Disengagement - Avoiding the Point of No Return

r Fire Support in Disengagement: Avoiding the Point of No Return! I by Major Charles C. Otterstedt and Major Steven J. Mi The Issue At the company level, our mechanized forces are proficient at engaging threat forces. We conduct battle drills; practice the use of direct fire weapons, fire support, and obstacles in engagements areas; and synchronize them against the enemy. But sometimes, company commanders forget to use fire support effectively when it comes time to disengage and move to anew position. This happens for two reasons: 0 Commanders don’t adequately express their intent for fue support to a young lieutenant with much less experience. 0 Commanders don’t pay enough attention to the fire support tools available when planning the disengagement. When we conduct a delaying action, we usually perform a series of engagements at successive defensive positions. In these, the company/team plans the defense, prepares the position, and executes the plan. One of two things happens each time we occupy and defend from these positions. If things go according to our company or task force plan, we engage the enemy and then disengage at a predesignated time, or on signal. If things don’t go according to our plans, the company may become decisively engaged and the position overrun. If the enemy can see you as you withdraw your platoons to their new positions, he’ll do his best to hit you. Here are some tools to help you protect your unit as you disengage. Command and Control Commander’s Guidance. Use your FSO. He’s grounded in the technical aspects of his trade, but isn’t as experienced as you, so he needs clear guidance. Make him backbrief your intent. Tell him five things: e Disengagement criteria. e Final Protective Fires (FPF) *Command and control of e Routes between positions. e Purpose of priority targets. (e.g. To support obstacles, to cover disengagement routes) location. (show him on the ground) platoon disengagement. Control Measures. Make the best use of your control measures. Time- 44 ARMOR - March-April 7997 ly reporting of platoon locations enables you and your FSO to keep fires timely and accurate. Situation Reports (SITREPs), for example, can help you keep those priority targets current. When you call for that priority target in front of BP 21 (see diagram), you don't want the rounds landing in front of your previous position. Knowing where your platoons are also helps your FSO ensure quick, responsive fires. If he hasn't heard your platoons report successive phase lines as they pull rearward, he'll have to obtain clearance to fire each mission. FSO location. The best spot for the FSO during the disengagement is where he can best see to engage his targets. Putting the FSO in your tank won't leave him free to coordinate fires for you. If he'sin the loader's hatch, he won't be able to see your targets. Fire Support Tools We stress that there is not a different set of tactics for each type of operation. It is merely the application of tools available to you. The following are some of the fire support tools you can use successfully to disengage from the enemy. Artillery. Know where your artillery is on the battlefield. It may be important to know the direction of incoming rounds when you call them in at close ranges. If, for example, you plan to disengage when the enemy reaches one half of your direct fire range, there's not much room for error. Artillery gives you "area fires," and the largest projectile error is always in its range (as opposed to its direction). That means that supporting fires originating from your left or right flank area are ideal for the closest fire support. Fires originating directly behind you, firing over your head, can have "probable errors in range" of plus or minus 27 meters. Mortars. The same applies to your mortars. For the disengagement, plan to use the mortars principally for screening and obscuration smoke. Priority of Fires. Understand what "Priority of Fires" (POF) really means. Know if you have priority of artillery or mortars. If you have POF, the Fire Direction Center (FDC) will fire your Call For Fire before other calls. This is critical if you plan a particular target to support that last platoon in your team in withdrawing as the enemy approaches. Those few seconds will determine if they successfully withdraw or become