1963 US Army Vietnam War Armor Operations ... - Survival Books

WWW.SURVIVALEBOOKS.COM(1) Attack directly from march formation develop wherein the initiative of the engagedas rapidly as his units are available commanders; the experience of the troops; andfor employment.the fire and striking power, particularly of(2) Reconnoiter and block the enemy with tanks, will be decisive.forces in contact until other units can g. Minimum control measures are used. Howbecommitted in a coordinated effort, ever, commanders at all levels must retain aeither offensively or defensively, as firm hand on their units and not allow coorditheybecome available.nation to be impaired by the necessity of com-(3) Attempt to break contact and bypass mitting units rapidly or piecemeal. Lack of cotheenemy force.ordination may cause subordinate units to beb.The paramount objective of the corn- come engaged in individual fights that do notmander fighting a meeting engagement is to assist the force mission. Achievement of timelygain and retain the initiative. In so doing he coordination regardless of the many difficultiesmay adopt one or a combination of the afore- is the mark of a skilled leader.mentioned courses of action that will contributemost effectively to the accomplishment of his 211- Conduct of the Meeting Engagementmission. Without the initiative, he can only re- a. The desired goal in the meeting engageactto the enemy's actions.ment is to strike the enemy force continuouslyc. The character of the battle is such that the until he ceases to exist as a fighting entity. Thecommander must use bold initiative to quickly armor commander must orient his forcesdevelop the situation. Frequently, aggressive against the enemy and strike violently and reactionmust be initiated despite the vagueness lentlessly. The terrain may offer such an adanduncertainty of the situation. Mobile forces vantage that it will be best to defend, inflictare required to develop the situation rapidlyand aggressively to seize an initial tacticallosses on the enemy, and then counterattackwith all available forces. This is particularlyadvantage.true when the enemy has superior tank strength.d. Success in the meeting engagement re- b. The security elements will normally be thequires that the enemy be kept off balance by first to contact the enemy. The initial fightingoffensive actions while the attacker retains by security elements is particularly importantproper balance to follow up rapidly the gains to the successful continuation of the engageofinitial actions. Accomplishment of this com- ment and is of great concern to the commander.plex goal depends largely upon aggressive re- These forces must make a rapid reconnaissanceconnaissance and rapid deployment and com- as accurate information is required by the commitmentof forces from the march formation in mander from the outset.: They may attack ora coordinated effort.block the enemy, making it possible to occupye. The tempo and speed of this fight dictates important terrain.that the commander take personal control with c. Forces in the march column deploy rapidlyminimum reliance on written or formal instruc- and are normally committed to the fight whiletions through normal staff channels. His de- on the move to achieve tactical surprise. Certaincision should be based on firsthand knowledge forces may be deployed adjacent to the routeand, if practicable, on personal reconnaissance. of march and constitute the commander'sHe should move quickly to the scene of action, reserve.make a rapid estimate of the situation, formu- d. Artillery supports the security forces andlate a simple plan, and issue fragmentary forces committed to the action from the marchorders to the force by radio to facilitate speed formation. Artillery units quickly move as farof execution.forward as possible to provide the required firef. Speed and combat power are required in support. This maneuver is essential because thethis uncertain and vague situation. When confines of the fight cannot be predeterminedfriendly and enemy forces attack simultane- and may evolve only as the engagementously from the march formation, fighting may continues.AGO 9139A 107