Hi all, this is for the new players or even old players whom wish to learn how to contribute better to team fighting as well as learning about how each class works. Now I say it first here, this is not to make you a supersoldier with crazy KD, no that is all entirely up to your own personal growth. What I want to achieve here is to help players understand their class better as well give them some insights on squad fighting. The objective here is not to get good KD, but to win the game. Though sometimes playing the objective can get you good kills too. All that I've written here are from my own experiences as well as some idealized speculations on how squads should work together.

If you're the TLDR kind of person, then you can opt to skip towards the specific class you wish to learn more about then read the corresponding "Advanced Squad Tactics" of the squad the class belongs to. I hope this helps.

• Others would call this Tactical or Heavy Squads. I'll just refer to them as Infantry squads, line squads.
  
• Infantry squads are versatile albeit slow moving squads. Their load outs allow them offensive and defensive punches. Higher level squads get a bonus in rifle accuracy and have faster trench capture rate.
  
• Infantry squads have access to mortars and artillery.

The most important role in the squad due to his passive ability of being a spawn point. Keep in mind that allies will only spawn on you if you're in registered cover, be it a foxhole, shell crater or in a trench and provided no enemy is right beside you. Create a system by having your squad members type out "respawning" when they're about to spawn in 5 seconds, in that way, you have time to find adequate cover for them to spawn on.

• Observe Maxim 7. Arty that is not reloading is wasted artillery. Which means you keep calling you mortar strikes nonstop. Others would prefer saving their mortar strikes when they need it the most - but that sort of tactic is marred by the long delay before the shells fall. So continuous firing would still be better, even if the enemy is not visible yet.
  
• Arty on the attack: overtime you'll become familiar with the defensive strong points of trenches and that'll be your target with or without targets. The former to weaken them, the latter to serve as area of denial for enemy reinforcements. Maxim 7 may not always be the case, if you see friendlies heading to a certain direction, fire a mortar on the corresponding section of the trench they might be heading to - it'll suppress/kill opposition or at least deny enemy reinforcing that area.
  
• Arty on the defense: Maxim 7 is especially useful on the defense. Fire danger close right outside obvious entrances to the trench you're defending. Occasionally you can also look out and scan for enemy machinegunners or snipers, these enemies tend to be static, but they wreak alot of havoc to your teammates.

Many keep thinking that the rifleman is the generic base to which other classes deviate from, only to specialize himself when upgrading to a sniper role upon unlocking scoped loadouts later on. But nevertheless, he still has a specific role for the squad. With his bayonet and his rifle skills, he is the squad's only grunt/slogger, that can both play in range but in melee as well. His role is comparable to that of the Observer of Recon squads.

• Riflemen move slower when not inside the NCO aura, this is a design to encourage squad work. Thus the rifleman is best paired with the NCO in all troops movements. He can serve to provide cover fire when moving towards the trench. A bodyguard when both the NCO and rifleman are inside the enemy trench. Or the one designated to lead the attack towards or within the trench, with the NCO closely behind.
  
• Another design that enforces the rifleman's role in attack is that he earns double exp points upon capturing sectors.
  
• On the attack it is not recommended that the rifleman switch to sniper loadout, as it'll turn him into a long ranged fighter - and that role is already filled by the machinegunner, effectively cutting the number of attackers in half, and you don't want that. Perhaps it is possible if the support gunner is using a rifle and pistol loadout hence the rifleman instead fills the role of ranged fighter, or if in your team, the rest of the squads are particularly aggressive and it would be better to provide mid to long ranged support.
  
• Riflemen also have access to stripper clips when available. Allowing them to reload quickly.

Perhaps the least versatile of the squad, but perhaps the most powerful when deployed properly. The support gunners upon using their machine guns rely on overwhelming firepower to defeat swathes of enemies. Successful support gunners have the skill to switch targets quickly and with dexterity.

• Your default stance is not Suppressive fire, but rather Overwatch. Overwatch means you wait for the enemy to present themselves before you fire. Doing suppressive fire makes your muzzle flare very apparent without much kills to make up for it. The result would be enemy marksmen taking you out quickly. Overwatching is all about having the skill to spot the enemy even when they're far away, firing enough of a burst to kill them before looking for another target. Keep it as a mantra "Kill them before they kill me". See an enemy sprinting in the open? Shot him! But as soon as you see an enemy popping his head out of cover, most likely he’s acquiring targets – most probably you. So shoot him before he has the chance.
  
• Suppression is a situational tactic. Since the developers have not included suppression yet, this tactic is only useful if you’re supporting an attack - and provided you have cooperative teammates, a voice chat on, or have aggressive minded teammates. By lacing a piece of cover some heavy fire, it’ll keep the enemy in cover enough for your team mate to dash to that trench or throw a grenade without being shot at. Most enemy players only get truly suppressed if 1. They get wounded, or 2. Shots actually hit the cover he’s on.
  
• Locations to deploy: you have 2 options, be on top or be on a funnel. The latter includes everywhere that basically pops your head out of cover. Your advantage would be a full view of the surroundings; your disadvantage is that everyone has a chance to see you. Your skill in killing the enemy first is more important in this set up. The latter is perhaps the same as the first one except there is cover to your left or right or both. This will reduce your arc of fire, but also reduce your chance of being spotted. This tactic is prevalent in trenches (w/c is purely situational) or when you decide to do enfilading tactics (more on this later).
  
• Reloading while deployed. When the gun runs dry, reloading is hazardous since it leaves you exposed. Most players un-deploy, go prone, deploy on the ground and reload. Which can be time consuming. It is actually possible to reload in cover while still deployed! When you need to reload, simply aim upwards to your maximum view limit. Your gun is aiming at the sky, and in turn your torso is swiveled towards the ground giving you cover. Reload in safety, then scroll your aim down to resume firing. This tactic can work even when prone provided you’re not on a totally flat surface.
  
• It is advised that one practice deploying while crouched rather than prone, especially when you’re deploying in the lip of a crater. Most would go prone and crawl forward to until they reach the lip. It is actually quite faster to deploy while crouching, since you reach the spot faster and you can immediately undeploy and take cover should you ever be fired upon.
  
• A hint on deploying, learn where the bipod of your gun is, since that is the part that’ll detect the surface and that’ll be the part that swivels as well. Having difficulty deploying on a thin piece of wooden wall? Try moving backwards a bit instead of hugging it fully, most of the time the problem is that the bipod went past the surface already.
  
• French, German and British Differences: The German MG08/15’ has superior rate of fire and is perfect for defense and enfilade fire. The French Chaucat, has slower rate of fire, and might be more challenging to do enfilade fire and is thus suggested to face enemies that are running towards you. However you can fire it on the hip, it takes some practice, but you can double as a trench sweeper with it, though most of the time it is better off using a pistol. The British (technically US) Lewis gun has superior fire rate as well, but has an obstructive sight, like the Chaucat it can be fired from the hip and is better at it thanks to the bigger magazine capacity and faster fire rate.Take note that the reload speed of the Chaucat and Lewis is determined by your stance. From slowest to fastest: Standing > crouching > prone > deployed.

