“If victory is slow, men tire, morale sags. Sieges exhaust strength.” – Sun Tzu, Chapter II: Waging of War, The Art of War
I’m on a Star Wars Rebellion roll and see no reason to stop now. Last week, I used Rebellion to explain the concept of a spoiling attack. Within that article, I mentioned in passing defense in depth. Today, I’ll dig into that topic directly while trying out a new toy for example generation. Don’t worry, it’s using Rebellion as an example.
Defense in Depth
Defense in depth is perhaps best understood in opposition to a linear defense. The linear defense is the easiest to understand defensive tactic: line up all the defenders and hold the line! This is your typical movie defensive and is indeed practiced in real life by forces which are generally low on mobility, morale, or training. While this puts the strongest possible defense, the most bodies and weapons, along a certain line, a linear defense is vulnerable to penetration and breakthroughs. One good punch can mean the end to a linear defense.
So rather than rely on a single line, defense in depth layers defenses so that an attacker must assault across several defensive positions. Multiple, layered defensive positions, while less capable than a single major position, can sap combat power out of an attacker by making each step as costly as possible. This progressively weakens the attacker’s force, making victory at the final, decisive defensive position more likely for the defender. From there, a counter-attack or other active approach can be used to shift into the offensive.
Explanatory Example – Star Wars Rebellion
I’m trying something new today. Rather than hope for a good board state from a Google search, I’ve replicated an actual board state from a recent game using Tabletop Simulator.
Here we can see the Rebels are using a strategy of defense in depth around Nal Hutta. Rather than mass forces on Nal Hutta, the Rebels are spread out. This allows them to fight disruptive battles. With Rise of the Empire‘s Advanced Tactics Cards, the Rebels can inflict more casualties than their smaller numbers may otherwise indicate.
Also note that given the strategic depth at play, the Rebels should have a chance to build reinforcements on Nal Hutta at the end of this turn. By the time a battle comes at Nal Hutta, with an intermediate battle in between, the Imperial force starting at Rodia may not have enough combat power to win.
Conclusion and Homework
Have you ever used or seen a defense in depth in your game? How useful is this concept for strategic versus tactical games? What about in non-war games?
Until next time, class dismissed.
Christopher Hunt
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