Replay: Sotahuuto 14

Ok, this is something new to me and the blog, so hopefully you find it useful.  If it seems helpful, I'll look into doing other posts in this type of fashion in the future.

A reader from Europe sent me a link to video from one of the large foam fighting events they've attended over there.  While it isn't Belegarth rules (tap fighting, head legal, and a few others), the video does illustrate a few concepts that are universal to the large scale fighting we see at events.  Please note, those are indeed 15' spears you see everywhere.

Here's the video, it's nearly 40 minutes of quadcopter footage of the event.  The noise from the copter might be a little annoying, fair warning. Those later castle battle are pretty insane and worth a watch, especially with destructible haybale walls. However, I really only want to look at the first battle for this post.  I chose this first fight to look at because it illustrates how important maneuvering can be.  If someone wants me to look at other fights or videos, I'd be more than happy to later.

 

For starters, our friend from Europe and his group are among the black/purple clad group at the center, we'll call their team the good guys.  The green group to their left appears to leave an intentional gap, I suppose as a trap or some variant of a kill pocket (the blue area marked below).  The right flank has pushed forward aggressively, just out of frame in this first picture.  We can see a gap, marked with yellow start to appear even this early in the fight.

 

Maneuver Phase of the battle.  Blue=intentional? gap.  Yellow=Gap to watch later

 

 





Other keys to this part in the battle are how the enemy forces are arrayed. Directly ahead of their middle, the good guys are up against a high (insanely high compared to Belegarth) concentration of spears.  They've already grouped up and have no signs of changing course.  The enemy line is already curving away, bowing out towards our friends.  This makes the entire field a scaled up version of a kill pocket.

 

Stalemate Phase of battle.  Even the spears are mostly at max range. 
The enemy has cut off the flanking group, but haven't fixed that gap yet.

 

Once the lines are close enough to engage, we reach the stalemate phase.  At this point one would expect that our little yellow gap here would have been closed up, but groups maneuvered away from it to engage our friendly flanking groups.  The enemy black/yellow group pushed out to engage, leaving only a few skirmishers to cover the area.  We can also see that the friendly lines haven't engaged the outside corner at all, leaving a large chunk of forces to the right flank of the black/purple group essentially in reserve.




The moment when decisive action could be taking place. 
Easily could have happened sooner than it did in the video.
Black lines are what I would have my line do at this point.

A closer look at the gap.  The group friendlies directly across from
it eventually push through.

This all sounds like a huge advantage for the friendlies, and it is.  However, there are few things that could have helped our purple/black friends survive the encounter a little better.  At the point pictured above, we see that gap still lingering around unopposed.  We also see our purple/black friends keep a solid line in the face of that giant mess of spears (highlighted in red).  The problem here is that holding their ground actually costs them a lot of casualties as we'll see when the copter makes another pass later.  The black lines here are what might have helped them get through this mess with a few more fighters intact.  Rather than standing strong against the concentrated spears, the line should have spread out (towards the right flank) while forming a kill pocket (the curve back marked here). 

By shifting forces to the right of the main enemy strength, it reinforces the group that should have already been pushing that gap.  By spreading out and backing away, it forces the enemy formation to spread their offense in different directions, preventing a whole group of fighters from being lost quickly.  Those directly opposed to the spears need to fight purely defensive and let the enemy advance.  Their whole goal is to buy time for flankers flooding through the gap to win the day.

When we see the camera come back to this section, we see that the group along the right flank that was engaged with the enemy black/yellow group joined with a few of the friendly corner group to push the gap (finally), but by time this happens our black/purple friends have been cut to shreds.  This makes the clean up much more difficult later.

The moral of the story: engaging a spear formation head on is rarely the best course of action. Making use of defensive maneuvering can both save lives and set up your enemy for being flanked.  Keeping an eye out for gaps early in the fight can give you some idea of where they will be later.  This particular case shows that they often form between two groups of fighters that are good at maintaining their own coherency. Because groups/units don't usually share leadership, you'll find groups can often lose track of their support unless their own anchors are doing a great job of keeping the whole line together. Creating/attacking/exploiting these gaps can be crucial to killing enemy formations and skilled groups.

