Open field attacking.

[Novusordo]

How do you attack an enemy position in an open field with no cover is a good question.

The answer is to split in to two teams and have one team provide the initial supression fire while the other team sprints ahead in zig-zag (no bunny hopping, lol) style, going prone and then taking the role of supression team while the previous supression team then sprints ahead in zig-zag style about 15 yards ahead of the other team and then, as before, lays down and provides the supression fire.

Repeat the process untill either team gets close enough to frag the enemy position.

It's a sure fire way to attacking enemy positions in open, cover-less fields with minimal casulties. Ideially though you should never attack from open fields unless it's absolutely necassary.

If your a clan, pre-determine who will be the team that provides the initial supression fire and the team that will do the initial sprint forward. That way you can perform this tactic the instant it's required.

[Desantnik]

fire-team rushes = lots of bruised knees, elbows and tons of lead flying down range...fun times in SOI

[Witzig]

If you zig-zag over open Fields make sure to run at least at 45° to the Enemy !

[zayd]

That sounds rather easy to counter, the advance can be helded back by grenades and a flanking element from the defending team (the team firing on the guys in the open field) can pick off the suppressing fire team easily with an automatic weapon (provided the flank of the advancing troops is open and exposed).

then again, im not really an expert, just my thoughts.

[Witzig]

My Picture is off from the relations, but generally People will keep their Heads down, with several SAWs supporting, problem with it, is that there are not that many Automatic Weapons in WWII

[zayd]

i imagine SMGs would do the job well enough.

[Novusordo]

Originally Posted by Desantnik

fire-team rushes = lots of bruised knees, elbows and tons of lead flying down range...fun times in SOI

Yeah tell me about it.

Here in the UK we have the cadet force and when I was a cadet, we would do exactly this on excersise ops with single shot SA-80's firing blank rounds. Lot's of bruised knees like you said.

It works better than simply all of your teaam running forward since there is nothing stopping the enemy from standing up and cutting you all down in one sweep. Thats why you gotta take it in turns to sprint ahead/supress.

[Felix Ostheim]

Wouldn't a wing attack be useful in this situation as well?

[Ike]

If there is artillery available, call in a fire mission on the enemy position. The last thing you want to try is a frontal assault, even with a fire element and maneuver element, zig-zagging, etc. Those are all good tactics designed to reduce casualties, but how would you defend that position if you were defending?

Assuming a normal WW2 Soviet or German squad, nothing fancy, you have one or two SMGs, 8 rifles one of which could be a sniper, and one LMG. So, you hide one 2 or 3-man team on each flank, to protect against being flanked and to provide fire into the flank of any advance, rush or assault. So that's where your SMGs would go, one to each side if you have two. LMG and the rest of the squad in the center, preferably dug into foxholes, and you use aimed fire as the enemy attacks or rushes. Most every attacker gets into a pattern. For instance, left side rushes, then right side. So, when the left rushes, shoot at them, then shift your aim to the right, 'cause you know who's getting up next. Try to avoid that when you're doing the assaulting.

So, your center team has the LMG and four rifles. Each flank team has two rifles and one SMG (assuming two SMGs in the squad). The flank teams hold their fire and try to stay hidden from the enemy until the enemy's advance or assault brings them within the effective range for the SMGs. Then you open fire into the flanks of the enemy's advance. Do that about twice, if there really is no cover to your front, and there won't be an enemy force left to attempt the assault the third time.

That's why your best tactic is to deploy your men in a way that you can protect your flanks and in their teams for the assault. But, you wait for your artillery to hammer the enemy's position and begin your assault while your last artillery rounds are falling. Don't forget, when you call for the artillery fire, include a bit to the sides of the known enemy positions, 'cause that's where the SMGs are hiding to chop you into small pieces from the flanks. No artillery? Call up your tanks! No tanks? Well, kiss it goodbye and make the assault mainly from one flank to minimize your losses and to be able to reach the enemy. Mazel tov!

