As a military buff I have greatly benefitted from the study of the Rhodesian bush war. Rather than get into the politics of it, which are horrendous and a black mark on Jimmy Carter and his ineptitude, the tactics and proficiency of the Rhodesian soldier is what we need in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Not since the days of ww 2 have we really operated on a conventional model of warefare. Desert Storm might be the exception but very few regimes are willing to have their army slaughtered. So we come to guerilla warefare. Fighting teenagers with an AK moving like jackrabbits and seemingly overcoming and harassing full scale high tech warriors.
The Rhodesian Light infantry, Selous Scouts in particular and the RAR were seriously outnumbered. They relied not on body armour or million dollar gadgets but bush craft and mobility. Their fire force operations were fast , agile, and deadly. Armed with grenades a FN FAL or sometimes AK's they hunted down the terrorists by movement and cunning. Out fighting the guerilla by better guerilla warefare.
The Selous Scouts, the craftiest of all, even went so far as to operate as psuedo terrorists. Using the language weapons , etc of their enemy. They accounted for the highest proportion of kills by their hunting down and stalking of the enemy.
Today, the US is encumbered by 60-80 pounds of gear, more possibly if you run a SAW and operate in 12 man teams. Grouped together making open security patrols , shaking hands, they become sitting ducks. Their basically trying to fight and hunt on foot carrying another person around on their body. They are unable to fire and manuever against an enemy who fires, breaks and moves. They cant hunt.
"
We have tried to solve this by producing more armor for our troops. No Marine leaves the wire without helmet, flak jacket, front/back SAPI (Small Arms Protective Inserts) plates, side SAPI's, gloves and eye protection. All of this on top of the infantry man's already enormous load. The Personal Protective Gear (PPE) Marines wear, alone weighs about 40 pounds. His armaments and accessories add more weight to his load.
The average Marine Rifleman carries an M16, 180 rounds, 2 hand grenades, Night Vision Goggles (NVG's), PEQ2, ACOG, bayonet, and enough water to last the patrol, typically 1-1.5 gallons for a four hour patrol. The average Fire Team Leader carries all of this plus a M203 grenade launcher and 6-9 40mm grenades. A typical SAW gunner carries the M249 SAW, 400 rounds, a spare barrel (which he will never change), a Kabar knife, his NVG's, one set for his weapon & one set for his Kevlar, and water. A squad Radio Operator carries a rifleman's load plus a radio, sometimes two radios, and spare batteries. The Marine with an AT-4 or LAAW rocket carries the same as a rifleman plus his rocket. And distributed throughout the squad are pyrotechnics for signaling and Escalation of Force procedures. The average Marine's combat load is well over 60 pounds. An average squad radio operator's load is over 70 pounds. And the average SAW gunner carries over 80 pounds in gear. "
One of the principles in patrols is dont bunch up and cover as much ground as possible. How can you do that on a 4 hour patrol and hope to engage the hunt when your main issue is staying ready to move and drag around this stuff ?
The Rhodesians for years adapted to the elements by wearing lighter shoes, t=shirts and even shorts till the final year of the war. Just as flushing a section of brush when a group of hunters want to score a deer, they move at a skirmish line and push the target into the stop group. Its hard to run down a terr when you are loaded down. Hence, straight up fire fights are rare and we are being beaten by IED's.
What is the answer ?
Friday, January 9, 2009
Saturday, November 22, 2008
D-Day
6 Jun 1944
Private William A Rucker carefully descended down the cargo ropes of the troop transport and towards the assault landing craft known as the Higgins Boat. The cold waters of the English Channel splashed against the hull of the craft with the overwash pooling on its flat bottom. He waited for the boat to rise up against the ships hull then released his grip and dropped a short distance into the transport. He was the last man from his boat section to get in.
“Alright, Private ?” asked Sergeant Dice.
“Good to go Sarge,” Rucker said calmly with a dead pan smile.
Private Rucker was an aid man attached to Fox company but he knew that medics went and did their job for any man at any time under any circumstance. He was loaded down with every possible medical supply kit he could physically carry and still move. Every soldier carried basic first aid kits but Rucker was packed to the gills with the extra things an aid man needed. He was sure he’d need every last piece of medical kit and then some. The other two medics in the company were Corporal Doc Jenkins and Private Lester Monroe. They were in other boats with their platoon.
The entire boat section was on board now, all 32 soldiers. With a signal from the Sargent, the two coxswains throttled up the motor and headed away from the transport to join the formation circling the control ship. Billy glanced at his wristwatch. 0430 hours.
The choppy seas continued to bring water over the sides and Sargent Dice ordered all of the troops to start bailing water with their helmets. The craft’s pumps weren’t in working order. At least the men had something to do besides contemplate what was awaiting them. It was still dark but the senses started to go into overdrive between the rocking of the boat and the bailing of water. Over and above that, the battleships were fully engaged in bombarding the landing areas. Bombers of the Allied Command were droning over the area to release ordnance to soften up Hitlers Atlantic wall. Rucker and the others took a lot of comfort in that. The largest armada ever gathered of air and naval firepower with the capability to flatten cities was sure to take out some Wehrmacht pillboxes. The humming of the Higgins boat motor was a faint sound underneath the bombardment . Rehearsles for this operation had gone on for months. But today was different. Blood would be spilled in a matter of minutes.
