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Tactics 101 040 – The Ground Tactical Plan in Air AssaultRick Baillergeon and John Sutherland | August 07, 2009 | 0 comments | Print | E-mail The Hub of the MatterThe Ground Tactical Plan“It may be of interest to future generals to realize that one makes plans to fit circumstances and does not try to create circumstances to fit plans. That way lies danger”. – Gen. George S. Patton LAST MONTH THIS MONTH INTRODUCTION
Before we begin — Debnam Pass is narrow gap in a rugged mountain complex north of Fort Irwin proper. The gap chokes down to around 600 meters at its narrowest point and forms a 2 km lane from west to east. So there we were … During prep, around 18 hours before we expected the attack, the sky to our west filled with Blackhawk Helicopters. It appeared that the enemy was coming much sooner than we expected. We scrambled our BMP’s and Tanks to their fighting positions while the infantry clamored up the walls of the narrow pass to their holes in the desert. The Blackhawks set down on the west side of a hilltop about 6km away from us. In just a minute, the birds were back up and headed back in the direction from which they came. It had all happened too fast for us to react to, at a time we hadn’t expected, and in a location that seemed useless to them. We were on the edge for the rest of the day and into the night. As the sun set, there was still no sign of the infantry that must have emerged from those helicopters. Around 2300, the valley filled with the unmistakable sound of engine noise from armored vehicles. Soon, we realized there were six Sheridan tanks making there way towards us. These were armored recon vehicles (no longer in the inventory). We had a brief engagement with the Sheridan’s in which one or two of them were hit and the rest withdrew. Again, nothing came of it and we waited. A few hours later, I heard a noise behind my position. I looked from my hatch and couldn’t see anything, but I could clearly hear voices. As I concentrated, it soon became apparent that I was seeing the troops who had unloaded from the helicopters some 15 hours earlier. A company of infantrymen was descending upon me and I knew I was done for. This unit knew what it was doing. They knew our motorized rifle battalion had firepower, air defense, artillery support and mobility so they didn’t try to land on top of us. They also didn’t land in an open area that we could easily drive to. They landed within the security zone and immediately faded into the rugged mountain terrain that our armor could not negotiate. We had to wait for them and they came in the dead of night from the rear. The time and place was excellent and played to the Air Assault Task Force (AATF) strengths. Pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7Tags: Military History, modern warfare, war
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