[Deceptoris]

One major problem is that this is a videogame. People have an extremely hard time following orders. Following the orders of a competent commander will win you the game EVERY TIME. Consider this simple scenario:

Team A and Team B are to take a town. There are enemy troops in it. Infantry only. Team B lays down covering fire while Team B crosses the river and throws grenades into the town. They set up a perimeter, and provide cover while Team B moves up. So far so good. They take half the town, and are engaged in a firefight with the remaining defenders. They
know what they are supposed to do in a variety of tactical circumstances, such as a tank appaears, they get flanked, etc. Great.

Now, a tank does appear at the far end of the town, along with infantry reinforcements.

Consider the makeup of the players of Team A and B. They are of average gameplaying age, say between 17 and 24. They are all reasonably skilled at the game they are playing, and have played together for some time in other games. In other words, a clan. They split back into their teams, the dead players having arrived back at the fight. The anti-tank people go to work, and the platoon commander calls artillery in on the outskirts of the town to prevent an enemy counter-attack. The enemy tank is destroyed, and the town is taken. The teams did their job very well.

Key to victory: Worked as a team.

If random people from any given server were to try the same thing, I would gurantee an even match at best, if the other side were random people as well.

Now, back to my topic. The above story is real. It is a very straight-forward, simple strategy that works nearly all of the time. It's called FOLLOWING ORDERS. Our commander gave us an order, and we did it. No questions over the comm, no whines, only a few "Yes sirs" from an ingame voice command. We had to practice those maneuvers for a VERY long time. The game was Battlefield 2. We sat in an empty server for hours, repeating the same thing over and over and over again until people fell asleep on their keyboards. Why? Why do you think the Army makes you drill and drill and drill?

Because under pressure, you WILL NOT perform the way you think you will when you just talk out strategies. How many of you have ever had to call 911 for a critically wounded person? Very few I would imagine. If you reached a certain stress level, you would not be able to dial 911. Your brain would not be able to comprehend something so simple because it starts shutting down many other processes that would normally be taking place. Your fingers would either not respond to your commands at all, or you would dial something completely erratic. If you do not practice something you take for granted, when you really need it, it will not be there.

Now, the above example is very extreme, obviously. I in no way mean to say that people's brains start to shut down when they are getting shot in a videogame. However, this next example might make more sense:

Your playing whatever action/combat game you like to play. Your playing with your real life or met-online friends. You come under fire, and, being in high spirits and having fun, and being rather boisterous as you aren't face to face with these people, get a giddy, "OH SH*T" feeling when you come under fire, and start running around with no sense, trying to get away. Does anyone know that feeling? That is what I am talking about. Many people, if not most, get some form of that feeling when getting shot at. It is a feeling unique to first person shooters. The only way to overcome this feeling is through training. Sounds cliche, old, boring, dumb, wrong, what have you.

If it does, then try something. It will take time, many, if not all who disagree with the theory of this post will not undertake the challenge. But I'll put it out there anyway.

Start a pub server, let it fill up, then try to organize the players into two cohesive teams, and set an objective. I don't care what game you do it in. Try to weed out the idiots by kicking those who don't want to participate. Then, with the ones who are interested, try to complete any number of reasonable objectives. Sounds easy. Probably will be. Pug vs. Pug, it will most likely boil down to individual skill and luck. This is the way normal games are played on the majority of servers on the majority of games.

Next part of challenge:
Get a small team of people who you know, trust, and play the same game(s) as you. Start a server, password it, then choose, say, three simple objectives. Take this area, defend this area, patrol this area. Work continuously on doing the same thing over and over and over again, until you can run it with your eyes closed. If practiced enough, on any game, one should be able to take a pen and paper, and, with your eyes closed, draw the route you are assigned to take, and then mark, with some sort of symbol, what you are supposed to do at the end of the route.

If you want to see proof of what I am talking about, look for videos of a respected clan from any game. The first that comes to mind is Counter-Strike. Look on most famous league pages for links to websites of winning teams, and try to find an in-game video. If the clan finished in any kind of respectable place, I guarantee some amazing team work.

