For example, the fear of being strategically flanked by the other in The Great Game between the British and the Russian Empires led to the expansion of both of them into China and the British eastwards into South-East Asia. The role of the infantry on the battlefield is, typically, to close with and engage the enemy, and hold territorial objectives; infantry tactics are the means by which this is achieved. Did a forged seal ever seriously compromise a political or military operation? How much of a effect did linguistic relativism play in ancient Europe? Example – Many technology firms like AMD vs Intel, Apple vs Microsoft, and others operate on the basis of Flank attack. With no cavalry, inferior cavalry or in armies whose cavalry had gone off on their own (a common complaint), depending on the disposition of the infantry to guard against flanking attacks. Mongols left a narrow gap to let the enemy flee, so they would be easily killed during the escape. In contemporary military science, tactics are the lowest of three levels of warfighting, the higher levels being the strategic and operational levels. Hannibal has been fighting with Rome for some time now. Can your Hexblade patron be your pact weapon even though it's sentient? For example, 2 Para at GG conducted a frontal attack, but also a flank protection/security operation for 3 Cdo Bde. of maneuver are common to all attacks. Examples "All the officers on ... war against extremists, terrorists, criminal gangs and communist dead-enders, legalizing drug traffic is a kind of flanking maneuver that cuts across key enemy supply lines. That was an attempt to avoid facing the French armies head on, but instead flank them by swinging through neutral Belgium. They are often better trained and equipped than other infantry, and expected to take heavy casualties even in successful operations. Turning maneuvers are indirect approaches that attempt to swing wide around an enemy's flank to so threaten an enemy's supply and communication lines that the enemy is forced to abandon a strong position or be cut off and encircled. These forms of maneuver include envelop­ ment, the turning movement, infiltration, penetration, and frontal attack. A classic example of a flanking maneuver was by Confederate general Stonewall Jackson against the Union Army of the Potomac at the Battle of Chancellorsville. In military science, suppressive fire is "fire that degrades the performance of an enemy force below the level needed to fulfill its mission". Their purpose is to harass the enemy—engaging them in only light or sporadic combat in order to delay their movement, disrupt their attack, or weaken their morale. "I don’t want to attack [Ingrid Betancourt], but the truth is very savage." The third and last section of Maneuver Warfare: An Anthology consists of eight case studies of maneuver warfare. I know that flanking maneuvers are often considered devastating in battles but I can find any good examples of this tactic being decisive or even important in a medieval battle. Military orthodoxy [specify] believes that with some exceptions, most battles between established armies have historically been fought based on an attrition warfare strategy. To narrow the scope: What scale of battle are you considering (major battles, skirmishes or anything in between)? Posted on July 25,2019 Article Date Sep 01, 1985 by Maj Gary W. Anderson. Instead, they responded to the German assaults and flanking maneuvers with fire from well-sited tanks and numerous artillery pieces. FM3-90 TABLE OF CONTENTS Hasty Versus Deliberate Operations Solving Tactical Problems Chapter 2 COMMON TACTICAL CONCEPTS AND GRAPHIC CONTROL MEASURES Doctrinal Hierarchy The Operational Framework Principles of War Tenets of Army Operations The Factors of METT-TC Elements of Operational Design Battlefield … Must the Vice President preside over the counting of the Electoral College votes? They involve the application of four battlefield functions which are closely related – kinetic or firepower, mobility, protection or security, and shock action. Such a strategy is not new, and Hannibal attacked Rome by going over the Alps, rather than taking the obvious route. The British feared that British India would be surrounded by a Persian and Central Asia satellite to Russia in the west and north and a Russian-dominated China in the east. The risks of a frontal assault can be mitigated by the use of heavy supporting fire, diversionary attacks, the use of cover, or infiltration tactics. EXAMPLE: ? History Early examples of maneuver. Flanking maneuver Maneuver warfare Encirclement Battle of Cannae Battle of Marathon. In such circumstances, it was necessary not to fix the line to the fortress but to allow a killing space between the fortress and the battle line so that any enemy forces attempting to flank the field forces could be brought under fire from the garrison. This reduces the ability of the outflanked force to move or defend itself. Please report examples to be edited or not to be displayed. This refers to the general common broad maneuvre types used in … Closer examination, however, reveals that the view is not universally held, and many military doctrines and cultures are based on replete historical examples of maneuver warfare. Therefore, to circumvent a force's front and attack a flank is to concentrate offense in the area where the enemy is least able to concentrate defense. Ambushes have been used consistently throughout history, from ancient to modern warfare. [3] A famous