Axis of attack

UNDERSTANDING
the
AXIS OF ATTACK

PRESENTED
by
THE FIRST ALLIED
AIRBORNE ARMY

Perhaps you have found
yourself in this situation: you
are setting up a hasty
defense, maybe after pulling
back or maybe after taking an
objective. Then comes the
inevitable German attack.
Some come from exactly
where you’d expect, but then
others come from out of
nowhere on your flanks. What
is this phenomenon? Why
does it happen? What can we
do about it?

These are all questions we intend to
answer in this training film. By
understanding THE AXIS OF
ATTACK you will be able to
anticipate German movement, put
yourself in a position to interdict
their flanking maneuver, and stop
their attack COLD.

That German habit of
getting out on our flanks is
something they call
“Schützenkette”, or
“skirmish line.” This is
similar to our own flanking
maneuver. They will add a
direction to it, left or right:
“links” or “rechts.”

So out in the field you
may hear a German
officer or N.C.O. direct
his men by saying what
sounds like, “Shoot-
zen-ket'eh recks!” Or,
“Shoot-zen-ket'eh
links!”

That is how the
Germans end up on our
flanks all the time. But
how do they know
where to go? That is
dictated by THE AXIS
OF ATTACK.

THE AXIS OF ATTACK
is nothing more than a
line that connects two
points: where the
enemy is and where we
are.

Enemy Line of Departure

Now these points may
actually be lines themselves,

The Axis of Attack
our line of defenses and the
German line of departure.
But somewhere between
these two general positions
is a straight line, the shortest
distance between the two,
and that forms the AXIS OF
ATTACK.

Line of Defense


In hastily-planned counter
attacks and even most

The Axis of Attack

Schützenkette links
Schützenkette rechts

planned attacks, we can
expect some portion of the
enemy to move along the axis
of attack. We can also expect
a schützenkette links or rechts
that will move out from the
axis of attack and then turn
back to hit us on our flanks.

Line of Defense

It might seem like these
flanking maneuvers come
from nowhere, but if you
know where the axis of
attack is, then it is easy to
predict where the
schützenkette will go. We
have a method to help you
figure that out, it’s called
the VEER method.

THE VEER METHOD

V ISUALIZE
E LIMINATE
E STIMATE
R ESPOND

THE VEER METHOD
VISUALIZE
1. Visualize your position
2. Visualize the enemy’s general position
3. Visualize THE AXIS OF ATTACK
4. Visualize the left and right schützenkette

V stands for VISUALIZE. There
are 4 steps to Visualize. You
don’t need a map to do this, just
a map in your mind. This may
seem like a lot, but it’s not. As
you practice this it will really
become one step that you can
do automatically.


The next step is to
ELIMINATE. You visualized
two schützenkette, but it may

The Axis of Attack

Schützenkette links
be that the Germans won’t
Schützenkette rechts

use one of them. There could
be several reasons why they
would do that: to avoid open
ground, to avoid tough terrain,
or to avoid our forces.
Consider the terrain around
you, does the terrain eliminate
one of their potential flanking
routes?

Line of Defense


Now it’s time to ESTIMATE.
Based on what you know of
The Axis of Attack

the terrain, where do you think
their flanking route will take
them? How far out? Where
will they make contact with
your forces? Will terrain
features force them to take a
certain route? This may be
the hardest step, but it gets
easier with practice. If you
have never covered the
ground they will be attacking
over, it can be nothing more
than a rough guess. A rough
guess is better than no guess
though!
Line of Defense


All the thinking is over, it’s
The Axis of Attack

now time to RESPOND.
You know where they are,
you know where they are
going to go, what do you
do? If you are
commanding other men
you will need to position
them to respond to attacks
along the main axis and
the schützenkette. Move
quickly and give precise,
clear orders so that they
are well understood.

Line of Defense

Perhaps you are a
private, what should
you do? Show some
initiative! No N.C.O. or
officer will ever be
upset with you for
stopping a German
attack and saving the
lives of your buddies.
If you see something
that he is missing, point
it out. If you can’t reach
him in time, you make
the call. Get you and
your buddies in position
to RESPOND.

Always remember: the ability of
the individual soldier to grasp
the implications of the situation
and take the necessary action is
key to every single victory. The
results of combat are the fruits
of the combined efforts of
individuals. You must
understand that your individual
action may be the decisive
factor in the final result.

