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Tactical Definitions 
The following definitions cover some of the more significant aspects of the employment of team-level tactics. These are important to understand for the purposes of the remainder of this page's content.
Suppression
Suppression is the act of using fire and the threat of fire to deter enemy fire or action, as well as 'fix' the enemy in one place. As noted elsewhere, suppression is only effective if the enemy truly believes that they will be shot or killed if they don't take cover from the incoming enemy fire.
Base-of-Fire Element
A 'base of fire' is a collection of troops, typically with multiple machinegun systems, whose job it is to suppress and 'fix' an enemy while another element maneuvers to close with and destroy them. This is also commonly referred to as a 'support' element.
Maneuver Element
A maneuver element, also commonly known as the assault element, is a group of troops that is tasked with flanking or otherwise attacking the enemy under the cover of a base-of-fire element. They close with and destroy the enemy through fire & movement.
Fire & Maneuver
Fire & maneuver is the first part of closing with and ultimately destroying the enemy. To conduct it, a portion of the available force is set up as a 'base of fire' from a suitable position with good observation of likely enemy locations. This base-of-fire element suppresses or kills the enemy with their combined fire, allowing the second element - known as the maneuver element - to close with and destroy the enemy.
Generally, fire & maneuver employs as many machineguns as possible in the base-of-fire element so that a high level of suppression and lethality can be achieved. When available, vehicles and crew-served weapons can be employed in the base-of-fire to heighten the effects of it. Note too that there can be multiple bases-of-fire, with complementary coverage, to make it even harder for the enemy to effectively respond.
Fire & Movement
Fire & movement sounds very similar to fire & maneuver, yet is significantly different from it. Fire & movement is the most fundamental of all team-oriented combat principles, and is where the 'rubber meets the road' so to speak.
Fire & movement happens when a maneuver element is no longer able to advance in the cover of supporting fire from the base-of-fire element. This typically happens in the last hundred or more meters away from an enemy position.
When an element transitions into fire & movement mode, players move up with measured aggressiveness, covering each other as they advance via buddy bounds or individual rushes. Generally, fire & movement happens naturally and is not specifically called for. Once the enemy is shooting back in an effective fashion, or you're within grenade range of them, you should assume that fire & movement has begun.
Going Firm
"Going Firm" is a technique that can be used to control the advances of friendly forces and get a better picture of what the situation is via reports from all friendly units.
When the order to "go firm" is received, squad leaders halt their forward advances and have all their fireteams take up a defensive posture in the best possible positions nearby. The Platoon Commander and Squad Leaders then have a brief discussion as to what happens next, how many casualties have been taken, what formations will be used next, and any other relevant information about the battle that needs to be passed. After this is over, the PltCo cancels the order and all squads resume their movement or change their plans according to PltCo instructions.
Security
Security is the act of ensuring that situational awareness is maintained in 360° around friendly forces, preventing the enemy from surprising friendlies.
Initiative Based Tactics (IBT) & the 'Fallujah AAR'
Initiative Based Tactics (IBT) are something I first read about in an excellent After-Action Review written by Marines who fought in Fallujah, Iraq. I will quote them directly - these are the four rules of IBT:
The Four Rules of Initiative Based Tactics
- Cover all immediate danger areas.
- Eliminate all threats.
- Protect your buddy.
- There are no mistakes. Every Marine feeds off of each other and picks up for the slack for the other. Go with it.
They go on to say:
Every Marine needs to understand and memorize the rules governing IBT. These rules should not only apply to MOUT, but all small unit infantry engagements. Rule number four must be pounded into the squad. There are no mistakes when clearing a structure in combat, only actions that result in situations: situations that Marines must adapt to, improvise, and overcome in a matter of seconds.
If you're interested, you can read their full AAR here.
It is highly recommend reading, as it conveys a unique perspective on how challenging modern MOUT combat is.
