Paco QNS
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Time to remember one of the classics threads frim the archive:
S.L.A. Marshall, Men Against Fire
The article cited in it is no longer available on its link Natural Killers —Turning the Tide of Battle by Major David S. Pierson, US Army, and -being of interest- I will post it from other forum:
Regards,------------------------------------Natural Killers —Turning the Tide of Battle
by Major David S. Pierson, US Army
---------------------------------------------
I stepped over to greet the tank company commander as he approached the tactical operations center. This man was a neighbor and a friend, but he was not the same soldier I had briefed three days earlier. After 72 hours of combat, his eyes were sunken and dark. The left side of his face was stained with iodine and bandaged to cover a bullet wound received 14 hours earlier. He was distant and detached as he described an incident that had occurred just hours before. His company had engaged two Iraqi trucks moving across its front. The trucks exploded and Iraqi soldiers leapt out of them on fire. The company then finished them off with coaxial machineguns and a single sabot round that vaporized the soldier it hit. My friend was clearly shaken by the episode. This man was a warrior. Circumstances had made him a killer.
My friend wasn’t a natural killer. A natural killer is a person who has a predisposition to kill—he enjoys combat and feels little or no remorse about killing the enemy. These men have existed throughout the history of warfare, and their feats have often been hailed as heroic. They constitute less than 4 percent of the force, yet some studies show that they do almost half of the killing. These men rarely distinguish themselves before the moment arrives to pull the trigger. It is only after the smoke has cleared that the full impact of their accomplishment is seen. It is important to identify natural killers before combat, because these soldiers are both a vital asset and a potential liability—correctly positioning them in a unit can turn the tide of battle. To better understand the importance of identifying these soldiers, one should understand what makes soldiers kill, the characteristics of natural killers and their battlefield capabilities and limitations.
Thou Shall Not Kill
A chaplain provides field service to soldiers of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault).
Most soldiers are unknowingly conscientious objectors.(1) They try to avoid taking a human life. This is not a bad thing. Rather, it is a reflection of a strong moral upbringing. Getting most soldiers to pull the trigger on another human being requires great effort. In World War II, General S.L.A. Marshall studied infantry unit firing ratios and concluded that only 15 to 25 percent of infantrymen ever fired their weapons in combat. In general, those on specialty and crew-served weapons were firers, while the nonfirers were almost exclusively riflemen.(2) In On Killing, David Grossman points out that there are three things that make soldiers kill: conditioning, recent experience and temperament.(3)
Soldiers can be conditioned individually and collectively to pull the trigger. Individual conditioning includes gunnery and rifle ranges where pop-up human shaped targets are rapidly engaged without thought. The trigger-pull response becomes automatic. Close supervision also affects firing rates. Men pull the trigger more frequently under supervision or in groups, hence a higher ratio of firing among key weapons. Artillery, the greatest killer on the battlefield, has always killed in teams. We indirectly condition soldiers to kill by training them as killing teams. Recognizing that men had to be conditioned to fire, the Army changed its training programs after World War II, and firing rates during the Korean War rose to 55 percent.(4) This figure reached 95 percent during the Vietnam War.(5) Soldiers can be taught to pull the trigger, but that does not guarantee that the bullet will find the target.
Recent experiences, such as the death of a comrade, can cause soldiers to kill the enemy out of revenge or frustration. This is a temporary condition resulting from combat stress. It is based upon emotion and can subside as quickly as it occurred. In an American field hospital in Vietnam, a wounded Vietcong dragged himself out of bed and used a broken bottle to slit the throat of an Australian lying next to him. The American doctor, who had worked for hours to save the Australian’s life, grabbed a .45, shoved it in the Vietcong’s mouth and, with no regard for the Hippocratic Oath, blew his brains out. When he realized what he had done, he went insane and had to be shipped home.(6) While we may attempt to emotionally condition soldiers through propaganda, it has little long-term effect on them on the battlefield.
A temperament for killing exists among some human beings. Marshall, in identifying the battlefield fighters, said, "the same names continued to reappear as having taken the initiative, and relatively few fresh names were added to the list on any day."(7) A post-World War II study by R. L. Swank and W. E. Marchand proposed that 2 percent of soldiers were "aggressive psychopaths" who did not suffer from the normal remorse or trauma associated with killing.(8) I use the word suffer because when the job of the soldier is to kill, those fettered by their conscience are suffering while doing their job. We tend to shun the concept of the willing killer because it offends our kinder sensibilities, but a controlled psychopath is an asset on the killing fields. Those who possess such a temperament are natural killers and many have served this country well. The problem lies in identifying these individuals and positioning them where they can be most effective.
Killers Among Us
The term psychopath conjures up images of movies such as Psycho or Silence of the Lambs. There are less inflammatory terms such as sociopath, antisocial personality type or undercontrolled personality type that apply to the same people. The meanings of these terms have changed and interchanged over the last half-century. Psychopath is now associated almost exclusively with violent actions rather than a propensity for violence.(9) The last three terms are still used somewhat interchangeably to denote someone who lacks social emotions and often resorts to violence, deception or manipulation as a means to get what he wants. These people constitute 3 to 4 percent of the male population and 1 percent of the female.(10) Such people who enter the military are not monsters waiting to be released. They can be level-headed, productive soldiers, and if put into the right situation, they will kill the enemy aggressively and without remorse. If these soldiers are in our units, how can we identify them?
A predisposition to kill is the result of genetics and early childhood experience. There are common traits that are indicative of natural killers. While the collection of these traits is not absolutely deterministic of a killer, it is a good framework for identifying those who may have this propensity. In general, the natural killer found in the US Army lacks social emotions, is a later son (not first-born), got into frequent fights as a child, enjoys contact sports, is from a middle or upper class background, is an extrovert, has above-average intelligence and a caustic sense of humor.
