Battle Drill

[Norfolk]

actually done in units and practiced in combat are more often than not quite different things...

Most manuals are written in the service schools and reflect the thoughts of students at the school, some, called Snowbirds (No, not that kind... ) arrive before their Advanced course starts and thus have not absorbed great knowledge.

Others, called Blackbirds, have completed their Advanced Course and are awaiting movement to their next assignment. These have absorbed Great Knowledge -- and therefor are doubly dangerous in the sphere of doctrinal writing...

They are aided in this by civilian Educational or Training specialists and the occasional Field Grade who has fifty things going on at once. Also by the odd General Officer who has a pet rock he wants introduced to the Army...

Contrary to what Wilf said Battle Drill as practiced by most infantry units in the US Army in the 50s through the 80s required thinking, a lot of it and it was not rote stuff -- unless they had a poor commander who believed in what the book said; fortunately, a relatively rare thing.

Fire and maneuver at Platoon level and below is movement from wall to wall or tree to rock, is generally uncoordinated and after a few firefights, becomes automatic -- and it is effective (those who cannot adapt perish). Anyone who says squads don't do it hasn't been there.

Too true.

I have a few big beefs with the current "synthesis" (I'll use that term for lack of a more sensible one that I just can't think of right now) of Fire Teams and Battle Drill in the Commonwealth (we adopted the Fire System from the US Army in the 1980's). Until the 1980's, we did just fine for the most part with the old 10-man Sections (on paper at least) with the 3-man Gun Group/LAR Group and the 7-man Rifle Group. When F&M has to be performed at Section level, you just did the best with what you had, and it seemed to work, mostly. Plus, you well suited to Flanking Attacks; the Two Fire-Team organization isn't as useful for that, although it certainly makes F&M at Section level easier, until casualities deplete it to the point that the Fire Teams just don't have the manpower to Assault and Fight Through the enemy position. The old Section organization was very good for that.

I remember only performing one Section Flanking Attack in The RCR - and a 4-man Assault Group (assuming no one becomes a casualty), one of whom was carrying an LMG, is in no way as effective at closing with and destroying the enemy in CQB as a 7-man Rifle Group. The idea was that the Platoon Weapons Det would suppress the enemy, and the Sections would pepperpot through, in Frontal Attacks. Just nonsense. You do that when you have no other options; when you have an option, you Flank. Before Fire Teams, the Sections were encouraged to make up their own mind how to attack; after Fire Teams, they were effectively told to just pepperpot their Fire Teams, etc, in a Frontal Attack. That made a lot of Infantrymen very unhappy. Fire Teams and Battle Drill came together not to facilitate tactical judgement and coordination, but to replace it. I like the German system here instead.

This bit came in only after we adopted the Fire Team System; that other English-speaking Regiment introduced it, and my Regiment fought it. DND sided with the PPCLI. A few years later, the Brits went the same way, though they are not as doctrinaire about resorting to Frontal Attacks as we are (but they fought in the Falklands, and we didn't - although we watched Brit Army training films about the subject; I guess those were just shown to the Ranks).

I also get quite upset about the whole Platoon bit; As far as I'm concerned, Platoon is there to direct any Heavy Weapons they may have or receive from Company. Once the Platoon Cdr has made his appreciation and issued his order after Contact, let the Sections do their bit, and the way they see fit.