Applying Feigned Withdrawal to Control Points
“If defense is the stronger form of war, yet has a negative object, it follows that it should be used only so long as weakness compels, and be abandoned as soon as we are strong enough to pursue a positive object.” -Clausewitz
What is this telling us? First, it says that defensive operations may be strong in terms of potential to inflict damage. It then cautions the use of defense if it has a “negative object.” This would be a detrimental side to defense, such as defending one CP and the rest are captured as a result. To put this into context, it is also only when the enemy is motivated to move against your defense that defense is potent. Otherwise, your defense inherently has the “negative object described. Devotion of troops means weakness to counteract your own bolstered points.
Application
I want my TA!Controlling the battlefield means controlling your opponent. Given that you want CPs to win, it’s a gamble to use those same CPs to gain TA. What I’m referring to is the way that capturing CPs gives you TA. In order to capture those CPs, the said CPs must first be neutral (not captured). This is where the enemy and the “negative object” of defense come into play.
The first picture has the following qualities:
- neutral CP
- potential to capture said CP
You should want to capture this CP to have a “set,” therefore beginning point attrition for your opponent and also giving yourself TA for the capture.
The second picture has the following qualities:
- two friendly CPs
- potential for a CP to be de-captured
You should want one CP to be neutralized in order for you to recapture it and receive the resultant TA.
Let’s say that there are several friendly heavy helicopters hovering off the screen waiting for the command to blast the enemy tanks seen (red) into oblivion. Why shouldn’t you defend the point the enemy appears to be advancing on and prevent it from being captured? Unless you’re in the middle of building extensive fortifications, you should let the enemy capture a CP if you know you can get it back in order to capture a “set” of CPs and receive TA.
I find that in the beginning of many games, players will try to liberate what I capture, even if their forces are inadequate to prevent my side from retaking the point. Regardless of whether they made me take casualties, I have likely gained the most through:- regaining a potential point attrition source
- several new TA
Don’t
...be the player I’m manipulating for my own TA in the manner I (abstractly) described. When I first began playing, I would do attacks that would be sufficient for liberating a CP set, but not fully taking it over or preventing the enemy from retaking it in short order. There is logic that the several seconds I neutralized the CP might have moved the point attrition in my favor, but the enemy is always compelled by the “negative object” of defending part of a CP to recapture the other CP and gain the TA and point advantages.
To make a long, long thread short: don’t start something you can’t finish lest you find yourself defending only to protect your vulnerabilities instead of your assets.
