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Basic Tactics I: Missions and Forces

The following set of articles deal with the basics of military operations at the tactical level. While, these are real world tactical principles and must be adapted to eRepublik situations and game rules, the basics are sound and generally recognized among the armies of the world. Tactics is as much an art as a science. We trust that by discussing the basics, you will be able to improve your game and gain the best results possible in whatever situation you face. Whether you are a casual player or a hard core addict, we trust that you will gain insights and practical methods that you can use right away having read these articles.

Forces. Erepublik now simulates tactical combat the individual entity or platform level in turn based movement system, with fires resolved simultaneously. Unlike World of Warcraft or other small unit tactics games, it does not provide for control of multiple entities. Rather, it is hybrid of these “map perspective” games with first person shooter games where individual players can act either as an infantryman, or as the crew of a tank, artillery piece (note, due to the effects and range limits – this system should really be called “air defense artillery” or AA) or combat helicopter. It is important to understand the basic characteristics of these weapons. In general, from most to least mobile, these combat entities rank as follows: (1) Helicopter (3 hexes per movement turn); (2) Tank (2 hexes per movement turn); (3) (Air Defence) Artillery and Infantry (both are 1 hex per turn)
One of the least attractive elements of the V2 game system is that all these systems have the exact same range – 1 hex. This advantages the infantry to some extent against all systems and tanks against helicopters. That said, the following combinations are advantage😛

Infantry firing at artillery +20
Tank firing at infantry +20
Artillery firing at helicopter +20
Helicopter firing at tank +20

Infantry has a defensive advantage in forests, Helicopters in open ground (we think – there is some discussion about this in the for a) tanks in hills, and AA in towns.

With these capabilities in mind, we are ready to discuss how to organize these forces into fighting units. Armies have two types of organization: organic – how they are normally organized and fight, and a task organization – how they are organized to accomplish a specific mission. As a troop commander in eRepublik, you can assume two things:

1. That you will have to modify your organic force structure based on who shows up and who doesn't., BUT:

2. You will have a group of fighters who habitually fight as a team in one or more configurations.

For a number of reasons, we recommend that you try and keep sections and fire teams together as much as possible; in some cases, platoon integrity will help you mass your forces. Indeed – the more mass you can achieve, the more power and elegant the tactics you can use. But here are the basics.

Sections consist of two platforms: two tanks, two helicopters, two artillery pieces. You want to keep sections together whenever and where ever possible. A section may be deployed on 1 or 2 hexes at any one time to maintain mutual support. Colocating both firing platforms on a hex enables both section members to attack the same target 100% of the time. At 1 hex apart, the section can cover 30% more area, but only concentrate fire on 40% of that area.

In the US Army, sections are organized into higher units as follows:

Artillery: 2 sections of 2 guns equals a platoon of 4 firing units. 3 or 4 sections of 2 guns equals a battery of 6 to 8 firing units.

Tanks: 2 sections of 2 tanks equals a platoon. 3 platoons plus a headquarters section equals a tank company of 14 vehicles.

Helicopters: 2 helicopters equals a flight of 2, 2 flights equals a platoon of 4, 3 or 4 platoons equals a company or troop.

If the ranges were more realistic, we would be able to disperse these systems accordingly, but for this purpose, you can maneuver these forces according to similar techniques, depending on the terrain.

You may be wondering about the infantry sections (also called fire teams) and squads. Infantry squads consist of 9-12 men organized into 4-5 man fire teams. Platoons consist of 3-4 squads, often will a small command group for the platoon leader. Thus, an infantry platoon ranges from 27 to 48 men. A company will have 3 to 4 platoons (also with a weapons platoon) and a command group and therefore can range from 81 to about 192 men. For eRepublik, we suggest you make your rifleman formations small and agile – NEVER leave an individual to fight alone, and always set up two person buddy teams with your fire team organizations. So – the following organization is recommende😛

A ten person squad, consisting of two four person fire teams and a two person squad headquarters section.

A forty four person platoon, consisting of 4 squads and a single 4 man platoon headquarters section.

A 144 person company consisting of 3 platoons and a single 12 person headquarters squad.

In later articles, we will discuss how to move and fight with these organizations, as well as how, when and why to task organize.

Missions:

At the simplest level, there three missions your units must be trained to perform:

1. Move. Your units must be able to move from position to position, in and out of contact. The most important of these is the movement to contact, in which you are moving tactically, not yet in contact with the enemy. You must also combine firing from stationary positions with movement when you have made contact with the enemy, and will do so when performing both attack and defend missions. While moving, you should detach part of your force to reconnoiter the route you are using, and to provide security for your main force to deploy for combat. In small units, this role is called “point”

2. Attack. When attacking, you seek to seize a piece of terrain, or in some cases, to destroy an enemy force that is either stationary or moving. An attack mission is normally preceeded by movement, but may be done from a position in contact with the enemy. When attacking, you will seek to achieve sufficient superiority in numbers and firepower to suppress the defenders' fire, and to close on the enemy positions while minimizing damage to your force. You should use a combined arms approach to match your strengths against enemy weaknesses, and to achieve local superiority of at least 3-1 with modifiers taken into consideration. At 6-1 or better you may simply conduct an assault and close directly on the enemy position. You should avoid committing your force peacemeal, but mass the appropriate number and type of forces to achieve a rapid and complete seizure of your objective. Counterattacks are a special form of attack and may be conducted by your forces against an enemy unit that is vulnerable and exposed, or against an enemy attacking force that has just occupied a position that was held by your defending units – in the latter case, you may commit a reserve unit that was not previously in contact to repel the attack before he is able to reinforce or secure his objective.

3. Defend. Defense may be focused on denying the enemy a piece of terrain, or on destroying the enemy during movement, either ambushing him or attacking him by fire. As the least mobile units that are protected in forests and towns, infantry and artillery usually are deployed in strongpoints and defensive battle positions to retain key terrain. Your helicopters and tanks, as the more mobile forces, are better used in a mobile defensive posture in a counterattack role. A good defense deploys a “covering force” or “screen” to deny the enemy knowledge of your positions. When these counterreconnaissance forces are present and deployed, the attacker may have to spend time either scouting your positions, or peforming a reconnaissance in force. Unless you have a cavalry or reconnaissance force dedicated to this role, you should detach elements from your reserve to perform these tasks.

In upcoming articles, we will give examples of how one might maneuver when conducting these missions, with specific situations that explain the tactics, techniques and procedures used to accomplish them.