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LESSON 1
FUNDAMENTALS OF DEFENSE
TASK
Identify the fundamentals of defense.
CONDITIONS
Given the subcourse material for this lesson, a training scenario and extracts, as applicable, the student will complete the practice exercise at the end of this lesson.
STANDARD
The student will demonstrate his comprehension and knowledge of the task by identifying the fundamentals of defense.
REFERENCE
GENERAL
Defensive operations retain ground, gain time, deny the enemy access to an area, and damage or defeat attacking forces. While they can sometimes deny success to the enemy, they cannot normally assure victory. At higher levels, even a defensive strategy designed to deny success will require offensive components to preclude defeat. While viewing defense as the less decisive form of war, Clausewitz, Jomini, and Son Tzu maintained that it is the stronger one. For one thing, it is easier to deny the enemy his ends than to achieve a positive aim. Moreover, the advantages of cover and concealment, advance siting of weapons, shorter lines of supply, and operations on familiar terrain and among a friendly population generally favors the defense. The only advantage the attacker has is the initial choice of when and where to strike. The major challenge of the defense is to overcome this initial offensive advantage.
This lesson explains the purposes and the characteristics of defensive operations, and explains the broad defensive patterns prevalent in all defenses.
Learning Event 1:
IDENTIFY THE PURPOSE AND CHARACTERISTICS OF DEFENSIVE OPERATIONS
There are many examples in military history which illustrate that there are characteristics which are common to all successful defensive operations. These characteristics will be discussed below.
HISTORICAL CONTEXT
A successful defense consists of reactive and offensive elements working together to deprive the enemy of the initiative. An effective defense is never purely passive. The defender resists and contains the enemy where he must but seeks every opportunity to go over to the offensive. Early in a campaign or defensive battle, such opportunities will be local and limited. As the situation develops, they will become more numerous. This is especially true when the defender takes steps to uncover enemy vulnerabilities and to confuse or disorganize his force. When the attacker exposes himself, the defender's reserves or uncommitted forces counterattack. The defense that successfully destroys the coherence of enemy operations can ultimately defeat his uncoordinated forces.
While reactive measures may halt the enemy, early counterattacks improve the chances for success. The defense can greatly damage the enemy only when early counterstrokes accompany the reactive phase of the battle.
An example (figure 1) of counterattacks occurred in the Battle of Tannenberg fought in East Prussia in August 1914. The German Eighth Army was defending against two Russian Armies. The Russian First Army had made significant advances in the North. Rather than vacate the position, the German high command directed a counterattack. The new German commander (General Paul von Hindenburg) adopted a plan conceived by his chief of operations. This plan called for the concentration of the German forces against the Russian Second Army in the South, while retaining a cavalry screen (division size) against the Russian First Army in the North. Within five days, the Russian Second Army broke up in panic, with a loss of 125,000 men and 500 guns.
The German commander then turned his attention toward the Russian Second Army. This force was soon defeated and driven out of East Prussia. In this defensive campaign, the Germans lost some 10,000 men while imposing losses of over 250,000 men on their opponents and effectively ending the Russian threat to their eastern provinces. The Tannenberg operation achieved the German Theater goal in East Prussia through a defensive campaign characterized by aggressive offensive tactics.
PURPOSES OF DEFENSIVE OPERATIONS
Defensive operations are conducted to:
Defeat an enemy attack.
Gain time.
Concentrate forces elsewhere.
Control key or decisive terrain.
Wear down enemy forces as a prelude to offensive operations.
Retain strategic, operational, or tactical objectives.
The immediate purpose of any defense is to defeat the attack. Other purposes, while important, are ancillary from an operational perspective (they may, however, be overriding from a strategic perspective).
Defense is used to gain time for reinforcements to arrive or to economize forces in one sector while concentrating forces for attack in another. In either case, a defense or a delay may achieve these purposes.