While no specific violence gene has yet been isolated, there is ample evidence to suggest that violent tendencies are inherited. Researcher D.C. Rowe posits that some individuals have a genotype that disposes them to antisocial behavior.(11) These individuals are characterized by a deficit of social emotions which include love, shame, guilt, empathy and remorse. They are keen predictors of other people’s behavior. Unbridled by emotions, they rely solely on actuarial data to predict outcomes, never resorting to feelings or hunches.(12) They focus on short-term outcomes without taking into account the emotional reactions of those with whom they are dealing. Thus they may come across as cold, impersonal and manipulative.
As previously mentioned, the natural killer is most likely not a first-born son. Later sons are generally more aggressive and have less fear or anxiety in dangerous situations. An Israeli Defense Force study of its officers from 1961 to 1966 showed that "first borns" were more anxious than "later borns" and that they generally sought less dangerous positions in the military. Later borns were more likely to volunteer for combat and had a better chance of encountering terrorists on patrols.(13) A study of Korean War fighter plane aces found that first borns engaged the enemy less and were more anxious about flying.(14) Family position also seems to relate to assassins. Almost all American assassins have been later sons—John Wilkes Booth, Charles Giteau and Lee Harvey Oswald, to name three.(15) Later borns, by virtue of being routinely dominated by their siblings, ultimately feel less fear during stressful situations. They also feel the need to prove their worth over their siblings and more quickly accept dangerous challenges.
A natural killer has been a fighter for much of his life. Frequent fighting as a child does not mean the individual was a bully. Rather, he chose to respond to stressful situations with aggression.(16) Arthur J. Dollard concluded that aggression is the result of frustration and this is a normal human reaction.(17) The sociopath, also referred to as the undercontrolled aggressive personality type, has low internal controls against violence and will resort to aggressive behavior unless constrained by rigid external controls. Such a person can be conditioned to not respond to frustration with external aggression.(18) Thus, if frustrated by a Drill Sergeant’s control, the undercontrolled personality type will refrain from direct aggression and look for another target for his aggression. The military provides ample displacement outlets for this aggression in the form of physical training, field maneuvers and weapons ranges. It is the perfect environment for a sociopath to excel.
The natural killer is an aggressive athlete whose physical makeup allows him to excel at contact sports. Combative sports provide long-term training in aggression while acting as a short-term catharsis or safety valve for aggressive individuals.(19) An Army-funded study of Korean War veterans discerned differences in the characteristics of fighters—those who took aggressive action in combat—versus nonfighters—those who were hysterical or nonresponsive in combat. This study, conducted by the Human Resources Research Office (HumRRO), concluded that the fighters had been more active in contact sports such as football, boxing or hockey. It also concluded that fighters had a high masculinity factor or outdoors adventurousness about them. Their body types were larger; on average they were an inch taller and eight pounds heavier than the nonfighters.(20) They were rugged individuals who had channeled their aggressions through contact sports.
Another discriminator for identifying natural killers is their socio-economic background. Natural killers usually come from a middle or upper class background. The volunteer military has had the luxury to pick and choose those who will be allowed into the service, and we exclude those with criminal records. Sociopaths follow a "cheater strategy" to obtain what they want.(21) The lack of a social conscience allows the sociopath to cheat without remorse. Consequently, those who find themselves in the economically disadvantaged lower class will resort to crime unless placed in a highly controlled environment. In other words, a sociopath from a depressed economic background will most likely have a criminal record, and under today’s standards, he would not be able to enter the military. Thus, natural killers in the US military will most likely come from a middle or upper class background.
Sociopaths are generally extroverts. One reason for this is the inheritance of a nervous system that is relatively insensitive to low levels of stimulation. Individuals with this physiotype tend to be extroverted.(22) They also have lower than average levels of adrenaline and seek experiences to heighten this. Extroverts and sociopaths are less affected by threats of pain or punishment, and they have greater tolerance of actual pain or punishment. Both sociopaths and extroverts will approach a situation that most people will avoid.(23) These factors were confirmed by the HumRRO study conclusion that fighters were extroverted, spontaneous and relatively free from anxiety.(24)
The natural killer has above-average intelligence. Like sociopaths with no economic resources, those without above-average intelligence end up in jail. Therefore, sociopaths in our military are usually intelligent. The HumRRO study found that the intelligence quotient (IQ) of fighters was, on average, 13 points higher than nonfighters’. The study subjects were all infantrymen and the mean group IQ was only 85, 15 points below the national average of 100. This indicated that less intelligent men were sent forward to fight, but within that group, the more intelligent ones were better fighters.(25)
Additionally, the natural killer has a caustic sense of humor that relies on sharp wit and biting sarcasm.(26) Such hostile humor acts as a tension-discharger, a relief valve. While we normally associate humor with friendly behavior, laughter itself is a primarily aggressive behavior. Laughter is usually directed at someone and is infectious, with the unspoken agreement being to "join in or not be part of the group."(27) With aggression as the underlying theme, the natural killer enjoys humor.
Potential natural killers can be identified through long-term observation testing. Supervisors can look for natural killer traits in their soldiers. Over time, they will develop a close enough relationship with their soldiers to be able to distinguish those who match most of the characteristics of killers. Personality-type testing may also identify natural killers. One such test already in use by the military is the Myers-Briggs personality-type test. Considering the characteristics discussed above, the natural killer would most likely be an ESTP (extroverted, sensory, thinking, perceiving) personality type on this test. ESTPs are outgoing, highly adaptive, deal in facts, sensory oriented, excel at sports, learn through life experience, prefer action to conversation and are tough in harsh situations.(28) Matching the ESTP personality type to intelligent, caustic, later sons will help identify potential natural killers. The ESTP personality type, coupled with the other associated traits, is not an absolute determinant of a natural killer or a sociopath, but it provides a good baseline. Personality-type testing at initial entry could identify and help place natural killers where they can best employ their talent—in infantry, armor and special operations units.
