tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-386077914312449748.post2887044709829252860..comments2024-03-29T13:09:31.522+01:00Comments on Defence and Freedom: The "age of movement to contact"Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-386077914312449748.post-44422953065806691982010-08-31T17:39:20.145+02:002010-08-31T17:39:20.145+02:00It's more complex.
For starters, scouts on th...It's more complex.<br /><br />For starters, scouts on the ground are nowadays rather slower than combat troops on the move. This was different when riders on light horses with good endurance and scouted for foot-mobile troops.<br />Aerial reconnaissance is only an imperfect substitute.<br /><br />The widespread movement of contact problem of the last decades is also in part (not in the case of Israelis) the consequence of having no front lines. Line troops fix and reconnoitre the enemy, and a front line allows for a deliberate breakthrough assault.<br />Today's brigade vs. brigade combat is more like two bears walking through the landscape, stumbling into each other as rivals.<br />The for of war - far from being lifted by technology - is so dense that the location and time of an encounter becomes unpredictable.<br /><br /><br />A solution could of course be to find, track & fix the hostile brigade with combat-capable reconnaissance forces before it'll be engaged by multiple friendly brigades in a somewhat prepared attack.S Ohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03359796414832859686noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-386077914312449748.post-14287626969564556832010-08-31T17:07:44.336+02:002010-08-31T17:07:44.336+02:00As someone blissfully ignorant of post-Napoleonic ...As someone blissfully ignorant of post-Napoleonic warfare, doesn't this basically sum to the same old dictum, scouting is everything? And that most attacks are direct, head-on blunders straight into an enemy, with the corollary that defensive/counterattacking victories will be easier and cheaper than offensive ops?<br /><br />(I'll admit to more or less complete ignorance of the basis of this discussion, so this may be better just to be ignored by you)Die alte Aechzenerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18294141940637952687noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-386077914312449748.post-79169998694785277192010-08-20T15:07:29.149+02:002010-08-20T15:07:29.149+02:00Well, yes. Although recce forces such as armoured ...Well, yes. Although recce forces such as armoured recce battalions are merely similar to what we need.<br /><br />My thesis is more about skirmishers; see the "square trick" post (Sept 09).S Ohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03359796414832859686noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-386077914312449748.post-90913268079310041962010-08-20T14:44:25.656+02:002010-08-20T14:44:25.656+02:00Does this tie into your thesis about the lack of r...Does this tie into your thesis about the lack of recon capabilities in modern forces? That against a competent opponent, smart recon and deliberate attack should be the norm?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-386077914312449748.post-4002841394470569162010-08-20T04:53:17.173+02:002010-08-20T04:53:17.173+02:00Sven, the best advice I ever received on the OODA ...Sven, the best advice I ever received on the OODA loop is where it starts, it's not at observation, the loop starts at orientation. A move to contact is not something any commander should want to do unless they are absolutely sure of the opposing strength. At best your chances are fifty-fifty otherwise.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com