Extracts from US Army field manual

[sasha]

I'll be posting here extracts of US army infantry field manual www.shu.edu/offices/upload/FM-7-8.pdf which I consider important and applicable to arma

Here is the first one:

Machine guns. The machine guns are normally employed in one of two ways:
1 Attach both guns to the overwatch squad(s).
2 One machine gun with the overwatch squad and the other with the bounding squad.
This technique requires the guns to move between squads as they leave the
overwatch to join the bounding squad.


Remember earlier suggestions to divide DAM squad into Alpha (assault) and Bravo (base of fire) teams, the latter having all long range mg and sniper weapons. It might well be that for short engagements in Arma this A-B scheme is better and more effective then standard US army guidance, since we can exploit assault and support weapons at their maximum power concentrated where they best serve their task

[sasha]

Extract 2 to show the importance of suppressive fire at the last moment before jumping into enemy trench (not like we did in Iran-Iraq war - crying "charge" and rushing altogether beyond the wire):


c. Assaulting the Objective. As the platoon or its assault element moves onto the objective, it must
increase the volume and accuracy of fires. Squad leaders assign specific targets or objectives for their fire
teams. Only when these discreet fires keep the enemy suppressed can the rest of the unit maneuver. As the
assault element gets closer to the enemy, there is more emphasis on suppression and lesson maneuver.
Ultimately, all but one fire team may be suppressing to allow that one fire team to break in to the enemy
position. Throughout the assault, soldiers use proper individual movement techniques, and fire teams
retain their basic shallow wedge formation. The platoon does not get "on-line" to sweep across the
objective.

[sasha]

To establish OP - Observation Post:

Avoid obvious terrain such as hilltops.

Avoid easily identifiable terrain features such as water towers, church steeples, tallest buildings, lone buildings or trees, or isolated groves.

Avoid routes or positions that skyline soldiers.

Select a covered and concealed route to and from the OP.

OPs should also be sited to take advantage of natural cover and concealment to provide
protection for the soldiers manning it.

OPs should be located within small-arms range of the platoon positions.

A squad may occupy one OP to add security and combat power when the platoon has a mission to screen
the flank of a larger force or to secure a large area. The squad-sized OP allows the platoon to observe from
OPs and to conduct patrols between them. Leaders use the same considerations listed above in planning
and siting squad-sized OPs. The squad leader spreads his soldiers out in two-or three-soldier positions.
Each position acts as an OP to observe an assigned sector.

[sasha]

L shaped ambush rules:

The L-shaped ambush can be used at a sharp bend in
a trail, road, or stream. It should not be used where the short leg would have to cross a straight road
or trail (in this case of long straight road linear ambush should be used).

[sasha]

The preferred method of entering a building is to use a tank main gun round; direct-fire
artillery round; or TOW, Dragon, or Hellfire missile to clear the first room


The squad leader designates the entry point of the building. The platoon and squad shift direct fires and
continue to suppress the enemy in adjacent positions and to isolate the building. The platoon FO lifts
indirect fires or shifts them beyond the building.

The squad leader and the assaulting fire team approach the building and position themselves at either
side of the entrance. (Soldiers should avoid entering buildings through doors and windows, because they
will normally be covered by enemy weapons inside the building.)

Allowing cook-off time (two seconds maximum), and shouting FRAG OUT, the lead soldier of the
assaulting fire team prepares and throws a grenade into the building.
If walls and floors are thin, they do not provide protection from hand grenade fragments.

After the explosion, the next soldier enters the building and positions himself to the right (left) of the
entrance, up against the wall, engages all identified or likely enemy positions with rapid, short bursts of
automatic fire, and scans the room. The rest of the team provides immediate security outside the building.

[sasha]

As a general rule in all situation platoon/squad must first establish base of fire element. If enemy is suppressed you can proceed to next step to destroy him/breach obstacle/enter building o trench. If enemy is not suppressed you either call support maintaining or increasing base of fire element, or abort mission and disengage in bounding overwatch manner.

[sasha]

For the most common Arma COOP mission which is a raid to capture the objective with following exfiltration - the battle plan according to USA field manual would be:

1. Insertion
2. Establishing and occupying an Objective Rally Point OPR (concealed place outside of enemy observation and fire)
3. Moving from ORP to objective and placing Support Element (base of fire) into overwatch position and placing HQ and Security (quarding the back of the force) section close by
4. Sending Security detachment(s) to cut off enemy escape and reinforcement route(s)
5. Sending Assault Element from the flank to breach into AO
6. Attack should be coordinated and violent
7. After Assault team captures the objective, collects intelligence and POWs, it moves back to ORP
8. Security and Support teams move back to ORP
9. After all elements have assembled at ORP they move to exfiltration point

Important:

Squad is too small unit to conduct such an operation, minimal suitable unit is a platoon (3 squads, 20 men at least)

[sasha]

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Small_unit_tactics

The two major techniques of squad assault are bounded fire and advancing under the cover of suppressive fire of supporting units. Bounded fire entails having one element of the squad provide covering fire and field obscuration while the second element maneuvers forward to provide covering fire that allows the first element to leapfrog forward. This process is repeated until the maneuver element is in grenade range of the enemy positions. Advancing under the cover of supporting units requires the squad to stealthily advance towards the enemy position from a weakly held sector after the enemy has been suppressed by overwhelming fire. Once the squad has closed with the enemy it uses grenades and squad automatic fire to engage the enemy. This allows sufficient disruption of the enemy's control of their defensive front to allow other squads to advance unopposed.