Convoy strategies and how they apply to the Platoon (Recommended for all roles)

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Convoys have always been the dreaded mission for most platoons in FK for the infantry, armour, air, and HQ. More often than not, it requires more planning and understanding than most other missions and are generally seen as a cluster-fuck waiting to happen. HQ's find these missions to be very restrictive to their planning, unable to react quickly enough to changes, and has drivers/commanders/SLs unprepared for CQB on a motorized/mechanized (someone make a guide for this) level. I hope to attempt to fix these problems with my observations and recommendations to teach all units within a convoy to be able to recognize and deal with the complications of this type of mission.

Table of Contents

1. Cohesion
2. Leadership
3. Arrangement
4. Pathing
5. Problems
6. Engagements
7. Decisions

Cohesion
 

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First and foremost to perform a convoy mission is to trust and cooperate with the other vehicles and assets enough so that you do not get in the way of, overlap or block the other units within the convoy. If you are unable to do that then YOU will create problems that will cascade down to effect the entire convoy. Most of these problems can be easily fixed with a quick question if you're unsure of their response to a situation, or update the units effected by what you're planning to do.

Important positions

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First is to recognize the positions that are the most influential to the vehicles in a convoy.

• Driver

The driver is the most demanding and important position to be in when in a convoy, they are the ones who determine the safety of the convoy based on reaction, maneuvers, placement, visual acquisition, and ability to remain calm in stressful situations.

• Commander/Infantry commander (IC)

The commander or IC (Either a SL or person designated by SL to act as one) are to ensure the vehicles are working within the convoy together and making sure the drivers are staying within the intent of the plan the convoy had originally laid out. They are also to keep situational awareness to support the gunner or gain intel to make the decisions they need to make.

• Gunner

The gunner is to ensure that all enemy contacts along the way are dealt with as per the Commander/IC's orders, as well as be another unit that requiring situational awareness. They are the main line of defence to protecting a convoy and need to know that.

All three of these positions needs to trust and cooperate with each other and the other vehicles to ensure maximum protection and mobility. If there is no unit cohesion or if these three positions are neglected and left to inexperience for EVERY vehicle within the convoy, the likelihood of complications will increase exponentially (For the less math inclined, it will get significantly fucking worse).

Communications

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Always a top priority for any mission ever, communications gets another level of complication in convoys. Due to the quick response nature of convoys and the amount of positions that need up-to-date information, being able to report/order as quickly as possible should be top priority. You will also need to ensure that however quick you can communicate, you are also clear in what you are saying. This is going to be the hardest part, there are plenty of people who are not native English speakers, or have verbal habits/mannerisms which will lengthen comms. While this is usually due to a lack of experience, there are methods to help mitigate these problems with varying degrees of success. You may want to add on more radio channels for roles that need to communicate, such as for the drivers of the convoy. Keep in mind that while adding on more radio channels, certain positions can be overwhelmed with all of the radio traffics each channel they need to keep track of. Re-working or completely re-designing the communications might be necessary to ensure all positions that require a clear and steady flow of information will get it. Be careful of doing this though as all units these apply to will need to remember to use this new(ish) system, old habits will be hard to break and others might even attempt to refuse to use it. Do your best to to work out this cluster and remember, vehicles usually have intercoms. Using intercoms (as a stand in for the usual SR for the squad/crew) can theoretically allow up to 4 (6 if you have a LR backpack) different radio channels as well for a unit, only use as many you feel comfortable with and inform your leader.

Leadership
 

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While traditionally we have this as the platoon structure

This will need an additional addendum to make a convoy easy to control and working together in such a close proximity. To do this we need to again notice the most influential "leadership" positions that the convoy will need to listen to.

• Lead Vehicle

Surprisingly the lead vehicle in the convoy, They have both the most dangerous and most important job with the "leadership" falling to the commander or IC in that position. They will need to have the ability to adapt the convoy route/speed depending on the situations they will (usually) be the first to see and from their decisions it will cascade to effect the entire convoy. They are still under the armour lead or HQ as per the original chart and can be overridden with orders (not to be done lightly)

• Convoy Command (CC)

Ultimately the person in charge of the convoy and would in a traditional sense by the PLT HQ but can, in theory, given to another unit. They are to do their best to listen to all information they can get and make the final decision if needed. While also able to adapt the convoy route/speed, if they are not the lead vehicle they should understand they may be working off of old intel or any other possible complications it can bring.

• Assistant Convoy Command (ACC)

Essentially a 2nd in command for the convoy, in another vehicle, in case the CC is taken out or unresponsive. Arguably a harder position than CC considering they need to know when to take up the position, it's more of a redundancy in case everything has gone to shit.

