I am explaining all these things so that players who are new to Chain of Command and are expecting something akin to what they are used to, those players will not be put off by the differences Chain of Command has from their favorite genres, in spite of apparent similarities. Chain of Command should be viewed with a totally fresh outlook.
Chain of Command was designed with compelling realism as its primary goal. The realism I wanted to depict is divided into two areas. Tactical realism encompasses the kinds of effects and decisions that any good tactical wargame ought to have – covering fire, outflanking, hit probabilities, fire-and-movement tactics, all these are represented – although we feel that in this area we have made great strides. For example, when your soldiers in Chain of Command come under fire and they are not hit, they will be suppressed. They will take less care over their fire, as they want to just put out rounds and then quickly duck, so they will fire a little more often, but far less accurately. As their stress level goes up, they will cease firing altogether, and just duck. This is but one example of the many elements of tactical realism in Chain of Command, that are explained elsewhere in this document. This area of realism is compelling because players like to practice tactics and develop tactics that will bring them victory. They also like to feel that the tactics are real ones.
Perhaps more important, though, is the element of multiplayer realism, the second area of realism I wanted to focus on. Infantry combat is most decidedly a group effort, a team effort, and I wanted the dilemmas and problems of teamwork to be presented fully. In real combat the soldier or fireteam leader is always faced with a dilemma – he can contribute (or have his men contribute) to the overall effort of the larger unit, by engaging the enemy whenever possible, exposing himself to fire, leading assaults, etc. (or having his men do so). But this contribution carries with it a great deal of risk. In real combat that risk is of receiving the ultimate penalty – the final "Game Over" message – death. While no game can present that level of penalty (of course), that fear should find a way into the game. With a team game, where some players are commanders (and are rated for their success at command), the dilemma becomes one that exists within the team. The commander wants to win. Simply that. The subordinate players want to do well, to get kills and help the mission, but they do not want to take too many risks, and then see their careers ended. This means that when subordinates feel that continuing fighting is too risky, they may cease to take those risks, and their commanders will then have to exhort them to greater effort. A Chain of Command scenario could end when the subordinate players have decided that the odds they face are too great, and have convinced the Mission Commander of this, and a prudent retreat is organized. Or it may end when the subordinates run away in spite of the Mission Commander’s pleas.
This is the stuff of which real combat is made. In real combat no unit fights to the last man (except on very rare occasions – these could also, rarely, occur in Chain of Command). In real combat a commander sets out to accomplish a mission with limited resources in terms of men, equipment, and ammunition. As the subgroups of the commander’s unit take casualties, they become less keen to go on taking risks and they will eventually become so afraid that they are totally ineffective or they may just run away. This occurs to sub-units that have taken even less than fifty percent casualties. What happens then is that either the commander achieves his objectives before too many sub-units have lost effectiveness, or at some point he concludes that his mission is impossible with the forces remaining to him, and he abandons his mission.
And all the time the Mission Commander is aware that his counterpart is having the same problems, and that if he can just make one slightly greater effort, his counterpart will break before he does. It makes it that much harder for him to break off the action.
A Mission Commander will naturally employ many methods to try prolong his force’s overall effectiveness – deploying his men in depth so as to keep a reserve, exhorting spent units with inspiring words, or getting them to follow his example by himself charging into danger. But his problem as a leader is one that involves his relationships with the other players, and not just his tactical skills.
Chain of Command sets out to accomplish some of this. Many of the systems that players at first find controversial are designed to get the players to feel these dilemmas and work with each other, and sense the flow of a tactical battle as these events actually occurred. Please bear all this in mind when reading the specific explanations. Chain of Command severely punishes styles of play that are unrealistic in historical terms, in the hopes that the players will then learn (or be taught by more experienced other players) better tactics and decisions. These will then allow players to be more effective in combat, and will enable tactical actions in the game to follow the patterns of their real-life counterparts.
Casualties
One of the least understood features of the game is the fact that if the player does not know which of the soldiers in the game represents him, and that his own loss carries a serious penalty! This is, admittedly, a controversial and severe approach to the game, but I felt that it was essential to getting the dilemmas of the team effort over. In real combat, every single casualty is a disaster, especially for the friends, the teammates and squad mates of the casualty. What has annoyed me about so many wargames and action games is that the player really did not have to fear losing the first soldier, or the second soldier. These were throwaways. This did not suit my desire to attempt to simulate some of the dilemmas of real combat. In real combat, as a unit loses men, the remaining men become far less willing to fight. They tend to hide more, and will eventually abandon the field. This would only happen if (a) the player did not know which soldier represents him and (b) if his own death carried with it a severe penalty. But that is of little significance in a single-player (or a single-player-per-side) game. It really shines out as a problem in the multiplayer environment of Chain of Command.
Mission Commanders are always facing this problem. Say a subordinate has had one man killed, and is therefore EXTREMELY reluctant to risk another. His commander, who is sitting a little further back, and who is rated for victories commanded, still needs the firepower of the three remaining men. But the subordinate player wants to survive. The tension of this dilemma is something very real, and can be recreated. However, if a player can identify a soldier with himself, as long as that particular soldier is alive, he does not have to worry about what has happened the other soldiers, and the dilemma disappears. Until his very last man he can continue taking risks.
This will mesh very nicely with a system that we are going to put out in the near future. At the moment, a man who is hit is killed. In the wargames that I know about (with the possible exception of SPI's Sniper!) a wounded man is like a killed man except fewer points were lost. This is unrealistic. In combat it is so very important to get the wounded off the field.
Now, imagine this in Chain of Command. A player’s soldier has been hit and the soldier lays on the field wounded. He cannot move. If the player leaves him on the field and does not hold the field at the end, the soldier will count as 'killed' for the player’s chances of survival. If the player gets him off the field the soldier counts as ‘survived’. The player thus has enormous motivation to get wounded soldiers off the field. That is what real combat is like. In real combat the soldiers do their very best not to abandon the wounded. They try incredibly hard to get them off to safety. If we identify a player with only one soldier, (or alternatively keep the player alive until the last of his men is killed) then we cannot recreate this. But if the player can be any one of the soldiers, then he will try to get every wounded one back alive. Because that man just might be him! And what happens is that there are more problems for the mission commander. He is trying to motivate his subordinates to go forward and win the mission, and they are busy trying to get their wounded to safety. It is as if the existence of wounded men provides subordinate players with a new mission, and that this mission conflicts with what the Mission Commander is attempting to achieve.
Morale
There are almost no morale rules in Chain of Command. The extent to which we decided to model the psychology of the combatants is in the rules for Stress. When a soldier comes under fire, he will be stressed depending upon the accuracy of that incoming fire (the proximity of the zips! of those incoming rounds). As a soldier’s Stress goes up, he will spend less time aiming, and will fire far less accurately albeit more frequently. This fire is a great deal less effective. At the highest levels of Stress, the soldier will not fire at all. That is all there is for morale in Chain of Command.
