The core of the three-three tactics is the number 3. First, three soldiers form a combat team, generally arranged in a triangular formation and each responsible for attack, cover, or support. Attack means advancing while attacking; cover means helping comrades who are attacking move forward; support is mainly responsible for filling gaps. In combat, attack and cover are not fixed roles: they alternate as the situation changes. The key to the three-three tactics is dispersion. From a small three-person combat team to an entire battle group spread out across the area, the force can fully deploy across both the width of the front and the depth of its reserves. From the enemy’s perspective, it feels as if there are people everywhere and firepower everywhere: one side takes cover, then the other opens fire; one position is knocked out, and another group arrives. They keep getting closer, and their numbers seem to keep growing, creating an overwhelming sense of pressure and collapse for the enemy.
How can we learn from and break down the Three-Three System of division of labor? Its three roles are attack, cover, and support. Put another way, they are taking action to capture the objective, creating the conditions for success, and preparing contingencies for changing circumstances. In plain terms: act, know how to leverage the situation, and keep something in reserve. With all three in place, you can advance steadily and achieve results, while others think you’re lucky and your opponents find you unfathomable. When talking about how we overcame a stronger enemy with a weaker force in the Korean War, I don’t like that way of putting it. What seems like strength is merely using our ingrained assumptions and limited information to predict what will happen—and sometimes a prediction can be wrong. Whether someone is strong shouldn’t be a simple description based on the figures on paper. It’s not about your power, numbers, equipment, or position; it doesn’t even depend on your skills, strategy, organization, or will. Strength should be the final assessment of success or failure. Neither side gets to decide who is strong or weak; the outcome does. If I win, I’m the strong one; if you lose, you’re the one who falls. There’s no such thing as “winning by relying on…”,