Military Science, the art of war, has long been written about, studied, and practiced. having both a military background and an intense interest in wargaming, I decided to examine itas it applies to a miniatures battle table. As with the changing innovations and tactics of real combat, the era simulated and the rule set used will modify the application of this art. Some aspects have a great bearing upon the conduct of a tabletop battle, some do not. This article will address three aspects of military science: understanding and use of the Principles of War, KOCOA (Key terrain, Obstacles, Cover and concealment, Observation and fields of fire, and Avenues of approach), and Boundary Operations (coordination of operations on interunit boundaries). Some of the concepts discussed will be easier to absorb and use than others; some are already in use. The playerwho uses the principles of war, who understands and uses terrain, and who can effectively coordinate operations with allies will be at a distinct advantage during the conduct of a miniatures battle. PRINCIPLES OF WAR Briefly, the principles of war are Objective, Economy of Force, Unity of Command, Simplicity, Manoeuver, Offensive, Mass, Security, and Surprise. Each of these is integral to the proper (successful) conduct of a battle. Objectives must be established which are attainable. The objective is at the heart of the battle plan, and represents the specific geographical goals fought for during the battle. When establishing objectives, review your resources and compare them with your opponent's; you not only want to be able to seize your objectives -you must be able to retain them as well. Once you establish an objective, concentrate your actions on acquiring it. Diluting your effort to attain secondary objectives of opportunity will delay your plan's timetable and may even result in your force not gaining its primary objective. This may seem trivial, butthe result could be the loss of a battle when allied units relying on 'objective x' being in friendly hands are unable to attain their objectives, etc. Economy of Force represents your ability to analyze the situation and tailor your forces to accomplish the mission. Be sure not be underestimate your mission needs or you may be forced to reinforce units with scarce reserves; contrariwise, committing excessive forces to a particular mission will haunt you later in the battle when you need those extra troops elsewhere. Also, when tailoring your forces, be sure to consider troop types and their particular abilities to perform certain missions. Unity of Command is an easy principle to use when you are participating in a one-on-one competition. It is when there are two or more players per side that the principle becomes important. Controlling subordinates in a multiplayer battle is difficult at best. Players, like actual generals, never like to admit that their abilities are inferior to those of another player. This causes a reluctance among players to transfer assets and generally cooperate with allied players. A chain of command foreach contest, which can be rotated between players for different battles, must be established and adhered to. The concern over cooperation between players focuses attention at the weak point in any player army. This weak point is the boundary between players. Just as current NATO and Warsaw Pact doctrine focuses offensive thrusts at expected unit boundaries, the players should use the same strategy on the game table. The ability to perform during boundary operations whether on the offense or the defense is very important, and is discussed at much greater length below. Simplicity dictates that orders and battle plans be kept as simple as possible. That is not to say that all attacks must be straightforward frontal assaults. On the other hand, the commander should avoid large, elaborate, multiplayer manoeuvers. The more complex the plan of attack, the greater the likelihood that it will fail due to faulty execution, regardless of what the opposition does. Even if the plan is carried out properly, one should consider time - the more complex a plan, the longer it is likely to take to complete. Finally, consider the player; the more complex a plan, the greater the player's opportunity to foul it up. KISS: Keep It Supremely Simple!!! Manoeuver is a fundamental aspect of any miniatures battle. Unfortunately, a miniatures table is physically limiting as far as manoeuverability goes. Some rules do consider offboard movement which will increase manoeuverability slightly. Rules allowing the rapid movement of reserves enhances manoeuverability tremendously. An in-depth knowledge of rapid movement rules must he acquired by players if they intend to effectively manoeuver their forces. In most battles, the battle can be won or lost during the initial deployment of troops. Occasionally, a faulty deployment can be corrected by the prompt movement of reserves to a threatened area. Essentially, the player that can place troops at the desired location in a timely manner will win battles (if that player doesn't do several others things wrong). Offensive action wins battles. Defensive action can, at best, only stalemate a battle. An offensive posture regulates the tempo of battle. An initial defensive posture can, however, direct the enemy into a position that will enable you to assume the offensive from an advantageous position. A player must control the tempo of a battle, normally by using offensive action, in order to win the battle, especially when the sides are evenly matched. A successful offensive operation properly uses mass and manoeuver. An overwhelming superiority in firepower and manpower will facilitate the use of simpler, more straightforward tactics. An equality or inferiority in either firepower or manpower will cause a greater need to combine manoeuver with these limited resources to secure the objective. Massing of forces at a crucial point on the battlefield enables you to exploit a weakness in your opponent. This exploitation ensures that