• Rear Vehicle

Again, surprisingly in the the rear of the convoy, they have the 2nd most dangerous job and almost equally important role of leadership for the commander or IC in that position. They are to ultimately ensure that the rear of the convoy is protected and to call out any information to the convoy of any rear flanking units as the convoy moves.

Now that these major positions are recognized the platoon and convoy will know which units they should prioritize listening to for comms, while these units will know that their communications are paramount to the entire convoy.

Arrangement

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Next is how to analyze the structure and what types of vehicles/roles/personnel should take which positions within the convoy.

Traditional FK Setups

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This here is a typical FK convoy structure with 2-3 squads and 2 armour attachments. (Remember we have no standard so there will be variations, but they all usually have similarities)

As you can see it usually boils down to the front being two squads being the spearhead with knight (Usually an IFV for quick response after A and/or B has exploded) dividing with the last squad to support, the final knight (Usually the MBT as that is less suited to quickly responding to close contacts) with platoon as the trailing unit.

If we use the previous concepts explained earlier in this thread, we could surmise the lead vehicle is A, CC is Plt HQ, doubtful there's a ACC as the entire platoon drives together if PLT HQ gets more than 2-3 units, and the rear vehicle is also Plt HQ. PLT HQ would have little to no information on any changes to the situation, unless it came from the rear, and if the convoy was assaulted from the rear the PLT HQ would be fucked, with the lead vic (Since succession would usually go to A) wouldn't even know the rear situation or if the rear was attacked. On the other hand, if the convoy was in an encirclement ambush the lead and rear vehicles would be most likely targeted and destroyed. Giving little idea on who is in command, and giving the tank no infantry support from behind and significantly putting it at greater risk. (Yes it's encirclement but now the tank is next in line to be hit from behind, as well as all around)

My recommendation for this convoy from the beginning as a standard convoy set up would be this.

This new setup, theoretically, would eliminate the previous set-ups issue of leadership elements being able to be taken out so easily and if the convoy is attacked there is a high likelihood PLT HQ will be close enough to both ends of the convoy to respond appropriately should a vehicle unexpectedly blow the fuck up. Granted this system most likely still doesn't use the ACC option (B would be recommended) but now you have three major leadership roles within the convoy to help everyone know where contact is coming from and how bad it is. This set-up only really solves the problem of making sure there is some form of leadership, the other issues in this convoy are explained in problems.

Which position do I put this vehicle?

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Now there are many types of vehicles and capabilities, the vast amount of differences are already quite complicated and the only real way to fully understand these situations is to read this, this, and this for Blufor, while this, this and this for Redfor. That is a lot of reading, which adds to why convoy missions are usually dreaded by PLT because he won't necessarily know all of this information. This is why any armour lead and RTO are needed to ensure PLT makes the right call for convoy positioning.

Now with the design of a convoy there are two major formations that can be built, they are what I call the main column and outliers. A convoy doesn't have to only be a single line of vehicles going down a route, use of outliers for defence or recon can add on to this idea and create a larger safety-net for the main central portion giving the CC more flexibility and control of the situation than barreling into a checkpoint or a tank shell coming in from convoy right, blowing up the only MBT you have.

Outliers have a significantly more dangerous job as they will have little to no support if needed and will be essentially working alone, these positions will require a higher degree of caution and skill to survive.

With that out of the way there is a VERY generalized thing you can do when it comes down to this, so you don't ask all these questions during briefing and take 2 hours. Categorize vehicles by types like everyone else in the world fucking does. While you will miss the finer points of armoured culture you will have a basic understanding and not tell a tank to be lead vehicle through forests or up a mountain pass.

These categorizations could easily be

• Recon

A light vehicle that can be armed, unarmed, armoured, or unarmoured. Their purpose is to ride on the outskirts of the convoy on it's flanks or far ahead/behind to act as a recon unit, while being quick enough to catch up to the convoy or retreat away from contacts with hopefully little to no exploding. These vehicles can be, and usually are, aircraft. If these units are employed at least the convoy will get more of a heads up than a sudden stop by lead vehicle exploding or them trying to reverse, making the entire convoy turn into a mess.

• Soft-skin Transport

Vehicles that essentially have nothing that can stop a standard 5.56 NATO round but can be armed with a gun or shot out of (If you're lucky), this is the worst transport any infantry based units are going to be in as this vehicle is essentially unable to "push through" enemy contact without a high likelihood of casualties. I also like to categorize supply vehicles under this umbrella or mission critical vehicles that need to survive the convoy mission.