We omitted any other possible morale systems, neglecting to model the cumulative effects of losses on the combat effectiveness of the men. The reason should be clear to readers who have understood the previous sections. In this multiplayer game, it is the players who are providing the psychological modeling, and who are presenting the Mission Commanders with the most difficult leadership challenges. The problem of leadership and dealing with psychological ‘ineffectives’ is not one of placing a ‘leader’ piece with a certain ‘morale factor’ in such a place as to rally defeated units, but in actually persuading real players to give just a little more from their remaining men. The leadership challenge presented is one that is far more compelling and central to the game than in any other wargame to date. The solutions are not mathematical ones but interpersonal ones, depending upon nothing if not the relationships that have exist between leader and subordinate.
Closed Games
The idea of Closed Games is also central to the attempt to recreate the flow of a combat mission as described above. Once a player begins a Mission, he knows that he has to achieve the Mission’s objectives with a limited set of resources in terms of men, weapons and ammunition. If the Mission could be joined by more players while in progress, then the Mission Commander would not feel the need to assess his chances of victory and make the agonizing decision to perhaps give it up for now. He can always hope for salvation in the form of more players joining. Real combat does not have such a salvation. Much of the drama that occurs within each team becomes lost if players were allowed to join in the middle of play. We have left some Open Games so that players will always be able to find a place to play, but the closed games represent the real focus of Chain of Command.
Regiments
While progress up the ranks is an attractive goal, it is very individualistic, and the cooperation it requires between players lasts only as long as any particular Mission. In order to foster cooperation over time the game encourages the players to form or join Regiments. A player may only fight in a Closed Game within the framework of his Regiment. This means that the player is likely to find himself fighting alongside the same group of players time and time again. They will get used to his style of fighting just as he will get used to theirs.
The Regiment itself is ranked relative to the other Regiments on the basis of percentage of Missions won. The players themselves are ranked within their Regiments ordinarily on the basis of their kill ratios, but also on the percentage of Missions that they win as Mission Commanders. All players care about their Regiment’s relative ranking, as the Regiment is the focus of their loyalty, but the Regiment Commanders (the players who originally form the Regiments) are especially sensitive to this ranking. They are also well aware of which players bring back victories as Mission Commanders, and those are the players they are likely to promote in order to increase the chances of victory (because in a Mission the highest ranked player is always the Mission Commander).
Players will soon learn that the best way to increase the chances of victory is to develop drills and tactics is to practice them together away from the field of battle. If a Regiment fills out both sides in a Closed Game, then that game is a Training Mission, and the deaths are not recorded permanently. By using Training Missions Regiment Commanders (or officers or men delegated by them) can drill Regiment Players with the Regiment’s favorite tactics.
There is no question that the Regiments that come out on top of the rankings will be those whose players train together the hardest, who have the most conscientious Commander and Officers and who spend the longest time preparing for battle. We encourage players to invest in displaying their Regiment’s prowess by providing the Regiment Commander with a pointer to a web page that he can adjust at any time. Players visiting the Regiments Display can go directly to these web pages and see how serious a Regiment really is.
The Regiments System thereby creates groups that cooperate outside of the actual missions and gives the game a life that continues and grows over time.
Game Scale
Each tile is meant to represent 4m of real terrain, side to side. The soldiers are therefore giants almost 4m in height! There is always a problem of getting enough terrain inside a single screen, and yet having soldiers large enough so that they could have attractive and realistic images and animations. We decided that this was a fair compromise – to have the soldiers bigger than they ought realistically to be – and yet we are able to get a fair amount of terrain breadth into a single screen. There is also an advantage in not giving the players too much terrain breadth. When soldiers first come under fire the player may or may not actually see the source of the incoming fire. He may see his soldiers reacting (by dropping and/or firing back) and therefore know that his soldiers are engaging an enemy unseen to him. He can scroll the map to find them and this takes a few moments. This is actually quite realistic ("I can’t see where the fire is coming from, soldier!" "Look over to the left of that house with the broken roof, sir!") although it is incidental to the game scale considerations.
Interface
The interface was designed to allow two things to occur – control and information. The command buttons were selected to provide the maximum amount of control using a minimum number of buttons. And at the same time they were designed to show the current state of the soldiers, wherever applicable. It is of supreme importance that a player knows whether his soldier is under a Hold Fire or a Fire At Will command, and so these had to be two separate buttons with "pressed" states. On the other hand, the Up and Down buttons could replace one another – because the player can see on the map whether his soldier is upright or prone.
Movement
The different movement buttons represents different priorities in moving one’s soldiers.
Running caused many problems during alpha testing. Originally we had it so that if a soldier saw an enemy while he was running, he would stop and engage the enemy immediately with fire. This led to the awkward situation of not being able to get anyone anywhere if the enemy were around, as all the soldiers would stop moving in the middle of a bound, often in open ground where they would soon be shot down. So we made the Run To command such that the soldier would always arrive at the target no matter what he saw on the way.
On the other hand, we have the Walk To and the Assault commands. Walk To provides for the responsiveness that a cautiously advancing soldier needs. If he sees an enemy he will stop and engage. If fired upon he will go down. (In an upcoming version he will have the highest likelihood of observing enemy troops.) It is slow, but useful for short moves. Assault gets the soldier to the target location, but as he runs he will on occasion stop and fire some rounds at the enemy. This way, a group of assaulting soldiers can put out their own suppressive fire.
Crawl to is an interesting command. Crawling is painfully slow, and while being down does significantly reduce the likelihood of being hit, the number of rounds a soldier is likely to have aimed at him is much greater, per meter of ground covered. Crawling does have its uses (see Basic Drills). The best thing about crawling is that a soldier who is crawling behind a wall or a window is invisible to the enemy.
Cover and the Effects of Fire
Whenever a soldier can he will take cover. A soldier hiding behind a window or a wall is very difficult to hit at any but the shortest ranges. A soldier will take this cover automatically when behind a wall, a window or some other obstacle, or when at a corner facing the correct direction. What this system allows for is arguable the most realistic and visible simulation of the effects of suppression due to fire in a computer wargame. The idea here was that soldiers under fire are more reluctant to fire and produce less effective fire than soldiers who are not threatened. The more potentially threatening this fire, the less effective the soldier’s own fire is likely to be. This encourages play that mimics very well the tactics of using covering fire to aid the forward movement of troops. The difference between the effectiveness of unsuppressed soldiers and that of suppressed soldiers is very great indeed. The system rewards the player who gets good covering fire down upon the enemy positions as this fire will enable his own side to move about with much greater freedom.
How to Play Chain of Command
Chain of Command is a real-time, multiplayer tactical wargame set in Normandy in World War 2, pitting American troops against German troops. The player commands four soldiers in various short actions, and will most likely find himself part of a larger group or team of other players, some of whom may be his commander, and some of whom may be (eventually) his subordinates. The player commands his own four men directly, responding to orders given to him by his commanders, and passing on orders to his subordinates. Players are themselves responsible for how they carry out other players’ orders (if they choose to carry them out at all), as they fight missions against enemy teams. Players are encouraged to preserve all their men and so may, when the risk is great, withdraw their men from the field, even against their commanders’ wishes. At the end of each action players receive points from their commanders, and these points go toward their next promotion.
Players are also encouraged to join Regiments and play with other members of their Regiments. Missions played for the Regiment go toward the Regiment’s relative standing. The Regiments provide focus for good team play over a long period.
Chain of Command is designed to be a realistic portrayal of small-unit infantry actions, and many of its systems are designed to take advantage of the multiplayer environment to simulate realistic flows in this type of action.