Cry Havoc
The individual soldier does make a difference on the killing fields. The natural killer is a vital asset to a unit because he is a killing machine that will turn the tide of battle when the chips are down. During World War II, 40 percent of the US Army Air Forces’ air-to-air killing was done by 1 percent of its pilots.(29) Marshall’s work and the HumRRO study both found that a small percentage of soldiers did most of the fighting. It is not enough to rely on conditioning to produce killers—genetics and childhood environment have already molded them.
Natural killers bring some obvious advantages to a unit. They will personally kill the enemy in droves. They are natural leaders who will motivate other soldiers to kill. They are also fiercely competitive and will aggressively pursue victory. In a battle of attrition, the natural killer can single-handedly tip the scales. However, there are drawbacks to natural killers in a unit too. Their highly aggressive nature may act as a catalyst for violence in tenuous situations such as peacekeeping (PK) operations. This is not to say that they will create atrocities, which are generally initiated by overcontrolled personality types in second-in-command positions, not by undercontrolled personality types.(30)
Atrocities are the result of the release of pent-up hostilities—not a characteristic of sociopaths who live for the moment. Natural killers may participate in atrocities but they will not initiate them. This same "live-for-the-moment" attitude makes the peacetime routine difficult for killers. The sociopath craves stimulation that the peacetime Army often does not provide. Marshall concluded that many of the best fighters spent significant amounts of time in the stockade—"They could fight like hell but they couldn’t soldier."(31) Consequently, many of these individuals seek out fast-paced specialty units such as Airborne, Ranger or Special Forces units.(32) The natural killer will become bored in a regular unit and may seek the stimuli of sports, fighting or drugs. Natural killers are motivated by competition and excitement, not a sense of sacrifice—they are not the kind of soldiers who will leap on a grenade to protect others.
Another characteristic of the natural killer is to usurp authority in a crisis to turn the tide of battle. Marshall wrote of a sergeant whose actions had carried the battle and yet he had not been recommended for a decoration. When his company commander was asked why, he replied, "When the fighting started he practically took the company away from me. He was leading and the men were obeying him. You can’t decorate a man who’ll do that to you."(33)
Soldiers of the 193d Infantry Brigade prepare to return fire during Operation Just Cause, December 1990.
There are several considerations for the positioning of natural killers in the unit. If they are junior enlisted personnel, they should be assigned to a crew-served weapon. This will provide them with ample firepower and place them in a position to motivate others. They will naturally seek this position out anyway. If the natural killer is a noncommissioned officer or officer, assign him to a leadership position where he will supervise trigger pullers and will have a weapon system at his disposal. Here they will lead by example, killing the enemy and motivating others to do so as well.
Natural killers may be spread out in the unit or concentrated, depending on the tactical situation. The typical officer cannot single-handedly lead an entire company in combat.(34) By spreading out those who will carry the day you increase your chances for success in battle. Wherever they are placed in a unit though, they may take over command based upon the situation and the leaders around them. This may be desirable depending upon the quality and number of your other leaders. You can "backstop" leaders of unproved ability with natural killers. If there is a well-defined decisive point of the battle, the commander may choose to place natural killers at that point. They will provide that final measure of resolve in the assault or become the defense linchpin. Since natural killers are motivated by competition and excitement, they should not be placed in a reserve position, where they would have to patiently wait, then hurl themselves into the breach on command. Quick to take charge, they will move to the sound of the guns unless tightly controlled. In PK operations, keep them in positions where they will not habitually deal with potential combatants. This will minimize the risk of escalating the tension into violence. Likewise, during peacetime operations, keep them active in exercises, schools or in sports. They will seek out these activities themselves to stay stimulated.
Too often we find out about the lethality of an individual soldier after the fact, when he has saved the unit and been nominated for a valorous award. If you knew before hand who was likely to rise up and save the day, you could place these soldiers at the battle’s decisive point and enhance your chances of success. Natural killers are out there in your unit right now—find them and use them wisely. MR
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Notes
1. S.L.A. Marshall, Men Against Fire: The Problem of Battle Command in Future War (Washington DC: Infantry Journal Press, 1947, reprint Gloucester, MA: Peter Smith, 197 , 79.
2. Ibid., 56-57.
3. Dave Grossman, On Killing: The Psychological Cost of Learning to Kill in War and Society (Boston, MA: Little, Brown, and Company, 1996), 177-85.
4. Marshall, 9.
5. Grossman, 35.
6. Mark Baker, Nam (New York: William Morrow and Company, 1981), 161-62.
7. Marshall, 58-59.
8. Swank and Marchand, in On Killing, 180.
9. Ralph Serin, "Can Criminal Psychopaths be Identified?" FORUM 1989, Volume 1, Number 2.
10. C.C. Strauss and B.B. Lahey in: The Sociobiology of Sociopathy: An Integrated Evolutionary Model, Linda Mealey, unedited penultimate draft of an article accepted for publication (Copyright 1994: Cambridge University Press).
11. D.C. Rowe, "Inherited dispositions toward learning delinquent and criminal behavior: New evidence," in Crime in biological, social, and moral contexts, ed. L. Ellis and H. Hoffman (Praeger Publications, November 1990), 122.
12. Linda Mealey, in The Sociobiology of Sociopathy, 3.
13. Peter Watson, War on the Mind: The Military Uses and Abuses of Psychology (New York: Basic Books Inc., 197 , 51.
14. E.P. Torrence, The development of preliminary life-experience inventory for the study of fight-interceptor combat effectiveness, Research Bulletin AFPTRC-TR-54-89, Lackland Air Force Base, San Antonio, TX, December 1954.
15. Irving D. Harris, Violence: Perspectives on Murder and Aggression (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers), ed. Irwin L. Kutash, Samuel B. Kutash and Louis B. Schlesinger, 203.
16. Grossman, 182.
17. J. Dollard et al., Frustration and Aggression (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1939).
18. Edwin I. Magargee and Jack E. Hokanson, The Dynamics of Aggression: Individual, Group and International Analyses (New York: Harper & Row, 1970), 111.