• Armoured Transport

The standard used for convoy missions involving infantry as they need to stay mobile and protected in the situation the convoy would need to "push through" contacts. Another important factor I would like to stress is all vehicles in my category of this use wheels, which are destructible, so while this is a typical vehicle you would use; you need to remember these vehicles will be fucked by grenade launchers or a few good rounds into their wheels, while also standing no fucking chance against anything higher than 7.62. They can be armed or unarmed, being armed should be a strong deciding factor to put those vehicles in locations that are more dangerous and likely to be used as a response unit.

• APC

The best choice for infantry to be transported in as they are usually just as mobile as the previous categories, usually a bit more armoured with a better gun, and has tracks which are much harder to break than wheels. These are the best at "pushing through" contacts with the caveat of being an easier to hit target, essentially impossible to do evasive maneuvers with, and low visibility for the driver, requiring a gunner and commander to pick up the slack. They are also usually not given out and if they are it's mostly with a knight crew; in other words if infantry get this without a knight crew, you need a dedicated crew from within your squad and they better know what they're doing. If you do get a knight crew, enjoy the comms cluster fuck it can bring and cooperation nightmare as they are in charge of the vehicle and the infantry are along for the ride.

• IFV

The best choice for armour as they are the bulky cousin of the APC, without the transport space (usually). They will usually have much better armaments and be very quick to respond to sudden threats, without having to worry about over-pressure to possible dismounted infantry. While unable to deal with heavier armoured targets they are able to deal with essentially everything else so long as the infantry give them space to work, maneuver and not run in front of them. Always assume it will be turning or moving if you're infantry and DO NOT think they will stop for your dumb ass all the time. Unless they specifically tell you to use them as cover, stay away from them by about 10-15m if possible.

• MBT

A fun role to be but one I wouldn't envy as the MBT is a very situational armoured asset to have in a convoy. The big brother of all vehicles they are essentially a rolling doom cannon to both enemies and friendlies alike, they are to be used to counter heavily armoured units or as a means to soak up smaller cannon shots in the hope they don't explode the rest of the platoon (Don't expect commanders to do this, it's quite suicidal for the MBT and generally not something they're going to want to test regardless). By the very nature of the convoy these units will be in close proximity to friendlies. (Unless used as outliers for flank support but that's very dangerous without proper recon elements) To truly understand how over pressure works please look at this near the bottom which talks about combined arms. In usual situations I would recommend having this on the other side of hard cover at all times for infantry, and if not possible, don't get out of the vehicle hoping the enemy don't blow you up first. Very similar to don't get in their way for any armoured asset, a nice safe range of 100-150m is preferable (good luck with that).

• AA/AAA

These can either be soft-skin or armoured, regardless I would recommend treating them similar to soft-skin vehicles in that they need protection. While their guns can (hopefully) depress enough to engage ground units, this is more of a last resort option since most AA don't have the best HE or AP rounds. Ensure they have the space to operate, if they need to engage aircraft they should pull off the side of the road and engage so the vehicles behind them don't suddenly stop and know they need to ensure convoy integrity.

• Aircraft

The only vehicle that will not add to the cluster of vehicles that's already enough of a pain to manage, just more comms. Depending on enemy AA/AAA they will either be best used as recon, flying nearby the convoy to support with their weaponry (Hope you have a gunship for this) or holding off away from the convoy waiting for quick strikes trying not to get shot down. These should not fly or hover too close to the convoy, try keep about a 50m distance from the convoy at all times. Being too close means when they get shot down they risk crashing into the convoy and generally distract the gunners/commanders as they watch them clip something and explode.

Now with those categorizations established (Make up what works for you, this is not set in stone) you will generally want to keep the more armoured units to the front or rear of the convoy for maximum protection. Now this all factors in to what you have at your disposal if you have no recon, I would recommend thinking of armour as a responding force instead of the spear tip. Your assets with better armaments are usually some you don't want to lose on first contact and since you're in a convoy you are not deciding the terms of first contact, only what is presented at first contact.

All of this can easily be adapted to other designs where the middle might not have a close guard if you have a good outlier system to make the main column easier to control, such as this example.

How fast do we go and how spaced should we be?

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Now that we've generalized the vehicles, we need a more experienced tip to understand terrain and vehicle speeds/weight. Each vehicle performs differently due to terrain or changes in elevation, terrain will determine the speed and spacing of the convoy, the situation the convoy is in or about to be in.