decisively engaged. They can't afford a busy signal. You're clearly not "out of luck if you don't have POF for artillery or your mortars. You'll still get support. You just might not be the first to receive fire. In that case, don't plan your disengagement to hinge on split-second timing. This is one reason why you must maximize use of all your assets. Priority Targets. Use them to support your obstacle plan, screen the enemy, cover withdrawal routes, etc. Remember, if you have a priority ARMOR - 45 target, it means that a niiriiiiiiiiii of two artillery or three mortar tubes will lay on that target whenever they’re not firing a mission. However, the purpose of the priority target dictates the number of tubes used for the target. For instance, obscuring an enemy Observation Point (OP) with smoke may need only two tubes of artillery, while preventing the enemy from breaching an obstacle may require a battery of eight tubes firing numerous volleys. Use the priority target throughout the depth of your sector. Just remember that as the battle progresses, someone has to tell the tubes when to shift to the next priority target. Through your initial guidance and SITREPS, your FSO will know when to shift them. Additionally, you should always have the priority target on the next likely target, such as one along your route to the next position. priority target. Don’t use them merely to disengage. You have much more efficient ways to do that, and more plentiful assets. TC 6-71, Fire Support Handbook for the Mariaiver Commander, says that FPFs are “...desperation fires. Don’t call for them unless all else has failed.” That FPF will deprive several others of fire support for its duration. Targeting. Use artillery to cover your obstacles. While disengaging, you’ll definitely want targets on your positions and along your withdrawal routes. Above all, know when to fire them. Designate trigger points to ensure timely execution. It’s better to place fires between you and the enemy than behind him. When covering your route, it’s important to put time and space between you and the enemy. “Dry run“ the execution of the trigger points during your rehearsals. Special Munitions Smoke. You have several delivery methods of smoke at your disposal to help you disengage. Beyond the smoke grenades on the M1 and M2 and the smoke you can create using your vehicle engine exhaust system, the FSO can provide smoke from your mortars or artillery. It’seven better to consider using prepositioned smoke pots. Bear in mind, however, that there are probably four other company commanders who have the same thought in mind as they pull out from their positions. You should ensure your FSO always knows how much smoke to realistically expect from his indirect fire weapons. If he repeatedly promises you all the smoke you want or doesn’t know how much the mortars and artillery have, demand that he find out. If you aren’t linchpin in the task force’s battle, or if the TF S3 has made other plans for the available smoke, don’t count on a lot of it. Family of Scatterable Minefields (FASCAM). Remember, there are several types of FASCAM, of which artillery is only one. If your TF S3 and commander want to make maximum use of artillery for suppressive fires and close support, they’ll probably shoot Field Artillery (FA) early or use other minelaying means to help set up the TF’s defense. If you call in FA FASCAM to do more than seal a gap in your obstacles, you’ll tie up some tubes for longer than you probably want to. In the example below, you should not expect to call for any FA FASCAM. You aren’t the TF main effort. Have your FSO plan for it, but chances are that brigade will retain the control over its execution. Brigade approval for a- FASCAM target of opportunity or a planned FPFs. Many people misunderstand them. They’re- a specific type of 46 ARMOR - March-April 7997 target would be- too slow for the pace of Team A’s disengagement. Situation What follows is an example of how to effectively use your fire support with an armor-heavy team in the defense; disengaging from the enemy to subsequent positions. You’re commander of Team A, TF 1-4 AF2. Your battalion is task organized and has the mission of defending in sector to destroy the firstechelon battalion attacking in your area of operations. The TF S3, S2, and FSO have briefed you on the scheme of maneuver. You’ll PL

