Tuchola Forest Strategies and Tactics Options

[ScrapyardBob]

Note: Some of this information will change over time as things change during the beta testing phase. But it's still close enough to final so we can start discussing tactics and strategy.

Here's the map. Each one links to a 1600x1200 version.


Base Assault map

[ScrapyardBob]

Updated Defensive Points for Beta #2.

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German Team

For the Germans, defense boils down to watching the 3 major approaches (N Bridge, Farm, S Forest). This takes 3 squads (2-4 players per squad) and can be done in various locations along each approach. Each squad should probably float between the rear position (i.e. 1a) and the forwardmost position (i.e. 1c).

1) South Flank (2-3 members) - Keep the South Forest clear. Should be defendable with a 2-player squad, but a 3rd player may be required to keep Hill 57 clear (and to float towards the North Bridge). One player should patrol the area around G1, guarding the S flank of the spawn area, while the other players should patrol farther forward (east and southeast of G1). The forward positions are "report first, ambush second".

1a) G1 Defense - Last ditch position. Best bets for infantry is the trench NE of G1, the treeline just SE of G1, or staying on the pak40 at G1. Worst place to be is right on top of the base as you are surrounded by high ground.

1b) SW Bridge - There is a foxhole that you can hide in at the SW Bridge, or various rocks and spruce trees for cover. Probably a good place to put a tank on defense if it sits west of the bridge up on the hill. This is really an intermediate position on the way to digging into the South Forest.

1c) South Forest - Key scout location for the south flank. There are a pair of ambush positions for tanks along the south wall and the southeast exit from the Hill 57 Trail is also a good tank ambush position. Infantry will want to either hole up at the North Bridge, the South Forest Bunker or in the trench on the very south side of the forest. A single scout in the South Forest can give 60 seconds of warning to defenders closer to the German bases about incoming attacks.

2) Middle Flank (2-3 members) - Control the Farm is the goal, probably can be done with 2+ member squad. One teammate should stay on the G2 pak40 to keep their team spawning in the main spawn area (instead of at G1/G3). Other teammates should get into the farm area and watch for and ambush enemy assaults through the farm. Remember: "report first, ambush second".

2a) G2 Defense - Last ditch position. Get on the pak40 while your teammates bring tanks up out of the spawn to attack incoming assaults. Tanks coming out of the spawn should use both approaches to G2 to cut off enemy attacks from the sides.

2b) West Farm - Not a bad scout location, either in the S Farm Trench, the Farm House, the W Farm Bunker or the NW Farm Mortar. You won't live long, so plan on running back to your post frequently (or relay with the other G2 defenders).

2c) East Farm - A better scout location. Either the SE Mortar, the NE Farm Bunker, or the E Farm Trench. All of these positions allow you to ambush russian assault forces from behind / flanks as they cross the farm area.

3) North Flank (2-4 members) - Easily held by 2-4 players. One teammate should hang back at G3, the other members of the squad should patrol Hill 83, the N Road and the N Bridge.

3a) G3 Defense - The pak40 and tank scrape are in decent positions, but only if the middle and south flank defense holds up. Otherwise, you're going to have to go stealth and hide behind rocks and trees to get into ambush positions on enemy tanks.

3b) North Road - Excellent ambush possibilities, but you're also going to have to watch out for infantry that slip along the north wall into the V2 area or infantry that slip through the treeline to get to Hill 83. Best position is to work on keeping the North Farm and Hill 83 clear of enemies.

3c) North Bridge - Key scouting location to give 30-60 sec warning to defenders. There's a hiding spot just NE of the bridge that works very well. You can also hide in the NE Farm bunker. For small assault forces (single tank), only take a shot if you can get a sure kill. Otherwise, simply warn your teammate and continue watching.

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Russian Team

Russian defense is about the same as the Germans, unless the Russians get pushed backwards. The major approaches are still the North Bridge, the Farm, and the South Forest.

1) South Flank (3-4 members) - A tough flank for the Russians to defend. This may take a squad of 3-4 players to hold effectively.

1a) R1 Pak / R1 Tank Scrape - One teammate should stay on / around the R1 pak45. It has the best chance of hitting tanks up on Hill 13 or spotting gunners on the Hill 13 mortar. A tank parked in the R1 tank scrape can do a lot of damage to armor as they come down the hill towards R1, but is otherwise blind to what is on Hill 13.

1b) Hill 13 / Hill 17 Radio Shack - Another key location. Hill 13 and Hill 17 need to be swept regularly for troops and tanks. This can mostly be done while on the way to the SE Bridge and the South Forest.

1c) SE Bridge / South Forest - The SE Bridge pak45 is key to holding the south approach, but it's a high-risk occupation. One teammate may wish to use the pak45 while the other teammate hides in the middle of the forest in an ambush position. The forward teammate can provide intel to the pak45 gunner. As the pak45 draws enemy fire, the forward teammate(s) can ambush the assault force from the rear.

2) Farm Approach (2-3 members) - One teammate should always stay on the R2 pak45. This helps Russians to spawn in their spawn area rather then at R1/R3. The second teammate should stay around the R2 Mortar bunker or farther forward in the Farm area.

2a) R2 Defense - Last ditch position. One teammate on the R2 pak45. One teammate guarding inside the treeline. Rest of teammates should attempt to retake the R2 mortar bunker and the field south of R2.

2b) R2 Mortar Bunker - A great spot, but predictable. You may also choose to go west into the treeline across from the bunker.

2c) Farm - Probably the best place for a Russian scout. Especially if you can get into the West Farm Bunker or the Farm Buildings (or the SE Mortar).

3) North Flank (2-4 members) - One teammate on the R3 pak45 or in the tank scrape N of R3. Other teammates should patrol Glacier Trail A and the treelines around R3. One teammate should be towards the west end of Glacier Trail while the other teammate is in the middle / east of Glacier Trail.

3a) R3 Defense - Last ditch. One tank in the R3 tank scrape. Infantry hiding in the treelines around R3. Watch for German infantry coming through the treeline.

3b) Glacier Pass / Glacier Trail - Infantry should haunt Glacier Trail and attempt to float between ambushing tanks / infantry on Glacier Pass or the North Road. This will require intel on which way the german advance went after passing the North Bridge.

3c) North Bridge - Key scout location. A wiley scout can pull double-duty, warning of attacks via the north approaches or the middle approach. The scout should endavour to stay alive, stay undiscovered and give 30+ seconds of warning to the middle / north flank squads so they can get into ambush positions.

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Basically, a team needs 6-8 players on defense in a 16v16 match. The other half of the team should divide into a pair of assault squads and attack in a coordinated fashion. If the assault squads are getting chewed up, you may want to free up members from defense, but make sure that assault forces are sweeping the approaches on their way forward.

Forward elements of a defensive squad should feel free to push forward (one player always stays back and guards the last-ditch position) until they encounter the opposition. If the rear element of a defensive squad starts to engage, forward elements should turn around and head back to their defensive areas. Forward elements should also be cognizant of where the rest of the team is so that they don't leave large gaps in the defensive net. Forward elements should observe the rule of "report first, ambush second". Let your teammate know what's coming before you engage (if at all possible), if surprise is lost, use the V21 (infantry) or V56 (tank) keys to report (remember... V-keys make noise).

Defensive squads may wish to overlap coverage a bit, but they should be leery of leaving any approach unwatched for more then 15-30 seconds. The enemy will always attack via the unwatched approach (this is like a natural law or something).