19. Irenaus Eibl-Eibesfeldt, The Biology of Peace and War: Men, Animals, and Aggression (New York: The Viking Press, 1979), translated from German by Eric Mosbacher (R. Piper & Co., Munich), 110-11.
20. Watson, 49-50.
21. Mealey, 33.
22. Ibid., 17.
23. Ibid., 14.
24. Watson, 49.
25. Ibid.
26. Ibid.
27. Eibl-Eibesfeldt, 90.
28. Isabel Briggs Myers, Gifts Differing (Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press, 1980), 101-104.
29. Grossman, 181.
30. Watson, 245.
31. Marshall, 60-61.
32. Grossman, 181.
33. Marshall, 62.
34. Ibid.
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Major David S. Pierson is the 165th Military Intelligence Battalion XO, Darmstadt, Germany. He received a B.A. from the University of Georgia and an M.A. from Webster University, and he is a graduate of the US Army Command and General Staff College (CGSC). He has held a variety of command and staff positions in the Continental United States and Germany, including G2 operations officer, V Corps, Heidelberg, Germany; chief, collection management, United States Transportation Command, Scott Air Force Base, Illinois; and commander, A Company, 124th Military Intelligence Battalion, Fort Stewart, Georgia
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"Directivas Circunstanciales de órden táctico y de tiro, arregladas a las exigencias del momento de la actual campaña, para orientación de la enseñanza en las Academias de Alféreces provisionales. Burgos 1938"
(( Edited to italize a word, aislados ))TERCERA PARTE
NORMAS PARA LA INSTRUCCION DE TIRO
(Fus., fus.amt., granada de mano)
A. INSTRUCCIÓN CON FUSIL
INTRODUCCIÓN
284. El fusil sigue siendo circunstancialmente el arma de fuego principal de las compañías de fusileros. Por esta razón, debe dedicarse a la instrucción de tiro con fusil la mayor atención y el tiempo suficiente. El fin a obtener con esta instrucción es que todo soldado esté en condiciones de disparar segura y rápidamente, obteniendo en un mínimum de tiempo un máximum de impactos en el blanco.
(( Debe mencionarse esta directiva anterior, primera del apartado "Instrucción de Pelotón - Modos de combatir - El combate con armas de fuego - Principios generales :
157. El arma de fuego principal del pelotón es el fusil ametrallador. Su gran potencia de fuego en el tiempo y el espacio, así como su precisión de tiro hacen que su empleo proteja ampliamente a la escuadra de fusileros en su principal misión, que es la de arrollar al enemigo en la última fase de resistencia del combate cuerpo a cuerpo."" ))
//...//
III.-INSTRUCCIÓN DE TIRO REAL
(( Generalidades, desde x 310. a 314. ))
TIRO DE INSTRUCCIÓN
x 315. Los ejercicios de tiro de instrucción comprenden:
ejercicios ((sic)) de agrupamiento,
ejercicio ((sic)) de corrección.
x 316. Los blancos que se emplean en los ejercicios de agrupamiento y de corrección, son los llamados "blancos de instrucción". Su forma es cuadrada, de 1,25 metros de lado para las distancias de 100 metros, y de 2 metros para las
superiores.
La referencia central para la punteria es un triángulo equilátero de 0,30 metros de lado, cuyo vértice inferior coincide con el centro del blanco, y el lado opuesto es paralelo a la base de éste.
En caso de no existir los blancos reglamentarios, pueden emplearse otros cualesquiera.
x 317. Para los ejercicios de corrección, los blancos llevarán dibujados rectángulos cuyo centro coincida con el del blanco, para 300 metros; y a 0,31 metros, 0,29 metros encima de la vertical de dicho centro, para 200 y 100 metros respectivamente. Los indicados rectángulos serán de un color distinto para cada distancia: azules para 100 metros, rojos para 200, y negros para 300 metros.
Las dimensiones de los mismos, para fusil, serán los siguientes:
x ((Respectivamente,
Distancia , Clase de Tirador , Altura en metros , Anchura en metros
100 , 1ª , 0,31 , 0,25
100 , 2ª , 0,55 , 0,52
200 , 1ª , 0,63 , 0,56
200 , 2ª , 1,05 , 0,88
300 , 1ª , 0,83 , 0,67
300 , 2ª , 1,41 , 1,20
x 318. Para calificar los ejercicios de agrupamiento se emplearán unas plantillas rectangulares, de dimensiones iguales a las expresadas anteriormente en el número 317, debiendo la de cada distancia comprender dos rectángulos: uno que corresponde al tirador de primera, y el otro, al de segunda. Estas plantillas se aplicarán sobre el blanco cubriendo los agrupamientos de modo que que comprendan el mayor número de impactos.
319. Debido a la escasez de tiempo disponible para la instrucción, se limita el número de ejercicios a lo más indispensable.
TABLA DE LOS EJERCICIOS DE INSTRUCCIÓN
Respectivamente,
Nºejerc. , Distª , Clase , Posición del tirador, Nº de cartuchos , Condición mínima para pasar al ejercicio siguiente :
1 , 100 , Agrupamiento , Sentado ante la mesa , 5 , 4 impactos dentro del rectángulo mayor de la plantilla correspondiente.
2 , 100 , Corrección , Tendido con apoyo , 5 , 3 impactos dentro del rectángulo mayor dibujado en el blanco para la distancia de 100 metros.
3 , 200 , Corrección , Tendido sin apoyo , 5 , 3 impactos dentro del rectángulo mayor dibujado en el blanco para 200 metros.
4 , 300 , Corrección , Tendido con apoyo , 5 , 3 impactos dentro del rectángulo mayor dibujado en el blanco para 300 metros.
Observaciones -para los tres últimos ejercicios-: El tirador tiene 50 segundos a su disposición para los 5 disparos. Pasado este tiempo, el instructor hace interrumpir el fuego. Para el resultado se cuentan solamente los disparos que el tirador ha logrado hacer.