The job of this particular class is assault, assault, humiliating enemies, and assault. If you are to be the aggressive one in the group, best be the one carrying the explosives then. The importance of the grenadier is that they serve as an immediate trench cleaner as compared to the delayed mortar strike of the NCO. When his grenades are gone, he reverts into a rifleman class right? Wrong, you don’t need another ranged combatant in the squad, you need someone fighting in the trenches. The Grenadier has faster wound healing, giving him a degree of longevity while fighting in the trenches (where wounds are more common rather than killshots due to the panicked shooting) His loadouts also lean towards this area: pistol loadout, or carbine loadout, all designed for trench combat.

• First off, the Grenade button is placed at G button. In my opinion, it is difficult to do some running throws with that button. Instead I suggest you port it to Left Alt, or MMB (though I prefer this one to be melee attack.) This will make it easier for you to do precision throwing or running throws.
  
• The skill of throwing grenades is difficult to teach in theory, rather it is trained by the individual himself via experience. If you’re new to being a grenadier, I suggest you practice to be perfect. Just chuck grenades. Don’t be shy. See a piece of cover but not sure if there’s an enemy there? Who cares? Seeing things go boom is always nice, throw that grenade! To die with still a grenade in your belt is waste of experience. Just keep throwing grenades, until you become more in tune with the flying arc and the nuances of its bounce. Then you begin to practice cooking the grenade. The Fuse is about 5-6 seconds. Later on you practice cooking the grenade while running. Practice cooking while running sideways. Practice short range throws (throwing neary horizontal), practice long range throws, practice mortar throws (aiming at a high arc, so that the grenade falls on the other side of a wall)., practice bounce throws (grenades only really bounce once)
  
• The Arced lob and the Bounce Throw
  
• Keep in mind that the grenadier has a “running lob” perk which makes him move faster while cooking a grenade. This can be useful in dodging the aims of your enemy. So if ever your position is under fire and you need to absolutely throw a grenade out of cover; then consider the running lob.
  
• Once you become comfortable with your skill, then you can start deciding to be more conservative with your grenades. Or you could still continue to guess throw at cover and try your luck.
  
• You can use the mini map to guide your grenade throw. Looking at the direction of your arrow and the target area you wish to throw at – making it easy for you aim, the only thing you next worry about is the arc and distance, which is learned through practice.
  
• German, French and British Differences: The German M15 grenade is a powerful explosive having wide area of effect. The French F1 grenade is very light and can be thrown at long distances, unfortunately it is much weaker than the M15. It is important to remember as your learning curve will be different depending on your faction. The British Mills bomb has a lower range compared to the other two.

Defending the Trench
Coverage is key in defending, and the mini map is your friend in this aspect. First off each defensive strong point can only have a maximum of 2 defenders on it (3 on some cases, like wide arced pillboxes or foxholes). Keep this in mind, if you’re looking for a spot, if a particular spot is already filled with 1-2 people, then find another. Sometimes other people are just ignorant of this rule, so if you notice them stacking up on a position you’re holding, better off leaving it yourself, they’ll die from a grenade soon anyway.

• For squads who want to earn experience fast, the NCO aura is big enough to space out without risk of getting killed by one mortar call. Remember, killing while inside the NCO aura gives you +25 points. Similarly, while in the Command arrow, you get +15; these bonuses stack.
  
• A coordinated squad can split up into 2 fire teams which position themselves at nearby defensive strong points. The NCO can drop an arrow circle on one point, then go to the other point. In this way there is coverage of bonuses for the squad.
  
• or alternatively you can spread out evenly, each man having a certain defensive point with the NCO right in the middle.

Avoiding ClusterFack
Maxim 14. Only you can prevent Clusterfack… that or the enemy. See a friendly on a turn in the trench, engaging an enemy? Do not stand right beside him. Give him a space to back up. Many a time, friendlies die in these engagements because they can’t step back into cover – because it’s blocked by another friendly. This rule holds especially true in tight trenches. When an AFK person is blocking your path in the trench, try jumping unto the wall to cross over.

Offensive Infantry
There are 3 initial configurations to which a squad can do when it’s their turn to attack.
1.) Attack Fire Team, Skirmish Fire Team
The squad splits into 2 fire teams: The Skirmish (NCO and Machinegunner/Sniper) and the Attack (Grenadier and Rifleman/Support with pistol). The Skirmish team finds a spot on No Man’s Land to provide cover fire; the NCO can call in mortar strikes will spotting for the MG/Sniper as well as for the Attack team. The Attack team assaults the trench and attempts to secure a foothold.
2.) Officer Mortar, 3 man assault
The NCO positions himself on a piece of cover at the middle of no man’s land. Here the squad can continue to respawn, it should be close enough that soldiers can sprint to the target trench nonstop. Ideal if all the other squaddies are armed with rifles and pistols, or with a chaucat. The NCO will hang back calling in mortar strikes and generally skirmishing. The other 3 man squad dashes for the trench and secure it.
3.) 3 man Attack with Support
This time, the NCO, rifleman and the grenadier all attack. The machine gunner hangs back providing cover fire. Alternatively, the MG and Rifleman can switch places as a Sniper and Support (rifle and pistol loadout).

The most ideal tactic is the 3rd one, and the least desirable is the 1st one (but it’ll do over nothing at all). Mortar strikes or cover fire should first focus on the target flank where the attack is headed for. When attacking, the grenadier can toss a grenade as the rifleman rushes forward. Before the enemy could even recover their spot the rifleman should be there to stop him. Always remember the rules of Trench clusterfack, give space for your partner to back up if you two are fighting in tight trenches. If things get messy on a particularly tight trench, one partner can choose to risk climbing the trench so he could flank the enemies.

After the attackers are inside, mortar strikes and support fire should be focused on the approaches towards that captured section. For example, allies have captured the left most side of the trench – then mortar strikes can be called on the center, sniper or MG overwatch should guard the center approach and the no man’s and behind the enemy trench.

This tactic is not permanent, it is designed for gaining a foothold – when soldiers are inside, the tactic should change, with the key objectives being clearing the trench, and holding the initial foothold.
1.) The Skirmish team or support should move forward into the trench. The NCO should get to the initial foothold. The MG or Sniper can choose to stay in their spot, or move forward nearer the trench, they don’t have to enter it, since the ideal spots for an MG is to be on top, rather than below at the trenches.
2.) Upon the arrival of the NCO to the trench, the Rifleman and the Grenadier should sweep through the trench. The Rifleman and NCO can trade places in this aspect as well. Sweeping the trench is crucial, since you have to attack before the enemy realizes that they’ve lost a section of their trench. Focus on clearing the trench, let the Support and the NCO/Rifleman that gets left behind to take care of any enemy incoming reinforcements.

The survival of the NCO inside the trench ensures that the grenadier and rifleman can be more aggressive and risky when it comes to clearing the trench. Sprint, stab, rush as fast as you can. Take down the enemy before they respond, or before even enemy reinforcements arrive. After clearing the trench, you will either be in 2 situations: Close to each other, or separated. If it’s the former, assume a defensive stance similar to the Defensive tactics discussed earlier. If you’re separated you can choose to consolidate in pairs to better watch each other’s flank.

