Laser-Skirmish Tactics
Laser-Skirmish –
The Basics
This article aim is to explain
to players new to Laser-Skirmish the basics of the game. Many of the comments in this article also apply to
airsoft and paintball competitions especially the
formation moves.
Aiming
The most basic skill of laser
skirmish is to learn how to aim effectively.
The first thing to realise is
that you have to hit the sensors to make hits, therefore
you should aim at the sensors (either on the head or the
gun). Even
if you can see the players head or part of the gun, you
should in most cases hold fire until you can actually see
the sensor. Remember that shooting gives away your position and wastes
ammunition so you really only want to shoot in most cases
when your confident of making a hit.
The exception to this is where you are trying to
lay down suppressive fire.
When you do start firing,
especially with a long rifle with a large clip, its
possible to create an area effect on the target by firing
on fully automatic and creating a tight circle with your
weapon. Simply
move your rifle aim around the target area.
The result is that even if your target moves he/she
is still likely to be hit.
If you are using a telescopic
scope, the
scope is mounted such as it is between 10-15 centimetres
above the actual barrel. Each week we zero the scopes in to make sure that
that scope and the lens assembly are in parallel so the
sight is correct out to any distance.
With telescopic scopes, one needs to keep your eye
steady and around 6 centimetres (varies from scope to
scope) back from the back of the scope to see through it
clearly. Too
close or too far away and the vision will be black or very
narrow. Using
telescopic scopes effectively takes practice however they
do allow very accurate fire at range.
With Red Dot scopes, typically
found on Spitfires, Berserker Mark II’s
and Commando’s you should make sure you can see
the red dot in the scope and keep the red dot near the
centre. You
then put the red dot 5-10 centimetres above the targets
sensor.
With Mini-Spitzis and
Berserker Mark I, they have an iron sight on the top.
With the iron sight, you have to look through the
two holes on the top so that you can see the enemy’s
sensor. Because
the iron sights are mounted on the barrel (lens assembly),
you aim directly at the sensors.
Ambush
Area Fire
If you are able to ambush a
group of enemy players, especially at close range, you
need to take into account that the sensors only take hits
once every 3 seconds. To do maximum damage you need to rotate the targets so that
you hit each player every 3 seconds so that each one of
them has there gun disabled and cannot return fire.
What I do is start shooting on the left most player
and work my way across over the course of about 1.5
seconds so that every target takes and hit.
I then swing my rifle from right to left over the
next 1.5 seconds to catch anyone that I missed the first
time. Then
the process starts again as I swing from left to right…
Of course the enemy should be
hitting cover, once they can effectively return fire you
should quickly retreat so you live long enough to setup
another ambush position.
Avoiding
hits
Usually the best way not to be
hit, in Laser-Skirmish, paintball and airsoft, is not to
be seen! If
you move carefully and are constantly looking around and
listening, you can often spot the enemy before they spot
you. The
human eye is attracted to movement, so if you stop and
hide before the enemy has spotted you, they will typically
not see you. Looking
around including behind you is a good skill to get, new
players tend to look at the ground in front of them or
look forward to where they expect the enemy to be.
The enemy however is often not where you expect, so
if you have to expect the unexpected.
Keep looking and listening all the time and stay
alert!
If you do come under fire, you
probably should be seeking cover.
The best cover is often vertical oriented objects
such as trees.
The bigger the tree trunk the more angles it cuts
off and therefore better cover.
Anything the blocks light in Laser-Skirmish or in
the case of paintball or airsoft, any physical cover
counts as cover.
Once the enemy knows where you
are, you should try to move as soon as you’re not
pinned, sometimes you have to be brave.
You never want to be where the enemy expects or
knows you to be.
Often retreating and approaching the enemy from
another direction works well.
Pin
and Flank
One of
the standard problems faced in combat games like
paintball, airsoft and Laser-Skirmish is how to
effectively destroy an enemy force that is behind cover.
No matter how much you fire at the target, your
rounds will not penetrate the cover.
If you simply advance forward the enemy will pick
you off as you try to cross open ground.
In this situation you have basically two viable
options. One
is to form a skirmish line (see next section) and charge
the position hoping to rush the enemy.
The other option is to pin and flank the enemy,
this option takes some team work.