In my next post, I'll take a look at some strategies for taking down spear formations.  It's a lot to cover, so I didn't want to include it all here. 

Small Unit Tactics

Not all groups enjoy the thick fighting at the center of a solid line.  Others lack the experience, numbers, or equipment to do so successfully. These groups often suffer at larger events, where the lines are densely packed.  Skirmish tactics work a little differently when facing such lines, as opposed to the more open fields of their home practices. A skirmishing group needs to capitalize on their best asset: maneuverability.

A skirmish line will quickly be picked apart should they face a group of experienced line fighters directly, especially if numbers aren't in their favor. However, this doesn't mean skirmish lines are incapable of winning the fight.  It takes a different approach for them to succeed.  Rather than attempting to rush into a line fight, the skirmishers need to fight the front of the line on the defensive. Their main goal has to be survival, only taking advantage of a few kills as opportunity presents them. By keeping mobile, they might be able to get the enemy to spread out or lose track of a few of the skirmishers. By drawing the enemy directly ahead, a few people on the wings might be able to flank around the enemy.

While most people "flank" by merely running past the ends of the lines until they are far enough to get around unopposed, a little more teamwork and tactics can make flanking a much stronger, faster tactic.  It is best to work in groups. Pairs work fine, but larger groups have more options.  Each group must set for itself a goal of delivering one fighter (or small group of fighters) the enemy's back.  This mindset allows flankers to function much closer to the core of the fight and still get someone behind the lines unopposed.  As an added bonus, some of these tactics also apply to heavy line fighting for shock troops, which could help a group transition to that style of fighting later. 

Let's look at a few specific strategies. 

 

Pin and split

Pin and split is my generic term for a great move that you can accomplish when, as a flanker, you outnumber the enemy that is in your way.  At its most basic, a 2v1 situation, one person engages the enemy, allowing the other to slip by unopposed.  Regardless of how well the pin survives, they buy their teammate plenty of time to cause havoc.  This strategy also works well for exploiting the edges of a gap in the enemy line. 

 

 

 

A larger group of fighters can enact this strategy well, even doing so multiple times as new threats approach.  Each time an enemy turns to counter them, the minimum number of flankers peel off to pin them as the rest continue flanking.  Remember, the goal is always to get at least one fighter to the rear of the enemy's main line.

Another extremely effective way to use this strategy is to counter flankers.  If your own team's flankers have become bogged down on the flank, fighting a line battle, the two fighters nearest them could try to pin/split against the enemy anchor.  The second closest to the end engages the enemy anchor heavily, probably fighting a 2v1 on the enemy flank.  The friendly anchor is then free to backstab the enemy flankers, freeing up a large force.  This is an exploit of the gap between the enemy line and their flankers, but could be used against almost any gap.

 

Wolfpacking 

When outnumbered, but not outmaneuvered, a team can attempt to split up.  By being more mobile than the larger force, their goal is to survive and pick apart any stragglers they can until the smaller force has a decisive advantage.  The skirmishing team still needs a few people to take the enemy head on.  When the enemy advances, the line spreads thin, leaving just a few fighters to keep the attention of the enemy core.  The rest flank around, using strategies like the pin and split. 

 

However, because the skirmishers are outnumbered, getting into the enemy backfield alive is going to be difficult, if not impossible, until several enemies are dispatched.  If the skirmishers can manage to  get their flankers to meet up behind the enemy (turning the line into a circle), they are now free to run in opposite directions.  At this point, the skirmishers must work off of each other.  By running in opposite directions, vision gaps will eventually be created that allow one of them to pick off an unsuspecting enemy.

A large part of the strategy requires that each skirmisher acts as a distraction first, staying alive as best they can.  Then, only take shots that are nearly guaranteed hits.  Kills are preferable, but legs will help reduce the enemy's ability to maneuver against you and arms will help soften them up for future attacks.