The last man in a hostile trench
Should you find your squad killed and you’re the only one left inside the enemy trench, some would choose to hold their ground and await reinforcements. But I suggest to instead attempt sweeping the trench alone. Why? The chances of your friendlies reaching you would be difficult if there are still enemies nearby. For example, you are in the left side of the trench, allies are trying to reinforce via the left as well – but there are enemies on the center of the trench. Of course they’ll cut off your friendly reinforcements. Thus you must take it upon yourself to sweep them or at least harass them. Hopefully the enemy will be preoccupied on the front and would not expect a bayonet to the back. Be careful of enemy reinforcements from their spawn, so move from cover to cover, crawl if you have to if there’s not much cover, just don’t be on the same spot as you were as the enemy would attempt chucking grenades or flanking it. If you’re a lone NCO, await the respawn of your squad mates, call mortars on approaches towards your spot. If your squadmates are alive though, then it might be more prudent to do the above mentioned sweeping instead.

The recon squads are considered the elite infantry of the early parts of the war, right before the creation of specialized trench raiders and storm troopers. Generally armed with carbines, they are suited for close quarters trench combat. They have a sprint ability when inside their NCO’s aura – which gives them the ability to run through no man’s land without pause.
They’re intended to be the first ones to reach the target trench, maintaining a foothold as well as spotting enemies for the team.
Recon Squads have access to recon planes that reveal enemy troops positions.
Recon Spawning
One important mechanic of this squad is that members can spawn on each other, not just their NCO. Squad members spawn on the front most member that is in spawnable cover: trenches and most foxholes/shellholes. You will see on the bottom part of the screen if squadmates can spawn on you.

The recon squad’s version of the NCO, he can call in recon planes and has the important trait of being so hard ass tough on his own men that they fear showing weakness when near him – the effect? They will have double sprint distance, have faster stamina regeneration and have a movement speed increase when in the aura. The Guide himself, being constantly on his own aura is always under this passive bonus.

• The Guide’s recon plane support call will reveal all enemy players on the chosen sector. The only exemption to this is enemies using their “hide ability”. Take note that the information will only be revealed to your squad, not your whole team. If you have the luxury of time and safety you can choose to tell your whole team via team chat. Try putting a “recon:” mark on your sentence so that the rest of the team knows you have concrete info rather than just a hunch.
  
• As the Guide it is your job to lead the charge into no man’s land. Keep your men close, if they lag behind exiting your aura, wait for them to catch up (unless if they’re not following you).

The support class of the recon squad. He can hold his breath longer, allowing for more focused shooting. The sniper has a situational role, often useful in defense and is the one relied upon to take out enemy snipers and MG nests. Should more infantry be required to attack, the sniper can use unscoped versions of his weapons to become a rifleman.

• WW1 scopes- *disclaimer: I do not know if the devs have fixed this or chose to maintain it* notice how all the scopes are fixed to the left of the rifle itself. How does this translate in game terms? When viewing at the scope, you’ll notice that the bullet actually hits a tiny bit to the “right and up” of the actual crosshair. This is more noticeable on mid range and short range, while at long range the bullet flight actually draws closer to the crosshair. It takes some getting used to, but be aware of this fact.
  
• Quick Scoping- this is a technique that most veteran FPS players know since Counterstrike-immemorial, and is an important skill to learn in rifle combat, especially for the sniper. To those who know this already, you can skip this – to those who don’t well listen up. Quick scoping means using the normal crosshair to acquire targets, afterwards, aiming down the sight or scope for final aiming, Fire, then unscope/return to hip fire mode. More experienced players can start snapping 50% of the way as they’re moving to aim, having learned the differences of mouse sensitivy on hipfire and Aim down sight.
  
• In rifle games likes Verdun, players use quick scoping in conjunction with taking cover, the process goes: Pop out of cover > track enemies with hipfire > Aim down sight with final adjustments > fire > un-Aim > duck to cover as you bolt your rifle > repeat.
  
• Sweeping- I see several players use the scope to search for enemies, but sometimes on clear maps it’s easier to use the normal crosshairs/hipfire since your view is wider. Look out for movement and rifle flashes. All it takes is a keen eye, if you think you see a stump and wonder if it’s an enemy, then you have your scope to use.
  
• Shoot and Scoot- for snipers skirmishing against the enemy sometimes you find a perfect spot that’s hard for enemies to acquire, sometimes you’re in an obvious spot and is just using your range to your advantage (with enemies having harder time to aim at you) but in the end you must still reposition to find another spot. Repositioning to another piece of cover doesn’t necessarily have to be far away, even just moving a few meters to the left or right when in the same cover can help against enemies that have already acquired your spot; only the most skilled sharpshooter can quickly take you out. Shoot and Scoot in conjunction with quickscoping can make you a very difficult target.
  
• Supportive mindset- On the offensive, the team relies on the Sniper and the MG to keep the enemy preoccupied as they advance. You priorities are enemy machineguns or snipers. But the latter is often hard to locate, while the former is easy; so it’s more practical to hunt for Machinegun nests rather than snipers. Also take a peek on the mini map and look where your team is heading. If most of your squad or team is heading right, then take time to suppress the enemy defenders on the right side. Take a look at the killfeed

The job of the observer is to sneak close to enemy positions and reveal enemy positions. Also, he’s the foot slogger of the squad akin to the Infantry squad’s rifleman. He is best paired with an aggressive NCO (Guide). The Observer has 2 important perks, the Hide and the Observe.

• The Hide ability allows him to be undetectable from enemy recon planes or enemy observers. The first hide perk makes you hidden as long as you’re not moving, higher level hide perks hide you as long as you’re on prone or crouching.
  
• The Observe perk allows you to detect nearby enemies and “permanently” mark them in every squad member’s minimaps for the rest of that enemy’s life, even when they move away from the detection range. The first 2 observe perk levels only activates if you’re within the Guide’s aura. The third one however is permanently active even without the guide’s aura. In this way, the Observer should stay close to the Guide always, or better off lead the way, as the Guide follows.
  
• The Observe perk is proximity activated, you don’t need to have a sight of the enemy for it to work. Level I is 5 meters, while Level II and III are 10 meters.
  
• The point man: with the Observe perk and the Guide closely following behind, the Observer can lead the charge throughout the trench, being able to detect enemies hiding behind the corner allows him to be prepared.

This class’s job is to get up close and personal with his bayonet. He has faster health regeneration which makes you recover quickly from pistol shots and melee hits. His main coup de grace is his ability to “lunge” with his increased melee range, 0.5 meters at first, with a higher level allowing 1 meter range!

• Bayonet Stab- in game using a bayonet has a special mechanic, your character’s view gets locked on towards the target enemy for 1 second, performing a stabbing animation. It takes 1-2 seconds approximately to stab and pull back your rifle. With the melee specialist’s increased stab range, the specialist would actually perform a sort of “lunge” or “forward dash” allowing the melee specialist a first strike advantage.
  