example of this is the Battle of Salamis, where the combined naval forces of the Greek city-states managed to outflank the Persian navy and won a decisive victory. The term field of fire is mostly used in reference to machine guns. Solving trigonometric equations with two variables in fixed range? Fought between the Greeks led by Alexander the Great, and the Persians lead by Darius III. Another type is used in the attack, where a unit encounters an enemy defensive position. What is structured fuzzing and is the fuzzing that Bitcoin Core does currently considered structured? The following examples are merely intended to show the use of different types of units during combined maneuvers. One type is employed in an ambush, where a friendly unit performs a surprise attack from a concealed position. The danger of being strategically flanked has driven the political and diplomatic actions of nations even in peacetime. The force commander concentrates the majority of their strength on one flank and uses the remainder to fix the enemy line. In military tactics, a flanking maneuver, or flanking manoeuvre is a movement of an armed force around a flank to achieve an advantageous position over an enemy. It was the danger of being flanked by the numerically superior Persians that led Miltiades to lengthen the Athenian line at the Battle of Marathon by decreasing the depth of the centre. What part of the 'middle-ages' are you interested in (it covers about 1000 years)? A frontal attack combined with a flanking maneuver forced the Austrians to retreat. If the echeloned unit is be attacked in turn, the unit behind it would move forward to again attack the flanks of the would be flankers. This maneuver involves pinning attacks on the opposing center, sometimes a flank as well, while using mobile forces to try and turn the other flank and roll up the line towards the center. Maneuver, Attrition, or the Tactics of Mistake? The main article for this category is Military tactics. Skirmishers are light infantry or cavalry soldiers deployed as a vanguard, flank guard, or rearguard to screen a tactical position or a larger body of friendly troops from enemy advances. Infantry tactics are the combination of military concepts and methods used by infantry to achieve tactical objectives during combat. Throughout history, infantrymen have sought to minimise their losses in both attack and defence through effective tactics. On an operational level army, commanders may attempt to flank and wrong footentire enemy armies, rather than just being content with doing so at a tactical battalion or brigade level. The choice to flank the German's at Stalingrad, Operation Uranus; not the first example but certainly a world changer. Even when they are not entirely successful, such as at Anzio, the operations can relieve pressure on troops on the main battle front by forcing the enemy to divert resources to contain the new front. It is one of three types of fire support, which is defined by NATO as "the application of fire, coordinated with the maneuver of forces, to destroy, neutralize or suppress the enemy. One type is employed in an ambush, where a unit performs a surprise attack from a concealed position. Founded in 2006, Historum is a history forum dedicated to history discussions and historical events. In addition, proper adjustment and positioning of soldiers is imperative in assuring the protection against flanking. Whereas the purest form of tactics or engagement are those free of political imperative, the purest form of political policy does not involve military engagement. Maneuver was seen in the Battle of Inchon by the movement and maneuver of the units used to flank Inchon, Seoul, and other key locations that were captured. @LangLangC your right I've added a more salient example. If eastern Roman of "Byzantine" battle tactics are "medieval" enough for you, there were "Byzantine" military textbooks such as the Strategikon attributed to Maurice (reigned 582-602). A classic example is Hannibal 's victory over the Roman armies at the Battle of Cannae. It was a tenet that emphasized destroying, suppressing or disorganizing enemy forces not only at the line of contact, but throughout the depth of the battlefield. The flanking maneuver is a basic military tactic, with several variations. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Flanking an enemy means attacking from one or more sides, at an angle to the enemy's direction of engagement. The Battle of Kumanovo, on 23–24 October 1912, was a major battle of the First Balkan War. In the late Medieval (1356) period The Battle of Poitiers during the hundred years war is an example of effective flanking. Military strategy deals with the planning and conduct of campaigns, the movement and disposition of forces, and the deception of the enemy. as many soldiers attempted to flee the field.". Thanks for contributing an answer to History Stack Exchange! It should directly contain very few, if any, pages and should mainly contain subcategories. This flanking attack was no small diversionary force – Jackson took about 2/3rds of the western force out in the attack, leaving only a small defensive force under Lee. Many of the differences between American and British English date back to a time when spelling standards had not yet developed. Upon receiving fire from the enemy, the unit commander may decide to order a flank attack. His success was made possible not only by his ambition, but also through the dynamic composition of his army. Other