TRACKING:

The ability to track and interpret trail signs is particularly valuable in counterguerrilla warfare. The basic concepts of tracking are:

1. Displacement:

a. Footprints:

1. The last person in a party normally leaves a clear set of footprints, study these for distinguishing marks.
2. Deep toe marks in normally spaced prints indicate the person was carrying a heavy load.
3. Deep toe marks in widely spaced prints indicate the person was running.
4. Water in foot prints made in low, marshy areas will remain muddied for approximately 1 hour.

b. Foliage:

1. Displaced grass and vines will be pointing in direction of movement.
2. Rocks and leaves overturned will display darker undersides.
3. Scuffed bark and foliage will display a lighter color.

2. Staining:

a. Blood stains. Fresh red blood stains turn to brown after a short period of time. Observe for stains on leaves and underbrush and note their height. This may indicate the location of the wound.
b. Mud. Mud carried from one area to another may provide an indication of where party came from. Water is always muddied downstream from fording sites.

3. Littering:

Capitalize on the poor discipline of littering guerrillas. Observe for scraps of paper and cloth and abandoned equipment marking trails.

4. Weathering:

a. Rain tends to round out or obliterate footprints depending on intensity of rain. Rain will flatten paper and cloth litter.
b. Sunlight will cause crumbling of the moist dirt ridge normally outlining a fresh footprint within 1 hour. Light colored litter becomes yellowed from sunlight in 2-3 days. Observe the difference in color between the sides facing the ground and the side facing the sun, to determine the age of litter.
c. Wind displaces leaves, twigs and small debris into footprints. Prints should be examined to determine whether the debris was crushed by the party being tracked, or was blown into the tracks by the wind.
d. Weather elements will cause some exposed metal to rust. Spots of rust will normally appear on rims of opened cans within 12 hours. This varies with specific geographic locations.

5. Interpretation:

Analyze all the factors of displacement, littering, staining and weathering to determine the who, what, where, when, how, and why of the tracked party, from the various trail signs.

6. General Rules Utilized in Tracking:

a. If possible, observe tracks by looking toward the sun.
b. If tracks are lost, mark the last trail sign and search for the trail in concentric circles from the marked point.
c. Remember the date of the last rain and significant wind to determine the age of trail signs.
d. Become familiar with weathering effects peculiar to the specific area of operations.

When fighting in towns and cities it is essential for you as a member of a team to observe certain rules affecting individual conduct. If you develop the correct automatic reactions to all situations, you will help keep casualties to a minimum. A few of the rules are as follows:

1. All movements must be fast. When not moving, you must be in a covered position.
2. When climbing, use simple methods. One is the PUSH UP METHOD. Two men face each other. The man to be lifted stands between them. The men lifting bend over and put one hand under the instep of one foot and the other hand on the knee of the man to be lifted. The two men lifting now straiten up, shift the hand from knee to foot and push up. The man being lifted keeps his legs together and holds them stiff. His feet are kept away from the wall so that the weight will be placed on his hands as he is lifted. This maintains balance. The weapons should be carried in the hand.
Another lifting method is the RIFLE AND SLING PULL UP. To get the last man up on a roof, have two men lower rifles. The man to be lifted grasps the slings, and as the others pull, he walks up the side of the wall.
3. When firing, stay away from openings through which you are firing. Use all available cover.
4. To get maximum protection from the available cover, it will be necessary sometimes to fire from the left shoulder. Fire from sides, not over objects.
5. When observing around corners, lie flat on the ground.
6. When observing from roof tops, do not get silhouetted. Remember to have a background with which you will blend.
7. When going over any type of obstacle, move fast. Roll your body over the object, and move immediately to a covered position.
8. Work in pairs at all times. This provides covering fire for individual movement and assistance in entering buildings.
9. The bayonet is seldom used. It hinders climbing and movement in buildings.
10. To search a building, a minimum number of men is used. Too many men get in one another's way. To search a room, use two men. First, throw a grenade into the room. Follow the explosion of the grenade closely to take advantage of the concussion and fragmentation effect on the enemy. The first man into the room puts his back to the nearest wall and covers the room. The second man enters immediately and searches the room carefully for any signs of the enemy.
11. When no entrance is available into a building, or movement is stopped within a building by walls, demolitions may be used to force an entrance. This is called "mouse holing".

A. AGAINST STEADY RESISTANCE. The first method is used against continuous enemy resistance. In this case, you stay out of the streets and all open areas. Movement is from house to house. Each building is searched and completely cleared of the enemy. No building is by-passed.

