Knowing that that the Battalion is about to be spotted, I would order Alpha and Bravo Company to head straight to Clauston and set up a blocking position. I'd order Charlie and Delta to turn off the road and flank around Clauston Hill to Route 17. Once they are in position, I would order a full battalion attack from two different directions, given we have twice the firepower and the enemy tanks and APC's are not fully crewed, speed is of the essence so if they are spotted before everyone is in position, I would order the attack forward anyway, losing the initiative and allowing the enemy to engage one company at a time might be a recipe for disaster. RATIONALE: trying to funnel the whole battalion through a town with woods on one side and a hill on the other seems less than ideal. Splitting up the battalion is a risk but seems appropriate given the general lack of preparedness from the enemy.
Rock! Great aggression! But I recommend decisions before discussions... Instead of saying, "I would..." just say, "Alpha! Get up the hill!" Play the role and shout out your actual order!
Radio to LAR commander: “Attack by fire ENY supply vehicles on RTE17 IOT draw ENY forces towards Clauston. Alpha Company will link up with you in the town to establish a blocking position”
Radio to Tank Company Commanders: “LAR at Clauston has spotted ENY armor staging at Lasgah Farm. Looks like at least an armored company with attached mech infantry. LAR will be engaging supply vehicles moving NW on RTE 17 shortly to draw ENY focus toward Clauston.
I think the enemy has infiltrated past our lines and is currently conducting resupply.
Our battalion will destroy the enemy force at Lasgah Farm.
We will fix the enemy at Lasgah Farm and destroy them with a flanking attack.
Cpy A- Block ENY from Clauston IOT prevent advance north.
Cpy B- Fix ENY at Lasgah Farm in order to facilitate ME attack.
Cpy C- Main Effort. Destroy ENY at Lasgah Farm from West of Clauston Hill.
Radio to higher HQ: “ENY armored forces IVO Lasgah Farm. Estimate armored Cpy(+) with mech infantry. Looks like they’re currently resupplying. I intend to destroy the ENY forces. Will send updates when able.”
Good to see you, Apostle. Hope all is well in 3rd MarDiv. Should have known you would find your way here. Clever to engage the trucks to distract the scout tanks. Is Clauston a strong firing position for A Co.? I assume B Co. fixes from Clauston Hill. Tight plan, concise order.
I believe the enemy is refueling southwest Clauston. Battalion will attack and destroy enemy unit of 20 tanks and 9 IFV's.
Alpha company moves through Clauston in order to draw enemy attention east.
Bravo company moves on Clauston Hill in order to destroy enemy reconnaissance.
Charlie & Delta companies move south to route 17, then east in order engage and destroy enemy vehicles. Charlies leads, Delta in support.
After action consolidation point is Lasgah's Farm.
(Logic: recon will sight units at base of hill and report movements to Clauston, Alpha compan provides enemy proof attack is coming from east, at which point Charlie and Delta have moved behind them to engage. )
Situation: All stations, I think the enemy has PENETRATED the division forward line of troops with at least a mech battalion. The lead element of this penetration is laagered at LASGAH FARM, they’ve got at least a company of tanks and APCs, and they are currently conducting resupply from ROUTE 17 to continue the attack. They are at a reduced security posture and don’t know we’re here yet; we strike now.
Mission: Battalion, DESTROY enemy mech advanced guard at LASGAH FARM IOT prevent enemy offensive operations into the division rear area.
CONOPS: Two company support by fire from CLAUSTON HILL, One company action right to attack by fire enemy left flank. One company reserve, ready to cut off enemy retreat, exploit south on ROUTE 17.
Tasks:
A Co and B Co, SE 1: SUPPORT BY FIRE enemy company(+) in LASGAH FARM IOT enable ME to action right. I’m with you guys and will be located on Alpha’s right, Bravo’s left. Companies will guide off of my tank. Target precedence: those two recon vics on CLAUSTON HILL, any Type 99s, Type 08s, anti-tank missile teams, resupply vehicles.
C Co, ME: DESTROY enemy mechanized company IOT prevent enemy offensive operations into the division rear area. Target precedence: tanks, APCs, resupply vehicles.
D Co: Reserve, hold in defilade on north slope of CLAUSTON HILL. Priorities for employment: 1) CLEAR down ROUTE 10 to ROUTE 17 2) EXPLOIT down ROUTE 17 to capture enemy resupply vehicles 3) Reinforce the ME.
LAR: If able, establish a series of targets along ROUTE 17 east of LASGAH FARM IOT DESTROY enemy resupply vehicles/deny enemy withdrawal route. My BFiST will take the hand off in approx. 5 mins.
Rationale:
I see this attack as in line with our division commander’s intent: destroy the enemy’s armor, seize the initiative, and transition to the offensive. The enemy is not where we expected him, but he is in a vulnerable state, and we must attack now. I am confident we can destroy the enemy element in LASGAH FARM, but I also think we can bag his vulnerable logistics assets. I am cognizant that there is probably a larger enemy force out there, but we can destroy his advanced guard now. From there, we can vector the division onto the threat, locate the rest of the penetration, and liquidate it.
To everyone: Enemy has penetrated well into our territory and seems to be setting up base at Lasgah's Farm.
Bravo and Charlie: Take Clauston hill and reign fire on Lasgah's Farm.
Alpha: Continue to Clauston, then head south, and open fire on Lasgah's Farm from the North
Delta: Swing south and stay on the west side of Clauston hill and get to the 17, then open fire on Lasgah's Farm from the West
To the LAV-25s: Hold position and work with Alpha once they arrive
Rationale: I want to block off all routes, fire from many directions, and take the high ground. I don't really see that many other options to be honest. I could send Bravo with Alpha, or Charlie with Delta. But I am sending Bravo and Charlie both to take the hill because I am worried about the uphill battle if the enemy takes it first. I'm also slightly worried about what might be lurking in Skeller Forest, but I don't what I could do about it other than to not overcommit to sending my guys on the 10 - but I am not going to do that anyways. So that threat is just another reason to send two of the battalions to Clauston Hill so as it make it easier to spot and fire down on enemy troops that might come out of the forest.
I actually made this plan in under 2-minutes this time. But its because I just literally don't see what else you could do under this situation.
"LAVs: Engage those scout tanks IOT distract them and prevent our discovery.
"Battalion: Alert! Everybody awake; we're going into immediate action! We've got an enemy tank-mech battalion 3 clicks to the south, at Lasgah's Farm on the other side of the hill to our direct right. We attack immediately to destroy.
"Alpha and Bravo: Assume firing positions on Clauston Hill to your right, confirm enemy battalion, attack by fire IOT to destroy same. Alpha on the left; Bravo on the right. Imperative you move NOW! Be on the lookout for two enemy tanks coming up other side of the hill.
"Charlie and Delta: Reserve. Attack position west side of Clauston Hill. BPT reinforce main effort and defend against follow-on forces."
Rationale: My tank crews are probably half sleeping, so the first thing I need to do is get everybody awake, oriented, and primed for action.
