"Correct Tactics versus Mortars" Topic

You were asked – TMP link

When taking mortar fire, the correct response is to move toward the enemy so that the enemy is forced to stop the shelling. True or false?

40% said "true"
27% said "false"

'depends'

Counterbattery fire can be fun too.

Airstrike. With napalm.

Nuke them from orbit…

…it's the only way to be sure.

Keep calm and carry on !

Spoke to a D-Day +3 staff Sargent. He hated them, swore the Germans could " drop them in your back pocket ".

So what is the right answer then?

Concealed carry?

I've never been in the military, and don't have much understanding of all things martial, but if I was a platoon commander my orders would be STOP! Get cover and assess the situation. Moving around seems like a sure bet to max casualties. If you can figure out the location of the spotter or the battery, call in something THEY can't effectively counter. Big guns, friendly mortars, airplanes.

If I can't figure out where the misery is coming from, stay put. Sure you'll get hurt, but they will have only so many rounds and when they're out, they'll stop.

I have to think mortars are more an interdiction weapon than a kill weapon. Call in and have another platoon advance on a flank. They can't shoot at both of us. If they shift fire, now we advance. We might displace the spotter and force them to redeploy. They can't shoot on the move.

I remember reading about Tarawa after they got off the beach. The marines advanced under two commands. One used maneuver, fire and assault and got cut to pieces. The other used move until confronted, stop, ID enemy locations, call in naval gunfire, then mop up. Their casualties were much lower.

Apply strength against weakness. If your weakness is being exploited, redefine the confrontation.

Of course, what do I know.

We always taught African peacekeeping battalions to get out of the kill zone most haste! Staying in the kill zone and your demise will be certain! Take your chances in getting out of the kill zone! The alternative is certain not to give you an good outcome. You at least have a chance to survive. We also taught to pick a spot and first and rush ambushers with all you could muster! Your chances are better than null by stayng in the kill zone! (FWIW)

One of the German tactics at Normandy was to pin the attackers down with MG42 fire and then drop mortar rounds on them with impunity. The men who survived were the ones who got off the beach; the ones who died were the ones who tried to hunker down.

When I was in the Army, our doctrine was to always have an escape azimuth. Today it might be 90° from direction of travel, tomorrow it might be 270°, so that the enemy couldn't anticipate your patterns. If you could see the ambushing force, you would immediately assault them. If not, you went 300 meters in the direction of the escape azimuth and regrouped for counterattack. Plopping down and dying in place was never a preferred option.