INSTRUCCIÓN CON FUSIL AMETRALLADORGENERALIDADES
320. El fusil ametrallador (fus.amt.) es el arma de fuego más potente de la compañía de fusileros. Por su gran potencia de fuego y por ser fácilmente desplazable el haz de sus proyectiles, es el arma indicada para cumplir las misiones más variadas.
321. El fuego del fus.amt. consiste normalmente en una sucesión rápida de ráfagas de tres a ocho disparos. Las pausas entre una y otra ráfaga no deben ser mayores que el tiempo indispensable para corregir la punteria. Tiradores bien instruidos estarán en condiciones de conseguir en 30 segundos 60 a 80 impactos, según la distancia, el tamaño y la visibilidad del blanco.
Cada ráfaga se hace en forma de fuego concentrado, no debiendo desplazarse la línea de mira durante la ráfaga. Los blancos anchos se baten por ráfagas de fuego concentrado, desplazando lateralmente el punto de visado después de cada ráfaga.
322. Solamente los tiradores instruidos con gran esmero estarán capacitados para aprovechar el rendimiento del arma en toda su amplitud. Por consiguiente, los ejercicios de tiro deberán ejecutarse frecuentemente y en toda oportunidad posible, aun cuando la tropa esté ya emplazada en el frente.
// ... //
III.-INSTRUCCIÓN DE FUEGO REAL
GENERALIDADES
328. Debido a las circunstancias especiales en que se realizan los cursillos, y como medida necearia de seguridad, el tiro de instrucción se realiza exclusivamente a 25 m. de distancia.
329. Las prescripciones generales para el tiro de instrucción con fusil (números 315-318) rigen análogamente para el tiro con fus.amt.
// ... //
BLANCOS
332. Los blancos que se usan en el tiro de instrucción son los siguientes:
(( Dibujos de 8 cuadrados en fila pegados unos a otros con las siluetas en cada centro ))
A) (( Dibujo A )) Una fila de 8 cuadrados en papel gris, de 16 cm. de lado cada uno; en el centro de cada cuadrado va dibujada en negro la silueta de un tirador tendido, de 25 mm. de lado y 15 mm. de altura.
(( Dibujo B )) Igual al anterior, dibujando en el centro de cada cuadrado otro de 6 cm. de lado.C) (( Dibujo C )) Igual al A, pero cubriendo cada segunda silueta (quedan cuatro visibles).
(( Las impares ))
Varias filas de estos blancos se pegan en un bastidor de 1,20 m. de altura y 2,70 m. de ancho.
// ... //
C) INSTRUCCIÓN CON GRANADAS DE MANO
// ... (( Generalidades, de 337. a 340. )) //
LANZAMIENTO
341. Estando la granada cargada, el soldado suelta la tapa de seguridad (*), hace caer el anillo que remata la cuerdecilla y, arrancándolo con energía, inflama el fulminante. Seguidamente lanza la granada con calma, aunque sin perder
tiempo, en la dirección o el blanco ordenados.
Inmediatamente después del lanzamiento, el director del ejercicio y el soldado observan la caída de la granada y luego se cubren antes de la explosión.
(*) Se refiere al modelo con mango; con otros modelos se procede análogamente.
// ... //
D) TIROS DE ENSEÑANZA Y DE DEMOSTRACIÓN
344. Dentro de cada curso se debe verificar, por lo menos, un tiro de esta clase.
Su objeto es demostrar a los alumnos:
a) la eficacia del fusil y del fus.amt. aislados, contra blancos que correspondan a la realidad dentro de las más variadas distancias, que para el fusil ascenderán a 400 m. y para el fus.amt. a 800 m.;
la eficacia de los haces de fuego reunidos de varios fusiles y fus.amt. contra blancos terrestres y a las distancias de 100, 400, y 800 m.;c) la eficacia perforadora de los diferentes proyectiles contra tierra, arena, madera, césped, sacos de arena, hierro, etc.;
d) la eficacia de granadas de mano aisladas y de manojos de granadas.
345. Para esta clase de ejercicios se emplearán siluetas que correspondan a la realidad de la situación; por ejemplo, siluetas de cabeza para un pelotón en posición de fuego, siluetas de figura para representar un pelotón o una sección en avance. En lo posible, debe demostrarse también la eficacia del tiro de enfilada.
Los tiros de demostración pueden combinarse con tiros de combate.
346. Condición previa para un buen resultado es la preparación esmerada del tiro, debiéndose elegir para cada ejercicio un terreno y una situación táctica adecuados. Después del tiro, y sobre el propio terreno, el director dará las
explicaciones del caso, refiriéndose también a las medidas que conviene tomar para protegerse contra la eficacia de fuego demostrada.
// ... (( Concursos de tiro, con pequeños premios. ""blancos de 12 o 14 zonas que permiten comprobar el mejor tirador."")) //
E) TIRO DE COMBATE
GENERALIDADES
348. Los tiros de combate significan una combinación de lo aprendido en el tiro de instrucción y en la instrucción de combate; por lo tanto, son ejercicios tácticos con cartuchos de guerra. Las situaciones tácticas y los blancos deben acercarse lo más posible a la realidad.
Se ejercitarán las siguientes clases de tiros:
a) el fusilero individual a distancias de 100 hasta 400 m.;
el tirador aislado del fus.amt. de 200 a 800 m.;c) la escuadra fus. a distancias de 100 hasta 400 metros;
d) la escuadra fus.amt. a distancias de 200 a 700 metros;
e) el pelotón;
f) la sección;
g) la compañía, si así lo permiten el terreno y el tiempo disponible.
// ... //
F) DETERMINACIÓN DE DISTANCIAS
[ May 23, 2004, 01:16 PM: Message edited by: Paco QNS ]
-
Not directly answering your question, but for what is worth:
The INTENDED objetive -in the fire range, not in combat, I know- for the germans would have been to put a 60% of shots at 100 meters range
a) inside a 0,31*0,25 meters for the 1st class riflemen,
and the same percentage 60% at 100 meters range inside a 0,55*0,52 meters for 2nd class riflemen.SOURCE: "Directivas Circunstanciales de órden táctico y de tiro,... para orientación de la enseñanza en las Academias de Alféreces provisionales. Burgos 1938".
