FM/C100 - Leadership - Team tactics and theory

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The FM outlines our core skills, policies and guides to ensure every member stands ready for the mission ahead.

Suppression uses accurate, sustained fire to force the enemy to take cover and prevent them from effectively returning fire.

• Effective only if the enemy believes exposure will result in death or injury.
• Fixes the enemy in place, enabling manoeuvre by friendly elements.

The base-of-fire provides suppressive fire to support manoeuvre elements.

• Ideally composed of troops with automatic weapons or machineguns.
• Positioned for good observation and fields of fire.
• May include multiple overlapping bases or support from vehicles.

The manoeuvre element flanks or closes with the enemy under cover of the base-of-fire.

• Executes movement to contact, assault, or flank.
• Destroys the enemy using fire & movement tactics.

Fire & manoeuvre is a coordinated action between base-of-fire and manoeuvre elements.

• Base-of-fire suppresses while manoeuvre closes with the enemy.
• Enables safe approach to contact or assault.
• Maximizes automatic and crew-served weapon support.

"Going Firm" is used to halt friendly movement for coordination and reassessment.

• Fireteams take up immediate defensive positions.
• Leaders assess situation, report casualties, and issue new plans.
• Ends with resumed movement or updated orders.

Security ensures 360° awareness and prevents surprise attacks.

• Must be maintained during halts, movement, and contact.
• Includes visual scanning, covering blind spots, and rear/flank observation.

Fire & movement occurs when assaulting within close range of the enemy.

• Used when base-of-fire can no longer provide effective support.
• Involves buddy bounds or individual rushes.
• Usually begins naturally once under effective enemy fire or within grenade range.

Smoke provides on-demand concealment and can be used to:

• Mask friendly movement or positions
• Obscure enemy observation or fire
• Deceive enemy forces
• Signal to friendly units or aircraft

Correct integration of smoke enhances survivability and effectiveness.

Four primary smoke delivery methods are available:

• Hand Smoke Grenades: Short-range, quick concealment for infantry
• Grenade Launcher Smoke: Mid-range concealment or marking via UGL
• Vehicle Smoke Dischargers: Instant, directional smoke for vehicles
• Artillery Smoke Rounds: Long-lasting, wide-area concealment via WP

Coloured smoke is also used for signalling (e.g., marking friendlies or enemy positions for CAS).

Screening Movement

• Used to obscure enemy vision and reduce effective fire during movement.
• Often used to extract wounded or reposition under contact
• Enemy may fire blindly into smoke, but with reduced accuracy
• Must be well-timed and well-placed to be effective 

Masking Enemy Fire

• Smoke placed directly on enemy positions can suppress their fire.
• Effective against bunkers, machine guns, or snipers
• Useful during assaults to degrade high-threat defenders

 Deception

• Used to mislead the enemy and draw fire away from the actual manoeuvre.
• Can trigger enemy responses or reveal their positions
• Creates uncertainty and divides attention during key moments

Signalling

• Used when visual cues are needed between units or for air-ground coordination.
• Can mark friendly or enemy positions
• Can identify landing zones
• Can convey pre-arranged signals in radio-silent environments

Finding the enemy first gives initiative, enabling friendly forces to strike on their terms. Early detection enables surprise, superior positioning, and more effective first fire. Finding the enemy can come from a number of methods: 

• Point Man: A point man or scout team, ~50m ahead of the formation, helps detect threats early and provides a buffer against ambush. Their survival is vital to preserving initiative. 
• Reconnaissance: Recon assets (scouts, UAVs, recon aircraft) gather intelligence on enemy forces and terrain, informing tactical decisions and reducing the risk of unexpected contact. 
• Stealth and Trigger Discipline: Covered movement, good spacing, and terrain use enable stealth. Combined with fire discipline, this allows friendly forces to withhold fire until a coordinated strike is ready. 
• Security and Awareness: Maintaining 360° situational awareness is critical. Security must be maintained during all movement and halts, especially in the rear and flanks.

Firefights progress through four phases:

• Find: Locate the enemy.
• Fix: Prevent their movement.
• Flank: Attack from an unexpected angle.
• Finish: Assault and destroy.

This cycle underpins nearly all infantry engagements.

Firefights are direct engagements with the enemy and the foundation of infantry combat. Understanding firefight dynamics allows units to adapt, maintain tempo, and defeat the enemy through coordinated action.

