Decide: The Attack Guidance Matrix
You have decided what to attack. The second product says how each target will be attacked, and when.
| Target | When | Effect | Preferred method |
|---|---|---|---|
| HPT X |
|
|
|
The last column is not one answer. It is these three assets written in the order we prefer them for that target.
When
The first column of the matrix says when a target is attacked. There are three answers:
| Meaning | What it does to the fight |
|---|---|
| Immediate | Preempts all other routine missions. The target is attacked as soon as it is positively identified, ahead of every as acquired target waiting, whatever its place on the HPTL. |
| As acquired | Engaged in HPTL order. When several targets are waiting, the one highest on the HPTL is engaged first, provided an asset is free and is not already committed to an immediate or a scheduled planned mission. Two targets of the same priority are engaged in the order they were acquired. |
| Planned | Scheduled. The target is attacked at a time we choose, as part of the scheme of fires. We choose the time so that the effect is present when the rest of the plan needs it. |
Two questions decide which one a target gets:
- Will we lose the target if it is not struck immediately? Does this target pose an immediate danger to the mission? If either is true, it is Immediate.
- Does this target need to be struck at a specific time? If it does, it is Planned.
Otherwise, targets may be struck as acquired, meaning they will be struck in the order of their priority.
Task 1.4 — Set the timing
NOT DONEApply the two questions to each HPT.
Placing charges on the bridge at this moment. If they finish, the mission is over.
Commander agrees: this preempts every other mission. If the engineer team is not engaged immediately we risk losing the bridge.
Commander disagrees: if we wait, we risk losing the bridge. Fires on the engineer team take priority over anything else in the queue.
Known to relocate every 24 hours. But the commander does not want to strike this target early, in order to achieve surprise or to prevent the enemy from replacing it.
Commander agrees: the section has been located and is unlikely to move, so we can schedule it. We will strike it in coordination with our movement, otherwise we risk the enemy sending another section that we have not located.
Commander disagrees: he worries that if we strike the ATGM section early, we risk the enemy sending another one before we clear the far side of the bridge.
Indirect fire poses an imminent threat to friendly forces consolidated at the chokepoint.
Commander agrees: the mortars are an imminent danger to our soldiers at the crossing, and they can only be found while they fire, so they preempt every other mission. Waiting loses both the target and our soldiers.
Commander disagrees: the platoon moves after every mission, and it is firing on our soldiers now. Waiting in a queue means we never find the tubes again, and our soldiers stay under fire.
Not located yet. Relocates every 24 hours. It is not stopping the crossing at this moment.
Commander agrees: the command post is not an imminent danger to our forces, and no friendly action waits on its destruction, so it does not warrant dropping a higher-priority task. We engage it in its turn on the HPTL, when an asset is free.
Commander disagrees: once we locate the command post we do not need to wait, as the enemy cannot easily regain this capability. No friendly action is contingent upon the command post being destroyed, and the commander would not risk it relocating while we wait.
Commander disagrees: the command post is mobile, and the enemy usually relocates it after 24 hours, but it is not an imminent danger to friendly forces, so it does not preempt our other missions.
What effect
The second column of the matrix says what the attack must do to the target. There are three answers. They are not three strengths of the same thing. Each one buys a different result, for a different length of time, at a different cost in ammunition.
| Meaning | What it does to the target | How long it lasts |
|---|---|---|
| Suppress | Limits what the target can do. The crews stay under cover and cannot fire accurately. | Only while our rounds are landing. It ends the moment we stop firing. |
| Neutralize | Disables the capability we care about and breaks the unit apart as a fighting team. | Temporary. The unit can recover if we give it time. |
| Destroy | Physical destruction of the target. | Permanent. The target must be replaced before it can work again. |
Task 1.5 — Choose the effect
NOT DONEChoose the desired effect for each HPT. Use the planning notes to guide you.
Mandate only the minimum effect the mission requires. Every step up, from suppress to neutralize to destroy, costs more ammunition. The smallest effect that still serves the plan is the right one; only the commander can ask for more than the mission needs. Check each target as you finish it, and the reasoning will appear beneath it.
They are working on the bridge itself. The bridge must survive. Their primary function is to block or destroy it, and they must be stopped from completing it.
We only require that the engineers be stopped from completing their primary function, blocking or destroying the bridge, not that the team be destroyed. Neutralize takes away the capability we care about, and that is usually all the plan requires.
Dug in on high ground, looking straight down on the crossing. Commander's word: the ATGM team must not be able to affect our vehicles as they cross that chokepoint.
We only care about the ATGM section during the crossing. It only has to be unable to shoot accurately while our vehicles are on the chokepoint, and suppress buys exactly that, for exactly as long as we need it, at the lowest cost in ammunition.