Basic Concepts
Survival
You enter each Mission commanding four soldiers. One of them represents YOU, although you do not know which one is you until the Mission ends. This should encourage you to look after all of them, just like you would in real combat. When the Mission ends you will be told which one was you. If one that was killed was you, you will suffer a points penalty. If it wasn’t you, you will suffer no penalty at all, even if you lost many men. It is important to realize that this means that for each soldier you lose, the chances of you suffering that penalty increase by 25%! Be careful with your men. If you have suffered one loss during a Mission, you can always continue the battle with somewhat less vigor, or, if you so desire, leave the battle entirely by using the "Retreat" button.
Victory Points, Promotion, and Effectiveness
The Mission Commander of your side (not you) receives Victory Points for terrain objectives that are reached, and for killing the enemy. Note that even if you are the only killer on your side, it is not you that receives the points, it is the Mission Commander of your side. At the end of the Mission, the Victory Points of both sides are compared, and the side with the most points wins. The Victory is attributed to and recorded for the Mission Commander (the highest ranking surviving player) of the winning side.
The Victory Points then become Promotion Points. The Mission Commander decides which of the other surviving players should get these Promotion Points, and he assigns them. If he assigns them all, he will also get quite a few himself. Promotion Points accumulate to a player’s next rank, up to the rank of 2nd Lieutenant. It takes quite a lot of Missions to attain this lofty goal.
Besides this, you are ranked against other players by a rating of relative effectiveness. This is defined as # Enemies Killed/((4*# Times Killed) + # Games Played)). This means that to keep high effectiveness you have to play aggressively and get kills, each time you play.
Controlling Soldiers and Commanding Players
Soldiers in the game will obey the player’s orders precisely. There is almost no psychological modeling going on (the exception being that when soldiers come under fire they will be stressed and their own fire will become less and less effective). The soldiers will move where you tell them, they will fire when you order them to, and they will hold fire when you order them to, even if really good targets present themselves.
Players, on the other hand, are just like you. They are real people with minds of their own and even if you are assigned as a player’s commander, that player may not obey you at all. The sanction that you have for that is in Promotion Points that are given at the end of a mission (if you aren’t Mission Commander you can always talk to the Mission Commander about a problematic subordinate), and in future weapon assignment. But you do not really control other players. You will have to learn to use social skills in order to command them!
Joining and Starting a Game
Choosing the Game
In the Game Club, click on the game you want to play.
You may choose from either a Regiment Game or an Open Game. The Regiment Game contains Missions that require a certain number of players, and also Mission Commanders with certain minimum ranks, in order to begin. The players on any one side must all be members of the same Regiment. Once a Regiment Game Mission has begun, players may not join it (so that Mission Commanders learn to make do with limited resources in fighting a Mission, and to retain balance). If you try to join a Regiment Game that is in progress, you will be asked to wait.
The Open Game starts whenever there is one German and one American player, and players may join at any time.
The Host and Mission Selection
Selecting the Mission
On selecting a game, the Host sees the Mission Selection Dialog Box.
The Host is the highest ranking player in the game at that time. If you are the host, and you have not yet selected a Mission and a player with higher rank joins the game, the Mission Selection Dialog Box disappears from your screen, and the new, more highly-ranked player, sees it.
In the Mission Selection Dialog Box the Host sees a list of Missions, together with the requirements to play that Mission. These apply to the Regiment Game only and specify the number of players required for each side, and the minimum rank that side’s Mission Commander must have. If these requirements are not met, the Regiment Game Mission will not start.
To select a Mission, click on it then click on the Select Scenario button.
Note that in Regiment Games, ALL players are treated as if they are the host. The first scenario to be selected by any player is the one that will be played.
Lining Up Sides
Once the Mission has been selected, the players choose the side they want to play. There is chat available at this time, so players should be able to arrange the sides properly.
Open Game Missions will start as soon as there is one player per side.
Regiment Game Missions will start as soon as there are two sides which have the full stipulated complement of players from the same Regiment. (If a player is waiting for his friends from his Regiment to join his side, and meanwhile another Regiment’s players come in and fulfill the stipulated complement, the first player will not be able to play).
If within two minutes the sides in a Regiment Game have not been filled out and the game started, the Mission Selection Dialog Box will reappear to ALL players so a more suitable mission can be selected.
[Note: Players are requested to show some courtesy and decency when lining up sides in Regiment Game Missions. On the one hand, a group of players may have got organized ahead of time to play such a Mission. Players not in such a group who are inadvertently taking someone’s place should respond to requests to leave with understanding. Contrariwise, players who organize such groups should understand that they may be repeatedly shutting other players out of a game. As Regiment Games are available only to Regiments, it is likely that Regiment Commanders will stipulate that the highest ranked player is the one who is the final arbiter in these situations. Note further that where a game is restarting, players in the previous game will get priority for entering the new game.]
To change sides in Regiment Games, click on the Leave Side button and then select which side you would like to join..
Regiments
Regiments are formed and maintained by players themselves, and all players are strongly recommended to join one. Players who have made 2nd Lieutenant may apply to form their own Regiment. Regiments are ranked for their performance (percentage of Missions that they win) and players are ranked within their Regiments for their Effectiveness (based on kill/survival ratio). Promotion above the rank of 2nd Lieutenant is possible only within a Regiment.
See the existing Regiments and the Regiment Rules at the Regiment Display.
Training Missions
If a Regiment fills out both sides in a Closed Game, that game becomes a Training Mission. A Training Mission is like any other mission in all respects except none of the results of the Mission are permanently recorded. No players are killed, and no-one keeps any Promotion Points they may have received. Training Missions enable Regiments to practice maneuvers and develop drills and tactics in a safe environment. Training is crucial to the development of efficient Regiments. (Player Note: Most Regiments do not train new members or at best do it half-heartedly. Fear the wrath of the regiment that constantly trains new members.)
The Deployment Stage
As soon as the Mission begins, the players enter the deployment stage of the Mission. This is indicated by the countdown mode of the clock at the top left of the Command Bar. During this stage soldiers cannot leave their Deployment Areas and are unable to see (and therefore engage) enemy soldiers. In this period the Mission Commander should consult the briefing to understand what he is meant to accomplish. He should assign Command to his side, and distribute platoon weapons. He should use the time to brief his subordinates as to what he wants them to do.
Briefing
The briefing appears on a webpage in a browser that is opened automatically. Players should refer to the briefing to understand what their side is required to do in order to achieve the objectives of that Mission. Players are advised not to close the briefing, as it provides an overview map that could be useful during the action.
Assigning Command
Before the Mission Commander can assign platoon weapons to any other players, he needs to establish the chain of command for the current Mission. He does this by assigning to each player a Commander. The following rules apply:
•No player may be assigned more than three direct subordinates.
•A player may not be assigned a Commander who has lower rank than he.
Any number of ‘levels’ of command may be assigned this way, provided these rules are followed. Command is assigned in the Command Dialog Box, which is open at the beginning of the game.
How to Assign Command
1. Select the player who you wish to assign as someone’s subordinate in the top left List Box.
2. Select the player who you wish to assign as commander in the top right List Box.
3. Click on the "Commanded by…" button.
The first player will now be under the command of the second player. This commander-subordinate relationship will be summarized in the lower List Box.
