The field review of the 22nd General Staff training course at the beginning of October in the Amstetten area was all about applied tactics. After the participants had planned the delay of a brigade on the map over several days in accordance with general staff procedures, the results were reviewed at the end of the training section.
Together with the professionals from Panzergrenadierbataillon 35, the operational planning was put through its paces in the field. On the basis of the brigade’s planning specifications drawn up by the course participants, the commander of the Panzergrenadiers from Großmittel, Lieutenant Colonel Lex, gave instructions on the planned implementation of the mission. Together with one of his company commanders, the combat command of the battalion in the delay was explained in all phases and the combat of the linked weapons was demonstrated. The strengths and weaknesses, challenges and possibilities of the delaying action were thus conveyed to the trainees. The course participants also had the opportunity to experience the scope of their assessments at brigade level and to check their own level of training by comparing it with that of an operational unit.
On the second day of the relocation, a military-historical appraisal of the area was carried out. The Mostviertel region, which today serves as a training area for the training positions, was a key zone for the army’s territorial defense during the Cold War. Colonel Halbartschlager, the deputy school commander of the Army NCO Academy and former commander of Jäger Battalion 12 in Amstetten, instructed the course participants in the tactical deployment planning of key zone 35. What was valid in tactics many decades ago is still valid today in many cases. Even if the appearance of combat is constantly changing, at its core, combat is based on timeless principles and tactics. Tactics in future battles will continue this week. The type of operation will be changed – it will be an attack!
