|
Post by montrose on Jul 12, 2011 9:54:50 GMT -6
There is a book called Blink that examines rapid decision making in an environment requiring rapid decisions.
Let me rephrase the argument.
Battle requires rapid decision making. You have to look at enemy force, friendly force, terrain, weather, etc. You also need to consider the objective, which many folks miss. If I occupy an enemy force in front of me while a neighboring unit captures their capital city and destroys their main army: I lose we win.
But decision making can be planned and rehearsed. So a force that discusses, plans and rehearses contingency plans has a massive advantage over a force that only has a single method. This is the only reason Belichick has success in the NFL over his peers.
So Darkcloud hired a symptom of the Patriots success, not the cause. I made a lot of money betting against the Broncos. No kidding, got a vacation in Rome.
Bad things happen in battle. The enemy has a vote. We conduct something called a rock drill. We lay out a sand table of the battlefield. We move rocks representing friendly and enemy forces. At each step of the plan we go Friendlies do this, what do bad guys do? This educates all junior leaders on what could happen, and what we will do in response.
This creates a cognitive framework, where our side develops a faster reaction times to battlefield events than our opponent. Something unexpected happens. Our enemies need five minutes to see the change, and respond to it. Our force knows this is a contingency plan, and responds n 30 seconds. See the implications?
William
|
|
|
Post by wild on Jul 12, 2011 14:25:22 GMT -6
Hi Cathal When the Old Guard attacked at Waterloo they were in column. Lannes was my hero.And of course Ney the bravest of the brave.The last man of rear guard crossing the bridge at Smolensk musket in hand and frozen stiff. A slip I imagine but it was the Middle Guard who attacked at Waterloo.The Old Guard were busy accomodating the Prussians. And it is possible that they did not intend to deploy because they were not the guard of old but young raw recruits with a vaneer of old sweats flanking them to prevent them from breaking.And having to be supported by horse artillery. Regards
|
|
|
Post by wild on Jul 12, 2011 14:33:31 GMT -6
This creates a cognitive framework, where our side develops a faster reaction times to battlefield events than our opponent. Something unexpected happens. Our enemies need five minutes to see the change, and respond to it. Our force knows this is a contingency plan, and responds n 30 seconds. See the implications? At what level does decision making take place? The 30 seconds response time is down to drills not decision making.In fact a response time of 30 seconds is 28 seconds too late.
|
|
|
Post by Yan Taylor on Jul 13, 2011 3:33:27 GMT -6
I am with you now guys.
|
|
|
Post by scottbono on Aug 18, 2013 15:46:15 GMT -6
Ian: My instincts would say that the troopers did not have the means to say a whole lot about it. I'm always very curious about how people think - what causes them to act as they do; what are their perceptions of environment, etc. Human nature does not change although factors impact it at differing levels, e.g. military training and the like. That being said I have been most curious as to what was going through the minds of the men that Sunday afternoon: the Custers, Calhoun, Keough, et. al. Obviously there is no way to know but, as I have said, human nature doesn't change and as far as intense combat and near death experiences, the question will always remain - what were they thinking at the end?
|
|
|
Post by tubman13 on Jan 14, 2014 10:02:36 GMT -6
There is only one way I know for a little guy (Custer) to go against a big guy (the hostiles) and win. You must muster every bit of power at your disposal and hit him with a devestating blow in the vitals. When he goes down, you kick him and kick him until he does not get up. If he manages somehow to crawl away, repeat steps one and two. You must always be careful in this process not to loose your concentration and get in too close where he can reach out for you and hug you. If he does the best you can hope for is a draw. Custer was tinkering around the edges. He was being too cute. It was a simple tactical problem to one schooled, as I presume him to be, in the value of shock effect. He was doing a waltz in a situation that called for something completely different. I was reading these older posts, before dental appt. and after. I have much more to read here, and should go retrieve so books. Dim on come locations and distance. The above quote reminds me of what a very wise old sage once laid on me. "Never wait to get revenge, get it first, let the other guy worry about his revenge. Keep your 9mil I like my .45 just fine, give me my .30cal. keep the .223 but, no matter which you choose keep it locked and loaded, you ain't a cop. You need to hurt them faster and harder." This may not be the precise quote, but close.
|
|
|
Post by quincannon on Jan 14, 2014 10:27:56 GMT -6
Tom: In most cases numbers are overrated, and skill is underrated. Were size of adversary, in terms of those numbers, then there would have never been a Cannae, an Agincourt, or a San Jacinto, a Second Manassas, or a Chancellorsville. Numbers are meaningless, unless those numbers are consolidated at the right time and place. Local superiority has more to do with the power of the punch rather than the size of the guy delivering it.
