|
Good
defensive tactics are all to often overlooked by the majority of
water warriors. Many are content to simply sit in a fort and wait for
the enemy to come to them. Good field operators will not build an
impossible position. They will allow a weak area to keep the game
flowing. For times when they are, the application of good defensive
tactics can mean the difference between victory and defeat.
Defensive Security
Measures
- Keep strict fire discipline.
- Maintain good camouflage of your
position.
- Adhere to a strict track plan when
coming into and leaving your base.
- Don’t make unnecessary movement or noise.
- Sentries, patrols, ground radar, early
warning devices, and observation
- devices must be maintained to prevent
the enemy approaching you undetected.
- Patrols must check the area around the
defensive position at dusk and
first light.
- Maintain strict radio discipline- the
enemy will be trying to listen.
- Reliable communication in a defensive
setting is imperative. They allow
coordination of reinforcements in the event the enemy attack is small,
directed only at one spot, or it becomes necessary to reinforce the
lines. Often attackers lose sight that a small patrol can slip
out the
back of a defensive position and hit them from the rear.
Defenders
should know the location of all the defensive positions in order to
reinforce wherever necessary. Also, restricting movement allows
sentries and stationary positions to recognize enemy action just by
movement. The unit commander should establish a “safe zone” where
reinforcements can get into the base even in the midst of an attack.
This can be a trail or back approach to the position. All patrols
should leave and return by the same “safe zone”
- Good defensive positions in water wars
should be three to six feet
(1-2m) apart. This allows the positions to be mutually supportive
and
can prevent the enemy from flanking any one portion of the line.
The
on scene commander can not lose focus. If the attack is small, a swift
counterattack will quickly overwhelm the enemy. Given the
proclivity
of the enemy to rush to the sound of the guns, a quick end to the
attack will prevent a small attack force from receiving massive
reinforcements.
|
|
|
|
|
