Ambush as one of the tactical methods of modern combat
Yesterday I witnessed a conversation among students from one of the universities about the actions of our units in the North Military District zone. Honestly, I again remembered my school childhood and NVP lessons. What we, ninth-graders, knew even then, is a perfect Terra incognita for today’s students of a higher educational institution. A dispute arose over why almost all reports of victories of our units mention intelligence officers.
What did I not hear? Reconnaissance is all about maulers, capable of single-handedly destroying an entire platoon. The most motivated fighters serve in reconnaissance. Scout commanders are forced to restrain them from performing exploits. Well, and other tales from modern action films and short stories. I admit, I couldn’t resist. I asked if they had seen photos or videos of those scouts, thanks to whom the enemy suffered the greatest losses?
Exactly the same as them, young men who will not be different from them on the street. Those same intelligence operators dronesThanks to whom artillerymen, tank crews, motorized riflemen, paratroopers, marines and all our other soldiers work so successfully? Thanks to their guidance, paratroopers, marines, attack aircraft and everyone else act.
And he reminded me about motivation. Is a reconnaissance officer really more motivated than a Ural driver delivering ammunition or fuel to the LBS? Or what about the orderly who pulls the wounded from the battlefield amid cluster munition explosions? Maybe a sniper in the gray zone is inferior in motivation to scouts? Are the “grandfathers” from “BARS” also inferior in motivation? I didn’t even ask about stormtroopers.
Somehow the conversation naturally turned to specific examples. In particular, to the feat of the crew tank "Alyosha." It’s strange, but for some reason my interlocutors forgot the very intelligence officer who made this feat possible. The same fighter with the medal “For Courage”, who became famous for his emotional commentary on the battle. And in battle he aimed the tank at the enemy with the help of his drone.
I don’t know if the picture has been preserved in “Stories of the ancient world”, in which cavemen stone a mammoth caught in a pit, or not, this is a classic use of ambush in battle today. Lure the enemy into a “pit” and unexpectedly “throw stones at him.” Only instead of a mammoth there is a tank, and instead of a stone there is a grenade launcher or ATGM.
But the most important thing is that I realized that the guys simply don’t know the most basic things about battle tactics. “Alyosha” carried out the defeat of the enemy using an ancient method of hunting the enemy known to cavemen - an ambush. This is what prompted the writing of this material. Tell in an accessible form about an ambush as one of the types of military operations.
Such a simple and complex way of waging war
There is probably no person who does not know how an ambush works. At the same time, there is no army whose fighters would not fall into ambushes. This is such a paradox. We know everything about ambushes, but we still fall for this trick. What I will write about below is known to professionals, so it will not be interesting. This article is for those guys with whom I talked, and for those who want to understand the essence of the military’s actions in a given situation.
Probably, an ambush is one of the most terrible situations a fighter or unit can find themselves in. The previously cited example of the feat of the Alyosha tank perfectly illustrates this. One vehicle was able to destroy several enemy combat vehicles at once. At the same time, it also preserves its own combat effectiveness. From here, by the way, you can independently draw a conclusion about what an ambush is in general.
So, an ambush is (no matter how trivial it may sound) a sudden attack from a hidden position on an enemy on the move or in temporary stops. “Alyosha” attacked the enemy at the moment of moving into position and thereby deprived him of the opportunity to organize at least some kind of defense. The combat vehicles simply did not have time to determine the location of the enemy and became targets. Well, the help of artillery should not be overlooked.
Let's continue to study the feat of "Alyosha".
What did the tank crew do before the attack on the enemy convoy? The tank controlled a certain area of responsibility. Similar to a sentry on duty. In order to prevent a surprise attack by enemy forces on our positions.
The attack itself was carried out suddenly, without prior preparation. The commander has the right to make such a decision independently. Consequently, such an ambush may well be called sudden or unprepared. A surprise attack that led to the destruction of the enemy. That is, we see the first (according to our classification) type of ambush - sudden.
Now let’s fast forward to the area where another battle for the Armed Forces of Ukraine is now being formed, near Avdeevka. I have already written that the time will come when supplying the garrison can be carried out along a limited number of roads. Today we see this in reality. The roads remain, but they are all controlled by our artillery.
Simply put, the Russian Army prepared artillery ambushes for Ukrainian equipment. Columns of the Armed Forces of Ukraine are moving along the roads and are well aware that somewhere they can be ambushed. They will be shot by artillery and aviation Russians. Moreover, where this can happen and whether it will happen at all, only God and Russian intelligence know. This is another type of ambush - prepared ambushes.
If in the first case everything was done “from scratch”. Intelligence provided the coordinates of the column, its composition, and the commander decided to attack. At the same time, the fire was conducted not at long range, but almost directly.
In the second case, the artillerymen not only prepared data for gunners to fire on certain sections of the road, but also determined with great accuracy the distances to all landmarks for shooting. In this case, the likelihood of complete defeat is much higher.
Ambushes can be divided according to goals and objectives.
