DMX 07: Gunfight on Route Ennis
"If our number is small, our hearts are great"- Sir Henry Morgan before the battle of Porto Bello, 1667
Editor’s Note: This is an installment in our Decision Making Exercise (DMX) Series. Solutions should be sent to cxfile0302@gmail.com NLT 28 November for a chance at publication. Thank you to Maj Josh Burchfield who authored and submitted this TDG! Josh is currently the Inspector Instructor for Lima Company, 3/23. He can be reached at joshua.burchfield@usmc.mil.
Situation:
You are Bravo Co Cmdr, 1stBn, 9thMarReg. Your company is equipped with one sUAS system per platoon (5km range), 9x MAAWS, 9xMMGs, 60mm Mortar Section with 100 HE and 50 WP, and all your squad organic weapon systems including a LAAWS and a Claymore per fireteam. You have an 81mm Mortar section in Direct Support, and K battery 3/11 is in General Support of the battalion (priority of fires is to Bravo, Alpha, and Charlie in that order). Due to poor weather and enemy action, you have no air support.
An enemy motorized infantry battalion is conducting a movement to contact southeast along MSR Ennis. Their objectives are the intersections located at grids (725 264) and (760 252). Seizing these intersections will allow them to facilitate the forward passage of the mechanized brigade preparing to exploit their success. The enemy has tubed and rocket artillery in support, and is known to use sUAS to identify platoon-sized and larger positions ahead of their movement and attempt to destroy or dislodge them with massive rocket or artillery barrages. Their sUAS has a range of 10km. Expect them to be in a “one up, two back” formation, with one dismounted company acting as the advanced guard along the route and two more companies remaining in trucks one to two terrain features to the rear with heavy weapons they intend to dismount at their objectives. Between the two motorized companies, the enemy battalion maintains a logistics train with all their fuel, water, chow, and ammunition, and a medium mortar platoon with six medium mortars able to range 4500m. The enemy’s battalion command node typically travels at the rear of the first motorized company and possesses a medium directional EMS radar, able to detect radio signatures within 10km. The dismounted company moves at approximately 2kph, with a platoon on either side of the route, tied in at the road, and a platoon in reserve to maneuver on any significant enemy resistance. Each platoon is typically reinforced with two to three MMGs, and the enemy’s light mortars typically reside with the reserve platoon. The battalion rotates dismounted companies every six hours, and it takes them approximately 1 hour to complete the rotation plan from initial halt to commencing movement. The trucks are dispersed in a fashion that mitigates the ECR for 155mm HE.
Moving northwest to southeast, the terrain along their route is extremely compartmentalized; the road crosses perpendicular to multiple small ridgelines between the 69 and 72 Eastings. Each of these ridgelines is at least 100m elevation above the road, and the valleys between them average 100m in width. After crossing the 72 Easting, the route turns south into an extremely canalized wash where the road is walled in by rock walls 10ft high at the shortest, 25ft high at their tallest. The floor of the wash, where the road is, averages just enough width for two tactical vehicles to pass each other. At the 73 Easting, the wash opens to a relatively flat open plain to the south and a series of small mountains bordering the north side of the road. The flat open terrain south of the road is bisected by a deep wash that cuts southwest from the road, starting at grid (74 26) and terminating at grid (73 25).
Your company has just been dropped off IVO the intersection at grid (760 252). Each grid square is 1000m, and the time is now 1300. The end of evening nautical twilight is at 2000. Beginning of morning nautical twilight is at 0500. The enemy’s advanced party is expected to enter your AO traveling southeast on MSR Ennis at or around 0300 tomorrow morning.
Your Company’s Mission: Conduct a defense in depth to DISRUPT the enemy motorized battalion along MSR Ennis IOT deny their ability to seize key intersections and pass forward their mechanized brigade.
Rules:
In a time limit of 15 minutes, conduct a METT-T and annotate your task organization, concept of C2, SOM, concept of fire support, disruption criteria/target precedence, and tasks to subordinates.
Be prepared to defend your plan based on how well it accomplishes the mission and considers the survivability of your company.
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The opinions expressed above are those of the author and The Connecting File. They do not reflect the views of the Department of Defense, the United States Marine Corps, or any other government entity.
Nice TDG! I would appreciate the contribute of the comunity about the mission statement. The task is clearly "conduct of a defense in depth", the immediate effect is "disrupt", but in the purpose there is a "deny of ability to seize intersections". My question is: is my commander actually expecting a "disruption of the enemy manouver" or a "denial of intersections"? Or both? I assume the denial anyway is the priority due to his position in the purpose section.