 

Pairs

Small groups should learn to work in pairs when possible. The goal is to develop tactics that work well when targets are isolated, while maintaining some safety in numbers. While you won't always be able to make a 2v1 situation happen, you want to be able to win the fight without losing much of your capability. 

You may find 2v1 drills particularly useful.  It helps build teamwork for the pair and helps the solo fighter practice for being outnumbered.  The pair has a goal of killing the solo without either of them being hit, while the solo tries to land a single hit on the pair.  Alternatively, you could have the solo fighter try to stay alive for a set amount of time or number of swings. This can help them prepare to be a pin or to keep the core of the line busy for a wolf pack strategy. 

One strategy for a pair is to plan, in advance, where to swing.  For example, one will swing high to the sword arm, while the other swings low to the shield side hip.  This forces the enemy on the defensive, because their shield will usually not be able to cover both angles, forcing them to block with their sword or die quickly.  Following up with a couple of swings will likely kill the target, as long as both keep the pressure on them. 

When the pair is on the defensive, it becomes important to not only block for your partner, but lure enemy targets out for them.  You can fake swings to try to get the opponent to counter, leaving their arm open to your partner.  Placing swings to one side of their shield or guard might draw their defenses over, letting your partner attack the other side. 

Against a solo opponent, the pair needs to move such that both can swing at the target or so that neither can be hit easily. The most favorable positions for the pair are either with the solo fighter facing the gap between the them, or with the pair slightly offset towards the solo's sword side.  This allows both to swing, and the latter gives a great angle against their weapon arm. 

 

"Good" in this case, relative to the pair. 

 

On the flip side, the solo fighters will need to use solid footwork and sword blocks/parries to stay alive. Most of their footwork will have them backing up, often to an angle.  Against a pair, their goal is to isolate one of them by stepping away from the other.  His preferred positions are either lined up against his sword side opponent (so his shield blocks off the other well), or with one enemy blocking off the other's angle of attack.  The second one is harder to pull off, but is the safest.

 

Communication 

I can never seem to stress this enough, but communication is vital to success as a small force.  Even without a command structure or leader, the group needs to all be aware of the overall plan.  Without communication, strategies like wolfpacking can quickly fall apart into chaos. 

Experienced vets may be less verbal, relying on their combined experience and reacting to the situation as best they can.  However, even vets will make sure to communicate openings they see or dangers around them. Starting out, simple communications like when to move or change spacing are necessary (vets usually adapt to the space well, without needing specific commands for it). One thing all groups need is a direction or target, and communicating that goal, or changes to it, should be a priority. 

Call out dangers to your line.  Call out targets, gaps, and weak points in the enemy line.  Equally important, relay calls from others.  For example, if you line needs to shift right, and you hear someone call it out, then you should repeat it down the line. Warn your allies of arrows about to be loosed, javelins at the ready, or support weapons taking notice of their flank. It is a lot to keep your mind on, but the more of these things you can keep your team informed about, the more successful they will be.

 

Leadership ("Driving the bus") 

Smaller groups sometimes lack any sort of command structure.  Even large realms have many people that could take charge, but no clear, default leader. That doesn't mean they lack leadership. In these groups, individuals usually take charge of the area around them as needed. Groups of veterans often have a very decentralized form of command, especially during a protracted line battle where individuals manage their own area. Those with the best line of sight, or that notice problems sooner, often begin taking charge of the few people around them. 

If someone else is issuing orders, do your best to support them.  Note, I didn't say "blindly follow a terrible plan".  Support the plan by maneuvering yourself and others in a way to help the plan succeed.  This might mean moving to cover a gap that no one else saw or being aggressive to draw the enemy's attention. Sometimes it means doing something that is opposed to the orders, such as taking a run through a gap rather than standing your ground.  The overall idea is to make the group more successful at its current mission. 

