PLA Ground Forces
Tactical Impressions of the PLA
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Tactical Impressions of the People's Liberation Army
by LCol (Ret'd) W Yu
The PLA Motorized Rifle Regiment on the Attack (2/2)
In classic PLA terms, the RAG is employed in rolling barrage fashion, screening the advancing MRBs with both smoke and high explosives. The RAG's role includes obstacle breaching including cutting wire, clearing minefields. Suppression of enemy fire is critical in supporting the MRBs. When the MRBs are fully engaged, the RAG shifts away from direct support to targeting enemy logistical and command assets. Special attention is giving to enemy reserve units who might be coming up to shore up the defences.
If the MRR is attacking as part of a Division or Army Group, additional artillery battalions may be part of the barrage and direct support assets. The PLA has invested much in new artillery fire control systems (FCS), giving the PLA the ability to quickly calculate fire mission data. This ability is needed to counter previously undetected threats. However, the lacks of resources meant that the PLA can only equipped and train relatively few units. Initially, these would be Army Groups' Artillery Regiments. If attached to support the MRR attack, the breaching company can expect these systems to provide much faster, more accurate, and heavier indirect fire support to keep the breach open.
The Lines of Deployment (LD) for the MRBs is extremely close to the Forward Edge of the Battle Area because of this purpose. The opposing force cannot be allowed time to recover from the artillery barrage and the MRB would have to engage almost immediately after the barrage ceases. By definition, this would be a Meeting Engagement since neither the attacker nor the defender would have time to access the damage done by the artillery.
As stated before, the MRR attacks with a multi-echelon assault. While the main frontal attack is designed to tie down the enemy force, front line units in all echelons are to bypass strong points if at all possible. The follow up force would be tasked with defeating these strong points. The main goal of the front units is to try to hit the rear areas, forcing the enemy to surrender or be killed. The MRR can be expected to re-enforce any penetration with determination.
Stalled units can be expected to keep their opposing force occupied. However, upon an enemy collapse, those units can be expected to shift into supporting the penetration.
Once the rear area has been reached, the MRR's task is to secure from possible counter-attacks. Initially, simple mines would be laid across the enemy's main counter-attacking axis. However, as time allows more elaborate defence measures, company size layouts would be errected. Since the PLA views defence as a temporary measure, fall back positions are often ignored in favour of establishing Artillery Fire Concentration zones.
The Russian Motorized Rifle RegimentThe Russian Motorized Regiment is heavier and faster than its Chinese counterpart but recent events suggest the Russians had opted for deliberate firepower than for speed. Russian equipment for the most part were designed for the lightning strike across Europe during the height of the Cold War but the two wars in Chechnya had forced the Russians to relearn lessons of WWII urban war.
The main problems encountered in Chechnya were that the rebels did not run away as per usual guerrilla warfare when faced with overwhelming odds. In actual fact, the rebels decided to fight it out, rendering the envelopment a moot tactic. Direct infantry assaults were often catastrophic, lacking in enough fire support and were gunned down by rebel hand held rockets. Firepower became more important as the Russians dragged their artillery, anti-tank, and anti-air units into the fight, often employing them in point blank direct fire mode. Battle hardened experience and adaptation the Chinese have not the chance to learn. |
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