LoC Warfare tactics
We will use this thread to post the nitty gritties of LoC warfare. Members are invited to contribute.
Content posted in collaboration with Team Shatrujeet @HAMMER HEAD @Bornubus
Why Poonch???
Some of you might have noticed that most of the ceasefire violation (CFV) news emanates from Poonch area of line of control (LOC). Ever wondered why???
Occurrence of Sniper fire on our posts in this sector or it's sub sectors is not a mere coincidence, nor is the fact that this sector is guarded by the biggest brigade of Indian army - 93 Infantry Brigade. Whilst its also true that there are many sectors along our 740 km LoC where not a single bullet has been fired in almost 2 decades.
Retaliation and response on LoC warfare is generally proportionate, meaning localized, calibre to calibre , that's why certain places along the LoC are perpetually a war zone while others see relative calm. If you are still wondering why Poonch? Then the following reasons should quench your curiosity.
For one, this is an area where Pak Army has occupied few dominating ridges which overlook Indian posts and civilian areas, this makes some of the areas vulnerable and sensitive. From such dominating heights they can easily observe our movement and activities. Also, Pak army deploys a lot of elements from Mujahid force regiment, which is composed of locals. These men know the terrain well and at times people too. They have also been responsible for several sniping incidents in the past.
There are some sectors where Indian army has an advantage for example - Balnoi Sector. From such places we can easily target deep into Pak territory, which is mostly civilian area.
So how do we compensate for our disadvantage in Poonch?
The most logical step is to deploy more troops than Pakistan and that is why it is imminent to have one of the biggest brigade - 93 Infantry Brigade, look after Poonch.
Next step would be to construct more posts than Pakistan so as to fire in mutual support. So every time Pakistan army fires from their post they get a befitting reply from not one but several Indian posts.
Trivia- In 1971 Indian army decided to permanently annex a key post from Pakistan Army - The Nangi Tekri Post. It was captured permanently, never to be returned to Pakistan. No points for guessing the reason.
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Speculative firing, does it help???
Speculative fire, also called reconnaissance by fire on likely enemy positions to provoke a reaction, thus confirming the presence and position of enemy forces. This is used to check movement of suspicious persons and terrorists ,especially Border Action Team (BAT).
Reconnaissance by fire is not just adopted by IA but also by Pak army.
It is said that during the Vietnam War, a US Army battalion commander, Lt Col Hal Moore noticed that his men had a large amount of ammunition. So he ordered his men to fire at anything suspicious at an agreed synchronised time. The large amount of fire at that time led a group of undetected infiltrating enemy soldiers to believe that they had been discovered and to charge the Americans, leading to their destruction.
A sample vid of speculative firing>>>
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Role of snipers along the LoC
Snipers play an important role in infantry battalion and active hostile areas. They give the commander accurate, discriminatory, long-range small-arms fire. The best use of sniper fire is against key targets that other available weapon systems may be unable to destroy due to their range, size, or location; visibility; security and stealth requirements; avoidance of collateral damage; intensity of conflict; or rules of engagement.
The techniques snipers use enable them to gather detailed, critical information about the enemy as a secondary role. The effectiveness of a sniper is not measured simply by the number of casualties or destroyed targets; sniper effectiveness also includes the effect the presence of snipers has on enemy activities, morale, and decisions.
Other than the commonly used Russian-made Dragunov rifles our soldiers also use Danel NTW 20 -a weapon used at LoC to target enemy Bunkers, parked aircrafts, radar installations, machine gun nests etc. It can be effectively used to snipe upto the range of 2000m, depending on the round. It's not necessarily a Sniper Rifle but a large caliber Anti material Rifle Capable of firing various rounds, High Explosive (HE), Semi Armour piercing (AP) .Since both sides have placed heavy weapons at LoC including Anti Aircraft Guns (AA) on ground Attack role such Anti Material Rifle (AMR) are often used at Loc warfare.
