Marine Rifle Squad

9-24
(4) Shock Action. Firepower, armor protection, and mobility of the
tank, when properly employed, provide shock action.
b. Limitations
(1) Inherent. Size, weight, noise, and limited observation are inherent
limitations.
(2) Natural Obstacles. Terrain limits the employment of tanks. Deep
mud, rocky or stumpy ground, dense woods, swamps, arid extremely
rough ground limit their use. Rolling terrain, where cross-country mobility
can be exploited, is the best type terrain for tank operations.
(3) Manmade Obstacles. Manmade obstacles canalize tank movement
and restrict their employment. Obstacles frequently encountered are tank
ditches, tank traps, and roadblocks reinforced with antitank mines and
overwatched by antitank weapons. Urban areas are also considered obstacles
to the employment of tanks.
9303. Tank and Infantry Teamwork
There are two important areas in which tanks interact with an infantry
squad: movement to contact and actions on contact (including attacks). In
both instances, squad leaders working with tanks should, avoid a mind-set
involving rigid formations or notions of the tank's invulnerability.
a. Movement to Contact. During movement to contact, the tank's longrange
firepower provides protection against enemy armor and enemy infantry.
The infantry provides protection for the tanks against short-range
ambush by enemy infantry. Clearly, tanks and infantry complement one
another.
(1) Open Terrain. In open terrain, tanks provide overwatch for the infantry
as they move forward. The infantry, in turn, may provide overwatch
for the tanks. See FMFM 6-11, Tactical Fundamentals for Mechanized
Operations (under development), for a thorough discussion of the overwatch
movement technique. (See fig. 9-3.)