A convoy is never safe from a guerrilla ambush. There is no set pattern for a likely area for an ambush. Ravines, defiles, and heavily wooded or jungle-covered areas are most favourable but ambushes are equally likely to be conducted in villages or in flat terrain that offers a minimum of cover and concealment. The most common characteristics of an ambush are as follows: 1. The ambush lasts the minimum time necessary to accomplish the mission. 2. The ambush occurs in two phases—a short period of heavy fire followed by an assault of the ambushed vehicles to capture equipment, to complete the annihilation of personnel, and to destroy vehicles. 3. The basic ambush weapons are small arms. These are augmented by machine guns, rocket launchers, and recoilless rifles. 4. The enemy will use electrically detonated mines to disable vehicles and cause personnel casualties. These mines may consist of artillery shells and mortar rounds as well as conventional mines. Occupants traveling in vehicles must have all-around observation and fields of fire and can throw or fire grenades without hindrance. They must be able to exit from the vehicle rapidly with minimum restriction. For these reasons the configuration of vehicles, such as a 6 by 6 cargo truck, must be altered. The following measures are taken to "harden" a vehicle and provide its occupants with a degree of protection: 1. Canvas, bows, windshields, and doors are removed. 2. The tailgate is lowered to a horizontal position. A piece of pipe, wood, or metal is affixed to the vehicle in a vertical position extending above the driver's head. This will prevent decapitation from wire stretched across the road. 3. Sandbags are placed on the floorboards and bed of the vehicle. For a 6 by 6 truck, a single row of Sand bags is placed on the bed of the truck. Then sandbags are stacked five layers high down each side of the truck. This provides protection from most small arms. A total of 70 to 100 sandbags is required for each truck This load plus troops and equipment weight permits off-highway operation without undue wear on the vehicle. A wooden bench or packs rigged down. 4. Sections of scrap armor plate may be used to reinforce sandbags in the bed of the vehicle. Encounters with a guerrilla ambush are sudden, short, and unexpected. The opportunity to inflict casualties upon the guerrillas is lost if troops are not organised and well-drilled to take immediate offensive action. The organisation of a rifle squad as occupants of a 6 by 6 truck is as follows: 1. A vehicle commander is designated for each vehicle. The squad leader is usually the vehicle commander and is positioned in the bed of the vehicle where he or she can best control the squad and operator of the vehicle. 2. An assistant driver (shotgun rider) capable of operating the vehicle is seated in the cabin with the driver. The shotgun rider is armed with a M-203 grenade launcher with the M-16 as an automatic rifle. After debarkation, the shotgun rider remains with the vehicle to act as close protection for the driver and vehicle. He or she does not accompany maneuvers executed by the occupant squad. 3. Four comer sentries are positioned in the bed of the vehicle. The two at the front observe an arc of 90 degrees from the front to each side. The two at the back observe an arc of 90 degrees from the back to each side. When possible, each sentry is armed with an automatic rifle. If the vehicle is ambushed, the sentries fire immediately from their positions within the vehicle. Their fire covers the debarkation of the occupants if the vehicle is halted in the ambush killing area. They also help the vehicle commander by notifying the commander of any convoy formation. 4. If a machine gun team is travelling with the occupant squad, it should be positioned facing out the rear of the vehicle and be prepared to debark expeditiously, bringing fire to bear on the enemy and covering the debarkation of the four corner sentries. 5. The remaining occupants are positioned in the bed of the vehicle, each facing outboard. 6. The maximum number of people in the bed of a hardened 6 by 6 truck should not exceed 13. Guerrillas are seldom able to contain an entire convoy in a single killing zone. This is because of the extensive road space occupied by even a platoon size convoy, and because security or lack of available forces may limit the size of the ambushing force. More frequently, a part of a convoy, either head, tail, or a section of the main body, is ambushed. That part of a convoy that is in the killing zone and receiving fire must drive out of the ambush if the road to the front is open. Vehicles disabled by enemy fire are left behind or, if blocking the road, are pushed out of the way by following vehicles. Armored escort vehicles must not block convoy vehicles by halting in the traveled portion of the road to return fire. Vehicles that have not entered the killing zone must not attempt to do so. They should stop and personnel should dismount and take defensive positions. Elements of the convoy should not fire on suspected enemy positions without coordinating with the escort forces. The escort vehicles may have left the road in an attempt to overrun hostile positions. Other actions available to convoy personnel for the neutralisation of the ambush force are as follows: 1. Direct any vehicles mounted with weapons to lay down a heavy volume of fire on the ambush force. 2. Call for artillery fire on enemy positions. 3. Call for close air support on enemy positions. 4. Call for reaction forces. 5. Direct all nondriving personnel to place a heavy volume of fire on enemy forces as rapidly as possible, as vehicles move out of the killing zone. A motor transport convoy with a limited escort is seldom able to defeat a hostile force and should not attempt to do so. When part of the convoy is isolated in the killing zone, vehicles that have not entered the ambush area should turn around and return to the nearest secured area until supporting forces can clear the ambush. Dear Egyptian Mail readers, your contributions to and/or comments on articles published in this corner are welcome. We promise to publish whatever is deemed publishable at the end of this series. [email protected]
