Movement to Contact: United States Marine Corps Basic Officer Course, Lecture notes of Aviation

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UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS

THE BASIC SCHOOL

MARINE CORPS TRAINING COMMAND

CAMP BARRETT, VIRGINIA 22134-

MOVEMENT TO CONTACT

B3N

STUDENT HANDOUT

Movement to Contact

Introduction Up to this point at The Basic School, you have mostly been

dealing with a known enemy situation while operating at the

platoon level. Someone has typically maintained contact with the

enemy and provided you with detailed information on enemy

composition, disposition, and strength. Unfortunately, in the

disorder and friction inherent to war, intelligence will never be

entirely complete or accurate. Additionally, because the enemy is

constantly acting as well, intelligence may become less accurate

and relevant because of events that change the situation between

the time that the intelligence was collected and developed and the

time that we act.

Importance One of the principals of war central to the conduct of maneuver

warfare is the pursuit of the offense, even when the enemy

situation is uncertain. As practitioners of maneuver warfare, we

want to establish a tempo in our operations that degrades the

enemy’s ability to operate. Maintaining this tempo in an uncertain

enemy environment means developing the enemy situation

through contact and committing the fewest forces necessary so

that the rest of the unit can continue to seek the enemy center of

gravity. A properly executed movement to contact is one of the

most ruthlessly efficient forms of the offense, as demonstrated by

the German Blitzkreig into France in 1940 and the Coalition

invasion of Iraq in 2003.

In This Lesson The purpose of this lesson is to allow you to operate in and

understand an uncertain environment through the use of

movement to contact. This handout will discuss the tactics and

techniques to use in a movement to contact.

This lesson covers the following topics:

Topic Page

Definition 4

Preparation Phase/Begin Planning 4

Arrange/Make Reconnaissance 11

Complete the Plan 12

Issue the Order/Supervise 15

Conduct Phase/Movement 16

Decisive Engagement 18

Consolidation/Reorganization Phase 18

References 19

Notes 19

Movement to Contact: Definition

Before we discuss how to conduct a movement to contact, let's first define what a movement to contact is. MCDP 1-0 defines a movement to contact as:

 A form of the offense designed to develop the situation and to establish or re-gain contact.

A movement to contact is typically executed by a company sized or larger force. When properly executed it allows the commander to make initial contact with minimum forces and to expedite the employment and concentration of the force and resources whether within a combat or stability environment. It also creates favorable conditions for subsequent actions. A movement to contact seeks to seize the initiative from the enemy by establishing or regaining contact with the enemy. Once contact is made, real time information is provided to the commander which allows the unit to maintain tempo by bypassing forces that don’t meet the commander’s engagement criteria for decisive engagement. In essence, the movement to contact places the commander in the position to choose how and when he will decisively engage the enemy.

Preparation Phase

BEGIN PLANNING

Receive the order and analyze your mission. There are a few ways you may determine

that a movement to contact is an appropriate form of the offense:

 You are assigned an enemy-, friendly-, or terrain-oriented task as part of a larger movement to contact. Check your commander’s scheme of maneuver and tasks to see if this is the case.  You are assigned a terrain-oriented task in an uncertain enemy situation where time/space is a factor : o Alpha Company is conducting offensive operations 6 km to our east IVO of the 83 Easting along Route Golden, and will need to be resupplied NLT 1800 tonight in anticipation of follow-on operations. Recent resupply operations along Route Golden have been disrupted by squad-sized enemy units that have infiltrated and conducted complex ambushes (to include obstacles). o At 1400, 1st^ Platoon clears Route Golden east to the 83 Easting IOT prevent enemy ambushes against the resupply convoy.  You are assigned an enemy-oriented task in an uncertain enemy situation where time/space is a factor : o Alpha Company’s attacks have shattered the enemy defenses, and the remainder of the enemy (approximately platoon (-) size) is attempting to withdraw to the east. Elements of the platoon (-) appear to be fortifying Samarah, a small town 10 km to our east that sits at the intersection of several key routes. The remainder of the unit is likely preparing to delay our advance along Route Golden before falling back to Samarah. Enemy reinforcements up to company size are likely within 12 hours, and a deliberate defense in Samarah’s urban terrain will be a significant obstacle to our offensive east. Bravo Company is moving east to relieve Alpha Company, but is expected to reach Samarah NET 2200 tonight.

