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BOS: MANEUVER (cont)

TOPIC: Attack of Fortified Positions and Strongpoints.

DISCUSSION: Fortified positions in the jungle can normally be outflanked. In addition, the enemy will rarely have the time or resources to construct and man 360-degree defenses. A careful, stealthy reconnaissance is a key to breaching fortified positions. With the knowledge to "Hit 'em where they ain't," well-trained infantry can infiltrate any gaps. Then they can take the positions from the rear. However, the tactic that worked best in Burma during World War II (for both the British and the Japanese) and in Vietnam was to bypass fortified positions wheneverpossible. If a fortified position must be tackled head on, the jungle poses its own set of unique problems. First, it is easier to get within small arms range of the enemy without being detected. This sometimes results in overconfidence on the part of the reconnaissance element. As a result, it may be compromised. However, your reconnaissance must be thorough, to pinpoint as many enemy positions as possible. Thermal imagers, such as the AN-PAS 7, work well in finding occupied bunkers, even those that are well camouflaged. Without such aids, it may be difficult to pinpoint the enemy even after he has opened fire. When attacking fortified positions, smoke and other obscurants are difficult to use. The reasons are the combination of dense vegetation, lack of ambient light, and unpredictable wind currents. The surest way to emplace smoke as an obscurant is with grenades. The M203 is an excellent means for delivering marker smoke. Then a potent bunker buster, such as the AT-4, can do the rest. Unfortunately, the use of wire-guided missiles, such as the TOW, is severely limited.

LESSON(S):

• Plan to use thermal imagers to spot bunkers. They stick out like a sore thumb, even when well camouflaged.
• Both the assault and breaching forces should consider using their 60-mm mortars in a handheld direct-fire mode.
• Task-organize your assault and breaching forces with the greatest number of engineer assets possible.
• Try to infiltrate first. "Hit 'em where they ain't."
• Your breaching force should carry as many AT-4s as it can handle.
• Don't forget marker smoke for your M203s.
• Make sure your breaching force assembles its demolition charges to the maximum extent possible prior to the assault.

TOPIC: The Culminating Point.

DISCUSSION: In the jungle, the culminating point of an attack is most frequently reached when the morale of the attacker cracks. The primary cause is physical exhaustion. The debilitating nature of fighting in the jungle, both physical and psychological, is rapid and pronounced. It was the major cause of the refusal by the majority of Merrill's Marauders to attack the town of Myitkina in Burma after they had successfully seized the airfield. It was also a major cause of the failure of the Japanese Imphal Offensive. Simply put, the jungle causes most soldiers to reach their breaking point far faster than almost any other environment. There are two vital factorsin postponing the inevitable. The first is a high level of physical fitness on the part of every soldier. The second is a realistic appreciation by commanders and their staffs of the slow, but steady, pace dictated by the jungle. A secondary cause is primarily psychological. It is the feeling of isolation induced by the dense jungle vegetation that causes troops to go to ground under fire. Once stopped, it is difficult to get them moving again. This is particularly true if they fear they may be cut off.

LESSON(S):

• Physical fitness and personal hygiene must be rigorously enforced.
• Remember that 500 meters per hour is the maximum speed for a movement to contact through the jungle.
• All leaders must constantly monitor their soldiers physical and psychological states.
• Educate your soldiers that the jungle is neutral; it is not a hostile enemy.

TOPIC: Consolidation and Reorganization.

DISCUSSION: The consolidation and reorganization of an objective in the jungle are made difficult by the very nature of most jungle terrain. The jungle generally offers multiple covered and concealed avenues of approach into almost any position. Therefore, the probability of an enemy counterattack getting within 100 meters of the objective before being discovered is a real possibility. Also, what appear to be ideal avenues of approach when viewed on a map or from the objective quite often are not ideal at all. This means that you must plan and execute a rapid and thorough reconnaissance before you set out your OPs, mines, or obstacles. Otherwise, you may neglect the most likely avenues of approach onto the objective. When attempting to eliminate the enemy from the objective, do not become overly ambitious. Remember that the jungle is ideal terrain for ambushes. Set your limit of advance (LOA) accordingly. Small unit leaders must take care to check every individual position to ensure fields of fire interlock, as troops tend to become misoriented in the jungle. When registering indirect fires, try to do so on an open spot near the objective. Otherwise you will have to register your guns by sound. Unless the objective can be used as an LZ, the most difficult part of reorganization is normally evacuation of casualties.

LESSON(S):

• Do a quick reconnaissance before emplacing OPs; do not just emplace them along the enemy's withdrawalroute.
• Remember, the enemy knows the area. He may counterattack from any direction.
• There is no "rear" in the jungle.
• Give careful attention to where you place your LOA.
• Check and recheck every soldier's field of fire.

TOPIC: Follow-and-Support Operations.

DISCUSSION: The relatively longer time it takes to mass forces is the primary consideration for follow-and-support operations in the jungle. As a result, follow-and- support forces should travel in a relatively compact formation. They will most likely be far closer than in normal terrain to the force they are supporting as well. The nature of jungle terrain dictates that engineer assets should be well forward. They can then create roadblocks, clear obstacles, or breach enemy defenses with a minimum of delay. A follow-and-support force must be prepared to conduct hasty attacks anywhere along its axis of advance because the undetected infiltration of sizeable enemy units is possible in the jungle. The follow-and-support force must also be ready toassume the role of a fixing force while the supported force swings around the enemy's flank.

LESSON(S):

• Remember that time to mass is significantly slower in the jungle.
• Keep your engineers well forward during movement.
• Maintain 360-degree security during movement.

TOPIC: Exploitation and Pursuit.

