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nooy 2 Cl, FM 71-100 HEADQUARTERS m ww^ DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY Washington, DC, 30 March 1979 ARMORED AND MECHANIZED DIVISIONS OPERATIONS FM 71-100, 29 September 1978, is changed as follows: 1. New or changed material is indicated by a ★. 2. Remove old pages and insert new pages as indicated below: V' REMOVE PAGE INSERT PAGES 2- 52-5 and 2-6 and 2-6 «ff 3- 73-7 and 3-8 and 3-8 3-11 and 3-12 3-11 and 3-12 3-13 and 3-14 3-13 and 3-14 3- 13- 7 and 3-18 17 and 3-18 4- 14- 7 and 4-18 17 and 4-18 4- 34- 5 and 4-36 35 and 4-36 5- 25- 3 and 5-24 23 and 5-24 6- 16- and 6-2 1 and 6-2 6-5 and 6-6 6-5 and 6-6 6- 16- 1 and 6-12 11 and 6-12 7- 77- and 7-8 7 and 7-8 7-15 and 7-16 7-15 and 7-16 7-17 and 7-18 7-17 and 7-18 3. File this change sheet in the front of the publication for reference purposes. Pentagon Library (ANR-PL) ATTN: Militara Documents Section Room 1A518, pentagon 86-SC313/7-28B3 Washington, DC\ 20310-6050 By Order of the Secretary of the Army: BERNARD W. ROGERS General, United States Army Chief of Staff Official: J. C. PENNINGTON Major General, United States Army The Adjutant Genera! DISTRIBUTION: Active Army and USAR: To be distributed in accordance with DA Form 12-11A and B, Requirements for Engr Bn, Armored, Inf, and Inf (Mech) Divisions; FÀ Tactics; The Infantry Brigade; Sig Bn, Armored, Inf, Inf (Mech) and Airmobile Divisions; The Armored Brigade; Divisional Armored and Air Cav Units; MR Support Army Div and Sep Brigade; The Div Support Command and Sep Bde Support Battalion; The Division; Operations of Army Forces in the Field; Combat Service Support (Qty rqr block no: 28, 39, 80, 110, 130, 131, 134, 380, 404, 405, and 406). ARNG: To be distributed in accordance with DA Form 12-11B, Requirements for The Division (Qty rqr block no. 404). Additional copies can be requisitioned from the US Army Adjutant General Publications Center, 2800 Eastern Boulevard, Baltimore, MD 21220. Itwï 2 i *FM 71-100 Field Manual HEADQUARTERS No. 71-100 DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY Washington, DC, 29 September 1978 ARMORED AND MECHANIZED DIVISION OPERATIONS PREFACE THE DIVISION is the largest United States Army organi- zation that trains and fights as a team. A division is organized with varying numbers and types of combat, combat support, and combat service support units. A division may be armored, mechanized, infantry, airborne, or air assault. It is a self-sustaining force capable of indepen- dent operations, even for long periods of time, when properly reinforced. A division usually fights as part of a larger force, most often a corps. Divisions, however, are the backbone of the Army and the land battle is won or lost by their battalions. This manual describes how armored and mechanized infantry divisions are organized and how they fight. Because the division’s tank and mechanized infantry battalions are grouped under brigades, how brigades fight is also described in the detail necessary to understand division operations. How nuclear and chemical munitions can best be used to support divisional operations is described where appropriate. While no treaty or international agreement prohibits use of nuclear weapons, authority to use them is retained by the national command authority. With respect to chemical weapons, it is the policy of the United States not to use lethal or incapacitating weapons first. Therefore, these weapons can only be employed when authorized to do so by the national command authority and by the appropriate field commander. How infantry, airborne, and air assault divisions fight is described in FM 71-101, Infantry, Airborne, and Air Assault Operations. How the corps fights is described in FM 100-15, Corps Operations. *This publication, together with FM 71-101 (to be published), supersedes FM 61-100, 15 November 1968. Pentagon Library (ANR-PL) ATTN: Military Documents Section Room 1A518, Pentagon Washington, DC 20310-60IÔ 'Y FM 71-100 THE DIVISION —■Table of Contents PAGE Preface i Table of Contents ü CHAPTER: 1. TheDivision 1-1 2. The Enemy in Modem Battle 2-1 3. Preparation for Combat Operations 3-1 4. Offensive Operations 4-1 5. Defensive Operations 5-1 6. Combat Service Support Operations 6-1 7. Command Control of Combat Operations 7-1 APPENDIX: A. References A-1 B. Example Orders B-1 Index Index-1 U CHAPTER 1 The Division The mission of the United States Army is to win the land battle. To do this, today’s Army is organized into divisions, regiments were eventually divisions. Prior to World War I the regiment replaced by three combat commands; each was the largest permanent tactical and had attached tank and armored infantry administrative command. During World War battalions. Combat commands were control I infantry divisions were formed by headquarters only—they controlled tactical combining these regiments into brigades operations; the logistics and administration subordinate to the division. Each division chains extended direct from division to had two infantry brigades; each brigade had battalions. Battalions cross-attached two regiments and was supported by field companies to form task forces. Cavalry (all artillery and