A fairly haphazard and random collection of advice mainly for room clearing and other close (<10 metres) combat. My aggressive close range pistol toting playing style MAY influence my advice a bit
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Loot pistols whenever you can. They are light, and very handy as a secondary weapon. They're especially handy for riflemen who lack any decent close quarter weapon. Remember you can carry two of them. Remember you can +1 round the P38 and TT33 by having an extra round in the chamber. Also remember you can't reload the C96 mid mag, so you'll sometimes find yourself having to empty the mag to reload.
If you're reloading and someone turns round the corner don't hope the reload will finish in time, act! Either sprint and move to interrupt the reload if you still had rounds in the mag. Or if you have a second weapon press the drop weapon key. It will usually switch you automatically to the other gun and will quickly allow you to fire. Just be warned that sometimes it will seemingly randomly switch to grenades/binocs/satchels etc, and sometimes your dropped gun may fall through the floor. But such instances are fairly rare.
Don't be afraid of switching weapon during a fight. You can switch weapon without coming out of iron sight rather quickly. If someone ducks behind cover considering switching weapon rather than reloading. I find weapon switching while aimed especially handy with the pistols due to their small mag size.
Melee! Melee is handy in three circumstances. The first is the classic bump into someone as you turn a corner/walk through a doorway. A quick well placed melee attack can take someone down before they can react. The second is the well timed charge. Wait till you think they're reloading around the corner/switching to nades and surprise them. The third, is when you sneak up behind someone. Don't rush, aim for the head. And if you lack a bayonet be prepared to follow up with a gun shot or further melee attack. If you sneak up on multiple enemies all bunched up I find it best to melee the first in the head then empty your automatic/semiautomatic weapon from the hip at the rest from point blank range until they're dead or your gun is dry. Then switch to melee. Don't give them time to react, you must be swift once the attack starts.
Grenades. They are not as useful as you'd think once enemy contact has been made. They are very handy at times, but people are so predictable in switching to them. You want to use them when the target can't appear and shoot you in the time it takes you to throw a nade and get your gun out. If they're right around the corner you leave yourself entirely open to that possibility. Remember to cook them off when the occasion warrants, and obviously, don't casually throw them around when team mates are in the area. Overall, I think grenades are best used just before you engage close up, or saved for an opportune moment (such as a cluster of enemies, or a machinegunner).
AT nades. They are best saved for attacking tanks, obviously. But sometimes you'll be sure someone is around a corner/just over a wall. A well placed AT nade can kill or at least wound them. Even if you fail to kill, you'll hear the scream/shout as they get injured. The instant explosion on impact makes them pretty impossible to dodge. Just remember that this also makes them very easy to suicide/team kill with. Also remember you can get more AT nades from an ammo point, so feel free to throw them at infantry if you KNOW you can get some more in case a tank approaches. Just don't waste them if you think a tank is going to arrive. There is nothing worse than an AT guy standing around helpess as an enemy tank drives by.
Satchels. They go surprisingly far, and the long fuse can really catch out enemy who don't pay attention. Toss them over walls and out of windows. Just be VERY careful near windows, and especially the HMG mounts and sandbags. They can often catch on them, and you end up with a live satchel on the wrong side. Which usually means teamkills ahoy! So use with EXTREME care.
Bullet penetration. It's not just for rifles, pistol rounds will slice through some walls. Interior walls especially won't put up much resistance. So utilise this as much as possible. Be very trigger happy. If you're pretty certain a friendly isn't behind the wall and you have the ammo to spare, what do you have to lose? Even if you fail to kill, you will surprise/panic/wound them. Listen for bullet impacts and screams/shouts. Be prepared to follow up immediately while they're still panicing by turning the corner and gunning them down.
People are predictable, they always camp in the same spots. A combination of well place explosives/bullets will discourage them from doing so, especially when you're utilising bullet penetration.
Keep moving. Only stay in one spot for any period of time if you can cover all exits, or if the uncovered exists are covered by team mates or are very unlikely to be used by enemy. If you sit still, people can approach you from behind and unless you hear them coming, you're as good as dead. If you keep moving, you're more likely to find enemies head on.
Hiding is very handy sometimes. If things get hot, find a quiet hiding place to let the heat fade. Use the chance to reload all your guns, and even cycle through mags if you're really running low. Check the map and the situation. But be quick about it, the moment you're ready to rock and roll, get moving. Make sure the hiding place is quiet, and you can see anyone as they enter. Ideally pick a spot where you can hide right around the corner, so you can melee anyone as they enter.
Have an Escape plan. If your gun runs dry/arty falls/5 enemy run around the corner etc., you may need to get out of there as soon as possible. If you've already thought of an escape route, it saves time. And in such circumstances even half a second can be the difference between life and death.
Cover blind spots. If you're with team mates look at which areas they're covering, and cover something thing. It only takes one uncovered doorway to get you all killed.
Don't be an obstacle to team mates. Remember your body blocks line of sight, movement and bullets. Always think about the lines of fire of your team mates and enemies. If you go up to a door to toss a nade through, keep to one side so team mates have a clear shot in case the enemy appear. If you get in the way you can not only get yourself killed, you can get a team mate killed as they couldn't fire back for fear of team killing you. Don't let that happen!
Don't be redundant. If someone is covering an approach don't try and do their job, find another job to do. It has always amazed me how people stupidly stand around in dangerous doorways that are covered by a friendly defender. By doing so all they do is get themselves killed, and make it difficult for the team mate to cover the doorway.
Don't bunch up. Stick near team mates yes, but don't stick too close. If you find yourself in a position in which a single nade could take out 3-4 of you, MOVE. Remember bullets penetrate bodies too, so you're doubly vulnerable. Bunching up is also a major cause of team kills as people accidentally wander through lines of fire.
Keep an eye on the icons in cap zones. If there are no enemies in the cap zone you can relax your guard a bit. But the second an enemy enters the cap, get back to full paranoia. Because they could be anywhere, and they're out to get you!
Sound is essential. Use surround sound if you can, it is a huge advantage up close. Listen for footsteps, grenades, shouts. Don't sprint everywhere or keen listeners will hear you around the corner. You want to surprise people, not get ambushed by them. If the death messages are turned off/delayed, remember you can usually tell who won a fight in the next room by the death scream/sound of the last gun shot.
Ok.. so this post has turned out about four times longer than expected
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