Company Defense In Sector Pisengagement defend successive battle positions with the three other teams in your task force. You haven’t got well-concealed routes of egress from your first two positions and are concerned about how to protect yourself en route. The battalion commander has told you not to become decisively engaged. In our scenario, you received your OPORD brief with your team FSO. You return to your position and begin troop leading procedures. You and the TF S3 agreed on approximate positions for the platoons to delay from (BPs 10, 20, 30). The TF FSO determined from the OPORD that since Team A isn’t the TFs main effort, you’ll get one artillery priority target and one mortar priority target, but no Combat Observation Lasing Team (COLT). Don’t forget you still have your Fire Support Team Vehicle (FIST-V), which has the same lasing abilities as the COLT. While reconnoitering your positions on the ground, you and your FSO discussed how you’ll conduct the defense from those positions. Making a Tentative Plan At this step, you and your FSO begin to wargame your plan. Your concept for the disengagement begins with the decision to pull out your mechanized platoon from BP 30 as soon as the enemy has two platoons across Phase Line (PL) Red in the engagement area or half of friendly direct fire range. You and he agree that you will accompany the tank platoon in Battle Position (BP) 20 as the last one to withdraw and the FSO will position behind and between BPs 10 and 20. Y o u r recommends allocating 3d platoon in BP 20, the artillery priority target, and the mortar priority target to 2d platoon in BP 10. You tell the platoon leaders to let you know as soon as they have designated grids for those priority targets so your FSO can send them up to the TF FSO. You and your FSO discuss what you can count on for fire support. Together you develop a plan for the disengagement. The TF FSO and the S3 have planned group AlA, a three-target Dual Purpose Improved Conventional Munitions (DPICM) group, to cover the engineer obstacles that the task force ARMOR - 47 is going to emplace in the engagement area (EA Horse). The TF S3 has designated Team A as primary initiator for the group. Knowing that he has to ensure there is aback-up initiator, your team FSO recommends that the 3d platoon leader do it because he should be in position and able to see the target. You plan to pull the mechanized platoon from its position first, soon after firing the group. The team will cover first platoon’s withdrawal by direct fires only, saving your artillery smoke and leaving the artillery free to fire other missions. The 2d platoon leader on the left plans to screen his movement by positioning smoke pots in front. He’ll activate them upon your warning order to pull out. You agree with the team EO’S recommendation and decide to save mortar smoke for the 3d platoon’s movement. Your FSO has contacted the TF FSO who told him only to expect approximately 10 minutes of smoke from the artillery, since it will be used heavily elsewhere. The team FSO plans to use white phosphorus and DPICM to screen the platoon withdrawals, but not to fire them until you direct them by use of a code word. You both agree that unpredictable winds might cause the smoke to obscure the enemy vehicles in the engagement area from 3d platoon’s direct fire weapons as they cover the withdrawal of the other two platoons. engagement. Having allocated the priority targets to the platoon leaders, the FSO later contacts them to help them verify the grid locations to the targets they want. He verifies the grids and records and plots them, assigning them numbers from those the TF FSO gave him. Your FSO then catches up with the engineer sergeant who has begun preparing the few obstacles he’s had time to emplace in EA Horse, your primary engagement area. Your FSO finds that one of the targets that the TF FSO designated for group AlA will not cover the obstacle where the engineer has dug. He changes the grid and adds it to his target list, assigning it a different target number to avoid confusion. After showing them to you, he’ll send them to the TF FSO for compilation and refinement. You should ensure that the FSO can position himself well enough to see group AM, the. smoke target and others that you’ll need him to initiate. The FSO may ask you if it is tactically advisable to outweigh the risk of detection. This decision is up to you and your task force commander. The artillery is positioned behind BP 31 and will have to fire directly over 3d platoon’s heads to engage AY2303, their priority target. This concerns you because it will be only 800 meters away from their tanks. Preparing the Plan Once the FSO and platoon leaders understand the plan, they set out to prepare for the defense and dis-You decide to hold the team rehearsal near BP 20 because you can see nearly everyone’s positions. As you and the platoon leaders walk through the motions, various questions arise. How can I prevent the enemy j?oni observing 2dplatooit’s iitoverneii[? The 2d platoon leader comments that he drove along Route Orange, and he’ll be in clear view of the threat forces for most of his move to BP 11. As the platoon leader motions toward the open stretch of ground he must travel, the FSO recalls that he should be able to use a few minutes of the artillery HC smoke. You and he agree to fire smoke for six minutes on target AY2302 to screen 2d platoon’s movement. That’show long it will take the platoon to reach the hill at BP 11. How can I erinire we fire p i i p

