Infantry Overload

8/9/2019 Infantry Overload

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INFANTRY OVERLOAD

Major Scott R. McMichael, an expert in the field, once provided a list of light infantry

proverbs in Military Review Magazine. Just a few examples show what reallight

infantry is.

Light forces are undaunted by terrain. Terrain is viewed as an ally, a combat multiplierfor the light infantryman. Light forces are terrain-oriented. Very little terrain is

impassable to true light infantry.

Light infantry does best when it lives on, in and off the land. It must be comfortable in

the bush.

Conventional tactics are no good for light forces.

Light infantry forces must be masters of improvisation, familiar with all kinds of

weapons, vehicles, landing craft, and so forth.

Light infantry must remain flexible in mind and action, capable of reacting quickly.

Weapons used by light forces must not impose a logistical burden. If equipment cannot

be man-packed or mule/donkey-packed, the light infantry generally has little use for it.

Light forces can operate separated from their lines of communications by depending onenemy and indigenous supplies.

Light infantrymen must be able to climb, crawl, swim, ski, snowshoe, rappel, stalk, run

and hide.

That is what McMichael, H. John Poole, and William S. Lind mean when they talk aboutclassic light infantry.

Not this.
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Unfortunately, as near as I can tell, the modern United States Army defines light infantry

as, Aint got no trucks. Light infantry means you can shove a whole bunch of heavyinfantry into C-5s and C-130s and dump them off somewhere around the globe without

combined arms support or logistics and crow that youve deployed a division in so many

hours. Lacking any real mechanized capability, this light infantry walks wherever theygo, but they still have to wear and carry all the crap a mechanized grunt would while

riding in a Bradley.

While the infantrymans load has always been too heavy in the riflemans opinion, the

modern American Army and Marines have taken gear to completely obscene new

heights. Or rather, their leaders have forced them to take their gear weight to

completely obscene new heights. For Petes sake, a mule, bred for centuries as a packanimal, is not supposed to pack over one third of its body weight or it will ruin the

animal. Youd probably get arrested for animal cruelty for treating a mule the way the

Army treats its infantrymen and the Marines treat their riflemen.

Its not like the knowledge that over-burdening soldiers is a bad thing was kept secret and

came as some big surprise that was suddenly sprung upon Americas military at the lastsecond before the latest deployment. At the turn of the last century, about the time of our

Spanish-American War, the Institute William Frederick in Germany was doing in-depth

studies and experiments concerning the infantrymans load. Their conclusion: 48 poundsper man. British studies in the 1920s concluded that the load should be between 40-45

pounds, or one third of a persons body weight. Further experiments in the 1930s

suggested dropping the load to 31 pounds! At the end of WWII, the Russians came up

with a load of forty pounds after their own studies. Shortly thereafter, American GeneralS.L.A. Marshall concluded that 51 pounds was the optimal soldiers load in training; for

combat, it should never be more than four-fifths of that amount. In 1954, the USMC

concluded a grunt should have a load of no more than 55 pounds for a road march, and 40lbs for combat. Another study in 1971 concluded the Marine should carry 40% of his
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and sometimes it is a rope; several times a day it becomes their prayer mat.

That sounds pretty silly and pathetic in this age of high-tech gear and precision-guidedweaponry, right? Maybe, maybe not. Major General Franklin Hagenbeck said of the

Taliban in an interview in 2003: At night, when these groups heard a Predator or AC-

130 coming, they pulled a blanket over themselves to disappear from the night-visionscreen. They used low tech to defeat high tech.

Its not just guerrillas, either. Professional armies can create real light infantry as well, ifthey try. During the WWI Sideshow in German East Africa, Colonel von Lettow

Vorbeck produced some of the greatest light infantry ever known in his Schutztruppe.

These were mostly natives trained with Prussian precision, especially in rifle

marksmanship.

They marched everywhere they went, which included just about the entire country, with

supplies borne by human porters. The Germans had destroyed the railroads to keep the

British & their allies from using them, the roads were too rough and muddy for Britishtrucks and armored cars, and the tsetse flies decimated their horses and pack mules. The

native Schutztruppe soldiers were largely immune to the diseases of the area, while thewhite European soldiers succumbed in droves to the myriad of tropical illnesses.

