The Ambush: Principles Of Effectiveness

An ambush is a big action to undertake, no matter the enemy numbers. There are alot of moving parts to this action, though the concept is simple in nature. You must have a crystal clear objective, communications, understand the timing, targets, roles, and have patience when needed while also being able to lay hate on the enemy immediately with great effect.

The big thing for a successful ambush is having a location that you know is concealed and has a good field of fire into the location that is going to be used by the enemy. Now, for this article I am going to really only concentrate on planned ambushes by a militia or resistance force. I will avoid the concepts and intricacy of the hasty ambush. Either way, the act of an ambush is going to require much concentration and detailed planning. Another trait is incredibly important discipline of all forces involved in setting up and carrying out the ambush.

As far as the location of your ambushing forces, you can lay them out in several different ways, depending on the type of ambush you wish to conduct. You can do a complete envelopment where you intend to wipe out the forces entering the kill zone, or simply set up a position that is designed for brief harassment to delay the movement of troops. Basically, an ambush can have several different purposes and can be used strategically in operations.

An important thing to consider is that you will need good intelligence and planning in an ambush. A reconnaissance of the ambush location is preferable, in order to better plan your course of action, layout, and security. Often times, terrain can dictate and alter the originally intended course of action. Without a reconnaissance, you may find yourself in a difficult position that could endanger the success of your mission and the safety of your troops. 

Given that I have emphasized the fact that everything in an ambush is vital for clear success, we need to talk about a huge element that most professionals would consider common sense. Planning for the mission and having detailed courses of action and assigned roles to all individuals is important. One other element to consider is secondary and tertiary plans for when Murphy's law shows it's ugly face. Just remember that it is important to remind your forces involved that few, if any, plans survive first contact with the enemy.
I recommend that the commanders and leaders all have backup plans and contingency plans in place for several different possible outcomes. For instance, you may have an optimistic plan in place that is way outside of your safe boundaries. You may see that you could easily get trapped and have to split up and evade the enemy. You should plan for that in terms of equipment and rendezvous locations and evasion procedures.

The next element to an ambush is, if at all possible, having reserve forces and extraction security in place. If your forces fail to pin down an enemy force effectively, or everything goes completely awry, you will want to have an exit strategy in place. Nothing is more comforting than knowing that extra forces are on hand to help delay a pursuing force. It may not be necessary, but it typically is wise, just like the condom principal. Obviously, this will be hard to do if you are short on manpower, and are a small resistance cell, but it is a good layer of security in order to lessen the likelihood of higher casualties.

The supply element of an ambush can be a tricky thing and it may come down to troop capability. Of course you have no choice but to carry mission-essential gear like mines, rocket launchers, explosives, machine guns, rifles, ammo, water, food, observation equipment, etc. This should be something everyone is capable of carrying, but you may be limited on the size and complexity of your mission if you're limited on supplies and strength/manpower. Nothing is worse than risking an injury because one of your men/women can't handle the basic required equipment for carrying out the mission. On top of the essentials for the mission, you may want to consider the supplies in case you need to evade enemy capture. This doesn't need to be too much added gear if you know how to improvise and stretch out rations. If your forces adopt a fasting diet and get their bodies accustomed to fasting and periods without food, this could help prepare them for evasion or famine from logistical problems. Just remember to disperse the loads if you can, but remember that you may find yourself having to lone wolf an evasion route.

Overall, there is almost infinite numbers of tactics, capabilities, and potential uses/outcomes of an ambush. Your success or failure will depend on the complexity and risk you take. The SAS are right with their motto of "Who Dares Wins" because without risk, your rewards will be small. Just like in gambling, your reward does not come without risk. There are infinite variables for a commander and the leaders to consider on this type of mission, and it should not be without consideration of the unintended outcomes. In response to your ambush, you may cause the enemy to take their revenge out on civilians, whilst they also may lose morale and slow start to slip, giving the resistance the upper hand. If your enemy fears and respects you, you may have a fighting chance of success. But the only question you must ask yourself is whether the risk is worth the reward?