This is the first in what, I hope, will be a series of After Action Reports based on the Military Monday OA games. After listening to the talk on the forum concerning tactical movement and communication breakdown I thought it would be useful to provide summaries of the action. This should provide some insight for the newbies and serve as a reminder for the old guard about how tactics may be used in a virtual combat environment. They are not intended to point out shortcomings of any individual command decision. I would like them to highlight options for approaching various tactical problems.
Mission: Karachinar Patrol
Date: 5 July 2010
Commander: Fransky
Tasks: 1. Patrol and Clear Karachinar
2. Destroy Takistani Camp
Actions Taken
The mission began with the dismounted infantry and the LAVs moving down the main road toward the central crossroad where the buildings in Karachinar began. But after approx. 400m, enemy forces were spotted and engaged which necessitated a change in tactics. Since the town was now alerted to our presence, a total team firebase was established at 121105 and the entire town was engaged simultaneously. A sniper team was set up at 122104 to observe and engage any forces attempting to reinforce the town. Alpha and Bravo were then tasked with sweeping the village of final opposition. Mags LAV was tasked to recce the 2nd objective and act as a cutoff while we re-organized. At this point , Mag was destroyed. Alpha was then sent to hill 2215 to establish an OP. This was successfully achieved but the section was rendered combat in-effective due to communication and organizational breakdown. Bravo and Charlie established an ORV at 123103, but the town was not properly cleared. This necessitated pulling Bravo off of the ORV to sweep the town which only exacerbated the confusion surrounding team organization. Following the sweep, it became increasingly difficult to retrieve the sweep team due to random soldiers assisting without informing their Section Lead. Alpha , which lacked an AT member, was then engaged by an OPFOR APC. This APC was hastily engaged by the 2nd BLUEFOR LAV and destroyed. All teams then converged on the Takistani camp and cleared the final objective.
Problems and Proposed Solutions
Problem 1. Insufficient Recce. - Regardless of how much information is in the briefing, an on-the-ground recce should be performed by the commander. This would have identified exact enemy positions, equipment (hidden T-55, APC, Technicals), and strength. In the following diagram I have detailed how it should have happened. The Commander, along with a security team(using a LAV), moves to a position overlooking both objectives. This provides real-time information and allows proper map use so that the symbols can be seen by all the Section Leaders. Meanwhile, the Main Force under the command of A1, has moved to a secure Lay-Up-Position which allows the teams to sort themselves out and prevents tipping our hand to the enemy while awaiting the Commanders return. These principles apply in a Deliberate Attack/Patrol, or an Advance to Contact (Bumping the Enemy).
Problem 2. Random Soldier Movement – The Platoon Commander and Section Commanders need to maintain a tight reign on their sub-ordinates when moving in formation. When the orders are given to move to the Line of Departure (LD), troops need to move in their given formations so as to prevent lost troops and Blue-on-Blue. This is dependent on clear orders from the Commander to the Section Commanders to their troops. The way to solve this is by speaking in your assigned channel and not just blaring over TS. The Commander speaks to the Section Leads who then pass the information to their people. The same applies to sending information up the line. A contact report is given to the section lead, who then passes it to the Commander. This sort of radio discipline is detailed in many places so I won't belabour the point.
As one can see from the next pictures, following the recce the Commander moves the troops to the LD and begin to sweep North to South in Line formation. This prevents enemy troops from escaping notice and slowing the advance. At the same time, A Firebase is established (122104) overlooking a designated Kill Zone which allows the sweep teams to push the enemy out of the town and into the line of fire. The Firebase also acts as a cut-off for any reinforcements coming from the South. Following this action, the teams would consolidate at the south end of town and prepare to push the final objective.
The Firebase moves to hill 2215 and provides suppressive fire while the assault groups, led directly by the Platoon Commander (and including an APC), move down to 123099, face west and prepare to overrun the camp. It should be noted that AT and an APC would be placed at hill 2215, to deal with the armoured enemy threats (previously recce'd by the Commander). Enemy troops would be dealt with as an Advance to Contact while en route to the final attack position. Once the teams were sorted at the new LD, they would sweep the camp and consolidate the victory.
Problem 3. Indecisive Leadership – As one can see, much of the confusion in the mission arose from Commanders failing to take the decisive steps to ensure victory, and from inadequate communication between team members. The initial omission of proper recce left the teams groping in the dark for a direction, and left the enemy with the initiative. Proper information gathering and dispersion allows an army to seize the initiative and maintain momentum. Rather than reacting to the enemy, we should force them to compensate for us.