If no one is taking charge or communicating, take command and do your best to help the team.  Even a bad plan is usually going to be better than no plan. When it comes to actually taking charge of the group, do your best to navigate the group into favorable fights.  Try to issue orders that make sense for who you are ordering around, ie. don't have the 300 lb guy in full armor and a tower shield flank.  Play to your group's strengths.  More armored up fighters will need to form up against the bulk of the enemy, while faster fighters need to maneuver around. Try to engage targets such that your backfield is relatively safe (not facing the majority of the enemy groups). 

Most of the fight relies on your individuals finding success, but issuing commands to regroup or shift the line can give those individuals a better chance to survive.  Your goal, as leader, is to maintain the line during a fight.  Watch for gaps and weak points in both lines and move your forces to exploit or counter them.  Learn to spot vision gaps, especially along the enemy flank.  If their anchors aren't paying attention or are drawn into a fight, deploy a few flankers around them.  If your flankers need a better angle, shift the line to present the enemy's back to them. 

"Driving" isn't easy, even in a small, skilled group. Don't be discouraged by a bad fight or if you think you may have made a bad call.  Learn from the strategic failures and try to fix any issues with communication within the group. You'll get a chance to redeem yourself next fight. 

One side note, when a small group is part of a large team, they should do their best to integrate with the group.  Issue commands not only to your group, but those around you that lack leadership.  This is a great opportunity for smaller groups to get a better feel for line fighting, and working with support weapons.  Also, don't hesitate following orders from outsiders in this scenario, especially ones that seem to know what they are doing.

 

This section probably could be its own post.  I might try to put together a more detailed version, perhaps as a post-mortem next time I drive the BOF bus.

Tactics Spotlight: Shock Troop Defense

Holiday weekend + being under the weather a bit = me being slow to get posts out.  I should be back on the normal routine this week, though I seem to have forgotten to make graphics.

Previously, we looked at a few of the ways shock troops can attack the enemy line. Today I want to take a look at how to stop them. Most shock troopers are experienced fighters and usually bring a good bit of armor to the field. That's going to make it hard to prevent them from reaching their goal.

The easiest way to reduce their impact is to keep your head on a swivel. Noticing gaps and keeping you eyes on different angles of approach gives you a chance to spot the danger early and try to prevent it. By closing up gaps and calling out strafing runs, you greatly limit their access to easy targets.

Outside of not seeing a strafing run coming, most often their success seems to be because very few people swing at them.  Those that do often swing at the wrong target zones.  Throwing a high cross shot while they are on the move is usually going to end up hitting their shield, or hitting very light as they move away.  The best shot to land is a good hit to their leg, especially if you can get it in to an unarmored area.  Once they've lost mobility that close to your line, there isn't too much they can do without support.

One rare case to prevent strafing runs requires that you be a bit bigger than the person strafing, or at least be better at bashing.  Simply stepping up into their path and delivering a strong shield bash can knock them down, especially with the correct timing.  Even if they aren't knocked down, they are very likely to be slowed down enough for others to get a free swing or two.

Those on the line have a few options to stop shock troopers, but often times it comes down to reserves or other shock troopers to counter them.  Reserves should pay close attention to how the line in moving in the maneuver phase and look for gaps forming in the line.  Once noticed, moving there quickly is essential.  Quite often, the enemy has already spotted that same gap and will be moving there at the same time.  The mere presence of someone standing there to block it out is usually enough of a deterrent to send them elsewhere.

If you do find yourself holding a wide gap against a couple of shock troopers, try to keep to the middle of the gap and call for help.  As they approach, you need to try to get both of them to engage you in a fight, rather than one simply bypassing you.  This is difficult, because they will tend to split of once you have engaged one of them.  You'll have to try moving back and forth and putting swings on each of them.  If you can manage to leg one of them quickly, you might be able to turn the tide.  Even if they do get away, you have managed to slow them down a little to block and deal with you, potentially giving your team time to react.

There have been occasions where an enemy strafing run can be stopped by a friendly shock trooper chasing them through the middle of the lines.  This requires either being faster than their shock trooper or seeing their move and intercepting from in front of them a little bit.  This can prove to be exceptionally difficult, and is a fairly rare circumstance.

