Ground Tactics Notes {GT}
Ground tactics are a means by which an army, invading or otherwise, can evade capture, sneak around or completely annihilate the enemy. Using your skill as a leader and you knowledge as a tactician, you will, hopefully, be able to win the battle or war with the least casualties possible. There are principles to tactics and strategy that will need to be addressed when planning ANY on-planet operation, be it a defense, an offense or just a supply drop.
Firstly, you must understand the basics of any battle: Attacking and defending. These are simple to understand:
Defense: to resisting attacking forces

Offense: to try to hurt or defeat by force

These simple definitions cover a huge amount of possible scenarios that could happen. But remember, even the best-laid plan can come unraveled because of a single mistake.

These are the principles that you HAVE to know to do well in any ground combat. They can mean the life or death of you and your men. But considering the possible advantages these principles can provide, you will find winning battles far easier. All the principles are useful to consider in both attacking and defending.

Positioning:
This is the way in which your troops are placed. There are basic mistakes that even the lowest Trooper can't make. For Example: An Artillery Battery is not a good frontline unit. This may seem obvious, but this is crucial. Troop placement can mean the difference between a powerful flank and a broken one. A group of troopers that have experience with anti-tank assaults should be used for that purpose. Positioning has to do with considering your trooper's attributes carefully and assessing the best possible place to put them.

Information:
This has to be one of, if not the, most important principles of tactics. This can range from simple sightings by sentries, to special Intel surveillance reports. One of the best advantages to have is good information on your enemy's movements and tactics. Although this information will be difficult to get, because any commander worth his rank will have put up strong anti-espionage defenses. It cannot be stressed more of the importance of information.

Troops:
This is important to any situation: Generally, more troops means you're more likely to win. But a small, but elite, highly equipped force can overcome hordes of green (novice/inexperienced) soldiers that are poorly equipped. It will be rare that you will have an elite force or a massive one, so you must try to manage your troops in such a way that they are protected from as much of the enemy as possible, with the lowest causalities sustained, while being able to strike at the enemy with enough force to defeat them. For example: Anti-tank units are good against tanks, so placing them to counter an infantry unit would be a waste of resources. Knowing the skills and strengths of your troops will give you an advantage over your enemy.

Equipment:
Equipment is what weapons, vehicles and systems you have at your disposal. This is important because certain weapons are more effective against certain targets. Arming your troops with mini torpedo launchers makes them more capable at destroying tanks for example. This is very simple to understand.

Terrain:
This can affect the outcome of any battle, or skirmish. Terrain as you should know, is the land, and all its features: Mountains, forests, lakes, swamps etc. The effect of terrain is not only physical to a fighting force, but it is mental as well. The land can be tough to travel through or be boggy etc, but this affects the morale of the troops. Using Terrain can give you advantages or disadvantages. For example: a forest can give infantry good cover from the enemy and can allow easy movement to the enemy. But it doesn't allow vehicles larger than a speeder bike to move through it. Terrain can also be a severe hazard, like a tank getting stuck in a swamp.

Morale:
This must be one of the hardest principles to maintain. Morale is how the troops feel about being on the battlefield. This can affect how they fight and how well the fight. Troops with low morale should be given a break from the battlefield (If possible. If not a token of achievement like extra rations), and if these troops are on the field with low morale, they are more likely to break when attacked. Morale and leadership are intertwined because if you were a good leader, leading from the front, praising your troops for the battles they fight, then the morale would be high. But if you are a bad leader, hiding away in a bunker 5 miles behind the reserve lines, getting awards but not awarding your troops, then the morale would be low.

Tactics and Counter-tactics:
There are many different tactics and counter-tactics. A tactic is a set of movements and actions used to attack an enemy. A counter-tactic is used to counter-act a tactic that is used against you. The main problem facing leaders is that you don't know what the enemy is doing all the time, and can allow them to attack you when you are not expecting them.
I am going to describe 3 tactics and 3 counter-tactics that can be used on the field of combat:
1) Bull's Head attack
This is a good attacking tactic. It is one where you are to move your fastest troops into the horns of the bullhead. These troops can be in transports or drop-ships, but they must move quickly. This tactic needs your forces to get around the enemy and attack him on all sides.

2) Wedge movement
This tactic is recommended only when the enemy is weaker than you. The two side groups attack the flanks of the enemy formation, while your main force (the wedge) attacks the center. The dotted lines show what the wedge should do when you have successfully attacked the enemy.

3) Refused flank
This is a defense only tactic. To use this tactic you need a piece of terrain or defensive structure to put your backs against. In this example I have used a lake. The tactic is when you cluster into a small area and over lap your defenses. This makes a charge extremely risky and a flank attack impossible, because of the lack of flanks.

4) Bullhead Counter tactic
This is the counter for the first tactic- Bullhead. The wedge is you. In this formation, you cannot be flanked, unless your troops are incompetent, and you can strike back with the wedge. This, however, may not work, this depends on the information you have on your enemy's movements, because if you have the information early, you can prepare your formation sooner, thus making your chance of winning greater.

5) Wedge Formation Counter tactic
This is the formation (the left shape) to counter the Wedge tactic. This formation can also be used against the Bullhead attack, but I believe that it would be less effective. This formation is strong, and not easily flanked. The wedge will not be able to penetrate the cluster in the middle if it is strong enough. But, unfortunately, this is not a foolproof counter, and can be beaten.

6) Counter tactic for the Refused Flank tactic
It is very difficult to defeat a group in this formation. My suggestions are sustained artillery barrages and air assaults. This will weaken the enemy's defense enough for you to attack them. Another tactic is to assault the enemy via their back cover. As an example: you can use seatroopers to make an amphibious assault and take the enemy by surprise.

Conclusion:
This course should give you the fundamentals of tried and tested tactics and the basics to help you create your own. Bear in mind always, that the best laid plan can be ruined by one stupid mistake.