Generally those players who have long guns in the
group (this could be one person)
apply significant suppressive fire onto the enemy
position, this
is not expected to do significant damage but it should
force the enemy to keep their heads down and therefore not
be in a position to spot or at least effectively engage
those forces doing the flanking.
While the enemy is under suppressive fire the
flankers usually choosing the flank with the most cover
move around the enemy position to hit them from the sides.
You will find that most cover in combat games is
one directional and therefore if you shoot at the enemy
from two directions at once they will be exposed to
effective fire.
The
pin and flank movement is often used when players are
working in pairs. One
player pins and the other flanks, but can used with large
formation moves as well.
Skirmish
Line
Often
simple plans are the best.
One of the most simple plans and yet extremely
effective to is to simple form skirmish line (also known
as an extended line) and then match towards the enemy
while keeping all of your team in one straight line.
The key to an extended line is that players are at
least 10 metres apart from each other, therefore if you
have a squad of say 10 soldiers, your line should extend
100metres or more.
You should not be so far apart than you loose
contact with the next friendly to your left and right.
Generally I position myself as the force commander
in the centre so I can make sure everyone stays in line.
With very inexperienced players the force commander
may have to walk up and down the line making sure everyone
else stays in line and keeps advancing despite enemy fire.
A
skirmish line is effective due to the following factors
a)
Its simple, remember Laser-Skirmish players are typically
not trained soldiers and therefore complex plans are
doomed to failure.
b)
Players remain in contact with each other so adding
inter-player communication
c)
Each player provides cross fire support to every other
player. By
spreading out significantly the enemy finds it hard to
find effective cover against fire from the flanks of the
skirmish line
d)
The formation provides the maximum amount of forward
directing fire possible with no risk of making friendly
hits.
WEAPONS TACTICS
Using each weapon to best take advantage of its strengths to
achieve mission success is vital in Laser-Skirmish. For tactical purposes there are basically 3 classes of
weapons to consider broadly before delving into the
details of each particular model. Squad leaders should
consider carefully the assignment of their weapon assets
to their squad members to maximize the total squad’s
effectiveness. We class the weapons systems as long guns,
short guns & mines. The exception is the Commando Carbine because it shares
characteristics of both long and short guns.
LONG
GUNS
The
Morita, Pulse Rifle and M16 are all examples of long guns.
These
models share similar characteristics.
First
they are relatively heavy so these weapons, so they should
be assigned to those in your squad with enough strength to
hold them steady. Especially when trying to use a
telescopic scope typically found on long guns, it’s
vital that the player holds the rifle steady to aim
effectively.
Long
guns have approximately 50% more maximum range than the
short guns. Therefore long guns are best used at long
range so the enemy can be engaged at lower risk to the
firer. As most long guns have a telescopic scope, the long
guns when properly zeroed in are effectively more accurate
at range as well so making the effective combat range
closer to 70% greater than a typical short gun. In
defence, soldiers should be looking for long fire lanes to
cover with these weapons or areas where the enemy must
approach over open ground.
Longs guns are ideally suited for combat in excess
of 50 metres.
At
ranges less than 20 metres, long guns are at a
disadvantage because being heavy they take longer to aim.
When in engaged in Close Quarters Battles (CQB),
being able to quickly get off the first aimed shot
is vitally important.
To make matters worse, the long guns typical
telescopic scopes are hard to use at very close engage.
The weakness at short range is partially addressed
with the scatter gun mode available on all long guns.
The scatter gun mode provides a 20 metre burst
fire, much like a canister round in a M203 grenade
launcher. The
challenge with the scatter gun mode is the slow rate of
fire.
The
long reload time typical of long guns, also means that a
soldier is very exposed while reloading so care should be
taken about having support nearby to provide cover when
this occurs.
Long
guns are also not very effective when making a fast moving
assault. It
is difficult to simultaneously move and shoot accurately
with the long guns due to their sheer size and weight.
When
making assaults on enemy positions fire teams of 3-4
soldiers should be formed.
The role of the long gun in a fire team is to pin
the defenders at range with sustained, accurate long range
fire in order to prevent the defenders seeing the advance
of the rest of the fire team.
A fire team of 1 long gun (especially the Morita)
and 2 short guns can work very well in assaulting a
position. The short guns are used to flank and advance to
get close enough to overrun the defenders.