Tactics Spotlight: Shock Trooper Offense

Shock trooper is a term I throw around pretty loosely. The truth is, shock troopers can fill whatever role their team needs, and usually play a large part in causing or stopping decisive action. Today's tactical spotlight looks at a few things that shock troops do on the offensive.  Remember, fortune favors the bold! 

Minor breakthroughs are a pretty common goal for them. With a bit of armor and a plan, they aggressively force their way through weak points and gaps. One of the more common targets is polearms, rushing in to disable the wielder and do as much damage to the formation as possible. If their team follows up the charge, it may even lead to a major breakthrough.

Other than just happening to be on the line, in the thick of fighting, shock troopers sometimes act as an advance force for their team, strafing the enemy line and picking off targets of opportunity during the maneuver phase. They accomplish this by using the space between the lines to maneuver, relying on vision gaps to let them get a few shots off before being noticed.

Should the enemy line have a sufficient weak point or gap, the strafing trooper can easily attack it and attempt to break through. Succeeding at this point buys them a chance to take out key targets and archers before their team even has to fight them. However, once the gap is exploited, it will often force them to redress the ranks. Therefore, it is difficult for such a maneuver to gain the team much of an advantage unless the trooper is extremely successful at killing their numbers or being a sufficient distraction.

Top: the armored up knight strafes the line, sacrificing armor to get kills and limbs.  He uses the vision gaps to pick his targets.
Bottom: While strafing the line, he notices a gap, sacrificing most of his remaining armor to push through and start killing the enemy backfield.

Shock troopers can also be found causing and exploiting gaps during the battle itself. Often, it requires two or more working together. One trooper engages the enemy next to a gap, pinning them in place and allowing the other trooper to slip past unopposed. This is also a common tactic seen on the flank when one side has more flankers than the other.

A group of shock troopers has great potential to wreak havoc on a line, especially if each if them is capable of holding their own behind enemy lines. In this instance, a common practice is to follow each other through a gap, using the first one as a distraction to cover the others on their way in. Once through, they split up and work to deal as much damage as possible.

The pair of knights notice the spacing gap in front of them.  The left knight pushes in on the enemy knight and keeps him preoccupied, allowing the right knight to push around, through the gap.  Notice the two fighters to the left of the action, they are going to have to fight defensively or be overrun.

Even in the event they can't group up, a pair of shock troopers can strafe the line on opposite directions, crossing paths midfield. This creates a situation where vision gaps get created as people turn to defend against one shock trooper only to be cut down by the other. This indirect teamwork still relies on each person's ability to attack and defend on the move.

Shock troop offense is usually a high risk, medium-high reward.  In order to gain the most benefit, the rest of the line has to work off of any gaps or weakness the shock troopers create.  They also need to keep in mind that they may be left on the defensive while the shock troops focus on killing the other enemy flank.  Communication and situational awareness will also help the team take advantage of a minor breakthrough, possibly even rolling through a gap in force.

I'll talk more about how to stop shock troopers and defensive tactics they use a little next week.  Until then, good luck and good hunting.

Decisive Action: Overrun

This post might need graphics, I may add them later.

Overruns are a pretty rare thing in Belegarth. Most attempts end up meeting a line that is too well prepared, or the charge is too disorganized to have much effect. Armageddon gave me a few opportunities to witness and participate in a number of full on charges. Since it isn't common, now seemed like a good time to jot down some thoughts.

The most common charge, beyond a single person rushing, is a section trying to overrun the enemy. Big shields, lots of armor, and a bit of coordination can make it fairly effective. Even if they only reach a stalemate, there is good potential to get a few people through the line towards those pesky archers. I've seen it work here and there, but the risk is pretty high. If the sectional charge fails and suffers high casualties, their line ends up having too few numbers to hold back the remaining enemies. It can also cause a staggered gap next to the rushers, allowing someone to get behind your line.

The truly rare sight is the entire line/unit/realm charging head first into the enemy. Groups with less armor and experience tend to get cut down before doing too much damage. Even when they have much greater numbers, a more experienced group will do a decent job of countering them through maneuvers and good fighting.

