Chris Pinson wrote:
>
> I've heard the term "Rolling Barrage" many times and sort of know what you
> are talking about but would appreciate a more detailed description.
OK, a Rolling Barrage is a tactic where an advance takes place
immediately behind a curtain of artillery fire, which moves forward at a
regular pace.
It's usefulness is threefold:
1) It keeps the advance organised. Even if you've lost all communication
with HQ, and don't know where exactly you are or who's on your flanks,
just keep on moving towards the shellbursts, and keep just behind them,
and you'll be on track. Maybe not exactly where you're supposed to be,
but pretty close.
2) All that shellfire screens you from view. Often smoke is mixed in.
This means that enemy direct-fire units beyond the curtain have a
difficult time finding a target.
3) And most importantly, it supresses the hell out of the position
you're about to assault. From an enemy viewpoint, they see the shellfire
coming closer, then it's amongst them. TAKE COVER! and all that.
Finally, the Maelstrom moves on, they poke their heads out of the
trenches and recieve a bayonet right between the eyes, as your advance
hits them before they've had time to recover their Blast Markers, so to
speak.
The one thing that can, and does, go wrong is that the advance can be
held up. If so, it lags behind the curtain-of-fire, and the enemy has
time to recover a bit before you hit him. In which case you get delayed
more, lag further behind, etc etc. Basically, you've got to keep moving,
regardless of casualties, as if you lag behind you'll take even more. So
in this way it's a great "Morale Tonic" to keep the advance moving.
Rolling barrages were a great favourite of both sides in WWI. It
actually takes quite a sophisticated system to get them right, with
pre-prepared signals for slowing down or speeding up the rate of
advance. The US Army does not favour them, since you _WILL_ take
casualties from your own artillery. Either from worn tubes/bad ammo and
consequent "shorts" dropping on your advancing troops, or, if your
advancing troops are very well trained, they will be so close to the
advancing curtain you'll get some wounded by shrapnel.
Without wishing to start a flame war, the US Army is rather sensitive to
blue-on-blue casualties. They don't consider ANY amount to be
"acceptable" ( a view I consider quite reasonable on the face of it), so
don't train using tactics which will certainly cause them, so when the
balloon goes up, it's too dangerous to try anything like this when
you're troops aren't trained for it.
Australian Army training basically states "If you don't get a few
casualties from shrapnel, you're not close enough, and will get a LOT of
casualties from enemy fire!". And in time of war, we train with live
ammunition, so you even get some casualties in training. My
Father-in-law lost an arm this way just before his unit was sent
behind-the-lines in New Guinea. In time of peace, we use
lesser-lethality rounds. A colleague of mine in theb reserves lost an
eye in training from this in the 80's ( an incombusted fragment from a
flash grenade). Still, as he was doing Parachute training at the time,
it could have been worse.
I'd be very surprised in the Canadians didn't do something similar. If
anything, their reputation is for even more In-Your-Face aggression in
the assault. Australians tend to be more Sneaky, and operate behind the
lines. Blood Komandos vs Scarboyz if you like.
> Seems Australians have a deep affinity for the good ol' rolling barrage
Yup. If your press is sufficiently sensible not to make a big fuss over
a very few deaths in peacetime, you get far, far fewer deaths in
wartime. Or even in "Peacekeeping" eg in Somalia. Trouble is, you need
an unmuzzled press or some over-enthusiastic and under-brained training
officer will massacre your own people. It has to be balanced.
--
aebrain_at_... <> <> How doth the little Crocodile
| Alan & Carmel Brain| xxxxx Improve his shining tail?
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Received on Sat Sep 27 1997 - 19:22:29 UTC