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A good point about combined arms

From: kaladorn@f...
Date: Fri, 3 Dec 1999 17:28:29 -0500
Subject: A good point about combined arms

My buddy Los wrote:

Simple you stand behind or off to the side of the main gun or reamin
in the
IFV. or take your chances. keep in mind that when you go into the
final
assault when tanks are intermixed with infantry they are using MGs not
main
guns. (though watch out if they see something that scares them.)

------
:)

In point of fact, that is pretty much it. Heck, even HW can pose a
danger to other grunts. Generally, you try to avoid backblast areas
and the front end of RRs and GMS systems. And Tanks. But... life being
what it is and combat being what it is... sometimes it don't work out
that way and you take your chances. Tanks in an urban setting need to
be CLOSELY escorted by infantry. Or perhaps even preceeded by same.
It's too easy for a tank to die in an urban setting. So infantry
protect them. In turn, they are a mobile pillbox with MGs and 20mm
cannons. But as Los said, if they see another tank or an AT artillery
piece, they'll go *BANG* with the Main Cannon without worrying too
much about the nearby Grunts' sensibilities. It's risky being an
ant... but on the other hand, you're small enough you don't generally
attract as much attention - tanks are targets for all manner of mines,
AT systems, planes, other tanks, etc.

Combat isn't exactly safe, we just take steps to make it no more of a
risk than it must be. Then again, even those protocols get chucked in
extremis. In a close-in, knock-down-drag-out... there aren't many
rules. If I'm an infantry commander and I have a CEV with a 165mm Demo
Howitzer backing me up... great. If I get a flampanzer... good too. I
take what I can get, and I try to get it to support me and I try to
keep it safe. It's what *teamwork* is all about. Whoever does it
better, is better trained, and gets some luck - they generally write
the historical accounts. The other side writes the dear-John
letters....

Thomas Barclay
Software UberMensch
xwave solutions
(613) 831-2018 x 3008

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