o At 1200, 1st^ Platoon destroys the enemy platoon (-) in Samarah IOT prevent the enemy from establishing a deliberate defense in Samarah before Bravo Company’s arrival.

In each situation, movement to contact is an appropriate form of the offense. The enemy and friendly situation as well as the commander’s intent dictate that we should use tempo as a weapon to maintain the initiative or to prevent the enemy from gaining the initiative. While reconnaissance and deliberate attacks may also be able to accomplish the assigned tasks, they would be too time-consuming to accomplish the commander’s purpose and intent.

Achieve a Decision.

The collective judgments and tentative plan that the platoon commander makes based off his initial estimate of the situation are what we refer to as “Achieving a Decision.”

Develop formations and task organization. The unit commander conducting the

movement to contact considers the following criteria when selecting a formation for movement and organizing his unit for the upcoming mission:

 Speed

 Security

 Control

 Deployability

When conducting a movement to contact, the commander must weigh the above criteria based on likelihood of contact with the enemy. Speed and control are obviously essential to the tempo that the commander wants to create, but the uncertain enemy environment dictates that the commander should also organize a force that can quickly react to contact from any direction (increased deployability) as the likelihood of contact increases. Additionally, the closer to the decisive fight the unit is, the higher the requirement for security. The relative trade-off between speed/control and security/deployability will be based on the commander’s estimate of the situation (METT-TC). To assist the commander in selecting the best organization of his forces, the Marine Corps breaks the likelihood of enemy contact into three levels:

 Contact Remote

 Contact Possible or Probable

 Contact Imminent

The category in which the commander places his expectation of contact will greatly influence how the unit organizes for movement. The commander will utilize formations to in attempt to place the unit in a position of advantage, minimizing the amount of forces to make initial contact with the enemy in order to develop the situation and create favorable conditions for the employment of the remainder of the force.

Diagram 1. Depicts a rifle company conducting a movement to contact in a tactical column with a rifle platoon as the company advance guard and a platoon as the rear and flank security.

Diagram 2. Depicts a rifle platoon serving as the company advance guard in a tactical column. The platoon has one squad as the advance party with one of their fire teams as the point element, as well as one squad as the rear and flank security.

WPNS (-)

Advance Guard

Main Body

Advance Party

Main Body

Point Fire team

Rear / Flank Security

Rear / Flank Guard

Contact

Possible

(Continued)

Advance guard: The guard unit that precedes the main body of a company or larger movement to contact is called the advance guard. The advance guard:

 Develops the situation for the commander by initiating action and reporting the situation  Maintains tempo by fixing, clearing, or destroying smaller enemy forces, allowing the main body to bypass non-decisive engagements  Fixes the enemy during decisive engagements, allowing the main body to maneuver and destroy the enemy

The advance guard sends forward a security unit called an advance party , which performs the advance guard role for the advance guard commander. The advance party sends forward a security unit called a point , which performs the advance guard role for the advance party commander. The advance guard should be located far enough ahead of the main body to effectively develop the situation. The commander should have enough time to make a decision and enough space to adjust the formation based off the reporting from the advance guard. Enemy engaging the advance guard should not also be able to engage the main body since having the main body in contact limits the commander’s options. The advance guard should not be located too far ahead to support if decisive contact is made. The distance that the advance guard travels ahead of the main body will depend heavily on terrain (e.g. forest or desert?), enemy (e.g. using small arms or heavy machineguns?), and friendly (e.g. foot mobile or mechanized? How large and well-equipped is advance guard relative to enemy forces?).

