United States Army Armor School Commandant MG FREDERIC J. BROWN Assistant Commandant BG GORDON R. SULLIVAN Deputy Assistant Commandant COLMICHAEL H. CRUMLEY Chief of Staff COL RALPH R. WOLFE Command Sergeant Major CSM JOHN M. STEPHENS INSTRUCTIONALDEPARTMENTS Maintenance COL G.L. THOMAS Command and Staff COL JAMES M. LYLE Weapons COL DAVID V. HARBACH Committee Group COL BOBBY J. CARTER NCO Academy/ Drill Sergeant School SGM DONALD H. DEVINE DlRECTORAlES Evaluation and Standardization LTC (PI JOHN C. THOMPSON Training and Doctrine COL DUDLEY M. ANDRES Combat Developments COL ROBERT W. DeMONT UNITS Center/School Brigade COL WILLIAM M. BOICE 1st Armor Training Brigade COL ROBERT L. PHILLIPS “To disseminate knowledge of the military arts and sciences, with special attention to mobility in ground warfare, to promote 4th Training Brigade professional improvement of the Armor Community, and to COL WILLIAM M. MATZ, JR. preserve and foster the spirit, the traditions, and the solidarity of 194th Armored Brigade Armor in the Army of the United States.” COL PAUL E. FUNK MMORTheMagazine of Mobile W, FEATURES Editor-i n-C h ief MAJ (PI CHARLES R. STEINER, JR. 10 Cavalry Action in Central America by Lieutenant Colonel Sewall Menzel and Managing Editor Colonel William Said, Honduran Army JON T. CLEMENS 13 Soviet Enveloping Detachments Assistant Editor by Captain Gilbert0 Villahermosa ROBERT E. ROGGE 18 lnteroperability in NATO Administrative Assistant VIVIAN THOMPSON by Captain Ronald M. Schrock, Jr. 21 Killer Tank Crews by Lieutenant Colonel James Crowley ARMOR magazine (ISSN 0004-2420) is 24 COBRA: The Normandy Breakout published bimonthly by the US. Army by Captain Stephen Borows Armor Center, 4401 Vine Grove Road, Fort Knox, Kentucky 401 21. Unless otherwise stated, material does not 30 Thoughts on Counterattacks represent policy, thinking, or endorse- ment by any agency of the U.S. Army. by Captain William D. Hewitt Use of appropriated funds for printing of this publication was approved by the 33 New Roles for Combat Motorcycles Department of the Army 6 January 1984. ARMOR is not a copyrighted publication by First Lieutenant Patrick M. Marr and but may contain some articles which CW3 Daniel Kingsley have been copyrighted by individual authors. Material which is not under co- pyright may be reprinted if credit is given 37 Role of the Fourth Company to ARMORand the author. Permission to reprint copyrighted mater- by First Lieutenant Ralph Peters ial must be obtained from the author. 40 Dauntless Trains for War SUBSCRIPTION RATES: Individual subscriptions to ARMORare available by Lieutenant Colonel A.J. Bergeron and through the U.S. Armor Association, Post Office Box 607, Fort Knox. Captain Joseph S. Purser Kentucky 401 21. Telephone (502) 942- 8624. Domestic: $1 5.00 one year, $26.00 two years, $37.00 three years. Foreign: $22.00 one year, $35.00 two years. Sin- DEPARTMENTS gle copies, $2.00. 2 Letters 43 Professional Thoughts CORRESPONDENCE:Address all cor- respondence to US. Army Armor Center, 4 Commander’s Hatch 48 Recognition Quiz Answers ATTN: ATSB-DOTD-MAG, Fort Knox, 6 Driver’s Seat 49 Regimental Review Kentucky, 401 21. (Telephone: 8 Master Gunner’s Corner 52 Books AUTOVON 464-224912610 or commer- cia1 (502) 624-2249/2610.) 9 Recognition Quiz 53 Steel on Target SECOND class postage paid at Fort Knox, Kentucky and additional mailing off ice. ARMORmay be forwarded to military personnel whose change of address is COVER caused by official orders (except at APO Hemmed into a small beachhead for almost two months after addresses) without payment of addition- al postage. The subscriber must notify the Normandy landings, the Allies finally broke out in Operation the postmaster. Cobra, a classic example of armor in exploitation. Captain Ste- USPS 467-970 phen Borows recounts this exciting campaign of 40 years ago on page 24. September-October 1984 Vol XClll No. 5 w’ve heard about that already!) We re- ment of the combined arms concept at .-r to the MILES (Multiple Integrated battalion level and below. Dear Sir, Laser Engagement Simulation) equip- 1LT McGrath envisions a major role in On your May-June cover I saw an ment in use by the soldiers and on the the modern battlefield for the pure infan- M48A5 and when I opened the magazine vehicle. try battalion. This newborn indepen- was shocked to see you call it an M60A7! Obviously, we don’t know the tactical dence of the infantry results directly Maybe you guys need a refresher on situation under which the action is from the fielding of the Infantry Fighting vehicle iD. After a mistake like that, I occurring; however, we noted some dis- Vehicle (IFV): “. the IFV gives properly- wonder about the validity of your “Rec- crepancies which would negatively deployed mechanized infantry the capa- ognition Quiz.” affect the training