“Strike first, strike hard, no mercy!” – Cobra Kai Mantra, The Karate Kid
They say the best defense is a good offense. Sometimes you don’t have the firepower or numbers to outright win. But, sometimes all you need to do is mess up your opponent’s plans. For those circumstances, we have the spoiling attack.
And yes, my tendencies to use a Star Wars Rebellion example will return today. At some point, I should just get on with a Rebellion strategy guide. But until then, here we go!
Spoiling Attacks
According to the United States Army Combined Arms Center, a spoiling attack is:
“an attack that preempts or seriously impairs an enemy attack while the enemy is planning or preparing for it. Normally conducted from a defensive posture, spoiling attacks strike where and when enemies are most vulnerable—during preparations for attack in assembly areas and attack positions or while they are moving toward their line of departure.” (source)
Ultimately, spoiling attacks are an offensive operation for a fundamentally defensive purpose. You attack to achieve a limited objective which helps safeguard your own forces or objective from an incoming enemy attack. While this can deplete your strength, a firm understanding of just exactly what you and your enemy are trying to achieve can mean that it is worth it. Perhaps holding the enemy back will buy you the time needed to win. This is especially true of asymmetric games like Star Wars Rebellion, Root, and the COIN (Counter-Insurgency) games from GMT.
Explanatory Example – Star Wars Rebellion
As promised, I have yet another Rebellion example for you today.
Put yourself in the Rebel shoes and imagine you have a critical reason to hold Rodia into the next turn. With an AT-AT and AT-ST coming off the build track next turn, Imperials at Malastare could generate some good odds by reinforcing and attacking to Rodia. Once the next turn rolls around and leaders are removed, you might be tempted to move the Rebel force on Naboo to bolster Rodia’s defense.
Another CoA, however, would be to attack Malastare from Naboo with the intent of mauling Imperial ground forces. Even if the battle is lost, it is likely a number of Imperial units could be destroyed especially through the skillful use of (Advanced) Tactics Cards. A battle would also force the Imperial player to consider sending a Leader to the system, which would lock down units from leaving to attack Rodia. By weakening the enemy or even grinding them to a halt if you can goad an Imperial Leader to the battlefield, the Rebels do have an option to preempt or impair the Imperial plan via a spoiling attack. If the Rebels survive in one of the theaters, ground or space, this also adds an element of defense in depth—a topic I should cover in another blog post.
Conclusion and Homework
Have you ever launched a spoiling attack? Or maybe your best plans were neutralized by one? If so, share your story in the comments below so we can all learn from it.
Until next time, class dismissed.
Christopher Hunt
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- Command School – Deterrence and Compellence - July 11, 2019
