Blitzkrieg or Deep Operations
Getting behind the enemy lines. Disrupting lines of supply and communication. Ambushing unprepared backline units. Bypassing centers of resistance, then surrounding them and reducing them when you can concentrate sufficient force. Destroy the enemy's will to fight and his ability to do so. There is some question as to whether "Blitzkrieg" was actually a planned, coherent strategy for Germany in World War II, and it seems that the Soviet concept of "Deep Operations" or "Deep Battle" does cover most of the same ideas. Regardless of it's intention or origin, it remains a very effective way to do battle, but how does it apply to 40k?

Many players would say that it doesn't apply at all to 40k. Since units don't run out of fuel or ammo, there aren't really any supply lines to be cut. Similarly, since the enemy army is (usually) controlled by a single person who can typically see the whole map, you can't really disrupt it's lines of communication. (With the exception of leadership tests and penalties or rules that force their units to do something other than what the player wants.) 40k is also relatively small in scale and shallow in terms of distance from the front line of the battle in question. This means you cannot penetrate deep behind enemy lines into a space where opposing units won't be expecting you. You also cannot bypass the entire enemy force to strike at strategic targets. Okay, enough from the nattering nabobs of negativity, what _can_ we do? Fear not, I will tell you.

It's all Relative
First, though the battle space is small and shallow, it is also _compressed_. Artillery, which in real life is usually miles from the front, is just at the back of the board in a 40k game. Furthermore, headquarters (again, usually miles from the front) is also represented on the board. Similarly, reinforcements in the form of fire support and countercharge units are often only 6 inches away from the front line and even deeper reserves show up at the board edge. These are all much higher value (in terms of raw points as well as combat effectiveness) than frontline units, and their loss can quickly put the opponent in a bind.

However, the destruction of high-value targets isn't the only effect your units can have by penetrating behind the main line of combat. Players will often use backline units as a mobile, fast reserve, allowing them to reinforce frontline units that are in danger of collapsing. By operating behind their lines, you are cutting their frontline units off from this support. "Alright, let's do this thing! ...Uh, how do I get there?" Have patience and we'll get there.

Let's just pull these FireWarriors out of the way, shall we?

Make a Hole!
The primary impediment to getting behind the enemy line is the enemy line. Those units over there are designed to keep you firmly in front of the line, so you need a way to get around or past them. If you have very fast units or the opponent deployed poorly, you can simply move around them. Most of the time this won't be an option, however. The opponent will usually spread them wide to create an effective barrier and ensure that your units have to engage his frontline units first. In that case, you need a way of moving those units out of the way. If you take time to wipe them out, however, you won't be operating at the tempo that you want to achieve, and you'll be falling into any traps (such as nasy countercharge units) that the enemy has planned for you. On the other hand, if you can just pull them to the side a little, you have room to shove a spearhead of your units through the gap. Fortunately, we have rules that permit this. Take a less-powerful unit, clump it up and have it charge one side of the unit in question. Any unengaged models in the unit that is charged will have to move up to 6" toward the charging unit, pulling them out of your way. The unit that charges them doesn't have to be very powerful. Heck, it doesn't even need to survive the first round of combat, though it would be better if it can survive a couple of turns.

Note that you will need to be prepared if you want this to work at it's most effective. You need to have your power units ready to use their charge movement to move through the gap created and hit a backline unit immediately. In practice, it will look like your main units are poised directly in front of the enemy frontline, ready to charge. Then your "spreading" units will hit the sides of the enemy frontline, moving them. At that point, your main units will charge past the line to hit the backline units. Although you can usually be successful at this with a unit that has a 6" charge range (most backline units are only a few inches behind the frontline units) it will be much easier if you have a longer charge range.

