Information AboutAir Assault |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT AIR ASSAULT | |
| airborne warfare | |
| infantry | |
| airborne warfare tactics | |
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If dropped by Parachute instead, the troops are called Paratroopers . ORGANIZATION AND EMPLOYMENT Air assault units can vary in organization, but all include infantry as the primary fighting element, supported heavily by helicopter transport, Close Air Fire Support , Medical Evacuation and resupply. Most include some air mobile artillery. Units vary in size, but typically are Brigade or Division sized units. Airmobile units are designed and trained for air insertion (sometimes referred to as vertical envelopment), air resupply, and if necessary air extraction. HISTORY Air mobility has been a key concept since World War II . Initial approaches to air mobility focused on airborne units, which consisted of Paratrooper s and sometimes Glider -borne troops. Paratroopers were dropped from the skies at Sicily , Normandy , Holland and Crete . Meanwhile, the Germans were using the Autogyro to airlift downed Luftwaffe pilots back to friendly lines. As the war ended, the Allies, and the Americans in particular, saw that having vertical take off and landing craft may be useful. During the Korean War , the U.S. had their first combat test of the helicopter. It was unofficially called the " Flying Banana " because of its banana-like appearance. Helicopter use in Korea (and in Indochina and North Africa, by the French Army ) was limited in the 1950s by the limited availability and capability of the helicopters of the time. Most application was in medical evacuation. However the utility of the helicopter was obvious to forward looking military planners. An early attempt to apply air mobility to warfare was the Battle Of Dien Bien Phu . French military leaders believed that they could resupply the garrison there by air indefinitely. However, the air technology available, the means in which it was applied, and the terrain and geography led to failure. The French Army subsequently gained a lot of valuable experience during the Algerian War between 1954 and 1962. The French used American helicopters for what was termed 'Aeromobilité.' The first air assault operations were small, but quickly grew in size and scope to full battalion sized actions. ALAT (Aviation Legère Armee de Terre, Army Light Aviation) helicopters were used as flying command posts, equipped with radios and to carry troops directly into battle. Helicopters were also used to supply units in the field and outposts. VIETNAM WAR The need for a new type of unit became apparent to the US Army in 1964 when they saw a new kind of war heading their way. The Army saw that Vietnam was varied in Terrain , having jungles, mountains, and rivers, making ground movement very difficult. To circumvent this problem, they developed the idea to use Helicopters to move troops in and out and around a battlefield area, carry out the wounded, and drop off supplies. Initially a new experimental unit was formed, the 11th Air Assault Division , combining light infantry with integral helicopter transport and air support. Following training and testing, the unit was activated for Vietnam service with the designation 1st Air Cavalry Division , continuing the tradition of the 1st Cavalry Division . The first unit of the new division to see action was the U.S. 7th Cavalry Regiment , led by Lieutenant Colonel Harold G. Moore , an old army paratrooper. This was the same regiment that Custer had commanded at the Battle Of The Little Bighorn . On November 14 , 1965 , he led his troops in the first large unit engagement of the 1960s Vietnam War, which took place near the Chu Pong Massif near the Vietnam-Cambodia border. It is known today as the Battle Of Ia Drang Valley . This unit gave common currency to the U.S. term Air Cavalry. Units of this type may also be referred to as '''Airmobile''' or with other terms that describe the integration of air and ground combat forces within a single unit. SEE ALSO |
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