The Platoon in OP

[jasoncawley@ameritech.net]

The platoon in OP

This post covers tactics and techniques for an infantry platoon on the defense in CM, that is given an observation-post (OP) mission ahead of a larger defending force. The role of a line of OPs is to give warning of the approach of attackers, identify their positions and lines of advance, and to hold off small recon elements of the enemy. The OPs are meant to be abandoned, not held, at the first sign of the enemy main body, meaning in CM terms full platoons or companies on the attack.

An OP line ahead of the main defense is not always necessary or desirable. But you have to know what it is and how it is supposed to work, to judge when you want one and when you do not. That is what this post is about.

The OP mission is best conducted by a dedicated platoon, or two side-by-side in similar deployments on the broad enough front. The command abilities that are most important in an OP platoon HQ are stealth and morale. Snipers, bunker MGs, added LMGs or bazooka teams may or may not be added to an OP line, but it needs regular infantry in platoon strength to be done right.

A platoon in OP can be given a secondary position in the main defensive line, but the hazardous nature of the job means you should not rely too heavily on all of the platoon being left to fufill that added role. In the best case, you will still have them, but you can't bank on that. How this secondary position is set up will be discussed below.

One might think that a single platoon could provide 7 outposts across its front, from 6 half-squads and the HQ. While this would maximize the number of looker-locations, it is too thin and scattered to be practical. 4 OPs is more like the number a platoon can handle.

On defense in CM, every starting location of a defending unit, except for vehicles or units inside buildings, gets an initial foxhole. For an OP platoon, the initial deployment should use this rule to set up both the OPs, and the secondary position in the main line of defenses.

For the set up, split the three squads. Deploy two of these in the OPs, two to a squad, left and right hand OPs of left and right hand squads. The spacing and location of the OPs will be covered in the next paragraph. Put the HQ at the secondary or fighting position, at the center of its assigned *front* (shooting positions, not a rear or reserve behind them). Put the half squads from the third squad in two supporting locations close to the HQ, making a cluster of three foxholes close enough to support one another for the secondary or fighting position, all three in shooting locations.

The idea is that the platoon will fight from the secondary position, one the real firefights start. Each squad, once re-joined, will have a foxhole assigned to it, while the HQ will have to make do behind them, out of LOS. If one of the squads does not make it back from the OP line, the HQ will use its foxhole.

The secondary position should be reachable from the OPs by covered routes, at least covered from likely early attacker positions. It can help to leave only a narrow known route through such cover by filling most of it (at some narrow point) with mines or wire, so that the route back to the secondary position doesn't become a highway into your defense.

The HQ is left at the secondary with one squad, not just to make these foxholes available. Right after the start, that squad should be rejoined into a full squad. It should manuever with the HQ. This single full squad plus HQ team, forms the reserve of the platoon while the OP line is still being held. It should move forward from the secondary position it starts at, to a position out of LOS forward and behind the line of OPs, roughly centered behind them, and with covered routes (if possible) to the locations of the OPs themselves, or close to them.

The mission of this reserve is to support the OPs when they are in contact, and to waylay small enemy scouting parties. With a full squad and in command-and-control, they will have full morale and resistence to fire effects, unlike half squads. They should also have sufficient firepower to defeat half-squad scouts without much danger to themselves.

Often you will have 1-2 OPs breaking contact from a larger enemy force. They are in danger of "breaking" at that moment, from enemy fire or from the effects of "withdraw-run" orders, or both. If they break, they become very vunerable to attackers, who can run right up to them and shoot them without effective reply. On their own, the half-squads do not have the firepower to defend their immediate area against full squads, especially in cover (buildings or woods). So when breaking contact, you want the full squad and HQ to move up in support, as the OPs fall back past them. Then the full squad and HQ likewise withdraw.

This also restores the half-squads to command distance, which can lend them HQ morale bonuses and help them to rally. The breathing time can also allow two half-squads to move toward each other and reform into a full squad.

You want all of this happening out of LOS of the enemy, but by the time you are breaking contact he is likely to be quite close, only out of sight because of the terrain where you set up the OP line (e.g. farther back into a body of woods he is in the process of entering). You especially do *not* want to move the reserve squad and HQ into LOS of his main body. Understand, they are there to provide a firepower shield e.g. *inside* the woods, behind which the OPs can withdraw - not to try to out-shoot whole enemy platoons across intervening open ground areas.