• Stab and sidestep- you can actually move while still doing the stab animation, this makes your character sort of circumvent the target if you press the A or D buttons. Take note that moving too fast and too far might cancel the stabbing (e.i. your bayonet did not connect). This is a valuable skill to learn if you are forced to fight multiple foes in melee. For example when facing 2 enemies: stab the first target while at the same time sidestepping while still in the middle of the animation making you a harder target for his colleague to shoot at, then when your view snaps back to your original view you can proceed to stab the 2nd enemy.
  
• Stab and backpedal – if you’re fighting enemies by a trench corner, you can wait for them to get close, suddenly lunge out and stab, then backpedal towards cover and repeat. The key to be effective is to be explosive and unpredictable.
  
• Counterstabbing an enemy charging you - if you see an enemy advancing toward you with the intent of stabbing or just running towards you during the chaos of tight quarters, you could actually kill him first by "stabbing prematurely" and "stepping forward" as if you were lunging him. You will notice that your camera would not lock in as compared to the usual stabbing animation, but the stab is still there and it would kill. This further increases the melee range of the class, it requires some practice though.
  
• Always catch your breath before storming the trench, you’ll need maximum speed to be effective with the bayonet.
  
• In close quarters, time your charge when the enemy is bolting his rifle. First off your plan is to make him miss his first shot, then charge home to connect, if he’s still too far away, prepare another jinking sidestep at the moment he finishes his bolting.
  
• If you find yourself pinned, facing the enemy inside the trench, you can opt to actually climb on top to do a mini flank. Sure this is risky, but if you’re fast enough it could be rewarding, plus when the battle is happening inside the trench already, enemies don’t really expect anyone clambering on top that much.
  
• The melee specialist also has access to the trench knife. It acts like a bayonet, but the range is shorter, but it is the fastest melee weapon, with barely no downtime. A melee specialist with his knife can dispatch 3 enemies in just 2-3 seconds where it would take 6 seconds for a bayonet would.

Offensive Recon
When the whistles blow, when the attack becomes your show, it must be the Recon Squad to be the forefront of the attack. Even before the timer finishes on the defence, the Recon squad should begin to form up with the Guide(NCO), ready to begin charging. With the squads sprint and speed bonuses they can basically run the entire no man’s land without pause.

• The Guide, Observer and the Melee Specialist should be dashing together, the Sniper stopping at some point in no man’s land to set up and provide cover fire.
  
• When getting near the Guide should start calling Recon planes, so that the squad finds out if they’ll find opposition in their targeted entry point. If yes, then the Sniper should begin engaging, while the rest of the squad move from cover to cover getting close. If it’s empty, then the squad can make a mad dash towards that spot.
  
• When in the aura, the +5%/10% movement speed is subtle but still advantageous, making side stepping/jinking or dashing towards cover easier. Thus the 3 man recon team must be aggressive.
  
• If an enemy recon plane is coming, you can take advantage of your hide perks by all going prone and lieing still until the recon plane passes away. This could often surprise enemies, not suspecting anyone to be just 5 meters from them they’d instead focus faraway where they think enemies are.

When reaching the trench and clearing a section, the sniper should move up and take forward positions, while the 3 other members can do the following configurations.
1.) Melee specialist takes point, Guide follows, and Observer holds entry point.

• This is more useful on straight trenches, the speed and sprint boost allows the melee specialist to become a force of nature as he sweeps through the trench.

2.) Observer takes point, Guide follows, and Melee specialist holds entry point.

• This is more useful on winding trenches with a lot of corners, the Observer’s detection ability gives the duo foresight unto incoming enemies.

3.) Guide and Observer holds entry point, then Melee specialist sweeps the trench alone.

• If the one who chooses to sweep the trench dies, he can easily respawn at the entry point, allowing continuous attack. Should the Sniper arrive as reinforcement, it is recommended that the Observer join the Melee specialist.

• When going in pairs, the 2nd person should watch the point man’s back, mainly looking at above the trench or to the flanks. Though in particularly wide trenches or certain situation both can fight frontally.
  
• While yes, in real games it would be hard to discuss tactics on the fly, and you can’t often dictate other team mates especially if you’re not acquainted but just remember one important rule: at least 1 person is left at the entry point to hold the breach.

Defensive Recon
The tactics are pretty much the same as the Infantry’s but the Guide alone or with another partner, can opt to sweep the trench thanks to their increased mobility. As such it is suggested that the Recon Squad fulfill a reserve role. Shifting the entire squad where there is a hole to plug in or where more enemies are attacking on.
Remember, don’t forget to use Recon, and when you do, share the knowledge to the rest of the team. Example would be “Recon: 4 coming left, 2 coming right” or “Recon: big wave moving in left!”
Ambush -The Hide perk can also be used to bait enemies, by having only hide capable members defend a section, they might fool the enemy of an empty section of the trench whenever they call recon. They run in, and bam, a prone Observer/Guide/Melee shoots them dead.

More often called by everyone as gas squads, simply because they have access to Gas artillery. But there is more to them than just that, they are better termed as Assault Squads or Shock Squads due to their equipment being oriented to getting in CQC with the enemy. The squad has varied loadouts that allow them a certain degree in versatility – but still within their job of Assault. They can become Rifle and Pistol infantry; Pistoleer squad, or a Grenadier Squad. Each configuration will be discussed separately alongside their tactics, strengths and weaknesses.

Take note that to truly use the Assault squad correctly, you must have at least (1) A sense of teamwork; (2) cooperation thru communication; (3) Aggression and risk taking behavior. The least developed Assault squads should have the first; while the most effective ones should have all three.


Spawning
Here is something to understand with the Assault squad, you spawn on squad mates if he is inside the Move Order Arrow. Now, like the Recon Squads, the Assault squads actually have 2 arrows. One is placed by the NCO, and the other is automatically found on the middle of the target trench. Both can be used to spawn your squad mates.

To ensure that spawning always works, each and every squad member must do this:
(1) If you die, you must type “5” if you are to about to respawn in 5 seconds. This tells the squad that you are about to spawn, and urges them to seek the move arrow so that you can spawn on them. Alternatively you can use the "Wave Timer" located on top of your minimap, though sometimes some members can easily forget to check it.
(2) If you are alive, you must keep an eye on the squad list on the lower left side of your HUD. It tells you if a squad mate is dead. When that happens, try to get to a move arrow, or near it; So that when you see the “5” warning from them, you can move inside the arrow and they’ll spawn beside you; gratitude in their lips and bloodlust poised to kill the enemies nearby.

The criteria to spawn is that, you’re in the move arrow; no enemy is nearby; and there is a free spawnable point.
Sometimes you’ll find that no one spawns on you, most likely because there is an enemy nearby. Sometimes when you’re the only one alive; only 2 squad member spawn on you, while the 3rd one spawns far away, it means the area around you has no more spawn points available. This happens, now and then and you should be mindful of it. There is also the case of having an invalid spawn point in the move arrow, but this will be discussed in the Assault Leader’s (NCO) section.


