General Tzu's Army: OPFOR of the Future
Abstract
How might an opposing force (OPFOR) attempt to defeat the Armed Forces of the 21st century? This article provides a scenario for examining the strategies of future OPFOR and concludes by analyzing enemy strategy in relation to maneuver warfare theory. In the wargaming scenario presented here, General Tzu, head of the OPFOR, planned for years for this battle with American forces. His mission was to defeat the U.S. forces and end their involvement on the peninsula. In the past, the doctrine of Tzu's nation had stressed that dismounted infantry forces were used to defend the rugged terrain of the homeland while mechanized forces would slice into enemy territory. Secretly, Tzu had turned this doctrine on its head. Two divisions of infantry had undergone training deep in the homeland to learn the art of infiltration, raids, and ambushes. Tzu's plan was simple: create enough casualties to crush American will to keep their forces in the theater. Unknown to his opponents, Tzu had already committed two light infantry divisions across the border. Tzu knew that the Americans would not consider them more than reconnaissance elements for a mechanized force that he was massing across the border. Tzu's deception measures portrayed an entire mechanized corps ready to attack. Other tactics that Tzu used in this battle were as follows: launching of low-yield nuclear weapons to generate an electromagnetic pulse to jam C4I systems; use of manportable missile systems, heavy machine guns, and blinding lasers to bring down 8 attack helicopters; use of anti-tank missiles fired from cover and guided via fiber optics to destroy three Abrams tanks; use of mortar barrages against the dismounted tank infantry; use of minefields against flanking squads; use of infiltrated infantry to ambush a convoy of supply trucks; killing of a female public affairs officer; and allowing a captured TV crew to film the exploding supply trucks and dead American soldiers, men and women.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 1997
- Accession Number
- ADA517041
Entities
People
- Michael R. Lwin
Organizations
- National Defense University