Fixing is achieved by suppressing and limiting enemy movement. Effective fixing requires dominant positions, volume of fire, and ideally, coordination with indirect assets. Suppression is only effective if the enemy believes exposure will result in death. Without sustained, lethal fire, the enemy may manoeuvre or return fire freely.

Before flanking, confirm:

• Fireteam is unsuppressed
• Terrain supports movement
• Enemy location is known
• Base-of-fire is stable 

The flanking team moves undetected to attack from a new angle. Simultaneously, the base-of-fire maintains pressure. Flank movements must be rapid, concealed, and decisive.

Once flanking forces are in position, they assault the enemy while base-of-fire shifts. Speed and violence of action are critical to overwhelming remaining resistance.

Establish security immediately

• Secure the area with 360° coverage.
• Clear enemy combatants and occupy strong positions.

Conduct status and ACE reports

• Collect SITREPs and ACE Reports from all elements.
• Determine remaining combat capability.

Address casualties and medical needs

• Confirm medics are treating wounded effectively.
• Avoid clustering around aid stations; establish triage.

Reorganize and redistribute

• Reassign leadership if casualties occurred.
• Merge understrength teams as needed.
• Redistribute key equipment and ammunition.

Prepare for the next objective

• Once stabilized, determine the next phase of the mission.
• Rebrief units if needed and resume movement with discipline.

If flanking fails or is infeasible, a direct assault may be necessary. Pincer movements (simultaneous flank and front assaults) maximize shock and reduce exposure.

If manoeuvre becomes unfeasible, adopt a defensive posture:

• Use strong terrain
• Cover likely approaches
• Establish overlapping sectors

Transition to defence is not permanent, readiness to counterattack remains key.

If the enemy cannot be flanked or defeated, disengage under cover of smoke or suppressive fire. Withdraw in bounds to prevent pursuit and reposition for advantage.

Security elements screen the assault from external threats:

• Protect flanks and rear from enemy reinforcements or counterattacks
• Can be integrated into the support element
• Key for maintaining operational integrity during larger attacks

The support element (base of fire) enables assault by suppressing the enemy:

• Provides high volume of fire, typically using crew-served weapons
• Should comprise 2/3 of the force
• Must shift or cease fire as assault teams close in

The assault element closes with and destroys the enemy using fire and movement:

• Use covered routes to stay concealed
• Attack aggressively, maintain momentum
• Leave casualties to follow-on forces to avoid stalling

Observation & Fields of Fire

• Choose support positions with visibility but avoid obvious spots
• Consolidate ARs for better support-by-fire (SBF)
• Identify observation posts for recon or coordination
• Evaluate enemy overwatch and cover areas
• Use smoke or stealth to bypass dangerous ground

Cover & Concealment

• Assess enemy cover to anticipate positions
• Use available micro-terrain for movement
• Urban and dense terrain increases risk and slows assaults
• Open terrain allows better coordination and support

Obstacles

• Identify obstacles and plan how to bypass or breach them
• Use satchels or AT to clear paths if needed
• Expect enemy to cover obstacles—use smoke to mask approach

Key or Decisive Terrain

• Seize vantage points, mission objectives, or tall structures
• Expect heavier enemy presence on decisive ground
• Exploit terrain to limit enemy strength or visibility

Avenues of Approach

• Choose concealed approaches when possible
• Identify opportunities for feints or unexpected routes
• Multiple simultaneous approaches can overload enemy response
• Unlikely or audacious routes may catch the enemy off-guard

No plan survives first contact. Leaders must remain flexible and ready to adapt to unexpected resistance or opportunity. Maintain the initiative by shifting tactics mid-attack when necessary.

Surprise can outweigh preparatory fires. A fast, violent, unexpected attack may disorganize the enemy more effectively than bombardment. The decision to prioritize surprise over preparation lies with the assault commander.

Preparation involves striking the objective with available firepower, artillery, mortars, CAS, or heavy weapons prior to the assault. Targets should be based on recon intel. Fires should ideally continue during the assault and shift just before the assaulting element reaches the objective to maximize confusion and shock.

Isolation prevents the enemy from reinforcing or retreating. This can be achieved through:

• Positioning heavy weapons to cover likely escape routes
• Pre-plotting artillery on fall-back routes
• Using deception, such as leaving a gap to bait retreat

Isolation is not always perfect, but should be attempted as thoroughly as possible using recon and terrain advantage.

