new minefield would slow down the Federation troops, and might actually prevent the capture of the array.
• Heavy weapons teams will not be allowed to field mortars since the objective to capture the array, and not to damage it.
• If we disregard that the minefield could prevent the situation altogether, we can assume the Federation eliminated the rest of the mines in the area after capturing the array.
• The most straightforward answer would be to have the heavy bolters pin down the defenders in their barricades before blanketing the area with frag grenades shoot out of grenade launchers.  Anyone who survives the barrage is taken by the guardsman who rush the clearing when the barrage ends.

How would the Imperial Guard fare in place of the Federation?

• First, we must define their assets.  The heavy weapons teams have access to their full arsenal.
• Because they firing out of the area, they don't fear causing damage to the array.  Therefore, the IG can make liberal use of mortars.  With forward scouts, the mortar can continuously fire on Jem'Hadar positions.
• Any attempt by the Jem'Hadar to rush the chokepoint will run into the waiting guns of the heavy bolter teams.  Another one or two heavy bolters posted outside of the clearing would fire as soon as those inside the clearing sound off; trapping the attackers in a perfect kill-zone.

Conclusions: The greater variety of infantry weapons and availability of small fragmentation weapons ensues the IG would have the advantage in either role.  In place of the Jem'Hadar, they have more options than a frontal assault.  In place of the Federation, their ability to fire indirectly and access to sustained fire weapons means they can hit the attackers without reprisal.

I give the Imperial Guard 2 for 2 points for this scenario.