Firefly
2003-12-08, 08:18 AM
There's more than one strategy writer here. This is from the perspective of Terran Republic tank gunners. This manual comes from the Black Widow Company battle tactics handbook. If you intend to copy/paste it elsewhere, please ask for permission as it's a compilation of several authors who may or may not wish recognition. If any of you have anything to add, please post it here- the more valuable insight we have, the better this "manual" will be for anyone reading it.
===============================================
FORWARD:
Before conducting any sort of training or operation, it is always advisable to have a plan. To create a plan, you need an idea of what you want to accomplish. For this purpose, we want to come up with standardized tank combat procedures. The first thing to do is come up with a basic standard for units.
Since we are members of the Terran Republic, our primary battle tank is the Prowler, which fields a crew of three. In-game, a full squad of troops is ten - so we will say that the term "tank squad" is three tanks with nine people as crew, and an extra position remains for an AMS (forward-area resupply point) or a Lightning (light tank). For all intents and purposes, we will assume the squad has a Lightning light tank as the tenth-person position (as designated by the black squad with the red-x in the center).
Another term to describe is "tank commander". Generally the tank crew features a driver, a gunner, and a commander. The commander generally operates a machine gun, which can be anti-infantry, anti-armor or anti-air. The Prowler features two independent weapons systems, so for our purpose the tank commander will be the person in the rotary dual-12mm cannons. This turret traverses (swivels) faster and can constantly scan the surroundings faster than the main gun, so it is ideal for the commander to sit here, where he can get a rapid view of the situation.
TANK FORMATIONS:
Tank formations - this will give tank units an idea of how to maximize their combined firepower and create sectors of fire that will protect the formation. There are various types of tank formations, and they all fall under two basic categories: Movement Formations and Movement Techniques.
Movement formations are the actual ways a tank squad can move.
-- Column: the basic formation, where the four tanks get into a line and follow the leader. This is a single-file line and often called "file formation".
-- Line Abreast: the squad moves with all four tanks lined up side by side )abreast).
-- Staggered Column: the squad moves in a wide column where no two tanks are directly behind one another.
-- Wedge: the squad forms an inverted V, aka the vee, which should be self-explanatory.
-- Echelon: the tanks are arrayed in a staggered (diagonal) line to the left or right.
http://www.theblackwidowcompany.net/imagez/signaturez/formations1.JPG
http://www.theblackwidowcompany.net/imagez/signaturez/formations2.JPG
Movement techniques are how the squad moves while in these formations, and there are three of these. The basic movement technique is travelling, where the squad simply gets into formation and moves. This technique is used when the squad faces no risk of enemy action. Next is bounding overwatch in successive bounds (also known as travelling overwatch), where the squad normally moves as a unit, but occasionally halts two tanks to act as an overwatch while the other two tanks move forward, then the forward tanks halt to overwatch while the rear tanks catch up. This technique is used when enemy contact is possible, but not likely, as the overwatching tanks are better able to engage enemy forces. The third technique is known as bounding overwatch in alternating bounds (also known as leapfrogging or simply "bounding overwatch"). This technique has the squad moving by section constantly, with two tanks in overwatch while the other two move, and it is used when the squad is expecting enemy contact. With two tanks always in the overwatch role, the squad can quickly react to the appearance of the enemy while minimizing the risk to the platoon.
ACTION DRILLS:
Armored combat training is also referred to as "action drills". Action drills are predetermined drills used during combat operations. A tank squad has five basic battle drills: change of formation, contact drill, action drill, react to incoming fire, and react to air attack.
-- Change of formation is self-explanatory: a squad must be able to quickly change from one formation to another to react to a change in conditions. When moving through an obstacle, for example, a squad may have to move from a wedge to a column or staggered column to get through a breach in the obstacle, then quickly return to a wedge formation.
-- A contact drill is a means for reacting to the sudden appearance of an enemy force while conducting armored convoy movements. The tank commander (or any other person) calls out 'contact' and a direction relative to the tank's direction of motion, and all turrets should turn to face that direction while the tanks continue to move in the same direction they were heading before making contact.
-- An action drill is similar, but when an action drill is announced, the squad should actually turn all tanks in the direction of the enemy.
-- React to incoming fire trains a squad to react to coming under artillery fire or heavy tank fire by getting into the tank and driving away from the area being attacked. This allows the tanks to move out of the range of fire and observation, so they can repair and move back in to combat the threat at lethal-close ranges.