|
|
|
Post by Yan Taylor on Jan 14, 2014 10:54:19 GMT -6
I suppose the term combined arms has been knocking around for quite some time, maybe as far back as the days of chariots and elephants, but the classic way of combining arms as I see it, is to recce the ground in front of you (light armour), then when the enemies main line of defense is located, pound the area with artillery (and if possible from the air), once this was done move you main assault force forward (combat engineers/heavy armour), when the line breaks send in your mobile stuff (armoured Infantry/medium armour) to cut off any lines of communication, then you could either roll up the enemies lines and broaden your breech, or push as much mechanised stuff through as you can and roll on full steam ahead.
Ian.
|
|
|
Post by quincannon on Jan 14, 2014 12:37:13 GMT -6
Sort of Ian, but you have concentrated on method rather than meaning.
Combined arms is the joining together of the arms,, combat, and some combat support, to take advantage of what each offers. An example:
Infantry, mechanized or otherwise provides the ability to get in a duke it out with the enemy. When you add tanks you then include in the mixture mobile protected large gun firepower, something the infantry does not have. The two not only compliment the punch each of them has, but offer protection that each does not have alone. You then throw in indirect firepower to soften, and suppress, Army aviation to reconnoiter and attack deep, engineers to make the rough way smooth. signal and MI assets to disrupt enemy communications, and then add fixed wing and drone air assets to render close support and very deep attack. You then have a combination of arms each of which can do a job on their own, but a job done better together.
|
|
|
Post by Yan Taylor on Jan 14, 2014 14:02:35 GMT -6
Chuck, the trouble with me is that I am living in a bygone era, I think the battle I was trying simulate was 60 years ago, but similar in stature to what you have proposed (except the drones of course), say the attack I was planning was in in late 1944 and the attack was in four phases, the forces at my disposal were;
Armoured Recce Battalion (Cromwell Tanks & Daimler Armoured Cars Heavy Tank Regiment (Churchill Tanks) Battalion of AVREs (Churchill Tanks including Crocodiles and Petards) Medium Tank Regiment (Shermans Tanks) Brigade of Infantry (3 x Armoured Battalions) Armoured Artillery Regiment (Sexton 25lb SPGs) Tank Destroyer Regiment: Achilles
Now to the battle;
Phase one: recce the area Phase two: bombardment by Sextons, later changed to smoke for the main assault. Phase three: lead elements containing, AVREs, Heavy Tank Regiment and the first Battalion of Armoured Infantry. Phase four: once a breech was made and the flanks secured, send through the Medium Tank Regiment along with the second Armoured Infantry Battalion, this must push through and penetrate the enemy’s rear areas.
I would keep the TD Regt. And the third Armoured Infantry Battalion as a mobile reserve.
Ian.
|
|
|
Post by quincannon on Jan 14, 2014 14:28:58 GMT -6
Ian: Your span of control is much to great for one brigade headquarters. You need a division headquarters and at least one more brigade headquarters to produce a division controlling the reconnaissance efforts and what amounts to two brigade sized task forces to control your battalion task forces. You are also going very thin on field artillery.
This is something practiced until you want to puke at every level of U S Army schooling task organization. Keep in mind here I know how you Royal like to keep a brigade together and don't much care for cross attachment during the period in question, not now. The way you have this force aligned though the commander is going to be busy as a one armed paperhanger and it will fail.
Spruce it up and tell me something about your enemy, What does he have? Is he mobile or dug in Things like this. Pretty hard to do without a map as well.
|
|
|
Post by wild on Jan 14, 2014 16:53:19 GMT -6
when the line breaks send in your mobile stuff Nobody does lines anymore.Linear defense not anymore.
|
|
|
Post by wild on Jan 14, 2014 17:01:13 GMT -6
You guys might consider starting another thread? call it the Sand Table.Keep all the tactics together.
|
|
|
Post by quincannon on Jan 14, 2014 17:23:39 GMT -6
Post 1 If you could read you ignorant jackass you would see he mentioned the year 1944
Post 2 SCREW YOU
General comment: They don't use lines anymore - REALLY - What frigging planet do you live on. Certainly it is not earth or even someone as shitforbrains stupid as you are would know that is an idiotic lie.
Go play with you new boy friend, and leave the rest of us alone.
|
|
|
Post by wild on Jan 14, 2014 20:25:22 GMT -6
Chuck I'm only trying to help the lad.He thinks that defence is a single line which can be breached and then you just roll into the rear areas.
|
|