After they accomplished this, they then proceeded to construct a seven-foot wall spanning 4.6 kilometers along Route Gold (Al Quds Street) to isolate the insurgents from the larger populace and to allow reconstruction work to commence. forces were ordered to enter and secure the JAM firing points within the southern suburbs of the area. Seeking to prevent rocket and mortar fire launched by forces of the Shia militia Jaish Al-Mahdi (JAM) in the northern Baghdad neighborhood of Sadr City from reaching the Green Zone, Iraqi and U.S. Tanks also proved their worth during the Siege of Sadr City. Infantry also provided the tank crew with a 360-degrees situation awareness, which would have been difficult for them to achieve alone bunkered down inside all that armor. In return, the infantry protected their armor from enemy RPG teams, preventing the enemy from maneuvering to attack the weaker armor at the flanks and rear. Also, the armor provided rapid-breaching capabilities by driving into buildings, allowing the infantry to bypass IED’s placed in doorways. The tanks’ main guns proved useful in destroying enemy weapons positions and vehicle borne IEDs (VBIEDs), while their armor shielded the infantry from frontal fire. For what it’s worth, the Abrams proved their worth operating in mutual support with the infantry. Marines tasked with recapturing the city knew they faced a bloody task without dedicated armor. This has been evident during almost every major battle fought by the Americans during Operation Iraqi Freedom, as well as recent Iraqi experience fighting the Islamic State in Mosul in late 2016.ĭuring the Second Battle of Fallujah in November 2005, some three thousand Sunni militants had managed to seize and occupy the city, transforming it into a fortress by stockpiling weapons and building interconnected tunnels. This was certainly the case once “insurgents” sought to follow Mao’s dictum by seizing and holding territory. The presence of tanks were a constant in the long fighting in Iraq, and again and again they proved indispensable against Iraq’s often capable insurgency. As the fighting transitioned from a lightning-conventional campaign to long and dreary nation-building, the onus shifted towards protecting and interacting with the native population. It is also true when analyzing the Iraqi experience of fighting the Islamic State starting in 2014. This is especially true when analyzing the American COIN experience in Iraq following the collapse of the regime in May 2003. A conventional challenge requires a conventional response. It is at this stage that the tanks have proven to be the decisive factor in forcing the enemy back to the more manageable strategic defense. It is the strategic counteroffensive which interests us, whereupon a guerrilla movement has achieved enough parity with government forces to transition from guerrilla to conventional high-tempo warfare. As Michael Peck on War Is Boring would put it, “Tanks may be the star player, but war is a team game.” Instead of campaigns of rapid maneuvers and sweeping offensives, modern-tank warfare is predicated on operating as close-weapons-support systems for the infantry in combined-arms teams, exploiting their superior firepower and protection to gain asymmetry against often capable insurgent groups. Like most military tools, tanks have proved to be versatile and effective at operating in COIN environments-depending on how they are employed. In the context of a population-centric war strategy-which puts a premium on avoiding collateral damage, patrolling on foot and interacting with the natives-where does a seventy-ton tank fit into the equation? In an environment where strategists stress winning hearts and minds, how does the presence of heavy armor portray a less confrontational image? Also, keep in mind that insurgencies often thrive in populated urban areas, which have historically not been a good environment for tankers (recall the fate of German panzers at Stalingrad).Įven if we are to accept this complicated argument that modern war will be dominated by low intensity conflicts, it would be wrong to declare the obsolescence of tanks.
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