Defending A Choke Point

[DaddyO]

If a map has a road that goes through a bocage-induced choke point, and my task is to defend the choke point with only a couple of LMG's, a bazooka and some infantry, generally speaking, which of these two alternatives is best?

1. Position the two LMGs in good locations on either side of the road behind the choking bocage, and the bazooka in an ambush position near the choke point, given that the approaching terrain is pretty much open and flat. Blitz them before they can even get to the choke point. Downside: the LMG's are more subject to enemy spotting and therefore suppression. The bocage is only decent concealment and only so-so cover.

2. Position only scouts behind the choking bocage, and wait until the enemy comes through the choke point before letting them have it from a flanking position farther back. This has the advantage of keeping the LMG's from being spotted before the choke point is reached.

I realize that there's probably innumerable undefined factors that could tip the scales towards one or the other, but I'm looking for comments as to what would generally be preferred. Let's assume for the sake of argument that no enemy armor is involved.

[Fizou]

I would probably go with option 2.

I prefer to ambush the enemy as they move up to the choke point, than withdraw to secondary positions, coverd my MGs.

[womble]

Without knowing the range and quality of the cover further back, it's difficult to be definitive. The major consideration, assuming you're going to have to use the Zook vs armour is the range to the "next line" of cover, and whether the Zook will be effective.

If the enemy is advancing without armour support, just set up in the bocage and mow them down.

If they're coming with tanks, the Zook probably doesn't want to be in the hedgerow, since it'll get spotted and focused, whether by rifles or HE. Put it an AS back from the hedge, a few 10s of metre from the gap the tanks will be coming through. At which point you can't let the enemy infantry get to the Bocage before the armour pokes its nose through, so you have to defend the hedge line. Best done, IMO with short cover arcs and scouts up to provide eyes for hiding other units. Hit the infantry hard at close range and then pull a fade one AS back, leaving your scouts to tell you when to get back on the firing step. Hopefully this will be sufficiently discouraging that your opponent will try and force the gap without infantry in the hedges either side (because the cautious approach is too painful), and your teams will hose them down as they come through, with the Zook providing anti-armour.

Another way of looking at it is that his armour is his counter against your MGs, so don't put them where they can be seen by armour without being covered by your AT.

[DaddyO]

Thanks guys. Your giving me what I was looking for, which is not just a recommendation but the reasoning behind it. All comments are appreciated.

[z1812]

I usually give my Bazooka team an armoured cover arc so it does not waste fire on infantry.

[ScoutPL]

I would put my MGs covering the open ground where they will do the most good. Putting them in an "ambush" position where their range and covered arc is severely restricted negates their advantages (superior range and rate of fire compared to most infantry squads). That being said I would move them often like every minute when in contact in a WEGO game, one at a time. This would effectively reduce you to one gun firing at a time so you might want to only move when the enemy seems to be gaining fire superiority on a particular location, but that's hard to judge and react in time in a WEGO game.

That is all based on the premise the enemy has no armor. If he has anything that can lay down suppressive fire outside of your BZ range than you cant defend forward. Set up kill sacks behind the bocage for his infantry and hope you have a BZ team that is good enough to get a kill on the first shot.

[DaddyO]

So far so good, I ended up placing the machine guns in ambush. It turns out the enemy does in fact have light armored vehicles, a halftrack and a utility armored car.

I did finally get some infantry scouts up to the bocage, but it turns out my headquarters unit in a two-story building to the rear had a better field of vision than I thought.

So far no enemy forces have tried to even approach the choke point.

This is a fascinating scenario, 101st At Le Lieu Vary. A hodgepodge of unit remnants trying to eliminate a rear-positioned flak gun while also taking two hamlets, and for good measure, another smaller set of hodgepodge cut off at the far side of the map holding out behind the choke point. It's two battles in one, an attack with the larger force and a defense with the smaller, with German units in control of the hamlets in the middle.

** SPOILER ALERT **

The AI opening gambit is a total shock and surprise, but my initial positioning allowed me to deal with quickly and decisively. Still, it's going to be a tough nut to crack, I think. All my machine guns are light and I have no vehicles, while it appears the enemy has quite a few MG-46's in addition to their light armored vehicles.

[Bulletpoint]

Set up kill sacks behind the bocage for his infantry

What is a kill sack?

[George MC]

What is a kill sack?

They are large hessian bags full of sharp stuff and 'splody things

Or a zone of ground covered by fire from multiple directions.

[Bulletpoint]

They are large hessian bags full of sharp stuff and 'splody things

Or a zone of ground covered by fire from multiple directions.