value of the tactical bility to fight the enemy toe-to-toe with- The cover raised two questions: Why engagement simulation exercise. out tanks.” did only the TC have his protective mask First of all, the dismounted soldier in While this might be mathematically on? (Maybe he was the only one who got the lower right corner has no helmet de- possible under ideal conditions, say, the word?) And secondly, since the tector harness installed. This has the upon a properly configured classroom 194th Armored Brigade has M6O-series effect of negating the “kill” effect of terrain board, it is clearly hardly applica- vehicles, who does the tank on the cover incoming fire by the opposing force. This ble to the European sceanrio, where the really belong to? defect should have been corrected terrain more often than not precludes full immediately by the exercise controller. If exploitation of TOW capabilities. In the MARK HOLLOWAY an operable helmet harness was not middle range band (out to maybe 2,500 National Training Center available, the soldier should have been meters), where one can reasonably Fort Irwin, CA eliminated from the exercise. (See expect the vast majority of targets to first “Rules of Engagement” in any MILES appear, the traditional dominance of the Field Controller‘s Guide) main battle tank (largely as a result of its Dear Sir, The tank and its crew are cheating much greater volume of fire) remains Having just returned from our annual both themselves and the opposing force. unchallenged by ground missile sys- training at Fort Drum, I was glad to see The commander and leader (both of tems. Indeed, the potency of the tank has the current ARMOR Magazine on my whom are riding high on the turret) are been, if anything, enhanced in this range desk, as I enjoy your entire magazine. not wearing Man-Worn Laser Detectors band through the fielding of the latest The tank shown on the cover is an (which are supplied in MILES tank kits), generation of main battle tanks featuring M48A5, our unit‘s assigned vehicle, but and are thus “un-killable” by incoming greatly improved fire control and stabil- on the next page, you identify it as an fire. Again, this is a violation of the MILES ization systems, special armor arrays, M60A 7. Rules of Engagement. Secondly, the tank and quantum improvement in cross- cannot deliver effective machinegun fire country sprint capability. GORDON GARDNER since neither M60D machinegun is One would be foolish not to acknow- SSG, VTARNG equipped with a MlLES transmitter or Bradford, VT ledge that the mounting of the infantry in blank adapter (the M279 coaxial ma- TOW-equipped vehicles gives them an chinegun has no blank fire adapter enhanced antitank capability. 1 LT Dear Sir, available: hence, it cannot be used to de- McGrath errs greatly, however, in postu- I just read your latest issue of ARMOR liver fire.) As shown, the tank can deliver lating a pure role for IFV-mounted infan- Magazine and hasten to point out that only main gun fire. try. The ideal employment of the IFV is as you would not pass the section of the One of the MILES cables is hanging off an integral component of the combined TGST on vehicle recognition. The tank the side of the turret near the rangefinder arms team/task force, where the featured on the cover of the May-June bubble. This could easily be damaged. It Bradley’s 25-mm cannon remedies a issue is an M48A5, not an M60A1, as should be secured to well-applied hook long-standing inability to deal with light- stated inside. Perhaps you should fea- fastener tape on the turret roof. armored targets, particularily the BMP ture this tank, along with other (obscure) We do not mean to “come down hard” and variants, short of tank cannon fire. vehicles, in your Recognition Quiz. on the soldiers in the photo, or their lead- The IFV/MBT mix ideally weds the long- Shame, Shame! ers; again, we don’t know exactly what’s range, heavy antitank capability of the going on. However, by pointing out dis- TOW with the intense volume of antiar- J.H. BOWER crepancies, we hope to assist MILES Milford. NJ mor cannon fire, both 25- and 105-mm, users in getting the most out of their critically necessary to “bust” a standard tactical engagement simulation training. Soviet armored array at normal combat (We have no excuse. The smoke on ranges. the cover certainly wasn’t thick enough CHARLES R. SOUZA to obscure that curving frontal plate, SFC, USATC That the doctrine accompanying Divi- those distinctive fenders, that command- Fort Eustis, VA sion 86 states that companies will fight er’s station. We just plain looked too fast. pure most of the time is not primarily re- Sources at the 194th tell us they drew sultant from a recognition of the the M48s at Fort Drum, rather than taking enhanced capabilities of the latest gen- their M60s with them.