An aside - I am using the example of a body of woods as the LOS block that the OPs set up ahead of. Other LOS blocks can be a crest-line or a village or tall building. The following are "forward" positions for the three types - in the woods but able to see out of them, just behind the crest but able to see over it, in the forward buildings of the village at their centers, forward edges, or upper stories. The following are "back" positions for the three types - far enough into the woods to block LOS out of them, in reverse slope of the crest and unable to see beyond it, in the second layer of buildings, or at their back sides, lower levels, or behind the building rather than in it.

The OPs start in "forward" positions, the HQ and reserve squad manuever in "back" positions, which the OPs withdraw to when breaking contact. The reserve squad tactic tends to work because the first enemy to penetrate to the "back" positions, if he is pressing close enough to threaten to overrun the OPs, will generally be a single squad. Which, at such close range, you can outshoot and pin down with the reserve element (squad + HQ). Effectively, the enemy "point" is temporarily "cut off" from its supporting elements, by the LOS block or sight change you deployed the OPs along. Don't hang around to try to kill the pinned "point", however - break contact immediately afterward.

For the OPs themselves, you want locations that have good fields of view on the forward edge of LOS blocks. But you also do *not* want the OPs to be within LOS of your main position, if this can be avoided. The reason is that you do not want to give the attackers the cover of your OP foxholes, when he is in his firefight with your main positions.

In addition to not being within LOS, you do not want them within 100 yards of your main positions, for three reasons. You do not want the enemy locating your OPs to have located your main body. You do not want enemy artillery missions fired at your OP to hit your main body as well. And you do not want the enemy to be covered by your OP foxholes when you call in your own "final protective" fire missions on him, whether he is in LOS or not.

On the other hand, you do not want the OPs to be so far forward that the information they give you about the enemy advance is "stale" and has been changed by his manuevers, well before he reaches your main positions. Which in practices means, you generally do not want the OPs more than about 250 yards from your main positions. Do not always use the same distance, or the enemy will be able to deduce the location of your main body from the location of your OPs, but instead vary the distance between 100-250 yards.

The side-to-side seperation of OPs from the same squad should be between 40 and 100 meters. If they are too seperated, you will not be able to reform them in the heat of combat. The route between them should be through covered terrain, or as a second best, both should have covered routes backwards to the same piece of covered terrain. Whenever one OP team withdraws because of enemy contact, the other OP team from the same squad should do so as well, and immediately, not after "just one more turn of firing".

When moving OP platoon forces, a useful phrase to remember is "sneak forward, run back". This refers to the appropriate speeds with which to move. Use the "sneak" command to move into locations that have LOS to large areas, the "forward" positions explained above. Inside buildings and woods e.g. But do not bother with the sneak command when moving out of LOS, away from the enemy, to the "back" positions. Run instead. It is more important to break the LOS completely, quickly, than to try to be "quiet".

Also, when using "run" commands rearward, keep the size of the moves moderate and use "rotate" to turn around, by the end of the minute-turn when you can manage it. Men on the "run" have limited sighting, only the direction they are going, and do not shoot, so it is better to run for the first 1/2-2/3rds of the minute, then turn around.

Whether to use the "withdraw" run, or the ordinary "run", when pulling back, depends on the quality of the troops and the state of the engagement with the attackers. With regular and lower unit qualities, especially out of command distance, the withdraw order is better because you cannot afford the delay time. Similarly even with higher quality units if firing is already in progress - a half squad does not have the fighting power to stay and shoot it out with platoons of the enemy, so you want to get clear as soon as possible. If the unit quality is fine and shooting hasn't started, don't use "withdraw", so you can avoid the greater susceptibility to panic it involves.

When placing the OPs at their "forward" positions, be careful not to be too far forward. You can see out of a building from the center of it, and out of a treeline from 10 meters or so back into it, easily. If you put the position right at the forward edge, you will be in enemy LOS longer when pulling out, since the enemy can see ~20 meters back into the trees or so. You want to be far enough back to break LOS quickly when retreating, far enough forward that your field of view is not too restricted toward the sides. Play with the locations and the LOS tool from each place a little, and you will see what I mean.

