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'''Envelopment''' is the [[military tactic]] of seizing objectives in the enemy's [[rear (military)|rear]] with the goal of destroying specific enemy forces and denying them the ability to [[withdrawal (military)|withdraw]]. Rather than attacking an enemy head-on as in a [[frontal assault]] an envelopment seeks to exploit the enemy's [[flank (military)|flanks]], attacking them from multiple directions and avoiding where their defenses are strongest. A successful envelopment lessens the number of casualties suffered by the attacker while inducing a [[psychological warfare|psychological shock]] on the defender and improving the chances to destroy them.<ref name="FM390">US Army, ''FM 3-90 (Tactics)'', July 2001, 3-12</ref> An envelopment will consist of one or more ''enveloping forces'', which attacks the enemy's flank(s), and a ''fixing force'', which attacks the enemy's [[front (military)|front]] and "fixes" them in place so that they cannot withdraw or shift their focus on the enveloping forces.<ref>US Army, ''FM 3-90 (Tactics)'', July 2001, 3–13</ref> While a successful tactic, there are risks involved with performing an envelopment. The enveloping force can become overextended and cut off from friendly forces by an enemy [[counterattack]], or the enemy can counterattack against the fixing force.<ref>US Army, ''FM 3-90 (Tactics)'', July 2001, 3–15</ref> |
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'''Envelopment''' Is a form of maneuver in which an attacking force seeks to avoid the principal enemy defenses by seizing objectives behind those defenses that allow the targeted enemy force to be destroyed in their current positions. At the tactical level, envelopments focus on seizing terrain, destroying specific enemy forces, and interdicting enemy withdrawal routes. The commander’s decisive operation focuses on attacking an assailable flank. It avoids the enemy’s strength—the enemy’s front— where the effects of enemy fires and obstacles are the greatest. Generally, a commander prefers to conduct envelopment instead of a penetration or a frontal attack because the attacking force tends to suffer fewer casualties while having the most opportunities to destroy the enemy. Envelopment also produces great psychological shock to the enemy. If no assailable flank is available, the attacking force creates one through the conduct of a penetration. The four varieties of envelopment are the single envelopment, double envelopment, encirclement, and vertical envelopment. (See figure 1-1 and 1-2) A single envelopment results from maneuvering around one assailable flank of a designated enemy force. A double envelopment results from simultaneous maneuvering around both flanks of a designated enemy force. Encirclement operations are operations where one force loses its freedom of maneuver because an opposing force is able to isolate it by controlling all ground lines of communication and reinforcement. Vertical envelopments are tactical maneuvers in which troops, either air-dropped or airlanded, attack the rear and flanks of a force, in effect cutting off or encircling the force. (JP 3-18). (For a discussion of encirclement operations, see FM 3-90-2.) |
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According to the [[United States Army]] there exist four types of envelopment:<ref name="FM390"/> |
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* A [[flanking maneuver]] or single envelopment consists of one enveloping force on a flank. attacking one of the enemy's flanks. This is extremely effective if the holding forces are in a well defensible spot (e.g. Alexander the Great's hammer and anvil at the [[Battle of Issus]]) or if there is a strong, hidden line behind a weak flank (e.g. [[Battle of Breitenfeld (1631)]] and [[Battle of Rocroi]]). |
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* A [[pincer movement]] or double envelopment consists of two simultaneous flanking maneuvers. Hannibal devised this strategy in his tactical masterpiece, the [[Battle of Cannae]]. Later on, the [[Rashidun Caliphate]] General [[Khalid ibn al-Walid]] applied the maneuver in a decisive battle against the [[Sassanid Empire]] during the [[Battle of Walaja]]. In 1940 and 1941, in [[World War II]], the Germans repeatedly employed this tactic to encircle hundreds of thousands of enemy troops at once, namely in the [[Battle of France]] and in [[Operation Barbarossa]] against the USSR. |
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* An [[encirclement]] whereby the enemy is completely surrounded and isolated in a [[pocket (military)|pocket]]. The friendly forces can choose to attack the pocket or [[investment (military)|invest]] it (to stop resupplies and to prevent breakouts) and wait for a beleaguered enemy to surrender. |
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* A [[Vertical Envelopment|vertical envelopment]] is "a tactical maneuver in which troops, either air-dropped or air-landed, attack the rear and flanks of a force, in effect cutting off or encircling the force".<ref>[http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O63-verticalenvelopment.html vertical envelopment], [[encyclopedia.com]], Retrieved 2009-12-03. Quotes "The Oxford Essential Dictionary of the U.S. Military".</ref> |
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==References== |
==References== |
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{{reflist}} |
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ADRP 3-90, Offense and Defense, August 2012 |
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[[Category:Military tactics]] |
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[[Category:Military strategy]] |
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Revision as of 13:31, 11 May 2020
Envelopment is the military tactic of seizing objectives in the enemy's rear with the goal of destroying specific enemy forces and denying them the ability to withdraw. Rather than attacking an enemy head-on as in a frontal assault an envelopment seeks to exploit the enemy's flanks, attacking them from multiple directions and avoiding where their defenses are strongest. A successful envelopment lessens the number of casualties suffered by the attacker while inducing a psychological shock on the defender and improving the chances to destroy them.[1] An envelopment will consist of one or more enveloping forces, which attacks the enemy's flank(s), and a fixing force, which attacks the enemy's front and "fixes" them in place so that they cannot withdraw or shift their focus on the enveloping forces.[2] While a successful tactic, there are risks involved with performing an envelopment. The enveloping force can become overextended and cut off from friendly forces by an enemy counterattack, or the enemy can counterattack against the fixing force.[3]
According to the United States Army there exist four types of envelopment:[1]
- A flanking maneuver or single envelopment consists of one enveloping force on a flank. attacking one of the enemy's flanks. This is extremely effective if the holding forces are in a well defensible spot (e.g. Alexander the Great's hammer and anvil at the Battle of Issus) or if there is a strong, hidden line behind a weak flank (e.g. Battle of Breitenfeld (1631) and Battle of Rocroi).
- A pincer movement or double envelopment consists of two simultaneous flanking maneuvers. Hannibal devised this strategy in his tactical masterpiece, the Battle of Cannae. Later on, the Rashidun Caliphate General Khalid ibn al-Walid applied the maneuver in a decisive battle against the Sassanid Empire during the Battle of Walaja. In 1940 and 1941, in World War II, the Germans repeatedly employed this tactic to encircle hundreds of thousands of enemy troops at once, namely in the Battle of France and in Operation Barbarossa against the USSR.
- An encirclement whereby the enemy is completely surrounded and isolated in a pocket. The friendly forces can choose to attack the pocket or invest it (to stop resupplies and to prevent breakouts) and wait for a beleaguered enemy to surrender.
- A vertical envelopment is "a tactical maneuver in which troops, either air-dropped or air-landed, attack the rear and flanks of a force, in effect cutting off or encircling the force".[4]
References
- ^ a b US Army, FM 3-90 (Tactics), July 2001, 3-12
- ^ US Army, FM 3-90 (Tactics), July 2001, 3–13
- ^ US Army, FM 3-90 (Tactics), July 2001, 3–15
- ^ vertical envelopment, encyclopedia.com, Retrieved 2009-12-03. Quotes "The Oxford Essential Dictionary of the U.S. Military".
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