After defining the battlefield environment and describing the battlefield’s effects; it is now time to take this understanding and utilize it to analyze the enemy.

The terrain in the urban environment dramatically impacts both the way a defender defends and an attacker attacks. It provides ach side numerous opportunities to exploit.

Fighting in urban areas is a nasty business. Unfortunately, there seem to be fewer and fewer alternatives for now and into the near future.

What happens when you’re ordered to attack, but you do not quite know where the enemy is or what he is up to?

The crossing of a river (unopposed and especially opposed) can truly be an emotional event for all those involved.

A breaching operation is not an end in itself. It is merely an intermediate action that must be accomplished in order for you to achieve your ultimate objective and mission.

In this article, we will address the following areas: a quick overview of the offense, a discussion on what is the deliberate attack, the phases of the deliberate attack and how the battlefield operating systems can assist the commander.

Beginning this month, we will start a series of articles on the offense. This month we will key on some basics just so we are all talking the same language.

In this month’s article, we will focus on decision-making and in particular how we can make more timely and relevant decisions on the battlefield.

This month we will focus our efforts on the final two steps of the process: Evaluating the Threat and Determine Threat Courses of Action.

In this article we will focus on a few key concepts. First, we will define what IPB is. Second, we will discuss why IPB is so critical to success.

One reason the services may have trouble operating jointly is that they don’t speak the same language. For example, if you told Navy personnel to “secure a building” they would turn off the lights and lock the door.

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then the importance of a picture (with clear, implicit graphics) can not be understated.

In part eight of our series, we discuss the importance of a reserve to maintain flexibility on the battlefield.

It’s time to sit back and cogitate what we have already learnt in our monthly series.

Now that we are some six months into our series, it’s time for some homework, by the left, quick, write!