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:
You’re not wrong, but holy mackerel we were insane in the early nuclear age.
The crazy part is how much thought was put into it. There’s a few good YouTube videos on the pentomic concept. They’d established a whole doctrine.
The US Army still has radioactive environment recon vehicles.
And as recent as ‘05, troops are still taught to advance toward the blast after the shockwave passes. So….yeah, “were insane.”