Diversionary maneuvers
A diversionary maneuver (also: deception maneuver ) is a military tactic that is used in combat activities or in the context of larger operations . In general, this is a minor operation designed to confuse the enemy and distract them from the real aim of the planned offensive . On the one hand, a diversionary maneuver can consist of deliberate misinformation , and on the other hand, it can consist of a limited military operation directed against a target other than the actual target.
A diversionary maneuver can aim to attract the bulk of the enemy armed forces (as happened in the sea and air battle in the Gulf of Leyte in 1944 by a Japanese 'bait association') or to disguise the actual intentions by means of multiple misinformation (as happened in the Operation Fortitude before the Anglo-American landing in Normandy ). In Russian , the term "Maskirowka" was coined for such deception and concealment operations, which were used with great success before Operation Bagration .
On a smaller scale, tactical diversionary maneuvers are carried out, which serve to delay enemy offensives, or simply prepare the offensive at a weak point on the opponent, which should lead to a breakthrough. In World War I , this tactic was rarely successful in trench warfare; it was used several times during the Second World War and contributed to spectacular breakthroughs and encirclements.