How To Break a Command Relationship
A Mission Commander may wish to restructure the command levels. To break an existing commander-subordinate relationship, the Mission Commander does the following:
1. Select the commander-subordinate relationship you wish to break in the lower List Box.
2. Click on the "Break" button.
Note: All the above functionality is available to the Mission Commander only.
The Command Dialog Box may be closed at any time. It may be reopened at any time during the game by the Mission Commander, by clicking on the Set Commander(s) button in the Command Bar.
Distributing Platoon Weapons
Once a chain of command has been established, platoon weapons may be distributed.
Initially, all soldiers are armed with the standard rifle of their side – the .30 caliber M1 "Garand" rifle for the Americans, and the 7.92mm Mauser Kar 98k rifle for the Germans. The Mission Commander is then able to distribute platoon weapons (automatic weapons and ammunition) to his own soldiers, or to players directly under his command. Those players in turn can distribute weapons received to their soldiers or to players under their command, and so on down the line.
Weapons may be distributed according to the following rules:
•Recipient soldiers/players must be in the Deployment Area.
•A soldier may carry only one weapon. If that weapon is replaced with another, it is lost.
•Once a weapon has been assigned to a soldier, its assignment is permanent.
•Ammunition boxes hold 200 rounds of any weapon. They do not replace previously-held ammunition boxes or weapons.
How to Assign a Platoon Weapon
1. Click on the weapon you wish to assign.
2. Click on the soldier/player to whom you wish to assign the weapon. Players will only appear in the upper right List Box if they are directly under your command.
3. Click on the "Assign to…" button.
Any weapons not assigned to soldiers remain in the "Cache" – that is they are available for assignment at a later stage by the player who has them, provided the recipient soldier is in the Deployment Area.
The Assign Weapons Dialog Box may be closed at any time. It may be reopened at any time during the game by any player, by clicking on the Weapons button in the Command Bar.
End of the Deployment Stage
When the countdown clock goes down to zero, and the clock begins counting up, the Deployment Stage is over and players may move their soldiers freely, and soldiers will observe and engage enemy soldiers.
The Command Bar
The Command Bar at the bottom of the screen allows you to control each of your soldiers individually, or all of them at once.
At the very top of the Command Bar are buttons and displays that control various global aspects of the display or the game.
Beneath that are the five lines of command buttons
The top line of command buttons gives commands to the entire fireteam as a group. The buttons of each line underneath give commands to that individual soldier, as represented by the number of dots at the far left.
General Buttons and Display Features
Old control panel (circa 1999):
New control panel (circa 2000):
Retreat
This is probably the most important and least understood button in the game. If you click this button when all your soldiers are in the Deployment Area, you will end your participation in the Mission, although, if you personally survived the Mission, you are still eligible to receive Promotion Points when the other players finish the Mission. You should move your men back to the Deployment Area and retreat whenever you are worried about your own survival
Clock
During the Deployment Stage the clock counts down backwards. When the Deployment Stage is over the clock counts upward and does so until the Mission is over.
Rotate Right/Left
To enable players to see what is going on from a good vantage point, these two buttons exist. Clicking on one rotates the tactical display ninety degrees in the selected direction.
Set Commander(s)
Mission Commanders can rearrange the chain of command at any time. This affects weapon distribution (and in the near future it will also affect communication). By clicking on the Command button the Mission Commander accesses the Assign Command Dialog Box, in which he can restructure his unit’s chain of command.
Assign Weapons
If they have received the weapons and have not yet assigned them, players can add weapons from the "Cache" to any of their soldiers who are in the Deployment Area, or to any of their subordinate players. Clicking on the Assign Weapons button calls up the Assign Weapons Dialog Box, which enables these actions to be done.
Center
The Center button moves the tactical display so that your fireteam is in the center of the display.
Movement Commands
Note that when the fireteam is given a movement command, it retains its current formation (as far as terrain permits) around the target location, when it arrives.
The order of all movement commands is the same. Click on the command button, then click on the target location. If you click on another target location that will become the new target for that soldier or fireteam.
Run To…
This is the fastest movement command. Soldiers under the Run To command will run directly at their target locations. They will not stop to engage any enemies they see but will carry on running until they arrive. Once they arrive they will engage enemies according to their Hold Fire or Fire at Will status. A soldier who is fired on while under Run To will not respond in any way to that fire.
If a soldier began a Run To in the Down posture, he will resume that posture on arrival at the target.
Crawl To…
This is the slowest method of moving a soldier, but the soldier is invisible if moving behind walls and windows. Soldiers under the Crawl To command will not engage a target they observe, but will continue crawling until the destination is reached. A crawling soldier is harder to hit than an upright one.
Assault…
The Assault command is exactly like the Run To command, except that if the soldier observes a target he will at random moments stop running and fire a few rounds or bursts at that target, before continuing running. This is an especially useful command when enemy soldiers are already suppressed, and you want to assault them. Assaulting soldiers put out their own suppressive fire.
If a soldier began an Assault in the Down posture, he will resume that posture on arrival at the target.
Walk To…
This is a slow but certain way of moving around. A soldier under a Walk To command will respond to external events much better than if Running. If fired upon, he will drop and (if he is not under Hold Fire) return fire. If he observes a target he will engage the target with fire.
If a soldier began a Walk To in the Down posture, he will resume that posture on arrival at the target.
(In a future version observing enemy troops will be a chancy thing, depending upon whether or not the target is moving, what it is hiding behind, the range, and the movement mode of the observer. Stationary and walking observers will have the best chance, running ones the worst chance of observing the target.)
Combat Commands
Fire at Will
This is the default state for your soldiers. If they observe enemy troops they will engage them with fire.
Hold Fire
Soldiers in the Hold Fire state will not use their weapons under any circumstances, even when faced with mortal danger. This command is useful to preserve ammunition, or to surprise an enemy from an unexpected angle.
Fire At…
Soldiers with a Fire At command will break Hold Fire (if they are under it) and engage the target that was clicked on after Fire At, until that target is killed or disappears. At that point the soldier will be under Fire at Will.
Grenade
When a soldier receives a Grenade command and then a target, he will prepare a grenade (stop doing what he is doing, produce the grenade from his web belt of pocket, and extract the pin or pull the igniter bead) and then throw it at the target. It may not land there, but should land close. If the soldier is not under cover he will go Down as soon as the grenade is thrown.
Posture Commands
Down/Up
This button shows Down if the soldier is upright, and Up if the soldier is Prone. Click on it to change your soldier’s pose.
Face…
Clicking this button, followed by a click on a location on the tactical display, will face your soldier(s) in the direction of that location. Since soldiers only see what is in front of them, this is a particularly useful and important Command.
Information Fields
Soldier ID
This is at the far left. It is the number of dots at the beginning of the soldier’s row of buttons.
Weapon
The soldier’s weapon is shown to the right of the ID. Soldiers are armed with the basic battle rifle of their side in the war. They may be assigned a submachine gun (for the American, the .45 caliber M1 "Thompson", and for the German the 9mm MP40) or squad-level machine gun (for the American, the .30 caliber Browning Automatic Rifle, and for the German the 7.92mm MG42). Each weapon has its own depiction. Each weapon displays the number of rounds remaining to that weapon.