**Now when reading the Assault Squad, you can read the specific class you picked, and then read the various squad configurations and their associated tactics.

The Assault Squad’s NCO. They have the important, strategic job of placing Assault orders (hence spawn points) and calling for Gas strikes. He has loadouts that allow him to configure to the 3 squad types: the Rifle Squad, Pistoleer Squad, Grenadier Squad.

• Spawning – take note that spawnable areas include shell craters, foxholes, trenches. To learn them faster, I suggest learning them via playing the Infantry Squad NCO, to know if squad mates spawn on you or not in that spot.
  
• When deploying the Assault Order, try not to put it right beside the Move Order of the target trench as that defeats the purpose, try to span it out. If you’re defending put it on one flank, this way your squad can fan out. If you’re attacking, and is still in no man’s land, put it on a foxhole or shell crater that (1) allows your squad to spawn close and (2) allows the skirmisher in your squad to still engage enemies from that spot. 2, is important, because if you put it in a spot where the squadmate is just standing and/or hiding, their tendency to go in combat will draw them away from it and you end up having no spawn point.
  
• There are 4 types of Gas: Tear Gas (Xylyl Bromide/White Cross) < Chlorine Gas < Phosgen Gas < Mustard Gas. Tear Gas, makes your vision extremely hazy, but takes too long to incapacitate a person. The other 3 gasses have increasing order of incapacitating and killing. The only one I tested so far in game was Mustard gas, which in a few seconds will make you fall to the ground (prone) unable to move and eventually die after a few seconds.
  
• You shouldn’t expect much of gasses killing, it usually just kills dazed and shellshocked (AFK) people, the occasional recruit who doesn’t know he has a gas mask dangling in his belt or those that were preoccupied fighting inside the gas to put their mask on in time. The gas however can be used as effective smokescreen, that allows your CQC oriented squad to get in close with the enemy. Offensively you can drop it right on top of the enemy trench, to make it difficult for defenders to see out; later on when you’re swarming in said trench you could drop it behind the trench, to hinder defenders from using it as a reinforcement path; or make it hazardous for them if a squad mate of yours is guarding the area where the smoke is. The latter tactic can be used when in the defense as well.
  
• **The devs have recently buffed up the Gas, with larger gas clouds and faster incapacitation time. The Gas now has dense and diffuse gas; the diffused gas can be passed through without need of a mask, but is thick enough to serve as a smokescreen. The center areas would be the dense gas where masks are required.
  
• Assault Order – one particular perk of the NCO is that for the next few seconds (5-10secs, haven’t counted yet) of calling the Assault Order, the Assault leader receives a temporary +10% in movement. This burst of speed is an asset, be it from sprinting through no man’s land, to charging through a trench with a pistol or shovel in your hand.
  
• The Infiltration Perk allows you to hide if you’re within a Move arrow. This is useful, hiding inside the enemy trench, serving as a spawn point while enemy recon planes or observers fail to detect you.

The ultimate Lone Wolf Class. The Flanker’s skills are oriented towards working “away” from the squad. He has double the sprint distance and 50% faster stamina regeneration when he’s not near the Move arrows. His loadout includes, CQC weapons like the pistol and shovel, a rifle, and a bag of 5 grenades!

• Your job is to get in fast and hard when the attack starts; You are equivalent to the Recon Squad, in that you can sprint through no man’s land. The difference being, they have to move as a squad, while you can go alone inconspicuously – plus you have a bag of grenades to clear the whole trench.
  
• Your endurance makes you the ideal melee class as well, if you plan to go about with the shovel. Bob and weave, learn to flank and fool the enemy. Go read the Melee Specialist Section of the Recon Squad to learn more about melee tactics. There will be a section later about Shovel/Club martial arts as well.
  
• Grenadier – like the Raider class, the bag of 5 grenades turn them almost like temporary mortars in their own right. They could saturate a section with the grenades, giving the squad or the entire team a relatively clear area to enter in.

The support class of the Assault Squad, he has faster weapon draw time, reload speed and is the only one initially armed with the rifle. He has the option of switching to close combat loadout, and depending on which will either make him the skirmisher tasked with drawing fire and giving cover fire; or another CQC unit. The Weapon Specialist has faster reload time and only gets faster as the squad level increases.

• If you are the rifleman, it is ideal that you serve the job of being the spawn point, during the attack. The NCO can just plot down the move arrow on a foxhole, preferably nearer to the target trench, and you can camp that spot, shooting down enemies in the vicinity where your allies are heading for, and generally drawing fire. Keep an eye on the squad list and kill report, if the squad mate dies, wait for this “5” warning, then you can lie prone on the cover to spawn him. Being in a static spot, keep an eye out for enemy artillery, just look to the skies now and then.
  
• German – MP18i, with this loadout, you turn into a mobile beast with mid to short range capabilities. The MP18i submachinegun has a distinctive sound that alerts the enemy of your presence, hence when you get inside the trench, be sure to aggressively clear it before they manage to adjust and chuck grenades, prepare ambush, or call an arty on your direction. The MP18i can be used in medium range, with quick 2 shot burst. In short range, 3-4 shots will kill enemies. Due to the nature of the netcode, the technique with the SMG is to not wait for enemies to die. Just fire 3-4 shot on them, and immediately switch targets or take cover. Make sure that when you shoot, you are not moving or have very minimal movement to ensure hits. The current nerf of the MP18i is that accuracy is worse when moving as compared to a hipfired Lewis. So try this: aim, shoot burst, move, shoot burst while stopping. Or Aim, shoot burst, un-aim while moving, aim while stopping, shoot, un-aim, move, repeat. These techniques help in frontal fights which will be more common in your situation. Remember – do not fully rely on beating them with overwhelming firepower, learn to bob and weave.
  
• Canadian – the weapon specialist has access to SMLE with stripper clips. That’s a fast bolting weapon, excellent at mid-range, with a quick 5 ammo reload, which becomes faster the higher the squad level is. In a way, it can match the MP18i as a trench clearer.

Like its namesake, this class is oriented towards a shock role or an infiltration role. The former involves throwing up to 5 grenades into during an assault, hopefully clearing out an entire section of the trench. The latter involves hiding and sneaking in the enemy trench, silently killing enemies with melee weapons and defending a section of a trench with a pistol. The class however takes some getting used to as, his stamina regeneration is diminished if he’s not in the assault order, and his infiltration perk only works if he’s in the assault order arrow.

• with the above in mind the Raider class can configure himself into the following roles:
  
• Partner with the Assault Leader, staying close to him. 2 pistols in a trench can have the same stopping power as an SMLE or MP18. The Raider can fill the purpose of point man, so that the Assault Leader doesn’t have to risk himself as much, or the Raider can watch his back.
  
• Grenadier – like the Flanker class, the bag of 5 grenades turn them almost like temporary mortars in their own right. They could saturate a section with the grenades, giving the squad or the entire team a relatively clear area to enter in.
  
• Breach Defender – an important team oriented role, the raider can camp on the assault arrow and defend it from enemy reinforcements. In such a way, the others can focus on clearing the trench, confident that if they die they will be able to spawn on the raider.
  
