Rifle Squad Tactics Flashcards
Define Offensive Operations.
“Operations which aim at destroying or defeating an enemy.”
What is the purpose of the offense?
- Destroy enemy forces, equipment, and resources
- Deceive and divert the enemy
- Deprive the enemy of resources
- Gain information on the enemy
- Fix the enemy in place
- Seize key terrain
- Produce a reaction from the enemy
- Disrupt enemy actions or preparations
What are the four types of offensive operations?
- Movement to contact
- Attack
- Exploitation
- Pursuit
What are the two types of attack?
Hasty attack and deliberate attack
What are the three phases of an attack?
- Preparation
- Conduct
- Consolidation/Exploitation
What are the six forms of maneuver?
- Frontal attack
- Flanking attack
- Envelopment
- Turning attack
- Infiltration
- Penetration
What are the three types of tactical tasks?
- Enemy-oriented
- Friendly-oriented
- Terrain-oriented
What is the mission of an infantry squad?
Locate, close with, and destroy the enemy by fire and maneuver, or repel the enemy’s assault by fire and close combat.
What are the organic weapons of an infantry squad?
M16, M203, M249
What are the supplementary weapons of an infantry squad?
Demolitions, claymores, hand grenades, ground signals and flares, assault weapons (AT4s, SMAW, LAW)
What is the Main Effort?
It is the commander’s bid for success. It has the greatest mobility, the preponderance of combat support, and the bulk of the combat power.
What is the Support Effort?
Offensive and defensive operations that support the main effort.
What is the purpose of a map reconnaissance?
To put yourself in the enemy’s position. To determine how and where the enemy can affect your mission, the objective, the route to the objective, and after the enemy is destroyed on the objective.
What is the purpose of the COC coordination?
- Discover recent enemy activity
- Enemy strengths and weaknesses
- Enemy TTPs and patterns
Examples of detail that should be included in the EMLCOA are:
- Enemy ambush sites
- Enemy patrol routes
- Enemy LPs/OPs
- Orientation of the enemy position
- Location of machine guns
- Routes of withdrawal
- Possible counter-attacks
A checkpoint is used in __________.
A release point is used in ___________.
Fire and movement;
Fire and maneuver
What is the purpose of a frontal attack?
To break through the enemy defense and disrupt the defensive system, achieving a penetration.
What are some Tactical Control Measures?
- Assembly Area (AA)
- Attack Position (Atk Pos)
- Line of Departure (LD)
- Assault Position (Aslt Pos)
What is the AA?
It is a friendly/permissive environment.
What is an Atk Pos?
Last covered and concealed position before crossing the LD.
What is the LD?
A line designated to coordinate the departure of attacking elements.
What is the Aslt Pos?
The last covered and concealed position before the objective.
When does the Preparation Phase terminate and the Conduct Phase begin?
When crossing the LD.
When does the Conduct Phase end and the Consolidation Phase begin?
When we have assaulted through the objective.
What is a Fighter/Leader?
It is leadership by example. It is more effective if a leader executes what he wants done rather than verbally communicate it. This is developed by proficiency, situational awareness, and experience.
What is the base unit?
It is the unit that serves as a reference point for the other units. Its foundation is effective lateral and implicit communication.
What are the reasons for the base unit?
- The squad leader to control his unit when verbal commands cannot be heard
- Ease of control when visibility restrictions do not allow team leaders to see the squad leader
- Extend the flexibility of small unit direction changes down to the fire team leader
- Allows the squad leader to quickly change the direction and speed of the attack and allowing the other two teams to follow the base unit
What is the smallest maneuver element in the Marine Corps?
The Buddy Team/Pair
What does the “fore” position do?
- Engages enemy
- Covers sector (if no enemy)
What does the “aft” position do?
- Assesses the effects of his buddy’s suppression
- Looks to unit leader then buddy
- Identifies micro terrain
- Prepares a rocket/hand grenade
- Employs M203
- Reloads weapon
- Initiates the next buddy rush
What are the three steps while moving as a buddy pair?
SAM
- Suppress
- Assess
- Move
Who becomes the base unit for a fire team?
The fire team leader’s buddy team
What is the “300 mil rule”?
The distance between your rifle and when you should cease firing when your buddy enters. For this reason it is important to limit the length of rushes to allow your buddy to continue to engage the enemy.
The squad leader uses the base unit fire team to control the squads:
- Direction
- Orientation
- Speed
What makes rushes effective?
Suppression
What does ADDRAC stand for?
A - Alert D - Direction D - target Description R - Range A - target Assignment C - fire and Control
The ADDR is _________ oriented.
The AC is ___________ oriented.
Enemy; friendly
The Target Assignment consists of what?
What’s organic and how am I going to employ them.
Fire Control consists of what?
- Rates of fire
- Fields of fire
Define “Fire and Maneuver.”
A technique of advance in which one element (the maneuver element( moves while being supported by another element (the support by fire element).
Define “Fire and Movement”.
A technique of advances in which elements and individuals provide their own suppression and move by bounds.
Define “Cover and Movement”.
It is when you are oriented on the objective, there is a hasty movement towards consolidation
Why consolidate and reorganize?
- Preparation for the enemy’s counter attack
- Reestablish Command and Control within the unit
- Reestablish communications with higher
- Address casualties/ammo
- Preparation to resume the attack/pursue the enemy
What does SAFE stand for?
- Security
- Automatic weapons
- Fields of fire
- Entrenchment
What does Security entail?
- All SAWs manned at all times (minimum of 25% security)
- All units are responsible for their own security
- Security is continuous
- Use clock method to establish initial security (180 or 360)
What does Automatic Weapons entail?
- Emplaced first and always manned
- Cover all avenues of approach and key terrain
What do Fields of Fire entail?
It is the area which a weapon or a group of weapons may cover effectively with fire from a given position
- Established as soon as automatic weapons are emplaced
- Must be interlocking
- Entire fire team will cover the same sector of fire
What does Entrenchment entail?
Start to entrench skirmishers trenches once fields of fire have been verified by squad leader
- A trench that is long and wide enough to lay horizontally and roughly 18 inches deep
- The dirt from the hole is used to fill sand bags for setting sectors of fire for the position
What is a sector of fire?
A defined area which is required to be covered by the fire of individual or crew-served weapons or the weapons of a unit.
What does ACE stand for?
- Ammo
- Casualties
- Equipment
What actions are to be taken for Ammo?
- Receive ammo percentages from fire teams
- Redistribution among the squad
- Assess capabilities/limitations of squad for follow on operations
What actions are to be taken for Casualties?
- Treat (self, buddy, corpsmen)
- Move to Casualty Collection Point
- Radio higher for movement to next higher level
- Casevac / Medevac to next higher level care
- Assess capabilities/limitations of squad for follow on operations
What actions are to be taken for Equipment?
- Downed weapons
- Communication gear
- Requests for additional equipment needed from higher
- Assess capabilities/limitations for follow on missions
What are the two methods for exploiting success for a squad or platoon?
- Pursuit by Fire
- Continuation of the Attack
What is Pursuit by Fire?
When the assault through the objective is completed the squad fires upon the withdrawing enemy forces until they are no longer visible or are beyond effective range of the squad’s weapon systems
What is Continuation of the Attack?
Maintaining pressure on the enemy by continuing the attack.
