But is it possible they just didn't have the correct gauge of how strong a level of resistance to expect?
Stuff happens.
BTW, I saw the last half of one of my all-time favorite war films tonight: The Bridges at Toko-Ri with Grace Kelly (libido alert) and Bill Holden.
The last half-hour of that movie, especially the end-scene between the carrier skipper and the CAG, pretty much hits the nail on the head for this entire discussion.
"Where do we get such men?"
Stuff happens.
Don't you think concealment and surprise would have to be major goals in an ambush?
'Stuff happens' What are you trying to say?
There is going to be adaptation of some kind because of this incident – it didn’t ‘just happen’, it was planned, even if it was at only a moments notice, and in turn, the enemy fire was reacted to, to whatever possible ability, as per a plan. There will be a lot of people thinking about what happened, trying to make sure it doesn’t ‘just happen’ again.