"Streetfighting": The Rifle Platoon in MOUT

Infantry Magazine, Sept-Dec, 2000 by Captain John W. Karagosian

(*) 1st Squad (main effort) secures foothold in Building 11 to allow platoon to secure the building.

(*) 2d Squad suppresses Building 23 to allow 1st Squad to secure foothold in that building.

(*) 3d Squad suppresses Building 22 to allow 1st squad to secure foothold in Building 11.

(*) Weapons Squad suppresses Building 11 to allow 1st Squad to secure foothold in Building 11.

Breaching obstacles. In breaching, there are two types of obstacles we might face, existing and reinforcing. At platoon level, the most common types are mined wire obstacles employed by the enemy outside the building-the doorway, window, or wall we must pass through to seize the foothold itself.

When the rules of engagement permit, the best way to enter is to make our own hole through the wall. Next best is a window, with a door being the least desired. If the friendly and enemy-held buildings are adjoining, "mouse-holing" with demolitions is preferable. If the buildings are not adjoining, we should use AT4s, light antiarmor weapons (LAWs), or other munitions from the safety of our own building, instead of going into the open to emplace explosives by hand. An effective technique, and one used by the Chechens in Grozny in 1994, is to task organize "rocket teams" under a noncommissioned officer. Using the pair or volley technique, we can make a breach rapidly and give the enemy the least possible warning. Hollow charge weapons in general are not designed to breach walls, and one may not be enough. High explosive warheads--such as those in the AT8, the shoulder-launched, multipurpose assault weapon (SMAW), and the Carl Gustav--are better able to breach masonry. Main gun rounds from tanks are very effective.

Our casualties in the assault itself will be proportional to the intensity of enemy fire, its accuracy, and the time the assault teams are exposed to enemy fire. Suppressive fire and smoke together minimize the intensity and the accuracy of enemy fire. The breaching fundamentals suppress, obscure, secure, reduce (SOSR) will help here: Smoke grenades draw fire, and we can expect the enemy, as a minimum, to shoot blindly into the smoke cloud. Speed of movement and breaching minimize exposure times. Assault teams must move fast and stay dispersed. If possible, they should not stack outside the entry point, but get inside as quickly as possible (Figure 6).

Clearing the building (FM 90-10-1).Once we have seized a foothold in our building, the tactical problem for the defender changes. If the enemy's morale is low or he is willing to trade space for time, he may elect to withdraw and take up the fight again on the other side of the next street or a suitable clear field of fire. But if the enemy regards the building as key terrain and is willing to fight for it, the fight doesn't end until the enemy is destroyed in the building. The defenders inside will shift their attention away from our SBF positions across the steer and toward our assault force as it clears from room to room.

On the other hand, defenders of adjacent buildings now know where our entry point is, if they can see it. Follow-on assault teams "run the gauntlet" to reinforce the foothold. There must be a plan for the follow-on teams to enter the building, and a senior leader in the platoon should play "traffic cop" to maintain intervals and dispersion. Fires from SBF positions should shift off the building, but still must focus on identifying and suppressing the enemy and protecting friendly reinforcements. Elements isolating the objective have a difficult task as well and must be prepared for brief sightings of fleeting targets as the enemy makes his escape.