Dealing with larger groups

[Scythe13]

Just a continuation of thought process from my checkpoint thread.

How would you deal with a larger group of people?

Personally, I think it would require a lot of training and practice, but running a guerilla style campaign would be the best 'physical' way to deal with them.

Ideally, you'd want to stay hidden and go undetected. However, confrontation may well be something you are forced into. If you are, it would have to be a strike and fade style situation.

From this, I'd look more towards using traps and the alike, and if attacking, attack the back of the group, then fade off into the distance.

There are stories in Vietnam of troops being attacked by a single shooter whom would vanish and reappear in another location. The truth is, there would be a group of people in different hiding spots. But they would coordinate their shots one at a time, and get the group moving around.

One of the other things the VC used to do was to cause injury that would mean a person would need to be looked after by other team members. This way a single bullet would be used to immobilise 2 people at a time. The target, and the person that then has to take care of them and carry them away from the 'danger zone'.

In WW2, snipers were known to shoot a person, then use that person to lure in team members, and the shoot out those team members with kill shots. This would be both demoralising and discouraging for the group, but also would halt their movement.

If you could couple the VC and WW2 techniques, I'm sure it would be possible to whittle away at a pretty large group.

What are your views on this?

[Midnitemo]

If you're going to go into conflict with anybody you need to put the time in observing them and you must put in some countermeasures as you may already be being observed(they may just be better than you)Sniping is demoralising not really a battle winner in its own right so wounding would be the order of the day...very demoralising for the camp to see and hear wounded men being brought in...uses resources ties up manpower.

[Devonian]

I would probably either wait for them to move or, move on myself if it looked like they staying and would be a problem for me.

However, if I "had" (for whatever reason) to start looking at attacking them, then I would do it in the dead of night; look at sabotaging equipment/vehicles; stealing supplies; and then causing chaos, confusion and fear - petrol bombs/flaming arrows etc. Ideally I'd want to see fires being set off in multiple locations at the same time, and then just slip away into the darkness, making sure I moved a considerable distance from their camp, as when morning comes they will either be hunting you, or hopefully moving on quickly........

If they are hunting you down, then lying low and picking them off one at a time, would be your only option, but then how large is a 'large group'? If you are talking 50+ then the odds really would be stacked against you and the best thing to do would be to get moving in the opposite direction.

[bigpaul]

personally, I would go in the opposite direction, if that's not possible I would hide up until they had passed by.

[Midnitemo]

I agree with the last two posts in the main...for me conflict is to be avoided wherever possible...quite minor wounds may kill you without adequate medical support and manpower you can trust and rely on doesn't grow on tree's not to mention the people you are putting in harms way will most likely be your nearest and dearest.

[bigpaul]

if its a larger group than ours by entering into a fight we will probably come off worst! better to slink away and get to live another day!

[Devonian]

(25 April 2014, 13:54)bigpaul Wrote: if its a larger group than ours by entering into a fight we will probably come off worst! better to slink away and get to live another day!

Totally agree with BP on that.

The only time its worth confronting such a group is when you have no other option and nothing else to loose and its a case of how many of them can you take with you!

[Scythe13]

But it may not ALWAYS be an option to fade away.

Interestingly, nobody has mentioned negotiation or joining into the group.

[bigpaul]

if its a larger group negotiating or joining might not be an option, it could be tried I suppose if you don't have any other alternative, but being a larger group they might just decide to take what you have, food,water,women? in that case you might have 2 alternatives, give in or fight! avoiding them in the first place is still my preferred option.

[Midnitemo]

This could be where all that observation pays off....if you watch long enough you will glean what you need to know about this group, is it a happy camp , have you seen acts of violence/aggression are people free to move about/be at rest are there captives in a forced labour situation....if you are happy with what you see you could perhaps make a tentative approach.