Choosing a speed for the convoy requires one to understand all the top speeds of every vehicle in the convoy, then how they would perform on elevation changes. For example if your convoy is going to drive up a 25 degree incline an MRAP is going to be severely slowed down as they have a shit ton of armour, while a Humvee would be less effected due to being lighter. The speed limit should be controllable for all vehicles, slow enough for vehicles to catch up if lagging behind, and fast enough to ensure a level of security over open expanses. A usual safe speed is 45 km/h but depending on how the situation changes and due to leadership call outs it should be changed to faster in open areas, or slower when entering rougher terrain.

Changing the speed and spacing of the convoy should be done intermittently, usually due to the lead vehicle as terrains and environments change such as this example.

Spacing is just as important to the safety of the convoy as it is to not ram each other. You generally want enough spacing to give each vehicle full ability to turn around if needed, including time for other vehicles to respond should a sudden change happen. I would recommend a 20-25m spacing in rough terrain, 25-35m in "normal" situations, up to 40 in open areas.

Urban environments are an entirely different realm and require a lot of thought when even attempting to go through. If at all possible avoiding urban environments would be the best option but if not, spacing for the convoy needs to be roughly 10-15m with a speed of about 20km/h. These situations will be put into more detail in the problems section.

As you gain more experience with vehicles and their capabilities the amount of time needed to determine placement will drop, this may seem like a lot of information (as it is) but you will be able to sort through it much quicker should you get used to a certain style.

Pathing

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So Zeus has given you a designated route you should take, this doesn't lessen the importance of studying the route and making alternative routes if necessary. If they don't give you a designated route then you have your work cut out for you. Regardless, you need to understand how to make a path and the basic ideas of path making to ensure you notice all the possible complications your convoy will run into. This information is needed for all drivers, command elements and whatever poor soul that has to pick up one of those positions mid-mission.

Reading the route

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Here is a route that has been predesignated by zeus in a mission we've had before

This is a route made up by a Plt after being given their objectives in another mission.

 

Making the route

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Taking what we've learned from reading the route this is not much more difficult, it only takes a slight bit longer. Creating the route from scratch is similar to designing a plan, not as difficult as you make it out to be. The first step is to draw up the most obvious and simple route from point A to B, ignoring all information given ahead of time. Next you look at the terrain around all points of the route within about a 2km distance, take note of forests, elevation changes, bridges, rivers, and all things you can determine from the map. After you've achieved the monumental task of drawing and redrawing lines, you then use all the information you have been given by briefing, this will be enemy disposition, possible locations, enemy assets, anything that you can't get from the map. Now try to put yourself into the shoes of the force attacking the convoy and come up with a few scenarios where you would want defences, ambushes, patrols, garrisons and the like that would effect the convoy route(s). Congratulations, after a probable 50 minute platoon briefing, you've designed a route for the convoy to take. Do not forget though you still need to come up with the arrangement of the convoy itself which can be easily done by adjusting the route to how you want your setup, or adjusting the setup to how you want the route, only another 5 minutes left and the PLT briefing is done.

Here are some examples as to how a rough idea turns into a complete route.

Adjusting the route.

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So during the convoy something has happened, always leave open the option to take another route. This is usually a last resort idea, doing so will confuse the convoy and will slow down the convoy as they reorganize. If you've had a backup route set up, good you'll make the confusion only a little better. If you need to turn around, hopefully you've designed the convoy to be able to easily do a 180 instead having the lead and rear vehicle literally switch positions. For responding to threats instead of changing the route entirely look at the decisions section.

 

Problems

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My personal favorite to deal with as it gives me the ability to yell and complain at people. These vague problems are to deal with the internal issues of the convoy that all units need to keep track of that most people ignore or forget.

Convoy size

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Size of the convoy directly relates to the flexibility and control the CC will have. As a convoy gains more vehicles the number of options the convoy has in planning and reaction, while this can seem useful this can easily overwhelm the convoy leadership in which action to take. Always control a convoy size you feel comfortable with, if you still have too many vehicles/assets you will need to reorganize (Dividing the convoy into sections) and/or delegating responsibilities to more units (2iC, AAC, whatever you trust) to better control the convoy. Always remember with more division and delegation, communication will become more complicated, additional channels may need to be used. Having too few vehicles in a convoy will severely limit what you can design, and if you can even respond to enemy contact. A rough average sized convoy that isn't too large or small would be ~6-10 vehicles, anything below is inflexible, while anything above risks being hard to control. If you have the option to choose this, see if you can get specific vehicles to control the size of your convoy. Sometimes you want to be quicker and hard to notice, smaller convoys will be preferred. Other times you'll want the ability to support one another, larger convoys will be preferred. Always see if you can choose your vehicles for yourself.

