TDG 16: The Long Road Home
A TDG is a Tactical Decision Game, a mental wargaming exercise designed to get you practice making tactically sound decisions in a hypothetical scenario. The ability to make sound and timely decisions based off incomplete and imperfect information is a critical skill to have, especially as a team leader.
You will be given a scenario, confronted with a tactical problem, and given a time limit to think about and write out your answer. The time limit is to simulate the pressure of a real-world tactical decision, where you must quickly assess the information you are given and come up with the best answer you can. Then comment below with your answer so you can discuss each others’ solutions.
TDG 16: The Long Road Home
2 months into WROL. State and federal authorities are still struggling to regain control of the nation. County officials, small towns, and individual communities have been forced to take charge of their own well-being and work with each other to the point where you have somewhat re-established order. Your small town is one of these, and has stood up an impromptu militia force to keep the wandering bands of thugs at bay.
Your town has trade agreements with the neighboring communities and towns to get whatever items you need. These trade agreements are done through vehicle convoys between towns, which must be executed very carefully. Anything on the roads at this point draws a lot of attention, so the militia is tasked with protecting the convoys.
YOU are the second squad leader in the latest convoy to the town of Fairfield, about 20 miles East of your home town. Prior to departure, the convoy commander tells everyone the plan.
“The town is low on gasoline, so to save fuel we are only taking two vehicles this time instead of our usual three. We are going to use primarily gravel country roads to avoid the highways, which is where bandits like to set ambushes. 1st squad will take point in Josh’s van, because it has better observation from the higher windows. 2d squad, you guys will follow with the cargo in Jose’s station wagon, about 1km back. You can get closer if you need to, just stay within line of sight. 3d Squad will be on standby here as QRF in the third vehicle in case something happens. I will be with 1st squad.”
Each of your 6-man squads is equipped with the following:
- 5x AR-15s
- 1x .308 DMR (FAL, PTR, or AR-10)
- 2x CB radios (1x mounted in the vehicle, 1x handheld for dismounts)
- 6x smoke grenades
The trip to Fairfield is uneventful, and you make the transaction successfully. As planned, the precious cargo of medicines, bleach, and electrical components is loaded into the back of your vehicle and you begin the trip home.
On the way home you are heading West along 320th St approaching a planned right turn onto Merino Ave. Suddenly you hear a crackle of gunfire ahead, and you see Josh’s van come to a halt about 75m short of the intersection. You tell your driver to halt the vehicle, and order the rest of your squad to dismount and set security. You hear the occasional snap and whine of ricochets whistling past you from very far ahead.
As you are pondering what to do, the CB radio comes to life. “It’s an ambush! They’re in the treeline to our front! My driver is dead and I’m hit! You’ve got to help us! They’re chewing us up!”
You consider your options. Your home is 5 miles NW from you, where 3d squad is standing by as QRF. You call them, but it will take them a while to get here on the back roads, you estimate they’re probably 10 minutes out.
In a time limit of 5 minutes, draft the frag order that you would issue to your squad. Write down any special instructions you would give to the QRF and provide a brief rationale for your actions.
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Tactical retreat…The provisions are far too important to lose, so you go back to the town where you acquired them. At least until the situation can be rectified by yours, and the other towns groups. BTW shame on you for not creating tunnels like the Cong, and drug Lords down south, you’ve had two months…get to work!
Radio first squad. If the vehicle is working, gtfo of the zone and rally with second squad under smoke cover. If it is down- men and equipment including casualties bail into treeline to the North. Second squad will rally with first in the treeline. Get reaction force headed your direction. Distance from the threat and cover is your only priority right now. Opfor has every advantage at the moment. Attacking through an ambush doesn’t work at long distance.
I would try to move our vehicle to the house that is between us and Josh, using the structure as cover for the vehicle. Leave two men with the car for security (one driver and one with the DMR for cover fire/sniping if possible). Move my squad across the road and into the tree line to try to meet Josh’s squad somewhere midway and retreat back to our vehicle as a rally point to leave. This is dependent on Josh’s wound and if he is mobile. Looks like QRF would enter from the North heading South on Merino Ave, they could draw the fire from the enemy ambush, but in 10 mins a lot could change. My priority would be extracting Josh’s squad and our cargo, enemy size is unknown but they most likely have DMR capability if I’m hearing rounds going by at the onset considering the distance.
Why do you think that the homeowners are going to be okay with a group of “strange armed men” setting up camp at their house and bringing “trouble” to them?