B. MOPPING UP. The second method is used for mopping up small scattered enemy groups. When attacking against this type of resistance, you move in the streets until fired upon by the enemy. Formation is a column of files on each side of the street, each column observing the opposite side of the street. Each individual in the squad moves from one covered position to another covered position. Scouts should be well out to the front, but close enough to be controlled by the squad leader. When the squad is hit by enemy fire, all hands take cover and prepare to attack the located enemy resistance. Once the attack is underway, keep out of streets and open areas. There are a few specific points to remember in mopping up operations:

1. When attacking a building, attack from the top down. In this way, you will have gravity working with you, and the enemy will not be trapped in the upper floors. A trapped enemy fights more stubbornly than one that has an avenue of escape. Drive the enemy down and out, then eliminate him by fire on the outside of the building.
2. A "killing zone" should be set up around any building under attack. This means surrounding the building by fire to prevent movement in or out of the building.
3. Attack the blind side of a building if one is available.
4. Once your attack has put you inside the building, be systematic. Get to the top of the building first, and then search room by room through the entire building.
5. Covering fire must be used to cover all movements. If the wind is favorable, smoke can be used to blind the enemy; use it with the covering fire to protect all movements in the open.
6. Once a building is cleared of the enemy, all-around security must be put out and a hasty defense set up against counterattack.
7. Each building that is cleared of the enemy must be marked as friendly. The marking should be placed on the rear of the building on one of the upper decks so that adjacent units and following troops will not fire at movement seen in the buildings.
8. Orders issued must be clear and detailed. Each man should know thoroughly his part of the attack.

If the attack of the building is to be successful, it must be well planned, properly coordinated, and executed with surprise and thoroughness. There are several points to be remembered:

1. Before attacking, the squad leader must make an accurate reconnaissance of the building to be attacked.
2. The rifle squad is ordinarily organized into two parts for the attack: a SEARCHING PARTY, consisting of one fire team; a COVERING PARTY, consisting of two fire teams.
3. The searching party makes the initial entrance and searches the building under attack. If the building is too large for one fire team to search, an additional searching party may be used. When more than one searching party is operating in one building at the same time, each must be given a definite area of responsibility. This is necessary to avoid conflict between them.
4. The covering party gives covering fire to facilitate the advance of the searching party.
5. The searching party secures an initial foothold, normally in one room. The fire team leader and BAR (Browning Automatic Rifle) man remain in the initial foothold position, maintaining communications to the rear and holding this initial entrance area so that reinforcements will have a safe place to enter. The other two men (buddy team) in the searching party work immediately to the top of the building and systematically search downward.
6. When the building is cleared, the searching party fire team leader posts security, then signals to the squad leader that the building is clear.
7. The squad leader moves the remainder of his squad into the cleared building and organizes a hasty defense. The building is marked as friendly. The squad is then reorganized and prepares to continue the advance as before.

Since the weapons your outfit uses have certain capabilities and limitations when used in towns, they are usually assigned to specific kinds of jobs.

1. Your M1 rifle, when actually used inside buildings or in close quarters fighting, is usually fired from the hip. This makes it possible for you to fire more rapidly at unexpected targets.
2. You can safely use a Browning Automatic Rifle only on the ground floor of buildings. Its weight makes it clumsy and hard to handle inside. However, the BAR makes a good weapon for covering fire.
3. The hand grenade is a good weapon in village fighting. Before you enter a room, throw in a grenade to force the enemy to take cover and allow you to enter without being exposed to aimed fire. Smoke (WP) grenades are very good to smoke the enemy out of basements, underground passages, and so on.
4. Rifle grenades and rockets fired from "bazookas" are effective against barricades, sand-bagged emplacements, emplacements behind the walls of buildings, and against armored vehicles.
5. Mortars are used against groups of enemy personnel, automatic weapons that have been spotted, and rooftop targets.
6. Machine guns establish "killing zones" in streets and open areas, and furnish a base for covering and supporting fires.

A good stratigy can be what allows you to win. The best stratigy is a flexable one. One that can be changed slightly or can allow for the unpredictability in people. One of the best stratigies is one that uses an element taken from most magicians. All you do is distract someone so that they don't notice the fact that they are sitting on 500 lbs of TNT. This is an example of course, but you see my meaning where all you must do is get the person is a position where they are VERY vulnerable. But, for DO NOT kill there relatives and loved ones, because if you miss that person is going to kill YOU. To illistrate my point I'll use an example from my hacking conquests. All I usually do is release about 300 or so virii that are VERY detectable and reletively harmless so the person(s) running the network get distracted by the virii and don't notice (or think it's a symtom of the virii) when all THEIR passwords have been changed and all that's on the system is games or porno graphics or something like that.