I was wondering about buildings, so since you mentioned them, I'll just add a few things:
1. Position ambushers behind open doors or through windows to catch units off guard
2. If you have any long hallways, they're good for ambushes, especially if there are no nearby rooms or furniture to take cover in/with.
3. If you can get them trapped in a room, grenades would be too easy a kill, so perhaps you should ensure there is collateral damage?
4. Ever consider having an enemy dress as a hostage?
Extract from "Strategy and Tactics: DreamWeaver's Thoughts"
Tactical Considerations
a. Terrain - affects cover for individual troops, radio/visual line of sight, radio/ visual communication range, rates of movement for troops/vehicles, location(s) of supply points, ability to set up specific defenses - its hard to "dig in" when on a treeless, smooth rock outcropping.
b. Strength(s) of friendly forces - not only number of troops and their equipment, but also the ability to concentrate forces(power) at a specific point for a relatively short period of time in order to attain a desired outcome (ex., pinning down specific enemy troops, making a "breakthrough", seizing a particular landmark, etc).
c. Logistics - how much ammo does each troop have, what is his firing rate/rate of expenditure in battle, how long can this rate of usage be sustained without being resupplied (usually this point is simplified in board level wargames except at Squad/Company level games), how are supply "pieces"/units themselves resupplied, what is the effect of losing a supply unit (can another existing unit perform the supply/resupply function thoguh with a penalty in effectiveness, are alternate means of supply already planned/available, how does a loss of communication (radios/landlines/road hexes) affect the supply line.
d. Intelligence - usually a Lieutenant doesn't need to involve himself in the really big picture, or the fact that his own forces know that a new fighter aricraft type has been seen being rolled out of a design bureau's experimental aircraft plant, or that the French have declared war on the German's (again) when he's stuck in a foxhole in Ethiopia. When enemy artillery rounds are impacting within 500 yards of his foxhole, few people really care that this is "for God and Country" or that holding this piece of (urine spattered) ground is part of the General's master plan!
However, some intelligence is pertinent to the Lieutenant. If higher headquarters tells him that the unit on the opposite side of a river is almost out of ammunition according to radio intercepts, or that the enemy platoon leader and sergeants were critically wounded in the last skirmish (from the interrogation of a captured soldier), or that the enemy troops are actually all sixteen year old bos and men over sixty years old (as often happened in the last days of final assault on Germany in WWII) - those types of information are definitely useful and can affect how the LT. deploys his troops, how much reconnaissance he feels he needs to attempt a river crossing, maybe when he actually times his attack, whether he asks for supporting fire form artillery/aircraft, etc.
Offensive Formations
1) Road March - low attack, low defense, high rate of movement, it takes time to deploy a unit in road march to another formation (some nations practice such deployments routinely while other nations have no experience which such rapid deployment), medium-low control by local commander, little or no control by higher hq.
2) Cautious Advance - high attack, high-medium defense, low-medium rate of movement, excellent control by local commander, less control by higher hq.
3) Advance to contact - high attack, medium defense, medium rate of movement, excellent-medium control by local commander, good-low control by higher hq.
4) Reconnaissance - low attack, low defense, high rate of movement, low control by local or higher hq.
5) Deliberate attack - very high attack, medium-low defense, medium rate of movement, good control by local commander, less control by higher hq.
6) Hasty Ambush - good attack, average defense, mediocre control locally, poor control by higher hq.
7) Deliberate Ambush - excellent short range attack/piss-poor long range attack (unless equipped with special/long-range weapons), excellent control locally, good control by higher hq.
Defensive Formations
1) Dug-in - none-minimal attack, maximum defense, no movement (max 1 hex in any event - probably makes more sense to make it take "a turn" to change formation before allowing any movmeent by a dug-in unit), excellent control locally, excellant control by higher hq.
2) Deliberate defense - minimal attack, excellent defense, slow movement, good-excellent local control, good control by higher ups.
3) Hasty Defense - just less than average attack, mediocre defense, less than good control either locally or by higher hq.
4) Retreat - no attack, less than mediocre defense (tho' there have been some epic defensive retreats in history - ex., the Marines withdrawal during the Korean War), average movement, low control - locally or by higher ups.
5) Routed - this is a retreat which has gotten out of hand. All control has been lost by commanders, and consequently no attack can be made by this unit. Actually, nothing can be done by this unit except to Reorganize (below).
6) Constructing/Improving defensive position - no attack, less than good/better than average defense, good control locally, little control by higher hq.
Other Formations
1) Reorganization - no attack, defense, or control by any one. This is strictly an administrative deployment allowing restocking of personnel, equipment, weaponry, sometimes training, and resting the battle weary. If anything should happen to this unit - ie., if it comes under attack while in Reorganization - it is destroyed. This should take no less than two turns.
2) Training - low attack, high defense, low control locally, low control by higher ups. Except for elite units, this is basically a step above reorganization but not as high as either hasty defense or road march.
3) Resupplying - no attack, good-poor defense (depends upon how far along in the resupply seuence a unit is), low control - either locally or by higher ups.
4) Dispersed - no attack, low defense, low control either locally or by higher hq.
5) Special - could vary with type of unit/terrain/situtation. Ex., mountain infantry in snowy mountainous terrain, or SEAL units on a sandy beach, or paratroop units in the air/just after they hit the ground (actually they probably should be in a Reorganize mode/formation for a turn - except for defensive value(?))
Hope there's something in there of use
Edited by - Merrick on September 17, 2001 10:54:33 PM
