The advance is a mobile operation in which a force closes with the enemy. The purpose of an advance is to: 

- Destroy enemy forces. 

- Force an enemy withdrawal. 

- Seize tactically important ground. 

- Deceive the enemy.

 

There are two type of advance:

 

The Advance to Contact. In the advance to contact, the emphasis is on wide reconnaissance to find the enemy   positions and determine their strength. Artillery and mortars must be located well forward to provide maximum    effectiveness and continuous fire support out to the maximum range.

 

The Advance in Contact. During an advance in contact the aim is to maintain pressure on the enemy, to harass him continuously and to prevent him from breaking contact and settling into a defensive position. In order to retain the initiative and momentum it is desirable to advance on a broad front with a well balanced force, ensuring that a suitable reserve is readily available to apply pressure where it will be most effective.

 

THE PURSUIT

 

A pursuit is a form of advance undertaken when the enemy has been forced off balance and has lost the initiative. Because of the mobility and fire-power required to conduct a pursuit effectively, a battalion in pursuit would invariably be mounted in APC and be supported by tanks.

 

Advance operations are considered in two stages:

-  Preparatory stage.

- Conduct stage.

 

BASIC CONSIDERATIONS FOR THE ADVANCE

 

When planning an advance the CO must give careful consideration to the following: 

- Acquisation of information. 

- Air support. 

- Surprise. 

- Maintenance of momentum. 

- Terrain and weather. - Security. 

- Routes.

 

ACQUISATION OF INFORMATION

 

During the advance, a continuous flow of accurate information will enable the CO to confirm or modify his plan and to grasp fleeting opportunities in time to take advantage of them and thereby retain the initiative. Information will be required on: 

- Topography, especially routes and obstacles. 

- Enemy strength, dispositions and movement. 

- Civilian population. 

- Local resources.

 

A constant flow of information must reach teh battalion headquarters from the formation and fromits own sub-units. Information will be gained from: 

- Basic sources such as maps, photographs, POW captured documents and trends in enemy actions. 

- The covering force, if deployed, and the advance and flank guards. 

- Air reconnaissance. 

- Patrols. 

- Local inhabitants.

 

AIR SUPPORT

 

Without a favourable air situation an advance by day can be slow and costly. In an independent battalion operation, the CO should assess the ability of his own force to advance by night as a counter to enemy air superiority.

 

Air support will play a large part in the ground commander’s initial plan. Air resupply may also be required during the advance so the seizure of suitable airfields and landing zones (LZ) must be taken into account during planning.

 

SURPRISE

 

An enemy commander will try to site his defence on ground which he considers to be suitable for delaying and destroying advancing forces. Alternatively the CO may manoeurve the battalion so as to leave the enemy holding ground, which is of no tactical value.

 

MAINTENANCE OF MOMENTUM

 

The critical factors required to achieve maintenance of momentum in the advance are: 

- Clear directions. 

- Quick reaction. 

- Balanced groupings. 

- Aggressive action. 

- Bypass policy. 

- Flexible administration.

 

The CO and subordinate commanders at all levels should be well forward to allow them to make informed decisions about future actions or anticipate likely problem areas. This will ensure that the momentum of the advance is maintained.

 

Clear Direction.The CO must give his subordinates a clear mission. Thereafter he should decentralize authority so that his subordinates are free to react to events on their own initiative.

 

Quick Reaction.Speed in the advance is maintained more by quick reaction to contact with the enemy than by haste betwen contacts. Quick reaction depends on flexibility, careful grouping and sound battle procedure.

 

Balanced Grouping.The initial grouping must ensure that: 

- Reconnaissance elements can cover the required frontage and provide adequate warning of enemy activities.              

- Leading elements have the correct grouping to deal with the expected opposition. 

- Fire support is readily available with observers well forward. 

- The force, including reserves, is grouped in such a way that elements can be commited without delay.

 

The grouping and order of march will depend on: 

- The mission. 

- The strength, nature and likely reaction of the enemy. 

- The ground, for example, availability of routes and of laterals between them, observation and fields of fire. 

- The composition of the force itself, particularly its fire-power.

 

Bypass Policy.If an enemy position is to be bypassed: 

- Precise information about it must be passed to all concerned. 

- it must be kept under observation. 

- The position must not be able to interfere with bypassing elements or with subsequent operations. 

- The element of the force which is to deal with the bypassed position must be specified.

 

Administration.The administrative plan needed to maintain momentum should be simple and should be flexible enough to adjust to change.

 

TERRAIN AND WEATHER

 

Terrain and weather conditions largely dictate the speed and method of conduct of the advance. Grouping and other of march must allow for these effects.

