Durka's 10 Rules of Combat Strategy

[Durka-Durka~SPARTA~]

Durka's 10 Rules of Combat Strategy...

 

1. Be, Know, and Love the terrain.

Almost all major battles are won or lost based on the commander's use of the terrain. The examples throughout history where the "lay of the land" was a deciding factor in the battle are too numerous to mention. Most will recognize the battle of Thermopylae, Greece, where the Leonidas's Spartan army, with help from Athens' fleet to the East, were able to hold back the entire Persian Empire for 3 days by occupying a tiny sliver of land known as the "Hot Gates."

The Battle of Teutoborg Forrest in 9ad, where the German commander Arminius used the foul weather, as well as his mastery of the surrounding terrain to defeat 3 Roman legions. Knowing the terrain isn't just important, it's how one uses that to their advantage.

 

2. Hold the high ground. It's worth dying for.

This concept is true weather one fights with swords, or long-range rifles, and has always been this way since the beginning of war. With the high ground, one can not only get a better view of his enemy and their movements, but can also direct fire down on them from a very effective angle. It's also easier to run down the hill in a charge than it is going up.

In the Battle of Gettysburg, the initial skirmishes on the first day were to gain the various high points across the battlefield. These points were, in turn, used as observation posts and bases for artillery fire. Charges by the Confederate army to gain ground like Little Round Top, were unsuccessful and where some of the bloodiest fighting of the battle took place.

 

3. Discretion is sometimes the better part of valor.

When directing a squad in Arma2, I often get into situations where soldiers are too quick on the trigger. It happens to the best of us. I can tell people not to fire on something, to just pass by it, and I can sense the tension get so thick that you could cut it with a butter knife, then all hell breaks loose when someone happens to fire off randomly. Like I said, it happens to the best of us.

But, when a group is obviously outnumbered by the enemy, it makes more sense to get to a good firing position quickly and quietly, than it does shooting up everything as soon as you see it. More on that will be in rule 4. Consider this, though: If you see one enemy combatant come over the hill, and you know he doesn't see you, and you fire, you have alerted the whole AO to your presence. If you have the option of skirting on past him, and taking care of him later, do so and you will have the advantage.

 

4. Knowing when to fire is just as important as knowing how to fire.

This is very similar to rule 3. Knowing when to fire on the enemy is paramount to the security of one's position. If you see an enemy squad at 500m, do you shoot him immediately? Or do you try to maneuver to get a better position on him? Maybe a hill that brings you to 300m from him? Firing at any enemy that comes across one's lane of fire is reckless at best.

 

5. A house divided cannot stand

There are advantages of splitting one's forces up, if they are large enough. There are also bigger advantages in keeping them together. Everyone knows the whole "House Divided" quote, but it is relevant as any tactic put out there. If a mission can be accomplished with 2-3 squads working close together, they will be more effective than working on separate sides of the AO.

One ancient cavalry tactic that's still used today is the Wedge formation. It was designed to punch a "hole" through the center of the enemy's lines, thus dividing them. Then, the flanking force would come in and attack either the weakest or smallest division in the enemy's ranks, working their way down the line. Hitting a nail on the end is much more effective than hitting it on it's side.

 

6. Recon is vital to any plan.

Recon, normally implemented as a scout/sniper team, or a small 4-man force, are vital to any battle plan. They are always going in early and discretely, giving the commander constant updates on subjects like terrain, enemy movement, enemy size, ect. They are only useful if they are invisible, so recon elements do not fire their weapons unless absolutely necessary.

 

7. Mobility is vital to survival.

I once knew some artillery guys who were in love with the MLRS and other mobile artillery systems. They were trained to fire their volleys, then immediately move to another location, set up, and fire directly on their previous position. Basically, what they were telling me is, if one sits too long in the same spot, they're good as dead. Being able to move quickly and safely has been the MO of today's military force. In Arma, if a squad is "pinned down," the more time it takes to get "unpinned" the more time the enemy has to quickly flank them.

 

8. Information is only good if it's timely, accurate, and relevant.

During the Blackhawk Down incident in Somalia, commanders were so inundated with information, the communications had to go through so many channels, orders were almost rendered ineffective. If you are a squad member, it is useless to the squad leader to tell him you see the enemy. That's a no-shit assessment. Where is the enemy? What direction is he at? How far away? Is he a direct threat? How many are among the enemy you just spotted? If it's a lone couple of guys just walking around, what's the point in burdening the SL if you're shooting at them already?

