While it seems rather easy compared to attacking, defending can actually be much harder then attacking.
The attacker has the advantage of choosing when, where, and how to come at you.
Generally, the defenders are in a fixed position, and without a good defense strategy the defenders can get flanked, pinned, infiltrated, or simply charged.
These are some defense tactics that can apply to any strategy used.
(Strategies are overall plans, tactics are specific actions taken.
For example, taking cover or providing cover fire are tactics, but advancing and defending are strategies).
Tactic 1: Fortify your position While this seems pretty obvious, but one would be surprised how much 5 minutes of preparation can help a position.
Whether it be digging a shallow ditch to lay in, or piling sticks to provide some cover, fortifying the position allows one to customize a position to the needs of the situation.
For example, if one is in a position covering the left flank, one would want to concentrate on the left flank rather than the right flank.
It is a simple tactic, but a extremely effective one.
Side note - When fortifying the position, one could make a firing hole in the cover.
A firing hole is a small hole in the cover where one could stick out a gun barrel.
This gives the defender a clear shot at the enemy while giving the attacker a very difficult shot.
Tactic 2: Know the overall strategy and one's place in it This is another pretty obvious one, but I wanted to get rid of these two right away.
Say the strategy is a hedgehog defense, where the positions are staggered.
(More on this in the other article, General Defense Strategies).
If one is in the tip of the formation, then one can fall back to the other positions.
However, if one is in the rear of the formation, then falling back is not an option, and will screw over all the other persons on the rear line.
If one is defending the left flank, then make sure to look to the left flank.
One can leave the defense of the right flank to the positions in the left flank.
Tactic 3: Crossfire This is the biggest advantage of having different defensive positions.
The attackers need cover that will cover multiple sides, rather than just one side.
This makes it harder to flank a defensive position.
If defenders hold position A and B, then the attacker not only has to find cover that protects him from fire from position A, but also position B.
Tactic 4: Retreating Retreating has a bad name in most circles.
I like to quote Douglas MacArthur on the subject.
"We are not retreating.
We are advancing in a different direction.
" When a defensive position is about be overwhelmed, one could certainly stay, and get stuck in close quarters combat.
The attackers almost always win this battle, and the defenders end up losing.
Another option is to abandon the fortifications for another position.
This is much like pushing a reset button on the battle.
The attackers have to attack another fortified position, and probably take heavy losses doing so.
Retreating to another fortified position can also decrease attackers morale when they realize they advanced and probably lost some teammates for little gain.
Tactic 5: Counter-attack This goes hand-in-hand with retreating.
One of the best ways to surprise an attacker is to attack after the attacking forces think they took a position.
The attacker won't be expecting an attack, so they will be open and won't have bothered to fortify the positions.
This can take the form of a flank, a ambush (of sorts), or a all our frontal charge.
The last would be the most effective to demolish the morale of an attacking force.
Tactic 6: Ambush This tactic takes a lot of planning.
In order to ambush the attacker, the defenders must discover where the attackers plan to go, find positions that have good cover, and then conceal the defenders.
However, if all of these are accomplished, then the attackers will probably take heavy losses from an unknown source.
This will most likely lead to a retreat by the attackers, and a stigma associated with that area.
Ambushes slow down attackers considerably, and force them to look for defenders in all directions.