As an ending note to a way-too-long post, I must stress that there is no right answer to any one tactical situation, and everyone knows that. Training, I repeat, Training, will do wonders for whatever game you want to play. Do not make the mistake of thinking you must train against other people. That is very helpful, as it teaches people to adapt. But learning you r task and role in the team can only be learned through repetition.

Train simple, train smart.

[Phoenix-D]

Originally Posted by zayd

That sounds rather easy to counter, the advance can be helded back by grenades and a flanking element from the defending team (the team firing on the guys in the open field) can pick off the suppressing fire team easily with an automatic weapon (provided the flank of the advancing troops is open and exposed).

then again, im not really an expert, just my thoughts.

If you're shooting at the fire team you *aren't* shooting at the assault team. Grenades will work on maps like Danzig, with tight choke points, but on, say, Ponyri you simply can't throw out enough..and the smoke from their explosions provides the attackers with concealment.

Well, you can't if the attackers do it right, anyway. Two basic infantry rules:

#1. Follow orders. See the post above, and remember that a silly order followed NOW is better than arguing and getting the perfect order a minute too late.

#2 Don't bunch up! This is especially important if big guns (arty, tanks) are involved, but it applies everywhere (a tight group of soliders is a MG gunner's dream..). Ideally you should be spaced so that any single greande, arty shell, or tank shell will only kill one man.

Flanking is highly overated on this scale, BTW. Who's easier to hit- someone runing more or less straight at you, or someone moving perpendicular to you?

[THG repo]

Originally Posted by zayd

That sounds rather easy to counter, the advance can be helded back by grenades and a flanking element from the defending team (the team firing on the guys in the open field) can pick off the suppressing fire team easily with an automatic weapon (provided the flank of the advancing troops is open and exposed).

then again, im not really an expert, just my thoughts.

That seems harder to do than what the assuters have to do esp with 300ping lol

[Rrralphster]

Suppression has absolutely no effect in respawning games. That's why I prefere roundbased games. Having limited respawning/credits/lives helps a bit but not enough to make attacking in open area's using the described tactic viable.
And yes the "frog-leap" tactic where you split your squad into 2 groups is taught in the Dutch army.

[Petrovich]

Ok 1 thing boys,ur sight will go blurry when u get suppressed coz of all the bullets above u head so u CANT do **** then just waiting ( or lob a nice nade but ok.. ) So that actions what some of u guys say arent that ''cool'' in the battlefield they are way harder to do

[CaptRio]

You guys didnt mention smoke covering...

Smoke and Move, while the support team is laying suppressive fire. Simple as that

[Rrralphster]

Originally Posted by Petrovich

Ok 1 thing boys,ur sight will go blurry when u get suppressed coz of all the bullets above u head so u CANT do **** then just waiting ( or lob a nice nade but ok.. ) So that actions what some of u guys say arent that ''cool'' in the battlefield they are way harder to do

Didn't know how suppression works in RO. Excellent! Respawning or no respawning this sound pretty effective

[[CiA]Stiletto]

You forgot that respawns in RO are a. in waves and b. NOT RIGHT AT THE DAMN OBJECTIVES.

I find that even in pubbing, 3-man teams work great. Games aren't big enough for normal 4-man fire teams, and 2-man teams aren't enough in general.

Open field attacks in RO:OST are...well...a lot more open. Bear in mind that with UE 2.5 and source access, maps got ALOT bigger.

[Deceptoris]

Attacking a position from an opened field is made much more effective by the mere sight of a tank, even if its not directly supporting you. If you stop moving, your most likely dead. Also, for the fire team, you can't stay still for too long, or chances are arty will be dropping on your *** in no time...

[Phoenix-D]

Originally Posted by Rrralphster

Suppression has absolutely no effect in respawning games. That's why I prefere roundbased games. Having limited respawning/credits/lives helps a bit but not enough to make attacking in open area's using the described tactic viable.

It works, but A. most games don't have the numbers to do it right and B. most people don't even try. Works especially well when the enemy is sniping from windows, say on Hedgehog. Plenty of times surpressive fire on the center house has kept a sniper there down long enough for my team to get out of his LOS and into the house..

[[CoFR]BooBoo]

Bounding overwatch is your best friend in open field assaults.