Combat Situation Assessment with Respect to Terrain and Tactics

Abstract

The intent of the described study is to gain insight into the nature of ground combat situations by trying to quantify the interrelationships of forces, terrain and tactics. This is done by separating major causes of combat outcome and defining a number of basic scenarios. These are described more in terms of tactical significance than by detailed terrain features. A combat situation measurement is formulated, the Break-Even Force Ratio, which allows to compare the relative value of combat situations with respect to probable outcome. The methods applied are generally valid for ground combat at battalion level, but the actual numerical results presented are more restricted in scope. More detail is available elsewhere [1]. Weapon systems considered are tanks and antitank weapons. The attacker always moves toward the defender, who is in a prepared position, in hull defilade. The terrain features include rises, dips, scattered vegetation and gaps. The area of combat considered is less than ten square kilometers. The tactics considered include surprise, variation of speed, overwatch, fire distribution and emphasis, and deliberate change of locale by smoke. The model ‘ELAN’, designed and used for this study, is of the Lanchester type.