Tip of the Spear

Union Invasion Tactics, as outlined in the UEG Strategic Division's Field Manual:

"Landing ground forces onto a hostile world carries significant risk, however silencing anti-orbit cannons or turning them against the defending fleet is often considered worth the potential losses. Assault transports and escorts exit FTL in the upper atmosphere, deploying landers with frontline armored vehicles while the fighters attempt to draw flak and down interceptors. If the transports can reach the surface, light vehicles and shock troops poor out to secure a "beachhead" for the combat engineers to set up turrets and stationary artillery. Once the immediate area is secure, strike teams are assembled to attack vital installations. Special forces must employ stealth fields, masking the energy signatures given off by their flight packs as they locate the best vantage points to pick off any targets of opportunity and provide priority target designations. If the air is clear enough of enemy fighters, gunships launch to support allied infantry and armor.

Once the battle in orbit is concluded favorably, the larger Juggernaut-class transports can begin their descents, bringing the main bulk of the invasion force to secure the planet after establishing a reconnaissance satellite network. The main fleet can then be effectively deployed to a supporting bombardment role."

The manual is limited on suggestions for what ground forces should do if they successfully land and the fleet battle does not conclude favorably. This was done for two reasons. First, each world has its own unique qualities and so no strategy can fit all situations and thus it was determined that providing a suggestion that could lead soldiers to their deaths was not optimal. Secondly, if an enemy obtained a copy of the manual and successfully repelled the fleet, there could be no direct instructions on how to find the remaining ground forces. The Union instead provides detailed training and simulations for officers ranked colonel and above as well as special forces commanders. This training focuses on adapting to the scenario presented and uses data recorded from hundreds of invasions in vastly different circumstances.

The general order if contact is lost with the fleet is to rely on the highest ranked officer present within the normal chain of command. The supplemental order is to cause as much damage and chaos to the enemy through guerrilla tactics and any other means possible while waiting for reinforcements.