If the fire team has 4 members, 2 long guns and 2
short guns is a good combination.
SHORT
GUNS.
In
this category you will find the Spitfire, Berserker and
Mini-Spitzi models. They are all universally light being
less than 2.5kg. They are also short in length therefore
reducing their bulk. This category of weapon suites the
players that have less strength or want maximum
flexibility.
Short
guns typically have a maximum range of around 80 metres
and an effective combat range of around 45-50 metres.
Because they are quick and easy to aim,
they have a distinct advantage over long guns in
CQB, especially anything below 20 metres.
Short
guns have either a red dot scope (Spitfire, Berserker Mark
II) or iron sights (Berserker Mark I, Mini-Spitzi).
The red dot is especially effective in low light
conditions because the soldier can still see the dot in
the dark whereas with a typical telescopic scope or with
an iron sight, it’s hard to see the cross hair (note
that the new illuminated cross hair telescopic scopes
solve this problem). Both types of scopes used on the
short guns are easy to use and therefore suit beginners.
Clearly
a player with a short gun should attempt to avoid long
range engagements with enemy long guns. This can be done
by positioning oneself in dense cover to reduce engagement
range. One can also reduce engagement ranges by moving
rapidly towards the enemy position while under the
protection of friendly long gun fire taking advantage of
the ability to run with the short guns. Short guns are
ideal for over-running enemy positions because one can
shoot and move at the same time with relative ease.
In
defence long guns and short guns should be interspersed so
that the short guns can protect the long guns against
close assault.
Typically a squad should try to have an even number of short
guns and long guns. However if you are defending a base
then, if given a choice, the force commander should be
looking for 60%
long guns. Conversely if you are attacking then you’ll want
60% short guns. Of course terrain, deployment,
quality of troops available and specific mission
objectives will impact the choice as well.
CLAYMORE
MINES
The
Claymore mine is a defensive weapon. It fires only once
but has a huge bank of unlensed emitters that are forward
facing. It also has a single emitter firing backwards.
The claymore mine is triggered by a button at the
end of a 20metre cable.
The Claymore is usually best used to cover obvious
approaches to a base. To be truly effective the defenders
need quite a few Claymores so they can cover all the
approaches, so no matter which way the attackers come
from, they take a significant risk of taking damage from
one of the claymore mines. The claymore effective range
forward is around 20 metres, although hits at longer range
are possible. The unit fires for 5 seconds continuously
and therefore can make up to 2 hits on anyone in the
affected zone.
The
tactical disadvantage of the claymore mines is that it
tends to make the defenders too passive and predictable.
Soldiers get too tied to the position of the mine/s rather
than responding to the changing threats posed by the
enemy. In
Laser-Skirmish players should always try to keep the
opponents off balance. For defenders this may involve
having a small proportion of your force on mobile patrol
(not recommended at night due to concerns over friendly
fire).
M16A2/M203
This
model is designed primarily for military and security
training purposes unlike all the other models which are
designed primarily for civilian use. To reflect this, the
weight is realistic for an M16 with an M203 attachment
i.e. heavy!
If
this model is used on a commercial field with other guns
from the Laser-Skirmish armoury, it is best to configure
this with the Canadian C7 program or even better request
the pulse rifle (75rnd clip) program at time of
manufacture to maintain game balance.
The default 30rnd M16A2 program with 1 canister
round per clip is under powered when used with the other
weapons but ideal for force-on-force training purposes.
MORITA
LMG/SNIPER RIFLE
Typically
the Morita is used as the squad area weapon (SAW) although
on semi-automatic mode, can be used as a Sniper Rifle as
well. The Morita now has an option to make it simulate a
bolt action rifle. It can fire 99 rounds before requiring
a reload on its default configuration.
The fire rate in fully automatic mode is 350 rounds
per minute so it is able to put down an extremely powerful
and sustained burst of fire. For sheer firepower the
Morita is the most powerful weapon in the entire laser
skirmish arsenal. At almost one metre long is also the
largest unit normally seen in service on a Laser-Skirmish
battlefield. Depending on the scope used, the weight is
normally around 4.5kg. Watch out for the reload time of 15
seconds.
The
Morita also has the longest range of any model available.
