RAA Liaison Letter 2024 - 2025 Edition

RAA Liaison Letter – 2024 / 2025 Edition 109 “All objects with mass, including military units, have inertia – a tendency to remain in a state of rest or continue movement in a straight line. In order to make a stationary object start moving, or to change the direction of movement of a moving object, a force must act upon it. In military terms acceleration is a measure of the responsiveness of the unit. It is important for a unit to be able to accelerate or decelerate to ensure that the direction of the movement remain appropriate with changing situations. As there is little a commander can do to increase the mass of his unit, if he wishes to increase the effect, he can have on the enemy he must concentrate on improving the ability of his unit to accelerate. There are several factors that can affect this such as battle procedure, efficiency of staff procedures, the use of standardised drills and formations, as well as the command philosophy of the unit.” (1994 Royal Australian Armoured Corp Manoeuvre Warfare Handbook) Conclusion To achieve manoeuvre warfare in a modern force, they must be agile, aggressive, remain protected but most importantly remain proactive. Manoeuvre warfare is forever evolving in time. There is no set method to achieve it, it must be abstract to ensure the enemy have no idea how to react. The conventional soldier and junior leader in the ADF is lacking an understanding of manoeuvre warfare. A developed training continuum designed for the soldier will enhance and develop the Australian Army’s capability exponentially. The soldier is misunderstood with our perception on the most basics of this philosophy, so a theoretical understanding of manoeuvre warfare is required. A quote from Frederick the Great, the former King of Prussia, says “If my soldiers were to begin to think, not one of them would remain in the army.” This is armies of the past, the enlisted soldier in today’s army provides forward thinkers with a wealth of knowledge, experience, and ideas that will one day decide victory or defeat on the battlefield. Army’s philosophy moving into the future is for land forces to have a strategic and expeditionary mindset. Turning soldiers into manoeuvrist will provide the strategic mindset Army is seeking. Soldiers will understand orders, they will then be able to provide an appreciation of the battlespace and the enemy that some personnel in the strategic level would not be aware of or understand themselves. Responsibility for the dissemination of orders and the tactical plans to the soldiers themselves should be expected of commanders. Looking into the 1994 RAAC Manoeuvre Warfare Handbook, it was a confusing and complex idea to wrap your head around back then, but what has the ADF done to help the progression of the enlisted soldier’s perception? I welcome debate to this article. Debate on this topic is what will get this philosophy in the minds of soldiers. Finally, the biggest and toughest question to be answered, and ultimately won’t be answered until achieved or failed: Are we, the Australian Army, capable of effective and lethal manoeuvre warfare? Biography Gunner Webster is a Forward Observer posted to the 102nd (CORAL) Battery, 8th/12th Regiment, Royal Regiment of Australian Artillery. Bibliography 1st Lieutenant Blankenship, K.S. (2012). Protection vs. Agility: Which is Better for Full- Spectrum Operations? The Cavalry & Armor Journal, Jul.-Aug., pp.26–28. 1994 Royal Australian Armoured Corp Manoeuvre Warfare Handbook. 2015 Royal Military College Duntroon Battle Book. 2019 Officer Training Wing – Land Warfare Centre - Operations Notebook. Captain Evans, M.R. (2002). Thinking Outside the Manoeuvre Box. US Army ARMOR Journal, Sep.-Oct., pp.17–20. Leonhard, R.R. (1994). The art of manoeuvre: manoeuvre-warfare theory and airland battle. Novato (Ca): Presidio. Lieutenant Colonel Morrison, C.W. (2012). Intellectualism and Military Innovation. The Cavalry & Armor Journal, Apr.-Jun., pp.40–42. Lind, W.S. (1981). Tactics in Manoeuvre Warfare. USMC Gazette, Sep., pp.36–39. Lind, W.S. (1984). Preparing for Manoeuvre Warfare. USMC Gazette, Jun., pp.47–55. LWD 1 - The Fundamentals of Land Power.