——Starting from the US military's "drop hammer" operation in Afghanistan
ZHANG Yi (Associate Professor, Department of Strategic Campaigns, Army Command College)
In June 2011, U.S. forces launched Operation Drop Hammer in the Vatapur Valley in Kunar Province, Afghanistan. It was the largest combat operation in the region since the U.S. war on terror in 2001. After 10 years of confrontation, the anti-US armed forces, far from being wiped out, have become stronger and stronger, their strength has continued to grow, their experience has become richer, and they are well aware of the technical and tactical characteristics of the US military. The US military, on the other hand, was in a dilemma, and could not extricate itself. Operation Drop Hammer is both a true portrayal of this dilemma and a microcosm of the U.S. military's war quagmire in Afghanistan.
On December 25, 2018, a composite brigade of the Army's 71st Group Army organized a real-life confrontation exercise, and the picture shows the officers and men of the composite battalion conducting a real-combat exercise. Photo by Jiao Mingjin/Guangming Pictures
1. Battlefield performance of the opposing sides in operation "Falling Hammer"
The Watapur Valley is a complex terrain with inconvenient transportation. Since 2002, it has become an anti-AMERICAN armed training camp, and the US military has repeatedly failed to liquidate and suppress it, and the anti-US armed forces are growing day by day. In order to completely eradicate the so-called "breeding ground for rebellion", the US military launched another large-scale clearance in June 2011, code-named "Falling Hammer". The operation can be roughly divided into three phases.
The first phase began on June 25, when the U.S. military established a landing field and maneuvered toward the target area: the 2nd Battalion, 35th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 3rd Brigade, 25th Infantry Division, was ordered to form the "Kekti" task. The contingent was organized into 4 company-level combat detachments, which were helicopter-mounted on the ridgeline on the east side of the target area to select favorable terrain to carry out airborne landings, establish landing sites and build support points. B Company took the lead in the attack, and after landing, it went down the mountain on foot to clear the target area. Other detachments condescended to provide fire support and cover for Company B while cutting off anti-American forces in and out of the valley. On the morning of June 25, B Company was attacked on its way down the mountain to clear the mountain. The commander of B Company immediately called "Apache" for fire support. Due to the dense vegetation and the closeness of the two sides, although they repelled their opponents, the helicopter also accidentally injured its own ground troops. The U.S. military summoned the Black Hawk to rescue them, but was attacked by a rocket when evacuating the wounded, and they were almost shot down. Due to the opponent's attack, the HELICOPTER rescue work of the US military was in a hurry and was not smooth. In the afternoon, Company B maneuvered to about 1 km from the target and was ambushed again. The anti-US forces avoided the monitoring of US reconnaissance equipment, besieged the 1st platoon of Company B from the north, south and west, formed a crossfire net, and even organized a rocket salvo, and then took advantage of the chaos to carry out precision strikes with snipers. In just a few minutes, the U.S. 1st Platoon Leader was killed, and the commander of the B Company and the fire support officer were wounded. The U.S. military counterattacked and immediately requested air fire support. However, the positions set up by the anti-US armed forces are very clever, making full use of the terrain characteristics of the mountains, and the position positions are very hidden, making it difficult for the US military to accurately locate and strike. The fighting was fierce, and the American helicopters risked accidentally injuring their own side and desperately supported, barely holding their positions. The anti-US armed forces are tenacious in their operations and persist in fighting under the joint strike of the US military's powerful air-ground firepower, making it difficult for the US military to move forward. Until nightfall, anti-American forces voluntarily withdrew from the battle due to lack of night combat capabilities.