you can control the flow of battle. Obviously, mass and economy of force are interlocked and must be considered together. A critical consideration is thatofwhere you actually need forces. If it isn't necessary to defend orcontrol a continuous battleline from table edge to table edge, then don't do it! Spread one's forces as much as necessary, but not one bit more. The player that defends too broad a front often spends most of the battle simply trying to concentrate scattered forces. A player must be able to concentrate enough firepower and manpower at a particular location to overwhelm the opponent there. The method is to simply concentrate as much firepower, be it shell or arrow, on the objective as possible. This defeats (ideally) the enemyand minimizes one's own casualties. Iffirepoweralone fails to drive out the opponent, manpower is used to physically force the enemy out of the objective. Even iffirepowerdoes force outthe enemy, manpower must still secure the objective. Security entails the protection of one's forces. Lack of security results in units getting isolated and annihilated. It results in flanks being turned and lines broken. It results in lost battles. Security is achieved by putting cavalry on the flanks; by making sure that every unit is supported by friends; bythe wise use of terrain to anchor a line when troops aren't available. Security entails recognition that even as you are attacking, you must be prepared to be attacked. Provision of support enables you to exploit victories and even to withdraw from an untenable position with relatively small losses. Consolidation of forces after attaining an objective is important; continued pursuit without restraint often results in a fragmented battleline against which the enemy can mount a successful counterattack. Certain of the attacking units will have been designated to exploit any success - it's their job to pursue; the balance of the attacking force should consolidate for the counterattack. Surprise is being where the enemy isn't, but should be. It can best be achieved on the game table by either an unexpected offboard flank march and/or an unexpected initial deployment. A flank march is time consuming in development, but provides enough surprise to turn the opponent's flank. An unusual initial deployment may catch the enemy off-balance, thereby giving you the initiative. The whole purpose of surprise is to gain the initiative - to make the enemy react instead of act - and this is achieved by keeping the enemy guessing about your plans, your deployment. This initiative must be pressed aggressively - it is wasted unless its owner immediately employs effective offensive action to exploit it. Unless surprising sighting rules and/or a referee are used, the above two methods (flanks and deployment) are basically the only means of achieving surprise. As a player, you also must be able to react effectively to counter a surprise move. Contingency plans and a reserve force are the best tools with which to counter. Throughout history it has been recognized that certain generals could only control certain numbers of troops effectively. The same is true of the wargamer. Every player is limited in the number of manoeuver units he can control. A good player will recognize this limitation and will develop operational plans accordingly. It is impossible to point out one principle that is the key to victory. A player must be able to understand and use as many of them as possible; the more that are effectively used, the greater the likelihood of victory. I have stressed the need for a player to control the tempo of a battle. Several of the principles tend to enable the player to do this. Controlling the battle tempo forces the enemy to react to the player. A player who does not control the tempo of battle will always be reacting to the opponent's manoeuvers. A player can only win by taking decisive action to destroy the opponent's forces. KOCOA KOCOA is an an acronym for: Key terrain, Obstacles, Cover and concealment, Observation and fields of fire, and Avenues of approach. Experienced wargamers recognize that a battle can be won or lost with the initial deployment of troops. This section will address the military principles of terrain analysis while keeping the tabletop battlefield as the focus of concern. The process of terrain analysis is very important in developing a battleplan. On the miniature battlefield the principles not only dictate a plan of action, but more importantly, they enable a player to initially deploy forces in the most advantageous manner. Terrain and the determining of what is and what is not key terrain is a good way to begin the analysis. Those features to be considered as key terrain include towns, streams, fords, bridges, road junctions, woods, and dominant hills. Not all terrain is key terrain; it is their location on the gameboard that makes terrain features key. After identifying key terrain, the player should designate attainable objectives and decide which features need to be defended. Key terrain must still be considered even if the primary objective is the destruction of the enemy force. Obstacles, either manmade or natural, must be considered when developing a defensive plan, or planning a direction of attack. Obstacles are those terrain features that can either stop or delay troop movement. Those manmade obstacles include field fortifications, towns, walls, narrow bridges, stakes, ditches, pallisades, and other barricades. Common natural obstacles include woods, streams, steep hills, lakes, swamps, and bogs. A common but often overlooked obstacles is a plowed field; there are several documented cases of their effect on battles. Any obstacle can be best used for defensive purposes by covering it with effective fire support. This fire support will confuse and disrupt the attack as it attempts to negotiate the obstacle. From the attacker's point of view, an effective obstacle is time consuming - it must either be reduced or bypassed. A good pregame analysis of the board will