1966 US Army Vietnam War ARMOR ... - Survival Books

WWW.SURVIVALEBOOKS.COMPHASE IPHASE IIFigure 42.Village search.ward of the other. Control is es-signed to detect insurgent personsential,and each squad mustnel, equipment, tunnels of escape,know the relative position of theand other items of value to the inotherto prevent a firefight be-surgent. All likely areas, for examtweenthe squads.pie, cattle pens, wells, haystacks,(d) Two methods are available to thegardens, fence lines, and cemeteriescommander to control the civilianshould be investigated. The searchpopulation in a village-the collec-teams must be constantly on thetion of personnel into one centralalert for boobytraps and mines.location when they appear to be i. Counterattack. Counterattacks are norhostileand the restriction of per- mally conducted against insurgent ambushes,sonnel to their homes. Regardless raids, and coordinated attacks by forces eitherof the method used, all personnel under attack or from reserve elements.should be searched, questioned im- (1) To be effective, the counterattackingmediately, and held until the searchforce (reserve force) must be able toof the village is completed. The move without delay to the battle area,necessity of the search should beassault the enemy in the face of a largeexplained to the villagers.volume of automatic weapons fire, and(e) Searches must be thorough and de-drive them away from the battle236