Compass Points - Combined Arms Secret
What makes enemy forces surrender?
March 2, 2024
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There are many ways to deter enemy nations from going to war. There are economic, political, and military tools that can be used for deterrence. But once deterrence fails, once open hostilities have erupted, what is the secret to making hostile forces stop fighting and surrender?
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When Israel was attacked October 7, 2023, by Hamas forces from Gaza, deterrence was over. Brutal, grotesque hostilities had erupted. How to make Hamas stop? Israel received lots of advice, as Richard Kemp recalls in his article in The Daily Telegraph,
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Before ground operations began, US military advisers urged the Israelis not to launch a large-scale campaign, which they believed would result in an IDF bloodbath – and be less effective than a combination of air strikes and special forces raids. The IDF rejected that advice, and moved into Gaza with a large, combined arms force. And it has confounded its critics.
-- Richard Kemp, The Daily Telegraph, "Israel is not Struggling in Gaza. It's Winning a Rapid Victory."
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As Ricard Kemp reports, Israel moved into Gaza "with a large, combined arms force." While the fighting is still going on today, rocket attacks from Gaza have virtually ceased and there have been no further mass attacks on Israeli villages.
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Contrast that to the recent, limited US strikes on Houthi launchers and infrastructure. The limited strikes have not forced the Houthis to stop, and may have simply emboldened them.
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Dr Tom Simoens, an Associate Professor in History at the Royal Military Academy (Brussels) speaks plainly about the importance of a combined arms maneuver force.
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CAW [Combined Arms Warfare] is crucial for success on the battlefield.
-- Dr Tom Simoens, Royal Military Academy (Brussels)
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Professor Simoens' powerful and insightful article, “Combined Arms Warfare As The Key To Success On The Contemporary Battlefield?" provides example after example of the importance of combined arms forces and concludes that Western armies today are "fixating on the air power and special forces as the ready-made solution to every military challenge." Professor Simoens' argues that what Western Forces should be doing is rediscovering, "the art of combined arms warfare."
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One Compass Points reader has suggested that to make the Houthis stop will require not just limited air strikes, but much more.
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I would suggest the US military return the concept of the Punitive Expedition. There is simply no way to separate the enemy from the swamp they dwell in. The scope is aways larger and the pin prick precision is wasted. Destroy their ports, the firing locations, their refineries, roads, electrical infrastructure, ships and boats, freeze their assets, sink ships at sea regardless of flag if proof exists, they are targeting. Do not fear the media reaction. They are not on your side anyway and restraint is equated with weakness. Set the conditions for the population to turn on those who bring the misery to their doorstep.
We need not fear a “full blown war” with Iran. They have been at war with us since 1979 and will continue to use proxies. Make being an Iranian proxy a suicidal proposition. We have no obligation to fix what we break. Leave it broken.
Final thought. If we cannot deal with pirates and brigands while supplying Ukraine and Israel we need new leadership. Those who let our defense industrial base wither through neglect should be held accountable.
-- Doug Rape'
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In World War II the US dropped 10,000 tons of bombs on German munition plants. The air bombing never forced Germany to surrender. In a similar way, Germany bombed England for years. In 1945 Germany used the latest technology, the V2 rocket to strike England. The air bombing never forced England to surrender. With the possible exception of nuclear weapons, air strikes alone -- no matter how technologically sophisticated -- are never enough. The only thing that finally forced Germany to surrender in World War II was landing a large, combined arms force at Normandy and marching across Europe without pause until Germany was forced to surrender.
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Once a skilled, enhanced, well supported, combined arms force lands on or near enemy territory and starts to cross one critical boundary line after another, the enemy has only two choices, destroy the combined arms force or be destroyed.
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Deterrence is important. Once deterrence breaks down, however, it takes a combined arms maneuver force to land near the enemy and cross critical boundary line after critical boundary line. Israel is doing that in Gaza now. If Israel continues, Hamas must either surrender or be destroyed. Either way, the combined arms force will have made Hamas stop. What is the secret to forcing enemy forces to surrender? Combined arms warfare.
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Compass Points salutes Dr. Tom Simoens and all those helping Western nations rediscover the enduring power and importance of upgraded, enhanced, well supported, and well supplied combined arms, maneuver forces -- like the US Marine MAGTF.
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The Defence Horizon Journal - 12/02/2022
Combined Arms Warfare As The Key To Success On The Contemporary Battlefield?
By Tom Simoens
Maj Dr Tom Simoens is an Associate Professor in History at the Royal Military Academy (Brussels), where he is also the Head of the Chair of History. The evolution of Combined Arms Warfare in the 20th century is the main thread in one of the courses he teaches at the Academy.
https://tdhj.org/blog/post/combined-arms-warfare-success-battlefield/
Until America has the Political Will to achieve Victory we will fail! America showed weakness in the Debacle at Kabul, Putin invaded Ukraine. America pandered to the Iranian Mullah’s that shout Death to America then their proxies Hamas, Palestinian Jihad, Hezbollah (who murdered Our Brother Marines in Beirut 1983) and others at the behest of Iran and funded by US Tax Dollars massacred Israelis in Judea and Samaria. A massacre that in numbers of killed or captured equated to 50,000 Americans in what could soon be our new 9/11. Our Homeland is being invaded 10 to 12 million invaders since Jan 2021. We are paying for the invasion. Todd Bensman has the details in his books “Overrun”. We no longer have Marine MAGTFs ready to fight. CMC Berger destroyed them. We have a Brigadier who never attended a War College but instead a Peace Institute Majoring in Women’s Security Studies (whatever the hell that means)as the head of the Marine Corps University. She reeks of DEI hundreds of more qualified Colonel were passed over in order to put a star on her collar. Her hubris on steroids allows her to comfortably insult and reject war hardened combat decorated Marine Generals rejecting them w insults. We will never give into to an untested Farcical Design based on MLRs who can not get to their Defensive Position against one possible adversary let alone survive a fight. Never Give Up on the Resurrection of Marine Offensive War fighting based on Maneuver Warfare and the Scalable Agile MAGTFs .Fix Bayonets!!! I recommend streaming TV 7 Israel on You Tube to gain insight on how tiny Israel surrounded by millions of Islamic Fascist is fighting a multi front war w begrudging support from the same miscreants that caused them to be attacked.
As a result of FD 2030 Divest to Invest USMC transformation, how diminished is the combined arms combat capability of the 26th MEU if the order is given to ^Land the Landing Force^ such as was in the case of Santo Domingo in April 1965?