Murphy's Laws of Combat

• You are not Superman.
• Recoilless rifles aren't.
• 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 probably pointed at you.
• All five second grenade fuses are three seconds.
• Try to look unimportant. The enemy may 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 mined.
• The important things are always simple.
• The simple 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.
• REMFs are everywhere.
• The best tank killer is another tank. Therefore tanks are always fighting each other ... and have no time to help the infantry.
• Remember, your weapons and equipment were made by the lowest bidder.
• Precision bombing is normally accurate within plus/minus one mile.
• Cluster bombing from B-52s and C-130s is very, very accurate. They always hit the ground.
• Murphy was an 11 Bush.
• Perfect plans aren't.
• The easy way generally gets you killed.
• The side with the fanciest uniforms losses.
• 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 may not cooperate.