enable the attacker to plan to bypass most obvious obstacles with a minimum of time lost. Cover and concealment are important when attempting to achieve an economy of force and the element of surprise. Concealment areas are those board areas consisting of woods, built-up areas, orthe reverse slopes of hills where your opponent will be unable to properly identify your troops. Using proper concealment will often given you the advantage of surprise. Cover is considered to be those areas which offer protection to those troops stationed either in or behind it. Features commonly recognized as cover include walls, buildings, woods, and field fortifications. On the defense, cover can be used to reduce the number of troops required to hold a section of the battleline. On the offense, the presence of cover will not only cause you to increase the troop ratio needed to take an objective, but also should be considered in protection of your troops during their advance toward the objective. Observation and fields of fire are not identical in definition but are virtually synonymous when examining a tabletop battlefield. This is because you normally have a bird's-eye view of the battlefield anyway, and you must be able to see (acquire) a target before firing on it. Naturally, hilltops are key positions from which you can establish fields of observation and fire. Other important areas requiring examination of fields of fire are those positions which will cover obstacles, lend support to an attack, or strengthen a defensive position. Fire support covering bridges, fords, and fieldworks can prove devastating to any opponent's assault, and any modern-era gamer knows the value of a high point for use by an artillery spotter. Avenues of approach are those lanes of clear terrain through which you imagine you can manoeuver your forces to an objective, o rwhere an opponent can advance upon your positions. When considering avenues of approach, be sure to include approaches from off board movement areas. The established avenues should be classified according to the maximum number and types of troops they can handle. An avenue that is good for infantry might not suit artillery, etc. Next, consider which of the other elements of terrain analysis can influence the use of the avenues. Prioritize the avenues, then deploy your forces so that they can use or protect the primary avenue. Do not over commit your forces, though, and retain the capability to react to approaches along secondary avenues, by retaining some sort of reserve. Even when examining the above elements individually, factors from other elements had to he considered. After individual examination, your information must be compiled in order to give you an accurate picture of the game board. This all sounds tedious; in practice, it takes only a couple of minutes to accomplish, and it enables you to initially deploy your forces in the most advantageous position. BOUNDARY OPERATIONS The boundary between two players is often the weakest point in their battleline. The coordination between two players, especially when it involves the transfer of control of units, is hard to perform. Naturally, neither player wants to weaken his own sector in order to strengthen another player's sector. As a result, large gains can be obtained by launching offensive operations against boundary areas. Several types of boundary attacks can be conducted. The most common type is the secondary attack used as a diversion. In this case, a limited, but strong secondary attack is launched into the middle of each of the defenders' sectors. These attacks should be forceful enough to present a grave problem to the defender. The impact of these secondary attacks should cause the defenders to commit reserves to counter these threats. After the secondary assaults have had time to develop (in other words, occupy as many units as possible), you should launch a very strong attack with your reserve force at the defenders' common boundary. With the defenders' reserve forces already committed, they will have to shift forces to prevent a breakthrough. If the defenders do shift forces toward the boundary, your initial secondary attacks may break through. Often, instead of shifting forces, a defender will request assistance from his neighbor. Since most players don't like weakening their own forces in order to bail out an incapable ally, the delay of shifting forces often results in a breakthrough at the boundary. If the defenders have not committed a portion of their reserve to counter your secondary attacks, there may still be a delay in their reaction time which is all that is necessary to gain the initiative to carry the battle. It should be noted that your main boundary attack force needn't be a large, obvious force, but can be a cavalry or some other fast moving force, heavily supported with long range weapons. If your secondary attacks have failed to affect the defenders' position or reserve commitment, do not hesitate to postpone the attack. Remember -you must give your secondary attacks enough time to develop in order to convince the defender that these are the primary attacks. A second type of plan is to launch a strong attack with limited objectives against a boundary area. This type of plan is used when it is apparent that the defenders are fully prepared to cooperate and defend the boundaries with their reserves. This limited attack should not include use of your reserves, which must be preserved for use later i n the battle. Th is attack can be launched in conjunction with other attacks, but it must be large enough to draw the defenders' attention to it. When using this method of attack, your main objective is to cause the defenders to commit their reserve to the boundary area. After their reserves are committed, you, as the attacker, have two choices. You can either wait and attack with your reserves later in the battle against a depleted army, or you can attack immediately. If you attack immediately, you must do so in an area where the defender has not committed