-- React to Air Threats trains a squad to immediately form up together, button up, locate an attacking air threat, and combine dual-12mm weapons systems to combat the threat. One tank may not be able to destroy an air target, but an entire squad can effectively destroy the target or drive it off before it can destroy any friendly assets. The nominal position is a circular or block formation, so that the aircraft cannot make a strafing rocket attack run and kill or damage more than one tank in one pass.
All of these drills are relatively simple, and with good reason. A tank squad needs to be able to execute them without hesitation under combat conditions. Therefore, repetition is essential to drilling them into the squad, so they'll react instinctively under combat conditions.
INDIVIDUAL TANK TACTICS:
Each tank fights as a part of the squad, however, each also fights as an individual platform. Tankers usually try to get into "defilade" or "hull-down" positions. This is the occasion when the tank's main body (or hull) is hidden from enemy direct fire, while the guns are exposed and can fire on advancing enemy. Folds in the ground, earthen berms, hills, walls, etc. provide excellent cover from which a tank can hide.
As an example, the next time you go racing across open ground with a tank, stop from time to time and use the third-person view function to look for those 'folds' or 'shallow valleys' in the flat terrain that exist in Planetside; those folds might be the perfect place to pull into while you move forward, providing cover from enemy guns. In fact, most real-life tank drivers are specifically trained to look ahead and determine the best place to fight from that provides such defilade cover.
Another individual tank tactic to use is the 'up and back' defilade technique, where-in the tank is completely hidden behind a hill from enemy view. During your turn, bring your tank up out of defilade (ie, go up on top of the hill), and fire on a target. After your first shot, you can continue to fire on targets or go back into defilade where crewman might even have a chance to repair any damage accrued. Or the tank squad leader may bring up a different tank, and later bring back up the first tank that fired. By alternating like this, you give the enemy little chance to acquire your tanks as targets for multiple shots, thus dramatically increasing your survival rate. The drawback to the "up and back" technique is that you will also have a low target-acquisition percentage. However, as the defender, if you are fighting a massed tank attack, this is an excellent way to even the odds. This is doubly-true if combat engineers have prepared the avenue of approach with mines and Spitfire turrets, or you are within defensive range of base and/or tower guns.
OFFENSIVE MANEUVERS FOR TANK SQUADS:
During attacks, the squad moves in a formation described above that best fits the tactical situation. During the attack, the tanks tend to maneuver by sections, with one section covering the other as they move (using a modified overwatch). A section is defined as two tanks, or a Prowler and the squad's Lightning light tank. If the attack is by a platoon, the squads maneuver as a complete unit.
http://www.theblackwidowcompany.net/imagez/signaturez/offensive1.JPG
===============================================
FORWARD:
Before conducting any sort of training or operation, it is always advisable to have a plan. To create a plan, you need an idea of what you want to accomplish. For this purpose, we want to come up with standardized tank combat procedures. The first thing to do is come up with a basic standard for units.
Since we are members of the Terran Republic, our primary battle tank is the Prowler, which fields a crew of three. In-game, a full squad of troops is ten - so we will say that the term "tank squad" is three tanks with nine people as crew, and an extra position remains for an AMS (forward-area resupply point) or a Lightning (light tank). For all intents and purposes, we will assume the squad has a Lightning light tank as the tenth-person position (as designated by the black squad with the red-x in the center).
Another term to describe is "tank commander". Generally the tank crew features a driver, a gunner, and a commander. The commander generally operates a machine gun, which can be anti-infantry, anti-armor or anti-air. The Prowler features two independent weapons systems, so for our purpose the tank commander will be the person in the rotary dual-12mm cannons. This turret traverses (swivels) faster and can constantly scan the surroundings faster than the main gun, so it is ideal for the commander to sit here, where he can get a rapid view of the situation.
TANK FORMATIONS:
Tank formations - this will give tank units an idea of how to maximize their combined firepower and create sectors of fire that will protect the formation. There are various types of tank formations, and they all fall under two basic categories: Movement Formations and Movement Techniques.
Movement formations are the actual ways a tank squad can move.
-- Column: the basic formation, where the four tanks get into a line and follow the leader. This is a single-file line and often called "file formation".
-- Line Abreast: the squad moves with all four tanks lined up side by side )abreast).
-- Staggered Column: the squad moves in a wide column where no two tanks are directly behind one another.
-- Wedge: the squad forms an inverted V, aka the vee, which should be self-explanatory.
