HizbollahÂ’s innovative use of guided anti-tank missiles has drawn the attention of military specialists eager to glean lessons from the recent fighting in Lebanon, where the high-tech Israeli Army, considered one of the worldÂ’s most formidable fighting forces, was often stymied by militiamen using guerrilla tactics and advanced weaponry.
Much discussion has focused on Hizbollah’s “swarm” tactics, which damaged Israel’s Merkava tanks and heavy armored vehicles with missile volleys at their vulnerable sides and rear.
But some say Hizbollah displayed even more innovation in using anti-tank missiles as mobile fire support against advancing Israeli infantry. They inflicted heavy casualties on ground troops, even when they sought refuge inside thick-walled buildings.
“Because Hizbollah had such a profusion of anti-tank weapons, they were able to stand off at some distance and pop away at Israeli dismounted infantry at ranges beyond what you traditionally think of when you talk about close combat,” said Steven Zaloga, a land-warfare analyst at the Virginia-based Teal Group.
HizbollahÂ’s missile arsenal included old yet effective Russian-made Sagger wire-guided anti-tank missiles, as well as the newer Russian Metis-M and Kornet. They also fired Iranian-built knockoffs of the American Dragon and the larger TOW missile.
Most anti-tank missiles carry very large warheads to penetrate thick steel armor. The huge blast is lethal against exposed infantry and can penetrate the thick masonry walls characteristic of Lebanese construction.
Hizbollah’s swarm tactics — firing multiple missiles against a single target — proved effective against both armored vehicles and infantry, said Anthony Cordesman, a military analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Washington. The missile volleys forced Israeli troops to scatter, yet denied them the sanctuary of buildings as well, said Cordesman, who recently visited Lebanon’s battlefields.
The missiles even threatened Israeli helicopters, he said.The volleys also forced Israeli tank commanders to advance “buttoned up,” with all hatches closed and without their customary infantry escort. This is particularly dangerous on urban battlefields, where tankers rely on infantry to spot ambushes, deadly roadside bombs and concealed or dug-in anti-tank weapons.
As the tanks maneuvered down narrow urban streets and confronted fortified defensive lines without protective infantry, they proved vulnerable to Hizbollah fighters who emerged from hidden bunkers and trenches to attack at close range.
HizbollahÂ’s huge arsenal of anti-tank missiles allowed the guerrillas to shoot from up to 3,000 meters away, well beyond the range of the Israeli infantryÂ’s small arms. It also allowed Hizbollah to create a layered defensive system in which missiles placed in over-watch positions in the rear could provide fire support for fighters in the frontline trenches and bunkers.
The layered system robbed IsraelÂ’s armored forces of proper combined arms integration, preventing them from making a swift thrust into southern Lebanon. Instead, they became bogged down in a costly slugging match as they slowly chewed through HizbollahÂ’s layered defensive system of bunkers, fortified villages and hilltop firing positions.
Zaloga said the Israelis had beefed up their frontline forces with combat engineers who specialize in assaulting bunkers and fortified positions. But Hizbollah’s man-portable artillery prevented the fighting from unfolding in a traditional close-quarters infantry battle — until missile volleys had thinned the Israeli infantry’s ranks.
The fighting was reminiscent of the great World War II tank battle at Kursk, in which GermanyÂ’s massed tank force attempted to smash through thick Russian defensive belts but were ground to bits in a defeat from which the Wehrmacht never recovered.
“Hizbollah had done their homework and made their acquisition decisions and supply from Iran and Syria from what they saw on the other side of the border,” said CSIS’s Guy Ben-Ari. “Years and years of skirmishing gets you to a position where your knowledge of the enemy is very good.”
The U.S. military also has recognized the value of anti-tank missiles when used against infantry.
“American troops in Iraq are using light anti-tank weapons as bunker-busters, against fixed structures,” said Dean Lockwood, a weapons systems analyst at Forecast International. He said Army units built on the Stryker vehicle have used TOW missiles for direct fire support in urban areas where the .50-caliber machine gun carried by most Stryker vehicless proved inadequate.
Good light infantry/small light forces tactics? Time to learn from painful lesson of others.........
