Shock Effect or Ships Passing in the Night

<p>In a time where the role of heavy mechanized units seems to play a secondary part to the rapid deployability and lightning-quick raids conducted by light forces understanding how shock battle can still be waged at the operational and tactical level breathes new life into the question of how heavy forces contribute in a Fourth Generation conflict. The armor community has long wrestled with this question of how to best employ armored units in an irregular-type of fight and the debate has ranged from the weight of armored vehicles to the strategic and operational mobility of these systems to how much survivability is needed when engaging a threat. Agility versatility and survivability have engaged in a three-way tug-of-war that has often confused the issue of when and where to employ heavy forces. This study examines the idea of Generations of Warfare the implications of shock battle within the idea of a Western Way of War and the differences between deterrence and coercion to determine how armored forces are appropriate as a means to achieve coercive effects against non-state actors in Fourth Generation Warfare. Additionally this study asserts that deterrence has limited applicability when the nation-state is taken out of the equation and must be used in conjunction with coercive effects to achieve the desired ends against non-state and transnational actors. To examine this assertion the study presents the ends ways and means of armored employment by the Israeli Defense Forces in OPERATION DEFENSIVE SHIELD in 2002 specifically in the Jenin Refugee Camp as a case study for conventional operations against a Fourth Generation opponent to achieve coercive effects. This study concludes that tanks and heavy infantry fighting vehicles do have relevance in Fourth Generation warfare provided commanders use them wisely and with synchronized effects. Additionally heavy forces when employed in a complex urban situation must be committed with detail</p><p>This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore you will see the original copyright references library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world) and other notations in the work.</p><p>This work is in the public domain in the United States of America and possibly other nations. Within the United States you may freely copy and distribute this work as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.</p><p>As a reproduction of a historical artifact this work may contain missing or blurred pages poor pictures errant marks etc. Scholars believe and we concur that this work is important enough to be preserved reproduced and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.</p>