Battle of retreat
In a rear-guard action in a military sense, it is a combat operation in an armed conflict , to one or more of the conflict technicians retire in from an area.
method
If an area cannot be held for military tactical reasons, for example because of opposing superiority, lack of supplies or climatic inadequacies (icing, devastation), a battle of retreat can enable an orderly retreat with minor losses. In the meantime, fragmented troops can gather, move to safe territory and regroup there.
Historical examples
An example of this was the battle of the Spartans under Leonidas against the Persians at Thermopylae . The aim of this battle was to buy the time of the allies of the Spartans in order to be able to set up their troops as a line of defense.
Another example is the battle of Reichenbach and Markersdorf between Napoleon and Russian troops that followed the battle of Bautzen , which the Russian troops had lost. On the retreat towards Russia, a battle of retreat had bought enough time to enable the Russians to withdraw in an orderly manner. The Russian general later said: "The fate of the campaign and the army should have been sealed that day."
The Varus Battle , a battle that lasted several days, turned from an ambush into a battle of retreat. In contrast to the examples above, this was unsuccessful because all Roman soldiers died under Varus.
See also
literature
- W. von Löwenstern: Memories. Volume 1, 2006.
- Hans Delbrück History of the Art of War, Volume 1, Volume 1, 2012. ISBN 978-3-8496-0937-5 .
- Boris Dreyer Arminius and the fall of the Varus: why the Teutons did not become Romans, p. 137 ISBN 978-3-608-94510-2 .
- Campaigns of Napoleon. Weidenfeld & Nicolson, London 1998, ISBN 0-297-74830-0 .