While the regularly-equipped Entendre forces attempting to pursue them ground to a halt,the Schutztruppe not only remained mobile but, with no supply line back to Germany,they became absolute masters of improvisation to remain in the fight. Cloth was spun

from native cotton and dyed with the bark ofmada trees to make new uniforms. Boots

were fashioned from captured saddles and antelope hides. Alcohol gasoline wasdistilled from coconuts and precious salt supplies distilled from the ocean. Without

quinine, the German troops would have succumbed to malaria. A substitute was made by

boiling the bark of Peruvian trees, a vile-tasting foul brew that the troops christened Von
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Lettow Schnapps.

By the end of the war, with no German supplies whatsoever getting in, the Schutztruppe

was equipped and armed almost entirely with captured enemy gear. The Schutztruppe,

never numbering more than 10,000 themselves, had tied down some 300,000 Allied

troops desperately needed on the Western Front in Europe, and inflicted some 60,000casualties on the enemy.

The average soldier of the Imperial Japanese Army in WWII was a true lightinfantryman, as noted by Major C. Patrick Howard among others.

The usual load an IJA infantryman carried during this period was a steel helmet, a belt

with at least one ammunition pouch, a bayonet, a light pack, and an entrenching tool.

Soldiers wore a wide variety of footwear, and socks were usually heelless, probably toslow deterioration. To assist in crossing water obstacles, many infantrymen carried the

inflatable belt they had worn during the initial amphibious landings. Most soldiers had a

1-yard x 1 1/2-yard camouflage net that they could drape over their bodies and stuff withfoliage to render themselves virtually invisible in the jungle. The only piece of equipment

that seemed to be standard among all soldiers was the waterproof shelter half, which

they wore instead of the army issue raincoat during inclement weather.3 Clearly, the

Japanese infantrymans individual equipment was well suited for a fast-moving, mobilecampaign in the tropics.
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As for the Chinese infantryman in Korea, McMichael said he began an offensive with:

3-days' rations, his bedroll, 4 grenades, 100 rounds of ammunition, and a mortar bombor 2. The Chinese procured some of their food locally, sometimes by force, sometimes by

legitimate means. At times, they required villagers to cook for them. Captured UN

supplies were also a ready source of ammunition, equipment, and rations; in many cases,the Chinese replenished their stocks after a successful attack. The Chinese also buried

supplies when withdrawing from an area with the expectation that the caches would be

dug up and used upon their return.In the worst conditions, the CCF soldier learned todo without. His self discipline led him to subsist on meager rations and to forego

nonessentials.

The German Gebirgsjaegermountain troops of WWII were essentially elite light infantry

as well. They had their skis for mobility in the snow; climbing gear for the highmountains. They used any means possible to bring supplies and increase mobility; in

addition to their own horses and mules, they used reindeer and sleighs in Finland, camels

in Asiatic Russia, suspended tramways in Caucuses mountains, and the little Kettenkradhalf-track motorcycle just about everywhere.

But mostly they marched, marched endlessly pursuing the tanks and truck-mountedinfantry across Poland and then day after day across the endless steppes of Russia. They

could cover fifty kilometers a day, day after day, for weeks on end. How they could

manage this was no mystery. Instead of PT consisting of push-ups, sit-ups, and short

runs, they marched. James Lucas described the training. And always the route marches.

Some of these were long, lasting all dayOther marches lasted all night through villageslying quiet under the Alpine stars, or across frosty field, kilometre after kilometre

Manoeuvres, exercises, marching and still more marching dominated their lives.
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The Gebirgs also knew how critical weightor the lack thereofwas, and their manualscontinually stressed it. In selecting equipment to be taken along, the aim must be to

achieve the greatest possible economy in weight. The equipment which will permit theindividual soldier to maintain his fighting strength must be based on the tactical

requirements of the contemplated action Maximum fire power and mobility are

decisive factors in determining the type and number of weapons with which theindividual ski trooper should be equipped. The number of heavy weapons to be taken

along depends on the facilities for carrying sufficient ammunition. Fewer arms and

plenty of ammunition should be the rule.