So, how would you use this in the game? Set up kill sacks behind the bocage: make sure that when the enemy goes up to the bocage, he will be hit by lots of fire from close positions?

Doesn't seem so useful, as the bocage will provide good cover for the enemy...

[womble]

To me, a kill sack behind the Bocage means on your side of it, not the enemy, so they'd only enter it when they'd crossed the Bocage line (through the gap).

Whether that's the best way to go will, like all this advice, depend on the precise situation. Bocage is some of the best cover and concealment you can get, and leveraging that can be very useful. If you let the opposition get nestled in on their side and negotiate the gap at their own pace, you'll be in trouble unless your cover in the positions to the rear of the Bocage are better hidden and protected.

This isn't so much of a problem against the AI, which will often surge infantry through gaps without adequate preparatory and covering fire, but if it's a human you're facing, expect the hedgerow to be populated with fire teams to cover any exploration of the gap, spotting your ambush and suppressing likely skulking-places before anything comes through the gap to be shot.

It really does depend on the circumstances.

[ScoutPL]

Kill sack, ambush kill zone, engagement area... pick your flavor. Essentially its where you want to kill the enemy and you set up your forces based on that location.

The whole point of setting up behind the bocage (in cover of course, I was assuming there was a second line of bocage or buildings, some sort of cover) was to negate the armored threat. In order to clear the area his infantry would have to move beyond the bocage line, where the armor lacked an LOS. If a gap existed or he created one and he was able to move his armor beyond the bocage line (into the kill zone) then the range should be short enough to guarantee a hit with handheld AT weapons.

If you defend forward (along the forward bocage line) a competent enemy will use his long range weapons (including any armor) to dislodge you and create casualties in the process, and he will do it from a distance (or behind a couple inches of steel) where he is relatively safe. By setting up a little farther back (think of it as a reverse slope or reverse bocage defense) you force him to come after you, at a range where you hold the advantage.

Granted as has been stated this is all a whiteboard exercise, it would really depend on the terrain and situation.

[DaddyO]

The way this particular situation (with no armor of my own and only armored vehicles-- no tanks-- for the enemy) set up, I had a perfect location for a bazooka team behind the chokepoint hedgerow that was also covered by a building in front of it. I had an MMG in a hedgerow nook to the left near the bazooka team and another to the rear right, also an HQ team behind a hedgerow to the immediate flank behind the choke point, and farther back an infantry squad hidden behind a low hedgerow. I set an infantry squad behind the initial hedgerow to the side of the choke point and had them hide and spot, and I had a company HQ in a multi-level building to the rear who had a good field of vision over the approaches to the choke point. It was ideal.

It worked out that three armored recon vehicles entered the approaches to the choke point and stopped just outside my bazooka team's Cover Armor Arc. Next turn I extended the arc and within a few turns I had two smoking recon vehicles. The enemy did not attempt to even approach the Choke Point again.

All this, I'm sure, was made possible because I was playing vs. AI. A real-life player would have seen the danger and either taken steps to overcome it or avoided the situation altogether.

[sburke]

Yeah the unfortunate part of playing the AI is you can learn some bad habits as well as never being exposed to tactics a human player might try. For example, when setting your defense did you check wind direction? A little smoke could ruin your whole day.

[snake_eye]

Trying to establish a kill zone (kill sack) is easier done against a human adversary. You can predict its reaction and react accordingly. That is not the same, while fighting against the AI, the soldiers and their supports elements. All are Trying to follow as much as they can their AI orders. In other words, the results of the tactic You are using will closely depend of it.

[DaddyO]

when setting your defense did you check wind direction? A little smoke could ruin your whole day.

I actually adjusted my defense during the battle. The choke point in this scenario is kind of a side battle to the main show. There is an American HQ isolated and stranded behind the choke point on the far corner of the map with just a few assets. One element of the scenario is to prevent the enemy from successfully penetrating the choke point, another is for the main force to rescue the HQ after gaining their own objectives.

[** SPOILER ALERT **]

There was no enemy use of mortars prior to crunch time at the choke point, and as it went no enemy use of smoke at all in the scenario. But you make a good point, and I wouldn't have thought of it.

[DaddyO]

Trying to establish a kill zone (kill sack) is easier done against a human adversary. You can predict its reaction and react accordingly. That is not the same, while fighting against the AI, the soldiers and their supports elements. All are Trying to follow as much as they can their AI orders. In other words, the results of the tactic You are using will closely depend of it.

Good point. I think a human opponent would be much tougher, but I'm sure there are situations where the unpredictability of the AI and the player's inability to influence it very much can be a handicap. A clever player can sometimes turn an opponents strength into a liability.