Deep behind the river, moves after each mission. The commander requires this enemy capability removed for the duration of the mission, about a day.
The commander only requires that this enemy capability be removed for the duration of the mission, about a day. That is a temporary effect, so neutralize is enough; destroy would spend more ammunition than the mission needs.
The commander has decided that if he is going to target a command post, he wants to permanently damage the enemy's leadership and communications. While we only need to “disrupt” their communications for the present mission, the commander will spend extra ammunition for the opportunity of long term damage to the enemy system.
The command post is the exception, and the mission did not make it one. Neutralize would have served: it keeps the defense from coordinating while we cross. But the commander decided that if we strike a command post he wants it gone for good, not one staff officer missing and one radio replaced. He accepts what that costs in ammunition. Only the commander can ask for more than the mission needs.
Preferred method of engagement
Attack guidance is the commander's preference of which weapon to engage a specific enemy target class. It considers the best weapon-to-target match but also the scarcity of resources. As a general rule, to conserve resources, a target will be assigned the cheapest or most abundant ammunition that meets the minimum damage criteria. Higher payoff targets may be assigned larger than required weapon systems to increase the chance of mission success. The current operations fires personnel will send the fire mission to the first available weapon system on the commander's preference list.
Friendly Fires Assets
| OWA-UAS | M101 105 mm howitzer battery | M109 155 mm battery | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Range | About 3 km | Every target | Every target |
| Blast Radius | 5 m | 30 m | 50 m |
| Cratering | None | Yes | Heavy |
| Ammunition Count | 10, single use | 300 rounds | 120 rounds |
| Relocation time | — | 30 min to displace | 20 min to displace |
| Munition | Precision. One target. | Cheaper, easy to move | Heavy, costly |
These figures are set for this scenario. They are not published doctrine.
Task 1.6 — Choose preferred method of engagement
NOT DONEFires guidance. “Destruction of this target is vital to mission success. Do not risk missing. The target is likely on the road, and I would prefer less cratering for future friendly operations.”
Primary, OWA-UAS. I do not want to risk missing, since they are vital to friendly mission success. Likely a small team carrying explosives or mines.
Alternate, M101 105 mm howitzer battery. If I have to use indirect fire, I might as well use the cheapest and most abundant round, given the small and unprotected nature of the target.
Fires guidance. “We are targeting a small team with a missile. They may still be able to employ it under fire, especially if they are in a protected position.”
Primary, OWA-UAS. We are targeting a small team with a missile. They may still be able to employ it under fire, especially in a protected position.
Alternate, M101 105 mm howitzer battery. No reason not to use the cheaper and more abundant round, all things being equal.
Fires guidance. “This is an area target.”
Primary, M101 105 mm howitzer battery. An area fire weapon against an area target. No reason not to use the cheaper munition.
Alternate, M109 155 mm battery. Also an area fire weapon against an area target.
Fires guidance. “The enemy command post may be a single soft tent, or several tents and vehicles. I wish to minimize the risk of missing on the first salvo. If we do not meet the criteria on that first salvo, the enemy is likely to displace rapidly and we may lose the opportunity to attrite key communications equipment and radios.”
Primary, M109 155 mm battery. If the command post is a large static compound — several tents and vehicles spread over some ground — it is an area target, and the 155 covers the most ground on the first salvo. I wish to minimize the risk of missing, because if we do not meet the criteria on that first salvo the enemy displaces and we lose the opportunity.
Tertiary, OWA-UAS. If instead it proves to be a single mobile command vehicle, that is a point target, and the drone buys precision and a guaranteed hit on it.
This is the order that will be argued about, and it is the one to argue about. Reverse it — drone first, then 155 — and you have a defensible matrix for a different assumption about what the command post turns out to be. What settles it is where the target is and how well we have located it, which is the next page.
The completed attack guidance matrix
This is the product you have just built. It goes to the fire support coordination cell (FSCC) as part of the order, and it is read from left to right: what the target is, when it is attacked, what the attack must do, and what attacks it.
| Priority / HPT | When | Effect | Primary | Alternate | Tertiary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Engineer obstacle team | Immediate | Neutralize | OWA-UAS | 105 mm | 155 mm |
| 2. ATGM section | Planned | Suppress | OWA-UAS | 105 mm | 155 mm |
| 3. 120 mm mortar platoon | Immediate | Neutralize | 105 mm | 155 mm | OWA-UAS |
| 4. Battalion command post | As acquired | Destroy | 155 mm | 105 mm | OWA-UAS |
105 mm is the M101 105 mm howitzer battery. 155 mm is the M109 155 mm battery. OWA-UAS is the one-way attack UAS.
Finish all three tasks on this page and your completed attack guidance matrix will appear above.