The enemy force at Lasgah's Farm is vulnerable and we have the element of surprise--if we act quickly. We must attack. Continuing to Skellerville is a non-starter. Those instructions are obsolete. First, we have the opportunity to inflict a damaging blow on the enemy, which we cannot pass up. Second, we cannot allow an enemy force of this size to penetrate uncontested into friendly territory. In fact, attacking the enemy satisfies the division commander's stated intent. He is looking for a counterstroke opportunity to destroy the enemy's armor and seize the initiative. Here is the opportunity. The enemy leads with a battalion of tanks. This is it.
An enemy tank battalion penetrating this far undetected into our territory certainly sounds unlikely. If true, it qualifies as a major screw-up. I will go to Clauston Hill myself to confirm the report, as well as to convey a sense of urgency to Alpha and Bravo through my own example.
Alpha and Bravo will give me about 30 tanks on Clauston Hill. A trained tank crew can put out about 10 well-aimed rounds/minute, or about 300 rounds against 30 targets in the first minute. If we achieve surprise this will be over quickly. If it's not, I have another company or two to conduct a flanking attack. But I'm already beginning to think about what follows, because no action is a strictly isolated event. We know the enemy typically leads with a battalion of tanks--i.e., an advance guard for a larger formation. We should be expecting to see a mechanized regiment within the next 30 minutes.
Finally, once I get my forces moving, I will get ont he hook to division to communicate the new situation and request as much support as I can get.
Situation: The enemy has chosen a terrible spot to form a coil and refuel! He clearly has no idea that we are nearby and has committed a grossly inadequate element for security! This laager site represents an irresistible critical vulnerability that by destroying, we can significantly disrupt the enemy system and possibly enable the division to seize the initiative and effect a successful counterattack! We will exploit his error with a battalion crest battle-drill and simultaneous West to East flanking maneuver!
Mission: Tank Battalion DESTROY EN laager site IVO Lagsah’s Farm IOT seize the initiative and enable the division to transition to the offensive.
CONOPS: 2 x Tank Company Support By Fire from Clauston Hill, 1 x Tank Company maneuver element right hook around Clauston Hill to Route 17 and clear Lagsah’s Farm from West to East. 1 x Tank Company resume movement to Clauston and BPT pursue.
Tasks:
A Co: SE 1. Occupy Clauston Hill by force and SUPPORT BY FIRE Main Effort’s Clear of Lagsah’s Farm IOT exploit EN CV.
B Co: SE 2. Occupy Clauston Hill by force and SUPPORT BY FIRE Main Effort’s Clear of Lagsah’s Farm IOT exploit EN CV.
C Co: ME. CLEAR Lagsah’s Farm from West to East via a right hook around Clauston Hill to Route 17 IOT exploit the EN CV. Limit of Advance is Route 10.
D Co: SE 3. Continue movement into Clauston and halt when you link up with LAR. DESTROY EN Refuelers when they come within range. Upon destruction of EN laager site, BPT assume the ME and lead the battalion in pursuit of enemy remnants fleeing down Route 17 IOT to prevent EN from escaping. Do NOT let those Refuelers get away.
Coordinating Instructions:
First come first serve on the Enemy Scouts, our 2 x Tank Companies will steam roll them. Whoever gets them first is of no concern to me, just don’t let them slow us down.
Target Precedence in the Laager Site: Type 99’s before Type 08’s.
I will be located on Clauston Hill and will be in charge of the 2 x Company SBF.
On Consolidation at C Co’s LOA at RT 17, C Co will take charge of CASEVAC of friendly and enemy casualties, EPW’s, and immediate repair of downed vehicles. The rest of the battalion will PURSUE.
Order of movement in Pursuit is D Co, B Co, A Co. C Co will resume march when able.
Situation: Enemy forces, composed primarily of two tank companies and one infantry company, appear to be assembling at Lasgah’s Farm.
Mission: Battalion attacks enemy forces assembling at Lasgah’s Farm in order to destroy them. ACo seizes Clauston Hill to provide supporting fires; the main effort (B, C, DCo) conducts a flanking attack from the west along Route 17.
Tasks to Subordinate Units:
•ACo: Seize Clauston Hill, destroy enemy in vicinity, establish base of fire.
•BCo: Lead flanking maneuver and destroy enemy at Lasgah’s Farm.
•CCo: Follow Company B, ready to reinforce.
•DCo: Follow Company C, maintain battalion reserve.
Rationale:
•The enemy, currently engaged in resupply operations, appears unaware of our advance. This represents a critical window of opportunity to engage them decisively.
•Clauston Hill provides an ideal base of fire against enemy forces at Fargh’s Farm. Fires delivered by Company A are expected to achieve significant effects. Furthermore, the assault on Clauston Hill may serve to deceive the enemy regarding the direction of our main effort.
•The main body’s flanking maneuver will be concealed by forests and hills, thereby enhancing the element of surprise.
•(Request updated intelligence from division regarding possible enemy movement along Route 13. Area remains a concern for potential threat activity.)
"S: ACTION RIGHT! Get off the road! We've got twenty tanks and ten APCs four klicks south of here behind that hill. At Yasgur's Farm, the junction of 10 and 17, they're dismounted waiting for fuel. Two of their scouts, climbing that hill, will see us in five minutes!"
"S: Right NOW, we ATTACK their assembly area in order to prevent them refueling."
"E: We'll attack-by-fire on two axes - one atop CLAUSTON HILL, the second, right flanking, around the hill and behind the woods."
"DELTA. Main Effort, right flanking. ATTACK their assembly area in order to disrupt refueling."
"CHARLIE. REINFORCE DELTA."
"ALPHA, with me, up the hill. DESTROY their scouts. ATTACK-BY-FIRE the assembly area in order to fix them in place."
"BRAVO. RESERVE. Be prepared to reinforce either axis or attack through CLAUSTON town."
"Fires. We'll need CAS or artillery on that fuel convoy on Route 17, soonest!"
I work for the Division CG, who now has tanks in his rear area. This enemy makes whatever the CG was planning irrelevant. But the enemy's refueling effort makes them vulnerable. They do NOT know about us, so this opportunity to attack cannot be lost.
I assume competence on the part of the company commanders. "Right flank, attack-by-fire" is all they need. They will not close on the enemy, but will make the most of positions, defilade, tree lines, and optics to engage at standoff distance.
The tanks, not the APCs are the most important target. The refueling convoy is a tempting target, but it is NOT the priority, and can be engaged by many other weapons and units. The enemy tanks in our AO must be destroyed.
I agree that both the seriousness of the situation and the opportunity it presents dictate that you attack the enemy at Lasgah's Farm. But on top of that, as Zschwartz points out, doing so is also consistent with the Division commander's stated intent of destroying enemy armor and seizing the initiative.
To Company Commanders: friendly LAVs in Clauston report ENY tank/mech battalion establishing laager IVO Lasgah's Farm. We are going to attack to destroy the ENY there. ENY tank platoon en route to Clauston Hill, we have to seize it first.
Company A: sieze Clauston Hill; establish SBF position oriented south.
Company B: pass through friendly LAVs in Clauston; attack South.
Company C & D: hold current pos; on order Attack to destroy south.
Priority of indirect fire to Company A; suppress ENY laager site, shift to refuelers that are moving NW on route 17 once Co B engages.
Reposting my rationale so it's beneath my orders/solution:
Rationale: Wow, 3 minutes goes by quickly! Though it's not ideal to fight in our rear area, we do have a golden opportunity to destroy a major enemy formation.
