The four requirements of infantry...

[Der Kuenstler]

The other day I was reading the CMBB strategy guide again, and came across something that is good for review. The guide said that infantry need four basic things to stay happy. I thought I would list them, comment and open the thread up for additional comments.

1) Leadership - always keep your infantry within the command radius of a good HQ unit. The only time I don't do this is when I'm sending out scattered half-squads for recon and I'm expecting them to get shot up and crawl away - their purpose is only to draw fire and expose the enemy - not to do any damage. Try to match your HQ to the job your squads have to do. The most demanding jobs (assaulting, etc.) should have a +2 combat, +2 heart commander if you have one. A platoon waiting in ambush would benefit from a +2 stealth commander, etc. Your men need a leader to gain strength from in the heat of battle. Without leadership your squads will soon be pinned and crawling sideways in any firefight, so pay close attention there.

When shooting at an enemy platoon, it's always good strategy to shoot the HQ unit. You don't even have to actually kill the unit - just panic him - his command lines will turn black and the squads will all lose his leadership. How do you find the HQ unit in extreme FOW? Well, most players (me included) tend to try to protect the HQ and will move around kind of like this:

X

X X X

Shoot the X farthest back of the approaching platoon - that's probably him...


2) Rest - do not run your men until they show "tired" - not only do they slow down anyway, they will also do all kinds of unwanted things like pin, panic, and rout when they come under fire. No tired squad can run or assault. Firing accuracy and hand-to-hand combat are also reduced. If you see any of your squads showing "tired" - stop them and hide them - they recover quicker when still and hiding. If that is not possible, at least walk them into some cover - but stop running them. If they get exhausted, it can take 10 minutes or more for them to recover. Watch your terrain here - if you are in deep snow or mud - don't even try to run - forget it. Just walk everywhere. Most squads can run a full minute on dry open ground and show "tiring" but not "tired" - if you ask them to run through more difficult terrain than that adjust accordingly.

3) Cover - If I can quote JasonC here: "Men don't like being shot at." If your squad is in the open or walking down a road, a single bullet from a sniper can send the squad crawling sideways in panic. Keep them in the best cover available whenever possible. If your platoon has made it near the flag and the flag is in a clump of brush, and there is a spot of woods (better cover) within 50 meters, just move your boys into the woods - they'll be happier and live longer. Remember, anything safe from enemy fire is cover. So if you are playing in fog at night, that is also cover. Distance is cover. If the ME has just begun and the nearest enemy is foot soldiers 1000 meters away, go ahead and run through the open - they can't hurt you from that far. It is helpful to have a cover chart that shows infantry exposure levels in different cover. I have one by my monitor, so I can say "Oh - I see he's in those scattered trees, I think I'll move my boys into this rubble here (better cover) and then shoot at him."

4) Support - this is my weakest area. I haven't been mindful enough of this in the past, but am working on it. Your infantrymen need to be supported in their efforts by the units behind them and on their flanks. Being first to the flag is only part of it - only adequate support will allow you to keep that flag. Without heavy support getting quickly into position your advance platoon will be shot out of there.

According to the manual, infantry take a huge morale hit when they realize they are being fired on from the SIDE or from the REAR. In other words, they realize they aren't being supported by their buddies. An example of this was during a battle where I ordered my men to advance across about 50 meters of open ground into a recently collapsed building. The building was still smoking so I had cover in front of me. I had a good +2 combat leader and enough men for the job. However, my opponent had smartly slipped around to the side with a couple of his squads and started firing as soon as the men got in the open - my attack quickly failed - within a few seconds everyone was crawling for cover. I put every squad on "withdraw" and luckily got them out of there with few casualties, but they were panicked and useless for the next several minutes. What had I done wrong? I asked these guys to assault this building without enough support on the sides and rear. I had no MGs or tank HE in place yet to return fire on these shooters and suppress them.

When fire comes from the rear or side - infantry think something like "My God - we're surrounded - where is everybody - maybe they withdrew - oh *@#$% -we're cut off!" They won't fight effectively like that. That's why you MUST guard your flanks if you want your men up and shooting instead of crawling around quivering.

I would say I'm a better than average tank commander -I usually win those battles. Infantry I'm not that great at - hopefully this post will encourage a few more infantry hints....

[gangofmao]

...just wondering
when that happens to me,on Move command
Squads in open hitting the ground and sneaking everywhich way...
when fired on...
i always stop the sneak,and hit hide,even if in open ground...
unless a close ambush,seems to lower the problems to my squads...
but now most times,unless i close and in assult mode,my squads always
use move to contact and hide...may make things slow at times...
but squads seem to live to fight...

