MnB:Formations

## Overview

*"JESUS CHRIST A THIRD GRADER CAN LINE UP BETTER THAN YOU"* - A pissed off DS

Formations, basically how you position your individuals in a squad. Now you might be wondering why you need to know about this, because formations can and WILL save your boys lives. Trust me on this, your squad will survive unexpected dangers better if you know what formation to use. Due to the fact that formations are used for advancing units, this topic will only encompass campaign mode because if you need formations in classic mode then something is terribly wrong. The formations and positions here are simplified for the sake of simplicity(duh) and flexibility to in-game implementation.

### Column

A column is basically a bunch of lines together. The column commonly forms your men into 2 vertical lines that maintains a fair amount of distance from each other. This is the most flexible formation as it offers a good all-round protection and enough space to minimize or even outright eliminate the chance of krauts gibbing your boys, it also allows you to quickly position your soldiers incase of sudden dangers. The column can also be adjusted to suit your needs such as turning it into a staggered one, or just make it a 2 column instead.

The downsides to this column is that it will not work well in minefields as you will cover more areas with this formation and your weakest point will be the front and the back as they are only defended by 2 soldiers each. A surprise grenade may also ruin your day as your men are more centered with this formation.

### Line

Remember your time wasted forming up lines in primary school? Well now you're doing it again. This formation is used to quickly traverse terrain and when you don't expect enemies while on your march. In-game practicality, this formation is used to traverse minefields and hard terrain where movements are limited or may expose your soldiers to threats such as shaking a tree. It is also useful when you are flanked from the top/bottom. It can also work as a way to focus everyone's firing into a narrow gap. This line can also be formed vertically in cases where you want to put as much men into firing position without closing in range.

The danger of this formation is that your front defense will be extremely weak as you will essentially only have one man to handle any threats that may appear at the front. Only use this when the situation demands it, and also expect your front guy to die so put freshie joe at the front to take the lead(s).

### Wedge

Ever had a wedge of cheese? They delicious man. Anyway, a wedge is a type of formation where your soldiers will form an arrow (without the shaft) pointing toward the front. This type of formation is used in-game mainly for its capability to squeeze people into a firing line without breaking formation or to add more defense to the flanks (top and bottom). It is also a formation that commanders use when they engage enemy contacts as they provide an orderly formation while giving effective fire over the enemy. It also provides an efficient withdrawal as you carefully withdraw your troops from engagement.

The downside of this is that it is a ***terrible*** formation to use in minefields, as you will be covering almost half a screen width. It also does not perform well in difficult terrain and tight spaces. It also does not fare well against rear attacks as it only have 2 fighters effectively defending it. Because of oncoming explosions though, unless you made a significant spacing then those may wound many of your men.

### Semi-circle

A semi circle is basically half a circle. You position your men toward the front in the shape of a semi-circle. It provides an excellent fire focus on the front area and decent coverage on the flanks but lacks any security in the rear.

As mentioned earlier, the disadvantages of a semi-circle is that it lacks defense in the rear side of your formation but another disadvantage is that it is hard to keep this formation while on the move. This is more effective to be used when you're static such as engaging in firefights instead of marching. The same disadvantage with the wedge is that it is more susceptible to grenades and explosions.

### Circle

A circle is basically twice of a semi-circle. You position your men in an all-round perimeter, making it a good defensive formation if you want to protect something inside the circle such as an officer or to just face a surrounding attack. Due to the spacing between each soldiers and the on average empty space in the center, an explosion will be less likely to deal extreme damages to your squad.

The disadvantage of this circle is that it will be vulnerable to strong enemy push as it lacks any similarly strong defense. Another disadvantage is that you only have 6 men in your command, your circle will be stretched thin and you will either have to keep them tight and close or to distance them apart. The last one is that it is hard to maintain a circle formation on the move, so it is better to keep it as a static formation.