Battle Plans and You

Flames Of War

Battle Plans and You
With Scott McCorley

Welcome to a treatise on battle plans. Now this can be used by any one from a novice to the most seasoned vet when it comes to both friendly games and tournaments as these can be used in any games of both World War III: Team Yankee and Flames Of War. Battle plans are what allows us to choose a stance to get a type of mission. However, first we must think of what those stances are as this not only dictate’s our course of action, but can also determine what army we wish to use, which will determine if we want it to be ether offensive or defensive.

World War III: Team Yankee

As the missions are determined by the stance both players pick we need to be aware of every mission and be prepared for what those outcomes might be and what special rule might be in effect, e.g. deep reserves which may impact our force especial if all of our AFV’s are FA4 and above. It is these little thing that we must be mindful of. Now not all lists can be used effectively for certain stances for e.g. a heavy tank force of tigers fighting a highly mobile armoured infantry force might struggle to defend as the majority of its force will be held in reserves. So when picking a stance first we must consider the list we have. We can also build a list to take all three stances or we can build a list to only one or two of the stances depending on what favours our Force.

So what are the three choices we have for Battle plans, they are Attack, Manoeuvre and Defend. This is why it is important to understand each stance and what mission you may face. So let’s start with attack.

Attack gives you tactical flexibility especially if you are a tank heavy or highly mobile combined arms force. As it opens up opportunities to get the jump on your opponent as it allows you to have the majority of your force and at times the complete force depending on what your opponent choses as their stance. It allows you to choose the time of day to attack or the ability to have random time of day attack, this can work well to your advantage especial for units that have special rule that ether help or mitigate the disadvantages of fighting at a certain time of day like night. Attack also allows you to make a force that can overwhelm the enemy with numbers via the use of spearhead units to get closer to the objective for alpha strikes using heavy tanks to push on points of the battlespace that are weak forcing your opponent on the back foot. Things to consider when making your list also need to be examined as certain elements may not work well in such a force, so anything that is not or use or has a desired goal in mind my not fit or work when choosing the attack stance for e.g. arty with-out smoke for cover in World war 3 or units suited for static use and ambush like AT guns for Flames of war.

Battle Plans

Moving on to maneuverer, this is the easiest stance to take as it has the most advantages for a combined arms force. Tank heavy forces can still choice this but will have to be mindful that they may end up having to defend if the opponent choses ether attack or manoeuvre, which in turn may limit the desired potential of the force. Combined arms forces have all the potential for any of the three stance’s however this stance should be always be a consideration as it allows tactical flexibility because of the available mission and does not disadvantage you when you may have to defend. I’ve talked previously more about combined arms forces before and why they are the best force to choose in another article. The synergy available to a combined arms force allows your force to be able to take on any challenges you may face with the mission that may present themselves by choosing this stance. However you must remain vigilante as taking a FA4 and above force may come into play if you are effected by mission parameters.  This becomes more apparent in World war three then Flames of war however if you take a lot of medium tanks in Flames of war you may find yourself having to place them in reserve if you end up becoming the defender.
Extended Battle Plans

Last but not least the Defend stance. This stance is great for static lists as it plays to their strengths of being able to dig in and hold out till ether a mobile reserve unit arrives to apply pressure at the right time on the enemy force to defend that objective for the desired outcome. An advantage of this stance is that you will most likely get an amount of minefields to place which you can use to shape the battlespace to your advantage, by placing them in key points to restrict movement of a more mobile force enabling you to form choke points to funnel the enemy into a kill box. A good example is pak front on a grenadier force with 88s which can force enemy tanks into you kill box. Some things to be mindful of are if you and your opponent both chose defend as this may force you defensive force to become an offensive force on short notice.

So that wraps up this quick treatise into battle plans, so remember going forward that you must first build your force to the desired plan of choice, as this will enable the desired favourable outcome. As said by Sun Tzu if you know yourself and the enemy you will win a 100 battles, if you know yourself and not the enemy for every battle won you will lose one in turn, if you know neither yourself or the enemy you will lose every battle. So remember prior knowledge of the mission and stances can lead to victory so be for waned and forearmed. Good hunting out there.

Missions for Flames Of War...

Missions for World War III: Team Yankee...

Scott