I’d be more concerned with the homeowners being aligned with the ambush team down the road. Guess it could go a few different ways. They’re hunkered down and see a station wagon full of armed men who are in a gun fight and using their house for cover/concealment (but not assaulting the house) and they stay hunkered down. They come out to protect their property and my guys explain the situation as best they can. Or they come out blazing and my guys are forced to engage. Being as they’re 5 miles from our community I’d hope to be able to have them as allies as opposed to enemies.
Best option would be for lead vehicle to withdraw back down the road. No idea if it’s disabled though….We aren’t in an immediate position to offer support- No idea if WE have the DMR or the first team- doesn’t matter much though as we are out of range likely anyway- so they either have to withdraw or we need to advance and support them.
The ground to the south looks like it’s open fields, not a good place to attempt a flanking maneuver. It’s 1000 meters- over a half a mile to where the action is, that’s a pretty good little run with combat gear…Could be wrong but we aren’t in any great danger for another 400 yards or so- given most peoples’ shooting abilities…..I would disperse north into the tree line, that would at least give some cover as you advanced and put you on the flank nominally of the attackers.
Since this is clearly a pre planned ambush I have to assume they have flank security though….Plus, even as you get close you’re going to have to assault across the North/South highway- exposed. I have some concerns about the dwellings to the south of our position- they could set up in there and the L of their ambush run from there….That’s why I think the woodline is our best bet though I suspect forces there as well.
Our relief will likely come from the North if I understand correctly –on the highway that T’s into our own. They need to be fully apprised of what’s going on so they don’t stumble right into the kill zone. I would want them to dismount some distance away and move SW from the road to either flank the ambush position or cut of the withdrawal of the ambushers.
To start, I’m making a couple of assumptions here.
1) We’ve been doing convoys for a while now and as such have established several SOPs/Battle Drills.
2) One of those is “Down Driver Drill”. This is either grab the wheel, put the vehicle in either drive or reverse, and stomp on the gas. Failing that, drag the driver out of the seat and replace him. Last resort, driver is going out the door. We will come back and get him if possible.
3) Another drill is react to ambush. Either drive through it, or pop smoke and throw it in reverse.
4) Break Contact has been drilled. For vehicles, this focuses on using the vehicle if it can be driven, and bailing on foot to the nearest concealed path of retreat (in this case the woodline along 320th).
5) The field to the south is farmland. This means its probably very flat (This is Iowa after all).
6) A commo plan exists, which includes what to do in the event that comms are compromised.
Get on the radio and direct the lead vehicle to execute Down Driver and throw the vehicle into reverse. Since we have already drilled this pretty extensively, hopefully they are already doing this. Popping smoke will help obscure their retreat. The QRF is monitoring radio traffic and should be gearing up.
If Josh’s van is disabled, they are going to bail to the woodline and move back towards our position. If this occurs, we initiate our comms plan for compromise and switch frequencies.
Charging in to help the lead element is a last resort (We don’t have armored vehicles and our vehicle has all the supplies). It may suck, but if they cannot self extract, we need to wait for our QRF. Also, since we have been working with other nearby towns, I’d try to make comms with them for assistance. If nothing else, maybe we can have their security forces move towards our position and set up blocking positions to restrict the bandits routes of escape. If nothing else, maybe we can kill or capture them as they withdraw.
Off topic, I realize you initial said that “I would be with 1st Squad” aka in the van, but then you referenced that you see the van come to a stop 75m from the intersection. I’m rolling with being in the station wagon either due to a typo, or that I changed vehicles for whatever reason.
One thing I hate to even think about was that this was a setup from the town or someone in it that we just left. Once we leave the “town” they have plausible deniability. We’re traveling back roads- but this is a pre set ambush. Someone may have tipped off the bad guys we were coming and our route out of town.
I forgot about the smokes, good catch. They need to deploy those right away and move out of the kill zone- either to the wood line for cover and eventual link up or straight back to us if they can.
Could it be from the town we were at, maybe? I doubt it. There are a ton of routes home, and unless someone got stupid (Loose Lips Sink Ships), I;m not horribly worried about this scenario.
What I think is more likely, is that this is would be right off a MSR (North/South) between two larger cities for this part of Iowa (Oskaloosa and Ottumwa (with Eddyville in the middle). Predictible route, and if I was a bad guy, somewhere I might setup an ambush.
Sometimes the OPFOR gets lucky. It is not necessarily (but could be) because you got given up. Also, at this EXACT moment, it doesn’t matter. Is this something to look into during the AAR, YES! Right now, NO.
To clarify, the Convoy Commander said that he would be in the first vehicle. YOU are the second squad leader in the second vehicle.
Got it. Had to re-read it for that detail.