Sightlines

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More often than not vehicles are not assigned an area to keep track of (if able) within the convoy while moving or stationary. The convoy should have more directions being watched other than forward and behind, the middle section should be scanning their respective sectors to ensure full visual coverage for better defence and intel. Despite this it is natural, during contact, to look towards the direction of gunfire, but having the entire convoy looking in one direction opens the convoy up to flanking maneuvers or the possibility that the initial contact is actually a diversion. The gunner in the rear vehicle does not need to look forward when they can't even engage anything, allow all of the other convoy vehicles to deal with what's infront of you, your job is to protect the rear so look behind you can catch the technical driving up from behind.

Overtaking

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Overtaking vehicles is quite honestly the biggest problem (also being my biggest annoyance) for convoys here in FK. DO NOT overtake a vehicle in a convoy unless they are disabled, destroyed, unresponsive, or ordered to by that vehicle/convoy leadership. Any uninformed overtakes, regardless of the reason, drastically increases the chances of ramming, blocking in friendly units, running over possible friendly dismounts, friendly fire, total breakdown of convoy structure, blocked sight-lines, getting Arma'd, chain reaction explosions, so on and so on. If you are to overtake do not block sight lines for gunners you are passing or block vision/come in from a drivers blind spots. Always leave a reasonable amount of space (5-10m) between vehicles and do not perform sudden or jerky movements. This is just as applicable in combat situations and will be further explained in engagements.

 

Engagements

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Finally, explaining the external situations you will always drive into and never have a convoy mission without enemy contacts. Enjoy the read, as I try to explain all the external factors while keeping them summarized.

Weapons to be afraid of

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The enemy have guns. They have big guns, small guns, red guns, blue guns and you need to know which ones are going to fuck you up. Remember back to the arrangement section and what vehicles you have, this is how you determine the gun fear factor. I will categorize the guns similar to how vehicles were categorized, use whatever system you need to work as mine is very generalized.

• Small arms

These are weapons standard infantry can carry around without needing to set up and can shoot on the move (some exceptions). Even more generalized I would say anything 7.62 caliber and below, these will chew through softskins and have chances to penetrate armed vehicles. These are the least threatening of things you need to worry about, even if you only have soft skins because there's much worse.

• Grenades/Grenade launchers

The only ones you're really going to look out for are grenade launchers, but they still apply. Having someone throw or shoot HE grenades at you is generally not good for your health, and these will damage softskin and armed vehicles easily. Enough will just outright explode soft-skins, while armed vehicles will be more concerned about their wheels being blown off. These will fuck up convoys that have wheeled vehicles, but when is an appropriate time to dismount when your vehicle has been de-wheeled? If you're in a soft-skin you can either stay in get shrapnel and explosions killing you, or you can dismount and get shrapnel and explosions killing you. The moment the driver or IC determines the vehicle is fucked the best option is just mass pile out and scatter away from the vehicle, staying near it is a death trap regardless of you trying to use it for cover. Armoured vehicles have it a bit easier in the fact that only a massive amount of grenades dumped into it will actually blow it up. It's usually a toss up but when your armoured vehicle gets disabled you want to stay within the vehicle for as long as possible, or in between grenade rounds. The armour of the vehicle will shield most if not all people inside from grenades and jumping out/turning out in a panic is how it will kill units. If you're unfortunate and they're using HEDP grenades then armoured vehicles aren't going to be as safe. I have not personally tested the stun/flash-bang theory to attack a convoy, but if it does blind drivers this would be a very effective tactic. The only suggestion I have for flash-bang use is to try to remember the sides of the road and stop on those sides so the convoy can continue, driving blindly is generally a poor idea. More threatening than the small arms, but the terror factor of explosions everywhere is what really kills convoys (if armoured enough, these are the bane of soft-skins).

• Statics

The driver killers or convoy shredders, statics are what make convoy missions so dangerous. These weapons can either be set up on a tripod or used by an enemy vehicle, HMGs and grenade machine guns (GMG) will punch through anything less armoured than a traditional APC (Some are still penetrated by these in certain areas so be careful). While the GMG is essentially a grenade launcher but without the delay between reloading another shot, the HMG is the real MVP. If your convoy comes across these then you will need to assess the defensive capabilities of the vehicles you possess. Both will fuck up wheels and the HMG will snipe out drivers, leaving convoy vehicles helpless on the road and creating a traffic jam. Assume any enemy vehicle and roadblock to have at least one when assessing the convoy's next step. Prioritize these positions or vehicles second as the high rate of fire is it's main advantage.

