The Effectiveness of Infantry Squad Combat and Pre-Combat Formations for Warfighting

Abstract

The article aims to describe experimental research into infantry squad pre-combat formations. It focuses on the most used formations, and addresses their advantages and suitability for various tactical situations. A highlighted feature of the experiment is the involvement of units with varying degrees of training as research subjects: from novices through to professional soldiers, from combat squads to instructors of the elite course of the ACR ground forces. The synthesized results can therefore be perceived as having universal validity. For broad-spectrum research of their properties and usability, each formation is evaluated in different terrains and different tactical situations. The presented data are usable in practice for training infantry, motorized airborne units, and in certain cases mechanized forces and combat support units. Research into this area of small-unit tactics is now even more progressive, since a significant number of tasks in conducting combat operations are being transferred to small units. This is at the expense of large troop formations, which are increasingly difficult to use in times of high-precision weapons and hybrid warfare. In certain situations even a small unit can perform tasks with operational ramifications. Moreover, in this area of tactics publications are very rare due to the low scientific interest and the inclusion of information falling under the ‘classified information’ of individual armies. The data presented in the article are set in their broader context, commented upon by the authors of the training, and described with the intention their inclusion in the training of troops.