GoM

[Mike Abberton]

Regarding rest, when I need to advance across an open area from one bit of cover to another, I like to walk the first half and advance (or run) the second half.

I do this because if someone has a cover arc on the open area, it is more likely that it starts in "their" half of no man's land. That way, my guys are still good and rested when they start moving quickly and when they start taking fire, they seem to be more likely to keep going that way.

[Der Kuenstler]

gangofmao - good points - I've found "Move to contact and hide" to be useful for the lead squad to stay alive - sometimes they'll turn into an icon that way and then all of your support shooters can fire on the newly exposed enemy.

Panther Bait - huh - never thought of that - good idea. I always wished this game had something beween "move" and "advance" that wasn't so tiring.

I also think "sneak" and "run" are underrated commands - I've had good success with them in many situations.

[10th Mnt Div jdsu]

1) Leadership

> I find that Vets and above can operate quite well when not in command range. Having said that, I tend to let them operate solo only when they are acting as listening posts or overwatch.

> I will always place the plus 2 Morale Comp (or higher) HQ in the area which I think is the most critical. For my style, having troops figthing like lions aids the cause the most.

> Section leaders (the 2 man HQ's) make excellant scouts.

[Ratzki]

his squads and started firing as soon as the men got in the open - my attack quickly failed - within a few seconds everyone was crawling for cover. I put every squad on "withdraw" and luckily got them out of there with few casualties, but they were panicked and useless for the next several minutes.

Now there is a command I feel is not used enough - WITHDRAW. When the first squad goes prone you only have seconds to setup return fire and start to flank the enemy, otherwise get outa there. The worst that can happen if you withdraw under fire is your squad routes and then gets mauled and possibly eliminated, alot of times this is exactly what happens if you stay or try to SNEAK off. All the move commands have too long a delay to effectively get you out of trouble save for WITHDRAW.
Specially with teams, withdraw is the way to go as a team has so few men they cannot take many casualties and every second they sit waiting for the command delay to be up greatly increases their odds of being eliminated. I like to set up with a ATR team or mortar team and fire till found and then WITHDRAW away before the enemy homes in on them with lots of fire.
You can use WITHDRAW to move forward as well. I have done this in dire situations where I must get squads in position right away if not sooner, and can not wait for the command delay. Just hope you don't get fired upon to badly as the hit in morale is significant.

[Der Kuenstler]

10th mtn - Good idea with the section leaders, although they would give the enemy bigger points if eliminated. I would especially use them in that role if teamed with a mortar or two back farther in the woods.

Ratzky - Absolutely - withdraw is a great tool. The main time I use it is when my men are in a light building and come under fire from HE - I can usually get them out before it comes down that way. You can't go too far with them though as it is tiring...

The nice thing about "run" is that infantry can fire 7 times a minute at most (something like that). That is about once every eight seconds. In eight seconds a running squad can make it 20-30 meters or so. The enemy must spot the runners and then pivot if they are not prepared to fire. The one shot gotten off by the enemy during that time usually misses or only alerts your men. Don't try to run farther than that, though, without hiding or getting into cover.

[Ratzki]

All the talk about MOVING infantry warrents a mention of numbers. Finding the enemy is only part of the process. You must move with support at the ready and with a plan. If you are moving, try to guess where the enemy will be that he can fire from to mess up your troops and maybe call in small arty for that location and time it to always be at the ready in case of need by repositioning the target zone and delaying the mission. That way the delay will be negligible if needed and you can always cancel if he is not there. Also have some long range support on standby as well, like MG's or a field gun or mortar for quick response and maybe some smoke cover if needed. Don't forget to always outnumber your enemy, don't play fair. If I am doing any serious moving a find that a company is about the smallest to take care of any threat. With this number of men you can engage to pinn the enemy as well as flank without a major change in plan. Not many players seem to ambush with any number that can withstand a full company with support. Now you have to be a little more organized with that number but the size works very well, anything smaller is too fragile to properly deal with serious resistance, and again, time is not always your friend, specially when caught moving.

[Der Kuenstler]

Don't forget to always outnumber your enemy, don't play fair.

This is another side benefit of flanking. If you send your main body up the middle, towards the flag, chances are that's where he will be sending his main body - the result is steel vs steel - often a bloody stalemate. However, if your main body goes somewhere unexpected (up the far side), you will increase your odds of meeting up with a small part of his force and get your desired many on few matchup.