Ambush Patrols: Low Risk, High Reward

The ambush patrol has proven to be one of the most effective and devastating tools for controlling and manipulating an enemy. The ambush patrol is very important in any combat zone for disrupting the enemy in terms of eliminating enemy units, diverting forces, and overall changing the attitude of the forces assigned to the area. In this article, my goal is to simplify using my knowledge from training, history, and experience.

WHAT ARE AMBUSH PATROLS?

Ambush patrols are surprise attacks on a moving or temporarily halted enemy target from a concealed position. The ideal ambush is one with the lowest risk and highest reward. An example would be an ambush on a numerically superior enemy by using fire superiority and combined arms, leading to swift annihilation of the enemy with no casualties to your own patrol.

The first objective of the ambush is the total destruction of the enemy through surprise, speed, and violent concentrations of combined arms. The secondary objective is to harass the enemy and cause diversion of forces, lower morale, and to cause the enemy to go from being offensive to defense-minded. An ideal ambush patrol will have the byproduct of the enemy forces becoming apprehensive to conduct patrols.

Generally the main target of the ambush patrol is known and the ambush is well planned and rehearsed. There is a possibility that your patrol will need to conduct sabotage of roads, bridges, or communication lines in order to trap the target, sever their access to reinforcements, and/or lure the enemy into your kill zone.

While ambushing your target is a huge responsibility that requires alot of planning and a coordinated unit, the other thing your patrol will be responsible for is collecting intelligence that will be useful in further operations whether that be physical intelligence such as maps and documents, or observed intelligence like enemy reactions and their equipment. The ambush patrol typically is concluded with a small unit of the patrol doing a physical check on the enemy combatants to verify numbers of dead/wounded and to collect intel.

FORCES AND FIREPOWER

In ambush patrols, you can expect your unit to be of almost any size, but the general rule of thumb is no less than a squad sized element. The more forces you bring to the table, the more capability you have, but obviously you will create a large footprint. Unlike an LRRP, the point of the ambush patrol is to bring a generous can of whoop-ass to the enemy in their own home, or area of operations. This means having the right firepower for the mission.
RIFLES: Generally, these men are going to be used to initiate the ambush and provide a steady dose of accurate fire, as well as conduct maneuvers on the enemy if the situation/plan calls for it.
MACHINE GUNS: These are great for delivering a high volume of accurate fires on an enemy position in order to keep the enemy down or take out a large unit with accurate and devastating enfilading fire.
SNIPER/DESIGNATED MARKSMAN RIFLES: These weapons can be effectively employed to take out covered targets or delivering a precise and single shot to take out HVTs that could assist the enemy in returning effective fire on your ambushing element. This could also be put in an offset position to pin down enemy elements attempting a flanking maneuver.
In addition to the above mentioned weapons, you may have a range of others that can be employed against the enemy to enhance your capabilities such as rockets, mortars, etc.

AMBUSH TYPES

The best type of ambush is one that surprises your enemy with devastating firepower, sometimes coupled with maneuver for total annihilation of the enemy. This does not mean you will be only going out to hunker down along an enemy path, waiting to pummel the enemy to a pulp once they are in sight before scooting. Rather, there two types of ambushes that each have their own coordination and time requirements. One type is the point ambush where you target a specific patrol or convoy. This will generally require less time and less fine coordination and planning. This could be a simple case of lying in wait for an enemy to walk into your kill zone, like a hunter lying in wait in commonly traveled game trail.

The other type of ambush is an area ambush, which could consist of destroying a specific target with the goal of drawing out additional enemy forces in order to conduct several point ambushes. An example is attacking an enemy convoy and drawing out the enemy QRF, then causing the QRF to split up into different kill zones where they will not be able to escape or reinforce one another, as well as receive reinforcements. This can be highly complex and require meticulous planning. Usually this is only going to be done on an enemy that has SOPs you are very familiar with.

EFFECTS AND CONSEQUENCES

 With a little imagination, a well trained and disciplined unit, and a crap load of firepower, ambush patrols can have a wide range of effects/possible effects on the enemy. As mentioned before, the secondary objective of ambush patrols is to cause the enemy to change their mindset and even change their tactics and even their overall strategy. However, depending on the enemy forces you are battling, the ambush patrol could backfire. No good deed goes unpunished, especially in war.

 An example of successful ambush patrols backfiring is instead of the enemy diverting forces from another battle space, the enemy will simply commit more forces to the region and strengthen their overall disposition and support elements, as was the case for our forces in Afghanistan and Iraq. The ambushes resulted in the coalition forces conducting aggressive campaigns that resulted in tighter control and more aggressive responses while expanding the occupied territory. The enemy may have been successful in their ambushes, but it resulted in the coalition forces adapting to take less casualties and even made their responses so deadly that it wasn't worth the risk to fight them head on like that. 

In history, Nazi forces punished the local population by executing civilians every time they were ambushed by resistance cells. While these vicious and deadly ambushes did result in the Nazi Army diverting forces for added security, it took a toll on the resistance cells in terms of their support from the local population. You may have achieved a diversion of forces, but you may cause the civilian population less cooperative in the future because they blame you for the executions. This is something that has also been seen in Iraq and Afghanistan where locals were punished for giving the occupying forces information and support, which led to losses for the insurgents in manpower and logistics. In this situation, both sides lost support of the local population and the locals gave both sides information on the other, making the urban environments more dangerous for all involved.

BENEFICIAL OR HARMFUL?

As someone who has conducted ambush patrols in training and conducted patrols in enemy territory, the only concern I felt was for the safety of my patrol. I was not concerned about the local population past the risk of hurting innocent civilians. I did not concern myself with the possible consequences for the local population, nor for ourselves in the future. The ambush patrol merely a way to destroy enemy forces in an efficient manner, and that was the immediate reward your patrol should concern itself with.

As far as the long term effects of conducting ambush patrols, it is best left to the strategists and campaign leadership to determine how to respond to any serious consequences for your ambush patrols. In the grand scheme of things, all patrols have a purpose that serves to benefit or aid in the operations you are involved in. Ambushes are not only proven to be effective, but they can also have far reaching rewards that can shift the balance of power in your favor, making any negative responses negligible in the long run.

SUMMARY

History has shown how effective a well planned and coordinated ambush can be. It is the best way to engage a numerically superior enemy as long as you have the firepower and combined arms to make short work of the target. Your success may lead to future operational complexities down the line, but if the overall goal was using these patrols for the effects they give in the short term, I wouldn't bother thinking about the long term effects.  For more details, there are several sources that will explain how to conduct these patrols in greater detail, if you are so inclined and interested.