The Merkava 4 MBT

[kevin]

FYI to all......

The US Army brought back infantry on tank tactics for Iraqi Freedom. A brigade of 101st troopers were attached to the 3rd Mechanized Infantry Division. During the assault through the Karbala Gap, fireteams (4 soldiers) were assigned to each tank. The terrain was suburban, no tall buildings, but enough infrastructure to be concerned. Each soldier lay prone at the tank's corners, behind sandbags. The TC and Loader were on their MGs, the gunner used the coax in a limited front field of attack.

Someone mentioned it would be suicide for the infantry if someone with an RPG struck or an MBT was encountered. Well...... yes. You only use these tactics when the chance of an encounter with enemy MBTs is very low. As far as RPGs, the tanks carry Infantry to add 360 degree immediate response fire, and RPG launchers show up like a sore thumb on TI sites.