More quality Iraq based insight from the Bloggosphere. This time from a man who knows his military military strategy. I got so sick of journalists espousing theories about their embedded units, speaking of military tactics. As I noted in my posts on the BBC Series Time Commanders the average joe layman, and yes reporter, knows sweet FA about strategy.
Even playing Warhammer or some other Tabletop battlegame at tournament level teaches you a thing or too about the most basic principles of military strategy, enfilading, refused flank, firebases. Lessons which have been learned and applied throughout time as they faded in and out of relevancy. Journalists speaking about alleys and cramped buildings being detrimental to coalition forces was the stupidest thing I've ever heard.
Yes buildings are dangerous but the American forces spend months drilling their building clearing using techniques pioneered and perfected by the SAS. Rogue fighters had a better chance of not being gunned down in an open street than they did standing in a room with a Kalishnikov waiting for a room clearing squad to kill them before they even fired a round.
The author however concerns himself with the larger scale of things pointing out that the Baathists still don't have a viable battleplan, despite having changed tack no less than 5 times.
I saw a ridiculous Doonesbury today where one soldier claims that the US doesn't have an answer to the mounted mortar brigades of the Baathists. Unsurprisingly this defeatist attitude isn't prevalent amongst coalition forces, in fact these 'motorcycle mortars' are indicative of desperation and poor military planning. Mortars are an inaccurate weapon when deployed by anything less than a well trained professional, I wouldn't bank on even fedayeen fighters being capable of deploying them effectively before having to scarper on a motorcycle.
Leaving immediately also thoroughly negates one of the mortar's primary purposes - to suppress the enemy and allow for a follow up assault or to allow your other forces to retreat. They are a weapon that is to be used to achieve a goal ancillary to the primary objective ie: keeping their heads down so you can kill more of them. All it proves is that the Baathists have finally realised that fighting coalition forces "up close and personal" is simply not an option. (Especially not after the massacre they received against the 4th Infantry Division - 46 dead, 18 wounded and 8 captured against 5 wounded, with no life threatening injuries on the coalition side: sounds like they got "Pwned" in my book)
Good luck "driving out the infidels" with those tactics.
Let the Glorious Ass-Handing Continue!
Later
John
Posted by John Swaine at December 2, 2003 11:43 PM | TrackBack