Reconnaissance is the first phase of any attack. Knowing the enemy’s location, strength, and positions in advance increases the likelihood of a successful assault. Ideally, recon should be completed before the enemy becomes aware of friendly presence.

To take and hold ground, infantry must move forward and decisively engage the enemy. Fire alone cannot accomplish this. Movement must be protected by supporting fire to suppress and distract the enemy, enabling assault elements to close in and seize the objective.

A direct assault on the enemy’s weakest point, supported by fire and smoke:

• High risk, only used when alternatives aren't viable
• Must have strong suppression and concealment
• Use bounding overwatch to maintain momentum

The support element fixes the enemy while the assault flanks one side:

• Conceal movement for as long as possible
• Shock and surprise enhance effectiveness
• Shift fires as assault nears the objective

Above: Visual representation of a single envelopment

Assault elements strike both flanks while support suppresses:

• Synchronization is key to avoid friendly fire
• Simultaneous flank attacks disorient defenders
• Staggered timing can draw enemy focus to one side

Above: Visual representation of double envelopment

Assault manoeuvres behind enemy lines:

• Splits enemy attention front and rear
• Requires tight coordination to avoid friendly fire
• Best executed from one side, splitting the assault element is risky

Above: Visual representation of deep envelopment

• Security: Observation of all avenues of approach must be maintained. Sentries, OPs, and rear/flank watch are essential. Without 360° awareness, the defense is vulnerable to surprise and flanking. 
• Positioning: Every position should offer cover from fire, concealment from observation, and effective fields of fire. Terrain and fortifications must be used to the defender’s advantage, while minimizing exposure to likely threat angles. 
• Depth: A layered defense absorbs shocks and enables fallback. Forward elements slow the enemy, while reserves counterattack or hold rear lines. Depth provides both resilience and flexibility. 
• Mutual Support: Defensive positions must overlap in fields of fire, allowing them to support one another. No position should be isolated; any attack on one should trigger fire from others. 
• Flexibility: Plans must account for contingencies. Have fallback positions, repositioning routes, and mobile reserves. Defenses that cannot adapt are easily overrun.

Observation & Fields of Fire

• Position weapons to cover expected approaches with interlocking fire
• Use elevation and open terrain for long sightlines
• Assign sectors and clear kill zones of obstruction

Cover & Concealment

• Select terrain that offers protection and concealment
• Use fortifications and camouflage to reduce visibility
• Prepare alternate firing positions

Obstacles

• Use terrain, wire, or mines to channel enemy movement
• Cover obstacles with direct or indirect fire
• Avoid blocking friendly fields of fire

Key or Decisive Terrain

• Hold terrain that controls movement or offers advantage (e.g. high ground)
• Reinforce positions likely to be attacked
• Use terrain to protect flanks and enable movement

Avenues of Approach

• Identify all likely enemy routes
• Funnel the enemy into kill zones
• Maintain security on flanks and rear

Linear defences align perpendicular to the expected enemy approach. They excel in chokepoints and with limited flanking risk. Strengths include strong frontal firepower and simplicity. Ensure flank security and avoid using this setup against mechanized threats unless terrain supports it.

Used when threats may come from multiple directions or when isolated. Forces are arranged in a loop or triangle, using all available cover. Squad-level perimeter defences are vulnerable, platoon-scale is more effective. Ideal for holding terrain without a defined enemy axis of advance.

Position defenders on the side of a hill opposite the enemy. This limits enemy observation and firepower until they crest. Benefits include protection from direct fire and artillery, but it requires forward observers and a plan for difficult withdrawals. If possible, include a rear slope security element.

Above: Visual representation of reverse slope defence

Urban defences combine linear and perimeter features. Key considerations:

• Dominate streets and choke points with MGs and snipers.
• Establish fall-back positions for fluid defence.
• Support vehicles with infantry, especially in close quarters.
• Use observers in tall buildings, but avoid obvious or predictable locations.
• Disperse units between buildings to reduce explosive casualties.

A spoiling attack disrupts the enemy’s plans by launching a surprise counterattack from defensive positions. Best conducted with armor or small infantry raids, it can fracture enemy cohesion. Only attempt if the force can afford the risk and spare the assets.