The latest Morita’s out distance a pulse rifle by
at least 25% by using a narrow beamed light system.
The result is the Morita requires better aiming
than a Pulse Rifle and therefore should use a telescopic
scope.
PULSE
RIFLE.
The
Pulse Rifle is now the standard combat rifle on most
battlefields.
The 75round magazine at 350 rounds per minute
provides a powerful burst of fire that is adequate for
most roles. It weighs roughly the same as a Morita but is
shorter and therefore a little easier to handle in dense
cover. Reload time is 12secs.
It should be considered a heavy assault rifle.
COMMANDO
The
Commando is best classified as a carbine.
With a typical scope and battery it weighs about
3.5kg. It
has been designed with an adjustable stock and is very
well balanced, which means it can be used effectively by
most people. In
its primary configuration it has a 50rnd magazine.
Either a red dot or telescopic scope can be used
with a Commando, although generally the red dot scope is
the most popular with new players.
The Commando also has exceptional range, with a
well zeroed telescopic scope; the Commando has the same
range as a Morita.
Tactically the Commando can be effectively used in
almost any role including that of a Sniper with a
telescopic scope to a rapid assault with a red dot scope.
Our experience is this is the most effective all
round weapon available.
SPITFIRE
The
red dot scope (usually a 30mm Red Dot scope) mounted on
most Spitfires provides a Laser-Skirmish gun that is easy
to use in day or night conditions.
The red dot tends to track with the firer's eye so
making it easy to aim even when moving and is often a
little more accurate than iron sights so making the
effective range a little longer. The Spitfire comes with a
30round magazine and takes 6 seconds to reload.
The rate of fire is 200 rounds per minute.
BERSERKER
The
Berserker has the most firepower of all the short guns.
The fire rate is 200rounds per minute and it has a 50
round magazine. The range is the same as all the short
guns. With the Mark II Berserker, there is an integrated
30mm red dot sight that makes this unit easy to aim and
therefore is very popular with new players. Even many of
the regulars take the Berserker as the weapon of choice
because for its weight, it has excellent stopping power
and easy aiming for short and medium range work.
Base
Defence
Typically
in Laser-Skirmish, most clans are actually better at
offence that defence. Often the attacking team is able to
easily create a local numerical superiority at some point
of the front and rush through the defenders perimeter
over-running the defenders HQ.
In
more advanced base offence games, a defending team that is
not currently in control of their HQ, cannot get
replacements (re-spawns) until retaken so the loss of the
HQ is often fatal for the defenders.
In
military operations, the defenders are expected to hold
out against at least 2 to 1 odds often more whereas in
Laser-Skirmish the attackers often win on 1.2 to 1 ratio
typically applied.
There
is no doubt the number of hit points used does impact
this, the higher the hit points are, the better for the
attackers because they can afford to take a couple of
points of damage as they close with the defenders. With
the regulars, hit point values from 2 to 4 are typical to
give the defenders a fighting chance to heavily damage the
attackers approaching their position.
However the main
problems for clans performing defence are caused by
tactical errors. Players, especially beginners, become
virtually immobilized when defending a position so even
when spotted they wait until the attackers can get on
their flanks and eliminate them. In Laser-Skirmish most
times when the enemy knows your exact position it is
advisable to move, even if its only 5 meters to another
piece of cover.
Remember
battles are won by fire and movement.
As
discussed in August edition of Lock and Load, the use of
patrols can be an effective way to disorient the
attackers, see http://www.laserskirmish.com/0208lockandload.pdf
The
other tactical error that almost all teams do including
some of the best regular clans is not maintaining an
adequate reserve uncommitted to the perimeter defence
directly under the control of the force commander.
Clans
typically work out a plan of defence usually including a
perimeter and maybe a long range patrol element but once
the mission commences have no effective way of adjusting
their plans to counter enemy movements or even to cover
breaches in the perimeter caused by friendly casualties.
Virtually
all military books on tactics talk about the vital need to
maintain reserves because battles are not totally
predictable and adjustments such as taking action against
weakened section of the front, patching up a broken front
line or even to respond to an enemy advance from an
unexpected direction all require a reserve element.
Because reserves are not committed to the front, they are
not likely to be pinned down under enemy fire or weakened.
Also by being adjacent to the force commander, orders can
be quickly issued to these troops by the commander and
he/she can see his orders are carried out in person.
