Tactical Control Measures on the High Technology Battlefield -- A Study of Unit Lateral Boundaries in the Forward Defense of Europe

If the United States expects to win a land war in Europe against the Soviet Union, the Army must be prepared to fight on the high technology battlefield. Every battle practice in our existing doctrine needs critical examination to assure technological advances in weapon systems are used to the greatest advantage. Available combat power is wasted when inadequately applied in accordance with doctrine derived from the existence of a graphic control measure, the lateral boundary. To study the influence of maneuver unit lateral boundaries on combat effectiveness, a methodology was developed which enabled qualified professional wargamers to play two scenario driven games simultaneously, thereby avoiding the bias injected by iterative gaming. Analysis and wargaming indicated that tacticians derived rules from the availability of lateral boundaries which do not adequately support current defensive concepts. Deleting lateral boundaries invalidates the tactician's boundary rules, creating a confusing void in doctrine. It is concluded that the doctrinal void is costly and should be filled immediately by new rules which enable combat superiority from the improvements in weapon system technology. Further, the Army should commence a vigorous program to train maneuver units how to fight using a new generation of rules.