D/DGD&D/18/34/74 Army Code 71649 ARMY FIELD MANUAL VOLUME 2 OPERATIONS IN SPECIFIC ENVIRONMENTS PART 3 DESERT OPERATIONS This publication replaces AC 71346 (Pt 3) Desert 1998 Issue 1.2: February 2002 Copyright This work is Crown copyright and the intellectual property rights for this publication belong exclusively to the Ministry of Defence (MOD). No material or information contained in this publication should be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form outside MOD establishments except as authorised by both the sponsor and the MOD where appropriate. Security This document is issued for the information of such persons who need to know its contents in the course of their official duties. Any person finding this document should hand it into a British Forces unit or to a British police station for its safe return to the MINISTRY OF DEFENCE, D MOD SY, LONDON SW1A 2HB, with particulars of how and where found. THE UNAUTHORIZED RETENTION OR DESTRUCTION OF THIS DOCU- MENT COULD BE AN OFFENCE UNDER THE OFFICIAL SECRETS ACTS OF 1911-1989. Authority This publication is issued under the overall direction of the CGS . It is an MOD Approved Code of Practice (ACOP). Where issues of health and safety are concerned it takes into account the provisions of the Health & Safety at Work Act 1974. Status The contents provide clear military information concerning the most up to date experience and best practice available for commanders and troops to use in their operations and training. If you are prosecuted for a breach of health and safety law, and it is proved that you have not followed the relevant provisions of the ACOP, a court may find you criminally liable unless you can show that you have complied with the requirements of health and safety legislation since it is a breach of this legislation which renders a person criminally liable. Breaches or omissions of the ACOP could result in disciplinary action under the provisions of the Army Act. Amendment Amendment No Date Amendment No Date Distribution As directed by DGD&D, LW1 who is the sponsor and to whom comments and queries concerning this publication should be addressed. Issue 1.0: Dec 98 "The desert ... with its agoraphobic vastness, and emptiness and sameness; an area as naked and overwhelming as a bare stage to a green actor".1 "Many countries have their hot winds; the khamseen of Egypt, the sherqiya of Palestine, the harmattan of West Africa. Add all these togethr and blow them with sand to taste, northwards out of the gates of Hell and you may begin to know what the ghibli is like at Kufra in the summer".2 "Immense clouds, of reddish dust obscured all visibility and forced the car's speed down to a crawl. Often the wind was so strong that it was impossible to drive along the Via Balbo. Sand streamed down the windscreen like water. We gasped in breath painfully through handkerchiefs held over our faces, and sweat poured off our bodies in the unbearable heat. So this was the Ghibli."3 1. Correlli Barnet, The Desert Generals William Kimber, 1960. 2. W B Kennedy Shaw, The Long range Desert Group Collins, 1945. 3. B H Liddell Hart, The Rommel Papers Collins, 1953. Issue 1.0: Dec 98 i PREFACE Aim 1. The purpose of this publication is to describe the effect that desert terrain will have on the conduct of operations and to introduce commanders and staff officers to the different tactics and procedures involved in these operations. 2. The essential doctrine and principles for military operations do not change because of the altered terrain conditions and thus this publication complements AFM Vol I Part 1 Formation Tactics and AFM Vol 2 Part 2 Battlegroup Tactics. It also records those tactical factors that need greater emphasis where desert conditions affect operations. Scope 3. Desert Operations is split into three Parts. a. Part A deals with Combined Arms Operations, the purpose of which is to pro- vide a guide for use by commanders, staff officers and regimental planners in units and, to some extent, at formation level when operating in desert condi- tions. It describes the effects that this environment will have on combat opera- tions, the functions in combat, the employment of particular weapon systems and the tactics used by the combat arms. b. Part B deals with aspects that concern the individual, how he survives, lives and operates in these regions and is designed for the young officer and NCO as a basis further instruction. It provides some tactical features about move- ment of troops and some basic tactical features about operating in such condi- tions. Part B concludes with some details about the extra individual and collec- tive training needed for desert operations. c. Part C is a historical supplement which gives an insight into how soldiers have operated in the desert during previous campaigns. 