Status
The third column from the right gives information about the soldier’s status, whether he is running, taking cover, firing, preparing a grenade, stunned or what have you.
Stress
The second column from the right shows how much stress the soldier is under. Under "3" and the soldier is more or less OK. Thereon he will begin to fire much more quickly, taking less time to aim, and therefore he will fire less accurately. When the stress number goes red the soldier will not fire at all.
Note here that if the soldier is faced with a target at very very close range, the stress value is halved, as the self preservation instinct kicks in. So if you are going to assault suppressed enemy troops, do it from a flank. (P.N.:Better yet throw a grenade and stun them first, then move in for the kill.)
Hit %
The far right column displays the soldier’s hit probability for the current shot as a percentage.
Terrain and Cover
Soldiers in the open are easy targets. One way or preserving them is to keep them moving. Soldiers moving perpendicular to the line of aim of enemies firing at them are much harder to hit than soldiers running directly at or directly away from the shooter.
Of course, this is very dependent upon range. Soldiers that are prone at mid-to-long range will also be relatively safe.
By far the best way to keep your soldiers alive is to keep them under cover. Cover in the game is:
•Behind a wall
•Behind a window
•Behind a building corner
•Behind a building entrance way
•Behind a haystack or a tree
Soldiers in such positions are very, very difficult to hit. You need to bear this in mind.
Mission End
The Mission will end when either the time is up, or one or other side has totally abandoned the field or been annihilated.
At the end of the Mission, players will see the Mission-End Debriefing.
There are four general areas of the debriefing.
Mission-End Debriefing
This appears at the top. It states the reason that the Mission ended (either time-up, or one side or another abandoned the field or was annihilated), and will state who won. Victory goes to the side with the greatest number of victory points, and the victory added to the Mission Commander’s victory tally.
Your Soldier and Fireteam
This area on the left summarizes the consequences of the action for the player’s soldiers. One of the soldiers is identified with the player. If that soldier was killed, then it states at what rank and with how many Promotion Points the resurrected soldier will return in his next Mission. Not that generally, the more soldiers a player loses when he is killed, the more Promotion Points he will lose. This is especially true for PFCs.
Victory Points
This area on the right summarizes the Victory Points gained by both sides. Points are gained per kill (currently 6 per man in the Closed Games and 4 per man in the Open Games) and for the gaining of terrain objectives (as explained in each Mission’s Briefing). The Mission Commander with the most Victory Points is recorded as having commanded a victory. In a Regiment Game the victor’s Regiment is also credited with the victory.
Promotion Points
The surviving Mission Commanders on both sides then give out the Victory Point total as Promotion Points to their surviving subordinates. Some of these points go automatically to the Mission Commander provided he gives out all the remainder to subordinates. The Mission Commander cannot give himself any extra Promotion Points.
How To Give Promotion Points
1. Select the player to whom you want to award Promotion Points in the List Box
2. Click on the +/- or +10 buttons at the bottom to adjust the number of points.
3. Click on the Give Points button to give that number of points. The player’s values will be adjusted.
Note that the Mission Commander receives his allotment of points only when all the points that can be given, have been given.
Tips
Use Cover
If you want to keep your men alive, the first thing you need to know is how to use cover.
The probability of hitting a soldier who is effectively behind cover is reduced enormously. Such a soldier is basically exposing only the side of his head and enough shoulder to present his weapon. And when he is behind cover and under slight stress he is not peeking out the entire time, but he alternatively peeks out and then ducks.
A soldier will take cover in the following places. If he is placed adjacent to a wall, and faces ‘over’ the wall, of if he is placed next to a window and faces ‘through’ the window, he will be under cover from fire that comes at him from beyond the wall or through the window. The same applies to dead cows and bales of hay. Fire that doesn’t cross these cover-giving obstacles will be able to hit the soldier as if that cover was not there! You should be aware that soldiers can thus be outflanked. (P.N.: Bales of hay and dead cows make for poor cover. Especially at short range. Use them only if there is nothing else available.)
Corners of buildings, trees, and building entrances also provide cover. The soldier must be given a move command (Run To, Walk To, Assault or Crawl) to the corner tile itself, and he will then take up the appropriate position, which is one tile back from the corner (away from the direction faced). In most cases he will automatically face the correct direction and begin peeking out and ducking back. If this is not the case then you can give him the ‘Face’ command to ensure he is facing the right way. This is a little trickier at building entrances, but can be done with a little practice.
Note here that the soldier behind a corner only gets the protection from that corner from an angle of less than about sixty degrees from the direction of the wall. If the enemy is at an angle greater than this he has effectively outflanked your soldier and your soldier will not receive the protection of the cover.
It is easy to know when a soldier is not in cover. When fired upon, soldiers not under Run To or Assault commands that are not under cover will always hit the dirt. When you see one of your men go down without you ordering him to, know that he has lost his cover. (P.N.: Also the color in the status bar changes. Red = Exposed, Brown = Covered)
Wherever possible keep your soldiers under cover. It is by far the best way to keep them alive.
Move!
If your soldiers are NOT in cover, they should be moving. A soldier standing in the open is not going to last very long, even at long range. But a moving soldier has a much better chance of survival if he presents a moving target to the enemy. He should move as fast as he can out of sight of the enemy or into cover.
If you were to fire a weapon at a target moving straight at you, you would notice that it is not very much harder to hit than a stationary target. On the other hand, a person moving across your line of sight is much harder to hit, as you have to move your weapon in an arc, and ‘predict’ the location of the target. So it is in Chain of Command. When you need to move soldiers in view of the enemy, have them move perpendicular to the enemy’s line of fire to your soldiers. It makes them harder to hit. When advancing toward the enemy, advance in zig-zags.
Stay Spread Out
Grenades are useful weapons and the only weapons which can affect more than one soldier with a single round. They are also the only weapons that can affect soldiers out of line of sight, and they largely negate the effects of cover. It is not unknown for grenades thrown by one’s own soldiers to fall short, and endanger the thrower and his teammates. To minimize the effects of a well-placed enemy grenade or a poorly-placed friendly one you should keep your men well apart. They should not be too far apart (so that no one of them should find himself facing off three enemy fireteams all by himself) but well enough apart so that a single grenade will only affect one of them. Try to keep two to three tiles between each soldier. (P.N.: In theory spreading me out two or three tiles sounds good. In practice this is way too much. Often you will find that only one man can see and shoot at the enemy.One tile on either side is more reasonable in combat conditions.)
Covering Fire
A soldier who is under any kind of fire, especially accurate fire, is going to be stressed out. You can see this on your own soldiers in the "Stress" column. As a soldier’s stress value gets higher, he spends far less time aiming, and fires more quickly, before ducking back down. He spends more time ducking too. At the highest stress values, he stops firing altogether. A soldier who spends less time aiming due to stress greatly reduces the accuracy of his fire. Fire from highly stressed soldiers is really just unaimed shots that have little chance of hitting anything.
