The tactics of many airsoft players are similar to many modern and recent history military tactics. Since airsoft is often played as a military simulation of sorts, this makes sense. Other than the ranges involved, many airsoft games are similar to small military skirmishes not involving air support or artillery/armor support, so their tactics will work well quite well.
In this installment we will cover some of the basics of movement and using cover and concealment in movement. In future articles we will cover other tactical considerations such as communication with hand signals, code words and pass phrases, tactical gear choices, and strategic considerations.
Movement might seem like a pretty basic, boring topic. I need to get from here to there, so I walk. But in airsoft, it isn't always quite that easy. Often you are taking incoming fire from enemies, possibly from hidden positions. You may have to overtake these positions, skirt them or get someone past them safely. It is times like these and others that movement becomes a bit more, shall we say, interesting.
Let's start at basic movement concepts. First, stay low! A lot of guys will get excited once the action starts and stand bolt upright before breaking into a run. Try not to do that! Once you know you are in hostile areas, move in a crouch as much as you can. The less target you present, the less chance you have of being hit. There are times that a prone crawl is even better, though it can be tough through thorns, soupy ground or snow and ice. And crawling is pretty slow too. A low, crouched walk allows you to move over low obstacles reasonably easily, is stable to fire from and lets you drop flat if needed without having to land hard. Sure, it takes some getting used to, practice it for a while before you go out and try it in the field first so you don't find out the hard way your pants are too tight and you crotch em out.
A crouched run presents less target, gets you there faster and is useful for crossing open spaces, but overall, a steady walking pace is more useful. It allows any of your team mates to match your pace, allows you to stop suddenly or change direction in a hurry if you happen to move into an ambush and is safer since you can more easily see things like sticks or gopher holes in the path you are on. A steady walking pace is also less tiring, so you have that burst of energy when you really need it. Many people aren't used to the weight of their airsoft load out, so saving energy will be a much larger concern for them than someone who is used to carrying a full load. Lastly, moving slower makes a lot less noise and may allow you to move up on the other teams position without being noticed.
Now that you are moving low and sneaky, how do you get from here to there? Well, lots of guys go right down the trail. Sometimes you have to, but if you have an option, travel parallel to it, 30 feet or so back into the wood-line. This gives you some cover, and lets you go around many ambushes and any tripwires that may be on the trail. A well laid ambush is usually manned on only one side of the trail, and if you are lucky you will come up behind the guys waiting for you. If you are not lucky, you will be that much further from them, with more cover between you and them. Now is probably that time for the saved up burst of speed to hard cover!
And speaking of cover, it is a part of movement as well. If you can move through between trees, it provides some cover to you from hidden opponents, though it also effects your ability to return fire. If you have a choice to get hit while you take out someone else versus taking cover and having a good chances at taking out a half dozed opponents, it seems like cover might just be your friend, eh? If you choose your movement route carefully, you will always be near cover or concealment.
Here we should probably explain the difference. Cover is hard; airsoft bbs will bounce off cover. Concealment simply hides where you are. A tree trunk is cover, a branch covered in thick leaves is concealment. The bbs might rip through the leaves and hit you, they just have to guess where you are (and you are low, right?).
Now that we have covered cover, let's go back to walking down that trail again. Let's say there are a couple guys with you. A lot of people will just bunch up and walk down the center of the trail. This can end badly in a few ways. You are all close to each other, a single burst from an opponent could hit you all if he got lucky. Your buddies might accidentally shoot you and each other trying to get rounds back at the guy shooting at you all. Here is a better way to do this:
One guy takes point (front). He keeps his gun aimed to the front. He may be in the center of the trail, or against either side. The next guy in line is back a good 20 feet, and along the opposite side of the trail from the guy in front of him. He keeps his airsoft replica aimed out to his side, so there is no friendly fire, and he covers the flank side of the point man. The next guy back in line holds to the other side of the trail, and covers the other flank. If you have any extra guys, they are out as outriggers along side the main group in the tree line, hopefully not in the line of fire of their own guys. All in all, the best way to deal with this would be to move in a staggered, spread out line off the trail, for reasons mentioned above. The article that comes later in this series on hand signals will help a whole lot in this situation.
Before we go, let's cover a few more things on movement. Obstacles require some special movement considerations. Things like low walls or fences, for example, are an obstacle. You could go over them, but you will expose yourself pretty badly, and probably will not be able to fire back if you are noticed by an opponent. Your best bet on a solid obstacle is to move up on it at an angle, using it as cover, but not getting too close to it. This allows you to see over it, if it is low enough, and see what is around the end before you are there. If you have to get up close to it, look around an end, not over the top. This provides you with more cover than if you just popped your head up over the top. It is usually best to move back away from it, and move past the end of it back a ways so you don't get ambushed as you come around the end. It also might allow you to surprise someone who is waiting to ambush you who is up tight to the other side of a wall. The only issue is you are more out in the open in this situation. Be aware of your surroundings as you do this, take quick glances around before you move and move cautiously, keeping your replica at the ready.
If you can, a leapfrog (or buddy rush) movement can really help in some situations. One person moves up for 3 to 5 seconds while the other lays down suppressive fire, then takes up a covered position and lays suppressive fire while the other moves up. Repeat until you have taken your objective! This one really needs to be practiced a few times to get the timing right though, and you have to be careful to not move too far in one leap. 30 feet or so in a single leap is probably a good idea, given the limited range of an airsoft replica. Leapfrog rushes are good for approaching a place you suspect enemies or are taking fire from, but can't get a good shot on. If you do them diagonally, around the opponents strong side, you can often flank them as well.
Well, that about covers the basics for now, I'm sure just as soon as this gets posted I will remember a dozen other things that should have been included, so keep checking for more updates!
Stay low, have fun!
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