Task Organization : The advance guard should be task-organized to overcome obstacles and enemy resistance. Engineers or other obstacle clearing capability should travel with the advance guard. Machineguns may also travel with the advance party or main body of the advance guard. Their support relationship will most likely be DS of the main effort or GS of the unit since, in the decisive fight, their suppression will allow the main body to close with the enemy.  Machineguns with the advance party are in the best position to gain immediate fire superiority and support by fire the main body if the decisive fight comes from the front. If the advance guard makes non-decisive contact with the enemy and the commander decides to bypass the fight with the main body, he must consider a way to link up the machineguns with the new advance party—the limited ammunition the machineguns have should be saved for the decisive fight, and if they stay with the original advance party then they will be in the rear of the unit formation when the fight is over, which is a poor position from which to support the unit.  The commander may also choose to locate the machineguns with the main body , which gives him more direct control and more flexibility if the decisive fight comes from the flanks or rear. However, if the decisive fight comes from the front as expected, the advance party will have a more difficult time achieving fire superiority. Additionally, to be in the best position to support the unit, the machineguns must move forward to link up with the advance party while under enemy fire. The commander must consider trade- offs such as these when deciding where to position supporting assets.

Contact Possible

(Continued)

Flank Guard (Cont) : The flank guard moves abreast of the main body on a parallel route. They may move continuously and at the same pace as the main body (see Figure 1). They may also bound between successive positions (Figure 2). These positions should be located on key terrain that can control avenues of approach into the flank. Lastly, if the flank guard split into two units on each flank, can travel in alternating bounds between key terrain features (Figure 3).

No matter which method the unit commander uses, he must keep in mind that the flank guard:

 Will probably be traveling on more difficult terrain than the main body  May have trouble keeping pace with the main body because of the difficult terrain

Rear Guard: To the rear of the main body is the rear guard. Like the advance guard, the rear guard can deploy a point (called a rear point) to provide early warning. Rapid movement forward can, in and of itself, provide a measure of security to the rear. The rear guard may also serve as a connecting group with friendly units to the rear, such as when a platoon is an advance guard in a company movement to contact.

As the unit commander further closes with the enemy, he must once again update his expectation of enemy contact. When the commander determines that he is close to the enemy main body or has other reasons to believe that a significant enemy force represents a threat to his unit, he will update his expectation of contact to contact imminent. For example, if the enemy is expected to delay along a route while they attempt to fortify a town, the commander will likely assume contact imminent as he nears the town.

Contact Imminent

At this time, the security units will most likely deploy into their combat formation and the unit as a whole will adopt an approach march formation. The commander may partially or fully deploy his main body. Security and deployability take precedence over speed and control. Since tempo is critical to a successful movement to contact, the commander should not deploy into the approach march until decisive contact is imminent. The final picture may have the advance guard deployed in a wedge, while the main body either remains in a column or deploys into one of the more deployable formations (wedge, line, etc). The unit commander makes all last minute details for combat that he deems necessary. Indirect fire weapon systems are positioned to provide quick and accurate support (priority targets). He further evaluates the upcoming terrain to help in making decisions on the deployment and maneuver of the main body upon contact.

Contact Imminent

(Continued)

In the approach march, the advance guard may now move under the protection of an over watching unit—an element moves forward while another element positions itself to support-by-fire in case of enemy contact. Upon contact, the supporting element fires upon the enemy in order to assist the supported unit in either assaulting the enemy, bypassing, or falling back to better terrain. If you choose to over watch your lead elements, do not push them out farther than the supporting unit's weapons can range.

Movement to contact ends when your unit:

 Transitions to the defense  Makes decisive contact with the enemy

ARRANGE/MAKE RECONNAISSANCE

Leader’s Recon A^ physical^ leader’s^ recon^ is^ unlikely^ due^ to^ the^ time/space

considerations of a typical movement to contact. A commander will have to rely on map recon and information given or requested during COC coordination for updated information about the enemy and terrain.

