Greetings comrade officers. In this article we will discuss the conduct of a PACT attack on NATO held objectives, and take into consideration placement of objectives, combat force ratios and battle drills in the context of Team Yankee and its upcoming version 2.
Soviet operational doctrine
In Team Yankee, Soviet combat doctrine is implemented on a tactical level, the smallest possible level of PACT military operations. At this level, divisions and regiments are assigned objectives in support of establishing a frontal objective. Individual battalions are then assigned sub-objectives to achieve these tactical objectives. In line with the Soviet principle of maneuver by fire, Soviet forces prefer to maintain an aggressive tempo to strike hard and fast by penetrating deep tactical depth (up to 50km a day) and attacking weak spots with mobile and overwhelming force rather than challenging a hardened position head-on.
Assigning objectives
Taking into account METT (Mission, Enemy, Terrain, Time) parameters, commanders should place their objectives accordingly.
Mission: As detailed above, Soviet forces prefer an aggressive stance and the general speed of their units means that a Maneuver or Attack stance is preferable. Soviet forces excel in both meeting engagement and missions where their forces can rapidly redeploy, and commanders should study especially missions such as counterattack, breakthrough, dust-up, contact and encounter where their units can quickly seize a lightly defended area and force their NATO opponents to move from their entrenched positions.
Enemy: Enemy forces present in the area should be taken into account when placing objectives. If facing an infantry-heavy list it is beneficial to make sure that objectives are placed in areas where infantry cannot take advantage of hard cover (houses, bulletproof cover), and when facing tank heavy lists placing objectives in hard to reach places (difficult terrain, cities) will ensure that your own infantry are better equipped to deal with such scenarios.
Terrain: Terrain is a critical factor when determining objectives. Savvy commanders should make full use of the terrain available to them to ensure objectives are in areas which your forces can fully exploit while using natural barriers (hills, forests, buildings) to prevent enemy troops from mutually supporting each other.
Time: In the context of the game, time refers to the critical timings which commanders must adhere to in the conduct of an attack. Most missions dictate a necessity to capture an objective, or to be at least within 8 inches of it by turn 6. An attacker also has to account for the defender's reserves coming in, and should prepare to deal with reinforcements accordingly when deploying their blocking forces or 2nd echelons.
Examples:
Using the common mission Encounter as an example facing a balanced NATO force, the following examples show a positive and negative example of objective placement.
Fig 1.1. Poor placement of objectives. Both objectives are too close to each other and can be mutually supported by enemy positions on the hill. Enemy reinforcements will also have an easy time reaching either objective.
Fig 1.2. Optimal placement of objectives. Enemy forces have to decide which area to fortify as they can not be mutually supported nor easily reinforced. Terrain offers a safe corridor of advance for friendly forces to conduct an attack on either objective.
Combat force ratios and Mean Kill Values
Combat doctrine espouses that a successful attack requires a minimum of 3:1 force ratios on the objective. In our earlier article on Artillery and Mean Kill Values (MKV), we explored why such a force ratio is required to achieve successful destruction of dug-in NATO infantry. The formula is shown as follows:
ROF x hit chance% x failed saves % x firepower % = mean kill value
Example: BMP1 main gun
1 x 0.16 x 0.33 x 0.67 = 0.04
Commanders should achieve as high a value as possible to assure destruction of at least 1 enemy team each turn.
For reference, here are the sample values for common Soviet units vs Dug-in Gone to ground infantry:
Rifleman w/AK74 (ROF3): 0.06
Rifleman w/RPG: 0.03
Rifleman w/PKM LMG: 0.07
Any ATGM: 0.04
BTR/BMP2: 0.06
BMP1: 0.04
Any brutal tank gun: 0.07
BM21 Hail*: 0.05 / 0.14(TY V2)
Carnation*: 0.07/ 0.18(TY V2)**
*artillery values are based on a pre ranged in point on a single infantry team
**the TY V2/FOW V4 changes to artillery (repeat bombardments being brutal and a flat to-hit roll) make artillery the premium weapon vs dug in infantry, IF you can range in on them.
Combining these values in a sample formation of 3 attacking units nets the following value:
BMP1 med platoon (7 rifles, 6 RPGs, 2PKMs) : 0.88
9 BMP1s: 0.36
4 tanks (any) : 0.28
Total MKV: 1.52
This total value nets you an expected kill of 1.52 dug-in infantry once engaged. Artillery support greatly improves this value vs Infantry, and where possible should be allocated to provide fire support on the offense.
Battle drills
It comes as no surprise that a conscript army will not have the same training levels as a professional army, and this goes doubly so for a nation as large as the Soviet Union. Because of their dependency on conscript forces, Soviet officers have to rely on battle drills for a variety of situations to get the job done. Rigorously rehearsed in peacetime, battle drills cover everything from simple disembarkation of transports to the conduct of an assault on prepared enemy positions. Given the large size of the typical soviet infantry unit, proper positioning is necessary, and proper practice in game will ensure that commanders are able to maintain sufficient spacing between teams so that everyone will be able to fire on the attack.
The following pictures illustrate the conduct of a typical battle drill with a BMP unit and a T62m tank unit acting in concert of an attack on an entrenched USA position in an encounter mission.
Fig. 1.3 This scenario depicts a BMP1 attack with T62m in support on an M113 mech platoon position supported by a VADs SPAAG team
Deploying at the edge of the deployment zone, it should take 2 turns to reach engagement range with the motor rifle platoon. Aggression is the keyword here and commanders should aim to move forwards every turn to threaten the defenders.
Turn 1
The motor rifle platoon and BMPs complete a cross country dash up the board, making sure to maintain spacing between the infantry so that the BMPs can fire through next turn. The T62s also move up the board on the other side and fire into the infantry platoon to try to kill a team. The motor rifle platoon is already in engagement range of the infantry. This is to bait the troops into firing so that they will be exposed in the next turn. If artillery support is available, it should fire to pin the defending troops down.
Turn 2
Taking light fire from the mech platoon and the VADS, the motor rifle platoon suffer 3 lost teams and 2 burning BMPs. Advancing further up the field on tactical movement, the return fire from the Soviets, with a combined MKV of 1.3, destroy 1 rifle team. Priority should be given to shooting at targets with a high chance of dying (ie. tank guns/autocannons at IFVs) where possible.
Turn 3
Finally pushing up into assault range from an enfilade position, the combined fire of the M113s and VADS take their toll on the motor rifle platoon, dropping 4 more teams and a further BMP1. Yet, because of target saturation, there is still enough firepower for the soviets to now take out 2 more infantry teams, a VADS and the M113s.
Conducting the assault
The assault can be conducted when there are no enemy teams capable of rolling more than 5 dice in defensive fire within 8 inches of the attacking teams. in this situation, with the VADS and M113s out of the fight, only 1 rifle infantry team is capable of conducting defensive fire.
Final positions. The motor rifle platoon and the T62s are securely on the objective and will be very difficult to dislodge without additional enemy reinforcement.
Closing
This article marks the last of our focus on PACT tactics. In our next article, we will discuss the implications of Team Yankee version 2 and how it will affect your gameplay and list building.
About the Writer:
Eddie is an avid painter who also enjoys anime, studying military history and hopes that Girls Und Panzer will come true one day so that everyone can resolve their differences with tank Airsoft.
Resources:
The Soviet army: Operations and tactics FM 100-2-1 ,1984, Headquarters, department of the Army (USA)
The Russian way of war, 2016, Lester W. Grau & Charles K. Bartles, Foreign Military Studies Office
