Battle Drills

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Battle Drills
Break Contact
React to Ambush
React to Contact
Knock Out a Bunker
Enter a Building and Clear a Room
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Battle Drills

• Very similar to Standard operating procedures
  (SOPs) which are pre-established unit
  guidelines. Battle Drills are an immediate
  response to enemy contact that require fire and
  maneuver in order to succeed.

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Battle Drills a collective action rapidly
executed without applying a deliberate
decision-making process, in which a unit applies
fire and maneuver to common situations of enemy
combat FM 25-101

• Speed
• Minimal Leader Commands
• Trained Responses to Enemy Actions or Leader
  Orders
• Sequential Actions Vital to Success in Combat
  and Preserving Combat Power
• Standard throughout the Army
• Platoon or Smaller Units

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Speed

• Soldiers ability to execute key actions quickly
• Response to enemy contact has to be automatic
• No hesitation on movements
• Seconds can mean the difference between life and
  death

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Minimal Leader Commands

• Trained responses to enemy actions or orders
• Actions are sequential (conducted in a specific
  order)
• Standard throughout the Army
• Both offensive and defensive

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Trained Responses

• Like reflexes and result from continual practice
• Help build unit strength, cohesion and
  aggressiveness
• Continually fine tune

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Sequential Actions

• Outlined in FM 7-8
• Detailed instructions
• Memorize steps
• Practicing the sequence
• Rehearsing again and again
• Dont think Just DO

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Why are Battle Drills standardized throughout the
Army?
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The survival of your Troops and preservation of
combat power depends on your units proficiency at
BATTLE DRILLS
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KEY TYPES OF BATTLE DRILLS

• REACT TO CONTACT
• BREAK CONTACT
• REACT TO AMBUSH
• KNOCK OUT A BUNKER
• ENTER A BUILDING AND CLEAR A ROOM

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QUESTIONS
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Squads in the Offense
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The Purpose of Offensive Operations

• Destroy the enemy and his will to fight
• Seize terrain
• Learn enemy strength and disposition
• Deceive, divert, or fix the enemy

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CHARACTERISTICS OF THE OFFENSE

• SURPRISE
• CONCENTRATION
• TEMPO
• AUDACITY

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SURPRISE

• Surprise is crucial
• Delays enemy reactions
• Shocks enemy Soldiers and Leaders
• Confuses enemy Command and Control
• Press your advantage before the enemy knows
  what's going on

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CONCENTRATION

• The Massing of overwhelming force to achieve a
  single purpose
• Massing of weapons (squads) and forces (platoons)
• Overwhelm or hold in place (fix)
• Both indirect and direct fires

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TEMPO

• Speed or timing of an attack
• Control tempo to retain initiative
• Destroys enemy before they can react
• Prevents regrouping, reorganizing, counter attack
  
• Squads and platoons support larger forces tempo
  with rapid execution
• Maintains momentum not allowing defenders to
  recover

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AUDACITY

• Developing bold, innovative plans to achieve
  decisive results
• Elements violently apply combat power (maneuver,
  firepower, protection leadership)
• Know when and where to take risks
• DO NOT hesitate to execute
• Inspires soldiers to overcome adversity and danger

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Offensive Operations

• Movement to Contact
• Deliberate attack
• Hasty Attack
• Raids
• Ambushes
• Reconnaissance and security operations
• fall under patrolling missions (chapter III FM
  7-8)

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Movement to Contact

• Purpose Gain or regain contact with the enemy.
  

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Movement to Contact Planning Considerations

• Make enemy contact with the smallest element
  possible
• Prevent detection of elements not in contact
  until they are in the assault
• Maintain 360-degree security at all times
• Report all information quickly and accurately
• Maintain contact once it is gained
• Generate combat power rapidly upon contact
• Fight through at the lowest level possible

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MTC Infiltration

• Offensive mission normally conducted by platoons
  or squads
• Purpose is to move into or through enemy area
  without fighting through prepared defenses or
  being detected
• Usually supports next higher mission or intent
  not an end in itself but a means to an end

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Purposes of Infiltration

• Gather information
• Attack enemy positions from the rear
• Conduct raids or ambushes in enemy
• rear areas
• Capture prisoners
• Seize key terrain in support of other operations
• Aid a main attack

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Attack

• An offensive action characterized by violence of
  action and fire and maneuver
• Three types of attacks
• Hasty
• Deliberate
• Raid
• Ambush

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Initiative in the Attack

• Seizing and retaining the initiative involves
  more then just achieving tactical surprise. It
  involves a process of planning and preparing for
  combat operations, finding the enemy first,
  avoiding detection, fixing the enemy, locating or
  creating weakness, maneuvering to exploit that
  weakness with a quick and violent assault

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Hasty Attack

• Conducted with the forces immediately available
  to maintain momentum or to take advantage of the
  enemy situation
• Does not normally allow for extensive preparation
• Could be a React to Contact developed into a
  squad attack

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Deliberate Attack

• Carefully planned and coordinated
• Time available to perform thorough reconnaissance
• Evaluation of all available intelligence and
  relative combat strength
• Analysis of various courses of action and other
  factors affecting the situation
• Generally conducted against a well-organized
  defense when a hasty attack is not possible or
  has failed

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Attacks during limited visibility

• Attacks during limited visibility achieve
  surprise, avoid heavy losses, cause panic in weak
  and disorganized enemy, exploit success and
  maintain momentum, and keep pressure on the enemy.

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Keys to limited visibility attacks

• Planning same considerations but they require
  additional control measures to prevent Fratricide
  and keep focus on the objective.
• Recon key to success done in daylight to the
  lowest level recon movement routes, positions
  and OBJ Balance need for info vs. detection
  maintain surveillance on OBJ, situation may
  change from recon
• If no recon available consider using illuminated
  attack
• A night attack with marginal information of the
  enemys defense is risky and difficult to conduct

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Questions?