Similar to the last (first) TDG, I need to act quickly and aggressively. My first priority is to seize Clauston Hill. I think my company can do that if they move quickly because I think we have more information and more firepower at the point of contact. Once Co A seizes the hill, they should be able to use main guns to disrupt the enemy assembly area / laager site and employ indirect fires against both the laager and, later refuelers.
Company B needs to be careful not to accidently engage the LAV section, so I made sure they know about the LAVs location. They need to balance that care against the need to maneuver quickly through Clauston to engage the enemy.
Frankly, I'm not yet sure what I'm going to do with Co C & D. I may need them to pursue or to block enemy's escape, but I don't want to complicate geometry of fires by maneuvering all 4 companies at once. I also may need them to secure the hill to the NE in case the enemy task force is part of a larger attack, so I don't want to commit these companies prematurely.
Once my companies are moving, I'll update higher HQ and request priority of fires. I suspect higher won't love using artillery or even mortars in our rear area, plus any available indirect fire will have to shift trails (maybe wrong arty term but I mean reposition/reorient their direction of lay), so any fire support will be slow. My Fire Support Coordinator will need to be flexible and understand my intent: RWCAS is likely a good option if available.
Outstanding! REALLY concise! I think your insight about on artillery is dead-on. And even if they can shift trails, do we believe our normal fire support coordination measures will enable rapid indirect fire? Not likely. I also like leaving some tanks back, avoiding maneuvering all four companies simultaneously. Good stuff!
Rationale: Wow, 3 minutes goes by quickly! Though it's not ideal to fight in our rear area, we do have a golden opportunity to destroy a major enemy formation.
Similar to the last (first) TDG, I need to act quickly and aggressively. My first priority is to seize Clauston Hill. I think my company can do that if they move quickly because I think we have more information and more firepower at the point of contact. Once Co A seizes the hill, they should be able to use main guns to disrupt the enemy assembly area / laager site and employ indirect fires against both the laager and, later refuelers.
Company B needs to be careful not to accidently engage the LAV section, so I made sure they know about the LAVs location. They need to balance that care against the need to maneuver quickly through Clauston to engage the enemy.
Frankly, I'm not yet sure what I'm going to do with Co C & D. I may need them to pursue or to block enemy's escape, but I don't want to complicate geometry of fires by maneuvering all 4 companies at once. I also may need them to secure the hill to the NE in case the enemy task force is part of a larger attack, so I don't want to commit these companies prematurely.
Once my companies are moving, I'll update higher HQ and request priority of fires. I suspect higher won't love using artillery or even mortars in our rear area, plus any available indirect fire will have to shift trails (maybe wrong arty term but I mean reposition/reorient their direction of lay), so any fire support will be slow. My Fire Support Coordinator will need to be flexible and understand my intent: RWCAS is likely a good option if available.
All company commanders, LAR reports two-zero type niner-niner and one-zero type zero-eight enemy vics laagering at Lasgah’s Farm, with two type niner-niner approaching Clauston Hill from the south, ETA 5 mikes. We are setting up a combined arms ambush, your missions as follows:
Fire Support Team: contact the fire support coordination center, pass the grid for Lasgah’s Farm and request immediate support from division fires and aviation. Advise the LAR Fire Support Team they have mark and control until I order them otherwise. Hasty fire control measure is the east-west grid line touching the southern slope of Clauston Hill.
Alpha, sprint cross country north of Clauston, push platoons two clicks north on route 10 and two clicks east on route 13 to observe those MSRs and advise of the approach of any further enemy forces.
Bravo, disperse east-west in front of Clauston Hill and prepare to engage the scouts, weapons tight.
Charlie and Delta, disperse and proceed on line to the western flank of Clauston Hill but do not push further south until ordered. Engage targets of opportunity, weapons tight.
Rationale: LAR has already broken silence and potentially revealed themselves to adversary EW, so there’s little point in being quiet now and time is of the essence. Dismounted tank crews, no evident air defense, and logistics vehicles coming into the target area? I am going to punish the complacent adversary with indirect and aviation fires, giving LAR terminal control since they have eyes on and can effectively direct and correct fires.
If there were already skirmishes going on near Skellerville, there should already be supporting arms in a ready posture and I just need to give them new targets. Any ordnance, even a little, I can get onto the Farm to kill/wound tank crews effectively kills those tanks. Some crews might make it to their tanks, but further indirect or aviation ordnance after that could still cause mobility kills or even K-kills with a fortunate shot.
Once I get air on station, I may potentially hand mark and control over to a FAC(A) to continue directing fires on adversary targets squirting out of the Farm so long as those targets are south of the east-west grid line I established as a hasty control measure. If enemy squirters come north, my tanks are lined up to hit them as they approach.
Once I’ve achieved all the effects I can with indirect and aviation fires, I would look to move my tanks south to mop up, and prepare to either continue the planned counterattack directed by Division or potentially a new mission given that there was just an unexpected enemy penetration deep into our rear, and we don’t yet know how bad it is.
Bottom line: if my tanks are intended to spearhead a counterattack, I’m not going to grind them up in a fight before the fight when I can call on other fires assets to tilt the odds in my favor. If I tell higher there is enemy armor in their rear, I would expect to receive robust and immediate support to fix that problem.
I think the most interesting thing about this solution is that it demonstrates how much perspective matters. We agree on our basic assessment of the situation but reached different solutions. All the previous solutions have been ground-centric. For a ground guy (which I am), this is a problem begging for fire and maneuver by ground forces. For an aviator, this is a problem calling for air power. I take the valid point about not wanting to "grind up" our armor, although I think that if we do this right, by acting very quickly and exploiting the element of surprise, this may be less a fair fight than a slaughter. With two tank companies on Clauston Hill I'd have about 30 tanks capable of putting out about 10 well aimed rounds each in the first minute--or potentially up to about 300 rounds for 30 targets. Does CAS get me the same potentially decisive effect in the same time frame (genuine question)? Then I'm thinking about what comes next, because I'm thinking this is just the leading edge of something bigger.
CAS (and indirect fires) likely doesn’t get you the same immediately decisive effect, but my mind was chewing on a few other things in keeping my own tanks masked and calling in other fires first:
-LAR’s radio traffic potentially tipped the hand to the adversary via EW intercept that our forces are in the area, but the adversary doesn’t yet know type, disposition, and numbers. I would want to keep it that way for as long as possible. Keeping my tanks behind the hill, forest, and village for as long as possible hides that information. Yes, there are the two adversary scouts coming over the hill, but since I know their disposition and direction of movement and at best, all they know is that there are potential observers in the area using radios, I feel fairly confident I can kill those scouts if they continue on their route of movement before they can report further information to the main body.