The implication of this effect of stress cannot be understated. If you have to move about in sight of enemy soldiers, it is safer to do so if those enemy soldiers are under fire (covering fire), and therefore under stress. You cannot know the exact stress values of the enemy soldiers, but you can learn from experience just how much covering fire reduces the effectiveness of the enemy’s fire. Remember this. If you have to move troops in sight of the enemy, make sure the enemy is under covering fire! (P.N.:Unless you have one or more MGs firing on the enemy soldier this tactic will not work. Another case of “In Theory, In Practice”)
Look Around
As noted above, cover is only good when the enemy is in the right direction. If the enemy gets behind your soldier’s cover, they are in deep trouble.
The soldiers in Chain of Command will only look in the direction they are facing. This means that any enemy soldiers who come up behind them will not be observed by them. An enemy who is behind soldiers who have not noticed him will be able to take his time aiming (as he is not stressed) and exploit your soldiers’ lack of cover. (P.N.: This is known as a “Flank” and is the ideal tactic for defeating defending soldiers. At very least it causes the soldier to move somewhere else. At best it will take out 3-12 defenders in one fell swoop. Always be on the lookout for opportunities to flank. Having subordinates help this tremendously as you can see everything they see.)
In many games where you know there are friendly fireteams to your left and right, you can assume that your flanks are secure and that the enemy has not infiltrated behind you. But if a small group of soldiers is sent in one direction with an insecure flank, or if your soldiers are on their own, no such assumption can be made. Always keep one man facing your fireteam’s rear, and thereby preventing the nasty surprise of enemy troops suddenly appearing where you want them the least. Change his facing from time to time to make sure all rear arcs are covered. (P.N.: Good on paper, bad out in the field. Most of the time you will want the maximum number of guns firing at the enemy. Putting one of your troops can prove a costly mistake, especially if you are outnumbered on your front. However, if you believe that the enemy is flanking your position, as in all of your teams are in the west field but one enemy remains unaccounted for, you should post someone on rear security. Or better yet lay in ambush for the would-be flanker.)
Stay Out of Sight
The best safety of all is when the enemy cannot see you at all! This can be achieved by having your soldiers hiding behind buildings. Additionally, if they are behind walls or windows they can get into the "Down" position and this means they cannot be seen. Soldiers that cannot be seen cannot be fired at. This is especially useful for soldiers under stress. By getting out of sight they suffer no more incoming fire, and their stress will go down.
There is of course a cost to this. Any soldier who is out of sight in this way (by getting "Down") may not observe anything beyond the cover behind which he is hiding. (P.N.: The only time you will want to stressed soldier down is when his Stress has reached 7.09+.Unfortunately, many times when you do this another soldier will become heavily stressed because enemy fire has shifted to him. Most of the time, however, you will want to keep your men up and firing and discouraging the enemy from moving ahead.)
Move with Caution
At any time contact with the enemy is expected, you should reduce the exposure of your soldiers and move with extreme caution. Combining many of the lessons learned in the above sections, we find that the most cautious way to move is to have three of your four soldiers in covering fire positions, while only one exposes himself by moving. That soldier’s movement should be the shortest bound possible from one piece of cover to another. It should also be as near perpendicular as possible to the expected enemy line of fire.
Be Ready to Fight
The "Run To" command will get your soldier to the target tile the fastest way possible. He will stop for nothing, not even if he sees an enemy at close range. If you are clearing buildings and want your assaulting soldier to react to observing enemies by shooting at them, use the "Walk To" or the "Assault commands. "Walk To" is slow, but as soon as your soldier spots an enemy he will stop and fire at him. "Assault" is like "Run To" but the soldier will intermittently stop and fire if he sees a target. At close range this is quite deadly. By using these commands you wont have a situation where your soldier ‘runs past’ enemies you would like him to shoot. (P.N.: Walking is way too slow to get anything accomplished. Assault is best for going through buildings. Stick with Run To for the most part.)
Weapons
Three weapon types per side are presented in the current version of Chain of Command. Although they have different names, they are in fact overall weapons types and not specific models and therefore not as historical as they should be. This will be updated in a future version.
It is important to understand the capabilities of the weapons systems.
Submachine Guns
US: M1 Thompson. German: MP40
These weapons fire low power pistol rounds from relatively short barrels, but they have automatic capability. This means that at long ranges they are not very effective, but at short ranges, where accuracy is not so important, they are extremely effective. If a soldier is using a submachine gun to engage an enemy at long range, consider getting him to Hold Fire. (P.N.: In anything but the shortest missions you will find yourself running out of ammo for the submachineguns. To counter the rate at which they use ammo MP40s and Thompsons should always be issued with Ammo Boxes. At longer ranges these guns are completely useless. The Hold Fire button will be your best friend if you are carrying two or more of these. However at shorter ranges they are equal to, if not better than, the MG42 and BAR.)
Rifles
US: M1 Garand, German: Mauser KAR 98k.
These weapons fire full power ammunition and were extremely well made, built for accuracy at longer ranges. They will provide good firepower at all ranges, but at close ranges expect the submachine gun to be the superior weapon. (P.N.: Rifles are fair at long range, good at medium, and should be cast aside at short ranges. They are accurate but have a tendency to consume all their ammo within the span of 10 minutes without you noticing. With an ammo box they can continue firing through the longest of missions without stop.)
Machine Guns
US: M1918A2 Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR), German: MG42.
The BAR was not strictly a machine gun, but was often expected to be used as one. These weapons combine all the advantages of automatic fire with long reach. The downside (not yet represented in the game) is their greater weight and difficulty to bring to bear either from the hip, or at targets at wide angles from the current barrel direction. (P.N.: When employing these weapons remember the role they play. In most games victory is determined by who can amass the most firepower at once. One MG42 or BAR can be equivalent to four rifles if used correctly. Use other troops for dangerous jobs, preserve the soldier that carries a BAR or MG42.)
Grenades
Grenades are powerful, but unreliable weapons at close range. Whilst they often can kill, their best use is in stunning enemy troops. (In an upcoming version when we introduce wounded soldiers, grenades will almost always cause some kind of wound.) A stunned soldier cannot do anything for a short period of time. The use of grenades followed by a quick assault is an effective way to drive the enemy from cover and kill him. (P.N.: While at first you may think you have plenty of grenades, do not be fooled. Subtract the number of losses average sustained during an attack and it comes around to an average of 5-8 grenades to be actually used during an assault on a building or objective. Advance quickly on stunned soldiers so you do not have to throw another grenade to stun them again.)
Stress Management
When a soldier’s stress reaches 8.00 he will not be able to do any firing or throwing of grenades. He an move. When you see a soldier getting close to this stress value, try to get him out of the line of fire by getting him out of sight behind a building or lying down behind a wall. His stress will begin to go down. It is sometimes useful to have two men lying down behind a wall out of sight, and two others standing and exchanging fire with the enemy, and then bringing the first two up so that the latter two can then get down and become relieved of their stress.
Communicate!
Although it is tough to type while you are trying to control your soldiers, when you fight with a team you will be far more efficient if the other members of your team know what you know. Develop some communication shorthand for describing events, especially when you contact the enemy, when your men are under pressure, when you have ammunition problems, and when you take casualties. You will probably be able to think of other events that need to be told (and that you need to know about) and develop a shorthand way of informing the other members of your team. There is nothing more valuable in combat than teamwork, and nothing cements the team more than good, clear, concise communication! (P.N.: Many times having a good commander will substitute for good communications. However, good commanders are rare.)