service units. mechanized) provided reconnaissance and security and was grouped as the situation In World War II, armored, cavalry, air- demanded. Combat commands were borne, and motorized divisions were formed supported by armored field artillery in addition to infantry divisions. Divisions battalions and engineer units—normally were streamlined by eliminating the brigade companies. headquarters. This meant the division com- mander directly commanded three infantry The Korean War was fought primarily by regiments; these were supported by four field infantry divisions organized generally as artillery battalions, engineer, and service they had been in World War II. units. Regiments were still responsible for logistics and administration. In armored In the late 1950s, the Army prepared for tactical nuclear war in Europe by reorganizing into five battle groups in each CONTENTS infantry division. These battle groups were, in effect, large battalions, each with five rifle PAGE companies, a combat support company, and ORGANIZATION OF ARMORED AND appropriate field artillery and service MECHANIZED DIVISIONS 1-3 support. They were self-sustaining and could be employed singly or in combinations. WINNING THE BATTLE 1-4 Armored division organization remained COMMAND IN BATTLE: GENERALS, largely unchanged. COLONELS, AND CAPTAINS 1-4 Generals 1-4 The “pentomic” division—the battle group Colonels 1-5 organization—was abandoned in the early 1960s. At that time the combat command Captains 1-6 concept traditional to armored division organization was adopted for all divisions. Combat commands were called brigades; 2-2 —FM 71-100 each division had three brigades into which to the Army. Differences between divisions various numbers of battalions could be were in types of battalions assigned and in grouped. All divisions were organized the composition of the division base. The war similarly except that some were heavy in Vietnam was fought primarily with air (armored and mechanized) and some were assault and infantry divisions. light (infantry and airborne), depending on Since the Vietnam War, armored and the types of battalions assigned. mechanized divisions have been provided A new division (the airmobile division), additional antitank weapons—antitank now called an air assault division, was added guided missiles (ATGMs). EVOLUTION OF THE INFANTRY-ARMOR-MECH DIVISION m : SVC IXl ■ El S a . a oö: ; i 1 1 i 1—i r - f i LT LT ’ HV Ena-ETEiEiE]. EIEIEI aa Í£_ ■ * • - .'Iä a .0 loi. Isvcl i r ■ i Q- 1 0 00.000 000 0000 ] iMj] i^j|]CD * WWM: “RESERVE KOREA: 1 TANK, 1 INF, 1 ARTY COMMAND’ BATTALION ADDED hr*;-. : : 0 0 's • > Í-., i-. iirnt : Est 000000 f*- CD CD SVC CE) I CO I I CO I ICO ±j i*i CD CD 000 000000 <3J O CD CD O > I I I (X) (X) m GE> O CD CD CD CD CD O CD O svc □is mm COM DIV TROOPS 1-2 FM 71-100- Today US armored and mechanized Long-range trends for US Army divisions stationed in Europe have ten times armored and mechanized divisions, and the capability in terms of firepower and similar divisions in armies of major foreign mobility of infantry divisions deployed to powers, are generally towards better surviv- Europe in the early 1950s, and about five ability, more lethal firepower, and improved times the firepower of armored divisions of mobility in some combination. For a that same era. New equipment, which will be discussion of trends in combat capa- introduced over the next five to seven years, bility, see Chapter 2 of FM 100-5, will again dramatically increase divisional Operations. capabilities. ORGANIZATION OF ARMORED AND MECHANIZED DIVISIONS In terms of their organization, US Army armored and mechanized divisions are essentially alike. Each has. or some will have: • A divisional headquarters and head- 0 An engineer battalion for combat quarters company, and brigade head- engineer support; quarters companies to provide command control (The number of brigade head- • A signal battalion to provide com- quarters companies may vary from time to munication between divisional command time depending on operational require- control installations; ments, but is normally between two and • A combat electronic warfare and five.); intelligence battalion to assist in collecting, processing, and disseminating intelligence, 0 Tank and mechanized battalions to and to support electronic warfare operations; destroy the enemy and to seize and hold terrain; • A nuclear, biological, and chemical defense company to provide for decon- • An armored cavalry squadron for recon- tamination and to recohnoiter areas believed naissance, security, and economy of force to be contaminated; operations; 0 A military police company to provide • A division artillery consisting of medium traffic control, security of enemy prisoners of and heavy field artillery battalions to provide war, and area security in the division rear; fire support, and a headquarters and head- • An aviation company to provide com- quarters battery for command control; mand control and utility helicopters; and 0 An air defense artillery battalion to help 0 A division support command with several protect the division from air attack; combat service support units.

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