In some instances, a force may defend because it is unable to attack. The defender then uses his advantages of position and superior knowledge of the terrain to cause the enemy to overextend himself. Once the enemy has committed himself against the defense and has been weakened by losses, the defender maneuvers to destroy him with fires or counterattacks.
CHARACTERISTICS OF DEFENSIVE OPERATIONS
Napoleon's memoirs contain his principles for conducting defensive campaigns. They can be summarized as: "The whole art of war consists of a well-reasoned and extremely circumspect defense, followed by rapid and audacious attack."
All defensive operations, regardless of the organizational level at which they are conducted have the same common characteristics. Preparation, disruption, concentration, and flexibility are fundamental.
Preparation
The defender arrives in the battle area before the attacker. He must take advantage of his early occupation of the area by making the most thorough preparations for combat that time allows. At the operational level throughout the theater this involves:
Positioning forces in depth.
War gaming campaign plans.
Organizing the force for movement and support.
Mounting reconnaissance and surveillance operations forward of the defended area.
Mobilizing reserves and auxiliary forces.
Strengthening air defenses in critical areas.
Coordinating arrangements for joint and combined operations.
Preparing deceptions to mislead the enemy.
At the tactical level, commanders plan fires, maneuver, and deep operations in support of their concepts of operations, wargame enemy options, and prepare deceptions to entrap the enemy. They also prepare and conceal positions, routes, obstacles, logistical support, and command facilities in detail. Units use available time to train for and rehearse their specific tasks. Preparation of counterattack positions and routes, alternatives for deep interdiction, and measures for maintaining freedom of action in the rear area (traffic control, air defense, rear operations planning) are as important as siting, protecting, and hiding battle positions.
Initially, the defender will ordinarily be outnumbered. In the early stages of battle, he will capitalize on the advantage of fighting from prepared positions of his own choice. As the action develops, however, opportunities will arise for the defender to take the initiative. He must prepare for these opportunities with preconceived maneuver and fire plans. He designates counterattack forces and makes counterattack plans to support his defense. This will allow for eventual reversion of his whole force to the offense.
Disruption
To counter the attacker's initiative and to prevent him from concentrating overwhelming combat power against a part of the defense, the defender must disrupt the synchronization of the enemy's operation. This may be done by:
Separating his forces.
Interrupting his fire or logistical support.
Interrupting his command and control.
Breaking the tempo of his operation.
Ruining the coordination of the enemy's combined and supporting arms.
At the operational level, the commander disrupts the enemy attack with:
Spoiling operations.
Special operations forces.
Deception.
Psychological operations.
Air interdiction for critical forces, routes, and facilities.
The theater commander may also prevent synchronized enemy action by fighting battles which prevent the junction of separated enemy forces. Also by temporarily taking the initiative, the defender denies the enemy opportunities to prepare deliberate attacks without interference. The attacker's operational reserves and air forces will almost always be primary objectives of disruptive air and ground attacks.
Tactical commanders disrupt the enemy's synchronization by defeating or misleading his reconnaissance forces thru effective counterreconnaissance operations. Disrupting the reserves and impeding his maneuver destroys the attacker's timeliness. Neutralizing his artillery and air support disrupts a significant part of his combat power. Interrupting his command and control denies the attacker effective control of the battle. All defensive concepts of operation should aim at spoiling the attacker's synchronization. Every effort must be made to prevent the enemy from concentrating irresistible strength against portions of the defense. This is accomplished by using deep interdiction, counterattack, counter-battery fires, obstacles, electronic warfare (EW), and retention of key or decisive terrain. When authorized, chemical or nuclear fires must be used to disrupt the attacker's battle plan.
Concentration
The defender must concentrate at the decisive time and place if he is to succeed. He will have to mass enough combat power to avoid defeat throughout the battle. If he is to defeat the attacker, he must obtain a local advantage at points of decision. To do this, the defender economizes in some areas, retains (and, when necessary, reconstitutes) a reserve, and maneuvers to gain local superiority elsewhere.
