Tactical Decision Game #96–3

Flank Guard
by Maj John F. Schmitt, USMCR

You are the commander of a light
armored reconnaissance (LAR) compa-
ny. You have been given the mission of
guarding the main body’s open right
flank as it advances north. You are
about 10–12 kilometers east of 6th
Marines, generally paralleling that regi-
ment as you move north astride a dirt
road. The terrain is gently rolling and
sparsely vegetated. It is a clear night;
you have excellent observation with
your night-vision equipment.
As you approach Checkpoint 35 at
the hard-surface Route 40, you send 1st
Platoon forward to take a look. The sec-
tion of 4 LAV-ATs (TOWs), the section
of 2 LAV-Ms (mortars), and 2d Platoon
are behind you along the dirt road; 3d
“Enemy in sight,” your 1st Platoon
commander radios you urgently. “You’d
better take a look at this.”
You leave your vehicle (34) in full
defilade and hustle forward to the crest,
and what you see below you takes your
breath away: Route 40 is clogged with
enemy armored vehicles heading south-
west. Your platoon commander points
out a company of about 10 T-64s that
leads the column and has already passed
your position. Following the tanks are
what you estimate to be a company of
BMPs and another of BTR-60s. Because
of the terrain you can’t see if anything
follows the BTRs, but the visible road is
“solid with vehicles.” You estimate that
the column is moving about 25 kph. At
Requirement
In a time limit of 5 minutes decide
what you will do by issuing any orders
and making any appropriate reports/re-
quests. Then provide a sketch and an ex-
planation of your plan. Send your solu-
tion to Marine Corps Gazette, TDG
#96–3, Box 1775, Quantico, VA 22134
or fax (703) 640–0823.
For more detailed information on the structure
of Marine Corps units, Marine Corps equip-

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ment, and symbols used in TDG sketches, see
Platoon is deployed off to the right, in the nearest point you are less than 2 kilo- MCG, Oct94, pp. 53–56 and the modifica-
radio contact but out of sight on the far meters from the road. tion reported in Jan95, p. 5.

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side of a low hill mass. What will you do, captain?

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35 N

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BTR-60s

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40 BMPs

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T-64s

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1

34

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AT

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223 M
3

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2

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6th Mar
@ 8-10 km

Kilometers

TDG#96-5 0 1 2 3

86 Marine Corps Gazette ✩ March 1996