In a nuclear battlefield, the concentration of forces into a spearhead would present a perfect target for the employment of tactical nuclear weapons. A single well-placed weapon could break up the attacking forces before they even had time to properly prepare, causing enough casualties to make them ineffective even in the defence.

This is the type of equipment it was expected an infantryman attacking an irradiated zone might need to push forwards after the employment of a tactical nuke on an enemy formation.

https://taskandpurpose.com/tech-tactics/army-soldier-future-1959-video/

Jeep mounted Davy Crockett tactical nuke:

  • SSTF@lemmy.worldMEnglish
    4·
    11 months ago

    Really, this setup was made with radioactively contaminated (RIP Germany) environments in mind.

    Take away the radiation protection elements and the M14 (the biggest unforced small arms error in US history), and what you are left with is the idea of a soldier wearing body armor, with a radio, with night vision, with thermal vision. That’s pretty much where things lead, it just needed decades for the technology to catch up.