• AT

Anti tank applies to anything capable of direct-fire projectiles that are able to damage an APC significantly. This can be shoulder-launched missiles, 20mm+ cannons (usually apfsds or equivalents but the point remains), and statics that have launchers. With varying degrees of success against higher armoured targets, these are the biggest threat to all vehicle types and are capable of destroying less armoured vehicles outright. You priority is to target these as soon as you see them, while they have a low rate of fire (usually) they are able to immediately destroy a vehicle within the convoy as opposed to the previous threats. I do not recommend pushing through any area with AT unless you are confident that the AT will have a hard time tracking the convoy and has a high chance to miss as it's shooting through trees or whatever. TOP priority, hope you kill them first or they miss the first shot.

• Mines

Mines, IEDs, anything put on/in the ground that goes boom, these are actually not as dangerous to the convoy as many people believe. While entirely capable of destroying one (sometimes more) vehicle immediately they are much easier to deal with. Use your eyes and look out for mines. The main advantage this type of weapon has over the convoy is that they are small and can be hard to see, if you're even expecting them in the first place. Should you come across mines and haven't blown them up the way they want you to, you can also just shoot them, avoid them, or defuse them. Shooting mines is the quickest and most effective way to solve the mine problem but stay clear of the mine (10m+) so the explosion doesn't get you anyways, it will give away the position of your convoy (if that's a factor). While avoiding them is a great way to circumvent the problem keep in mind that the rest of the convoy needs to know about them and that explosive isn't actually detonated remotely/proximity/IR-laser tripped. Defusing mines is the slow boring process that requires the convoy to stop every time, usually by sending out some EOD sacrifice or a drone. You will find unimaginative mines in the center of the road to usually be capable of vehicle destruction, more clever mines are on the sides of the road meant to blow up wheels (The most devious are actually anti-personnel mines making them even harder to spot but will still damage wheels) and slow down the convoy. While alone they're a simple threat, the problem is if the mines are actually meant to slow you down to spring an ambush. Shooting the mine will require the vehicle firing to stop or slow down, allowing the ambush to start. Avoiding the mine will require the convoy to slow down, allowing the ambush to start. Defusing the mine will stop the entire convoy, allowing the ambush to start. Be very careful when a mine is spotted and assume shit is going to go down.

• Artillery

Essentially a combination of AT and grenades. This is indirect fire that is a super grenade launcher. So like a grenade launcher it will chew through soft-skins with shrapnel or explosions, while armoured vehicles are actually capable of being exploded by them. Higher caliber artillery can even de-track APCs and MBTs so do not expect to be entirely unaffected if you're using these vehicles. Artillery is mainly used after your convoy has been stopped by some means (roadblock, mine, whatever) and will fuck you up even more. Should this start you need to get moving as soon as possible and push through whatever the hell is stopping you, either sit there and die or push through and most likely die. Usually artillery will not be shelling you while you're on the move, but if you are, just for stop for a second. If logic is followed they somehow managed to get your convoy position while on the move and launched a barrage to intercept you mid-drive, meaning if you stop the remaining rounds will just continue on and you can just follow in their wake. If logic is not followed then just speed up. Both situations would imply someone or something is tracking you and you should scan your areas better to find spotters.

Blind corners/Sharp turns

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Usually in urban situations, these turns will naturally be incredibly dangerous. Sharp turns in the open will slow the convoy down and possibly flip vehicles if you take them too fast. Blind corners, taken or not, possess the possibility of having hidden units waiting to shoot the convoy as they pass and massively slowing the convoy down. Understand both situations are perfect locations to the enemy to begin ambushing/engaging the convoy. Don't be too paranoid when coming across these areas, using recon or predicting the likelihood of running into enemies should determine how cautious your convoy should be.

Rough Terrain

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Hills, forests, jungles, rocky terrain, river crossings (no bridge), swamps and so on. While each location has their own issues they are all similar in how they effect the convoy. All situations will slow down the convoy, which you may want to reduce spacing. Why reduce spacing? Because these terrains will usually not be open and have turns where ambushed are likely. The convoy may not be able to support other sections due to foliage, changes in elevation, etc. The convoy will have so many blind spots, especially with how extreme the terrain may be, split decisions will make or break the convoy. This is the time for gunners to be on guard while drivers prepare for sudden changes.