-- Echelon: the tanks are arrayed in a staggered (diagonal) line to the left or right.
http://www.theblackwidowcompany.net/imagez/signaturez/formations1.JPG
http://www.theblackwidowcompany.net/imagez/signaturez/formations2.JPG
Movement techniques are how the squad moves while in these formations, and there are three of these. The basic movement technique is travelling, where the squad simply gets into formation and moves. This technique is used when the squad faces no risk of enemy action. Next is bounding overwatch in successive bounds (also known as travelling overwatch), where the squad normally moves as a unit, but occasionally halts two tanks to act as an overwatch while the other two tanks move forward, then the forward tanks halt to overwatch while the rear tanks catch up. This technique is used when enemy contact is possible, but not likely, as the overwatching tanks are better able to engage enemy forces. The third technique is known as bounding overwatch in alternating bounds (also known as leapfrogging or simply "bounding overwatch"). This technique has the squad moving by section constantly, with two tanks in overwatch while the other two move, and it is used when the squad is expecting enemy contact. With two tanks always in the overwatch role, the squad can quickly react to the appearance of the enemy while minimizing the risk to the platoon.
ACTION DRILLS:
Armored combat training is also referred to as "action drills". Action drills are predetermined drills used during combat operations. A tank squad has five basic battle drills: change of formation, contact drill, action drill, react to incoming fire, and react to air attack.
-- Change of formation is self-explanatory: a squad must be able to quickly change from one formation to another to react to a change in conditions. When moving through an obstacle, for example, a squad may have to move from a wedge to a column or staggered column to get through a breach in the obstacle, then quickly return to a wedge formation.
-- A contact drill is a means for reacting to the sudden appearance of an enemy force while conducting armored convoy movements. The tank commander (or any other person) calls out 'contact' and a direction relative to the tank's direction of motion, and all turrets should turn to face that direction while the tanks continue to move in the same direction they were heading before making contact.
-- An action drill is similar, but when an action drill is announced, the squad should actually turn all tanks in the direction of the enemy.
-- React to incoming fire trains a squad to react to coming under artillery fire or heavy tank fire by getting into the tank and driving away from the area being attacked. This allows the tanks to move out of the range of fire and observation, so they can repair and move back in to combat the threat at lethal-close ranges.
-- React to Air Threats trains a squad to immediately form up together, button up, locate an attacking air threat, and combine dual-12mm weapons systems to combat the threat. One tank may not be able to destroy an air target, but an entire squad can effectively destroy the target or drive it off before it can destroy any friendly assets. The nominal position is a circular or block formation, so that the aircraft cannot make a strafing rocket attack run and kill or damage more than one tank in one pass.
All of these drills are relatively simple, and with good reason. A tank squad needs to be able to execute them without hesitation under combat conditions. Therefore, repetition is essential to drilling them into the squad, so they'll react instinctively under combat conditions.
INDIVIDUAL TANK TACTICS:
Each tank fights as a part of the squad, however, each also fights as an individual platform. Tankers usually try to get into "defilade" or "hull-down" positions. This is the occasion when the tank's main body (or hull) is hidden from enemy direct fire, while the guns are exposed and can fire on advancing enemy. Folds in the ground, earthen berms, hills, walls, etc. provide excellent cover from which a tank can hide.
As an example, the next time you go racing across open ground with a tank, stop from time to time and use the third-person view function to look for those 'folds' or 'shallow valleys' in the flat terrain that exist in Planetside; those folds might be the perfect place to pull into while you move forward, providing cover from enemy guns. In fact, most real-life tank drivers are specifically trained to look ahead and determine the best place to fight from that provides such defilade cover.
Another individual tank tactic to use is the 'up and back' defilade technique, where-in the tank is completely hidden behind a hill from enemy view. During your turn, bring your tank up out of defilade (ie, go up on top of the hill), and fire on a target. After your first shot, you can continue to fire on targets or go back into defilade where crewman might even have a chance to repair any damage accrued. Or the tank squad leader may bring up a different tank, and later bring back up the first tank that fired. By alternating like this, you give the enemy little chance to acquire your tanks as targets for multiple shots, thus dramatically increasing your survival rate. The drawback to the "up and back" technique is that you will also have a low target-acquisition percentage. However, as the defender, if you are fighting a massed tank attack, this is an excellent way to even the odds. This is doubly-true if combat engineers have prepared the avenue of approach with mines and Spitfire turrets, or you are within defensive range of base and/or tower guns.
OFFENSIVE MANEUVERS FOR TANK SQUADS:
During attacks, the squad moves in a formation described above that best fits the tactical situation. During the attack, the tanks tend to maneuver by sections, with one section covering the other as they move (using a modified overwatch). A section is defined as two tanks, or a Prowler and the squad's Lightning light tank. If the attack is by a platoon, the squads maneuver as a complete unit.
http://www.theblackwidowcompany.net/imagez/signaturez/offensive1.JPG