The OPs can either have no orders as to shooting, or hide orders Hide orders restrict their sighting abilities somewhat, but when the field of view is wide and the ranges that can be seen to are long, it is essential. You do not want the OP giving itself away with some ineffective fire on the first enemy half-squad 250 yards away. But in areas of tighter terrain, e.g. looking across a forest clearing that is only 80 yards wide, skip the "hide" orders.

You do not want to wait until an enemy squad walks right over you. A half-squad can pin a moving squad in the open, with enough time to fire at it. But if a full enemy squad gets to 20 meters away or less, especially under cover, you will get killed. Do not think you are holding fire to point-blank in some effective ambush. Most of the attacking squad will survive, and in close combat it will make short work of you, if you let it get to grenade range.

Supporting weapons can help an OP platoon, or perhaps more precisely, may be able to accomplish their own objectives more readily when tied into an OP platoon's positions. Single MGs or MG bunkers, for example, can delay the enemy by harassing open avenues or long stretches of open ground from the flanks. Snipers can take their first shots from the same general position as the OP line, before skedaddling to their next shooting position. Single AT weapon ambush teams can try to bag one vehicle along a road or obvious "bypass" route, before falling back. A mortar FO may get in one fire mission, on a TRP perhaps, before falling back, likewise.

The goal of an OP platoon is to 1 - provide you with information about the enemy's route of advance, which in addition may 2 - provide indirect fire opportunities, to 3 - confuse him about your own deployments, and to 4 - shield your own main positions and ambush zones from the eyes of prying half-squads.

The goal is *not* to "hold" him, "delay" him (although the intel effects above may have that effect as a byproduct), or "attrite" him. It cannot do any of those things, if he comes straight on in full force, a whole company on-line. The supporting weapons (MG bunkers, snipers, etc) may indeed accomplish some of those goals, but do not try to "hold back" the main enemy force with a mere OP platoon, with the idea you are giving them time to do so. Trying to accomplish anything like that with just an OP line, will result in a dead OP platoon and a happy enemy commander.

Find him, watch him until you see not half-squads but a main force, then break contact, using the platoon reserve element when necessary to help do so, then skedaddle back to the secondary fighting position.

I hope this is interesting.

[rlh1138]

Super, super helpful. I am a total beginner, having a lot of fun, but would like to increase my learning curve. Reading this makes me realize I've just been fooling around learning how the game works and enjoying watching my men run around. Not that I won't continue, but at least now I see how to start thinking/analyzing. A request, I'd really like to practice what I just read, could you suggest one of the scenarios (and which side to play), that would lend itself to OP tactics. I really don't know them that well, tho I have lots I've downloaded. Thanks again - I look forward to further posts of this nature.

I don't always check back to this board - if you have a suggestion, and wouldn't mind - my email is rhudson@reflexnet.net

Thanks again

[Guest Mr. Johnson-<THC>-]

All and all pretty good. On a side not if they do rout when things heat up or your calling you full squad back and the get attacked crossing open ground, and get routed you've got the Company command to quicklly rally those troops to protect the flank of your MLR, plug a hole, whatever. Lots of variations of this. Even take 2 squadsfrom diffrent platoons and use a company commander up at the front. Those commander do a lot with those 2 extra rifles.

[CMplayer]

Originally posted by jasoncawley@ameritech.net:

I hope this is interesting.

Interesting? It's a beautiful friggin'

post! Thx for all the work writing down

your ideas (not to mention figuring

them out)

--Rett

[deanco]

Pillar pointed this out on the main forum and I'm glad he did. There are some great tips here, and most importantly, it is all written for the game, and explained in game terms, not like a military manual. I really learned a lot there. Thanks for that post, Jason.

------------------

DeanCo--

CM interface mods: http://mapage.cybercable.fr/deanco/

so many games...so little time

[Schugger]

Well, without Pillar's post on the general forum I would probably have missed this excellent post.

I think that many of those who own a CM website will be glad to host your article - it is simply to useful to get burried here.

rlh1138

Simply set up a small attack/defend QB with modest hills and medium woods. Should be quite easy to employ this OP tactic then.

[Guest Pillar]

As others have mentioned I linked this thread from the main board trying to bring people over.

You deserve some recognition for this, I think it's an excellent post.

- Pillar

[dieseltaylor]

DITTO