 

In close country, in wet weather or in urban terrain the versatility and mobility of infranty make them well suited to be the predominant arm in advance. In more open country and in good weather it is more normal for armor to predominate, closely supported by infranty in the latter case, infranty should be mounted in APC or in vehicles.

 

The enemy can be expected to effectively use terrain  along the axis of advance. Well-sited enemy positions can impose delay disproportionate to the strength of the enemy forces employed unless the leading advance elements are imbued with yhe necessity of maintaining the impetus of the advance.

 

SECURITY

 

The size, composition and location of protective or security elements, in the form of reconnaissance elements, flanks or rear guards depend on: 

- Information about the enemy, including the nature and size of the likely threat to flanks or rear. 

- The degree of acceptable risk. 

- The time required for th emain body to react to the threat if it is beyond the capability of the security element. 

- The terrain. 

- The force available for deployment and the resources available to move them. 

- The distance to be advance.

 

ROUTES

 

The number of routes used will depend on the: 

- Planned speed of the advance. 

- Battalion grouping, in particular the number of APC and amount of armoured support allocated. 

- Necessity to maintain an adequate reserve.

 

In undeveloped areas, parallel roads or tracks may not be available, requiring an advancing force to move on a single route. In a road move, control by subordinate commanders is of vital importance as the column will be extended, more difficult to control and more vulnerable to enem air attack.

 

The use of two or more routes increases tactical and logistic flexibility. There should be a number of good lateral routes or the cross-country going should permit an adequate redeployment between axes.

 

Where more than one route is available, the battalion group might be deployed: 

- Equally between available routes. 

- With the main element on one route and a substantial secondary element on the other(s). 

- With the whole battalion on one route.

 

The movement of a flank guard on a separate route should not be regarded as the adoption of an additional route for the advance.

 

Further factors to be considered in route selection are: 

- Capacities of the routes. 

- Availability of suitable areas for air strips or landing sites. 

- Security. 

- The length of the advancing column. 

- The task of the advancing force.

 

DETAIL OF THE PLAN

 

To complete his plan for the advance, the commander must next consider and decide upon: 

- Control measure. 

- Grouping and order of march. 

- Task.

 

CONTROL MEASURES

 

The advance is controlled by the allotment of the following: 

- Axis of Advance.The axis is a line of advance assigned for purposes of control; often a road or a group of roads  or a designated series of locations, or terrainfeatures, extending in the direction of the enemy. 

- Centre Line.The route along which the headquarters of a formation or the battalion will move is called the centre line. 

- Bounds. A bound is a tactical feature on the axis which can be held by the whole force if necessary. The battalion will not normally halt on bounds but it may be ordered to do so to conform with the situation elsewhere. 

- Cleared Route. A report line has no tactical importance but is selected by the formation commander or CO for subunits to report progress. Unit do not usually stop on report lines.- Harbour Areas. Any area in which a unit can make itself secure for a short period can be regarded as a harbour area. Harbour areas might be on bounds.

- Objectives. Objectives selected by the commander in the advance usually consist of good tactical ground, the capture of which will disrupt the enemy positions or provide a firm base from which to continue the advance. The seizure and defence of objectives must be within the capabilities of the force alloted.

 

GROUPING AND ORDER OF MARCH

 

During the advance, an advancing formation deploys into the following groups; 

- Covering force. 

- Advance guard. 

- Main body. 

- Security elements (for example, flank and rear guards).

 

THE ROLE OF THE BATTALION IN AN ADVANCE

 

As Part of a Larger Force.In these circumstances it will be tasked with one of the following roles: 

- Covering force or provide elements for this task. 

- Advance guard. 

- Flank guard or provide elements for this task. 

- Part of the main body. 

- Rear guard.

 

As an Independent Unit.There may be occasions when the battalion will be given the task of advancing independently. The battalion will be deployed into the following groups: 

- The battalion advance guard. 

- The battalion main body. 

- Flank guard(s). 

- The battalioj rear guard.

 

In determining which routes to use and the composition of each of the groups the CO is guided by: 

- The lcation of his objectives. 

- The strength and nature of likely enemy opposition. 

- The distance and going betweenroutes and the availability of lateral routes. 

- The force availabile to him. 

- The degree of independence which can be given to a force on a subsidiary route.

 

It is unlikely that the CO can hold more than one company group in reserve if more than one route is used. By using one route , the maximum concentrated reserve is maintained.

 

When advancing independently the battalion is unlikely to have sufficient resources to permit the deployment of a covering force. In some circumstances, suitably trained and equipped long range patrols may have to undertake this task.