-calling for CAS and indirect fires first may not have the same K-kill effect; however it puts the adversary immediately into self-preservation mode, causes chaos and confusion in their formation as they attempt to mount up before getting killed in the open, and I can still have effects on their armored vehicles with those fires sufficient to degrade them. If I can rapidly get some fires onto the laager area, then I can kill/wound some crews before they even mount up; those who mount up will not be thinking about other possible Blue armor in the area, but how to survive and just get the hell out of there, and rather than calmly getting their tanks rolling they will have to attempt to organize themselves and move with very loud noises and shock waves from ordnance assaulting their senses, especially their cognitive load; and any mobility or lucky K-kills I get further throws their formation into confusion, potentially impedes their ability to egress in the direction/manner they wanted to, and further puts pressure on their cognitive load because they don’t have anything to shoot back at. And again, if they have no anti-air assets—which I would assume LAR would include in their report if they’re competent, and I’ve never met an LAR person who wasn’t competent—I will roll air in for as long as higher will give it to me in order to sustain the unfair fight as long as possible. Depending on the weapons load-out of CAS, I can still protect the delivery aircraft by having them fire/release beyond even the effective range of whatever machine guns the enemy armored formation has. And even if that ordnance is dumb bombs, CAS aircraft have sufficient targeting assistance built into their avionics and targeting pods that they can put a 500lb bomb sufficiently close to a target that you can’t tell whether it’s precision or not, and a 500lb bomb detonating next to a tank will, I would think, at a minimum render the tank crew into red goo or something sufficiently close to it that that tank is now out of the fight.
And to this point, the enemy still may not know that I have tanks just over the hill or if they do, they don’t have the information, nor are they in the condition, to report numbers and disposition. They are probably screaming to their own higher HQ that they’re under air, artillery, and/or rocket attack.
Now they are disorganized, demoralized, and thinking about the “flight” mode of “fight or flight” because they can’t fight back against CAS or artillery/rockets. Saving their skins just became priority number 1. That is when I want my own armor coming in. I would think their chain of command is in sufficient confusion that their ability to provide a coherent report on enemy armor, on top of enemy air and indirect fires, is less probable now. And putting my tanks against an adversary already in flight offers an chance for even greater unbalanced slaughter than initial surprise in a static position; it’s well-documented historically that forces take higher casualties—and inflict far fewer—when they flee as opposed to standing their ground.
Now, certainly my plan depends on the responsiveness of air and indirect fires; however as noted in the initial rationale, if there was already skirmishing underway throughout the night, supporting arms would already be a ready state to potentially continue supporting those engagements. And if my division commander found enemy tanks in his rear, I believe I’d get priority of fires to deal with that, and get that priority very quickly.
As to what comes next: I get air on station, they can observe much farther than my tanks or LAR, and quickly provide information on whether there were follow-on adversary units coming up the same route. And if they see additional adversary units, either they themselves, or coordinating with other supporting arms, could potentially disrupt that adversary movement—and intended plan—much earlier. Or, if there are no supporting arms immediately available to strike that larger adversary force, early warning provided by aviation assets creates the option for my division commander to dispose my forces or other ground forces differently for another ambush or spoiling attack.
This all assumes what appears to be a pretty permissive aviation environment. Were the environment less permissive, I would likely develop a slightly different plan, potentially leveraging more indirect fires in combination with UAS whose survivability I would be less concerned about.
Thoughtful. Agree about keeping the enemy in the dark as to our full strength and disposition. I don't see air arriving before those scout tanks crest the hill and see our entire battalion arrayed on the road. One immediate way to attack that problem is to have the LAR engage the scout tanks. They won't kill them, but they may get their attention enough to draw them away from the crest, buying us some critical minutes. The enemy will know something is up, but he won't know it's an entire tank battalion maneuvering to attack him. Could not agree more about the value of sowing chaos and confusion within the enemy ranks. My inference was that because it has been a quiet night with no reports of major combat there is not a lot of air up on station.
I’m certainly making some assumptions about what aviation is available for tasking, and there’s a lot more information that’s not in the scope of the TDG that would drive some of that decision-making. But everything else being equal, if this conflict is of sufficiently large scale that battalions of tanks are rolling around, I’m assuming there’s a joint ATO at work as well that would include lines of aviation to be on-call, both rotary wing and fixed wing. Unless rotary wing is in exactly the right place at the right time, they’re unlikely to get there in 5 minutes, but I have a better chance with fixed wing, and tapping LAR to act as my JTAC while I maneuver my forces into position means the JTAC can pass pertinent targeting information to fixed wing while they’re inbound and then fixed wing can transition into the attack as soon as they’re in weapons engagement range. To Vinton’s point, artillery might need to drag itself around to a new gun target line, but HIMARS/ATACMS would offer more responsiveness as well as greater engagement range.
My thought on LAR is leaving them as observers for as long as possible—having them open up on the scouts would certainly get the scouts’ attention, but as I understand the TDG situation, up to this point the adversary doesn’t know where LAR is. I’m assuming enemy EW picked up LAR’s transmission, but I’m also assuming we’re using encryption so both the content of the message and precise location of LAR are not yet known to the adversary, and I’d like to keep it that way so they can continue to act as an un-harassed observer feeding me information. The LAR report indicates the scouts are continuing over the hill, not to the town, which indicates the scouts are unaware of both my main body presence and LAR’s specific location. So long as that doesn’t change, I can use LAR to give me cuing for when the scouts are about to crest and come into effective range of my tank guns, and have a few of my tanks with barrels pointed in precisely that direction to pop the scouts before they can make a detailed report. The adversary will hear my tank guns and maybe they’ll watch the turrets of their scouts fly into the lower atmosphere—they’ll have no information beyond that, and then I expect to direct their attention to the more immediate problem of their exposed crews coming under aviation and indirect fires. Those fires can be directed by LAR, whose observer position remains unknown, and so long as their position is unknown and they don’t have to worry about getting directly engaged, they can be my conductor for supporting arms.
I know it’s outside the scope of the TDG, but in this kind of scenario, other things that were rolling around in my mind:
-the enemy has known EW capabilities; what’s my EW doing, and how did it miss an entire enemy tank movement, laager, and resupply?
-admin movement or no, if I’m in sufficiently high intensity conflict that large armored movements are just another day, I would probably ask for—if I didn’t have it organically—some type of longer range route reconnaissance, so that I don’t come up unexpectedly on an adversary force a functional stone’s throw away. If manned aviation wasn’t an option—which, if it’s truly a quiet night, could well be an option, and they could provide offset recon using a T-pod without being directly overhead me and giving my position away—then I would probably push some type of UAS out well in front of me to scout my route well outside weapons engagement range. The state and capability of enemy EW here is unclear: it’s of sufficient concern that I’m not transmitting, but I heard radio traffic transmitted from the front lines, and LAR also did not seem overly concerned about transmitting their report to me. But if my admin road march is under sufficient threat that I’m keeping radio silence myself, then I’d very much like longer range route reconnaissance and some type of aviation would be a good way to do that.
-also, admin movement or no: I’d expect to have some anti-air asset assigned to move with and protect me. Having a large armored column moving without it is begging to lit up from above.
Knowing that that the Battalion is about to be spotted, I would order Alpha and Bravo Company to head straight to Clauston and set up a blocking position. I'd order Charlie and Delta to turn off the road and flank around Clauston Hill to Route 17. Once they are in position, I would order a full battalion attack from two different directions, given we have twice the firepower and the enemy tanks and APC's are not fully crewed, speed is of the essence so if they are spotted before everyone is in position, I would order the attack forward anyway, losing the initiative and allowing the enemy to engage one company at a time might be a recipe for disaster. RATIONALE: trying to funnel the whole battalion through a town with woods on one side and a hill on the other seems less than ideal. Splitting up the battalion is a risk but seems appropriate given the general lack of preparedness from the enemy.
