Re: HD combat in Syria
The footage posted by DRG is quite remarkable in that we may glimpse at how the Syrians are using their tanks in certain urban environments as assault guns, hitting any possible opposing force's firing position. Unlike American crews where roof top sniper teams over watch advancing armor, the Syrians blast away at any suspected firing position. The Israelis use massed artillery fires, destroying structures in the path of advancing infantry followed by armor making it easier for the infantry to locate, identify and kill ATGM teams. Here in these few videos, we have Syrians using tanks similar to how Israelis use artillery fires (to destroy firing positions) to clear path for infantry to dismount and enter the fight.
The Syrian tactic is faster than sniper over watch teams, less destructive while requiring less coordination with artillery, than the Israelis approach, and at the least, is a best match given apparent Syrian capabilities.
The T-72 tank crews are divided between the Defense Companies and the 4th Armor Division; both of these organizations are near exclusively populated by the regime’s Alawite minority, the sect of Bashar al-Assad, confirming loyalty throughout the ranks from officer to enlisted. Further, it is erroneous to say the tank crews in these videos demonstrate poor urban or weak combined arms tactics, when in fact, these two units are extensively Soviet trained in combined arms doctrine and routinely trained with Russian forces in joint exercises (before the civil war.) They know what they are doing, although through our lenses, it may not appear to be the case.
------
|