There are several other great bits of information included in the AAR that are applicable to ArmA2 as well. Quoting each:
All danger areas while on the move must be covered. Security must be three-dimensional and all around. Each Marine in the stack looks to the Marines to his front, assesses danger areas that are not covered, and then covers one of them. If every Marine does this then all danger areas will be covered.
At all times the squad will move by using IBT and adhere to its principles which will be addressed later. No Marine should make an uncovered move. The squad should move at a pace that is swift, but controlled, exercising “tactical patience.”
All Marines must exercise initiative during combat. Squad leaders must design training techniques in order to stress initiative. Marines must be able to look around, assess what his squad or partner is doing, feed off it, and act in order to support them. Initiative based training is paramount.
Knowing the rules of IBT, and being able to employ them in our sessions, is a great way to increase effectiveness at the fireteam and squad level. It all boils down to staying alert, covering your buddies, and using your own initiative to do what is needed in the situation, without having to be explicitly told to.
Integration of Smoke
The proper integration of smoke into a battle is critical to both in the offensive and defensive roles. Smoke is on-demand concealment that allows a force to mask their movements, deceive the enemy, mask the enemy's observation or fire, or signal.
Smoke Varieties
Smoke comes in four primary varieties.
- Smoke hand grenades. These can provide a good amount of smoke for a minute or so and can be thrown several dozen meters. Many infantry units carry these - medics/corpsmen get an extra amount, as do team leaders and squad leaders.
- Grenade launcher smoke grenades. Typically referred to as 'ground markers', these are not strictly intended to be used for concealment, but can do the job nicely in a pinch. Ground markers, launched from the M203 grenade launcher, can be used to mask the enemy's observation from a distance, as well as to mark targets for air support assets.
- Vehicle smoke dischargers. Many vehicles have arrays of smoke dischargers that can produce a massive, near-instantaneous smokescreen in the direction that the vehicle's turret is pointed at.
- Artillery delivered smoke rounds. Artillery smoke comes in the form of white phosphorous rounds. Upon bursting, these produce dense clouds of smoke that linger for a considerable period and provide excellent concealment.
Additionally, hand grenade and grenade launcher smoke shells come in a variety of colors. This can be useful for coordinating close air support - one color can be used to mark friendly positions, while another color can be fired at the enemy to mark their position.
Smoke Roles
The main roles of smoke are as follows.
- Screening movement. Smoke can be used to reduce the effectiveness of enemy fire when movement across dangerous areas is required. The enemy tends to fire at any smoke that they suspect is being used to screen movement, but due to the reduced or nonexistent visibility it causes, their fire becomes significantly degraded. Screening can involve a wide variety of tactical tasks - it is most typically used to support tactical in-contact movement or the recovering or protection of the wounded.
- Masking the enemy's fire or observation. By putting smoke onto the enemy's positions, particularly their bunkers, snipers, or other high-casualty-producing systems, their fire can be greatly degraded or even eliminated for a period of time. Smoking bunkers in an assault is a key way to gain an advantage over a dug-in enemy and negate the effects of their best defenses.
- Deception. When employed smartly, smoke can lead an enemy to believe that hostile forces are maneuvering through a given area even when they aren't. This can cause the enemy to direct fires into the smokescreen, wasting ammo and potentially giving away positions to supporting friendly forces. At the very least it can cause uncertainty and force the enemy to at least consider that the smoke may be a legitimate hostile movement. This can split their attention at a critical moment and maximize the shock and surprise of the true friendly movement or assault.
- Signaling. Smoke can be used to signal to air as well as ground forces. For aircraft, it can be used to mark enemy targets, friendly locations, landing zones, et cetera. For ground forces, it can be used in limited-communication situations (ie: direct-VON-only) to convey pre-arranged signals to distant forces (such as the seizure of an objective).
Ultimately, the proper usage of smoke is important for all players to be familiar with. Employed correctly, it can save a lot of virtual lives. Incorrect employment, on the other hand, can doom many.