On January 7, 2019, officers and men of the Special Warfare Brigade of the Mobile Detachment of the Fujian Armed Police Corps burst in during the anti-hijacking training in buildings. Xinhua News Agency
In the second phase, from June 26 to 27, the battlefield was attacked and defended, and the US army resisted the enemy's attack and disturbance: on June 26, the b company relied on the terrain near the target area, using convenient equipment to establish support points and organize defenses. On the 27th, the support points of the US military were continuously attacked. The anti-US forces skillfully used the terrain to conceal camouflage and secret maneuver, and repeatedly approached the US position less than 30 meters, and exchanged fierce fire. At such a distance, the US military cannot exert its technological and equipment advantages, so it is very taboo to engage in such a "fair" melee with the opponent. Helplessly, the poorly equipped, even primitive opponent actually created the conditions to paste it. The harsh environment and the continuous fierce fighting caused the U.S. military to quickly run out of drinking water, food and ammunition, and the complex terrain and bad weather made it difficult to supply. The use of transport helicopters is limited, and the US military is forced to switch to fixed-wing aircraft to deliver supplies, but the fixed-wing aircraft are too fast and the height is too high to ensure the accuracy of airdrops, and many airdrops are far away from US positions and even fall into the hands of anti-US armed forces. The extreme shortage of supplies almost led to the complete failure of the US operation. However, after all, the overall strength of the anti-US armed forces was relatively weak and could not continue to launch a large-scale offensive, and the US military finally held its position and consolidated the support point.
In the third phase, from June 28 to July 1, the US troops completed the formal clearance and evacuation: from June 28 to 29, the US troops finally reached the target area and launched the clearance after fierce fighting. However, when the US troops arrived, the main force of the anti-US armed forces had already taken the initiative to withdraw, and took away all kinds of valuable information, the US troops captured very little, and were ready to evacuate by helicopter after formally completing the clearance of the target area, but the complex terrain and bad weather superimposed, resulting in the helicopter being unable to land at the predetermined location, and the first evacuation operation failed. The U.S. military had to hold out on the cold, wet mountain. On June 30, the weather improved, ground forces successfully cleared the obstacles that prevented the helicopter from landing, and the U.S. troops were able to evacuate in batches. During this period, anti-US forces repeatedly attacked the US military in the form of small groups of multi-way and bee swarm attacks, although they failed to kill and injure the enemy in large quantities, but they delayed the withdrawal process of the US troops, and it was not until midnight on July 1 that the US troops finally completed the withdrawal under the cover of various fighters.
On May 3, 2019, during the Sino-Russian "Maritime Joint-2019" military exercise, a Chinese Navy guided-missile frigate carried out rocket depth launch in the joint anti-submarine subject. Xinhua News Agency
2. Enlightenment for our army to promote joint operations
The two warring sides of operation "Falling Hammer" have distinct characteristics, and interpret the winning mechanism of modern mountain warfare from different aspects. The anti-US armed forces have evaded real attacks and flimsy tactics, and have achieved the operational goal of depleting the enemy and annihilating the enemy's living forces for a long time; the US military has coordinated air and ground and engaged in systematic confrontation, thus attacking the city strategically and reducing losses while passively. Analyzing the gains and losses of both sides in this example from a military point of view has given us a lot of enlightenment for our army's current joint operations.
Accelerate the implementation of the end of joint operations. It is no accident that the US military has been able to "not die" and "die less" in unexpected predicaments, and has completed the formal liquidation and suppression in a relatively dignified manner. The "Kekti" contingent has achieved all aspects such as troop transportation, firepower strike, battlefield rescue and post-war evacuation through air mobility and three-dimensional assault, with obvious asymmetric advantages, overwhelming land-air combined firepower more times to help the US military reverse its disadvantages in fierce battles, and efficient joint operations can be called the key to its victory. With the improvement of our army's equipment, the hardware conditions for joint operations have been basically met, but there are still problems in integrating the synthesis departments (detachments) into joint operations, and there are shortcomings to be strengthened. On the command side, a joint command system should be established that meets the operational needs of the composite battalion. Rationalize the command, control, and coordination relationship between the backbone forces of the composite battalion and other coordinated combat forces, rely on the existing joint combat command platform, improve the joint command system of the battalion and company detachments, and improve the interoperability and interoperability capabilities of the various services and arms of the synthetic detachment combat force system. In terms of organization, we should learn from the experience of foreign militaries and promote the in-depth integration of operational groups in tactical detachments. Joint tactical air controllers and joint fire observers are directly embedded in company-level combat detachments, and when targets are found, they directly summon and guide air-ground fire for precision strikes. In terms of training, we should regard land-air cooperation as a key point of current training, strengthen the overall design, rationally allocate training resources around common missions and tasks, and actively carry out confrontational joint training and joint training exercises in which land and air conditions and mutual opponents are mutually exclusive. At the same time, it takes into account the joint training with the Navy, the Rocket Force, and the Strategic Support Force. In terms of personnel training, it is necessary to break down professional barriers and the boundaries of the branches of the armed forces, and the commanders of the synthetic departments (branches) must be proficient in the technical and tactical performance of the weapons to which they belong, strengthen the study of contract tactics, the use of new types of military services, and the use of new combat forces, and have strong synthetic command capabilities.