So how is this ever going to be a successful strategy? Well, it seems to me that coordination is the main factor. Few groups have the cohesion to rally behind orders quickly enough to avoid being strung out here. Section charges are often intended to be more of a wedge, but your whole line can't do that without essentially allowing the enemy to form a kill pocket around your charge. As long as everyone pushes together and keeps a strait line, you'll see much more success.

Timing, as it so often is in this sport, is essential. Starting the charge too early in the maneuver phase of the battle gives the enemy time to change position and react to the charge. Too late and the lines have already reached the stalemate phase and your charge has less momentum. There isn't really an exact moment that is best, other than perhaps just before they raise their guards,just before reaching the stalemate phase.

If everything goes to plan, and the line reaches the front at the same time, it is up to each individual to try to push through and kill what they can. Part of the trick is making sure you are guarding your side with your shield, at least once you are inside the tip of their spears. Focus on quick kills and weapon arms. The more damage you cause, the less risk to you and the rest of your line.

Defending against this type of charge is a pretty broad topic. Plenty of options. You could always just charge them and have mass chaos in the middle. But really what beats a charge is maneuvering. Shifting the whole line to one side or backing away can cause the enemy to stagger and lose their punch. Thinning the middle while they fight defensively and pressing the flanks will likely get the enemy stuck in a kill pocket or even fully enveloped.

I've also seen a few sacrifice themselves to stifle the charge. By a handful of people charging in, the enemy has to slow down and deal with them, allowing the friendly line to step up and line fight, rather than suffer the full charge. With any luck, those that pushed in will stay alive long enough for their team to come to the rescue.

Moral of the story, trying to overrun the enemy is fun, but has a good deal of risk. Sometimes it is necessary, like when trying to avoid fighting two groups by pushing through one of them. Also, makes for great video.

Decisive Action: Weak Points

Last week I talked about gaps, but I forgot to mention weak points. Unlike a gap, a weak point is still defended, but offers a chance for a skilled/lucky fighter to push through. Also, they are good opportunities for support weapons to breakthrough with concentrated effort. Weak points allow a well organized group to cause high local attrition, and potentially a minor/major breakthrough.

Two new fighters post up just within sword reach of each other, leaving just enough space for a fighter to pass through. This isn't as spacing gap, because they are still within distance to cover the gap, but it is a weak point. The combination of good shield placement and good timing can allow a skilled fighter to push through unscathed. This is largely because newer fighters are less likely to cut off the advance and will stay in their positions as the shock trooper presses in.

Now, what if you were to put a spear user between those newer fighters? Problem solved, right? Well, sometimes. Outside of exceptional spear fighters, it only slows the advance down a little bit, and actually causes the shock trooper to have to act sooner, rather than standing in the spear's optimal range. It also will likely cause the new fighters to spread out a bit to give the spear some room. The shock trooper just has to get inside of the spear tip to turn this fight into the same type of fight as before.

Those of you that know me probably know this is one of my favorite weak points to exploit. It takes good timing and quite a few steps, but can sway the tide of a fight pretty quickly. It also has a high likelihood of getting you killed when you try it.  That being said, a solid push into the spear formation is going to give your team time to push up while they are occupied, and even against skilled opponents, there is still a good chance of doing some damage. 

That's me, rushing a spear, while trying to stab the adjacent knight with my down sword.  No one said it would be easy.
Photo by: Ellie Apland

Another weak point commonly seen is a section of the line that lacks shields.  Whether a number of fighters that have lost an arm, several florentine fighters, or some red users, they still are creating an opportunity for some attackers.  During the maneuver phase of a line battle (before anyone is in range to attack, except the stray arrow), spear and glaive users should position themselves to strike at this type of weak point.  The shieldless have much less defense against reach weapons and should be easier to cut down.  Arrows seem like an obvious choice to attack here as well, but the continuous pressure of a spear may be more suited to kill the weak point.

