The Primary Law of Warfare: Murphy's Laws of Combat

You are not Superman.

Suppressive fire won't.

If it's stupid, but works, it's not stupid.

Don't look conspicuous. It draws fire.

Never draw fire. It makes everyone around you nervous.

When in doubt, empty the magazine.

Never share a foxhole with anyone braver than you.

Always keep in mind that your weapon was made by the lowest bidder.

If your attack is going well, it's an ambush.

If you can't remember, the claymore is pointed at you (the claymore is a flat mine that is set up and pointed at the enemy, unless you set it up in the wrong way).

All five-second grenade fuses are three seconds.

Try to look unimportant. The enemy might be low on ammo.

If you are forward of your position, the artillery will be short.

The enemy diversion you're ignoring is the main attack.

The easy way is always simple.

The important things are always hard.

When you have secured an area, don't forget to tell the enemy.

Incoming fire has the right of way.

No combat-ready unit has ever passed inspection.

No inspection-ready unit has ever passed combat.

Teamwork is essential. It gives the enemy other people to shoot at.

If the enemy is in range, so are you.

Friendly fire isn't.

Anything you can do can get you shot, including doing nothing.

Make it too tough for the enemy to get in, and you can't get out.

Tracers work both ways.

The only thing more accurate than incoming enemy fire is incoming friendly fire.

Radios will fail as soon as you need something desperately.

When both sides are convinced they are about to lose, they are both right.

Professionals are predictable, but the world is full of amateurs.

All-weather close support doesn't work in bad weather.

The bursting radius of a grenade is always one foot greater than your jumping range.

The only terrain that is truly controlled is the terrain upon which you're standing.

The law of the bayonet says the man with the bullet wins.

REMF (rear-echelon motherfuckers, or noncombat troops) is everywhere.

The best tank killer is another tank. Therefore, tanks are always fighting each other and have no time to help the infantry.

Precision bombing is normally accurate within plus/minus one mile.

Cluster bombs from B-52s and C-130s are very, very accurate. They always hit the ground.

Murphy was 11 Bush (11B is the US Army job code for basic rifleman).

Perfect plan aren't.

The easy way generally gets you killed.

The side with the fanciest uniform loses.

Armored vehicles are bullet magnets, a moving foxhole that attracts attention.

If you are short of everything except enemy, you're in combat.

No plan survives the first few seconds of combat.

Ammo is cheap; your life isn't.

It's easier to expend material in combat than to fill out the forms for Graves Registration.

If you can't see the enemy, they still may be able to see you.

Final protective fire doesn't

You can win without fighting, but it's a lot tougher to do. And the enemy might not cooperate.


*James F. Dunnigan (1993), How To Make War: A Comprehensive Guide to Modern Warfare in the 21st Century, Fourth Edition, Harper Collins Publisher
ISBN 0-06-009012-x


**Murphy's Law stated that anything that can go wrong, will go wrong.