Overlord Tank

Type-142 Overlord Heavy Siege Tank
Minor Faction	Communist China
Other Faction(s)	None
Unit Type	Superheavy Tank
Designation	Anti Tank
Production Building	Propaganda Centre
Secondary Ability	Harpoon File:AbilityOverlord.png Draws enemy units in
Cost	Unknown
Production Time	Unknown
Heroic Upgrade	Cruise Missile Launcher
Dev. Status	Conceptual

Country of Origin	People's Republic of China
Produced by/ Recovered from	People's Metal Works, Beijing
Key Features	» 200mm "Emperor" cannon (x2)  » Multiple engines (fuel guzzling)  » Speaker Tower (blasts music)  » Gatling gun mount (without gun)  » Bunker (holds prisoners)

"This is the Overlord...TANK."

- A Red Chinese Warlord, shouting from the top of his Overlord tank, while being pulled to a battle by bovines.

Tactical Analysis

• I am... READY: The Overlord Tank dwarfs absolutely everything else in the Red Chinese military. A pair of crude but destructive 200mm cannons brutalize anything unfortunate to be in the path of the Overlord, and thick frontal armour is all but impervious to damage.

• I will not be interrupted: A plodding top speed, insanely high cost, and vulnerability to aircraft all plague the Overlord Tank. Despite its lack of anti infantry weapons, it can simply run infantry, and in fact most lesser vehicles, over; if it can catch up to them, that is.

• They will come to us...: Despite its horrendously slow speed, the Overlord has a weapon which can be used to level the playing field. A harpoon gun, which can be used to spear, damage and slowly drag enemy units into range of its guns. The extreme range of the harpoon gun comes in handy for dealing with artillery, though the main guns must be fired in a powered down mode, reducing their range somewhat.

• They will pay...: One of the few attachments for the Overlord that actually worked at all was an unguided cruise missile launcher. It should be noted these are in short supply, and that the payload the missile carries is rather small. Nevertheless, the long range firepower it provides allows the Overlord to destroy targets it would otherwise not be able to reach

Operational History

Before the Bombs

As the Chinese Civil War raged on the National Revolutionary Army adopted defensive fighting positions as their military doctrine, building long and well positioned fortifications which were able to stop hordes of Battlemasters and Red Guards. The resulting casualties from combat proved too great for even the People's Liberation Army.

Many solutions were suggested and proposed; while those from the lower-rankers were rejected and the people who proposed them beaten for doubting the power of the Red Chinese army. Suggestions from high ranking generals, however, were another thing entirely, as these generals had the clout to stave off execution and see their pet projects through.

Among these pet projects was the Type-142 Overlord Heavy Siege Tank, General Kwai's personal pet project. In a similar vein to the Soviet superheavy tanks, the Overlords were huge. They were nothing short of excessive, with obscenely thick armour and oversized 200mm guns. While they were ridiculously powerful in nearly all combat scenarios, more than a few people have questioned their efficiency, and many more level headed minds would likely have probably pointed out the Overlords were a pointless waste of resources and money, and better spent the resources on other things, were it not for the influence of Kwai looming over them.

They were ponderously slow, even with the many engines installed in them to power them. Although their 'Emperor' cannons were crude and of low muzzle velocity, their sheer calibre was of a magnitude more commonly associated with those of a heavy cruiser than of a tank (indeed, some of the earlier Overlords were equipped with naval guns scavenged from decommissioned warships). The 39-layer steel armour plating alone consumed a ridiculous amount of steel, which many believe could have better gone into the production of more Battlemaster tanks.

The most ridiculous of all were the various (and useless) additions built on the Overlord tanks -- from Gatling cannon mounts that lacked Gatling cannons to speaker towers that did nothing but blast reams of bland propaganda, to bunkers that constantly filled with the huge amount of exhaust pouring from the Overlord's engines. The engines were prone to constant breakdown, the tracks wore down quickly, and the fuel they consumed was huge -- it is estimated by analysts that most Overlord tanks broke down every ten miles, requiring the crew to perform intensive maintenance before they could get it going again.

Nevertheless, the fear they inspired and their prowess in combat was monstrous; a single Overlord tank could singlehandedly break a Blue Chinese defensive line by itself, as proved many times over the course of the civil war, and the psychological impact of their presence rallied faltering Red Chinese infantry to victory on more than one occasion.

After the Bombs

In the blasted landscape of a post nuclear hell, the old order is gone, destroyed along with the great cities of China. Now, a new order reigns supreme, where China is ruled by bandit warbands and neo feudal fiefdoms, where the only thing worthy of respect is power.

The bandit kings and wasteland warlords that lord over the fallout ridden lands have gathered to themselves whatever trappings of power they can, salvaging and cobbling together mighty warfleets of old tanks and vehicles and fortifications built of rotting corpses and rusted gun emplacements.

Even though the end has come and gone, the Overlord tanks were not forgotten for long, the monstrous vehicles still serve well in the purposes of intimidation and oppression. The difference now is that whereas before the Overlords were simply weapons of war, tools used to enforce the will of the Communist Chinese government, now they are symbols of power onto themselves. The warlord-princes make old military bunkers and bases into their palaces and citadels; the kings of the bandits make the Overlord tanks their thrones.

Gone are the utilitarian engines of destruction seen in the Civil War; the raider warbands have re-made them into something quite mad. Many decorate the interiors with their gathered wealth and valued possessions, as the 39 layer steel plating provides unparalleled protection in a place where death is always one step away. Some paint over the outsides with terrifying visages; others plaster the armour plating with the remains of defeated enemies, so as to intimidate and scare their foes into submission. And if the sheer intimidation an Overlord exudes is not enough, the massive 200mm cannons can be brought to bear.

The presence of an Overlord never goes unnoticed, even by the Atomic Kingdom, who consider themselves above the feral madness of the wastelands. The massive dustclouds it stirs up in its wake, the noisy music played on the speakers and the clattering roar of the many gas guzzling engines, the vast silhouette that can be seen even on the horizon, the warfleets of vehicles that travel with each Overlord.

Of course, to maintain even one of these mobile fortresses is a massive, extravagant waste of resources, when most in this place are struggling to survive. The technical skill and mechanics required to maintain even one of these beasts in any operational capacity, the scrap metal and fuel consumed by the raiders in their battles, all resources that would be better spent on other things. The Overlord tanks have become more than just symbols of power and intimidation, but also the very epitome of excess in this hell. But the lords of the wastes do not care, and why should they? China is already dead.

Behind the Scenes

• No, this will not have the upgrades it had in Generals.