Rock! Great aggression! But I recommend decisions before discussions... Instead of saying, "I would..." just say, "Alpha! Get up the hill!" Play the role and shout out your actual order!
Radio to LAR commander: “Attack by fire ENY supply vehicles on RTE17 IOT draw ENY forces towards Clauston. Alpha Company will link up with you in the town to establish a blocking position”
Radio to Tank Company Commanders: “LAR at Clauston has spotted ENY armor staging at Lasgah Farm. Looks like at least an armored company with attached mech infantry. LAR will be engaging supply vehicles moving NW on RTE 17 shortly to draw ENY focus toward Clauston.
I think the enemy has infiltrated past our lines and is currently conducting resupply.
Our battalion will destroy the enemy force at Lasgah Farm.
We will fix the enemy at Lasgah Farm and destroy them with a flanking attack.
Cpy A- Block ENY from Clauston IOT prevent advance north.
Cpy B- Fix ENY at Lasgah Farm in order to facilitate ME attack.
Cpy C- Main Effort. Destroy ENY at Lasgah Farm from West of Clauston Hill.
Cpy D- Bn reserve. BPT exploit Cpy C’s success and pursue ENY forces.”
There are no friendlies south of Clauston.”
Radio to higher HQ: “ENY armored forces IVO Lasgah Farm. Estimate armored Cpy(+) with mech infantry. Looks like they’re currently resupplying. I intend to destroy the ENY forces. Will send updates when able.”
Good to see you, Apostle. Hope all is well in 3rd MarDiv. Should have known you would find your way here. Clever to engage the trucks to distract the scout tanks. Is Clauston a strong firing position for A Co.? I assume B Co. fixes from Clauston Hill. Tight plan, concise order.
Battalion! Look to the south.
Alpha and Bravo, take up firing positions - oriented south - on Clauston Hill. Fire at will.
Charlie and Delta, you are my reserve.
XO, take command of the reserve. Move it to the area just west of Clauston Hill.
I will be with Alpha.
Move out.
Note: This solution presumes that commanders of the companies heard the report of the LAV unit.
I believe the enemy is refueling southwest Clauston. Battalion will attack and destroy enemy unit of 20 tanks and 9 IFV's.
Alpha company moves through Clauston in order to draw enemy attention east.
Bravo company moves on Clauston Hill in order to destroy enemy reconnaissance.
Charlie & Delta companies move south to route 17, then east in order engage and destroy enemy vehicles. Charlies leads, Delta in support.
After action consolidation point is Lasgah's Farm.
(Logic: recon will sight units at base of hill and report movements to Clauston, Alpha compan provides enemy proof attack is coming from east, at which point Charlie and Delta have moved behind them to engage. )
Like the idea of anticipating, and then exploiting, the enemy's likely reponse to Alpha.
Situation: All stations, I think the enemy has PENETRATED the division forward line of troops with at least a mech battalion. The lead element of this penetration is laagered at LASGAH FARM, they’ve got at least a company of tanks and APCs, and they are currently conducting resupply from ROUTE 17 to continue the attack. They are at a reduced security posture and don’t know we’re here yet; we strike now.
Mission: Battalion, DESTROY enemy mech advanced guard at LASGAH FARM IOT prevent enemy offensive operations into the division rear area.
CONOPS: Two company support by fire from CLAUSTON HILL, One company action right to attack by fire enemy left flank. One company reserve, ready to cut off enemy retreat, exploit south on ROUTE 17.
Tasks:
A Co and B Co, SE 1: SUPPORT BY FIRE enemy company(+) in LASGAH FARM IOT enable ME to action right. I’m with you guys and will be located on Alpha’s right, Bravo’s left. Companies will guide off of my tank. Target precedence: those two recon vics on CLAUSTON HILL, any Type 99s, Type 08s, anti-tank missile teams, resupply vehicles.
C Co, ME: DESTROY enemy mechanized company IOT prevent enemy offensive operations into the division rear area. Target precedence: tanks, APCs, resupply vehicles.
D Co: Reserve, hold in defilade on north slope of CLAUSTON HILL. Priorities for employment: 1) CLEAR down ROUTE 10 to ROUTE 17 2) EXPLOIT down ROUTE 17 to capture enemy resupply vehicles 3) Reinforce the ME.
LAR: If able, establish a series of targets along ROUTE 17 east of LASGAH FARM IOT DESTROY enemy resupply vehicles/deny enemy withdrawal route. My BFiST will take the hand off in approx. 5 mins.
Rationale:
I see this attack as in line with our division commander’s intent: destroy the enemy’s armor, seize the initiative, and transition to the offensive. The enemy is not where we expected him, but he is in a vulnerable state, and we must attack now. I am confident we can destroy the enemy element in LASGAH FARM, but I also think we can bag his vulnerable logistics assets. I am cognizant that there is probably a larger enemy force out there, but we can destroy his advanced guard now. From there, we can vector the division onto the threat, locate the rest of the penetration, and liquidate it.
Compelling analysis/rationale. Don't think I can take issue with one word.
To everyone: Enemy has penetrated well into our territory and seems to be setting up base at Lasgah's Farm.
Bravo and Charlie: Take Clauston hill and reign fire on Lasgah's Farm.
Alpha: Continue to Clauston, then head south, and open fire on Lasgah's Farm from the North
Delta: Swing south and stay on the west side of Clauston hill and get to the 17, then open fire on Lasgah's Farm from the West
To the LAV-25s: Hold position and work with Alpha once they arrive
Rationale: I want to block off all routes, fire from many directions, and take the high ground. I don't really see that many other options to be honest. I could send Bravo with Alpha, or Charlie with Delta. But I am sending Bravo and Charlie both to take the hill because I am worried about the uphill battle if the enemy takes it first. I'm also slightly worried about what might be lurking in Skeller Forest, but I don't what I could do about it other than to not overcommit to sending my guys on the 10 - but I am not going to do that anyways. So that threat is just another reason to send two of the battalions to Clauston Hill so as it make it easier to spot and fire down on enemy troops that might come out of the forest.
I actually made this plan in under 2-minutes this time. But its because I just literally don't see what else you could do under this situation.
"LAVs: Engage those scout tanks IOT distract them and prevent our discovery.
"Battalion: Alert! Everybody awake; we're going into immediate action! We've got an enemy tank-mech battalion 3 clicks to the south, at Lasgah's Farm on the other side of the hill to our direct right. We attack immediately to destroy.
"Alpha and Bravo: Assume firing positions on Clauston Hill to your right, confirm enemy battalion, attack by fire IOT to destroy same. Alpha on the left; Bravo on the right. Imperative you move NOW! Be on the lookout for two enemy tanks coming up other side of the hill.
"Charlie and Delta: Reserve. Attack position west side of Clauston Hill. BPT reinforce main effort and defend against follow-on forces."
Rationale: My tank crews are probably half sleeping, so the first thing I need to do is get everybody awake, oriented, and primed for action.
