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

WWW.SURVIVALEBOOKS.COMand cross in scheduled waves, or layoff first. If the beach is undefended they may allin a designated area awaiting the land at the same time.order to land in on-call waves. Landingcraft must be disembarked to 379. Time and Place of Landingreach the line of departure or landing a.'In an amphibious operation tanks arebeach at the time designated in the needed as soon as the initial wave of assaultassault schedule. Upon crossing the troops land; therefore, they should be landed atline of departure, they continue di- the earliest possible time. Against a beach unrectlyto the beach.defended by antitank weapons and obstacles,(2) Because of the shallow draft of the tanks may be landed in advance of, or with, theLCU and LCM, vehicles should make infantry; however, a beach strongly defendeda relatively dry landing. However, if by antitank weapons and obstacles prevents thethey must emerge from the ramp into early landing of tanks.uncertain waters, they should have b. The scheme of maneuver is designed toguides-individuals, markers, buoys, accomplish the mission in the most expedientor LVT's-to insure that they reach manner. Therefore, a place and time of landingshore without striking mines or other for armor units should be selected that will supobstaclesor being drowned out in port most satisfactorily the scheme of maneuver.underwater potholes. Once ashore, c. The type and number of ships and craftsarmor units join the infantry units to available to transport tanks may determinewhich attached, and assault and exe- where the unit must land, and will determinecute the beach passage, seizing at least the rate of buildup of tank strength ashore.enough ground to protect the beach d. The beach gradient, offshore reefs or sandfromaimed small arms fire. Armored bars, navigability of the approach lanes, andcavalry units proceed to execute as- the waters surrounding the objective area insignedmissions.fluence the choice of the landing site. A beachc. When assured that the landing beaches are should be selected where the soil is trafficablelightly defended, and that terrain and hydrog- and the gradient not too steep. It should haveraphy conditions permit, tanks and armored routes of egress ample to sustain the momenpersonnelcarriers or landing vehicles, tracked, tum of the attack, and so located that they suppersonnel(LVTP) are embarked on LST's for port the scheme of maneuver The landing oftanks will be delayed where offshore reefs bardebarkation directly onto the beach. The armorpassage of tank-laden craft, the gradient isassault team landing should be loaded aboard poor for beaching, soil trafficability is poor, orthe LST with the vehicles positioned to land where it is necessary to emplace causeways.tanks first. When the LST's beach, tanks debarkand proceed immediately to points of egress breached or overcome before the main tankfrom the beach.landings if losses are to be minimized and thed. Task organization and loading may pro- momentum of the attack sustained. Obstaclesvide for contingency landing plans. When pre- offshore, on the beach, or inland from the placeparing for landing on a beach where the prob- of landing, whether natural or manmade,ability of defense is low, tanks should be em- should be avoided. If avoidance is impossible,barked to permit an assault landing against the a site should be selected where they can bedefended beach, while still possessing a sub- breached most easily.sequent exploitation potential. This may be ac- f. Tanks in tank landing craft present acomplished when the armor unit is sufficiently profitable target for well-placed antiboatlarge, by placing some of the tank units aboard weapons. These weapons may influence theLSD's preloaded with LCU's or LCM's, while place of landing or cause delay, as they must bethe remainder of the armor unit is aboard avoided or neutralized.LST's. The enemy situation in the landing area g. In the selecting of a landing site for tanks,will decide the mission and units that will land trafficability inland from the beach must be con-192 AGO 9139A