They were german inspired, and probably a direct translation from the german in quite a few paragraphs. (( Indicium: the grenade model mentioned in its instruction chapter (a stick one with a unrolling cap with cord) was not the most common in the Spanish Army then -the
Lafitte model-, but it corresponds with the
((Notes: my comments, under double brackets.
The ""x"" marks reflects pencils indications drawn in the book.))
(( Must be referenced, though, this previous directive, first in the "Squad Instruction - Combat - General principles:"" THIRD PART
RULES FOR FIRE INSTRUCTION
(Rifle, LMG, handgranade)
A. RIFLE INSTRUCTION
INTRODUCTION
284. The rifle remains being, under the circumstances, the main fire weapon of the infantry companies. Therefore is a must to dedicate to the rifle instruction the most attention and time enough. The main end of this instruction is to qualify every soldier to fire, sure and fast, getting a maximum of impacts on target in a minimum time.
(( OTHER TARGETS:157. The main fire weapon in the squad is the light machinegun. Its great firepower in time and space, along with its fire accuracy, assures the protection of the rifle team in their mission, to overcome the enemy in the last phase of resistence in combat hand-to-hand."" ))
//...//
III. INSTRUCTION OF RIFLE REAL FIRE
(( Generalities, from 310. to 314. ))
INSTRUCTION FIRE
x 315. The exercises of rifle fire include:
exercises ((sic)) on grouping,
exercise ((sic)) on correction.
x 316. The targets used in the exercises of grouping and correction, are the called "instruction targets". Their form is
squared, with 1,25 meters of side for the distances of 100 meters, and of 2 meters for the larger to 100 meters.
The central reference to the aim is an equilateral triangle of 0,30 meters of side, which low vertex coincides with the center of the target, and the opposite side is parallel to the base of the target.
In case the instruction targets do not exist, any others can be used.
X 317. For the exercises of correction, the targets will take drawn rectangles which center coincides with that of the target, for 300 meters distance; and to 0,31 meters, 0,29 meters on the vertical one of the above mentioned center, for 200 and 100 meters respectively. The indicated rectangles will be of a different color for every distance: blue for 100 meters,
red for 200, and blacks for 300 meters.
The dimensions of the same ones, for rifle fire, will be the following ones:
Respectively,Range-in-meters, Rifleman-qualification, Height-in-meters, Width-in-meters:
100 , 1ª , 0,31 * 0,25
100 , 2ª , 0,55 * 0,52
200 , 1ª , 0,63 * 0,56
200 , 2ª , 1,05 * 0,88
300 , 1ª , 0,83 * 0,67
300 , 2ª , 1,41 * 1,20
X 318. To qualify the exercises of grouping a few rectangular patterns will be used, of equal dimensions to the expressed ones previously in the number 317, every distance including two rectangles: one that corresponds to the rifleman of 1st class, and other one, to that of second. These patterns will be applied on the target covering the groupings so that they include the major number of impacts.
319. Due to the shortage of available time for the instruction, the number of exercises will be limited to the most indispensable.
TABLE OF INSTRUCTION EXERCISES
Respectively, Number-of-exercise, Range-in-meters, Type-of-exercise, Posture-of-shooter, Number-of-cartidges, Minimum-to-progress-to-next-exercise:
1 , 100 , Grouping , Sat before table , 5 , 4 impacts inside rectangle of the corresponding pattern.
2 , 100 , Correction , Stretched with support , 5 , 3 impacts inside mayor rectangle drawn in target at 100 m range.
3 , 200 , Correction , Stretched without support , 5 , 3 impacts inside major rectangle drawn in target at 200 m range.
4 , 300 , Correction , Stretched with support , 5 , 3 impacts inside major rectangle drawn in target at 300 m range.
Observations -for the three last exercises-: The rifleman must fire his 5 shots in 50 seconds. Once past that time, the instructor orders fire-stop! For results, only counts the shots fired inside time.
There are no specific silhoutte targets for rifle fire. For the LMG instruction there are 3 types of targets:
(( There are also, along with the targets mentioned, other targets -less detailed- in the "Demostration/Learning Fire" and"" 328. Due to the special circumstances, and as a necesary safety measure, instruction fire is executed exclusively at a25 meters range"" (( !!! ))
// ... //
"" TARGETS
332. A) A line of 8 squares in gray papel, 16 centimeters per side; in the center a silhoutte drawn in black of a rifleman stretched, wit a 25 milimeters width and 15 mm. height.
Same to the previous, drawing in the center of each square another square with 6 cm. per side.C) Same as A, but covering each second silhoutte (leaving four visible).
Several lines of these targets are put in a 1,20 m. height and 2,70 m. width board. ""
"Combat fire":
Once more, not nearly a precise answer for your question -more centered in ammo consume-, but is the best I can give, for the moment."" 345. In these exercises they will be used silhouttes according with a real situation; per example, head silhouttes for a squad in a fire posture, figure silhouettes to represent a squad or a platoon advancing. If possible, it must be demonstrated the effectiveness of enfilading fire.The demonstration fires can be combined with combat fire.""
In my following post, the original version in spanish -with a few bonus-.
Regards, and thanks Lorrin for your learned posts in balistic and armor.
-
a) Low to zero the ammo for the in-map guns
Use a FO ( 105 mm, 4 tubes -they were 105 mm howitzers, not "88 guns"-) to represent indirect fire from that battery. (Would be better with 2 FO of 2 tubes 105 mm -to better simulate their attrition-, but they don´t exist.)
c) Site this FO with a full view of the "Exit 2" from Utah Beach, put TRPs there, and no LOS to the battery.
Can´t think of other way.
(( Edited to add:
Check this link www.brecourtassault.com/ ))
[ May 20, 2004, 06:36 PM: Message edited by: Paco QNS ]
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In addition to Koenig:
Here is a webpage with a photo of the Breda mod.35 and drawings of the mod.40 and mod.42 :The first was the Breda mod.42.