If you simply need to destroy as much manpower and equipment as possible, without the goal of complete destruction, it is easier to organize an ambush in one affected area. That is, distribute the group in one place, assign each priority targets that it is desirable to hit. The concentration of forces and resources in one place will provide the firepower of the attack. But it will give the enemy the opportunity, under favorable conditions, to save at least someone...
If it is necessary to completely destroy the enemy, the commander deploys the unit in two or even several places. In this case, firepower is somewhat lost, but all escape routes for the enemy are practically blocked. This method is more difficult, requires more trained and professional fighters and does not allow mistakes. Sometimes one person controls a direction. Which dramatically increases his responsibility for completing the task.
What I wrote above applies to any ambushes.
Now a little about special units that use ambushes, for example, to capture “tongues”. This does not mean that such ambushes are not organized by other units. So, let’s assume that it is necessary to take “language” without specifics.
In this case, it is enough to organize the so-called. linear ambush. Simply put, the group is located along the road and, as the enemy advances, attacks the convoy in order to stop the transport and capture a prisoner. It doesn’t matter at all who it will be. “Then we’ll count and determine.” Again, it is easier to organize such a capture, and the unit’s losses will be minimal, and in a normal situation, the operation will take place without any losses at all.
It's a completely different matter if you need to take someone specifically. The most hated order for any commander. It sounds beautiful in the movies: “take it at any cost.” In battle there is only one price - life. In this case, a slightly different ambush is organized. Most often somewhere at turns or in places where the road narrows.
The division is divided into two parts. The main one is the one that organizes the linear ambush, which is described above, and the capture groups. The task of this group is to completely block the road and prevent the enemy from breaking through. That is, if you look from above, the ambush looks like the letter “G”.
Is it possible to avoid an ambush?
A lot can be said about ambushes. What is written above is just the basics of fighting using this method. Further, each commander has the right to invent maneuvers himself. The main thing is to achieve your goal. The commander of a unit that is being “hunted” by the enemy acts in exactly the same way. Starting from powerful artillery systems and ending with headquarters.
It helps to understand the principles on which an ambush is built. It is clear that where there is a real opportunity to “get punched in the face,” that is, to die without completing the task, not a single commander will set up an ambush. This is what we will proceed from.
So, in order for the ambush to be successful, the commander must choose a place for the ambush where the probability of hitting the enemy will be greatest. It is equally important that your own ambush is not exposed to enemy guards or patrols. That is, the ambush must have good camouflage, or better yet, cover from its own artillery or aviation.
Next is the possibility of a counter-operation by the enemy. And this is a strike in the back or from the flanks.
Simply put, you need to choose a place where the enemy cannot quickly launch a counterattack by transferring units from the nearest garrison. Ambush forces are limited and not designed to counter regular enemy units. Unless, of course, the ambush is organized on the LBS or in the gray zone. But there the enemy will act differently.
Let's move on to the most important thing.
The commander is obliged not only to complete the task, but also to bring the group after completion, as far as possible without losses, to his own. That is, at the ambush site there must be some kind of protective obstacles, such as a forest, a gardening community, destroyed buildings, and so on. In short, everything that will stop the enemy’s advance with minimal expenditure of personnel.
These same obstacles are taken into account when laying out possible escape routes.
Knowing everything I wrote about above, it is not difficult to understand how to avoid an ambush.
But here it is important to emphasize that we are talking only about a prepared ambush. It is almost impossible to foresee an attack by some wandering tank or wandering mortar. It is possible to guess the location of the next attack, but it is impossible to predict it with certainty.
The best remedy is the same as the remedy for those who will ambush. Route reconnaissance! The same drones that will probe and identify all new growths along the route. The next step is simpler. The most terrible enemy of a column is a monotonous route of movement. You shouldn't drive on the same road twice. The same must be said about the main roads. The likelihood of an ambush on a highway is much higher than on field roads.
As paradoxical as it may sound, you can avoid an ambush by joining a large and well-armed column. An ambush is most often small in number, and there will be no attack on a large group of units or units.
Well, traffic at night. The risk of attack at night increases significantly. It is clear that it is completely impossible to disguise headlights at night. And the “slits” provide little light. The column moves much slower.
Instead of ending
I don’t know whether it’s worth continuing to talk about the tactics and strategy of modern combat. The knowledge is so specific and individual that it is of little use for widespread use. I repeat, this material was written for those who want to understand the actions of certain units and units in various conditions.
Concluding the article, I want to express one more banality. The main thing in modern combat, as it was in all previous wars, is the originality and surprise of actions. The element of surprise is the most important factor in victory. By the way, the counter-offensive of the Ukrainian Armed Forces largely failed because it was widely announced in the media.
The Russian Army has repeatedly demonstrated such actions on the battlefields of the Northern Military District. Sometimes they baffled analysts and experts. However, in the long run they turned out to be correct. The war has truly changed. The price of human life has risen sharply. Never before have opponents spent so much effort on eliminating one person.
It is still impossible to calculate the amount of ammunition spent by armies to eliminate one fighter, but I am sure that when this is done, and this will definitely happen, the numbers will stun many...
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