Generally, the defender will have to surrender some ground to gain the time necessary to concentrate forces and fires.
In defensive campaigns, large unit commanders mass against separated enemy forces. Alternatively, they concentrate their defenses in the areas of greatest risk. Reserves may be committed early in the campaign to bring on a quick decision, or they may defer concentration for decisive battle until favorable terms of combat can be obtained.
Operational concentration can also be obtained by organizing defenses of great depth. This forces the attacker to fight a series of battles against echeloned defenses. Senior commanders use aerial, cannon, and missile fires to assist and complement the concentration of land forces.
Tactical commanders have less time to respond and will normally have to concentrate combat power repeatedly during battle. Effective reconnaissance and security forces are vital. This gives the tactical commander time to discern the form of the attack. He then concentrates forces and fires against it.
Periods in which the defender can develop superior combat power will be brief. Therefore, concentration will have to be rapid and violent. Commanders will have to accept risks in some areas to concentrate for decisive action elsewhere.
Obstacles, security forces, and fires can assist in reducing these risks. Concentration of forces increases the threat of large losses from nuclear fires. Hence, the massing of forces must be masked by concealment and deception. As quickly as the attacking force has been defeated or halted, defending forces must disperse.
Flexibility
Defensive operations require flexible planning and execution. In exercising the initiative, the attacker initially decides where and when combat will take place. The defender must be agile enough to counter or evade the attacker's blow, then strike back effectively. Defensive campaigns depend on branches and sequels to defensive battles for their flexibility. Large unit commanders must be prepared to fight the enemy effectively, no matter what the form of the attack. They must also prepare counteractions for the likely outcomes of battles. Retention of operational reserves is indispensable to flexibility at the operational level. These forces are usually positioned in depth and assigned contingency missions. They may be called on to perform these missions before, during, or after the battle.
Once the campaign is under way, plans must be adjusted to conform to the situation. The commander must be prepared to react quickly to the enemy. The defensive campaign plan should allow the greatest possible freedom of action. It should preserve balance by disposing forces so that the commander can respond to crisis. He must be able to pass quickly to the attack when the opportunity arises.
Tactical flexibility rests on detailed planning, organization in depth, and retaining reserves. The plan must enable the commander to shift his main effort quickly without losing synchronization. Tactical commanders organize their defenses to defeat any approach the enemy might make. They add flexibility to their basic plans by designating supplementary positions in depth. Their counterattack plans can be ordered into effect at any time during the battle.
Static elements of the defense organize for all-around security. They plan alternate and supplementary positions which allow them to move forward, laterally, or to the rear if required. Fire planning covers all approaches. It is organized to accommodate changes in priority. Deep operation options are developed for all likely variations on the basic concept of operation. Engineer, aviation, EW, and combat service support are concentrated in support of the main effort. But provisions are made for shifting that support if necessary. Reserves prepare to move anywhere in the sector. Counterattack plans are made to cover all likely contingencies.
Once the attacker has been controlled, the defender can operate against his exposed flanks and rear. The defender maneuvers over ground he has reconnoitered and prepared against extended elements of the attacking force. He does this under the cover of his own air defense and field artillery.
The tenets of AirLand Battle doctrine (initiative, agility, depth, and synchronization) apply to any successful defense. In all defenses, the tactical initiative is seized locally. It is then seized generally as the entire force shifts from defense to offense.
To set the terms of battle, agility and flexibility are maintained. This is accomplished by using fire, maneuver, and electronic warfare. Once the attacker has committed himself, the defender should adjust his own operation. The defender concentrates all his efforts toward containing, isolating, and defeating the committed enemy force. By interdicting enemy movement in depth and concentrating repeatedly to develop local advantages against the attacker, the defender can win the battle by defeating the enemy piecemeal.
A well-executed defense fights the enemy throughout the depth of his formations. This delays and disorganizes him, and creates opportunities for offensive action. The defender organizes his forces and resources in depth to gain time and space for flexibility and responsive maneuver.