• Assassin – with the melee club/shovel and the infiltration perk which makes the raider undetectable, he could proceed to ambush any enemies that pass by. Ideal if the Assault leader has managed to place the assault arrow into a good hiding spot like a hide-hole or reverse dugout.

Many of the concepts are already explained in the Melee Specialist’s section, especially for bayonet and certain tactics and behaviors, go read that first before reading these.
Bashing with a Pistol, Rifle butt, Binoculars – unlike the bayonet, this melee does not have an auto snap feature. And it takes 2 hits to kill an opponent. Since there is no auto snap, you can easily maneuver around the opponent. Which is essential if you plan to beat him before he manages to shoot you or bash back. After your first strike, you would like to side step or rotate around your enemy with him in the center (Circumvent). Bash again, then just for good measure (if you miss a bash or two), side step/circumvent again in the same or opposite direction, and bash again. Repeat until opponent dies, or if you’re sure you’ve hit two times already.

Shovel and Trench Club – like the bayonet, these improvised weapons have an auto lock feature. They have a very short range however. But, like the bayonet it only takes one hit to kill your opponent. The fighting style is a mix of the bayonet and that of the Rifle bash above. You’d want to rush in, do one well timed side step, then charge home for a bash. While in the bash animation, you’d want to sidestep or keep running to help you dodge an counter attack of the enemy.
One feature of the Club/Shovel is that you can hold down LMB and you’ll continue to swing the weapon like a psychotic madman. AVOID this mannerism. This habit will only make you lock on the enemy longer, disallowing you from running away or heading straight for the next enemy or dodging another enemy’s attack. Remember, all you need is one hit, one click, so once you see the lock-on animation, then the kill is guaranteed 99% of the time, you can then focus on the next target or running away like a sneaky rat. That 1% of not killing only happens when you move too far away before the bash connects even with the lock-on happening, this happens more often when the enemy is moving away too.

Another important feature of the shovel/club is that it provides you a minor increased movement speed, which makes bobbing and weaving more possible. (Note: there is a very minute speed increase, from increasing order: Carbine < Pistol < Shovel/Club. The normal movement is when holding a rifle)

A general note on Melee
This is the age of bolt action rifles, not Napoleonic bore-loading muskets. So shooting can still take precedence, but melee is a “secondary tactic” often applying on various situations: from running out of bullets with no time to reload, being stealthy sneaking in the trench before the defenders realize, in the heat of combat where there is no time to bolt and the enemy is upon you, or even a chance “bumping into each other” with the enemy from a corner.
Take for example this scenario: You engage enemies along a trench corridor. You have fired your last ammo, you try to take cover to reload but then you saw a grenade fly towards you. With no chance to run away, you can opt to dash forward in a mad attempt to kill someone with your bayonet or rifle butt. To die from a grenade? Or see your chances of dodging bullets and getting to melee range?
Another scenario: You take cover in a hide hole as you reload your weapon, all of a sudden a large group of 3-4 assailants cross pass you. To shoot would alert them for sure, can your bolting be fast enough to kill them before they react? You instead proceed to chase after them, stabbing them in the back in silence before they manage to hear your grunts or (see the kill feed).
Another, actually happened to me. I turned to a corner and fired a whole mag of Luger shots killing 3 assailants, I took cover to reload but I saw 3 others already coming close. I cannot run as there is no cover for me to go to in time. I instead timed so that they’ll be by the corner itself before I burst out of it, swinging my luger wildly. I do not use the circumvent tactic I just run straight through the 3 of them, managing to kill the 2nd and 3rd. Before I turned around to engage the 1st, who managed to fire a shot which I luckily sidestepped, I did a bash, he did a counter bash, but I got to bash again, killing him.

Here we will discuss the various configurations of an Assault Squad and the tactics associated with them.

1. Pistoleer Squad – perhaps how most Assault squads with lower level players will turn into. 3 pistoleers except the Weapon Specialist whom holds the carbine or special weapon.

• the weapon specialist if holding a rifle/carbine is designated to provide supporting fire. While his squadmates go in, his job is to keep an eye on the flanks of their approach shooting at enemy defenders and gaining their attention. If the squad has gained a good foothold, then you’d want to go in as well and stop enemy reinforcements from behind the trench from approaching.
  
• The Assault leader can call in a gas on one section of the trench and the squad can rush into the trench, this makes combat a close ranged affair, the advantages of the rifles and carbines nullified against the pistols.
  
• Pistoleers in small trenches are formidable opponents, especially a pair or trio of them, just make sure not to clusterfack each other.
  
• The Flanker will either lead the charge or approach from another flank, drawing enemy fire or sneaking up behind enemy defenders
  
• The Assault leader and raider would probably be close together as a 2 man team.

2. Grenadier Squad – Perhaps the most ideal configuration for shock purposes. The Flanker and the Raider both use the bag of 5 grenades, and even the Assault leader has 2 grenades in one of his loadouts. While the Weapon specialist has no loadouts with grenades on them. Overall that means 12 grenades, that’s equivalent to 3 precise mortar strikes if the squad decides to expend all their grenades in one go.

• The Grenade Assault – the squad more or less stays together or near each other. Trying to get near the enemy trench, when close enough, they can proceed to throw 2-3 to even all of their grenades. Saturating most of the trench with targeted explosions. When done well, a large section of the trench will be devoid of enemies for quite awhile allowing the squad and nearby teammates to swarm in. (Illustration coming soon)
  
• Of course a weakness would be enemy survivors on the flanks, who could perform an enfilade fire on them. It would be the job of the Weapon Specialist to counter them or take them out.
  
• Advancing Grenades (Illustration coming soon)

3. Rifle Squad – Those who couldn’t handle going with the pistols or clubs often choose these loadouts. That’s fine AS LONG as this does not make the squad behave like skirmishers. If they’re still as aggressive as before, seeking to get in the trench first and foremost; then it is fine.

• The above loadouts can be mixed, but I’m really just trying to paint a picture that would form a mindset for each class to use as a guideline, not hard rules. Generally the Weapon Specialist provides cover and perhaps as a spawn point, the Assault leader calls the gas, designates a spawn point. The Flanker charges first or provides a distraction in a flanking move. The Raider joins the Assault leader and tends to defend the spawn points. Grenades are ideal, Aggression is a must, guile has its uses.
  
• What now if the Weapon Specialist choses to wield an MP18 submachinegun or a webley with bayonet? Then they would have to be as aggressive as if they’re a pistoleer themselves. Another squadmate can switch to rifle and provide support, perhaps ideally the Assault Leader since he’s a good spawn point as well. If not, then the team just needs to be careful making sure the flanks are clear before charging in, or there’s enough gas coverage to protect their advance. The Raider can perhaps serve as the spawnpoint if he reaches the move order.
  
• The tactics discussed are oriented towards the attack, for defense; the squad can assume tactics of the other squads.