The enemy force at Lasgah's Farm is vulnerable and we have the element of surprise--if we act quickly. We must attack. Continuing to Skellerville is a non-starter. Those instructions are obsolete. First, we have the opportunity to inflict a damaging blow on the enemy, which we cannot pass up. Second, we cannot allow an enemy force of this size to penetrate uncontested into friendly territory. In fact, attacking the enemy satisfies the division commander's stated intent. He is looking for a counterstroke opportunity to destroy the enemy's armor and seize the initiative. Here is the opportunity. The enemy leads with a battalion of tanks. This is it.
An enemy tank battalion penetrating this far undetected into our territory certainly sounds unlikely. If true, it qualifies as a major screw-up. I will go to Clauston Hill myself to confirm the report, as well as to convey a sense of urgency to Alpha and Bravo through my own example.
Alpha and Bravo will give me about 30 tanks on Clauston Hill. A trained tank crew can put out about 10 well-aimed rounds/minute, or about 300 rounds against 30 targets in the first minute. If we achieve surprise this will be over quickly. If it's not, I have another company or two to conduct a flanking attack. But I'm already beginning to think about what follows, because no action is a strictly isolated event. We know the enemy typically leads with a battalion of tanks--i.e., an advance guard for a larger formation. We should be expecting to see a mechanized regiment within the next 30 minutes.
Finally, once I get my forces moving, I will get ont he hook to division to communicate the new situation and request as much support as I can get.
We attack immediately!
Situation: The enemy has chosen a terrible spot to form a coil and refuel! He clearly has no idea that we are nearby and has committed a grossly inadequate element for security! This laager site represents an irresistible critical vulnerability that by destroying, we can significantly disrupt the enemy system and possibly enable the division to seize the initiative and effect a successful counterattack! We will exploit his error with a battalion crest battle-drill and simultaneous West to East flanking maneuver!
Mission: Tank Battalion DESTROY EN laager site IVO Lagsah’s Farm IOT seize the initiative and enable the division to transition to the offensive.
CONOPS: 2 x Tank Company Support By Fire from Clauston Hill, 1 x Tank Company maneuver element right hook around Clauston Hill to Route 17 and clear Lagsah’s Farm from West to East. 1 x Tank Company resume movement to Clauston and BPT pursue.
Tasks:
A Co: SE 1. Occupy Clauston Hill by force and SUPPORT BY FIRE Main Effort’s Clear of Lagsah’s Farm IOT exploit EN CV.
B Co: SE 2. Occupy Clauston Hill by force and SUPPORT BY FIRE Main Effort’s Clear of Lagsah’s Farm IOT exploit EN CV.
C Co: ME. CLEAR Lagsah’s Farm from West to East via a right hook around Clauston Hill to Route 17 IOT exploit the EN CV. Limit of Advance is Route 10.
D Co: SE 3. Continue movement into Clauston and halt when you link up with LAR. DESTROY EN Refuelers when they come within range. Upon destruction of EN laager site, BPT assume the ME and lead the battalion in pursuit of enemy remnants fleeing down Route 17 IOT to prevent EN from escaping. Do NOT let those Refuelers get away.
Coordinating Instructions:
First come first serve on the Enemy Scouts, our 2 x Tank Companies will steam roll them. Whoever gets them first is of no concern to me, just don’t let them slow us down.
Target Precedence in the Laager Site: Type 99’s before Type 08’s.
I will be located on Clauston Hill and will be in charge of the 2 x Company SBF.
On Consolidation at C Co’s LOA at RT 17, C Co will take charge of CASEVAC of friendly and enemy casualties, EPW’s, and immediate repair of downed vehicles. The rest of the battalion will PURSUE.
Order of movement in Pursuit is D Co, B Co, A Co. C Co will resume march when able.
I will fall in behind D Co during the pursuit.
Move out!
Love the reference to system disruption, the preferred defeat mechanism of maneuver warfare. Straight out of the Maneuverist Papers: https://www.mca-marines.org/wp-content/uploads/On-Defeat-Mechanisms.pdf.
Situation: Enemy forces, composed primarily of two tank companies and one infantry company, appear to be assembling at Lasgah’s Farm.
Mission: Battalion attacks enemy forces assembling at Lasgah’s Farm in order to destroy them. ACo seizes Clauston Hill to provide supporting fires; the main effort (B, C, DCo) conducts a flanking attack from the west along Route 17.
Tasks to Subordinate Units:
•ACo: Seize Clauston Hill, destroy enemy in vicinity, establish base of fire.
•BCo: Lead flanking maneuver and destroy enemy at Lasgah’s Farm.
•CCo: Follow Company B, ready to reinforce.
•DCo: Follow Company C, maintain battalion reserve.
Rationale:
•The enemy, currently engaged in resupply operations, appears unaware of our advance. This represents a critical window of opportunity to engage them decisively.
•Clauston Hill provides an ideal base of fire against enemy forces at Fargh’s Farm. Fires delivered by Company A are expected to achieve significant effects. Furthermore, the assault on Clauston Hill may serve to deceive the enemy regarding the direction of our main effort.
•The main body’s flanking maneuver will be concealed by forests and hills, thereby enhancing the element of surprise.
•(Request updated intelligence from division regarding possible enemy movement along Route 13. Area remains a concern for potential threat activity.)
"S: ACTION RIGHT! Get off the road! We've got twenty tanks and ten APCs four klicks south of here behind that hill. At Yasgur's Farm, the junction of 10 and 17, they're dismounted waiting for fuel. Two of their scouts, climbing that hill, will see us in five minutes!"
"S: Right NOW, we ATTACK their assembly area in order to prevent them refueling."
"E: We'll attack-by-fire on two axes - one atop CLAUSTON HILL, the second, right flanking, around the hill and behind the woods."
"DELTA. Main Effort, right flanking. ATTACK their assembly area in order to disrupt refueling."
"CHARLIE. REINFORCE DELTA."
"ALPHA, with me, up the hill. DESTROY their scouts. ATTACK-BY-FIRE the assembly area in order to fix them in place."
"BRAVO. RESERVE. Be prepared to reinforce either axis or attack through CLAUSTON town."
"Fires. We'll need CAS or artillery on that fuel convoy on Route 17, soonest!"
I work for the Division CG, who now has tanks in his rear area. This enemy makes whatever the CG was planning irrelevant. But the enemy's refueling effort makes them vulnerable. They do NOT know about us, so this opportunity to attack cannot be lost.
I assume competence on the part of the company commanders. "Right flank, attack-by-fire" is all they need. They will not close on the enemy, but will make the most of positions, defilade, tree lines, and optics to engage at standoff distance.
The tanks, not the APCs are the most important target. The refueling convoy is a tempting target, but it is NOT the priority, and can be engaged by many other weapons and units. The enemy tanks in our AO must be destroyed.
I agree that both the seriousness of the situation and the opportunity it presents dictate that you attack the enemy at Lasgah's Farm. But on top of that, as Zschwartz points out, doing so is also consistent with the Division commander's stated intent of destroying enemy armor and seizing the initiative.
To Company Commanders: friendly LAVs in Clauston report ENY tank/mech battalion establishing laager IVO Lasgah's Farm. We are going to attack to destroy the ENY there. ENY tank platoon en route to Clauston Hill, we have to seize it first.