Successful defenses require synchronization of all available combat capability. Violent execution of flexible plans and aggressive exploitation of enemy vulnerabilities can halt the attacking force. This offsets or overcomes the attacker's numerical advantage.
Thus far you have learned some of the fundamentals of defensive operations. These included a brief historical synopsis of a defensive battle and the reasons defensive operations are conducted. In addition, you have learned the characteristics of defensive operations. In the next learning event, you will continue the study of these fundamentals by studying defensive patterns.
Learning Event 2:
IDENTIFY ALTERNATE DEFENSIVE PATTERNS AND THE FRAMEWORK FOR DEFENSIVE OPERATIONS
As was discussed in Learning Event 1, all successful defensive operations have similar characteristics. They also are conducted within a similar operational context, or framework. This learning event will cover the patterns of defensive operations and the framework in which they are conducted.
ALTERNATE DEFENSIVE PATTERNS
Defensive operations may take a wide variety of forms. However, traditional usage divides defensive arrangements into two broad categories. Mobile defenses focus on the destruction of the attacking force. The enemy is permitted to advance into a position which exposes him to counterattack and envelopment by a mobile reserve. Area defenses focus on the retention of terrain. The enemy is absorbed into an interlocked series of positions. While in these positions, he is destroyed largely by fire.
Both these descriptions convey the general pattern of the type of defense. However, both employ static and dynamic elements. In mobile defenses, static defensive positions help control the depth and breadth of enemy penetration.
Ground is retained from which counterattacks are launched. In area defenses, mobile reserves cover the gaps among defensive positions. They reinforce these positions as necessary. Reserves are also available to counterattack key defensive positions should they be lost to the enemy. Typically, defending commanders will combine both patterns. They use static elements to delay, canalize, attrite, and ultimately halt the attacker. They use dynamic elements (spoiling attacks and counterattacks) to strike and destroy his committed forces. The balance among these elements will depend on the defender's mission, composition, and mobility. Other factors which affect the balance between static and dynamic elements include the defender's relative combat power and the character of the battlefield.
Mobile Defense
Mobile defenses employ a combination of offensive, defensive, and delaying action to defeat the enemy attack. Their exact design varies from case to case and must be described in detail in each instance. Commanders conducting mobile defense deploy relatively small forces forward. They use maneuver supported by fire and obstacles to wrest the initiative from the attacker. This is accomplished after the attacker has entered the area.
A force conducting a mobile defense must have mobility equal to or greater than the enemy's. It must also be able to form the large reserve which will conduct the decisive counterattack. Doing so will invariably require a thinning of committed forces. Therefore, a mobile defense cannot be conducted unless a temporary loss of some terrain is acceptable.
A mobile defense requires a large reserve. Therefore, it is normally conducted by division and larger formations. Large brigades and cavalry regiments may be able to conduct this form of defense in some circumstances. In any case, heavy forces are required for the reserve. These forces may also be used as security forces or to contain anticipated penetrations. Light forces in a mobile defense are usually employed to hold strong points in suitable terrain within or adjacent to the area of the enemy's penetration. In some cases, light forces may be used to stop the enemy during the counterattack (figure 2).
Area Defense
An area defense (figure 3) is usually conducted to deny the enemy access to specific terrain for a specific time. Unlike the mobile defense, area defense does not promise outright destruction of the attacking force. Area defense resumes some other simultaneous or subsequent operation to achieve decisive defeat of the enemy.
In an area defense, the bulk of defending forces is deployed to retain ground. This is accomplished using defensive positions and small mobile reserves. Commanders organize the defense around the static framework provided by the defensive positions. Enemy forces are destroyed by interlocking fires or by local counterattack as enemy units penetrate between defensive positions. Both light and heavy forces may conduct area defense. However, light forces predominantly employ this type defense.