A
simple example of using a reserve element for a base
defence is the following scenario of say 1 section of
defenders (10 players) versus 2 sections of attackers (20
players).
The
defenders have a position where the enemy has 2 main
avenues of approach. If as is usual all the soldiers are
committed immediately to the perimeter defence and they
are evenly divided between the 2 avenues leaving 5
soldiers at each approach.
Now
lets say the enemy hits one approach initially with a
feigned attack of 5 soldiers and then once the defenders
are committed, hits the other avenue with 15 soldiers, the
attackers gain a local numerical superiority of 15 to 5 (3
to 1) which is enough to overrun most positions even given
the inherent advantages such as improved cover of
defending. If on the other hand, the defenders maintained
a reserve element of say 4 soldiers, the force commander
once he/she has identified where the main attack is coming
from, can quickly move the reserve to support the
defenders positioned against the main attack.
The
ratios then become 5:3 against the feigned attack and 15:7
(closer to 2 to 1) against the main attack.
Of
course correctly moving the reserve effectively requires
the force commander to be fed accurate information about
the enemy movements.
Classically
this is done most often by the force commander positioning
him or herself in a good observation point. With the
advent of radio communications which are often used by the
clans in battle, the use of radio equipped forward
observers to accurately report enemy movement and strength
information to the force commander is vitally important.
The
use of reserves and effective battlefield communications
are vital elements to victory and are all components of
the necessity to have on strong and effective leadership.
The importance of leadership was discussed in more detail
in http://www.laserskirmish.com/0201lockandload.pdf
. An excellent
general discussion of urban tactics can be found in March
2002 edition of Lock and Load http://www.laserskirmish.com/0203lockandload.pdf
THE PATROL
For all Laser-Skirmish players we highly
recommend reviewing the previous editions of Lock and Load
battle tactics to gain vital in-sights on how to fight and
win at laser skirmish. You
can download them from http://www.lasertag.com.au/0201lockandload.pdf
and http://www.lasertag.com.au/0203lockandload.pdf
This edition we are covering the application and execution
of patrols. Quite often in Laser-Skirmish a patrol
formation is the most appropriate although under utilized
option available to a squad. A patrol formation
works well when
the soldier to space ratio is low and location of some or
the entire enemy is un-known or where you have to
"sneak" past the enemy. A good space ratio to
maintain in a patrol squad is the line of sight. You can
see each other and hand signals, hear whistles, low
voices, but can-not be hit with one shot from the enemy. A
patrol of only six to ten people (for example) can be very
successful, as its small enough to go undetected, large
enough to do
serious damage
to any opposition, and flexible enough that the players
can swap between roles as their direction or intent
changes. Even when performing a base defence it can make a
lot of sense to have small very stealthy patrol working
around the enemy, this can really disorient
the attackers who are expecting all the defenders to be
around the base. Beginners in particular tend to only look
in the direction they are expecting the enemy to be so a small
group working around their side or rear can often surprise
the attackers. There is also a general principle than
whenever possible, you should never be located where the
enemy expects you to be and if you know you have been
spotted, you should move ASAP. A patrol
formation can also be appropriate when moving into assault
position.
This is because
the enemy may well have placed snipers well forward of
their positions and in fact may
have laid a forward ambush or even placed their own
patrols as a type of forward defence. In all these
scenarios, it is quite probable the enemy will get the
first round of fire off first and typically from an
advantageous position.
The Patrol
formation is an absolute must when hunting for snipers in
the sniper mission, over a large area, anything else is
plain suicide!
So what is a
patrol formation and how does it help? Well there are few
different patrol
formations that one can choose, but for Laser-Skirmish
some thing very basic is all that is required. The most
important position in the squad is the point person
(scout). The point moves well
ahead of the main body of troops anything from 30-40
meters to 200 meters depending on the situation. In the
heavy bush battle-field we tend to work around 50 meters
whereas in more open terrain, more like 200 meters. The
principle is that it’s much harder for the enemy to spot
one person than a whole squad so the point man has a
greater chance of spotting the enemy sniper or ambush
first than if the whole squad had moved up. The point man
can then return to the main group and report the enemy
presence to the
squad leader. Even so, the point is often spotted first by
the enemy and therefore comes under effective fire, still
this means only one soldier is killed not the whole squad
and the enemy have given their position away to the rest
of the squad who can then engage or retreat as
appropriate. If the point comes under attack, the rest of
the squad typically should fan out left and right and
quickly move forward to engage the enemy.