Company A: sieze Clauston Hill; establish SBF position oriented south.
Company B: pass through friendly LAVs in Clauston; attack South.
Company C & D: hold current pos; on order Attack to destroy south.
Priority of indirect fire to Company A; suppress ENY laager site, shift to refuelers that are moving NW on route 17 once Co B engages.
Reposting my rationale so it's beneath my orders/solution:
Rationale: Wow, 3 minutes goes by quickly! Though it's not ideal to fight in our rear area, we do have a golden opportunity to destroy a major enemy formation.
Similar to the last (first) TDG, I need to act quickly and aggressively. My first priority is to seize Clauston Hill. I think my company can do that if they move quickly because I think we have more information and more firepower at the point of contact. Once Co A seizes the hill, they should be able to use main guns to disrupt the enemy assembly area / laager site and employ indirect fires against both the laager and, later refuelers.
Company B needs to be careful not to accidently engage the LAV section, so I made sure they know about the LAVs location. They need to balance that care against the need to maneuver quickly through Clauston to engage the enemy.
Frankly, I'm not yet sure what I'm going to do with Co C & D. I may need them to pursue or to block enemy's escape, but I don't want to complicate geometry of fires by maneuvering all 4 companies at once. I also may need them to secure the hill to the NE in case the enemy task force is part of a larger attack, so I don't want to commit these companies prematurely.
Once my companies are moving, I'll update higher HQ and request priority of fires. I suspect higher won't love using artillery or even mortars in our rear area, plus any available indirect fire will have to shift trails (maybe wrong arty term but I mean reposition/reorient their direction of lay), so any fire support will be slow. My Fire Support Coordinator will need to be flexible and understand my intent: RWCAS is likely a good option if available.
Outstanding! REALLY concise! I think your insight about on artillery is dead-on. And even if they can shift trails, do we believe our normal fire support coordination measures will enable rapid indirect fire? Not likely. I also like leaving some tanks back, avoiding maneuvering all four companies simultaneously. Good stuff!
Rationale: Wow, 3 minutes goes by quickly! Though it's not ideal to fight in our rear area, we do have a golden opportunity to destroy a major enemy formation.
Similar to the last (first) TDG, I need to act quickly and aggressively. My first priority is to seize Clauston Hill. I think my company can do that if they move quickly because I think we have more information and more firepower at the point of contact. Once Co A seizes the hill, they should be able to use main guns to disrupt the enemy assembly area / laager site and employ indirect fires against both the laager and, later refuelers.
Company B needs to be careful not to accidently engage the LAV section, so I made sure they know about the LAVs location. They need to balance that care against the need to maneuver quickly through Clauston to engage the enemy.
Frankly, I'm not yet sure what I'm going to do with Co C & D. I may need them to pursue or to block enemy's escape, but I don't want to complicate geometry of fires by maneuvering all 4 companies at once. I also may need them to secure the hill to the NE in case the enemy task force is part of a larger attack, so I don't want to commit these companies prematurely.
Once my companies are moving, I'll update higher HQ and request priority of fires. I suspect higher won't love using artillery or even mortars in our rear area, plus any available indirect fire will have to shift trails (maybe wrong arty term but I mean reposition/reorient their direction of lay), so any fire support will be slow. My Fire Support Coordinator will need to be flexible and understand my intent: RWCAS is likely a good option if available.
All company commanders, LAR reports two-zero type niner-niner and one-zero type zero-eight enemy vics laagering at Lasgah’s Farm, with two type niner-niner approaching Clauston Hill from the south, ETA 5 mikes. We are setting up a combined arms ambush, your missions as follows:
Fire Support Team: contact the fire support coordination center, pass the grid for Lasgah’s Farm and request immediate support from division fires and aviation. Advise the LAR Fire Support Team they have mark and control until I order them otherwise. Hasty fire control measure is the east-west grid line touching the southern slope of Clauston Hill.
Alpha, sprint cross country north of Clauston, push platoons two clicks north on route 10 and two clicks east on route 13 to observe those MSRs and advise of the approach of any further enemy forces.
Bravo, disperse east-west in front of Clauston Hill and prepare to engage the scouts, weapons tight.
Charlie and Delta, disperse and proceed on line to the western flank of Clauston Hill but do not push further south until ordered. Engage targets of opportunity, weapons tight.
Rationale: LAR has already broken silence and potentially revealed themselves to adversary EW, so there’s little point in being quiet now and time is of the essence. Dismounted tank crews, no evident air defense, and logistics vehicles coming into the target area? I am going to punish the complacent adversary with indirect and aviation fires, giving LAR terminal control since they have eyes on and can effectively direct and correct fires.
If there were already skirmishes going on near Skellerville, there should already be supporting arms in a ready posture and I just need to give them new targets. Any ordnance, even a little, I can get onto the Farm to kill/wound tank crews effectively kills those tanks. Some crews might make it to their tanks, but further indirect or aviation ordnance after that could still cause mobility kills or even K-kills with a fortunate shot.
Once I get air on station, I may potentially hand mark and control over to a FAC(A) to continue directing fires on adversary targets squirting out of the Farm so long as those targets are south of the east-west grid line I established as a hasty control measure. If enemy squirters come north, my tanks are lined up to hit them as they approach.
Once I’ve achieved all the effects I can with indirect and aviation fires, I would look to move my tanks south to mop up, and prepare to either continue the planned counterattack directed by Division or potentially a new mission given that there was just an unexpected enemy penetration deep into our rear, and we don’t yet know how bad it is.
Bottom line: if my tanks are intended to spearhead a counterattack, I’m not going to grind them up in a fight before the fight when I can call on other fires assets to tilt the odds in my favor. If I tell higher there is enemy armor in their rear, I would expect to receive robust and immediate support to fix that problem.
I think the most interesting thing about this solution is that it demonstrates how much perspective matters. We agree on our basic assessment of the situation but reached different solutions. All the previous solutions have been ground-centric. For a ground guy (which I am), this is a problem begging for fire and maneuver by ground forces. For an aviator, this is a problem calling for air power. I take the valid point about not wanting to "grind up" our armor, although I think that if we do this right, by acting very quickly and exploiting the element of surprise, this may be less a fair fight than a slaughter. With two tank companies on Clauston Hill I'd have about 30 tanks capable of putting out about 10 well aimed rounds each in the first minute--or potentially up to about 300 rounds for 30 targets. Does CAS get me the same potentially decisive effect in the same time frame (genuine question)? Then I'm thinking about what comes next, because I'm thinking this is just the leading edge of something bigger.
CAS (and indirect fires) likely doesn’t get you the same immediately decisive effect, but my mind was chewing on a few other things in keeping my own tanks masked and calling in other fires first:
-LAR’s radio traffic potentially tipped the hand to the adversary via EW intercept that our forces are in the area, but the adversary doesn’t yet know type, disposition, and numbers. I would want to keep it that way for as long as possible. Keeping my tanks behind the hill, forest, and village for as long as possible hides that information. Yes, there are the two adversary scouts coming over the hill, but since I know their disposition and direction of movement and at best, all they know is that there are potential observers in the area using radios, I feel fairly confident I can kill those scouts if they continue on their route of movement before they can report further information to the main body.
