text: Attack
  5-104. A specific type of a point ambush is an anti-armor ambush. The anti-armor ambush is significantly
  different from a typical point ambush in that it typically involves only crew-served weapons and anti-armor
  systems and can be conducted at longer ranges.
  5-105. Ambushes are hasty or deliberate, but they take place along a continuum. A hasty ambush is an
  immediate reaction to an unexpected opportunity conducted using SOPs and battle drills. Units plan
  deliberate ambushes as specific actions against specific targets. Detailed information about a target, such as
  size, organization, weapons, equipment carried, route, direction of movement, and times the target reaches
  or passes certain points on its route may be available. All forces may conduct an ambush. There are no
  ambush specific control measures. Ambushes are further categorized as near or far ambushes based on the
  proximity of the friendly force to the enemy force.
  5-106. The normal goal of an ambush is the death or capture of all enemy personnel located within the kill
  zone. Another goal could be to destroy certain designated vehicles. Ideally, the ambush force destroys the
  ambushed enemy so quickly that enemy personnel within the kill zone cannot report the engagement.
  Organization of Forces for an Ambush
  5-107. Units typically organize an ambush into three elements: assault, support, and security. The assault
  element fires into the kill zone. Its goal is to destroy the enemy force. When used, the assault force attacks
  into and clears the kill zone. Commanders may assign additional tasks—including searching for items of
  intelligence value, capturing prisoners, and completing the destruction of enemy equipment to preclude its
  immediate reuse—to their assault force. The support element supports the assault element by firing into and
  around the kill zone, and it provides the ambush’s primary killing power. The support element attempts to
  destroy most of the enemy’s combat power before the assault element moves into the objective or kill zone.
  The security element isolates the kill zone, provides early warning of the arrival of any enemy relief force,
  and provides security for the assault and support elements. It secures the objective rally point and blocks
  enemy avenues of approach into and out of the ambush site, which prevents enemy forces from entering or
  leaving.
  Planning an Ambush
  5-108. During terrain analysis, leaders identify at least four different locations: the ambush site, the kill
  zone, security positions, and rally points. As far as possible, units avoid ideal ambush sites because alert
  enemies avoid them if possible. Since enemies increase their vigilance and security when they must enter
  them, surprise is difficult to achieve. Instead, units should choose unlikely sites when possible. Other
  planning considerations for an ambush include—
  * A no-later-than time to establish the ambush.
  * A tentative ambush formation or, for an area ambush, element locations.
  * Insertion and exit routes.
  * A forward passage of lines and movement to the ambush site in tactical formation.
  * Actions if enemy forces detect the ambush before its initiation.
  * A scheme of maneuver that maximizes engagement of the enemy force’s flank or rear, provides
  early warning of target approach, includes assault element actions in the kill zone, and details how
  the ambush element displaces from the ambush site.
  * Actions on the objective.
  * Obstacles to augment the effects of the friendly fire.
  * A fire support plan that integrates the direct fire and obstacle plans, which results in the enemy
  force’s isolation, inflicts maximum damage, and supports ambush forces in their rally points.
  * The criteria for initiating the ambush. For example, units only engage enemy formations of the
  same or smaller size and withhold fire until the target moves into the kill zone.
  * Any required changes to the ambushing unit’s fire distribution SOP.
  * Rear security measures.
  * Selecting appropriate standoff ranges for anti-armor weapons and maintaining clear line of sight.