Termed as such for being equiped with tools for “digging out” the enemy in entrenched positions, one can look at the engineer squads as “atypical assault squads”. They are good at flushing down the enemy by using disruption tactics. They can call in smoke barrages to cover the advance. Engineer squads spawn on each other as long as one is inside the target trench during the attack, this allows them to put a continuous pressure on the attack. They have the ability to spawn on each other as long as there are in the target trench during the attack. This makes them particularly hard to dislodge during the attack, and allows the squad to put continuous pressure on the enemy.
Instead of a standard move order, Engineer squads have a “destroy order”, this works similar to the move order, but instead gives offensive benefits to the squad. Any enemy near the destroy order will give the squad less suppression, making it easier for the squad to assault said location.

The sergeant’s special ability is to call in smoke mortars which creates a temporary screen of dense smoke. A well timed drop during the attack can make a lot of difference. This smoke is denser than gas. While it is not poisonous, it can easily disorient anyone inside of it, including the attacker. Take note that the basic smoke shell has a wide area but clears very fast - so be sure to exploit it immediately.
Upgraded versions include phosphorous smoke shell which has the additional effect of burning the enemy and last longer than the ordinary smoke. Though don’t expect much on it incapacitating the enemy, it would disrupt and panic them at least.
Another important job of the Sergeant is to coordinate targets with the “destroy target” order. The whole squad gets bonuses for doing actions near or at the order. Enemies near ther order provide less supression when they shoot on you. And any squadmate within the NCO aura and is shooting at the Destroy target area will suppress the enemy more.

This character carries an explosive device used for flushing out enemy concentrations. One might look at this class as a grenadier, but he is better defined as a foot slogger with a grenade. The marine has several grenades, while the pionier has the nasty bundle grenades. The bundle grenades have a really short throw range however, and he only carries one of it. The explosives is best used when assaulting concentrated enemy positions.

The trench sweeper class. Whom has access to nasty weapons and is designated with clearing the trench once the breach is made. Their perks are associated with getting kills near the destroy order marker. They also have a faster stamina regen when near the destroy order marker - giving them a "second wind" after they assault said position. The Marine has access to the trench gun, slow to c_ck and reload but nevertheless is perfect for the narrow trenches, with a single shot able to take out several targets. The Pionier has access to the Wex flamethrower. The wex takes a long time to fire, and to kill, the user must prefire when checking corners.

Wex standard: the wex has a range of 3-3.5 meters and at maximum distance has a cone roughly 1.5-2 meters (Mind you this is just estimated). It has a <100% chance of setting the ground on fire - which lasts roughly 3-4 seconds. Do mind that the fire can burn the wex wielder. It is advisable to aim slightly down, so that you have a chance of causing a burn on the ground - which has the capacity to kill enemies

Wall of fire - when fighting inside trenches this is a practice to obscure your exact location and completely shut down (wall off) a trench. Simply wave your wex left to right, and slightly up and down. For the enemy's perspective he's seeing a wall of fire, unable to exactly pinpoint your exact location - resorting to blind firing - hopefully he doesn't have an automatic weapon with him.

Walking fire - now mix the wall of fire... by walking forward. This makes it particularly useful in long stretches of straight trenches. This will also surprise enemies, often fooling them that you've extended the wex range, when all you did was come closer. With luck and coordination, your teammates would follow suit behind you, realizing the improvised smoke(fire) screen you created. To avoid walking on your own flames and to make it harder for the enemy to track you, move left to right as you advance

Corner prefire - useful when you're certain an enemy is just around the corner waiting for you to pop out. Remember that the wex has a slow pre-fire, and that half second could cost you your life. What you could instead do is fire the wex aiming at the corner. This will initiate a wall of fire effect as well and would catch the enemy off guard. He'd either fall back or hazard blindfiring.

This role provides mobile fire support in the form of semi-automatic and fully automatic weapons. Automatic weapons light enough for this class to sprint with it, unlike the machinegunner class. This allows them flexibility, letting them switch to a support role to an offensive role on the go.

The Marine Base of Fire has access to a modified Chauchat, holding less ammo, but has a bigger caliber, doing more damage. When compared to the original Chauchat, the marine version can kill targets faster, the ammo difference is negligible, as the original Chauchat takes longer to effectively kill targets, hence wasting more ammo. This weapon is better at long ranges, but will still prove useful in CQC, as the suppression effect of a full auto weapon will throw off the enemy’s aim. The Marine also possesses a pistol as a back up fire arm.

The Pionier Base of Fire has access to the Madsen LMG, boasting a faster fire rate, this gun is superior if not marred by the fewer magazines the class carries. On average, the Madsen wielder will run out of ammo faster than the Chauchat gunner. Even if he practices fire discipline, he’d still run out of ammo fast. The Pionier also lacks a sidearm, so he must rely in developing good fire discipline and ammo expenditure instincts. On another loadout, the Pionier has access to the luger with trench magazine, a 32 drum magazine for the luger, giving it the same capabilities as an MP18, limited only by how fast the Pionier can pull the trigger. In terms of Madsen vs Trench Luger – the former has better recoil control and fire rate, but the latter affords better flexibility by sacrificing total firepower.

The squad can assume the tactics similar to other squads. What I will include here are tactics that are sort of unit for the Engineer squad which will be focused solely on the attack.

Assaulting a Position
Presumably, the squad is together nearing an approach. The target could be anything, a bunker/pillbox, a sap, a strongpoint withing the trench. The squad attempts to get close first, the NCO calling smoke to cover their approach if able. The NCO then drops a destroy order marker - and with that, the Base of Fire and NCO pour suppressive fire in area, while the Trench specialist and Obliterator run forward. The sapper throws a grenade over, while the trench specialist enters it clearing out any survivors.
The suppression from the NCO and Base of Fire and the Destroy order marker emplacement is important, as it forces enemies from peering out until its too late. With strong coordination, the Assault should take somewhere between 5-10 seconds, the faster and more violent, the better.

Exploitation element
Once breached, the whole squad should get inside the trench - to fully benefit the perk wherein they spawn on each other if they're inside target trenches. The Base of fire, or NCO can choose to hold one flank, while the Weapon specialist and Sapper/Base of Fire will go an sweep the trench as fast as they can. Once they reach one end, they should sweep back and forth, as their weapons are suited for in-trench combat.

The oldest, the weariest, but the most stalwart of all squads. Their loadouts are similar to the Line squads, but their artillery is replaced by a single shot heavy mortar shell and their grenadier is replaced by a patrol man - more on this later. They are ideal for defense, they can spawn on each other as long as they're on the defensive trench - making them particularly difficult to get rid of by attackers. Upgraded squads give them the body armor perk (only during defense) which makes them resistant to explosions. This means they can stand closer to bombs and artillery explosions without dieing. When close to the move order arrow, they suffer less suppression. Making them better at frontal confrontations. When inside their own trench they also have faster health regeneration.

This come at a cost, weary men as they are, when the attack comes, they lose most of these bonuses. Their role better off as a support fire for the other advancing squads.

The defense commander should organize the defense by looking for a good machinegun spot for his static gunner, plotting down a move arrow on it. Then on bigger maps he should spot for his gunner and his sniper with his binocs. Place the machinegunner where he could either guard a funnel or where he could have a wide view of the battlefield.
Your support call is a single strike heavy mortar shell which is very accurate. And has a bigger AoE than a normal mortar shell. The upgraded version is a long reloading but powerful Railway artillery.