-calling for CAS and indirect fires first may not have the same K-kill effect; however it puts the adversary immediately into self-preservation mode, causes chaos and confusion in their formation as they attempt to mount up before getting killed in the open, and I can still have effects on their armored vehicles with those fires sufficient to degrade them. If I can rapidly get some fires onto the laager area, then I can kill/wound some crews before they even mount up; those who mount up will not be thinking about other possible Blue armor in the area, but how to survive and just get the hell out of there, and rather than calmly getting their tanks rolling they will have to attempt to organize themselves and move with very loud noises and shock waves from ordnance assaulting their senses, especially their cognitive load; and any mobility or lucky K-kills I get further throws their formation into confusion, potentially impedes their ability to egress in the direction/manner they wanted to, and further puts pressure on their cognitive load because they don’t have anything to shoot back at. And again, if they have no anti-air assets—which I would assume LAR would include in their report if they’re competent, and I’ve never met an LAR person who wasn’t competent—I will roll air in for as long as higher will give it to me in order to sustain the unfair fight as long as possible. Depending on the weapons load-out of CAS, I can still protect the delivery aircraft by having them fire/release beyond even the effective range of whatever machine guns the enemy armored formation has. And even if that ordnance is dumb bombs, CAS aircraft have sufficient targeting assistance built into their avionics and targeting pods that they can put a 500lb bomb sufficiently close to a target that you can’t tell whether it’s precision or not, and a 500lb bomb detonating next to a tank will, I would think, at a minimum render the tank crew into red goo or something sufficiently close to it that that tank is now out of the fight.
And to this point, the enemy still may not know that I have tanks just over the hill or if they do, they don’t have the information, nor are they in the condition, to report numbers and disposition. They are probably screaming to their own higher HQ that they’re under air, artillery, and/or rocket attack.
Now they are disorganized, demoralized, and thinking about the “flight” mode of “fight or flight” because they can’t fight back against CAS or artillery/rockets. Saving their skins just became priority number 1. That is when I want my own armor coming in. I would think their chain of command is in sufficient confusion that their ability to provide a coherent report on enemy armor, on top of enemy air and indirect fires, is less probable now. And putting my tanks against an adversary already in flight offers an chance for even greater unbalanced slaughter than initial surprise in a static position; it’s well-documented historically that forces take higher casualties—and inflict far fewer—when they flee as opposed to standing their ground.
Now, certainly my plan depends on the responsiveness of air and indirect fires; however as noted in the initial rationale, if there was already skirmishing underway throughout the night, supporting arms would already be a ready state to potentially continue supporting those engagements. And if my division commander found enemy tanks in his rear, I believe I’d get priority of fires to deal with that, and get that priority very quickly.
As to what comes next: I get air on station, they can observe much farther than my tanks or LAR, and quickly provide information on whether there were follow-on adversary units coming up the same route. And if they see additional adversary units, either they themselves, or coordinating with other supporting arms, could potentially disrupt that adversary movement—and intended plan—much earlier. Or, if there are no supporting arms immediately available to strike that larger adversary force, early warning provided by aviation assets creates the option for my division commander to dispose my forces or other ground forces differently for another ambush or spoiling attack.
This all assumes what appears to be a pretty permissive aviation environment. Were the environment less permissive, I would likely develop a slightly different plan, potentially leveraging more indirect fires in combination with UAS whose survivability I would be less concerned about.
Thoughtful. Agree about keeping the enemy in the dark as to our full strength and disposition. I don't see air arriving before those scout tanks crest the hill and see our entire battalion arrayed on the road. One immediate way to attack that problem is to have the LAR engage the scout tanks. They won't kill them, but they may get their attention enough to draw them away from the crest, buying us some critical minutes. The enemy will know something is up, but he won't know it's an entire tank battalion maneuvering to attack him. Could not agree more about the value of sowing chaos and confusion within the enemy ranks. My inference was that because it has been a quiet night with no reports of major combat there is not a lot of air up on station.
I’m certainly making some assumptions about what aviation is available for tasking, and there’s a lot more information that’s not in the scope of the TDG that would drive some of that decision-making. But everything else being equal, if this conflict is of sufficiently large scale that battalions of tanks are rolling around, I’m assuming there’s a joint ATO at work as well that would include lines of aviation to be on-call, both rotary wing and fixed wing. Unless rotary wing is in exactly the right place at the right time, they’re unlikely to get there in 5 minutes, but I have a better chance with fixed wing, and tapping LAR to act as my JTAC while I maneuver my forces into position means the JTAC can pass pertinent targeting information to fixed wing while they’re inbound and then fixed wing can transition into the attack as soon as they’re in weapons engagement range. To Vinton’s point, artillery might need to drag itself around to a new gun target line, but HIMARS/ATACMS would offer more responsiveness as well as greater engagement range.
My thought on LAR is leaving them as observers for as long as possible—having them open up on the scouts would certainly get the scouts’ attention, but as I understand the TDG situation, up to this point the adversary doesn’t know where LAR is. I’m assuming enemy EW picked up LAR’s transmission, but I’m also assuming we’re using encryption so both the content of the message and precise location of LAR are not yet known to the adversary, and I’d like to keep it that way so they can continue to act as an un-harassed observer feeding me information. The LAR report indicates the scouts are continuing over the hill, not to the town, which indicates the scouts are unaware of both my main body presence and LAR’s specific location. So long as that doesn’t change, I can use LAR to give me cuing for when the scouts are about to crest and come into effective range of my tank guns, and have a few of my tanks with barrels pointed in precisely that direction to pop the scouts before they can make a detailed report. The adversary will hear my tank guns and maybe they’ll watch the turrets of their scouts fly into the lower atmosphere—they’ll have no information beyond that, and then I expect to direct their attention to the more immediate problem of their exposed crews coming under aviation and indirect fires. Those fires can be directed by LAR, whose observer position remains unknown, and so long as their position is unknown and they don’t have to worry about getting directly engaged, they can be my conductor for supporting arms.
I know it’s outside the scope of the TDG, but in this kind of scenario, other things that were rolling around in my mind:
-the enemy has known EW capabilities; what’s my EW doing, and how did it miss an entire enemy tank movement, laager, and resupply?
-admin movement or no, if I’m in sufficiently high intensity conflict that large armored movements are just another day, I would probably ask for—if I didn’t have it organically—some type of longer range route reconnaissance, so that I don’t come up unexpectedly on an adversary force a functional stone’s throw away. If manned aviation wasn’t an option—which, if it’s truly a quiet night, could well be an option, and they could provide offset recon using a T-pod without being directly overhead me and giving my position away—then I would probably push some type of UAS out well in front of me to scout my route well outside weapons engagement range. The state and capability of enemy EW here is unclear: it’s of sufficient concern that I’m not transmitting, but I heard radio traffic transmitted from the front lines, and LAR also did not seem overly concerned about transmitting their report to me. But if my admin road march is under sufficient threat that I’m keeping radio silence myself, then I’d very much like longer range route reconnaissance and some type of aviation would be a good way to do that.
-also, admin movement or no: I’d expect to have some anti-air asset assigned to move with and protect me. Having a large armored column moving without it is begging to lit up from above.
Anyway, more food for thought.