The opponent will attempt to close the gap as quickly as possible. This is where the Soviet Deep Operations concept of expanding the gap and "holding the shoulders open" comes to the fore. Start by performing the maneuver above, but do your unit-pulling on opposite sides of 2 adjacent units in the enemy line. (Two units next to each other. Pull one in one direction and the other in the other direction, giving you a bigger gap to fit through.) Make sure that these units can survive for a few turns, to keep the shoulders of the gap open. Not only will they hold those units in place (thus keeping the gap open,) but the ensuing combats will also block other frontline units from moving into the gap and closing it. Although you will get the most psychological advantage from this maneuver on the first turn you use it, allowing more of your units to pour through the gap allows you to continue wreaking havoc behind enemy lines and get most of your army back there to hit those backline units.

Backline Unit: Counterchargers
If these exist in the enemy army, they should be your first priority as targets, since if you leave them alone, they can cause massive damage to your units in a short amount of time. (Which is, after all, their entire reason for existence.) Countercharge units are meant to work by allowing another unit to receive the enemy charge, then they charge the enemy unit, getting the charge bonus. If you can charge them first, you take away a lot of their potential damage. It's even better if you can weaken them a little with some firepower first. If you can swing it, it's even better to assault them with an asymmetrical unit. If you can use a unit they'll have a hard time hurting, it'll make it way easier. For example, use initiative power weapons against powerfist terminators, use Dreads or Terminators against squads with mostly basic attacks or a small number of attacks, etc.

Backline Unit: Support Units
These units are typically less effective in close combat, so you don't need powerful units to hit them. Even very basic squads will be able to kill them or tie them up for several turns, which will make them nearly useless. An example of a support unit might be a Devastator squad or an IG Heavy weapons team.

Backline Unit: Artillery
Artillery covers vehicle units that have good firepower but little or no close combat ability. For example, a Predator or even a Dreadnaught with no close combat weapon. These will require higher strength than other units, but won't need many attacks. Being shooting vehicles, they can be effectively neutered by simply shaking them every turn. Failing that, a few attacks with a powerfist should make short work of an artillery unit. After countercharge units, these are probably the most important parts of the opposing army to disrupt during your deep operations, but they don't have to be destroyed right away.

Backline Unit: Headquarters
Headquarters units vary the most widely. Many are very nasty in close combat, so they should be treated much like countercharge units. (Firepower to weaken, take the charge away, try to hit them with something they'll have more difficulty with, etc.) Other headquarters units (such as Tau Ethereals or Imperial Guard command squads) are typically weaker and can be treated much like support units. (Hit them with a lesser unit and tie them up or kill them over a few turns.)

Other Hi-jinks: Trapped!
One more thing you can use to your advantage in your deep operations is the Trapped rule. If you can prevent a falling back unit from falling back toward their table edge, you can destroy it without lifting a finger. Your units are already behind their lines, so take advantage of it. This will mostly only effect the frontline units that you hit to create the gap, but every little bit helps. On the same subject, units that you break behind the lines have a good chance of falling off the board edge before they rally, especially if you have units within six inches of them. So pull those units out of the way, hold the shoulders of the gap open and let your army pour through into their backline. If you organize it correctly, you can open the gap and hit some of their backline units on the same turn. By changing the situation and the tempo of the game so dramatically, you may catch them so flat-footed that they will never catch up.

Don't Shoot!
Note that these tactics work much better for assault armies or shooting/counterassault armies than for shooting armies. Generally, you don't want your shooting units wandering around behind your opponent's lines (with the possible exception of Sisters of Battle.) On the other hand, you can potentially take advantage of gap creation through using weak units to pull enemy frontline units out of the way, thus negating the cover save they might have given their backline units. On the other hand, given the turn order, your weak units will have to survive that first round of combat to keep the gap open. Except against certain, specific situations, it probably isn't worth it for a shooting army to attempt this. On the other hand, if you've got lots of plasma weaponry and they are hiding their Terminators behind Scouts, you might want to take the risk. (Or if they are a better shooting army than you, but you can beat them in close combat...)

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