Then there is "the javelin guy".  Javelins are good for putting some threat out towards support weapons and killing high value targets, but they aren't going to help you much when you are being rushed.  Sometimes, a javelin user keeps their javelin aimed towards a polearm long enough that the enemy can get into range to rush them.  At this point, he either has to decide to throw/drop it and swap weapons, or try to survive by blocking with the javelin.  This becomes an especially good target if the fighter to one side or another is preoccupied or looking the other way.  I'm also not trying to say javelins are bad, but remind people that when you have one out, you are as much a support weapon as a lineman.  Try to keep yourself in a safe spot if you are going to hang onto it for a while.  Or don't, and I'll be more than happy to rush your way.

One last weak point for today, the range weak point.  What's this, a whole unit has short swords and no support weapons?  Well, I guess my team should pull out their long swords and polearms.  Any time you can simply outrange a group of enemies, it is going to help boost the attrition your side causes.  Much like the situation of shieldless enemies, bringing up polearms and other reach weapons gives your team a huge advantage.  By maintaining control of the range, your side can dictate the flow of battle and swing more aggressively, without being easily countered.

The whole goal of spotting a weak point is to figure out how to use it to cause as much damage as possible to the enemy.  You just need to out kill them locally in order to start gaining some advantage across the whole line.  A lot of the time, by applying concentrated pressure to a weak point, you will form a gap in their line, allowing you to crush their team.

When you notice a weak point in your own line, you need to either reinforce it, or fight defensively. During the maneuver phase, try to redress the ranks to spread shields to where they need to go and eliminate any other weak points you notice early. As far as smaller weak points go, they will be harder to notice until it is too late, but with any luck, a small bit of reserves will at least have a shot at preventing too much damage.  For the larger weak areas, playing it safe will buy some time for your own line to gain advantage elsewhere.  Because the enemies goal will be to kill you quickly, yours needs to be surviving.

Decisive Action: Gaps

Many a line has met their doom because they failed to cover a gap, allowing a flood of enemies into their backfield to cut down the rest of the line. I talked a little bit about maintaining a strait line last week, but one always has to have an eye for gaps. Keep a watch for gaps in your own line and the enemy's.

The most obvious gap is a spacing gap. This usually occurs when wings or anchors fail to communicate or must cover a wider distance between the core and flank than they have the manpower to support. Fighters should avoid being separated by more than twice the distance between the lines to help reduce the chances of someone making it through the gap. Communication across the line and shoring up thin spots in the line early will prevent most instances of this type of gap.

Several other types are less apparent to the untrained eye. Stagger gaps and vision gaps are fairly similar, but stagger gaps are the extreme case. A vision gap is one that forms because two adjacent fighters are fixated away from each other, meaning neither of them are watching their middle. A decent fighter can push up quickly and kill one or both of them on their way through the gap. A stagger gap happens when both sides have vision gaps that overlap, causing the lines to stagger if one flank pushes.

The simplest cure for vision gaps is keeping your head on a swivel and using your peripheral vision watch the surrounding area. Staggered gaps give you two options, either exploit it to kill the enemy line, or fall back out of the danger. More often than not, the first side to recognize the danger will be able to utilize it to crush the enemy.

One other gap is the "L" or angled gap. This is more common to see when a larger force has been engaged by two smaller forces from different sides. Each flank of the larger group turns to face the respective enemy, forming an "L". Much like a staggered gap, this leaves a weak point in each line near the corner, especially when the smaller forces are only temporarily aligned to take on the large group. Angled gaps can also be seen near the edges of a kill pocket in extreme cases.



For this diagram, I assume the two smaller forces combined probably have more fighter in total.

Defense against angle gaps can be nearly identical to that of a kill pocket, backing away from the corner and extending the line to force the enemy into a strait line. This can be particularly effective when fighting two desperate allies, forcing their flanks to have to worry more about each other. Sometimes, it is entirely possible to have one wing wheel around the corner, towards the enemy. A successful push like this may even force them backward enough to get them into an angled gap. It also might form a staggered gap if the flank has to wheel about their center, rather than around the corner.