The successful British counter-insurgency in Malaya, one of very, very few successes byWestern armies in that category, showed that with common sense specialized training the

regular line doggie could become a superb light infantryman. British and Commonwealth

riflemen went out into the Communist Terrorists home turf, deep in the jungle,sometimes for weeks at a time, and, as David Hackworth would say, Out-Ged the Gs.
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The British also devoted some attention to lightening soldiers' loads while on patrol. Tofurther this end, light but appetizing rations were chosen. Because the soldiers looked

forward to breakfast and supper on patrol, the command provided palatable food for

these meals. In this manner, the light infantry held themselves in position to ambush for

some incredibly long periods of time. One platoon of the Green Howards staked out thehouse of a terrorist food supplier for twenty consecutive nights. 32 In another case, a

patrol maintained an ambush for ten days and nights. Given seven days' rations, they

simply were told to make them last ten days.

Fighting Communists in Rhodesia in a tactically successful counter-insurgency, nearly all

of the Security Forces were light infantry, including such famous outfits as the Rhodesian

Light Infantry and the Kings African Rifles. The most famous Rhodesia Special Forces,uber-light infantry, were the Selous Scouts. Gruelingly trained, they traveled light anddid not have an official uniform. Water and ammunition were the two most important

items they carried, and in the largest quantities. Favored footwear consisted of rubber-

soled hockey boots known as tackies. Originally equipped with British Pattern 1958standard web gear, the Selous Scouts soon developed their own Rhodesian vest that

provided light weight, mesh ventilation, and multiple pockets.
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An American military observer noted: Once in the unit, the men are prepared literallyto follow terrorist spoor for weeks on end in all types of Rhodesian terrain while living

off the land.

Historically, Americans have been able to create fine light infantry. During the American

Revolution, sharp-shooting physically fit frontier riflemen made the best light infantry. A

letter from a gentleman in Philadelphia may have over-stated the case a bit when hewrote: What would a regular army of considerable strength in the forest of America do

with one thousand of these men, who want nothing to preserve their health and couragebut water from the spring, with a little parched corn, with what they can easily procure

in hunting; and who, wrapped in their blankets, in the damp of night, would choose the

shade of a tree for their covering, and the earth for their bed."
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Poetic license aside, these frontier riflemen were indeed very mobile light infantry.

Colonel Daniel Morgan raised a company of riflemen in Virginia and marched them 600miles to Boston in three weeks. Captain Michael Cresap brought in his company from the

Ohio territory, covering 550 miles in only 22 days.

During the War of Northern Aggression, the already poorly-equipped Confederate soldiersometimes stripped away the few comforts he had to march much more swiftly than his

opponent.

"The coatee issued in the early days of the war had already given place to a short-

waisted and single-breasted jacket. Overcoats were soon discarded. ... Nor did theknapsack long survive. ... But the men still clung to their blankets and waterproof sheets,

worn in a roll over their their left shoulder."
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With this load, it was understood that the infantry could march twenty miles per day and

still be ready for an assault at the end of the march.

The Marine Corps Raiders of WWII were also superb light infantry. They were trained

and commanded by Colonel Evans Carlson, who had spent years in China learningguerrilla warfare from Maos Communists when they got around to fighting the Japanese.

The Raiders' many feats included the famed Long Patrol on Guadalcanal, a month-long

150-mile reconnaissance in force behind Japanese lines. As one enlisted Raider told it,the patrol was indeed no rose garden.

A bit about our diet. The first several days I subsisted on D rations, an unappetizing

chocolate bar fortified with God knows what. This was replaced with the diet of the

Chinese 8th Route Army, rice raisins and salt pork. A wise choice under the humid,tropical conditions. It was dry, light in weight and of high caloric value and it withstood

the heat and humidity. At the end of day one would build a small fire, I still have thesmall tightly sealable cylinder containing matches. The liner was removed from my

helmet and in the metal portion the salt pork was rendered, then the rice was added,

cooked in river water and kicked up with a hand full of raisins. We had the blackesthelmets in the entire CorpsAlthough never verified, fellow Raiders dined on a

mongoose and an unfortunate cat. Water was always available from the many rivers and

streams. As learned from our Solomon Islanders, a very clean drink could be obtained,by hacking into a segment of a large bamboo plant. No one gained weight on the Long

Patrol.