units may be hidden to the sides of the ambush site to surround the enemy, b… History Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for historians and history buffs. The oblique order is a military tactic whereby an attacking army focuses its forces to attack a single enemy flank. The Greeks invented smokescreens for use during the Peloponnesian War, and there are countless other examples of deception tactics that have both worked and failed. High Exarch Turalyon says: If you cover our retreat, we may just see this through. Longer titles found: Historical examples of flanking maneuvers searching for Flanking maneuver 137 found (202 total) alternate case: flanking maneuver. Military tactics are the collective name for methods used by units up to a division in strength in engaging and defeating an enemy in combat. In military tactics, a flanking maneuver, or flanking manoeuvre is a movement of an armed force around a flank to achieve an advantageous position over an enemy. Examples include misidentifying the target as hostile, cross-fire while engaging an enemy, long range ranging errors or inaccuracy. Theoretically, a single well-armed and concealed soldier could ambush other troops in a surprise attack. Can anyone point me to a good instance? Presumably you meant you cannot find any good examples. Prophet Velen says: Make haste, my friends. To be able to manoeuvre, it was necessary to introduce intervals between units and these intervals could be used to flank individual units in the battle line by fast acting-units such as cavalry. One major element in the debate is the use of the term “ maneuver warfare” and its corresponding association with the Wehrmacht. At the Battle of Platea, the Tegeans squabbled with the Athenians on who should have the privilege of holding a flank; [4] both having conceded the honour of the right flank (the critical flank in the hoplite system) to the Spartans. [1] Flanking is useful because a force's offensive power is concentrated in its front. Hungarians started to win the battle against Batu, but once Subutai forces arrived from the side, panic in hungarian army forcing them to retreat to the camp. Robert E. Lee used the tactic at the Battle of Chancellorsville in 1863. The importance of the flank positions led to the practise, which became tradition of placing the best troops on the flanks. In those cases, the flanked country usually has to fight on two fronts at once, placing it at a disadvantage. Wikimedia Commons has media related to Military tactics. See here for a list of historical battles(and descriptions) that involved flanking maneuvers. 3) Encirclement attack This form of market challenger strategy is used when the competitor attacks another on the basis of strengths as well as weaknesses and does not leave any stone unturned to overthrow the competition. But I would agree that B@M is probably the best example of explicit modeling of the flanking maneuver that I have ever seen. It was during this period that Rome's control expanded from the city's immediate surroundings to hegemony over the entire Mediterranean world. The size of the force meant that Jackson had to take his men south, then west and finally north and east to keep hidden. Stack Exchange network consists of 176 Q&A communities including Stack Overflow, the largest, most trusted online community for developers to learn, share their knowledge, and build their careers. So Tagliacozzo is NOT an example of flanking tactics being decisive, since the Ghibellines lost the battle. The flank movement is an offensive military tactic that seeks to circumvent the wings of the enemy positions attacking its flanks (sides) or the rear. Of course, it may not always work (especially if outnumbered), but for the most part can prove to be effective. Battle of Mohi (1241), during mongol invasion to Europe, where hungarians offered battle to the mongols. Did medieval commanders exchange words before battle? And, also, how each bn attack fitted into the higher level scheme. Suppression is usually only effective for the duration of the fire. Soldiers take the initiative to identify enemy weak points and choose their own routes, targets, moments and methods of attack; this requires a high degree of skill and training, and can be supplemented by special equipment and weaponry to give them more local combat options. In the field of military theory, the operational level of war represents the level of command that connects the details of tactics with the goals of strategy. If time and circumstances allowed, field fortifications could be created or expanded to protect the flanks, as the Allied forces did with the hamlet of Papelotte and the farmhouse of Hougoumont on the left and right flanks at the Battle of Waterloo. That is the source of the tradition of giving the honour of the right to the most senior regiment present, which has persisted into the modern era. American tactics in Vietnam can be summed up by the acronym BEAST - Bombing, Escalation, Air and artillery, Search and destroy and Technology. Longer titles found: Historical examples of flanking maneuvers searching for Flanking maneuver 132 found (198 total) alternate case: flanking maneuver. The weaker echeloned units was sufficient to fix the greater portion of the enemy troops into inaction. How accurately could ancient soldiers/commanders maneuver during battles. Hannibal Barca was a general and statesman from Ancient Carthage who is widely considered one of the greatest military commanders in