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[Pages:37]FM 5-102

COUNTERMOBILITY

DISTRIBUTION RESTRICTION. This publication contains technical or operational information that is for official Government use only. Distribution is limited to US Government agencies. Requests from outside the US Government for release of this publication under the Freedom of Information Act or the Foreign Military Sales Program must be made to HQ, TRADOC, Fort Monroe, VA 23651-5000.

MARCH 1985

HEADQUARTERS DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY

Field Manual No. 5-102

FM 5-102 Headquarters Department of the Army Washington, DC, 14 March 1985

COUNTERMOBILITY

T he foundation for engineer doctrine in the AirLand Battle is built with combined mobility, countermobility, and survivability efforts. This manual provides the basic framework of fielded and developmental countermobility methods, planning, and execution. Its purpose is to integrate countermobility into the overall AirLand Battle structure.

Countermobility support is divided into mine warfare and obstacle development, each with an ultimate goal of delaying, stopping, or channelizing the enemy. Mine warfare expands to include mine categories, methods and systems of delivery, employment, reporting, recording, and marking. Obstacle development demonstrates innovative techniques and conventional improvements in planning and emplacing obstacles other than minefield.

Countermobility effort is not secluded; rather, it balances with the other major battlefield missions of mobility and survivability, as well as general engineering and topography. The overall teamwork and planning process are both evident and essential with each facet of countermobility.

STANAG IMPLEMENTATION

The provisions of this publication are the subject of the following international Standardization Agreements: STANAG 2017, Orders to the Demolition Guard Commanders and Demolition Firing Party Commander (Non-Nuclear); STANAG 2036, Land Minefield Laying, Recording, Reporting and Marking Procedures; STANAG 2096, Reporting Engineer Information in the Field; STANAG 2123, Non-Nuclear Demolition Target Folder; and STANAG 2889, Marking of Hazardous Areas and Routes Through Them.

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FM 5-102 USER INFORMATION

Users of this manual are encouraged to submit recommended changes to improve the manual. Comments should identify the area in which the change is recommended. Reasons should be provided for each comment to allow complete evaluation. Comments should be prepared using DA Form 2028 (Recommended Changes to Publications and Blank Forms) and forwarded directly to the Commandant, US Army Engineer School, Fort Belvoir, VA 22060-5291.

When used in this publication, "he," "him," and "his" are used to represent the enemy.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

FM 5-102 14 March 1985

DISTRIBUTION RESTRICTION: Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited.

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FM 5-102 iv

Chapter 1 COUNTERMOBILITY ON THE BATTLEFIELD

his chapter focuses upon a modern battlefield against an

T enemy using Soviet style tactics and organizations. It discusses the modern battlefield, emphasizes threat operational concepts, particularly threat engineers and their capability to provide countermine and counterobstacle support to the offense, and covers the importance of friendly countermobility activities to deny the threat freedom of movement.

THE BATTLEFIELD 2 THREAT ENGINEERS 2 COUNTERMOBILITY REQUIREMENTS 14

SUMMARY 15

COUNTERMOBILITY ON THE BATTLEFIELD 1

FM 5-102

THE BATTLEFIELD

The most dangerous threat to United States' (US) national interests will most likely involve highly trained enemy forces using Soviet style tactics, organizations, and equipment. The actual battle will be intense, fast, and deadly. United States forces must therefore be prepared and trained to fight on a future battlefield where--

Scatterable mine systems will severely affect ground mobility due to rapid and remote delivery means.

Employment of nuclear, biological, and chemical (NBC) weapons will create anew experience and add new dimensions to the environmental conditions.

Highly mobile forces will use combat systems delivering firepower of unprecedented volume, speed, accuracy, range, and lethality.

Airspace will be crowded with aerial combat, surveillance, transport, reconnaissance, and target acquisition systems.

Communications systems will be the target of indirect fire and sophisticated electronic warfare operations, making command and control difficult to achieve and maintain.

Ultimate success on the battlefield will depend on mobility and countermobility efforts, not only near the forward line of own troops (FLOT), but also in rear areas. Successful commanders will need to concentrate forces at the decisive time and place, make maximum use of unit versatility, exercise movement and maneuver, impede the opposing force's movement and maneuver, and preclude enemy reinforcement of committed units and their resupply.

THREAT ENGINEERS

Engineers play a vital role in the success of threat army combined arms operations. In the threat view, the greater the increase in mobile warfare, the greater the need for passable terrain. Therefore, stated in simple terms, the mission of the threat combat engineers is to keep the offense moving. Threat engineers are organized, equipped, and trained to accomplish this mission under fire and in all environments including NBC.

ORGANIZATION All tank and motorized rifle units down through the regimental level have organic engineer elements. In combat, these elements form special engineer combat groups-either under control of parent command or attached to subordinate commands--to perform direct support missions. Engineer elements are also combined with other branch elements in operational groupings to perform specific

tasks. At higher echelons (Front or Combined Arms Army), considerable engineer reserves are maintained either for concentrated use as needed, or for attachment to subordinate formations. This reserve allows rapid switching of engineer effort from one area to another, affording maximum tactical and operational flexibility. Furthermore, it is not unusual for the senior formation commander to strip a unit of its engineer element when that element is required for a concentrated effort elsewhere on the battlefield. Doctrine emphasizes that commanders at all levels must strive for maximum flexibility in using engineer assets, inasmuch as engineer tasks are not isolated but are part of the overall tactical plan. Combat engineer units at any level are of two

2 COUNTERMOBILITY ON THE BATTLEFIELD

FM 5-102

general types: engineer special/technical units or general purpose engineer units. Special/technical units perform the following tasks:

Engineer reconnaissance. Road and route preparation. Field fortification construction. Bridge construction. Camouflage. Assault river crossing. Obstacle construction and/or removal. Minefield breaching and clearing. Water supply. General purpose engineers may perform any or several of the above tasks, but usually to a lesser degree than their special/technical counterparts. In either case, the threat envisions that most if not all of these tasks are conducted under fire or well in advance of main assault elements. Technical repair of pipelines and topographic surveying are not the responsibility of threat engineer units. In addition, many simple and general engineer tasks are not carried out by engineer soldiers, but by soldiers of other combat arms. For example, all threat combat soldiers are expected to be proficient at mine clearance. The operation of tank-mounted mine plows and rollers is a responsibility of armored forces, although engineer advice is available in deciding whether to employ such devices. The organization of threat engineer units is the result of careful study and is designed to

accomplish specific objectives. These objectives are:

Conducting engineer tasks necessary to support the tactical employment of other combat arms, especially the movement of tank and motorized rifle elements.

Attaching additional engineer assets to subordinate elements and maintaining a significant engineer reserve.

Dovetailing and expanding engineer tasks in the offense by follow-on engineer elements of increased capabilities.

Providing cohesion to the defense and security in the offense by employing mines, obstacles, field fortifications, and antitank defenses.

The structure of engineer units is constant at the regimental and divisional levels, but not at higher levels of command. The engineer units assigned to a Front or Combined Arms Army will vary with the level of importance of the major command in the overall operational or strategic plan. Generally, a Front engineer reserve is likely to be twice as large as that of a Combined Arms Army.

PRINCIPLES OF THREAT ENGINEER EMPLOYMENT Threat military principles are observed in order of precedence. To a certain extent, threat military principles appear as rephrasing of Western principles of war. However, applying these principles is peculiar to threat military theory, and threat units are configured and equipped to attain them. These eight military principles, in order of priority, are:

1 Mobility and high rates of combat operations.

2 Concentration of main efforts and creation

COUNTERMOBILITY ON THE BATTLEFIELD 3

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