Another enlisted Raider detailed the minimal gear he carried. My pack was a gas maskcase which held my food, matches, a good supply of dry socks and a bottle of tincture of

merthiolate.

Fast forward to 1983 and the invasion of Grenada. The Army Rangers combat jumpedwith an average load carried per man of 167 pounds! Heres how one of the men

participating described it: "We attacked to secure the air head. We were like slow moving
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turtles. My rucksack weighed 120 pounds. I would get up and rush for 10 yards, throwmyself down and couldn't get up. I'd rest for 10 to 15 minutes, struggle to get up, go 10

yards, and collapse. After a few rushes, I was physically unable to move, and I am in

great shape. Finally, after I got to the assembly area, I shucked my rucksack and was

able to fight, but I was totally drained."

Afghanistan, 2003: We had extreme difficulty moving with all our weight. If our

movement would have been to relieve a unit in contact or a time sensitive mission wewould not have been able to move in a timely manner. It took us 8 hours to move 5 clicks.

With just the [Interceptor hard body armor] vest and [Enhanced Tactical Load Bearing

Vest or the MOLLE vest] lbv we were easily carrying 80 lbs. Throw on the ruck andyoure sucking.

Even Natick Soldier Center, always known for sugar-coating the hell out of anything that

could be considered remotely unflattering to the Army, had to say something: Most feltthey went in too heavy. Soldier load was from 75-110 lbs. Many felt they had too much

weight to move efficiently in that terrain at that altitude.

Additionally, most of the major powers equipped their grunts with web gear designed for

mechanized infantry. They werent supposed to operate very far, or for very long, fromthe armored personnel carriers or infantry fighting vehicles which transported them into

the big battles that would take place upon the plains of Central Europe. Mech infantrygear came back to bite the British in the butt in the Falklands and especially the Russiansin the mountains of Afghanistan.

So the Perfumed Princes of the Pentagon and their pet engineers, physicists, witchdoctors, and lawyers, none of whom had ever slept a single night in the field, designed

the latest greatest super-secret chocho-fudgie grunt gear. From the sounds of it, they

probably would have done better by locking a squad of real grunts in a room with a
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couple of cases of beer and letting them come up with the new field gear. The Pentagon

wonks spent millions and yet before deployment, the grunts have to go out and purchase

their own boots, socks, gloves, weapon lights, GPSs, pistol magazines, linked machinegun ammo carriers, etc. from civilian sporting goods stores.

The latest, greatest waste of defense money was the new MOLLE (MOdular LightweightLoad-carrying Equipment), with a load bearing vest the men loathe and a pack with a

plastic frame that breaks if you look at it wrong. I personally have not tried these vests,

but the real evaluators, the grunts, would seem to be less than complimentary. I know mystepson in the 82nd, with two tours in Iraq, had very little good to say about them.

These guys don't seem impressed either.

The Army in Afghanistan; First Sergeant:"All personnel involved hated the

lbv[MOLLE load bearing vest]; its so constricting when you wear it with the vest

[ballistic body armor], then when you put a ruck on it cuts off even more circulation."

The Marines in Afghanistan; Major:"We're discovering that the MOLLE is notholding up under pressure. Most of Battalion 3/6 doesn't even wear the vest; they hatethe vest. They attach the canteens and all of the magazine pouches and everything

directly to the flak jacket, because the vest is just added weightNow you can't shed the

gear and just wear the flak, and that's important when you're crawling around"

The Marines in Iraq, First Sergeant:"MOLLIE (pack) LBV (load bearing vest) is NOT

GOOD [original authors emphasis]. We put all of our gear on the flak jacket."

The Army in Iraq, Specialist: "The MOLLE ruck is awful. Its a torture device that you

can put stuff in. I bought my own ALICE ruck but was eventually forced to use the issued

MOLLE ruck instead."

So now our grunts are not only grossly over-burdened weight wise, but the insane

tonnage is also uncomfortable. As a result, our infantry soldiers can barely move. While

the Taliban enemy runs circles around our light infantry such as the Rangers, 10thMountain, and Marines at 4-7 miles per hour, our guys, at least in the mountains, are

crawling along at one mile per hour or less. Its awful hard to close with and destroy

the enemy if you cant catch him.


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Welcome to the heaviest light infantry in the history of warfare.
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