When looking for the right strategy to deploy in battle, a military general is bound to have a raft of options. Maneuver warfare is a strategy that has seen action in battle many times. Examples can be drawn from the battles fought by the French under Napoleon and the battles of modern times. As a military tactic, its primary aim is to render the ability of the enemy to make decisions useless. It largely takes a shock and awe approach.
Warfare is all about maneuver and attrition. Both sides make attempts to surprise each other with the endgame being the capture or killing of enemy forces. Over the years, it has been established that the maneuver strategy works best with several small military units that are well trained technically. Smaller units bear a smaller risk of attrition, hence the reason for this. They are also able to deploy a flanking strategy in their attack, thereby creating confusion in the opposing camp.
In most types of combat, success is often measured by the number of opposing combatants killed, equipment destroyed and territory seized. There is little creativity deployed on the battlefield. With a shock and awe strategy, however, enemy forces tend to panic and retreat. This gives ample room for the attacking forces to reoccupy pre seized territory and achieve their objectives.
One of the greatest generals to ever deploy the aforementioned strategy to great effect was Napoleon. In fact, he managed to defeat armies that were larger than his using it. His approach involved the use of quick cavalry charges against enemy combatants, shocking them and disabling their movement in the process.
A good example is the France and Austria conflict in Northern Italy, a battle in which Austria had a larger army. The French, commanded by Napoleon, overwhelmed the Austrians by launching rapid attacks against their units, thereby giving them very little reaction time. After his victory, several other generals copied him in their battles.
In the 1850s, technological advancement brought about the mechanization of movement, thereby making maneuver attacks more complicated. Armies that could not pull off quick maneuvers finally had the ability to do so. Additional plans were fused with maneuvering so as to counter the unintended effects of the development. Attacking parties now relied on the quick encirclement of their adversaries and the obliteration of their strong points.
The Germans also attained a lot of success in their early campaign in WW2 due to the strategy. The war saw a heavy deployment of tanks. General Erwin Rommel, the then commander of the panzer units, relied on rapid tank attacks against the allies. The strategy came to be christened the Blitzkrieg or Lightning Attack.
Despite its massive success in battlefields, the technique has its own limitations. To be effective, the attacking army must know the precise location of the enemy units, including where their key equipment is stationed. The Israeli army deployed it in 2006 against Hezbollah during the Lebanon War. However, they were unable to obliterate the command structure of Hezbollah despite their overwhelming firepower.
Warfare is all about maneuver and attrition. Both sides make attempts to surprise each other with the endgame being the capture or killing of enemy forces. Over the years, it has been established that the maneuver strategy works best with several small military units that are well trained technically. Smaller units bear a smaller risk of attrition, hence the reason for this. They are also able to deploy a flanking strategy in their attack, thereby creating confusion in the opposing camp.
In most types of combat, success is often measured by the number of opposing combatants killed, equipment destroyed and territory seized. There is little creativity deployed on the battlefield. With a shock and awe strategy, however, enemy forces tend to panic and retreat. This gives ample room for the attacking forces to reoccupy pre seized territory and achieve their objectives.
One of the greatest generals to ever deploy the aforementioned strategy to great effect was Napoleon. In fact, he managed to defeat armies that were larger than his using it. His approach involved the use of quick cavalry charges against enemy combatants, shocking them and disabling their movement in the process.
A good example is the France and Austria conflict in Northern Italy, a battle in which Austria had a larger army. The French, commanded by Napoleon, overwhelmed the Austrians by launching rapid attacks against their units, thereby giving them very little reaction time. After his victory, several other generals copied him in their battles.
In the 1850s, technological advancement brought about the mechanization of movement, thereby making maneuver attacks more complicated. Armies that could not pull off quick maneuvers finally had the ability to do so. Additional plans were fused with maneuvering so as to counter the unintended effects of the development. Attacking parties now relied on the quick encirclement of their adversaries and the obliteration of their strong points.
The Germans also attained a lot of success in their early campaign in WW2 due to the strategy. The war saw a heavy deployment of tanks. General Erwin Rommel, the then commander of the panzer units, relied on rapid tank attacks against the allies. The strategy came to be christened the Blitzkrieg or Lightning Attack.
Despite its massive success in battlefields, the technique has its own limitations. To be effective, the attacking army must know the precise location of the enemy units, including where their key equipment is stationed. The Israeli army deployed it in 2006 against Hezbollah during the Lebanon War. However, they were unable to obliterate the command structure of Hezbollah despite their overwhelming firepower.
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