reserves. The inclusion of your reserves and the absence of your opponents' should give you a favorable battle ratio. A different type of plan must be used when facing a well established defense line. Such a line, combined with cooperative allies presents a formidable foe. Some players attempt the obvious board-edge flanking sweeps using cavalry units. Use of mobile units in this sort of end run may gain you a flank, but more often simply depletes your mobile reserve. The tactic often works, but one should not expect too much from it. An experienced foe is usually prepared for such a manoeuver. A better method to defeat an established battleline is to bait your opponents out of their positions and into making uncoordinated attacks against your forces. There are several steps to this method that flow into each other when practiced on the gametable. The first step is to maintain contact all along the battleline, forcing the defender to freeze reserves in place in anticipation era major attack. You must launch continual probing attacks along the front to retain the initiative. The second step is to identify an aggressive opponent to lure out. Once this player has been spotted and your reserve forces are positioned near this player's sector boundaries, it is time for you to start to fall back from his sector. You should cease offensive action here and transfer a limited number of forces into other sectors. These transferred units should he positioned near the boundary without being too conspicuous - they are, perhaps, supporting an ally or preparing for a major thrust by your side elsewhere..e the point is that your sector should present a lucrative enough target to the foe that it is obvious that he can obtain substantial gains by an attack in your sector. The foe will urge allies to take the offensive and may even launch solo attack (limited objectives and well supported, of course...). As the opposing players launch their own attacks against established positions, the rash player will naturally be making substantial gains. As your lines are penetrated, your opponent's lines will become overextended on the flanks. It is at this point that you launch adjacent sector reserves into the flank and boundary of the rash player. If the flanks and boundary area forces (an be cracked, the opponent will suffer serious losses. Even a successful withdrawal from this position by the foe will cost him the results of an unsuccessful attack - tired and damaged troops and a loss of initiative.  The defense, while not decisive, can be used by you to gain an advantageous position from whence to launch an effective counterattack. When drawing up a defensive plan, you must realize tha tthe boundaries between players are potentially your weakest point. There are several ways to rectify these weak points. The easiest method, if the terrain is available, is to anchor your boundaries on obstacles or easily defensable terrain features. Terrain features which area good boundary delimiters include rivers, ponds, hogs, buildings, and manmade obstacles. When buildings are used as boundary delimiters, he sure that somebody occupies the buildings! Another precaution to take is to be certain, when using linear perpendicular terrain features, such as rivers running through our lines, that they will not hamper your ability to transfer forces across them. Use of obstacles as boundaries makes sectors of responsibility easier to identify, but more importantly, it makes attacks at the boundaries more difficult, and requires less reserves to protect them. Also, having an obstacle on your boundary enables you to redeploy troops on your flank defending a linear obstacle should it be necessary. Another protective measure is to establish a static reserve. Its mission would be to delay, not necessarily neutralize, an enemy breakthrough long enough to allow repositioning of friendly flank forces or mobile reserves. The static reserve should he positioned to the rear of the hattleline along the boundary. Its composition can vary, and should contain units no longer needed on the front. This sort of reserve might contain gun batteries or light units not needed elsewhere. An established mobile reserve can be used in conjunction with a static reserve or by itself. The mobile reserve, while not necessarily cavalry, should he located so that it c an react swiftly to threats on the boundary or i n either adjacent sector. It must be able to nullify an enemy breakthrough. The mobile reserve, by its nature, is a force that will readily he transferred between players- it goes where the action is and the player running that sector will probably most effectively use it. Finally, when establishing a battleline, he sure to deploy far enough from the rear board edge to allow strategic movement, should your rules permit it. The ability to manoeuver a strategic reserve controlled by the overall commander will not only allow for the rapid reinforcement of crucial areas, but is also a good method by which to mass forces quickly for counterattacks. SUMMARY I have emphasized throughout this article that maintaining the initiative will help you win battles. While this is true, another key factor remains the effective use of reserves. Once a player commits his reserves, no further setbhacks can he tolerated. As a result, the earlier the enemy can he forced to commit reserves, the lower his c hances for victory. A reserve cannot he committed on a spur of the moment decision. It must be preserved as long as possible (we will commit no reserve before its time...). If a player uses the principles and tactics covered, he will notice the frequency of his own critical mistakes diminishing, and will notice his ability to react to his opponent's mistakes improving. Back to Table of Contents -- Courier Vol. VIII No. 6 To Courier List of Issues To MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1989 by The Courier Publishing Company. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. 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