FM 100-5 Operations - Survival Ebooks Military Manuals Survival ...

WWW.SURVIVALEBOOKS.COMFM 100-5ManeuverManeuver is both an element of combat power anda principle of war and is discussed at length under thoseheadings elsewhere in this manual. Maneuver is movementrelative to the enemy to put him at a disadvantage.Commanders maneuver their forces to create theconditions for tactical and operational success. Bymaneuver, friendly forces gain the ability to destroythe enemy or hinder his movement through the director indirect application of lethal power or threat thereof.Tactical maneuver is done to gain operational results.As the commander develops his concept of operationand considers the maneuver of all his forces, he is carefulto retain a balance in the application of maneuver,firepower, and protection. The nature of this balanceestablishes the priorities and relationships of maneuverto the other combat functions as the commandertranslates the art of his vision of operations to the scienceof detailed planning and execution of combatfunctions.Maneuver refers to the employment of forcesthrough offensive or defensive operations to achieverelative positional advantage over an enemy force toachieve tactical, operational, or strategic objectives.Generating combat power on the battlefield requirescombining the movement of combat forces and employmentof their direct fires in combination with firesupport. The more immediate the combat in time andspace, the more intertwined are maneuver and firepower.An assaulting platoon maneuvers under supportingfires, while putting forth a base of fire of itsown. The higher the level, the more one establishesthe conditions for the other. The breakout of Americanground forces at St. Lo in 1944 was achieved inthe wake of carpet bombing by the allied air forces;the encirclement of German forces by allied groundforces some time thereafter set up the punishing airattacks that decimated the trapped enemy. In eithercase, maneuver and firepower were parts of the samewhole.Fire SupportSynchronizing fires with maneuver is critical tothe successful prosecution of combat operations. Commanderssynchronize organic and supporting joint fireassets with their scheme of maneuver through the combatfunction of fire support.Fire support is the collective and coordinated employmentof the fires of armed aircraft, land- and seabasedindirect fire systems, and electronic warfaresystems against ground targets to support land combatoperations at both the operational and tactical levels.Fire support is the integration and synchronization offires and effects to delay, disrupt, or destroy enemyforces, combat functions, and facilities in pursuit ofoperational and tactical objectives.Generating effective firepower against an enemyrequires that organic and supporting fires be coordinatedwith other combat functions such as intelligence,logistics, and battle command. Subordinate systemsand processes for determining priorities, identifyingand locating targets, allocating fires assets, attackingtargets, and assessing battle damage must be fully integrated.Fire support provides for the planning andexecution of fires so the right targets are adequatelyattacked to achieve the commander’s intended effects.Commanders are responsible for fighting their fireand maneuver assets. They fight much of their firesthrough the function of fire support, because much ofthe combat power of fires is not from within their chainof command but from external resources. Consequently,the ability to employ all available firesthroughout the depth of the battlefield as an integratedand synchronized whole is done through the processof fire support planning, coordination, and execution.Fire support is the function that binds fire resourcestogether so that the multiple effects of each asset aresynchronized with the force commander’s intent andconcept of operation.Air DefenseAir defense operations are key when generatingcombat power. They provide the force with protectionfrom enemy air attack, preventing the enemy fromseparating friendly forces while freeing the commanderto fully synchronize maneuver and firepower.Air defense operations are performed by all membersof the combined arms team; however, groundbasedair defense artillery (ADA) units execute thebulk of the force-protection mission. These units protectdeployed forces and critical assets within a theaterarea of responsibility (AOR) by preventing enemyaircraft, missiles, and remotely piloted and unmannedaerial vehicles (RPV/UAV) from locating,striking, and destroying them.The threat to friendly forces and combat functionsis significantly greater than in the past due to weaponsof mass destruction and the proliferation of missiletechnology. The potential for catastrophic loss of soldiers,time, or initiative, forcing a change to operationalobjectives, requires a greater role for2-13