Element Support - Mutually Supporting Positions

By keeping your groups within a single turn's distance (ten seconds of movement) and by covering each group's blind spots you have a better chance of advancing without heavy losses or surprises. Medic on left has just moved in from element on right during support for a room-clearing assault by team on right.

This flexibility can be seen in use when the enemy is detected, in Interlocking Fields of Fire. Additionally, using breaching tactics like Wallbusting keeps the initiative on your side. Keeping Spotters working as Cornerdancing keeps an offensive posture.

Mutually Supporting Battle Positions

Platoons and squads use this technique to concentrate firepower into a given engagement area. This technique prevents the attacker from focusing on the entire defensive scheme.

(1) Leaders must ensure that the position is organized in depth, that all likely avenues of approach are covered by fire, and that all positions have interlocking fires.

Each position must be supported by another position that can deliver fires into the flank or rear of the enemy attacking it.

Leaders must include obstacles in the fire plan to slow and stop the enemy in the engagement area -- to include extensive use of grenade fire.

Squads patrol forward of the BP to provide security. They harass the enemy to disorganize and confuse him as to the location of the main defenses.

NOTE: Fighting positions are not located on likely avenues of approach. Keep these clear for potential ambush locations, i.e. a nice 'clear hole' in your position apparent to the enemy, only to have the enemy troops annihilated by concentrated Fields of Fire.

Rookie Move Warning!

Don't always take the most obvious approaches, an experienced player will position his units so that you are sprayed with weapons fire or ambushed when you leave your apparently safe positions.

Fools rush in: When you first start playing it's easy to spot the best routes to advance along, the perfect firing positions and suchlike but be wary, if you are able to spot them so will your opponent. There's nothing wrong with taking these positions but beware, they are the lines of fire your opponent is most likely to protect making them every bit as dangerous as more open areas when the grenades and rockets start firing.

Note below that the path taken by the enemy force was predicted, and countered by quick Mutual Element Support.

(2) The positioning of squads, organization of the engagement area, and fire control measures are critical to the success of this technique.

Leaders position their squads in relation to the avenue of approach.

Platoon leaders use essential control measures to mass fires against the enemy within their sectors.

(3) Variations of this technique include:

  • Opening fire at the some time and withdrawing on command.

  • Opening fire one element at a time. As the enemy orients on each element firing at them and begins to maneuver against it, other elements open fire and the original clement withdraws once it is no longer receiving enemy fire. It either moves to a new position or to a rally point.

  • Maneuvering to prevent the enemy from withdrawing or reinforcing.

  • Designating more than one engagement area. Leaders use supplementary and on-order positions and secondary sectors of fire to mass fire into engagement areas as required.