This was basically an ordinary Breda mod.40 granade which at the bottom had an aluminium sphere containing a supplementary charge of 575 g. of explosive.
The granade could penetrate plates up to 20mm and cause flaking to 40mm ones. The safe throwing distance was 5-8 meters.
40,000 Breda mod. 42 were ordered.
Granada de Mano BREDA y variante
-----------------------------------------
Koenig
Another weapon used by the Italian infantry was the war-prize British S.T. type, for which the Inspectorate of Infantry issued Circular n. 591 in 1942.
I suppose you know the technical features of this weapon so I won't list them here. By the way, I hope Commonwealth troops in CMAK are issued with them in the future!
I was on the brink to see the infamous "sticky grenade model nº 74" restricted to the "Home Guard" -later issued to the Resistence in Europe- (both Ian V. Hogg´s book "Grenades and mortars" and the following webpage seems to suggest this:Michael Dorosh
How galling would it be if Italian troops were coded in the patch with captured CW AT weapons while the CW still laboured on without? DOH.
Nº 74 ST Grenade. (Sticky Grenade)
but I admit both Koenig´s info about captured material and here :
NZETC - Official History of New Zealand in the Second World War Chapter 12 see end of 109 page
seems to indicate that they were issued to Australians (?)(Tobruk) and New Zealanders.
Any other info about this?
After all, the Gammon nº 82 was issued -and it is in CMBO- as a better alternative than the ST from 1943 on, see:
-
The big brother was the PAK 41, a 75 mm version of the taper bore guns.
Only 150 built -due to the scarcity of the wolfram/tungsten, best used for machinery and other more vital needs than killing enemy tanks- (not so in the view of their sufferers).
Photo in les canons à tubes coniques
----------------------------------
Not totally related, but in the field of innovative artillery, must be cited also the High/Low presion guns, such as the german
PAW 600 (and modern Cockerill 90 mm gun or the M 79 "Blooper" 40 mm grenade launcher) :
Probert Encyclopaedia: Artillery see PAK 41 and PAW 600
Infantry Guns and Heavy Mortars by Phil West
Not exactly the "bottleneck chamber" suggested earlier, but a sort of spigot gun combined with a normal barrel with a special chamber, if I am understanding it correctly.
-
From Part 3 in "AFV Interiors" :
Italian CV 33/35 (L.3) Tankette, Part 2Picture 9:This time our view is of the rear of the twin Breda MGs in their mount. The Breda MG magazine contained only around 24 rounds, but there were approximately 79 curved magazines stowed in the vehicle. As you may recall, the Breda MGs caught their spent casings in canvas bags fixes under the weapons. The sighting ocular with its surrounding eye cushion has been angled upward, but the rear of both receivers and their characteristic handles below them are clearly visible. Notice the hand wheel to the far right that elevated and depressed the weapon mount. The mount was traversed by simply swinging the weapons from side to side. The very early L.3s with the 6.5mm FIAT 14 MG had around 3800 rounds of ammo stowed inside 50 magazines, the magazines housed in similar bins on both sponsons over the tracks.
-
Boats.
AI can´t use them.
-
Traducción, por si no lo comprendes bien:Madmatt
Administrator
Member # 332
posted March 01, 2004 01:40 AM
-------------------------------
quote:
----------------------------------
Originally posted by war_is_fun_to_play:
i cant belive that!!!!!,ok i downloaded the full game for free as i do with every game that i have,thats all,just in case any battlefront member is reading at this,i have to say that i think that is such a good game that im probably going to buy one,just to have the retail box,the manual in paper (not in pdf) and all that,but like stavka said,does any of you know about something like this http://www.poblados.net/cmbb/guia/index.html but in english,thanks
-----------------------------------
You know what? Save your money as we don't need or want customers like you! You admit theft of the game and that makes you a common criminal. You are hereby banned from participating from these forums and I wish you well in your little pathetic convoluted pirate life.
Madmatt
--------------------
If it's in Combat Mission, it's on Combat Mission HQ!
Combat Mission HQ
Host of the Combat Mission WebRing
-----------------¡
Posts: 6440 | Registered: Oct 99 | IP: Logged
Maddmatt: ""¿Sabes qué? ¡Ahorrate tu dinero dado que no necesitamos ni queremos clientes como tú! Admistes haber robado el programa y eso te identifica como un delincuente común. Quedas expulsado de estos foros y deseo que te vaya bien en tu patética pequeña y confusa vida de pirata. ""
((Obviamente, la última frase es totalmente irónica, y me sumo a ella. ¡Adios!
))
-
La confesión es buena para el alma. ((Confession is good for the soul))war_is_fun_to_play
Junior Member
Member # 14579
posted March 01, 2004 12:23 AM
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i cant belive that!!!!!,ok i downloaded the full game for free as i do with every game that i have,thats all,just in case any battlefront member is reading at this,i have to say that i think that is such a good game that im probably going to buy one,just to have the retail box,the manual in paper (not in pdf) and all that,but like stavka said,does any of you know about something like this http://www.poblados.net/cmbb/guia/index.html but in english,thanks
------------------------
Posts: 11 | Registered: Feb 2004 | IP: Logged
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"¡ Hola, Mamá !"
(( o sea, echad el cierre a esto )).
Hi, mum !
(( that is, lock it ! )).
-
Beg pardon, but the T-28 had three turrets. The five turreted one was the T-35.That's wierd. I can't find the M3 Grant, the T-28 or the T-35. There were lots of these tanks, and the game is a stickler for accuracy, so why on earth aren't they included?All these three tanks are 'multi-turreted'. The T-28, for example, had five turrets.
The T-28 in the Russian Battlefield Web
The T-35 in The Russian Battlefield Web
Regards, and a bump for the old times!
-
Also, is planted in squares from
7 * 7 metres (204 trees / 10.000 m2) to
5 * 4 metres (500 trees / 10.000 m2).