Vigorously improve the ability to fight at night. The second ambush of the anti-AMERICAN armed forces was very well organized, the fierce battle lasted from the afternoon until dark, the B Company suffered heavy casualties, and the US army was extremely passive. However, the anti-US armed forces lacked night combat equipment, and the night battlefield was basically one-way transparent to the US troops, and the anti-US armed forces had to withdraw from the battle, leaving a breathing space for the opponent. Since the Gulf War, the night combat capability of the world's powerful armies has been greatly improved. The "Odyssey Dawn" of air raids on Libya and the "Spear of Neptune" that hunted bin Laden chose to strike suddenly at night. In modern warfare, the first battle may be a night war. Night war is not a question of whether to fight or not, whether to fight or not, but an urgent issue that cannot be avoided and must be won. At present, although our army's high-tech reconnaissance equipment has made considerable progress, and traditional problems such as situational awareness and equipment operation under dark night conditions have been initially overcome, the impact of the "new day and night difference" in equipment performance, coordination ability, and other links has become more and more prominent. Synthetic troops are not a gathering of classes, and synthetic drills are not equivalent to target-based targets. The night training of the synthetic unit (branch) should start from the ability of tactical coordination, overall protection, and comprehensive support, and first practice the "basic skills" of night combat training in a solid manner, and then achieve the combat effect of the system of grasping fingers into fists. In view of the shortcomings and weaknesses exposed in the night training after the reorganization of the synthesis department (branch), according to the degree of difficulty of the course content and the structure of the action skills, we should quantify the training time and implementation standards for theory and operation, foundation and application, and division and joint training, and adopt methods such as learning theory, watching demonstrations, and training and grouping, so as to return to the furnace to learn the experience and tactics of each branch of the army in night combat training, and solidly improve the night combat capability of the synthesis battalion.
Great importance is attached to the cultivation of fighting spirit. In the "Drop Hammer" operation, both sides showed a tenacious fighting spirit. The anti-US armed forces took the initiative to attack and preemptively forced the US military to change from mountain attack, search and clearance to position defense, and resistance to enemy attacks and disturbances, which greatly delayed the course of the opponent's operation and caused certain casualties to the US military. Of course, the weak strike is inseparable from the spiritual support of daring to fight and win. The performance of the US troops after the unexpected and fierce blows was also remarkable, especially after the B Company suffered a number of casualties among its officers, the company did not panic, turned to the defense on the spot, and resisted in a disciplined manner. It can be seen from this that future wars, the all-dimensional three-dimensional nature of the battlefield, and the sharpness of the war process may cause more tragic bloody sacrifices and harsher struggle environments than before. In the face of such a test, comprehensive strength and combat skills are important, but it is also indispensable to forge ahead and have an invincible fighting spirit. The so-called narrow road meets the brave to win, that is, when the test of life and death comes, when the psychological and physical struggle reaches its limit, see who can bite the bullet and insist more than the opponent. The tenacious fighting spirit comes from military training that is higher than actual combat and stricter than actual combat; from correctly facing difficult and complicated situations; and from absolute loyalty to the party, the motherland, and the people. This spirit is not only manifested on the battlefield, but in the peacetime construction of the synthesis department (detachment), it is also necessary to advocate the promotion of the work style of enduring hardship, bravery and tenacity, and the courage to do the things that are targeted without hesitation.