AIA?

During the rehearsal, each platoon leader states what he expects to see or fire as the platoons withdraw. Your 3d platoon leader remembers he must initiate group AM, but as he stands in his BP, he’s found the hill at BP 31 interferes with reliable contact with the artillery FDC. Your FSO notes that he’ll initiate the group if he hears the 3d platoon leader failing to get through. It now becomes clear to you that the FSO will be better able to do his job from a spot between BPs 10 and 20, rather than at your side. Who can cam’ the battle iirttil the XO takes coriiriiarid, sliould I go down? You recall that your FSO has been with you during the entire planning and preparation phases. As per your SOP, your XO takes over if you do down. However, you told him to accompany the mech platoon as they displace to BP 31, so it will take a few minutes for him to come 48 ARMOR - March-April 7997

Make the most of your fire support as you disengage from each position. It will help you retain the time and space to maneuver and ultimately seize the initiative from and defeat the enemy. forward to assume command. Until then, you FSO may be the only person up front who understands the big picture and can keep the action flowing until he arrives. He must be ready to rapidly backbrief the XO when he arrives. Be sure he’s aware of this. Executing the Plan Making fire support work for you during disengagements will depend greatly on the planning and preparation you’ve done. In executing the plans, however, you must expect things to go differently from the plan. Flexibility is the watchword. If, for example, the enemy doesn’t concentrate exactly where you designated your priority targets, the FSO will simply adjust from the grid he sent for that target. Two of niv leaders are iiijiired early into tlie battle! Losing key personnel such as yourself, your XO, platoon leaders, FSO, or NCOs will affect your execution. Have them backbrief you. This will ensure they comply with your intent. It also facilitates your leaders’ initiative if they’re confident they understand what you would want them to do. niird platoort leader’s radio broke half way tliroiiglt his SITREP! Work together and be flexible by shifting radio channels when one team member loses communications. This will help keep the fight going. For instance, as the 3d platoon begins to pull out of BP 20, he finds he needs to turn to his FO to call back his report. The FO’s call through the team FSO will help keep the original plan on track. It will help you control the flow of the battle to have current SITREPs and will simplify your FSO’s clearance of fue missions. Second platoon didn’t call taget AY2302 ilyori disertgagirtg! Your FSO has been monitoring the battle. He noticed that an unfamiliar voice called in to report 2d platoon’s disengagement from BP

10. He alerts you to this, noting that they didn’t call for the screening smoke at target AY2302 as you planned during the rehearsal. After you both determine that the platoon leader’s vehicle took a hit, the FSO calls in the target, aiding the platoon’s withdrawal. Conclusion Make the most of your fire support as you disengage from each position. It will help you retain the time and space to maneuver and ultimately seize the initiative from and defeat the enemy. Fail to do this, and you risk defeat. You won’t be able to disengage from your positions on your own terms. The enemy may decisively engage you. He may close in on you and cause you to piecemeal away your platoons because you couldn’t mass fires when you need them. Use the tire support tools above to prevent your disengagement from becoming a “Point of No Return!” Major Charles C. Ot-terst edt graduated from West Point in 1979. Commissioned in Field Artillery, he later graduated from Airborne and Ranger Schools. He served as a fire direction officer, firing battery executive officer, and commanded a 155-mm M109A2 battery for 24 months in 2d Battalion, 75th Field Artillery in FRG. After attending the Field Artillery Officers’ Advanced Course, he served as a counterfire officer for the 82d Airborne

DIVARTY.

Later, he was the FSO for 1st Brigade, 82d Airborne. He has acted as an observer-controller and subject matter expert at the National Training Center and Joint Readiness Training Center. He has written, reviewed, and taught fire support tactics, techniques, and procedures. Currently a small group leader for the US. Army Field Artillery School, he is a Command and General Staff College selectee. Major Steven J. Mullins is an officer advanced course small group leader at Fire Support and Combined Arms Operations Department, US. Army Field Artillery School. He commanded a battery in the 4th Battalion, 7th Field Artillery in Germany, and has served as a company and battalion FSO in Korea. He has written and teaches fire support tactics, techniques, and procedures, and has served as an observer con-trollerlsubject matter expert at JRTC and BCTP. ARMOR - 49