-
Little tree size. And the correct noun --in spanish-- is "chirimoyo" for the plant, and "chirimoya" the fruit.
(( Edited to add images.- Also, never thought in english you call them --correctly-- "cherimoyas" ))
[ February 28, 2004, 10:34 AM: Message edited by: Paco QNS ]
-
You can use your sound editor and put lower the wav files, once located. I use it with birds and flames, and it works.Have also noticed that the mortar bursts, even when up close with zoom, are practically inaudible with sound plus ambient on. The background artillery rumble, not artillery falling on the actual battle, pretty much drowns the mortars.Is any of this patchable?
-
-
1)
Unless you´re in good cover or in a marginal LOS to your shooter it´s better to break contact than to hide.my unit have been spoted can it hide again in the same place?((A menos que estés en un terreno adecuado para el ocultamiento o con una Línea-de-Fuego casi oculta a tu contrincante, es mejor romper contacto que usar "hide"))
2)
I do get the feeling you´re refering to the grey generic icons, not to the national symbols.the icons that represent unseen troops,if there is no soun contact or no troo,what it is?The grey ones represent knowledge of enemy troops (or tanks) in that area. They are usually sounds, either of command voices or motors, and are very imprecise. The "sound" icons represent sources of enemy fire.
IMHO it´s a waste of ammo to shoot at the grey icons, there is no reference between the place they appear and where is really the enemy.
((Me parece que te refieres a los iconos grises genéricos y no a los símbolos de nacionalidad. Los grises representan que sabes que hay fuerzas enemigas en ese area. Son sonidos, bien de voces de mando o motores, y son muy imprecisos. Los iconos "sound" representan fuentes de fuego enemigo.
En mi opinión, es desperdiciar munición el tiro a los marcadores grises, no hay correspondencia entre donde aparecen y donde están las fuerzas enemigas.))
Regards, and welcome to Combat Mission.
((Saludos, y bienvenido al mundo de CM ))
-----------------------
Edited to add: Consider last phrase not written.
Editado para añadir: Considérese la última frase como no escrita.
[ March 01, 2004, 01:33 AM: Message edited by: Paco QNS ]
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Debes descargarte alguno de los "mods" de terreno cuadriculado.
Busca por "gridded" o por "grid terrain".
Saludos.
-
Debes descargarte alguno de los "mods" de terreno cuadriculado.
Busca por "gridded" o por "grid terrain".
Saludos.
-
Debes descargarte alguno de los "mods" de terreno cuadriculado.
Busca por "gridded" o por "grid terrain".
Saludos.
-
Not tanks, but I shooted a BA russian auto-car from less than 100 meters with a HMG on a top floor, blasting it -and the remaining crew-. IIRC it get a top hit.
-
From "Alamein", by C.E. Lucas Phillips
page 219:
From the map, the center of Hill 37 was 1.500 yards from the edge of Turner and 1.750 from the center. And 1.900 yard from edge of Snipe and 2.125 yrds from the center. The edges of Turner and Snipe are 500 yards apart and their centers are 1.000 yards apart.They then made out the ominous shapes of 35 tanks in the moonlight //...//
What Flower had stumbled upon was in fact a night leaguer of a mixed force of tanks, sp guns and vehicles, part german and part italian, under the command of the german Colonel Teege, and known as the Stiffemayer Battle Group. It was located on the long mound to the southwest which we have called Hill 37 and beyond the brow of which Flower had penetrated. It was soon evident to Turner , in fact, that the desert around him was, except to his rear, alive with enemy. All to the westward numerous camp fires were to be seen at no great distance. The moon and their lights enabled him to see another tank leaguer about 1.000 yards to the northward, which was, in fact, a leaguer of the 15th Panzer Division.
Digging-in had been barely completed when, at about 3.45 , the deep -throated rumble of tanks in motion was heard from the direction of Teege´s leaguer. Very soon their sombre shapes could be seen advancing in two bodies. One was obviously shaping course to join the northern leaguer of 15th Panzer Division, but the other made straight for Turner´s position, moving in line-head.
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Not sure if it will be useful, but...
DESERT RATS by Ralph T. Smith for CCS , reviewed in Crash 20 The online edition
The links down the page allow you to emulate play it, online.
Cool!
Also available is Vulcan, The Tunisian Campaign, and Arnhem -and even Stonkers (my first computer wargame)-.
Too overscaled, also, but want to point it for all the Spectrum nostalgics (I am one of them).
Regards.
-
((Off Topic))
Re to Mark G. :
- - -What music is played on the battleground in Henry V, and who wrote it?Patrick Doyle composed the music, "Non nobis Domine", and sang the solo. The Stephen Hill Singers and members of the cast provided the chorus. The words are based on Psalm 115.
The Latin Vulgate text used in the film is:
Non nobis, Domine, Domine,
sed nomini tuo da gloriam,
Repetition:
Non nobis, Domine, Domine
Non nobis Domine
Sed nomine, sed nomine
Tuo da gloria
Translation (Prayer Book Version):
Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us,
but unto thy Name give the praise.
Nonne militia est vita hominis super terram,
et sicut dies mercennarii dies eius?
Job, 7 .1
Isn´t the life of man upon earth a warfare,
and his days that of a mercenary?
-
For the missing slice, have you seen this map?:
INSTRUCCIÓN CON FUSIL AMETRALLADOR
Distance of FlaK from the frontline
in Combat Mission: Barbarossa to Berlin
Posted
A bit of doctrine:
From the "Normas generales para empleo táctico de las armas de acompañamiento de infantería y caballería" Instrucción E. 8.
approved 24, June, 1940 (distributed 30, October, 1940) Spanish Army
(very german influenced since the Spanish Civil War)
(General guidelines for the tactical employ of supporting weapons,
Infantry and Cavalry):
Regards,((edited to resite paragraphs and clear the text/translation ))
[ June 07, 2004, 06:39 PM: Message edited by: Paco QNS ]