Kalran: Tales of the four nations/Backbreaker ARV

"We'll bring our boys into battle!"

-A Backbreaker leaving the Vehicle forge

Tactical analysis

 * Police Bruiser: A heavily armored support vehicle, the Backbreaker is far more durable than most Ouroboros units and is available early on, which along with its tendency to draw the most fire from enemy units makes it useful for soaking up damage while the volunteers dish it out.
 * Splashed one: Though it's not capable of directly harming the enemy, at least at first, the Backbreakers high-pressure water cannon can utterly ruin an enemy formation. It slows, disrupts, and pushes enemy forces, leaving them floundering in a torrent of cold water and making them easy targets for Allied forces. And its design means it's easy for the Backbreaker to change out their water cannon into a flamethrower, which not only roasts infantry alive but also clears out garrisons, though the chief of police must authorize lethal force first
 * The Pigpen: In addition to its sheer bulk and water cannon, the Backbreaker has enough seating for eight infantry to ride inside. While there is no way for transported infantry to attack while inside, they can be ordered out at a moment's notice to deal with hostiles
 * Need Backup: Of course, the Backbreaker is useless on its own, seeing as it lacks any means of damaging enemy forces by itself until lethal forces are authorized, and even then their flamethrower is considerably weaker compared to other flame using units, apart from the driver's favorite tactic of crushing. It should be used to support units that are actually capable of dealing damage.

History
"This is your final warning! GO BACK TO YOUR HOMES OR WE'LL FORCE YOU!"

The introduction of the pressurized sprayer revolutionized war, firefighting, and police work for Ouroboros. Officers of the law were, with the aid of a single Arbiter and a couple of seconds, able to easily suppress situations that could have otherwise resulted in violence. However, Arbiters are slow and rare enough that policemen in rural areas were often required to wait up to half an hour for Arbiter support. Breachers are expensive to train and often require extra municipal expenses. Thus plans for a Riot Suppression Vehicle were drawn up.

The concept was simple: take an armored van, add an inexpensive non-lethal weapon, that can also be switched to use lethal weaponry if needed, and hold out until support showed up. The first RSVs were actually prisoner transports outfitted with a tank, a cheap electric pump, and a fire hose. The first operational use of the RSVs were in an outer rim island, as a less controversial method to deal with the rebels, as shooting them simply seemed to make things worse, at least until they can convince their citizens that they must be killed.

The original, cobbled-together designs had several flaws. Its wheels weren't designed for rugged or forested terrain, effectively immobilizing the RSV and leaving it open to attack or capture in dense areas, where the rebels usually reside. Crossbows could cut through the side of the less-than-effectively-armored police vehicles like canvas. After a stunning number of Enforcers died and one of the new vehicles was destroyed in a particularly nasty firefight, Ouroboros commissioned the original designers to revamp the design, and mass produce it.

The Backbreaker ARV is a modified troop transport, equipped with a pressurized sprayer cannon, which also comes with a pilot light, and a reinforced bronze-ceramic alloy armored plow to push through the dense undergrowth. While the highly visible profile of the ARV often caused it to draw the attention of rioters, this worked to the advantage of the police, as the ARV's thick composite armor plating could easily shrug off bullets, projectiles, and even heavier weaponry with relative ease (indeed, in one incident an ARV took a direct hit from a ballista and managed to keep going). In addition, the ARV would draw attention away from less well-protected police vehicles and volunteers, allowing them to swoop in and make arrests while attention was still focused on the ARV. After a Tenko raid on an outer rim island involving the use of strange, in non-lethal, chemicals, the ARV design was upgraded with secondary sprayer-systems, through which the ARV pumps out chemical neutralizers that render many forms of toxic substances inert. The ARV also retains its transport hold, which can be used to transport up to eight people, from arrested suspects to volunteers.

In the aftermath of losing the Endor, and the increased rise of the Tenko, the volunteers, perhaps belatedly, decided that they needed to rethink their approach to combat. The success of the ARV in civilian riot control, and firefights with terrorists and dissidents alike, made it the perfect answer to both the political concerns regarding violence against the Tenko, and the necessities of combat. Ouroboros High Command has requested that chiefs of police on the field attempt, whenever possible, to avoid major enemy casualties, at least when in view of the press. In private they give them orders to use the Backbreakers flamethrowers to kill these rebels, and capture any suvirors to make more penitent legions.

Thanks to the ARV, the number of terrorist attacks and riots in the outer rim has plummeted. In fact, in recent months there's been little terrorist activity, a great relief for the islanders, but also for military commanders, who can requisition them from civilian bases with no risk of a riot when they are gone. Thus, they're increasingly seen on the front. Often switching out the water for oil, turning their cannon into a flamethrower.

Trivia

 * The unit is based on the Armoured Response Vehicle from red alert paradox and the police armored/riot response vehicles.