4. Nuclear and biological weapons have not been used in these environmental condi- tions; and although chemical weapons have been used in Northern Iraq during the 1980s, the general prospect for their use in the future is considered to be remote. Nevertheless, this assessment may change, given the growing proliferation of nu- clear weapons systems and the scope for rapidly producing biological and chemical agents. Many nations already have the ability to produce chemical and biological agents and it would be wrong to discount the possible use of these weapons, or to overlook the accumulated knowledge gained about their effects on combat opera- tions in these conditions. These points are emphasised at greater length in Chapter 9 of Part A. Issue 1.0: Dec 98 iii 5. The implications surrounding the use of technology which became more apparent in the Gulf War of 1991 have not been fully evaluated yet at formation and unit level. There are obvious advantages to be gained from the coordinated use of such devices as Remote Ground Sensors (RGS), Thermal Imagery (TI) and Night Vision Goggles (NVG). More significantly, the use of attack helicopters and the greater use of sup- port helicopters in desert terrain is subject to dynamic development. These could have a significant effect on the tactics employed by a commander and may well speed up the overall tempo of operations. 6. Every effort has been made to avoid repeating tactical details discussed in other publications; however some repetition is necessary for clarity and to provide overall coherence within this Publication. 7. In summary it is worth noting that the British Army has never had specialist desert trained units in its peace time organisation, but in many campaigns of recent times, troops and have had to acquire and use these particular skills and tactical ploys to counter the enemy. The side that best adapts and uses the environmental factors to advantage will be successful. Knowledge, preparation and training are, as always, the pre-requisites for success. As one senior British general commented after the Second World War" the British Army inevitably seems to fight uphill and at the junc- tion point of three or more maps"; he could have added ... and probably in the desert. Acknowledgements 8. Acknowledgements are due to those who provided text, information, comment, and the original articles in the various Parts of this Publication as follows: a. The photographs in Chapter 1 of Part A were loaned from SSgt Gray 42 Engi- neer Survey Group RE. b. The article "Re-examining the Jock Columns" by Mr Bruce Davey in Part C was extracted from the Combined Arms Journal of the Australian Army Issue No 1/ 98 with the permission of the editor, Colonel V H Williams and the agreement of the author. c. All the remaining articles in Part C were taken from the previous publication AC 71346 (Pt 3) Desert. iv Issue 1.0: Dec 98 DESERT OPERATIONS CONTENTS Page PREFACE iii PART A COMBINED ARMS OPERATIONS Chapter 1 - The Environment Section 1 The Military Significance of Deserts 1-1 Section 2 Terrain 1-1 Section 3 Climate 1-6 Chapter 2 - Operational Factors in Desert Operations Section 1 The Potential Threat 2-1 Section 2 Joint and Combined Operations 2-2 Section 3 Command, Control and Communications 2-3 Section 4 The Conduct of Operations 2-7 Section 5 The Functions in Combat 2-9 Annex A Communications Planning 2-A-1 Chapter 3 - Offensive Operations Section 1 Introduction 3-1 Section 2 Reconnaissance and Surveillance 3-1 Section 3 The Deliberate Attack 3-8 Section 4 The Mobile Offensive Battle 3-20 Section 5 The Advance to Contact 3-23 Section 6 The Meeting Engagement 3-30 Section 7 The Pursuit 3-36 Chapter 4 - Defensive Operations Section 1 Introduction 4-1 Section 2 The Role of Covering Forces 4-4 Section 3 The Main Position 4-6 Section 4 The Covering Force Battle 4-12 Section 5 The Defensive Battle 4-13 Chapter 5 - Delay Operations Section 1 The Setting 5-1 Section 2 The Mobile Defensive Battle 5-2 Section 3 The Withdrawal 5-4 Issue 1.2: Feb 02 v Chapter 6 - Transitional Phases Section 1 Link-Up Operations 6-1 Section 2 Relief in Place 6-4 Chapter 7 - Air and Air Defence Factors Section 1 Air Factors 7-1 Section 2 Control Safety and Target Identification 7-2 Section 3 Air Defence 7-3 Section 4 Helicopters 7-6 Chapter 8 - The Combat and Combat Support Arms Section 1 Combat Arms 8-1 Armoured Reconnaissance 8-1 Armour 8-1 Infantry 8-3 Section 2 Combat Support Arms 8-4 Artillery 8-4 Engineers 8-6 Signals 8-8 Aviation 8-10 Chapter 9 - Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Considerations Section 1 The Environmental Effects 9-1 Section 2 The Operational Effects 9-3 Annex A NBC Work/Rest Ratios and Water Requirements for 9-A-1 IPE