DISCUSSION: There are two primary considerations that carry a different weight in the jungle for both exploitation and pursuit. They are speed of movement and security. Unless you are able to use helicopters or roads to move troops, you generally can only travel as fast as the enemy. This means that to maintain momentum, you must strip down to a minimum fighting load. It also means that you will have to depend on aerial resupply or captured enemy supplies. Only troops that are in better physical shape than the enemy can stand the rigors of a pursuit in the jungle. Security is difficult to maintain in the jungle, particularly flank security. However, rapid movement and aggressively pressing the enemy tend to generate security. If at all possible, the commander should have REMS emplaced by air along the flanks of his axis of advance. The commander must decide what level of risk he is willing to accept, then proceed vigorously.

LESSONS:

• Strip down to a fighting load for pursuit operations.
• Use aerial resupply to the maximum extent possible.
• Keep unremitting pressure on the enemy.

TOPIC: Defensive Tactics.

DISCUSSION: Infiltration between defending units is relatively easy in the jungle. Due to limited visibility and rugged terrain, it is difficult to establish a continuous line. The gaps between units must be covered with obstacles, mines, sensors, and patrols. Be careful when emplacing obstacles and mines. Mark them in a manner that friendly troops can recognize easily. Otherwise, fratricides will be the inevitable result. Units must prepare 360-degree defenses, paying particular attention to covered and concealed routes of approach. A thorough reconnaissance of the area around the defensive position is vital to identify such approaches. This will allow for well-rehearsed counterattack plans to deal with the most likely avenues of approach. Also, care must be taken to prepare troops psychologically for fighting from a perimeter. In Malaya and Burma, during World War II, Japanese forces often defeated larger British forces just by surrounding them. Unless troops understand that such fighting is normal for the jungle and is not a last-ditch effort, they will tend to become demoralized.

LESSON(S):

• Nothing in the jungle is impassible to a determined enemy. Therefore, always construct 360-degree defenses.
• Have a simple SOP for marking mines and boobytraps, and use it.
• Maximize the use of sensors, mines, and obstacles to cover gaps between defending units. Use patrols to check out sensor reports or, if the jungle is uninhabited, use fire support.
• Always have a rehearsed counterattack plan to deal with infiltration.
• Leaders should emphasize to the troops that"there is no rear" in the conventional sense. The jungle is rarely a linear battlefield.
• Arrange your defenses in depth; the jungle in particular demands it.

TOPIC: Retrograde Operations.

DISCUSSION: Retrograde Operations are very difficult in the jungle for forces that are heavily dependent on roads for resupply. Continuous lines are nearly impossible to establish. Infiltration by large-scale enemy units is relatively easy. The greatest danger to road-bound units is that the enemy will travel light to gain cross-country mobility. While maintaining contact with a small portion of his forces, he can then outflank the unit conducting a retrograde, establish a roadblock in its rear, and force a decisive engagement. This tactic was used with great success by all forces that fought in the Pacific during World War II. As long as aerial resupply is available, this tactic loses much of its effectiveness. Due to the nature of jungle terrain, the most favorable means of conducting a delay is using narrow sectors. Withdrawals are aided by the limited visibility of the jungle. Prior to the actual withdrawal, simple handrails made of 550 cord can be laid down from the forward positions to assembly areas in the rear. Cross- country movement at night is normally very difficult in the jungle. However, the battalion can withdrawrelatively rapidly during the hours of darkness. By the time the enemy is able to pursue, the battalion can gain enough distance to be secure.

LESSON(S):

• Maximize the use of aerial resupply.
• Travel light to maximize cross-country mobility.
• When planning a delay, consider using narrow sectors as its basis.
• Withdraw during periods of limited visibility whenever possible

TOPIC: Battle Drills.

DISCUSSION: Due to the limitations imposed by jungle terrain, units frequently do not fire and maneuver effectively once contact is made with the enemy. When battle drills and actions on contact are not well-rehearsed, leaders lose effective control. This results in a loss of fire discipline. The volume of fire as well as the accuracy of fire drops off drastically. In addition, the dense vegetation causes a feeling of isolation. Soldiers tend to either freeze in place or they become misoriented. In short, you have all of the ingredients for fratricide.

LESSON(S):

• Battle drills must be tailored to the jungle to take into account the ruggedterrain and dense vegetation.
• Practice your battle drills in the jungle until you are proficient.
• Units tend to bunch up and also to envelope forces with very narrow envelopements. Realize that it will take time to envelope the enemy in a meeting engagement and to have enough patience to conduct it.

TOPIC: Massing of Forces.

DISCUSSION: The time required to mass forces in the jungle is often underestimated. There are few roads, trails, and LZs. Combined with the rugged terrain and dense vegetation of the jungle, commanders are unable to mass combat power at the decisive point to finish the enemy.

LESSON(S):

• Units should operate close enough to one another for mutual support.
• Consider positioning the TF reserve as a finishing force.

TOPIC: Task Organization.

DISCUSSION: Jungle combat operations dictate that the battalion commander task- organize his forces to find, fix, and finish the enemy in a somewhat different manner than normal. Aggressive reconnaissance is critical to defeating any enemy force in the jungle, particularly guerrilla forces. Usually the TAIs and NAIs will far outnumber the scout elements that can maintain surveillance on them. Due to the compartmented nature of jungle terrain and dense vegetation, company commanders must often be given the means to conduct independent operations within their sector.

LESSON(S):

• Rifle squads may be used for reconnaissance as well as scout teams.
• Consider placing the battalion reservenear an PZ/LZ or have it follow the main effort closely.
• Consider task-organizing your engineers and other CS and CSS assets down to company level.

Section I, Part I

Section I, Part III