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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Dr. Strangemonkey" data-source="post: 913892" data-attributes="member: 6533">I would guess that dwarf battle tactics focus on small units and dwarf strategy focuses and forcing enemies to retreat from untenable positions or move into killing zones.  In general, I think that dwarves would see warfare is predominantly a problem of position pressure, afterall, these are primary concepts of mining, stoneworking, and smithing, and they are fighting in situations where space is the most limited and limitable factor.All of this based on the premise that they would try to make aboveground tactis an extension of below ground tactics.In tight quarters, small highly coordinated units make maximum use of the terrain.  On the other hand, such tight environments and micro organization makes direct assault impossible.  To combat this, I would imagine that small forces hold dwarven enemies in a position as other forces work to flank or weaken that position to the point that the enemy either retreats or the dwarves can overwhelm them quickly.  The other tactic is to pull enemy forces out of a tight space and into a dwarf controlled killing field.  Both of these involve a high level of planning, information control, and well thought out individual initiative.For that coordination I would imagine that Dwarves would rely on a variety of clever communication systems, but primarily on corps of officers who had a great deal of confidence in the similarity of their training, the quality of their troops, and their ability to draw conclusions from available information.In the above ground field I think Dwarves would seek to maximize their comparitive strategic advantages through lots of night movement, forced marches, and as much information and knowledge of the terrain as they can get.  For that information I would imagine they would rely heavily on clerics.  In a battle I think they would take advantage of any and all terrain advantages to create a complicated battlefield which enemies would seek to penetrate only to run into dwarven war machines and killing fields.  That and flanking maneuvers/hits on supply trains.  At the very least I can see them adopting Swiss broken front tactics, where small fronts of infantry attack the enemy line at different points and times in the hope that a charge by the reserve will break the then deformed line.Once again a spatial emphasis focusing on destroying an enemies ability to bring pressure to bear properly.Crossbows all over the place, least amount of room to use properly save for small throwing weapons.  Lots of shields, light fortifications, and allies who move quickly.Earthdawn had a Dwarven empire.This would also extend from a very pragmatic Lawful Good alignment, they wouldn't be big on needlessly wasting their own men or needlessly slaughtering their enemies.</blockquote>

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