Bridges

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Typically a bridge is a part of the road mean to go over water, they are also used to go over sharp declines in the terrain. This is a perfect place for the convoy to be shot. Bridges by their nature are flat open areas of land that bottleneck convoys into the perfect killing zone. Reversing while on a bridge is almost impossible, turning around on a bridge is just as bad, overtaking is suicidal and forming up the front or rear is limited in there is little space to work with. While bridges can be both a short 2 second pass or a minute drive, these locations will essentially "lock" whatever convoy vehicles on the bridge at the time as unable to support. Should you be under attack in these locations really think about pushing through contacts, just being on the bridge is a bad position and if something unexpected happens while on it your convoy is fucked. A very good location for the enemy to blow up to split the convoy, destroy a vehicle or two, stranding vehicles, while also ruining your path. If the enemy aren't feeling as mean but still want to be a bit ruthless, a few mines not powerful enough to blow the bridge can be placed on it just to punish a convoy that tries to speed on through.

Urban environments

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So full of problems this requires it's own section instead of being under rough terrain. Urban environments, just like fighting in them, is its own form of hell. Every corner is a possible AT, every trash pile is a (probable) IED, every window is a possible contact, this is no place for vehicles to be let alone a whole convoy. Moving through urban environments can only really be approached two ways. Stopping the convoy outside of the city/town and dismounting infantry to push in and clear, if it's too large or time consuming to do that have the infantry carve and protect a route through. Or pushing through without dismounting, having the gunners and turned out infantry protect the convoy and hoping you push through without stopping. Urban zones become more suicidal in relation to their size and density and will determine which strategy you employ. If for some god awful reason you get your convoy stuck stationary in an urban environment you need to ensure a 360 defence within a 100m radius around the convoy and push the fuck out. You will usually not have time to do proper clearing, unless you're creating a path, do not even bother clearing buildings. In short, never go into urban settings unless absolutely necessary.

Roadblocks

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The most common engagement your convoy will be running into. Usually a bunker or two with some walls or barriers, this is the most effective way to get your convoy to stop. Assaulting or going through is usually going to take time and you need to understand that these locations also usually have static weapons and sometimes vehicles reinforcing the defenders. In the best situation it will be in an open field and your convoy should be able to spot it from a few hundred meters away. Worst case you're cresting a hill, in rough terrain, or on a blind corner. For the best case scenario you will be able to (relatively) calmly get your vehicles/assets to form up to assault/suppress and decide to push through or dismount to engage. In worst case scenario your lead vehicle (If they haven't died or been disabled by now) will have to give a split-decision order of push through or convoy halt for dismount and engage, If the lead vehicle does get taken out the next vehicle will need to assume lead vehicle role and inform the convoy of the situation.

Turning out

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Everyone wants something to see in a convoy, especially the infantry considering they're literally going to sit and wait until everything has gone to hell. Some transport vehicles allow for turning out, while most assets can in almost all positions. You do not want to be turned out of your vehicle unless it is a safe area where you are not being shot at, for drivers try not to turn out as many vehicles cannot use their main guns if you are. Infantry (not applying to the IC if capable, they need it to asses the terrain) in the vehicles capable of this should stay in at all times unless you are going through urban or rough terrain and the speed has slowed down to 30km/h or less. If any grenades start flying your way, just get in the vehicle.

Aircraft

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Jets, helicopters, gunships, drones, whatever they fly they're aircraft. To deal with aircraft the convoy needs to spread out even more than it already is, getting on to the sides of the road so the aircraft can't just strafe down the road and blow everyone up. Aircraft is something you should not stop to engage unless you are the AA/AAA unit, just pull to the side of the road and deal with it if possible. Ensure if you're behind the AA/AAA you do not overtake (unless told otherwise), just wait for them to do their job and don't bunch up. What happens if you don't have AA/AAA? Speed up and hope your gunners can somehow plink rounds into the pilot. Front and rear vehicles should ignore the aircraft and just keep their eyes on the road to ensure they don't drive into enemy units/have enemy units drive up. Do not perform evasive maneuvers like an idiot, this will slow you down in the convoy (or the entire convoy) and the people behind you will run the risk of ramming you.

Engaging the enemy while moving

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When you are engaged the convoy will either be moving or stationary. If you are to keep moving do not overtake anything unless a vehicle is destroyed, disabled, or told to by convoy leadership/that vehicle that randomly stopped. The convoy should not stop, but split decisions by vehicle commanders might prompt them to halt to fire off a round or dismount (for some god awful reason). If this happens do not overtake regardless, you don't risk blocking the shot of the vehicle or running over dismounted troops. Figure out what is going on and see if you can get the go ahead to overtake, if not then hold there and support them (Dismounting should be the last thing on your mind) if possible. It should also be said dismounting is the exact thing you don't want to do when your convoy is meant to keep moving unless you are at a convoy speed of like 7 km/h or less (Which very rarely happens and if it does you're in a terrible position).

