URA Tactics and Strategies

Overview:

As the war with the Ascomanni progressed, the URA’s tactics and strategies were refined to give the forces of the Republic the greatest chance possible to overcome the advantages held by their adversaries. These would focus on making the most of their available forces, while misleading the enemy to the greatest extent possible.

Defense in Depth

Given the vast destructive potential of modern weaponry, concentrating all defensive forces in close proximity to the front line creates strategic vulnerability. If gaps are created in the defensive perimeter, reinforcing and stabilizing the breakthrough point takes time and creates additional weak spots in other areas of the front.

Instead, Umbrian officers are taught to use the principle of defense in depth, where defensive positions and military units are positioned in a deep protective zone. This plays to the defender's natural advantages, allowing them to bleed the attacker and trade space to slow the speed of the enemy's advance.

Once the enemy's focal point is identified and the breakthrough contained, reserves can be deployed to counterattack the enemy thrust, either pushing them back to their starting point or potentially encircling and destroying overextended forces outright.

Concentration of Forces and Penetration

As part of the preparations for an assault on a fortified position, Umbrian military commanders will first probe the enemy front, seeking out any weaknesses that might be exploited. Once combined with available intelligence, the information gathered by the reconnaissance unit will help the local commander pinpoint the optimal location to focus their attack on.

With the focal point identified, they will then concentrate their available resources near the intended point of penetration and launch their attack, usually in coordination with armor, artillery, air, and orbital support as available.

Once a breakthrough has been achieved, predefined units will be responsible for expanding and securing the breach, while mobile units spill into the enemy rear area, destroying supplies and interrupting command and control.

Denial and Deception

Denial and Deception involve manipulating the enemy's understanding of the realities of the battlespace, and can apply in both tactical and strategic applications. These two separate but related efforts are designed to create uncertainty and slow the enemy's decision making cycle.

Denial involves prohibiting one's adversary from collecting usable intelligence with which they can make informed decisions. It can take the form of counterespionage, disrupting enemy surveillance methods, or camouflaging or otherwise obscuring troop deployments.

Deception, on the other hand, involves actively misdirecting an adversary's conception of the tactical or strategic picture. This can be achieved through the use of dummy orders, decoy or phantom formations, the employment of double agents, or the intentional distribution of false information.