Obviously, gaps are dangerous. A good deal of the time, however, they are dangerous to both sides. Good battlefield awareness will let you spot them early and take advantage, or at the very least prevent the enemy from doing so. Just covering the gap can sometimes be enough to deter someone from pressing in against it. You'd be surprised at how often you'll go to kill a gap, only to meet an enemy about to do the same to your line.

Decisive Action: Envelopment

My crudely drawn diagrams will eventually get better, I promise.

All of you experienced veterans of Belegarth are well aware that full encirclement of an enemy force is extremely rare and hard to pull off in our game. The scale is too small, allowing each person greater awareness of the big picture. The forces are generally too evenly matched in skill and numbers for one side to have enough of an advantage to attempt such a difficult maneuver.

The only time we usually see full encirclement is during the cleanup phase of battle. Well after the decisive action, a group of mobile fighters will encircle a group of wounded (legged) opponents. Not exactly as epic or decisive as the Battle of Cannae.



Source: The Department of History, United States Military Academy.  Copied from Wikipedia.

So why talk about it? Because a smaller scale of it happens all the time. One of the most useful tools in a commander's playbook is the kill pocket. The simple change in formation requires a few fighters to step back off of the line, forming a U shape. Any enemies inside the U are easy targets, even if they aren't fully encircled. Kill pockets are widely used to defend bridges and castle entrances, or to attempt to lure support weapons into the trap.

The reason a kill pocket works, is because those in the middle have to fight against three directions. It is nearly impossible to defend against spears and support weapons coming from both sides and the front, let alone deal with the shieldmen protecting them. By concentrating their attacks towards the middle, those using the kill pocket can cut a hole through the enemy line, causing a major breakthrough.  Of course, in the open, those on the top of the U are somewhat more exposed and must defend themselves from opponents on two sides--those inside the pocket and those in front of them.  It is important for those fighters to fight defensively and keep the edges of the pocket intact, otherwise the enemy might take advantage of this weakness and push against them.

On the open field, wise commanders will spot the trap, and either pull their forces out of the kill pocket, or deploy shock troops and reserves to press into it. If that second option sounds dangerous, that's because it can be. Depending on the composition of the pocket, sometimes those at the bottom of the U are stretched thin enough that a burst of shock troops can break through. This is extremely effective when the defenders don't have reserves, allowing your team to press through the pocket and roll the enemy flanks from the center in a major breakthrough.

Source: Crudely drawn diagrams.  Blue dots are standing in for attackers (aka, the good guys).

Another fairly common sight is aggressive or heavy flanking forces rolling around a flanks, causing the enemy wing to bend backwards. Usually, it is preferable to have the wing extend to stop flankers, but a strong rush of them is often enough to force the wing into the defensive. In extreme cases, the line will curl backwards on itself enough that the main line and wing are standing nearly back to back. At this point, even if they aren't fully encircled, the defenders are going to be cut down in short order.

For the defenders, their first option of extending the line gone, need to choose a new plan quickly. Everyone that will soon be encircled can fall back, reforming a shorter, stronger line and fight the flankers. This will sometimes work, but it requires those on the wing and core to be aware of the danger early. The other option is to pressure the opposite flank hard, ideally bending it back in equal measure. This causes the two lines to rotate around the middle and allow the line to reform before being crushed. Of course, they'd have to act quickly to overcome the challenge, otherwise the center may not have enough time to escape.

More Dots!  Blue dots are trying to salvage the line and regroup against a strong enemy flank.
 

In general, try to keep your own line strait across the field.  When you need to add a bend to your line for any reason, try to make sure that you are causing the enemy to fight against multiple directions without exposing your backs--don't curl back upon your own line.  Kill pockets are useful, but do have weaknesses on the edges.  Try to use them more when the enemy has to come through the middle.  For those newer fighters, instead of retreating back behind your line, try spreading out away from them--maintaining decent spacing.  Your team would much prefer it if you didn't escort the enemy into the backfield as you retreated.