COC

Coordination

 I ntelligence. Ground, signal, and human intelligence sources may be able to provide information on the terrain and enemy. Check debriefs from units that may have traveled the route before for information on terrain. UAVs can recon the route and provide real-time information on terrain and enemy. The intelligence officer can better support you if he or she knows what information you need to plan your mission.  Fires. Aviation can recon the route and provide real-time information on terrain and enemy. Aviation and indirect fires are good economy of force and can maintain tempo if used to destroy or fix non-decisive enemy contact while the unit bypasses. Targets can be planned on likely and suspected enemy positions and priority rolled as the unit moves along the designated route.  Logistics. Pay attention to the Marines’ fighting load in a foot- mobile movement to contact. To maintain tempo, Marines will be moving quickly over long distances, fighting as they go. To maintain tempo and preserve combat effectiveness, plan to take only mission-essential gear into the fight. Since Marines will be traveling with minimal supplies, arrange to have a resupply of chow, water, ammunition, batteries, packs, etc., on call for when the movement to contact ends. This will allow a quicker transition into follow-on operations.  Communications. The unit needs a minimum of three radios to be effective: one with the unit leader, one with the advance guard leader (to develop the situation for the commander), and one with the main effort leader (who will become the new advance guard if the unit rotates). Any additional assets will further facilitate command and control.

Tasks

(Continued)

In the following examples, the platoon commander has been tasked to clear Route Golden east to Alpha Village IOT prevent enemy ambushes against a follow-on resupply convoy. He has task-organized his force with the machineguns traveling with the advance party and the rear squad providing the flank and rear guards.

1st Squad: ME. At 1400, clear the enemy east along Route Golden to Alpha Village IOT prevent enemy ambushes against the resupply convoy. BPT assume the role of SE 1 or SE 2. (or BPT assume the role of the advance guard or rear and flank security.)

 1 st^ Squad, as the platoon ME, is the commander’s bid for success and will ultimately accomplish the platoon mission.

2nd Squad: SE 1. At 1400, clear the enemy east along Route Golden to Alpha Village IOT prevent enemy interference with the ME mission. BPT fix the enemy upon decisive engagement IOT allow the ME to close with and destroy the enemy. BPT assume the roles of the ME or SE 2. (or BPT assume the role of the main body or rear and flank security.)

 2 nd^ Squad, as the advance party, is tasked to or CLEAR (the removal of enemy forces and elimination of organized resistance in an assigned zone, area, or location by destroying, capturing, or forcing the withdrawal of enemy forces that could interfere with the unit’s ability to accomplish its mission) in order to prevent the enemy from interfering with the ME clearing Route Golden. In a non-decisive fight, clearing the enemy will allow the ME to bypass and continue its mission. They have a be prepared to task of FIX (to prevent the enemy from moving any part of his forces, either from a specific location or for a specific period of time, by holding or surrounding them to prevent their withdrawal for use elsewhere) in the case of a decisive engagement. In a decisive fight, fixing the enemy will prevent the enemy from effectively firing or reorienting while the ME maneuvers and destroys the enemy, thus clearing Route Golden.

3rd Squad: SE 2. At 1400, guard the flanks and rear of the platoon formation IOT prevent enemy interference with the ME mission. BPT assume the role of the ME or SE 1. (or BPT assume the role of the main body or advance party.)

 3 rd^ Squad, providing the flank and rear guards, is given the friendly-oriented task of GUARD (to protect the main force by fighting to gain time while also observing and reporting information). This will prevent the enemy from conducting an effective surprise attack against the ME, and allow the ME to either bypass the threat or re-orient and clear it. The tasks of PROTECT (to prevent observation, engagement, or interference with a force or location) or INTERDICT (an action to divert, disrupt, delay, or destroy the enemy’s surface military potential before it can be used effectively against friendly forces) may also be appropriate in this case.