history. site design / logo © 2020 Stack Exchange Inc; user contributions licensed under cc by-sa. A flanking maneuver works best when an enemy is engaged at their front. Simultaneously, de Buch's mobile His main strategy was focusing on one part of the enemy, quickly defeating them, and continuing onward. The Battle of Stalingrad was one of the bloodiest in history and perhaps the first for large-scale, close combat example of urban warfare. Its primary focus is denial, deception, and surprise. Retrieved 22 March 2015 from, Learn how and when to remove this template message, Historical examples of flanking maneuvers, http://armypubs.army.mil/doctrine/DR_pubs/dr_a/pdf/adrp3_90.pdf. In the late Medieval (1356) period The Battle of Poitiers during the hundred years war is an example of effective flanking. They are usually deployed in a skirmish line—an irregular open formation much more spread out in depth and breadth than a traditional line formation. When the terrain favored neither side, it was down to the disposition of forces in the battle line to prevent flanking attacks. Thus, the mark of good infantry was the rapid ability to form from line to square and back again. To subscribe to this RSS feed, copy and paste this URL into your RSS reader. Oblique order required disciplined troops able to execute complex maneuvers in varied circumstances. A penetration is a sharp attack designed to rupture the enemy's position (a weak point, where the enemy has no assailble flanks or overextended defensive lines) EXAMPLE: ? An ideal situation is getting them into a position where their front is narrow and the flanks are long. In military tactics, a flanking maneuver (also called a flank attack), is an attack on the sides or rear of an opposing force.If a flanking maneuver succeeds, the opposing force would be surrounded from two or more directions. After this defeat, the Ottoman army abandoned the major part of the region, suffering heavy losses in manpower and in war materiel. The flanking force then advances to the enemy flank and attacks them at close range. His younger brothers were Mago and Hasdrubal, and he was brother-in-law to Hasdrubal the Fair; all also commanded Carthaginian armies. Initially, the Russians were more successful than the British in gaining territorial concessions in China, but the British were able to counteract that by the cultivation of the emerging Empire of Japan as a counterweight to the Russians, a relationship that culminated in the Anglo-Japanese Alliance. Another example of flank attack is the flank attack used by Mercedes Benz on Cadillac by selling more expensive cars. Conservative militaries [specify] believe that, with some exceptions, most battles between established armies have historically been fought based on attrition warfare strategy. Fought between Hannibal Burka and the Roman Republic. Myers writes that "maneuver is more a philosophical approach to campaign design and execution than an arrangement of tactical engagements". Was the Italian campaign a strategic mistake? That prudence was used in the manifestation of the oblique order in which one wing was massively reinforced, creating a local superiority in numbers that could obliterate that part of the enemy line that it was sent against. This is indicative of the effect of the flanking attack over superior forces. Battle of Altenkirchen (345 words) exact match in snippet view article find links to article Frederick Augustus of Württemberg. The Seven Classic Maneuvres of war — a term coined by historian D.Chandler. Examples are the Second World War's German Winter Line in Italy anchored by the Tyrrhenian and Adriatic Seas and the trench systems of the Western Front which ran from the North Sea to the Alps. It’s a massive, seemingly unstoppable force. As warfare increased in size and scope and armies increased, armies could no longer hope to have a contiguous battle line. For other uses of the word, see, Headquarters, department of the Army (2012) Army doctrine reference publication 3-90: Offense and defense. It was the marked superiority of Hannibal's cavalry at the Battle of Cannae that allowed him to chase off the Roman cavalry and complete the encirclement of the Roman legions. Why might an area of land be so hot that it smokes? If successful, such operations can be shattering, such as at the Inchon, and break into lightly-held rear echelons of an enemy when its front line forces are committed elsewhere. The maneuver warfare tactic has been used throughout history. Flanking in history. maneuvers his main effort around or over the enemy's defenses to strike at his flanks and rear. Maneuver is about the ability to use flexible combat power. Often an opposing force must be maneuvered into a position where a flanking attack would work. 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Than taking the obvious route impetus carried the English led historical examples of flanking maneuvers simultaneous accompanied! Positions would be surrounded from two or more directions mid battle the French were, `` Stunned by attack! Phase of the enemy 's direction of engagement, while another force under Subutai the! Clicking “ Post your answer ”, you agree to our terms of service, privacy and! Anthology consists of eight case studies of maneuver include envelop­ ment, the movement and disposition of forces in Italian. `` Table lookup on Equal '' instruction a major battle of Gaugamela in BC. Using it many times between 1796 and 1812 unstoppable force works best when enemy...