The sentry is akin to the rifleman class, with all its hold breath perk but also gains the benefit of the squad's suppression resistance and health regen. He has access to a scoped rifle making him ideal for taking out enemy snipers that wish to silence the machinegunner in the squad. His weariness in war makes him have less stamina regen during the attack however.

Contrary to his namesake, his experience with his heavy gun allows him to sprint with his weapon allowing him to shift location easily. His name however is gained from his resolution to hold the line at all costs. If he is in the defense sector and in the command aura/move order aura, he gains faster MG reload time. Coupled with the suppression resistance, this allows the Static Gunner to continue fire suppression of the advancing enemy.

Exploit your sprint ability to easily shift around the trench to where the MG is most needed. For further machinegun tactics, look up the section on MG gunner on the Line squad

The runner is the patrolman of the trench, he has double the stamina during defense, allowing him to run back and forth throughout the trench, making him ideal for plugging any gaps. Until the rest of the squad can reinforce him. The Belgian squad's Renner has access to a scoped rifle allowing the squad to field 2 snipers. The Schutzen squad's Bote has access to a Gewer with trench mag, a 20 round magazine allowing him to tie down an entire sector without reloading. Similar to the Sentry, his weariness makes him have less stamina regen rate during the attack.

On the defense
The squad is best suited for the defense and would have similar tactics to the Line squad during defense. Ideally, the NCO and Static Gunner should be together, since the gunner benefits by being near the aura. THe NCO can direct his fire. Similarly the NCO can also spot targets for the Sentry if the latter is using his scoped rifle. The Runner is designated with keeping an eye on any breaches in the line and running to cover it.

If a major breach occurs, the Runner should plug it immediately, while the rest of the squad shift accordingly, remember that the Static Gunner can sprint with his gun on. They can either chose to repel the attack or set up an ambush - with the Runner providing distraction, while the Gunner and Sentry setting up on a funneled area of trench, the Defense Commander can then call in direct mortar strikes within the trench.

On the attack
The squad is best suited for providing suppression and cover fire, they can set up in no man's land, the NCO spotting targets for the machinegunner and the sniper.

The squad might seem like just a rehash of the the infantry squad at first glance, but on further inspection, their perks give them a totally different use.

Here we try to give terminology to the different parts of the trench. There would be multiple names but I’ll just cut it short to the terms that are quick to type and important for gameplay. They definition might vary slightly from the real world use, but it’s thematically similar in my opinion.

Section – refers to a general area in the trench that is usually a defensible point be it a foxhole/shell hole or a barricaded area. The terms you’d often hear would be left, mid (shorter and better term than “center”), right, far left, far right. If one is referring to inside the trench itself, must would use the term “In”/ “Inside” or “Breach” when they usually add gravity to the situation. (e.i. In left, breach mid!)

Bunker – a roofed structure built of cement, almost always impervious to artillery strikes unless the person inside is too close to a door or window. Could be a neat place to fall back into. Bunkers often have 1-2 rooms in it. It’s a good place to defend in, though usually you’d become too obvious from snipers and marksmen, so its always a tradeoff. Riflemen are more protected if they use the quick scope and duck tactic while inside it. Machinegunners are a little bit riskier to deploy when using its windows. If the gunner is skilled enough to spot and pick off enemies, even the sniper from all the way across no man’s land, then he’ll have a formidable position countered only by a well placed grenade or mortar strike.

Pillbox – a roofless structure with firing ports/windows usually made of wood or sandbags. This offers some degree of protection from grenades, but none at all from artillery strikes. Its still better than the normal trenches in that it affords a windowed defense or “funneling”.
Perhaps the only exception to the description would be a German pillbox in the Picardie map. It’s still termed as a pillbox, unique in that it has a roof, and 4 doors, but it is very prone to grenade and artillery strikes due to the large doors.

Sap – synonymous to a “forward trench” These are trenches that jut out perpendicularly or diagonally from the main trench, heading towards the front. The opposite would be a reverse sap trench. These are very important parts since they will often be the target entrance of enemy attackers. The best way to defend it is to man the sap. The only downside is it’s prone to artillery attack, and any good NCO would often target it regardless of defender presence.

Dugout – a small excavation on a side of a trench, where a simple roof and some seats are built for men to rest on. In combat this serves a purpose as cover during trench CQC. You’ll often see this in maps like Argonne, and notoriously at Artois. Invaders and defenders alike would often take cover here to reload or even set up ambushes from this spot. This is colloquially known as “hidehole”

Slit Trench – smaller trenches often found in no man’s land. They’re a good place to stage attacks, or use as spawn sites. In that aspect they’re good places to call artillery on.

Coordination and Communication, rather than rattling about how important it is or how beneficial it is, I will go straight ahead on how to do various forms of which.

The first of which is the slightly ubiquitous chat commands accessed by pressing E or X (depends on yours settings). While holding E allows you push to talk, tapping E opens up the chat widget. Try using them more often, the more your practice it with your squad, the more familiar you are with each other’s meanings. Even if you’re playing with strangers, sometimes they’ll have the common sense or the intellect to gleam your meaning with “Enemies on the left”.

“Enemies on the left/right” – if you’re defending, this could mean where the main push of the enemy attack is. In close quarters, one might assume the enemy is just nearby. If you’re attacking, this could mean where the enemy defenders are concentrated on.
“Enemies incoming” – we often use this to denote enemy attackers driving straight to the center. Or in a messy in-trench combat, it means enemies are making their way along the trench.
“Enemies behind us” – rarely used, but if you’re into baiting/ambush tactics with your squad, the bait can used this to denote incoming prey.
“Take Cover” – we used this to spot for incoming artillery. Once you hear this or see it in your chat screen, its best to take a look at the skies to check for artillery trails.
“All clear” – sometimes once a unit is pushed backwards, they refuse to advance and retake old positions. Sometimes a simple clarification that is safe is enough to make them push forward.
“Thanks/You’re Welcome” – acknowledgements can build camaraderie, even if only one person is doing it, it can be infectious, and soon enough, you’ll have some degree of brotherly bond with the random stranger on your squad. Whenever you’re spawned successfully, or saved by a team mate, show some gratitude.
“Yes/No” – confirmations and dissent among squad members can determine whether they can follow through with a certain actions or not. For example, whenever a squadmate calls for “throw a grenade; cover me; take out sniper” a simple response of a “yes” or “no” can determine their next plans –whether it tells them that they’re supported or they’re alone and have to look for other approaches to his problem. Another example is that when a squadmate calls for an “attack”, a response of a “yes” can assure him that someone is following him or attacking alongside him; while a response of “no” can mean anything from “you’re on your own” to “wait, don’t attack”.

Still to come:
-Illustrations on Assault Squad Tactics
-Defending Trenches
-Pictures for the parts of Trench Parts
-Illustrations for the Smoke support call
-Illustrations for the Engineer squad, assault tactic