Wow. 5 minutes is not a lot of time. Bandits have to ge dealt with before we can help our guys. I’d radio the qrf and tell them to drive down Marino Rd and post up watching the intersection, ready to shoot anyone that tries to cross the road from that tree line. One guy with the 308 would dismount and watch the road we were on to engage anyone who may cross that road. The rest of us would assault down the tree line towards Josh’s van to attempt to dislodge the bandits. My guess is they would want to stay in covet once they are engaged by second squad. They would attempt to stay in that tree line which means they would have to cross the road my QRF would be watching and could be killed there. If they freaked out and rsn across the road we were on my guy on the 308 could engage them. With any luck second squad could push them into an L shaped ambush. Blue smoke would be popped by second squad as they advanced through the tree line so QRF knew where we were and didn’t shoot into us.
Not a great plan, but the best I could come up with on the fly. I really like these exercises.
Forgot to type this in, but part of the comms would be calling in a TIC and location for QRF.
QRF: enemy is in trees at 306/600. Comm via CB enroute.
2nd Squad: drive up just past the house on left. Move into trees on North side and sprint torwards Josh’s position. If we get LOS on the enemy then DMR with CB and 2x engage with supressing fire. Pop smoke grenades between
the van and the enemy. Fire/maneuver to van to extra 1st squad while the rest of 2nd engages. Retreat into the wood line and wait to coordinate with 3rd.
Times up.
That is a 700m shot on a cover & concealed enemy, in heavy vegetation. You aren’t hitting anything with any degree of reliability at that range.
John, I completely agree. Stunning failure at every level of leadership, planning and execution. I’ve been reading these scenarios for a while now. Normally I just a good chuckle and move on. This one is profoundly bad.
First, as John and others pointed out, there is not even a basic com plan, such as the old Primary, Secondary, Alternate and Emergency utilizing different types of devices. There is no movement plan, which like a comm plan contains Primary, Secondary and Alternate and Emergency routes. NEVER utilizing the same route going home as when leaving the wire. There are no SOPs for breaking contact, no vehicle down plan, no vehicle down hard plan (tow plan) no load plan to cross deck casualties, weapons and serialized gear from a vehicle that is down hard to another vehicle while still on the X and taking fire.
Typically the Operations Officer tells the Movement Team commander “you have a mission in 48 hours to move a given number of fuel trucks to some town and back. You have four hours to submit your movement plan, including friendly locations you can hole up in and emergency. You also need a comm plan, load plan, bump plan and a kill sheet of everyone in the convoy including pac’s”. Pushing out a sniper or Reconnaissance over-watch for high risk movements is an excellent option. High value targets such as food, fuel, ammo, serialized equipment and VIPs travel in a 5 vehicle package, not counting the vehicle the strap hangers are riding in. Lead vehicle does route navigation, The mobility team lead is in the second Vic. Behind him are the strap hangers. In this case the fuel trucks. The last three are QRF1. Quick Reaction Force II is jocked up and pre-positioned a mile or two from the compound. QRF I ideally should be gun trucks such as MRAPs for your local friendly Police department or
Sheriff ‘s office. Up-armored dump trucks work nicely.
In this situation, pushing through the ambush is the only real option. Turning fuel trucks around on a narrow country road the middle of the fight, with only soft skin vehicles for defense be less than optimal. All remaining convoy vehicles will need to assault the ambushers, utilizing speed and extreme violence of action, laying suppressive fire with everything they have while the fuel trucks push through.
With the driver down in the lead vehicle, who ever is in the back seat, lowers the driver’s seat back into a reclining position and pulls the driver out of the driver’s seat and into the back. The A driver then slides over into the drivers seat and takes control of the vehicle and pushes through the ambush.
I get what you’re saying, but a lot of this is conventional thinking at its worst. Please don’t take offense, just pointing out some problems.
-You don’t have a Platoon strong for the convoy.
-You don’t have a Platoon strong for the QRF.
-You don’t have the resources to push out overwatch on all the choke points. That is why you are trying to use ETTP to your benefit (side roads etc).
-You don’t have a Sheriffs Department with unarmored vehicles and dump trucks standing by on-call (FWIW – I covered this part of Iowa as my Sales Territory…..I’d be surprised if the SD had 15 Deputies on-duty at any given time…..Hell, I would bet good money that there are less than 75 sworn Officers on duty in the entire County at any given time). That’s given TODAY’s status…. When the balloon goes up, how many of those folks are reporting in to work? (Case study – New Orleans during Katrina)
-Gas supplies are EXTREMELY low, this is why we are running a less than optimal convoy.
-Driving an unarmored vehicle into the teeth of an ambush, that has enfilade fire, for 900 meters, from a prepared position, is a “BAD IDEA”.
This is not necessarily a failure by the convoy. They could very well have alternate routes, a solid PACE plan, and training in vehicle drills. I didn’t mention any of that because it’s not relevant to the tactical problem at hand.
