ATP-5-0-2-1 Staff Reference Guide Volume 1 Download
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Appendix B 184 ATP 5-0.2-1 07 December 2020 Cover and concealment in the rear portion of the AO is limited. Unit commander is directed by higher headquarters to retain or initially control forward terrain. PREPARING AN AREA DEFENSE B-14. The unit uses time available to build the defense and to refine counterattack plans. The commander and staff assess unit preparations while maintaining situational awareness of developments in the unit's areas of interest. Collection activities begin soon after receipt of mission and continue throughout preparation and execution. Security operations are conducted aggressively while units occupy and prepare positions and rehearse defensive actions. Information collection during preparation helps improve understanding of the enemy, terrain, and civil considerations. Priorities for preparing an area defense are— Establish security. Occupy positions. Conduct rehearsals. EXECUTING AN AREA DEFENSE B-15. In an area defense, units are in prepared and protected positions and concentrate combat power against attempted enemy breakthroughs and flanking movements. The commander uses the reserve to cover gaps between defensive positions, reinforce those positions as necessary, and counterattack to seal penetrations or block enemy attempts at flanking movements. Execution of the area defense is divided into a five step sequence: Gain and maintain enemy contact. In the face of the enemy's determined efforts to destroy friendly reconnaissance and surveillance assets, gaining and maintaining enemy contact is vital to the success of defensive actions. Disrupt the enemy. The commander executes shaping operations (SOs), including military deception operations, to disrupt the enemy regardless of the enemy's location within the AO. Fix the enemy. The commander does everything possible to limit the options available to the enemy when conducting an area defense; this includes constraining the enemy to a specific course of action (COA), controlling enemy movements, or fixing the enemy in a given location. Maneuver. In an area defense, the DOs occur in the main battle area. The commander's goal is for the DO to prevent the enemy's further advance by using a combination of fires from prepared positions, obstacles, and mobile reserves. Follow through. The purpose of defensive actions is to create conditions for a counteroffensive that regains the initiative. A successful area defense allows the commander to quickly transition to offensive operations. The steps above might not occur sequentially; they may occur simultaneously. The first three steps are usually SOs. Depending on the circumstances, either of the last two steps may be the echelon’s decisive operation. MOBILE DEFENSE B-16. A mobile defense focuses on destroying the enemy by permitting the enemy to advance to a position that exposes them to counterattack and envelopment. Units smaller than a division do not normally conduct a mobile defense because of their limited capabilities to fight multiple engagements throughout the width, depth, and height of the AO. In considering a mobile defense, the commander weighs several factors: The defender possesses equal or greater mobility than the enemy. The frontage assigned exceeds the defender's capability to establish an effective area or positional defense. The depth of the AO allows the attacking enemy force to be drawn into an unfavorable position where it can be attacked. Time for preparing defensive positions is limited. Sufficient armored, Stryker, aviation, and long-range artillery forces and joint fires are available to allow rapid concentration of combat power.