The pilot manuvered the boat towards the other landing crafts and began to make large circles in a holding pattern till all the troops could be in the water and hit the beach together for the first wave.
‘Well, here we are Billy, no turning back now.’ Robert Smith said with a forced smile and patted Billy on the helmet. ‘Good thing were buddies. I aint getting hit but if I do, I get first priority’.
Billy looked around at the boat section of men. Most were bailing water but some just seemed frozen. A couple of them were holding the rosary and praying. Others were obsessively checking their equipment over and over. The others bailed water and had a complete look of terror on their face. All except Sargent Dice.
The night before few men slept, including Billy. A lot of guys played cards recklessly, putting in big wagers. Others read in their racks. A few read bibles or V-mail from home. Some wrote letters. 2nd platoon had spent many months training for this and getting to know one another. The air was tense but most had resigned themselves that this was their job and it was time to go to work. Word came out over the loud speaker for the company to report to the mess hall at 0130 hours. Some chowed down on steak and eggs. Very few of them could eat much despite the fact that some men hadn’t seen these staples since leaving the states. The nerves were there even if their faces didn’t show it.
Billy had his pocket New Testament with him at all times and decided to spend his time in the rack reading for a bit and thought that it was best to write a letter to his family. Knowing what might happen on the next day, he knew it was necessary. Hopefully it wouldn’t have to be sent back with his remaining possessions. God willing it would remain safe till the war was over.
Private William A Rucker carefully descended down the cargo ropes of the troop transport and towards the assault landing craft known as the Higgins Boat. The cold waters of the English Channel splashed against the hull of the craft with the overwash pooling on its flat bottom. He waited for the boat to rise up against the ships hull then released his grip and dropped a short distance into the transport. He was the last man from his boat section to get in.
“Alright, Private ?” asked Sergeant Dice.
“Good to go Sarge,” Rucker said calmly with a dead pan smile.
Private Rucker was an aid man attached to Fox company but he knew that medics went and did their job for any man at any time under any circumstance. He was loaded down with every possible medical supply kit he could physically carry and still move. Every soldier carried basic first aid kits but Rucker was packed to the gills with the extra things an aid man needed. He was sure he’d need every last piece of medical kit and then some. The other two medics in the company were Corporal Doc Jenkins and Private Lester Monroe. They were in other boats with their platoon.
The entire boat section was on board now, all 32 soldiers. With a signal from the Sargent, the two coxswains throttled up the motor and headed away from the transport to join the formation circling the control ship. Billy glanced at his wristwatch. 0430 hours.
The choppy seas continued to bring water over the sides and Sargent Dice ordered all of the troops to start bailing water with their helmets. The craft’s pumps weren’t in working order. At least the men had something to do besides contemplate what was awaiting them. It was still dark but the senses started to go into overdrive between the rocking of the boat and the bailing of water. Over and above that, the battleships were fully engaged in bombarding the landing areas. Bombers of the Allied Command were droning over the area to release ordnance to soften up Hitlers Atlantic wall. Rucker and the others took a lot of comfort in that. The largest armada ever gathered of air and naval firepower with the capability to flatten cities was sure to take out some Wehrmacht pillboxes. The humming of the Higgins boat motor was a faint sound underneath the bombardment . Rehearsles for this operation had gone on for months. But today was different. Blood would be spilled in a matter of minutes.
The pilot manuvered the boat towards the other landing crafts and began to make large circles in a holding pattern till all the troops could be in the water and hit the beach together for the first wave.
‘Well, here we are Billy, no turning back now.’ Robert Smith said with a forced smile and patted Billy on the helmet. ‘Good thing were buddies. I aint getting hit but if I do, I get first priority’.
Billy looked around at the boat section of men. Most were bailing water but some just seemed frozen. A couple of them were holding the rosary and praying. Others were obsessively checking their equipment over and over. The others bailed water and had a complete look of terror on their face. All except Sargent Dice.
The night before few men slept, including Billy. A lot of guys played cards recklessly, putting in big wagers. Others read in their racks. A few read bibles or V-mail from home. Some wrote letters. 2nd platoon had spent many months training for this and getting to know one another. The air was tense but most had resigned themselves that this was their job and it was time to go to work. Word came out over the loud speaker for the company to report to the mess hall at 0130 hours. Some chowed down on steak and eggs. Very few of them could eat much despite the fact that some men hadn’t seen these staples since leaving the states. The nerves were there even if their faces didn’t show it.
Billy had his pocket New Testament with him at all times and decided to spend his time in the rack reading for a bit and thought that it was best to write a letter to his family. Knowing what might happen on the next day, he knew it was necessary. Hopefully it wouldn’t have to be sent back with his remaining possessions. God willing it would remain safe till the war was over.
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