Bottom line, I try to keep these scenarios short and readable by leaving out irrelevant details. The situation is what it is, it doesn’t matter what led to this point. All that matters is what YOU and your squad do NOW.
Following this one closely. I have come up with 3 different plans; all 3 had big gaping holes in them.
I’ll be learning something from this one for sure!
The bandits are replacements or imported terrorists working for Weather Underground gov using gear left behind in the Graveyard Of Empires?
The priority is securing supplies and getting guys from first vehicle out of kill zone.
– Radio guys in first vehicle to use smoke as cover and fall back to second vehicle by using treeline on north side of road.
– Get our vehicle off the road and establish security. Notify QRF of location for later rendezvous.
– Dismount DMR and rifleman to move forward 200 meters and cover survivors from first vehicle as they fall back into us.
We don’t know size of ambush force or disposition. Don’t want to take more casualties of mine or of QRF trying to find out.
Josh’s van is just over the crest of the road between our position and his. I’d establish comms with the QRF to meet my squad at our vehicle, approaching from the north along Newland Way, then dismount and move my squad into the woods to the north, handrailing the road moving west through the woods and up the north side of the ridgeline below the military crest of the hill northeast of the T intersection in an attempt to flank the likely enemy element on the ridge waiting for us to approach via the road. If they are there, assault through and establish an overwatch of the intersection to locate and suppress the known enemy to Josh’s front while he disengages into the woods with his squad. Establish a bounding overwatch back to my squad’s vehicle where we can travel home in company with the QRF.
The response is to try to fight through the ambush. The terrain is almost screaming L-Shaped ambush. If this is an L shaped ambush, the long side of the ambush would probably be in the tree line. Take the vehicle off road and circle around behind them. If there is no second part of the ambush, then we could use the trees as concealment to close the distance and eliminate the ambushing element.
Something about this situation presented stinks. How did the OPFOR know where to hit us? We were followed and surveiled and failed to detect it in this scenario. They hit us on a natural T where movement is really crummy. I almost wonder if the enemy had a patrol out, saw us, and we came back the way we went, which is a huge no no.
We immediately get the vehicle into the concealment of the trees to the north. Driver and DMR stay with the vehicle – we’ll need it ready if we have to run away. DMR will start firing at the enemy’s reported location – it’s long range, but he’ll at least be able to hit it as an area target while the rest of team 2 moves up and team 1 (hopefully) gets off the x. It’ll at least give the enemy something to think about other than killing my ambushed team. I take the remaining 3 riflemen and most of the smokes with me. We’ll advance rapidly through the trees for about half the distance to team 1 then more deliberately once we get close – weapons hold until we can link up. After link up we’ll attempt to fix the enemy until QRF can arrive and flank them.
I’ll pass over the radio to team 1: “we’re moving to you through the woods north of the road. When close, we’ll use smoke to mark our position. When you see it, break contact towards us.” To the QRF: “Friendlies will stay east of Merino ave. Call when close, we’ll mark our position with smoke.”
As we move closer my two concerns are linking up safely with the remains of team 1 and determining if there are any additional enemy elements. I expect we might lose comms with them as we advance so I’ll be listening for their gunfire to hopefully determine their distance from us and location so I know when to signal them.
How to fix this situation is like asking what flavor sauce would you like on your shit sandwich. There may be few ways to reduce hurt; but in the end, you’re taking signifant losses and probably going to lose some supplies. The only real way to deal with this shit sandwich situation(say that three times fast) is to not let it happen to begin with. Thinking of josh (miss that dude) sitting in his van watching his squad getting chopped up like a huge blinder; i cant but help to think he’s has coldplay’s ‘the scientist’ going through his head.
“Oh take me back to the start”(yeah i was as a cav scout for 21 years and listen yo coldplay, let’s hear the jokes. I take it as envy) Ok josh. Lets talk about opords,TROOP LEADING PROCEDURES, battle drills, rehearsals. Josh, why is your wingman well out the supporting time and distance to support you. Light skin and no crew severe; you stop one terrain feature from a danger area and kick out a dismount team with manpak to clear and call up the trucks.
Ill let you do your work VonSteuben.
Side note: did all convoys have different SP time, different routes, use different frequencies, or use graphic control measures while on the CB.
Man this is getting my memory going. Do you have freqs and callsigns of the towns you need to roll through. Battlespace, AO, gender engaged area, whatever. Just a let them know that you’re in there area so don’t shoot, and if we come under contact can you help.
Just a heads up guys, I’m out training right now and won’t get the Recap up for a few days. Please be patient, I’ll have it up by the end of the week.