Breaching

[Compass Rose]

OBSTACLE BREACHING 101
By Marc “Bayonet” Bellizzi

9-0 BACKGROUND

Previously, in Chapter 8 we discussed obstacles, and how to employ them to turn, disrupt, fix and block an enemy attack so that the defending forces could them use both direct and indirect fires to destroy the attacking force. Obstacles, as was pointed out, are considered to have a ‘countermobility’ function. In contrast, Combat Engineers in the offense are considered to have a ‘mobility’ function. In this Chapter, we will discuss how the attacker takes on obstacles and continues his attack.

9-1 FUNDAMENTALS

Breaching operations are conducted to allow maneuver despite the presence of obstacles. Obstacle breaching is the employment of a combination of tactics and techniques to advance an attacking force to the far side of an obstacle that is covered by enemy fire. It is perhaps the single, most difficult combat task a force can undertake. Understanding breaching theory is the first step to understanding breaching tactics. Breaching is a synchronized combined-arms operation under the control of a maneuver commander. Breaching operations begin when friendly forces detect an obstacle and start to apply the breaching fundamentals, and they end when the follow-on forces have arrived at the breach site and have relieved the breach force to continue the attack deeper into the enemy defenses.

In the offense, the attacker must determine the best way to avoid or maneuver through enemy obstacles without losing momentum in the advance, or losing too many forces or time to the obstacles.

9-1.1 AVOIDANCE & BULLING THROUGH

Of course the best option is to bypass or go around the enemy obstacle belt and strike the enemy forces in the flank or rear. Sometimes this is not practicable and so the obstacle must be crossed (breached). Bulling through or forcing through is not a breaching operation. Bulling through is a decision made when a commander must react immediately to extricate his force from an untenable position within an obstacle and no other breaching operations are possible. For example, when a force is in a minefield receiving fires and taking heavy losses, the commander may decide to immediately bull through the minefield rather than withdraw or breach the obstacle. Casualties can be expected to be high.

9-1.2 BREACHING

Once the player/commander has decided that he must cross/breach an obstacle, certain actions need to take place to set the conditions for a successful breach.


Within the US Army, the catch-acronym for overcoming obstacles is SOSRA- Suppress, Obscure, Secure, Reduce and Assault.



Suppress the enemy forces that are in sight of the obstacle with massive direct and indirect fires from your support element. This will allow the breach force to move up to the obstacle. This is critical; if you cannot gain fire superiority at the breach point, your breach is doomed to failure. Employ everything you have against all enemy forces that are sited in on the obstacle, and don’t start the breach until you are certain the enemy is suppressed or neutralized. I cannot emphasize how important it is to take your time and plaster every enemy unit in sight; your breaching force is a sitting duck in the open, exposed while trying to cut wire or clear mines. Realize that once the enemy figures out what you are trying to do, they will concentrate everything they can against your breaching force in order to protect the obstacle.


Obscure the breach site from enemy observation with smoke (either direct fired or indirect fired smoke). Completely seal the area from enemy eyes. This gives your breach force a fighting chance at its mission and provides concealment to do the job. It is important for the player to place the smoke where it blocks the enemy’s view of the obstacle and your breach team, but not so much smoke that it completely blocks your support element from being able to maintain fire on enemy units; in essence, drop your smoke right on top of, or in the immediate hexes around the breach site, but not so far back that your support element’s direct fires are blocked. Otherwise, as your assault element passes through the breach, they will be met by a nasty barrage of gunfire from the enemy. The breach force itself may want to carry a few smoke grenades to use in case the support element’s obscuration smoke fails or is off target.


Secure the breach site. Move your breach element forward and execute the breach, pass through and secure the far side of the obstacle. The unit that just cut the lane should move through the obstacle and set up on the far side, and start to add their fire into the enemy positions. Meanwhile, the Support element should continue to pound the enemy with everything they have to keep the enemy from re-sealing the breach.


Reduce the obstacle for follow on forces to pass through unmolested. A player may need to widen a breach to more than one hex if a large force is expected to pass through; i.e. a company may require a two hex wide breach, a battalion, even larger. Remember, a breach is a bottleneck; as your follow on forces prepare to pass through, they will be massing on the close side of the breach hole. This makes them easy targets for artillery and air-strikes.


Assault Your assault and surviving breach forces should charge through the obstacle toward the suppressed enemy in the immediate area and root them out with the bayonet. In reality those men who just made the breach would be so full of vinegar and ready for fight (wouldn’t you after being shot at for 10 minutes trying to cut wire or gingerly remove mines?) that few enemy would survive their onslaught. The assault force also needs to be prepared to resist an enemy counterattack that might try and ‘re-seal’ the breach.

9-3 ORGANIZATION

Organize your force into three elements: A support force, a breach force, and an assault force. Each should be roughly equal in size (although the support element should have any heavy, cumbersome weapons, like tanks, machine guns & mortars. The support force might have additional firepower from artillery, close air support, etc. if available).

Relationship between Breaching Organization and Breaching ActionsBreaching OrganizationBreaching ActionsResponsibilitiesSupport forceSuppress (direct/indirect fires) Obscure (smoke) Isolate the areaSuppress enemy direct-fire systems covering the breach area. Control obscuring smoke so as not to block suppressing fires. Prevent enemy forces from repositioning or counterattacking to place direct fires on the breach force.Breach forceSuppress (provides additional suppression) Obscure (provides additional obscuration in the reduction area) Secure (provides local security) ReduceCreate and mark the necessary lanes in an obstacle. Secure the nearside and far side of an obstacle. Defeat forces that can place immediate direct fires on the breach area. Report the breach status/location. Break through the obstacle, and open a lane large enough for follow on forces to pass through quicklyAssault forceAssault Suppress (if necessary)Destroy the enemy on the far side of an obstacle that is capable of placing direct fires on the reduction area. Assist the support force with suppression if the enemy is not effectively suppressed. Be prepared to breach follow-on and/or protective obstacles after passing through the first obstacle area.

9-4 FINAL THOUGHTS

Limit yourself to as little time in the breach site, and make as few breach points as necessary- in a company sized attack, one breach, two hexes wide is a good rule of thumb; spreading yourself thin at several points will dilute your fires and let more enemy survive to smash your breach attempts. You can always widen your breach later. Conversely, don’t log jam all your forces behind your breach element waiting for the breach to be conducted- inevitably the enemy will home in and blast that helpless mass of forces just when you need them!


Once through, momentum is the key. The defender will be trying to reposition forces to re-seal the breach. The attacker must cram everything he has through the breach and push to get deep into the defender’s position in order to keep the defender off balance. Success can be measured when the defender has surrendered the field to the attacker, or been completely destroyed.

Sources:

FM 3-34 Engineering Operations. US ARMY 2000

FM 5-71-2. Armored Task-Force Engineer Combat Operations. US ARMY 1996

FM 90-7. Combined Arms Obstacle Integration . US ARMY 1994