major@beaver.cs.washington.edu (Mike Schmitt) (01/23/89)
Re: tank training and obsolete tanks
As long as we focus on 1) a European battlefield and/or 2) a mid-east
battlefield (such as the Arab-Israeli Wars) and that the Warsaw Pact
Forces put so much effort into their tank development - there will have
to be a matching tank force to meet it. There is still truth to the adage
that "the best tank defense is another tank." Also, a whole bunch of
anti-tank missile firing light skin vehicles and helicopters just don't
have that SHOCK EFFECT of a tank attack.
After the Yom Kipppur war - with the initial success of Soviet anti-tank
missiles (SAGGERS) - people thought that the age of the tank was over.
That AT Missiles sounded the death knell of mass armor attacks. The basic
tactic of tanks is engagement at 700-1000 meters. AT missiles were effective and accurate out to 3,000 meters. What happened was that the Israeli tanks
were hell-bent to get to the attacking Egyptian forces that they outran
their supporting infantry (in halftracks!) and so were very very vulnerable
to AT missiles. Now, as usually is the case when these things happen,
tactics change.
Israeli tank units established a SAGGER-Overwatch. One tank in a platoon
was 'detailed' to sit on 'higher ground' and watch for SAGGERS. As soon
as one was fired (they left a tell-tale gray-white puff of smoke at the
firing position) the overwatch tank did two things; 1) immediately begin
firing everything they had at that puff of smoke - (SAGGERS are wire-guided
so the gunner must keep his sights on the target). Essentially this is
'suppresive fire - the gunner 'ducks' the missile goes off target.
2) AT missiles are relatively SLOW. You can actually 'dodge' them - so
the overwatch tank radios the tank about to be hit - "Tank 21, hard right,
now!". These two tactics worked very well for the Israelis. Matter of
fact - I talked to one Israeli tank battalion commander who said that
after they developed these tactics, the biggest worry was getting all the
wires off their tanks.
So, as things develop up to the present - Anti-tank missles get better,
tanks get thicker armor - more standoff armor - and develop anti-anti-tank
missile tactics. I'd still rather be inside a tank than be a TOW gunner.
"6 months to drive a tank" - I can go into great detail about armor
training - I won't here - unless you want to. Suffice to say that it
may only take 2 months to learn how to drive at tank. BUT - its takes
almost a year to train a CREW to operate as a smooth well-oiled team, in
their own tank - and drill drill drill in Crew Tactics, Platoon Tactics,
Company Tactics, Tank-Infantry tactics etc etc etc. It takes a long time
and it's hard work.
major
"It is the command and control structure, and training
that makes military operations successful, not the equipment."