Let’s take a look at a
real life situation where
soldiers put VEER into
action and helped stall
a German attack long
enough for their men to
pull back and regroup.

Here’s the situation: 2
squads took an important
crossroads but soon came
under heavy fire from
across the road and
casualties began to
mount. Unable to continue
the attack, they took up
hasty positions and tried
to hold as long as
possible.

The German forces across the road
began to receive reinforcements.
Realizing they had the advantage,
they began to plan a counterattack to
retake the crossroads. That Only a few of our troopers
counterattack would involve keeping remained at this point. One
fire up across the axis of attack and soldier recognized the
sending out a schützenkette links. A imminency of a counterattack
schützenkette rechts was not and put VEER into action. He
attempted. visualized the AXIS OF
ATTACK and schützenkette.

REINFORCEMENTS

First he VISUALIZED the
AXIS OF ATTACK by
mentally locating German
and American positions.
Then he VISUALIZED
possible schützenkettes.

He ELIMINATED the
schützenkette rechts
due to the open
ground, distance, and
that the Germans
would be cut off by
American
reinforcements who
might follow the initial
line of attack.

He ESTIMATED
where the
schützenkette links
would hit their
position based on
terrain the terrain
features which
included a dry
streambed.

He RESPONDED by placing
2 men along the main axis
and then placing himself to
interdict the schützenkette.
The plan worked exactly as
it should have. The
Germans made their way
through the woods and
came out exactly where the
soldier ESTIMATED. The
Germans weren’t taking that
position!

Alright, soldier, now it’s
your turn to put VEER
into action. The next
slide will present you a
map with an American
defensive line defended
by 4 soldiers and a
German line of
departure for their You will put
attack. VEER into
action and
STOP THEIR
ATTACK
COLD!

First, the lay of the land.
American forces are at the
bottom of the map holding
a defensive line marked by
foxholes A through H. The
Germans are advancing
from north to south along
an air strip. To the west of
the air strip is low-lying
vegetation. A road leads
off to the east of the airstrip
and between it and the
strip is wooded land. You
are holding this defensive
line with 3 other men.

Now it’s your turn. The first step is
VISUALIZE.
1. Where is the AXIS OF
ATTACK?
2. Where would schützenkette
links go?
3. Where would schützenkette
rechts go?
Once you think you know, you
may move on.

Do your answers look
something like this?
If so, good. If not,
where did you go
wrong?

AXIS
OF
ATTACK

Now it’s time to
ELIMINATE. Which
schützenkette
should be
eliminated?

AXIS
OF
ATTACK

It is very likely that the
Germans will not
want to advance
over the ground to
the west of the air
strip due to its low
vegetation and
having to cross a
good sized stream. AXIS
Did you get that OF
right? Excellent ATTACK
work then!

Third is ESTIMATE.
Where would you
estimate that they
would hit the
American position?
Envision the exact
route they might
take to hit your
lines. AXIS
OF
ATTACK

The most probable
attack would come
down the road to
the east of the
airstrip. The trees
would block our
view right up until
they hit. AXIS
OF
ATTACK

Alright, now you have 4
men and you need to
place them where
they will be most
effective. Which
foxholes will you
choose? These
foxholes are big
enough to AXIS
accommodate two OF
men each. Don’t ATTACK
forget about the
halftrack coming down
the airstrip!

Did you place men in foxholes
E, F, and G? Good work! I
would advise two men in E
to counter the main thrust, a
man in F who can be
looking for both the main
attack and the
schützenkette, and a man in
G who is placed on a corner
AXIS
of the road and in perfect
ambush position for the
OF
schützenkette. Having a ATTACK
man in F also maintains
communication between E
and G.

So, how did you do? Did
you stop the German
attack COLD?

Any combat veteran can
tell you, maps are one
thing, real terrain is
another. Keep the VEER Effective
method in mind and put it implementation of the
into practice whenever on VEER method by every
the attack or defense. soldier in our unit will
Read the terrain, anticipate only make us a
German movement, and stronger fighting force
plan accordingly. and secure future
victories on the field of
battle. So train hard
and train smart and
let’s show the Germans
what the American
fighting man can do!

BROUGHT TO YOU
by
THE FIRST ALLIED
AIRBORNE ARMY
http:/firstalliedairborne.wordpress.com/
/

Axis of attack

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