3. "You hit yours, I hit mine" still works
The "Falling Hammer" operation not only has a lot to learn from at the tactical execution level, but it is not difficult to see a fundamental problem at the strategic guidance level: that is, under the conditions of modern warfare, "you fight yours, I hit mine" will never be outdated.
Under the condition of backward equipment and a huge disparity in the balance of forces, the anti-US armed forces concentrated their manpower and firepower, avoided real attacks, aimed at the weak links of the US military and killed the "killers," and deduced the strategy of "you fight you, I fight mine" under the conditions of modern warfare. First, it ambushed the enemy's living forces, launched a rocket salvo at the mobile B Company, and took advantage of the shock and panic of the US military to accurately snipe and kill the enemy officers, causing the opponent to suffer heavy losses; second, it seized the weak links in the US military's evacuation of the wounded and the delivery of supplies and launched a fierce attack, resulting in the many obstructions of the US rescue, the death of two wounded due to untimely treatment, the extreme shortage of combat and living materials, and the operation was once on the verge of failure. It turns out that there are two sides to everything. A strong enemy cannot be strong everywhere, nor can it be strong at all times, both relatively fragile parts and relatively weak opportunities. The more powerful the enemy with high-tech superiority, the more it is necessary to rely on the systematization of reorganization and support mechanisms. Decomposing the overall structure of the enemy system and reducing its complexity may degenerate it into a simple linear system; interfering with the operational order of the enemy system and deliberately amplifying its complexity may break the stability and order of the enemy system or even plunge it into chaos. These can become the "attack window" for me to avoid long and short attacks.
In the information age, with the rapid development of reconnaissance and early warning technology, the battlefield has become increasingly "transparent." Some people therefore believe that in modern warfare against a strong enemy, it is very difficult, if not impossible, to try to conceal. Although advanced information technology can help people see "things on the other side of the mountain", it does not guarantee that people can understand the opponent's intentions in time. Under modern conditions, it is significantly more difficult to achieve combat suddenness, and many traditional methods have encountered unprecedented challenges, and some are no longer applicable. However, it should be recognized that some traditional methods and means still have vitality as long as they are used properly. More importantly, the development of science and technology has also enriched the traditional strategic means, especially electronic warfare, network warfare, long-range precision firepower warfare, etc. may play an important role. In modern and future wars, the role of strategy has not been reduced, and how to make good use of strategy is an enduring topic that requires us to innovate in light of the situation in which the times shift and the situation has shifted, and constantly enrich and innovate the methods and means of using strategies and strategies.
The military field is full of ideas and is also full of cunning, and subversive technology, while desirable, is also foggy. In the 1980s, the United States used the high-end new concept weapons such as directed energy as bait, and threw out the so-called "Star Wars plan" in a high profile, luring the Soviet Union to follow up with the space arms race, becoming the first "domino" that dragged down the Soviet economy. After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the illusory "Star Wars program" was soon completely dismantled, and the United States "won the Cold War without a single shot." Today, Western powers have proposed a series of imaginative and disruptive technologies, motivated by both imaginative and real,leading technologies and strategic pitfalls similar to the Star Wars program. In the development of science and technology for national defense in our country, we must uphold sufficient scientific rationality and a high degree of strategic vigilance, "enhance strategic determination, adhere to self-priority," and crack the interference and misleading. In view of the third offsetting strategy of the United States, we should scientifically track and judge, accelerate the solution of bottlenecks and shortcomings that restrict development according to the actual conditions of the military, accelerate the formation of core competitiveness in areas such as marine, space, and network power, actively seize the commanding heights of future competitive strategy, and ensure strategic initiative. Strive to practice your own "throwing skills" and the "hook and sickle gun" that specializes in breaking the opponent's "serial horse".
Guangming Daily ( 2019-05-18 07 edition)