The following are military questions asked by members of the Gearbox Software forums and answered by Col. John Antal (US Army, Ret).

 LTC John Antal in Kuwait standing next to a destroyed Iraqi tank in 1994.

Q1: Asked by gotitall_01

Glider troops in a WACO CG4A Glider. Waco and Horsa Gliders were vital to reinforce the paratroopers on D-Day.

When you talk about D-Day and the gliders that were involved in it, you hear about soldiers coming out with broken body parts or at sometimes even getting killed. Did the gliders do more harm then good?

ANSWER:

Although the gliders were dangerous - every landing was a crash landing - they were also vital because they carried the jeeps, antitank guns, howitzers, heavy equipment and supplies that were critical to reinforcing the lightly armed paratroopers. Without the glider troops, the invasion might have failed. Although the stories of glider crashes are horrific, most of them landed safely and deployed their troops and equipment. Today, this kind of operation could be accomplished by helicopters, but in WWII the gliders were the only way to move this many troops and such heavy equipment behind enemy lines.

Q2: Asked by Clay

A squad of American Soldiers, in Normandy, shortly after D-Day. Can you master the WWII tactics they actually used and lead your squad to victory in the new game Brothers in Arms?

What were the tactics used during the ground war in the Pacific Theater compared to the tactics of the ground war in the European War? Also, how were our tactics changed in the Pacific theater based on the terrain of certain islands and the tactics of the Japanese?

ANSWER:

Hello Clay: Tactics vary according to the mission, enemy, terrain, your troops and time available - -what we call in the military METT-T (Mission Enemy Troops, Terrain and Time), but the basic tactics that you will use in Brothers in Arms were the same tactics used in both the Pacific and European Theaters of Operation during World War II.

To win in Brothers in Arms, you must know and employ authentic WWII squad tactics. You cannot survive and win using "Rambo-like" heroics. You must lead your team as a real WWII squad leader would have led them, capitalizing on their strengths and protecting their weaknesses from the enemy. Let's begin by going back to basics. Sun Tzu, who's 2,000-year old Art of War is still studied by thoughtful soldiers today, explained the art of tactics with these words:

"The art of using troops is this:
......When ten to the enemy's one, surround him;
......When five times his strength, attack him;
......If double his strength, divide him;
......If equally matched you may engage him;
......If weaker numerically, be capable of withdrawing;
......And if in all respects unequal, be capable of eluding him,
..........for a small force is but booty for one more powerful."

In actual combat, as in Brothers in Arms, this advice holds true. Each infantry squad is divided into teams of complementary capabilities that derive from the various weapons carried by each team member. In Brothers in Arms, players execute rudimentary tactics using an Assault Team and a Fire Team. The Assault Team consists of three soldiers armed with rapid firing M1 carbines and M1 Thompson submachine guns. The Fire Team consists of three soldiers armed with M1 Garand rifles and a Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR). To win in Brothers in Arms, you must give tactically sound orders to these teams to fire and maneuver--the basis for all tactics. These basic tactics, employed in WWII in both the Pacific and European theaters of war, can be distilled from Sun Tzu's advice into what the U.S. Army called the "Four F's": Find, Fix, Flank and Finish the enemy.

FIND the enemy first: In Brothers in Arms, you should use your Assault Team to scout forward and make first contact with the enemy. A cardinal rule of squad tactics is to always engage the enemy on your terms, not his.

FIX the enemy with fire: Once you find the enemy, you must quickly decide what to do next. As a squad leader you must use your understanding of the terrain, your team leaders' reports and your knowledge of the enemy to make a rapid tactical decision. You must decide how to engage the enemy. The object is to deny the enemy freedom of maneuver by fixing (holding) him in place. If the enemy appears to be too strong, you should withdraw your 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 team's fire, while you bring up your Fire Team to a position of advantage. Once your Fire Team is in an advantageous position, order them to plaster the enemy with their fire. The rapid firing BAR is vital to this task, so protect it at all costs. Once your suppressive fire has fixed the enemy, you are ready for the next step.

FLANK the enemy: Finding, forcing and hitting the enemy's vulnerable flank is the surest way to win a tactical engagement. While the Fire Team suppresses the enemy, the squad leader leads the Assault Team to maneuver against the enemy's flank. Once you've hit his flank, your opponent is "placed on the horns of a dilemma," since he is now receiving deadly fire from two separate directions. Finding a flank, or creating one, is the essence of WWII tactics - in both the Pacific and European theaters of War -- and the central art to winning in Brothers in Arms.

FINISH the enemy: Yet, the battle's not won until the enemy is finished off. As the Fire Team continues to suppress the enemy, the Assault Team uses fire or close assault to finish him off. Grenades, submachine guns and carbines are the weapons of choice for the assault. As the Assault Team closes with the enemy, the Fire Team shifts fire to stop the enemy from moving away.

Q3: Asked by NickNameless:

Gearbox weapons shoot. Team members had a chance to learn how to load fire and apply immediate action to all of the pistols and rifles in Brothers in Arms.

I've heard the M1 Garand was very difficult to reload from mid clip. Must you clear a clip before reloading?

ANSWER:

The M1 Garand is not difficult to clear and reload, but it does take a few seconds to unload a partial clip and then reload a full eight round clip. There is a release button on the left top of the receiver. Pull back the charging handle and press the release button and the half-full clip of .30-06 ammunition will pop out. You can then reload a full clip, or replace rounds in the clip individually. Reloading the clip with individual rounds is something that a Soldier would only do in a safe place and with moments to spare.

Check back tomorrow for part 2.