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We will use this thread to post the nitty gritties of LoC warfare. Members are invited to contribute.
Content posted in collaboration with Team Shatrujeet @HAMMER HEAD @Bornubus
Why Poonch???
Some of you might have noticed that most of the ceasefire violation (CFV) news emanates from Poonch area of line of control (LOC). Ever wondered why???
Occurrence of Sniper fire on our posts in this sector or it's sub sectors is not a mere coincidence, nor is the fact that this sector is guarded by the biggest brigade of Indian army - 93 Infantry Brigade. Whilst its also true that there are many sectors along our 740 km LoC where not a single bullet has been fired in almost 2 decades.
Retaliation and response on LoC warfare is generally proportionate, meaning localized, calibre to calibre , that's why certain places along the LoC are perpetually a war zone while others see relative calm. If you are still wondering why Poonch? Then the following reasons should quench your curiosity.
For one, this is an area where Pak Army has occupied few dominating ridges which overlook Indian posts and civilian areas, this makes some of the areas vulnerable and sensitive. From such dominating heights they can easily observe our movement and activities. Also, Pak army deploys a lot of elements from Mujahid force regiment, which is composed of locals. These men know the terrain well and at times people too. They have also been responsible for several sniping incidents in the past.
There are some sectors where Indian army has an advantage for example - Balnoi Sector. From such places we can easily target deep into Pak territory, which is mostly civilian area.
So how do we compensate for our disadvantage in Poonch?
The most logical step is to deploy more troops than Pakistan and that is why it is imminent to have one of the biggest brigade - 93 Infantry Brigade, look after Poonch.
Next step would be to construct more posts than Pakistan so as to fire in mutual support. So every time Pakistan army fires from their post they get a befitting reply from not one but several Indian posts.
Trivia- In 1971 Indian army decided to permanently annex a key post from Pakistan Army - The Nangi Tekri Post. It was captured permanently, never to be returned to Pakistan. No points for guessing the reason.
********************************************************************************************************
Speculative firing, does it help???
Speculative fire, also called reconnaissance by fire on likely enemy positions to provoke a reaction, thus confirming the presence and position of enemy forces. This is used to check movement of suspicious persons and terrorists ,especially Border Action Team (BAT).
Reconnaissance by fire is not just adopted by IA but also by Pak army.
It is said that during the Vietnam War, a US Army battalion commander, Lt Col Hal Moore noticed that his men had a large amount of ammunition. So he ordered his men to fire at anything suspicious at an agreed synchronised time. The large amount of fire at that time led a group of undetected infiltrating enemy soldiers to believe that they had been discovered and to charge the Americans, leading to their destruction.
A sample vid of speculative firing>>>
**********************************************************************************************************
Role of snipers along the LoC
Snipers play an important role in infantry battalion and active hostile areas. They give the commander accurate, discriminatory, long-range small-arms fire. The best use of sniper fire is against key targets that other available weapon systems may be unable to destroy due to their range, size, or location; visibility; security and stealth requirements; avoidance of collateral damage; intensity of conflict; or rules of engagement.
The techniques snipers use enable them to gather detailed, critical information about the enemy as a secondary role. The effectiveness of a sniper is not measured simply by the number of casualties or destroyed targets; sniper effectiveness also includes the effect the presence of snipers has on enemy activities, morale, and decisions.
Other than the commonly used Russian-made Dragunov rifles our soldiers also use Danel NTW 20 -a weapon used at LoC to target enemy Bunkers, parked aircrafts, radar installations, machine gun nests etc. It can be effectively used to snipe upto the range of 2000m, depending on the round. It's not necessarily a Sniper Rifle but a large caliber Anti material Rifle Capable of firing various rounds, High Explosive (HE), Semi Armour piercing (AP) .Since both sides have placed heavy weapons at LoC including Anti Aircraft Guns (AA) on ground Attack role such Anti Material Rifle (AMR) are often used at Loc warfare.
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