==Phrack Inc.== Volume One, Issue Four, Phile #5 of 11 |&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&| |Breaching and Clearing Obstacles| |~~~~~~~~~ ~~~ ~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~| |%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%| Taken from The Infantry Platoon and Squad FM 7-8 (Infantry, Airborne, Air Assault, Ranger) Army Issue By Taran King Sysop of Metal Shop Private Special thanks in obtaining the manual goes out to Dragon Master %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% For those of you into the war-aspects of having phun, this is a little phile to tell you about the breaching and clearing of obstacles. The techniques can be used by the anarchist to provide havoc in the city or by the mercenary to help him out in any battle/battle games-type situation. ABATIS ~~~~~~ An abatis is an obstacle created by cutting down trees so their tops are criss-crossed and pointing toward the expected enemy direction. It is most effective for stopping vehicles in a forest (or along a tree-lined street). The trees are left attached to the stumps as high as possible to make removal more difficult. This obstacle may be reinforced with mines and boobytraps. Ex: _______|\\_______ /||_______ ||\\ / \ //|| <--fallen tree still attached || \:: ::/ || || :::::::: || || /::::::\ || / ^ \ | leaves and branches block the roadway To clear an abatis: 1> Suppress the enemy covering the obstacle. 2> Secure whole area of all enemy elements. 3> Reduce the obstacle. Mines and boobytraps must be found and can be disarmed by pulling their tripwires with grappling hooks and long ropes. Use pioneer tools or explosives to cut the trees from their stumps and then pull the logs out of the road with a strong car/truck. LOG CRIBS ~~~ ~~~~~ A log crib is an obstacle constructed of logs, earth, and rocks. The logs are used to make triangular cribs which are filled with earth and rock. These are used to block narrow roads and defiles. Ex: ____________ / \ \-------/ \\earth// <--logs form a triangle, kind of / \\rox// like a sandbox, and is filled / \\ // \ with earth and rocks. / \|/ \ / \ To clear a log crib: 1> Suppress the enemy covering the obstacle 2> Secure whole area of enemy elements. 3> Reduce the obstacle. Use direct fire weapons, explosives, pioneer tools and vehicles to reduce the obstacle. CRATERS AND TANK DITCHES ~~~~~~~ ~~~ ~~~~ ~~~~~~~ Craters and tank ditches are holes in the road or terrain that are put there to stop the passing of vehicles, and are blown in there by explosives. Sometimes, in tank ditches, barbed wire, mines and chemicals are placed in to make the tank crews have a harder time. These are cleared otherwise, though, by bulldozing dirt into them by pushing in the sides of the holes. Explosives may also be used to blow down the sides. WIRE ~~~~ Wire is used to separate infantry from armor and as roadblocks against wheeled vehicles. To clear wire obstacles: 1> Suppress the enemy covering the obstacle. 2> Secure whole area of enemy elements. 3> Clear a lane through the wire. Use wire cutters, or explosives to remove the wire (or a bangalore torpedo if you have one [riiiight...]). Watch for mines and boobytraps and mark them with engineer tape, cloth, or anything recognizable. 4> Destroy the marked mines with explosives or grappling hooks. 5> Mark cleared lane. ...And for those really involved... MINEFIELDS ~~~~~~~~~~ To maintain the momentum of an attack, the group must be prepared to breach minefields. 1> Suppress the enemy covering the obstacle. 2> Secure whole area of enemy elements. 3> Clear a footpath/lane and mark the mines that are found. The preferred way to clear a lane through a minefield is to use a rocket-propelled line charge or a bangalore torpedo (Army style). However, the only way to clear a minefield without special equipment is to probe with pointed sticks. Bayonets should not be used because they can detonate AP mines and other type magnetic mines. One squad probes while the platoon overwatches. The squad probing the footpath/lane through the minefield uses two probers: one in front, clearing a lane wide enough to crawl through; and a second one clearing 10 meters behind the first prober and slightly to one side so that their lanes overlap. The probers should not carry their weapons, field packs, load-carrying equipment, helmets, etc. Their equipment is carried by other squad members. Two other men crawl along behind to secure the probers, to carry additional supplies, or to take a prober's job if one becomes a casualty (how pleasant...). The probers should be rotated often to keep them from getting tired and careless. The remaining squad members overwatch the probers. The probers mark mine locations with sticks, engineer tape, cloth, or toilet tissue. They do not try to remove mines. 4> Secure the far side. As soon as the squad has cleared a footpath/lane, it moves through the lane and secures the far side of the minefield. 5> Destroy the marked mines with explosives. 6> Mark cleared lane. 7> Move the group through the obstacle. This phile is more written for the anarchist than the military gamesman out there, since there is a large lack of them, so please, feel free to use these techniques in having a little phun rather than ragging on me about how you never play war-games. TARAN KING Sysop of Metal Shop Private