Surprise
Try to come at the enemy from a direction he does not expect. If he is not looking in that direction and has not taken cover toward that direction, you will be able to surprise him and also fire at his troops when they are not under cover. (P.N.: Once again always be on the lookout for opportunities to strike the enemy where they can not strike you back. Even the best players can fall for this tactic.)
Bounds
If a soldier is invisible to the enemy, on stepping out behind cover it will take the enemy two-to-three seconds to acquire that soldier as a target. So, if a soldier can bound from one full obstacle to another in three-second spurts, he will greatly reduce the chances of being hit. (P.N.: Most cover takes 6 seconds to reach.)
Know What a Victory Is
Every soldier likes to carve a notch on his rifle. But the most important thing is not to become a notch carved on someone else’s rifle! When casualties are high, ammunition is low, and completing the assigned mission is becoming more and more difficult, discretion is sometimes the better part of valor and you should consider using the Retreat button (after your soldiers are back in the deployment area). There is no shame in telling the mission commander that you can’t go on due to even one loss! Better to take your points and come out alive. Tomorrow you can come in again and fight to win! (P.N.: Remember this old military saying “More men are killed retreating than attacking”. Retreat is looked down upon very strongly. Only retreat if you have run out of ammo or are hopelessly outnumbered. Even then do not expect to make any friends this way.)
Basic Drills
The following drills are meant as a baseline only. Regiments will no doubt develop their own drills as a result of experience in Training Missions and in actual combat.
Open Ground Assault
When assaulting enemy positions in the open (not inside buildings), the best way, if no outflanking opportunities present themselves, is to advance in bounds, with only one soldier moving at any one time, and the remainder of the team giving covering fire. Make sure your men use all available cover. As your men get close, use grenades to try to kill the enemy or at least stun him, then as the last grenades go off use the Assault command to finally close the range and kill the enemy. (P.N.: Once again we run into the strange phenomenom of “In Theory, In Practice”. Even if you suppress the enemy completely they can throw grenades without any trouble. It then becomes a matter of who can get the most grenades there first.)
Room/House Clearing
This is a very tricky type of operation. The standard way of going about this is to have a couple of soldiers at the door, have them toss in some grenades, then use assault to get some men inside while the enemy are still stunned. This can usually only work if your men can stand at the door relatively unmolested, and sometimes the enemy have to be kept busy at the windows, preferably from another direction. This requires the help of other fireteams. (P.N. Expect to losses if you try this. The only thing the defender has to do is sit back and shoot your men as you come through the door/around the corner. The only time this should be done is when the defender refuses to come out and cannot be hit from outside.)
Another way is to get grenades in through the windows. If you can get down a reasonable amount of suppressive fire at defended windows, and then get a soldier of yours to run to a corner so that he is not seen by the defenders, he should be able to crawl from that corner to a spot just under the enemy windows, then toss grenades in with good accuracy and little risk. (P.N.: This is a better way of clearing buildings. It keeps more of your men alive and will often times force the enemy out into the open.)
Basic Tactics
The Attack
An infantry attack can occur even when a side is operationally, or even tactically, on the defensive. An attack can be defined for current purposes as an action where the commander's troops are actively attempting to cover ground and seize it from the enemy, even if this is a local counter-attack in an overall defensive situation. Attack involves movement.
Fire and Movement
The fundamental rule of any infantry attack, any attempt to move troops within within range of enemy weapons, is that of "fire and movement". When troops are moving their ability to return fire on their own behalf is severely impaired. They are not in cover (and getting to cover becomes a priority when they are fired upon), and their weapons are not ideally deployed. If they are fired upon, fire needs to be placed on the enemy positions instantly in order to suppress the enemy and reduce the effectiveness of his fire. This is why all movement close to the enemy requires a maneuver element (the moving unit) and a fire element (the covering unit). The fire element needs to be static and well positioned. When the maneuver element gains ground, it halts, takes cover and becomes the fire element, and the fire element begins to move. The two elements alternate their movement in this way. These moves are called bounds.
The size of the unit is immaterial. Two individual men may perform bounds together, one man covering and the other man running. Or two fireteams may operate in bounds. Or two sections, or two platoons. The principle is the same at all levels. Fire and movement, known to the Americans as bounding overwatch and to the British as pepperpotting, is the fundamental method of covering ground in combat. (P.N.: You need plenty of firepower to make this one work. Even then expect to lose a man or two going about it.)
Outflanking
When the enemy is behind protective positions, the attack should be delivered so that fire is directed onto the enemy from more than one direction. This makes it very difficult for the defender to use cover, and usually ends up causing casualties or forcing the enemy to retire to positions that are not outflanked. It should be a primary objective of an attacking force to place troops in such a position that the enemy receives fire from a direction against which he has less protection.
This is enormously difficult to do when the enemy is in buildings, which provide good all-round protection. This is one of the reasons that buildings and built-up areas are such dreaded places to assault. However, outflanking buildings does isolate them, by allowing a fire lane to be placed that prevents exit and entry to the building. But then the building must be taken the hard way, by fighting through it room by room, using grenades. (P.N.: Buildings are a defender’s dream and a attacker’s nightmare. Whenever possible try to clear them from the outside or bypass them.)
The Assault
If you have outflanked the enemy positions and he is not vacating them, or if you are unable to outflank them, you must take them by frontal assault. Frontal assault is the most dramatic and dangerous moment in an infantryman's life, and you will need to be very careful if it is to succeed.
First, you will need to make sure that you have local fire superiority at the point of assault. This means that the suppressive effects of your covering fire are greater than that of the enemy's. Then you must assault with as much force as possible. Finally, as your men close the range, they must keep the enemy pelted with grenades to disorient and stun them just before your men close the range and take the position. The secret is speed and concentration of power. In Chain of Command, you will need to coordinate your fireteams very well in order to achieve this effect. (P.N.: It is a rare occasion to see a frontal assault work against a veteran and determined defender, well equipped with BARs or MG42s. If possible, use the frontal assault against enemy units that have taken two or three losses already.)
Getting Behind the Enemy
Any opportunity to put troops closer than the enemy lines to Berlin (if you are American) or the beaches (if you are German) should be exploited to the full. Besides the wonderful surprise effect that you will have by being able to pop up troops in the enemy's rear, you will be able to achieve outflanking with ease. You will be able to cut off enemy retreats and cause him greater casualties as he tries to pull back. You will also be able to interdict any enemy troops attempting to reinforce a threatened sector. Well-placed troops increases their combat value sevenfold, and placing troops advantageously should be a supreme consideration in your efforts. (P.N.: In other words, flank whenever you can.)
The Defense
"Attack is the best form of defense" - this must be one of the oldest sayings in the book. It does not mean that when tactically on the defense you should abandon your protected buildings and go out into exposed ground in search of the enemy. It means you should defend with vigor and movement and thereby present a fluid and unpredictable situation to the enemy.
Identify the Attack Axis
Unless the enemy has massively overwhelming strength, he will probably attack on one or more single axes. You must identify these points of attack as your first priority. You will need to know them as quickly as possible so that you can move forces to deal with them. The communication skills of your perimeter defense commanders are critical in this task. (P.N.: Often times the a good tactic is to keep a heavily armed fireteam in reserve so when you identify the main attack you can quickly and easily reinforce threatened areas.)
