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Brothers In Arms: Earned In Blood - Urban Tactics Feature
Jon Wilcox
19/09/2005
Gearbox Software's Historical Director talks through some of the strategies needed to survive the second part of the Brothers In Arms franchise...
Ubisoftâs WWII FPS returns next month to the beaches and towns of occupied Normandy on Xbox, PlayStation2, and PC. Taking control of a squad led by Sgt. Joe âRedâ Hartsock, players get to continue with the story based on the true story of the 101st Airborne Division, the Screaming Eagles. In this feature, retired US Army Colonel and Historical Director for Earned in Blood developer Gearbox Software, John Antal gives an overview of the urban tactics needed to succeed in the forthcoming title.
Brothers in Arms, Earned in Blood is WWII Combat at its very best!
The Tactics of Fighting in the Towns and Villages Beyond Hill 30
A mortar shell crashes into a house nearby. You rush across a narrow alley. The path is strewn with ruble. You quickly lunge into an open doorway. You crouch, moving behind the wall of the room and move up to a shattered window. Peeking over the window sill you see an enemy MG42 machine gun in the shell of a busted house just across the street. The enemy hasnât seen you yet.
Abruptly, the ripping sound of the German machine gun fires at a target off to your left. You duck behind the wall and take a deep breath. You know you must maneuver your squad to fix that machine gun and then take your assault team to flank the enemy. Another mortar shell falls nearby, rocking the ground and throwing you to the floor.
Welcome to Brothers in Arms, Earned in Blood!
In Brothers in Arms, Road to Hill30, you learned how to lead a squad of U.S. paratroopers on a realistic D-Day battlefield of WWII. In Brothers in Arms, Earned in Blood, you will go beyond Hill 30 to lead your squad in deadly urban combat. Are you ready for action?
Brothers in Arms, Earned in Blood is the sequel to the best selling Gearbox game, Brothers in Arms, Road to Hill 30. In Earned in Blood you will play the role of Sergeant Joe âRedâ Hartsock and lead a squad of paratroopers fighting in Normandy in June 1944. This authentic game is based on the true story of the paratroopers of the famous 502d Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division -- the Screaming Eagles.
To win in Brothers in Arms, Earned in Blood, you must know authentic WWII squad tactics. To win you must fight as a team and lead your soldiers as a real WWII squad leader would have led them, capitalizing on their strengths and protecting their weaknesses from the enemy.
In Brothers in Arms games you command both infantry and armor and authentic tactics make the difference between victory and defeat. Brothers in Arms games offer the most authentic WWII squad combat ever delivered in a video game.
WWII Squad Urban Tactics
Brothers in Arms, Earned in Blood, involves a lot of urban, close in town and village fighting. You will fight beyond Hill 30 and move out of the hedgerows and into the urban areas. The tactics in urban combat are similar to the tactics used in more open ground. The difference between the two is
distance. Narrow alleys and destroyed buildings can offer little room for maneuver. Fighting in villages and towns, therefore, requires greater tactical skill as all the areas on the urban battlefield can quickly become âkill zonesâ with little room for movement or escape.
To fight this close quarter fight you will employ your WWII Parachute Infantry Rifle squad. The squad is divided into teams of complementary capabilities that derive from the various weapons carried by each team member. The Assault Team usually consists of three soldiers armed with rapid firing M1
carbines and M1 Thompson submachine guns. The Fire Team usually consists of three soldiers armed with M1 Garand rifles.
To win in urban combat the player must employ the Fire and Assault team using the âFour Fâsâ: Find, Fix, Flank and Finish the enemy. The player must find the enemy first, fix him with overwhelming fire, maneuver an assault element to the enemyâs right or left flank, and then order the assault team to close with and destroy the enemy.
Find the enemy first! This is more difficult on the mostly urban battlefields of Brothers in Arms, Earned in Blood.
FIND the enemy first: In urban battle, finding the enemy is more difficult and usually accomplished at much shorter ranges. Finding the enemy first gives your squad a tremendous tactical advantage in an urban fight, since blundering into an enemy trap in a narrow alley is certain destruction. To find the enemy first, the squad leader must scout, or send a team, to check the ground before
moving into potentially unsafe territory. It is an important military rule to occupy the high ground on a battlefield and in urban combat two or more story buildings can make excellent observation posts. In Earned in Blood, the player should scout ahead or use his Assault Team to scout and make first contact with the enemy. A cardinal rule of squad tactics is to always engage the enemy on your
terms, not his.
Use your Fire Team to fix the enemy with fire.
FIX the enemy with fire: Once he has found the enemy, the squad leader must quickly decide what to do next. In combat, a squad leader must use his understanding of the urban terrain, the team leadersâ reports and his knowledge of the enemy to make a tactical decision. The object is to deny the enemy freedom of maneuver by fixing (holding) him in place. Once your Fire Team is in an advantageous position, order them to plaster the enemy with their fire. Take advantage of any two story buildings to place your fire team in a position of advantage to fire on the enemy. Once your suppressive fire has fixed the enemy, you are ready for the next step.
Once you have fixed the enemy, you must rapidly move to flank him.
FLANK the enemy: In fighting in cities, finding, forcing and hitting the enemyâs most vulnerable flank is the surest way to win. While the Fire Team suppresses the enemy, the squad leader leads the Assault Team through buildings or down alleys to hit the enemyâs flank. In Brothers in Arms, Earned
in Blood, the player should employ Situational Awareness View to depict a 3-D map of the terrain and see those enemy soldiers that have already been observed. Using Situational Awareness View the player can determine how to best flank the enemy by moving through the alleys or streets of the town or village.
Armed with this awareness, the player must then decide how to engage the enemy. If the enemy appears to be too strong, players should withdraw their Assault Team and try another tactical approach. If the enemy seems weak, hold your Assault Team in position to suppress the enemy, fixing him with the teamâs fire, while you maneuver your Fire Team to a position of advantage. Once youâve hit his flank, your opponent is âplaced on the horns of a dilemmaâ, since he is now receiving deadly fire from two separate directions. Finding a flank, or creating one, is the essence of WWII tactics and the central art to winning in Brothers in Arms, Earned in Blood.
The Assault Team closes with and destroys the enemy.
FINISH the enemy: The battle is not won until the enemy is finished off. As the Fire Team continues to suppress the enemy, the Assault Team maneuvers to destroy your foe. Grenades, submachine guns and carbines are the weapons of choice for the assault. As the Assault Team closes with the enemy, the Fire Team should shift fire to stop the enemy from moving away.
Story, Authenticity and Tactics
Brothers in Arms games are built around three hallmarks: compelling, story that is based on the true history of the battle; very detailed authenticity in weapons, uniforms, and battlefield locations; and realistic battlefield tactics. This combination provides a unique game that offers a compelling glimpse into the past. Like a time machine, Brothers in Arms, Earned in Blood, offers the player the ability to step into the muddy boots of Sergeant âRedâ Hartsock and experience D-Day form a totally different perspective from the first Brothers in Arms game, Road to Hill 30. In Earned in Blood you will lead a squad to liberate French towns and villages in tough, close quarter urban combat settings. This interactive experience offers more real-life WWII urban combat than any other video game on the market and will provide the player with hours of challenging game-play.
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