COMBINED ARMS WARFARE (PART 1):

THE REASONS FOR ITS ADOPTION AND DIFFERENT ELEMENTS USED IN IT

Since ancient times, various different types of units have been in use in warfare, each one supplementing the other in various roles assigned to them. But they seldom acted as one unit and were used as individual units. For example, the cavalry was composed of only riders and acted as an individual unit on the battlefield, devoid of any infantry unit attached to it.

But all this was about to change in due time.

MEDIEVAL LINE INFANTRY AND THE ADVENT OF MOBILE ARTILLERY

Back in medieval times, armies used to fight in huge formations, formed of lines of riflemen carrying muzzle-loading muskets. The reason is that a line of riflemen could fire hundreds of bullets at the enemy at the same time. This tactic became difficult with the advent of mobile artillery ad early machine guns towed by horses or other beasts of burden. Cavalry was still deadly and could devastate infantry lines and less mobile towed artillery if used wisely. But with time, it became more and more difficult and infantry was forced to dig in and move inside trenches to save itself from relentless artillery barrages.

WW1:TRENCH WARFARE AND THE ENTRY OF TANKS

World war 1 saw extensive use of trench warfare to mitigate the effectiveness of artillery. This began to end in stalemates on all fronts in all the theatres. To break this morass, tanks were introduced into the battlefield to charge through the trenches. As long as tanks were slow, no drastic changes were required, but after sometime tanks became much faster and infantry was simply unable to keep up with them on foot.

WW2:BLITZKRIEG, COMBINED TASK FORCE,DEEP BATTLE -THE BIRTH OF COMBINED ARMS WARFARE

World war 2 saw extensive use of armor warfare and various mobile tactics were deployed by all the sides involved. Germany was first to use the now much famous Blitzkrieg which involved a rudimentary form of combined arms warfare involving armor and infantry rapidly moving in sync (still not as one tactical unit)to destroy the enemies under the cover of air support. It was still on a corps-level though.

The real change came with the US Army adopting divisional level syncing of not only infantry and armor but also mixing in artillery, tank destroyers, and scout elements under the cover of air support. The reason being that armor was found to be vulnerable to anti-tank mines, ambushing tank destroyers, and even infantry, without an infantry unit attached to it.

Soviets adopted a different approach with their artillery centric deep battle doctrine with the syncing of their motor rifle units with armor and artillery but in a very different manner than the Germans and Americans.

This method of mobile warfare would have far reaching effects and would give birth to self propelled howitzers and AFV/APC during the cold war.

VIETNAM WAR : ENTER THE AIR CAVALRY

The Vietnam War posed a very different type of challenge to the US Military. This terrain with hills and dense forests rendered armor useless. Logistics chain also became difficult to maintain due to the lack of even basic infrastructure and difficult terrain. This was the first time helicopters were used extensively, not only as tactical lifters but also as gunships and air ambulances. Their ability to operate without runways and drop supplies in the thick of battle along with providing air support in places thought impossible before made them indispensable in warfare after that. Helicopters will further evolve to give birth to different categories among themselves, each specializing in different roles. The advent of helicopters would also force a new development, mobile air defense units, especially the MANPADS, VSHORADS, SPAAG, and short-range SAMS.

ELEMENTS OF COMBINED ARMS WARFARE(LAND) IN MODERN TIMES

In modern times various elements of combined arms warfare are being used by armies to conduct warfare.

1. Armour Element – comprising tanks and infantry fighting vehicles along with mechanized infantry units with APCs used for rapid thrusts and flanking of the enemy.

1. Tactical Airlift Element- Generally comprises medium to light rotor aircraft like Dhruv and Mi17 but can also include tactical fixed-wing air lifters like C130. Used to provide supplies to the frontline units.

1. Air Defence Element – It comprises mobile air defence units having SPAAG, SRSAM, MRSAM, VSHORADS. Primarily tasked with providing air defence against gunships, tactical air strikes, missile strikes and drone strikes.

1. Mobile Infantry Units- Comprising infantry units on LSV, armoured trucks and various other vehicles for fast transportation. Also can include Heliborne and Airborne infantry units.

1. Surveillance And EW Element – Comprising Battlefield surveillance radars, weapons locating radars and jamming equipment.Examples are Rajendra(BSR),Swathi(WLR),Krasukha-4(EW).

1. Air Support Elements – It has CAS aircraft like A10, SU25, Super Tucano, and helicopter gunships It also includes the anti-tank element and may or may not include tactical strike aircraft like Su34, Jaguars etc, depending upon operational requirements.

1. Logistics And Engineering Element- It comprises heavy to lift all-terrain trucks and other engineering vehicles like bridge layers and armor recovery vehicles.