As in
SPEARHEAD
there is
the option
of
dismounting
from the
vehicle,
with no
provision
to remount
again
later.
Dismounting
is seen as
an
operational
decision
by the
Company
Commander,
brought
about by
the threat
of enemy
MBTs and
ATGWs, the
need to
cross an
obstacle
impassable
to
vehicles,
or the
desire to
reduce the
units
signature
(visibility)
in open
terrain.
Because
these are
all likely
to result
in
vehicles
being sent
some
distance
to the
rear,
where they
will take
no active
part in
the
immediate
future of
unit
operations,
remounting
is not
permitted
within the
time frame
of a
typical
MSH game.
Finally,
we have
built into
the
abstraction,
by way of
the
priority
rules,
realistic
responses
for Combat
Teams when
they
encounter
enemy. In
situations
against
other
teams the
infantry
will
invariably
dismount
to fight
alongside
their
vehicle(s),
this being
the best
way they
can ensure
that the
enemy does
not gain
an
advantage
by doing
so, and we
have
emphasized
this by
the use of
AI factors
rather
than AT or
ATGW.
Similarly
the
presence
of the
armored
vehicles
prevents
teams from
being
overrun,
but allows
them to
overrun
conventional
infantry
and
artillery.
Ultimately
this means
combat
teams are
very
powerful
in covered
defensive
positions,
or against
enemy with
little
armor
present.
However,
on the
attack
against a
well-balanced
force the
player is
presented
with a
tactical
dilemma.
He must
choose
either
speed
across the
open with
safety
from
artillery
fire (but
vulnerability
to MBTs
and ATGWs),
or
discretion
and safety
from AT
fire (but
at the
cost of
speed and
vulnerability
to
artillery).
Timing
of Fire
One of
the most
obvious
changes
from the
original
SPEARHEAD
is in the
Timing of
Fire
sequence.
SPEARHEAD
focused —
rightly —
on the
scissors-paper-rock
relationship
of
infantry,
tanks, and
guns; the
Timing of
Fire rules
rewarded
cooperation
in these
vital
arms. In
modern
warfare,
however,
these
categorizations
break
down.
Antitank
guns,
where they
are still
present,
are
usually
self-propelled
and are
more
tank-like.
Infantry
now
usually
ride in
armored
vehicles,
many of
which are
basically
tanks. The
tanks
themselves
have
powered
turrets,
stabilized
guns, and
laser
targeting
systems
that
greatly
increase
the speed
and
accuracy
of target
designation.
Accompanying
this
mechanization
of all
arms is
the rise
of a new
weapon of
mobile
war, the
helicopter,
with its
rapid
target
acquisition,
high rate
of fire,
and long
range
while
artillery
has
resurged
as a major
killer
with new,
improved
munitions
and
increasingly
rapid
response
times.
We altered
the Timing
of Fire
sequence
from
SPEARHEAD
in light
of these
considerations.
Infantry,
Tanks, and
Guns now
all fire
in one of
the two
Direct
Fire
Phases.
Artillery
and Air
units now
fire in
separate
phases,
Artillery
before
Air; thus
allowing a
wise
player to
use his
artillery
to
suppress
enemy air-defenses
prior to
the
arrival of
attack
helicopters,
the new
shock arm
of modern
warfare.
Even after
this
revision
of the
basic
Timing of
Fire
sequence,
a major
problem
remained.
All modern
armies
rely, to a
greater or
lesser
extent, on
guided
antitank
missiles
characterized
by a large
back blast
and a slow
time to
target.
These
factors
would seem
to
indicate
that
Antitank
Guided
Weapon
fire
should
occur late
in the
sequence
of fire.
Yet
because
all types
of units
(turreted
vehicles,
helicopters,
and
infantry)
use
antitank
missiles,
assigning
them a
separate
phase in
the Timing
of Fire
was
impractical.
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