A sweeper is
also useful position in a patrol. The sweeper stays behind
the main group ensuring that there is no threat from the
rear. The sweeper’s job is to warn the squad if there is
any enemy following them or have moved behind them. Most
encounters happen in the direction the squad is moving, so
the sweeper is not quite as vital as the point, but still highly
recommended.
The squad leader
typically is near the front of the main body of troops.
Adequate levels of dispersement as discussed in earlier Lock and Load
editions should be kept in mind. Way too many players bunch up and are
slaughtered by a numerically inferior force for this
reason. Also be dispersing somewhat the enemy can be fired
at quickly from multiple directions which is important in laser
skirmish because most cover provides protection from only
a single direction. The patrol however
also maintains a significant local concentration of force
which means it has the firepower that can be quickly
employed to counter enemy forces. This can be particularly
useful when you’ve got more than one squad out in the
field and one or the other requires support.
The leader has to be positioned
to get the best possible view of his/her own troop
positions and that of the enemy. If enemy are reported by
the point or other member of the squad, the leader may
well choose to perform a leader’s recon before
committing the squad to an attack. If the force (including
the point man) come under enemy fire the squad leader must
issue immediate and appropriate orders and to do this must
be positioned within sight and hearing range of the majority of the
troops under command.
It is quite possible that the
point and/or sweeper have not spotted the enemy before the
main squad comes under fire. This is much better than
having your squad spread out so much that they can't assist each
other (or any other squad) effectively or even be properly
led by the squad leader.
The soldiers in the main body of
troops should be clearly told where they should be looking
in relation to themselves. For example the first soldier
could be looking left and second looking right and the
third looking up (watching out for snipers in the trees).
For those clans looking to be
truly successful we recommend that specific immediate
action drills be trained in order to counter threats from
different directions and types.
Tactics - VIP Escort
The VIP escort is the classic exfiltration mission that is
run at many Laser-Skirmish fields around the world for
both corporate groups and regular sessions.
Typically the VIP has 2 hit points, the escorting Guards 6
hit points and the enemy ambush force have 4 hit points.
The goal for the escort team is the get the VIP from
one end of the field to the other without the VIP dying.
The ambush team deploys in the other 80% of the
battlefield and lay waiting in ambush. The VIP wears
usually a white or red hat so that he or she is very
obvious. This mission works well for bucks parties
(the buck is the VIP) and for corporate groups where the
boss is the VIP usually. If the battlefield has
dense cover the VIP typically gets 2 hit points and in
more open battlefields especially urban environments, the
VIP has 3 hit points. No respawns are available to either
team typically.
For the escorting team, they have a few basic tactical
options that have all worked in practice when well
executed or against poorly coordinated enemy forces.
The classic tactic is for the escort team to form a patrol
formation, the point (scout) person and the
"tail end charlie" having the most important
roles, both must be careful and alert.
The patrol formation and use was discussed in length in
August 2002 Lock and Load, page 2, see http://www.lasertag.com.au/0208lockandload.pdf
Usually the VIP is placed 2nd or 3rd last in the
formation. The risk with a patrol
formation is that the point may miss the enemy lying in
ambush, especially if they are smart and hold their fire,
allowing the enemy to take down the VIP in a hail of fire.
Also there is chance with the patrol formation that a
flanking sniper can pick off the VIP because the patrol
formation tends to be quite linear. The tail
end soldier must take care as well, because the ambush
team may well let the patrol pass them by and then attack
from the rear. The advantage of the
patrol formation is that all the escort team is defending
the VIP for the entire journey which often means there is
adequate concentrated firepower to deal with any ambushes
found along the way.