Tasks

(Continued)

MG Squad: SE 3. GS of the platoon. O/O, suppress targets of opportunity along the platoon’s route of march IOT allow the ME to close with and clear the enemy. Target precedence is C2, fortified positions, and 4 or more enemy. Save 100 rounds per gun for consolidation.

 In the decisive fight, MG suppression will allow the ME to close with and clear the enemy. Since the commander is not sure exactly where this will be or what it will entail, this tasking statement will be more generic than a typical MG tasking statement. Briefing where the MGs will travel in the formation, what they will do on rotation, how they will link up, etc., will probably be covered in other parts of the order (SOM, Coord Inst) and are not necessary in the tasking statement.

Coordinating

Instructions

The uncertain enemy situation creates a scheme of maneuver that includes less detail when compared to a deliberate attack. Detailed coordinating instructions are how a commander deals with likely enemy contingencies. You have seen this before in patrolling, and will see it again when you get to convoy operations. Some of the important coordinating instructions unique to movement to contact are:

 IA/Battle Drills. The commander must have simple immediate action drills (immediate response to an action that allows the commander time to make a decision) that are linked to battle drills (pre-drilled actions that the commander chooses in response to an action) to allow the commander time to react to enemy of assumed sizes and capabilities from any direction. The IA drill and follow on recommendation of the unit should be effects based and lead to the selection of a battle drill by the commander. Examples of IA and battle drills will be discussed in detail later in the handout.  Rotation Plan. The ability to smoothly rotate units is vital to maintaining tempo in a movement to contact. The decision to rotate will always lie with the commander or his guidance as laid out in the rotation plan. The rotation plan will detail rotation criteria (“on order”, “if the advance guard loses communication for more than 10 minutes”, etc.), as well as a detailed explanation of what each unit will do on rotation: “As 1st^ Squad moves to engage the enemy, I will give the order to rotate. They will communicate the location of the machinegun squad, which will set security and remain in place. 2nd^ Squad will move forward and conduct link-up with the machinegun squad. 2 nd^ Squad will assume the role of SE 1 and move forward as the new advance party. 3rd^ Squad will assume the role of the ME. 3rd^ Squad and platoon headquarters will hold in place until 2nd^ Squad is 400 meters ahead, and then resume movement. 3rd^ Squad will provide its own flank and rear security until 1 st^ Squad rejoins the formation. When 1st^ Squad’s contact is complete or on order, 1st Squad will link up with 3rd^ Squad and assume the role of SE 2.”  Link-up Plan. A key part of the rotation plan. Marines will naturally be tense in a movement to contact; they are in an uncertain enemy environment and expecting contact at any time.

SUPERVISE

Conduct rehearsals to ensure that the plan is valid and understood by subordinate leaders. When conducting rehearsals, the emphasis is not on individual actions such as fire and movement, or on overly-detailed planning for every possible contingency. The commander should run simple, generic battle drills for the enemy situations that the unit is most likely to encounter. The emphasis should be on effective combat reporting from subordinate unit leaders to develop the situation for the commander, and the commander’s ability to make a decision and communicate it to subordinates. The commander himself is a key participant in the rehearsal. For example, the commander tells the advance guard leader to rehearse contact with an enemy squad. The advance guard leader makes up the details of the contact (enemy SALUTE, friendly location and actions, and relevant terrain information) in his report, and the commander must make and communicate a decision based on this information.