Engaging the enemy while stopped

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Now while stationary this is a bit more nuanced and depends on where the engagements are coming from. Should the front of the convoy be engaged the front vehicle will pull to the side of the road and hold position while up to 2 vehicles, deemed combat capable, will drive NEXT (if possible not on the road, allowing spacing and don't overtake) to the front vehicle on either side to create a stronger response to the threat ahead. The rest of the convoy should continue holding their position, watching their sectors, unless convoy leadership determines more units need to be shifted around. This is one of the few times where infantry should dismount if the convoy will be stalled for more than 2 minutes, remember to stay with your vehicle and create a perimeter unless ordered otherwise by convoy leadership. Resuming the convoy after the contact has died down should be simple and easy to do by this point, and if necessary the convoy can just push on if the front of the convoy needs some time to recuperate. Attacks from the rear will follow a similar method, though unfortunately vehicles will be slower to respond and have to turn around, be prepared to push on while the rear guard holds the line. Attacks to the middle section are actually quite easy to solve, if there are mission critical elements then the nearest combat capable vehicles will flank BOTH sides of the vehicle to ensure maximum protection while the front or rear of the convoy can move (determined by convoy leadership) to flank the attacking force (keep in mind using those elements may open your convoy up to attacks from the position that it used to protect). Having outliers are honestly perfect for these situations. Regardless of situation once contact dies down just reform convoy and go, GG.

Ambushes

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A hidden force waiting for you as you drive your convoy into it's kill zone. In theory, any force that engages you that you did not previously expect would be an ambush. Being able to understand the basics of ambushes will allow you to develop a method or plan to counter them. The purpose, or at least intent, of an ambush is to trap the convoy in a kill-zone where the convoy will be quickly destroyed. To do this the ambush will slow or stop the lead vehicle (most of the time, in more advanced methods, they could engage other sections to divide the convoy) and then attempt to limit/remove the mobility of the rest (or the part they care to destroy) of the convoy, to ensure the convoy remains in the kill-zone. Once achieved, the main force of the ambush or reinforcements will collapse onto the kill-zone with everything they have. Terrain is key to ambushes as they rely on natural factors to hide, limit convoy movement, kill zone viability, where to strike from, limiting convoy support and even more. Regardless of all this information there is one key factor you must do when ambushed, get out of the kill-zone. Most people will claim the best method to escape a kill-zone is to speed up and keep pushing through. For basic ambushes this is true, the point of engagement is usually in the kill-zone. Remember, while you can attempt to understand the enemy ambush, you don't know the actual kill-zone. More advanced ambushes can trick the convoy into panicking, making units push too far too fast, only to realize they drove straight into the actual kill-zone and they're out of position without support. Don't let the ambush control you, sometimes holding to fight is the better option, use the initial engagement to determine the intent of the ambush. If you decide to stand and fight you had best keep your convoy ready to move at a moments notice, the enemy is able to respond to your actions as well.

Decisions

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Now that you have done your best to recognize elements you would determine to be important for the convoy, now all you need to do is just let the plan go and expect everything you thought up to go to shit. Decisions is where you fix things on the fly and how to make sure this cobbled together piece of shit keeps going. The convoy leadership needs to be in constant communications to ensure the appropriate decisions are made to ensure convoy success. Contingency plans are the best option to deal with all the sudden changes, but never assume anything you've predicted will be 100% correct. You will need the time to assess the problem and the ability to swiftly respond to said problem. The convoy leadership needs to be confident in their roles and in the roles of the other units or miscommunication and disorganization will plague the decision making process. Wherever the decision needs to be made (front, back, middle, scouting) by whoever is in charge of that section of the convoy, they need to inform the rest of the convoy so there is no confusion and the CC can either agree with or make their own decision. Most of these situations don't allow time for doubt or hesitation, if you have concerns of the actions, voice them but perform the orders you were given regardless. If a unit or section tries to do something they think they should do, it is very likely they will get in the way of the convoy or others also trying to do what they think is best. There is no help I can give you on how to solve all the problems you'll be seeing, you just have respond as best as you can with all this previous knowledge. Take a moment, collect your thoughts and just do it.

Also why is this section so short? I wanted a catchy acronym and picking apart a real convoy mission would be a very long dissection requiring far too much information for the guide.

 

Edited October 13, 2020 by Forked