The next option is to hide the VIP with perhaps 1 or 2
guards usually fairly close to the deployment zone and
send the main body of troops forward to find and eliminate
most if not all the enemy forces before moving the VIP
forward. This tactic has the advantage of allowing
the escorting team to concentrate on finding and
destroying the enemy without being constrained by having
to protect the VIP, it essentially becomes a classic
search and destroy mission. Ideally the VIP
party and the leader of the search and destroy section
will both have radios because communication can
easily break down. There are two
major risks associated with this plan. The
first is if the ambushes realise what the escort team are
up to, and infiltrate through their lines to find and
destroy the poorly defended VIP. The
second risk is that the search and destroy force may be
badly mauled by the ambush force to a point they are no
longer an effective fighting force or able to
communicate what is happening to the VIP party.
A hybrid tactic is to have a wide formation that probes
forward looking for the areas of enemy strength and
weakness navigating the VIP through the safest path found.
Usually one soldier stays with the VIP all the way as a
guide and as the last ditch defence. By
having forces that span the field, a careful well
coordinated team can make sure all enemy snipers are
detected and then evaded or destroyed before they can
attack the VIP. This tactic works best on
relatively narrow fields or with large formations involved
because it is vital the ambushes do not slip through the
net. The major problem is with
maintaining formation in rugged terrain or when the force
comes under enemy fire. It is vital that
formation remains in a line across the field to prevent
gaps forming, this can be remarkably hard to achieve if leadership
is lacking or the soldiers lack discipline under fire.
For the ambush team there are also some options available.
To some extend the ambush team is looking for mistakes
from the VIP escort team. If enemy escorts do
not make any mistakes, then you’re facing an uphill
battle.
The classic plan is to deploy throughout the battlefield well hidden snipers and lie in
wait for the perfect shot on the VIP. Given
that the Morita and Pulse Rifles will make accurate hits
at long range, long range sniping is definitely an option.
Most battlefields have plenty of good sniper hiding points
with good fire lanes. The key for the
sniper to remain undetected yet be positioned so as to
have a good view of the battlefield. The
risk for the snipers is that because they are so spread
out, an alert escort team can destroy your team in detail.
If the team excel at base defence, the ambush team
could position themselves entrenched around the VIP
destination point. However because the
attackers have 6 hit points versus the defenders 4 hit
points, there is considerable danger the attackers
(escorts) will overrun the defenders (ambush).
This strategy is recommended for night missions
because at night, defenders have the advantage plus at
night tight control is required of ones forces to minimise
friendly fire.
A bold tactic that can be employed by experienced forces
is to maintain most or all of your force in a mobile
formation that tries to outflank the enemy and if the VIP
is not with the main enemy party to actively search for
the VIP.
In summary, there is no right way or wrong way to approach
the VIP escort mission. The force commander must
consider the terrain, lighting, the enemy’s likely
tactics and the skill of the forces under his/her
control. For the VIP escort team the most
conservative approach is the patrol and for the ambush
team, placing well hidden snipers covering the different
approaches. Of course in battle, fortune often
favours the brave!
Leadership
Winning at Laser-Skirmish requires a lot of different
skills. The most important of these is leadership.
A strong, smart leader that has the respect of those under
his/her command is vital for winning
consistently. The leader when planning and executing
the mission has to consider factors such as the
objective/s, the likely composition and location of the
enemy forces and the assets available in terms of
weapons and forces. Orders should be issued to each
squad member clearly (use their name so they know its
them being spoken to, something like "three of
you go over there" is a very poor command and always
causes confusion) or in the case of larger forces,
fire team or squad leaders should be given the orders
directly and clearly.
On a individual level, each squad member needs to work as
much as possible towards the team plan laid down by the
force commander. It is also important to
ensure that one only fires at the enemy, take the time to
ensure it is in fact the enemy you are firing at, not your
allies. Too many inexperienced people shoot
their team mates, doing un-aimed or careless fire.
Having everyone in an appropriate formation for the
maneuver being attempted can make a huge difference.
The basic idea is to be position to maximise the amount of
fire, preferably from different angles upon the enemy
while minimising the risk of shooting ones own allies.
The last thing you want is someone on your team firing a
Morita through your ranks, it does happen and the results
are horrible. If you know where the enemy is,
the simplest and very effective is a line formation.
The problem with a line formation is that it is very
vulnerable to flanking fire, remember the area of effect
of a machine gun is narrow but long, so a machine gun
shooting down a line can be devastating (a point that
should also be remembered when moving along trails).
Despite the flank attack weaknesses, line abreast is
simple to execute and control and can be very effective.
More advanced formations require training.
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