Conduct Phase

MOVEMENT

A foot mobile movement to contact should be conducted at greater pace than a patrol (not as fast as a conditioning hike, but faster than a patrol. Unlike patrolling, where a unit develops the situation by applying stealth and reconnaissance techniques, movement to contact, as an offensive operation, develops the situation through contact. Tempo is a weapon for the commander that allows maneuver and surprise, ultimately allowing the commander to mass on the enemy before the enemy is prepared for decisive action. The commander controls the scheme of maneuver using tactical control measures. Some of the most useful TCMs in a movement to contact are phase lines and/or checkpoints. This helps the commander track the advance guard/main body dispersion and rates of movement. If the advance guard reports crossing Phase Line Red when the main body is only 150 meters away from Phase Line Red, then the commander may halt the main body until he has more dispersion. If the advance guard is too far away, the commander may momentarily halt them while the main body closes the gap. Phase lines and checkpoints can also be useful references for controlling other aspects of the operation. If briefed in the order, the unit will know that when they reach Phase Line Red the priority target, primary CASEVAC LZ, formation, etc., will shift. If you are the advance guard commander for a larger movement to contact, you have the same responsibilities to your higher commander that your advance party does to you—developing the situation by initiating action and reporting. If your advance party reports crossing Phase Line Red, then that information should be passed to the company commander. If your advance party reports enemy contact, you should make a decision, initiate action, and report the information to the company commander. Good combat reporting is critical to maintaining the tempo of a movement to contact, because it develops the situation for the commander and allows him to make a decision. After initiating action, the advance party should report:

 Information on the enemy (SALUTE). Example: “There is an enemy fireteam vicinity 874 381 engaging us with small arms (or cardinal direction and distance). Our point element is effectively suppressed. ”  Friendly location and actions. Example: “We are vicinity 873 382 moving southeast to destroy the enemy.”  Relevant terrain information. Example: “There’s a ridgeline on our north flank; if you stay north of it you should be able to bypass the enemy fire team without them seeing you.”

Incomplete information may delay the commander’s decision and slow the tempo of the operation while he attempts to pull more information from the subordinate unit or develop the situation on his own. Recommendations should be made to the commander by the unit leader in contact, as depicted above.

____________________________________________________________________________

IA /

Battle

Drills

As mentioned above, the commander must have simple immediate action drills (immediate response to an action that allows the commander time to make a decision) that are linked to battle drills (pre-drilled actions that the commander chooses in response to an action) to allow the commander time to react to enemy of assumed sizes and capabilities from any direction. The IA drill and follow on recommendation of the unit should be effects based and lead to the selection of a battle drill by the commander. Diagram 4 illustrates how an enemy action and its effects will lead to an immediate response and recommendation to a commander. The commander will then make a decision on the appropriate battle drill for the situation.

Diagram 4

Below are examples of possible immediate action drills and associated battle drills.

Sniper Depending on the distance to the sniper, the accuracy of his fire, and the availability

of supporting arms, the commander has several options. The immediate action would be to identify direction and distance to the sniper position, if able. If the sniper is a significant distance away, it is probably a waste of time and combat power to send a squad to destroy him, especially since he will likely displace before they get there. The platoon commander can obscure and bypass (with smoke grenades or smoke from supporting agencies), fix and bypass (using direct fires from the advance party or indirect fires), destroy with indirect fires or aviation fires, or clear with the advance party. Using indirect fires or aviation fires is the best economy of force, since it does not disrupt the unit’s formation or significantly slow the unit. If the sniper is too close to safely employ supporting arms, or supporting arms are not available in a timely manner, then the platoon commander may decide to employ his organic units. If the platoon commander decides not to destroy (obscure and bypass or fix and bypass), then he needs to relay this information to any following

defensive, or retrograde operations. Follow-on offensive operations may include immediately rotating to the rear of the formation in a larger movement to contact.

References

Reference Number Reference Title

MCDP 1 Warfighting

MCDP 1- 0 Marine Corps Operations

MCDP 1- 3 Tactics

MCRP 5-12A Operational Terms and Graphics

MCWP 3- 1 Ground Combat Operations

MCWP 3-11.1 Marine Rifle Company / Platoon

MCIP 3-11.01A Infantry Company Operations

FM 3-21.8 (FM 7- 8 ) Infantry Rifle Platoon and Squad

Notes