Giving up the Fight: Is This the RAAC Way?

It might be for some.

What would you do? You’ve gone to the assistance of an infantry platoon in danger of being overrun; you have three tanks and an Armoured Recovery Vehicle (ARV) and you bash down the jungle to reach them.

Suddenly you find yourself in the middle of an occupied enemy (battalion) position. The defenders are everywhere, firing anti-tank missiles and automatic weapons. To make matters worse: there is no infantry with you; one tank gets a round stuck in the breech; and the defences have been too well built to collapse under the weight of the tanks.

It used to be that the greatest achievement to aspire to as a member of 1st Armoured Regiment was to be able to make a difference on the battlefield.

Accepting the responsibility of crewing a tank, meant accepting a commitment to achieving the skills and professionalism needed to overcome the enemy, whenever the time came. All the planning and efforts made to get the tanks into position to confront the enemy, would amount to nothing … if crews failed in their determination to make a difference, by bringing their firepower to bear effectively.

The situation described above, was what the troop leader had been trained for (and what he had trained his troop for). He knew to expect the unexpected, hence the troop immediate action drill … forming a square and engaging arcs of responsibility (the ARV included). The round stuck in the breech was ejected by forcing the barrel back against a tree. It wasn’t long before the troop seized the upper hand by virtue of their overwhelming firepower.

No anti-tank rockets penetrated the tanks. At least one would have, but it was fired too close to the tank and had not armed (leaving explosive splattered on the side of the turret). Others were fired into the trees above the tanks, in an attempt to rain shrapnel down on the turrets.

The troop leader was wounded when hit in the face by shrapnel from rounds fired at him which hit the commander’s 30cal he was firing [the firer turned out to have been the enemy Heavy Weapons Company Commander; his body was found under the troop leader’s tank.]

What worked in favour of the tanks was ‘shock action’; the troop leader didn’t know who got the biggest surprise — them or the enemy.

The Squadron Commander gave the troop radio frequency to a US helicopter gunship team. When contacted by them, the troop leader’s response was: “Everything you’ve got, 50m directly in front”. By this time, another tank troop was on its way. When it arrived, both troops attacked together. Not long after, they ‘married up’ with an infantry company. Once the tanks were resupplied with ammunition, the position was cleared (sadly a RAAF helicopter was shot down attempting to drop ammunition to the infantry).

There was no doubt that the tanks made a difference on this battlefield. Why is it that this is no longer the goal that 1 Armd Regt is allowed to aspire to?

Next time: The qualities that the RAAC used to stand for.

Lieutenant Colonel Bruce Cameron, MC, RAAC (Ret’d)

 

FILE PHOTO: A ex-Australian Army Centurion tank bush bashing at South Gippsland Tank Adventures, to promote the tank’s launch inside the global PC game World of Tanks. Photo by Brian Hartigan.
Watch the CONTACT Editor ride in an Aussie Centurion, here.

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