The mobile defense requires considerable depth. Area defense, on the other hand, may be conducted in varying depth. The depth of the area defense depends on the mission, forces available, and the nature of the terrain. Where necessary, the commander may make his main effort well forward. Thus, he may commit most of his combat power to the forward edge of the battle area (FEBA). Plans to counterattack are made early when enemy forces are still along the FEBA or even beyond it. Such a forward defense is often necessary, though it is more difficult to execute than a defense in greater depth. Such an early commitment to decisive combat makes it less flexible because it is more dependent on rapid identification of and concentration against the enemy main effort.
The commander may organize his defense in greater depth. He does this when the mission is less restrictive, forces are available, and advantageous terrain extends deep into his defensive sector. In extremely wide sectors, divisions and corps may need to defend in depth in order to gain time to concentrate forces against the enemy.
When area defense is conducted in depth, elements in the security area identify and control the enemy's main effort. At the same time, they hold off secondary thrusts.
Counterattacks are made on the flanks of the main attack. This seals off, isolates, and destroys the penetrating enemy forces. In the extreme, therefore, an area defense in depth begins to look much like a mobile defense.
In organization and execution, both defensive patterns vary considerably from the pure form. Each can be visualized as extending across a portion of the defensive continuum. Each uses the same five elements of the defensive framework described below, and each must be fought in the fluid, nonlinear conditions of contemporary combat. Therefore, tactical commanders must adapt their defensive arrangements to the requirements of each situation. They must also avoid becoming wedded to rigid patterns in the design of their defensives.
DEFENSIVE FRAMEWORK
A simple, complete concept of operations is the basis of all defenses. Field armies, corps, and divisions fight a unified defensive battle, consisting of complementary deep, close, and rear operations. Defenses are organized into five complementary elements:
Security force operations forward and to the flanks of the defending force.
Defensive operations in the main battle area (MBA).
Reserve operations in support of the main defensive effort.
Deep operations in the area forward of the forward line of own troops (FLOT).
Rear operations to retain freedom of action in the rear area.
The commander must synchronize all five of these elements in the execution of his defensive plan. Screening forces, when used, give warning of the enemy's approach and harass advancing enemy reconnaissance and security elements. They report the attacker's strength and locations. If a covering force is used, it meets the enemy's leading forces and strips away enemy reconnaissance and security elements. It also reports the attacker's strength and locations, and gives the commander time and space in which to react to the enemy (figure 4).
Defensive operations in the MBA slow, canalize, and defeat the enemy's major units. The defending commander may do this in a number of ways. In most cases, however, he will have to fight a series of engagements. This will halt or defeat the enemy forces. The commander must designate a main effort and concentrate in support of it. He then shifts forces to concentrate against another threat, and does so repeatedly. Maneuver units defend, delay, attack, and screen as part of the defensive battle.
Reserves will be committed throughout the defense. As these reserves are committed to battle, others will have to be reconstituted. Reserves give the commander the means to seize the initiative and preserve his flexibility. Reserves are best employed to strike a decisive blow against the attacker, but they must be prepared to perform other missions as well.
Deep operations will disrupt the enemy's movement in depth. They destroy high value targets and interrupt his command and control at critical times. Forward security elements not forced back by the enemy provide deep observation and target acquisition. These elements retain ground from which to launch future counterattacks by maneuver and fire.
Operations in the rear area protect and sustain command and control and combat service support operations. Their chief function during battle in the MBA is to protect the commander's freedom of action. This is accomplished by preventing disruption of command and control, fire support, logistical support, and movement of reserves.
CONCLUSION
During this learning event, you completed the study of the fundamentals of defense by learning about defensive patterns and the framework of defensive operations. The fundamentals of defense apply to all levels of tactical command. The difference is only in the scope of the operations for any level of command. You should now be able to successfully complete the practice exercise. During the next lesson, you will learn about the conduct of defensive operations. In addition, you will learn about high level commands and planning.
Practice Exercise