Reinforce Threatened Areas
Once you know where the enemy is coming, you must actively redeploy your troops to deal with them. You will need to have your troops arrive at the threatened sector safely (which means you may have to use the principles of "fire and movement" - see above) and in good positions. Note that there is a clear implication from these first two points: Don't put all your men on the line. Have a picket defense backed up by a strong react force that can arrive at the enemy's point of attack quickly.
Ambush
One of the most effective ways of defeating an enemy attack is to ambush it. An ambush is a defense that comes from a totally unexpected direction. There are certain things to remember when establishing an ambush.
1. You need mobility. Once your pickets have identified the enemy's axis of attack, you need to move into ambush positions quickly.
2. Ambush positions are best selected so that they outflank the enemy or deny him any cover he might otherwise use.
3. The ambush teams need to hold their fire until the right moment. In Chain of Command, because soldiers only see in the direction they are facing, it is possible for ambush teams to be exposed over walls and at windows looking at passing enemy, and the enemy will not notice those teams. As soon as the enemy is in the kill zone, you can switch your men to "Fire at Will". If you do fear that the enemy are looking your way, have your men lie down out of sight and have other teams inform you of the enemy's progress. (P.N.: An ambush is to a defender is what flanking is to an attacker. Ambushes have many of the same effects of flanks but are harder to execute properly.)
Counter-Attack
If the enemy is building up a firebase of weapons that are about to put down heavy suppressive fire on one of your positions, don't let him do it with ease. A spoiling attack is just that, a local attack designed to upset the enemy's own preparations. Use "fire and movement" and keep your own action limited.
Principles of Tactical Infantry Combat
Movement
Imagine two squads of equally well-armed troops facing off against each other, each squad in cover, and a field separating them. Assume equal firepower. It is difficult to say which squad would win, and if their cover is good, it is possible that both squads would begin to suffer ammunition problems before casualties became so great as to force a decision.
It is clear that in such a situation, the important thing must be to gain a position of advantage. Advantages come in many forms but if the forces are the same, the clearest advantage must be in the realm of deployment, position, being in better cover or being on the enemy's flank.
To gain that advantage it is important to be ready to move your forces at any time. You must actively seek to gain that advantage over the enemy. Movement will get your men in better positions to make their fire more effective. It will make the enemy have to deal with a dynamic situation and will constantly force him to react and change his plans. Even in defense, movement will allow you to be fluid and aggressive, and will enable you to place troops where your enemy will least expect it.
Control
If you need to move to win, there are some qualifications. Disorganized, non-coordinated movement will lead to confusion among your own side and may present the enemy with targets piecemeal. If you are going to move, it has to be done with control, so that your units can move effectively. And to control your troops both you and they will have to be well drilled in communication. They will need to tell you where they are and what they see, and you will need to be able to get them to move together, or in controlled fire-and-movement bounds. Control is vital.
Concentration of Force
Wherever you directly engage the enemy, you must try to have local fire superiority. Even a small superiority will enable you to suppress the enemy enough to allow your troops to maneuver into positions of advantage, and thereby increase the effectiveness of their fire. Concentration of force is the method by which smaller forces can defeat larger ones. By concentrating at one point and achieving local superiority, the small force can defeat a larger enemy piece by piece, if it is fast and aggressive enough.
This principle is also known as presenting the greatest number of barrels. The more weapons that you present to the enemy, the greater your firepower, and the more likely you will suppress the enemy and cause them casualties. However, this principle is moderated in practice by the problem of limited resources, which is discussed below. (P.N.: Many times if you focus an attack within a limited scope you can overwhelm defenders before they have a chance to organize and capture the objective without loss to your self.)
Maintaining a Reserve
Combat is the realm of surprises. It is an environment in which the unexpected should be the expected, and where fortunes may change in an instant. To deal with surprises it is always prudent to keep some resources in reserve. If you are attacked on one flank and have moved all available forces to deal with the attack, and that attack was a feint, then you will have difficulty in untying those committed forces to deal with the real attack when it comes. Maintaining a reserve gives the necessary fluidity to deal with unexpected situations as they occur.
Managing Limited Resources
In real combat, and in Chain of Command's Regiment Games, your men and your ammunition are limited. Combat uses them up. Even a single casualty can neutralize a whole fireteam, and units that are in the front lines for the duration of an action can run low on ammunition. The section on Deployment in Depth, below, will give you a specific way of dealing with this problem, but it is important to remember in general that, more often than not, it is your dwindling manpower and weapon resources, rather than time, that will call an end to your action if you are not going to win. Good command means knowing how to apply those resources in the best way. Not wasting ammunition. Not exposing your men to enemy fire unless absolutely necessary. Not relying on one team or weapon to be vital in the structure of your deployment, and making sure that all elements are backed up. (P.N.: This is normally a matter of the individual player exercising control of their troops. It is very hard for a commander to NOT to rely on one weapon or fireteam to anchor a defense.)
Deployment in Depth
When resources are limited it is important to realize that at any time a unit may cease to function effectively. It may have taken a casualty or two and be busy with those. It may be low on ammunition.
Imagine a force deployed against the enemy in a straight line. If one sub-unit goes out due to resource exhaustion, that line now has a hole, possibly a vital one. Since the entire line is committed, there is no-one available to plug the hole. If this force was on the attack, that element of the attack will now fail. If the force was on the defensive, there is now an unplugged hole in the defense which enemy troops can exploit.
Now imagine the same force deployed in depth. Deployment in depth means keeping some sub-elements of the force one stage further back from the currently engaged units. If a unit flags due to exhausted resources, the unit deployed further back can step in. This is different from maintaining a reserve, because the activation of the depth units is immediate and virtually automatic. They move up and plug the hole.
Most modern armies implement the principle of deployment in depth in their basic formations. In triangular-structured units (where a unit consists of three sub-units) two variations are common. "One-up, two-down" places one sub-unit at the front, and two others in the deep positions. "Two-up, one-down" places two sub units at the front, and one in a deep position. Such formations are common in the attack, and may also be found in defensive deployments too. The size of the parent formation is immaterial. It may be a squad deploying its fireteams, or a platoon deploying its squads, or a company deploying its platoons, it makes no difference.
The reader will note that this goes against the principle of presenting the greatest number of barrels. Both principles are important, and must be balanced. (P.N.: Often times deployment in depth leaves one or more teams exposed. Watch your units carefully while they are using this tactic.)
Momentum
When on the attack it is important that the attack maintain its momentum. Besides the considerable psychological reasons for this, momentum is what makes life very difficult for the enemy. If an attack covers ground quickly, the enemy will find it very difficult to react to the changing situation. Momentum is what makes one side pro-active and thereby forces the other side to be re-active. The side whose actions maintain momentum holds the initiative and dictates the pace of the action.
Deployment in depth is very important to momentum because it prevents the delay of an attack due to resource exhaustion (usually casualties). If a sub-unit is rendered inactive due to losses, the deep units immediately step in and continue the forward movement with little delay, thus maintaining the momentum of the attack. (P.N.: Good in principle, bad in practice. Opportunities, for the most part, last thirty seconds or less. On the attack it is wiser to keep all your units up front, attacking. Usually this will result in fewer losses for the attacker.)