flanking

[yacinator]

I have a stupid question. When you flank (say on a pretty flat field with littl cover) do you just simply attack on one side of the battlefield or do you kind of go to the left (if flanking on the left side) and then to the right? Flanking on a battlefield with hills and good cover is diffrent thought. Discuss.

[Spears]

If no cover why flank is the main question? I find with germans you can come crashing forward like a lumbering giant smashing what comes in your path. Allies need to flank german uber tanks to win, simplicity in the making that comment.

[yacinator]

True, if there is little cover and the map is small flanking is pretty pointless. On the other hand if the map is huge and you're playing with armor you need to flank (as you said yourself)to kill the German uber tanks and Valentines (if you're playing as Italians). The other advantage of flanking is that you can surround the enemy, then (you probably have numerical superioryty) the enemy can stay and get slaughtered or run away. But not move to get flank shots at my tanks etc. My 2 cents.

[Cannon-fodder]

Well, the main objects of flanking are 1) to suppress - you suppress units way quicker when shooting from multiple angles, and 2) to kill enemy armor.

Either way you want plenty of cover, and a way to hold the enemy units facing the non-flanking units. Otherwise, all you'll do is change the way the battle is facing.

The other advantage is that, if you can supress an area using flanking then, on a largish map, you can get 'pockets' - where you can just tighten the noose on hopelessly suppressed units. I've found this strategy incredibly useful against infantry and even armour.

[Macphail]

i just started a desert battle, on quite a big map, with huge areas of sandy hills. i havent gotten very far yet, but so far, some of my faster units are flanking, and some heavier ones are cresting ridges. the germans seem to have dug in a large number of AT guns on two seperate hilltops, and with alot of undulating desert between them and my forces, some flanking will be required. i decided to push a platoon of stuarts past the first german position (south of the other strongpoint) and then hook around, and drive directly into the 'side' of the german defenders. at the same time, 4-5 platoons of shermans aligned on a ridge about 900 meters to the SW. hopefully the agile stuarts will distract the AT gun defense long enough for the shermans to waste everything that gets spotted. hopefully i can take the first hill with minimal losses, and it will give me a base of fire to take on the second stonghold. 60 turns, long game. the first hill should take about 10-15 turns to pw3 (is that the right expression?).

[yacinator]

Yup, flanking is a good way to distract the enemy. When fighting on the platoon level (with only one or two platoons at one isolated area of the map) it's good to charge one squad from two sides, after all the enemy can only shoot at one target.

P.S.

the first hill should take about 10-15 turns to pw3 (is that the right expression?).

I belive that the proper way to say that is "pwn" or "own" :cool: lol .

[eyepilot]

The most common German attack plan was the "pincher" that is, flanking both sides (to a degree) and then pinching. This works well in both inf. and armour.I know this is an old post so I really don't expect any new thoughts

(there, that might stir things up a bit)

[Bonxa]

The pincer move is almost SOP for me if the map is suitable. Feels a bit gamey though since you move pretty close to the sideline. But the defender should also be aware of the safety of the sideline and promptly set up extra defenses there to counter.

[Probert]

In small infantry heavy battles flanking is essential. At least to me. I find it very effective in pinning or chasing off the opposition. The trade off is leaving your guys out there on the edge where they can be snapped up if you guess wrong about the enemy dispositions.

[TigerTiger]

If you can't deceive, then don't flank.

[Sirocco]

If you're attempting to flank a competent opponent over flat ground with little cover you won't make much progress.

The flanking force must be part of a co-ordinated attack, otherwise it will be at risk of becoming isolated and either marginalised or destroyed.

Therefore it's sometimes preferable to identify a "break-in" zone, dump liberal amounts of smoke on the approach, and through the use of smoke isolate and overwhelm the defenders there.

Having broken into the defenders main line you can then exploit your success as the terrain and general situation permits, perhaps even wheeling around his flank.

[Cannon-fodder]

Also, part of the trick with flanking is to time the flanking force so that they make contact at a decisive moment - usually when the enemy's forces are wavering. Then you can create 'pockets' of enemy units, and kill them off at leisure.

[Tigrii]

One of the main advantages of flanking a position is that the defender is attacked from an unexpected direction. This throws all his carefully coordinated kill sacks out the window and forces him to redeploy his units, which pulls them out of their foxholes and trenches and can give away their positions. A static defense will be compromised when faced with an unexpected attack, and even a better, more flexible defense will be forced to adjust to your moves and commit reserves, using valuable reinforcements or artillery ammo to shore up a miscalculated position. Also, human defenders can be discouraged by an unexpected attack that bypasses their kill sacks and disrupts their plans, even if they manage to adapt.