There are different ways people like to call out enemy contact. I prefer to pick a direction as the squad's 12oclock, and use that system. Some like to give a 3-digit heading, others still like to give a general NSEW location. First, make sure the SL isn't burdened with other information before you tell him there's a rabbit running around 1,300m off to your left. Secondly, make sure it's relevant (see rabbit remark). Thirdly, make sure it's accurate. Always give distance and direction and numbers.

 

9. Stay In Your Lane!

Lanes of fire are the toughest thing to keep straight in ARMA2. I remember when I was on the firing range in Basic Training, and some of my popups would go down prematurely. It was due to the idiot on my left not paying attention to his lane who was shooting my targets for me. It happens sometimes. But, if you are providing a 360 security, your job is to trust the guys around you. If you are supposed to be looking North, that doesn't mean when the firing starts you automatically start shooting over the guy's shoulder who's facing South.

Also, when attacking a target across a wide area, pick a point that's directly in front of you and make that your goal to move to. Pick yourself out a field of fire that doesn't stray past a certain area on either side of that goal, and stick to it while you're moving. Friendly fire almost always occurs when someone isn't paying attention to their lane of fire and strays into someone else's.

 

10. Unless it's your job to give insight to Command, do not second guess the leader, whether he's right or wrong.

Nothing much to say about this one, as it should be self-evident. Basically, it's a respect issue. Even if the person who's in charge is a complete dummy when it comes to making tactical decisions, it's your job to follow those orders and let the failure be his. If you decide to do your own thing, you're useless to everyone else, and the failure belongs to you now. Simple.

 

Extra special PS rule just for ARMA2: Those with the most kills are always the ones with the most deaths.

 

[Zeno~SPARTA~]

Noted, with thanks.

[Watchman~SPARTA~]

Nice job, clearly put.

I still have some way to get to have all 10 of those come as second nature but we applied a lot last night, in the face of an intelligent Opfor!

[PANiC]

i broke all 10 rules last night, do i win something??

 

thanks Durka, good points there ;)

[Tholozor]

I agree 100% with Rule 1 and 6. Recon is important to determine where the enemy is and how the terrain looks from the ground. Often in the normal Dom server I see LZs placed at what looks like good locations, but I've been to those AOs before and I know that it's a death-trap. Rule 1 and 6 can aleviate that problem.

[Driller]

I just parajump into the middle of their best defense and kick everyones ass.

[Lightspeed~SPARTA~]

thanx Durka

 

i wouldnt mind doing a bit more training in this with you and any others - possible?

[Durka-Durka~SPARTA~]

thanx Durka

 

i wouldnt mind doing a bit more training in this with you and any others - possible?

 

 

Sure, any time you want, just grab me off the server. Hell, I'm surprised you guys actually read all that post, lol. It ended up being a lot longer than I planned

[Lightspeed~SPARTA~]

oh there was more text? i just read the title

[DeltaSierra]

Nice Durka... I'll admit I don't follow all of those rules all of the time, but when I do I've found I don't die as much

[AlarmedBread]

Good guidelines to follow.

 

Last tac dom my squad was engaging and calling out contacts to our north and east, when I spotted 5 man patrol running on our west flank and moving behind us. They were close, but not shooting, so I kept watching. Radio was full of chatter from the rest of the squad who were engaging contacts, command was barking. I still needed to communicate this potential threat. So I used in game squad text instead of interrupting comms. They turned out to be a rabbit, scanned around but didn't see us, then ran back north and we dealt with them when it was easy.

 

Another thing that happened was I shot a friendly who crossed into my lane of fire. We were holding a hill over the AO, I was again watching W/NW, shooting down into the town with MG. There was a call for enemy coming up the hill towards us. I couldn't see anything, so I just keep watching my lane to make sure we didn't get flanked. Then I see a guy running up the hill, cant see him very well though the bushes/trees, but I can make out the 'bulb' of a strela on his back and his movements seemed like human controlled. Well there's bad guys who are humans, So I lit him up through some bushes, turned out he was friendly, and in my squad. There was no communication of "I'm going down the hill to search, now coming back up the hill" etc. So I had no idea there would be friendlies in that area (close) of my lane of fire and I also didn't know our guys were using enemy weapons. This could have so easily been avoided.

[Lightspeed~SPARTA~]

I had the same thing happen - I think it's important for players to know that the blame should not necessarily fall on the shooter for friendly-fire.

 

We had established a "Line" formation heading West and the chap on the end decides to bear North from the Southern most position and runs straight across my path where I was scanning for a threat.

 

I shoot him and he goes "WTF - why did you do that?"

 

Sorry bro - run across my lane without announcing it and I will shoot your ass..period.