Offensive strategies

Air superiority Essential to a successful air campaign. It is achieved by 1)

mastery of the air, 2) attacking the means of production, 3) maintain battle
ourselves, 4) prevent the enemy from battle
Attrition warfare A strategy of wearing down the enemy to the point of collapse
through continuous loss of personnel and matriel
Bait and bleed to induce rival states to engage in a protracted war of attrition
against each other "so that they bleed each other white", similar to the concept of
divide and conquer
Battle of annihilation The goal of destroying the enemy military in a single
planned pivotal battle
Bellum se ipsum alet A strategy of feeding and supporting an army with the
potentials of occupied territories
Blitzkrieg An attack that uses concentrated force and rapid speed to break
through enemy lines, named after the German World War II strategy meaning
Lightning War
Blockade / Siege / Investment An attempt to cut off food, supplies, war material
or communications from a particular area by force, usually taking place by sea
Clear and hold A counter-insurgency strategy
Coercion Compelling the enemy to involuntarily behave in a certain way by
targeting the leadership, national communications, or political-economic centers
Command of the sea The naval equivalent of air superiority
Counter-offensive A strategic offensive taking place after the enemy's front line
troops and reserves have been exhausted, and before the enemy has had the
opportunity to assume new defensive positions
Counterforce A strategy used in nuclear warfare of targeting military
infrastructure (as opposed to civilian targets)
Countervalue The opposite of counterforce; targeting of enemy cities and
civilian populations
Decapitation Achieving strategic paralysis by targeting political leadership,
command and control, strategic weapons, and critical economic nodes
Deception A strategy that seeks to deceive, trick, or fool the enemy and create a
false perception in a way that can be leveraged for a military advantage
Denial A strategy that seeks to destroy the enemy's ability to wage war
Distraction An attack by some of the force on one or two flanks, drawing up to a
strong frontal attack by the rest of the force
Encirclement Both a strategy and tactic designed to isolate and surround enemy
forces
Ends, Ways, Means, Risk Strategy is much like a three legged stool of ends,
ways, means balanced on a plane of varying degree of risk
Exhaustion A strategy that seeks to erode the will or resources of a country
Feint To draw attention to another point of the battle where little or nothing is
going on
Flanking maneuver Involves attacking the opponent from the side, or rear
 Guerrilla Tactics-Involves ambushes on enemy troops. Usually used by
insurgency.
Heavy force A counterinsurgency strategy that seeks to destroy an insurgency
with overwhelming force while it is still in a manageable state
Human wave attack An unprotected frontal attack where the attacker tries to
move as many combatants as possible into engaging close range combat with the
defender
Incentive A strategy that uses incentives to gain cooperation
Indirect approach Dislocation is the aim of strategy. Direct attacks almost never
work, one must first upset the enemy's equilibrium, fix weakness and attack
strength, Seven rules of strategy: 1) adjust your ends to your means, 2) keep your
object always in mind, 3) choose the line of the least expectation, 4) exploit the
line of least resistance, 5) take the line of operations which offers the most
alternatives, 6) ensure both plans and dispositions are flexible, 7) do not throw
your weight into an opponent while he is on guard, 8) do not renew an attack
along the same lines if an attack has failed
Interior lines Placing ones forces in between the enemy forces and attacking
each in turn in order to allow ones forces to have better communications and
allows one to mass all of ones forces against a part of the enemies
Limited war A war in which the survival of a nation is not at stake
Penetration A direct attack through enemy lines, then an attack on the rear once
through
Periclean strategy The two basic principles of the "Periclean Grand Strategy"
were the rejection of appeasement (in accordance with which he urged the
Athenians not to revoke the Megarian Decree) and the avoidance of overextension
Persisting strategy A strategy that seeks to destroy the means by which the
enemy sustains itself
Pincer ambush A "U"-shaped attack with the sides concealed and the middle
held back until the enemy advances, at which point the concealed sides ambush
them
Pincer maneuver Allowing the enemy to attack the center, sometimes in a
charge, then attacking the flanks of the charge
Punishment A strategy that seeks to push a society beyond its economic and
physiological breaking point
Rapid Decisive Operations Compelling the adversary to undertake certain
actions or denying the adversary the ability to coerce or attack others.
Raiding Attacking with the purpose of removing the enemy's supply or
provisions
Refusing the flank Putting the minimal number of troops required to hold out
against the enemy's attack while the rest of the military launches a counterattack
through the enemy's flank
Separation of insurgents A counterinsurgency strategy should first seek to
separate the enemy from the population, then deny the enemy reentry, and finally
execute long enough to deny the insurgent access
Scorpion attack A pincer attack that is supplemented by an air strike
 Shape, Clear, Hold, Build The counterinsurgency theory that states the process
of winning and insurgency is shape, clear, hold, build
Siege Continuous attack by bombardment on a fortified position, usually by
artillery
Shock and awe A military doctrine using overwhelming power to try and
achieve rapid dominance over the enemy
Swarming Military swarming involves the use of a decentralized force against
an opponent, in a manner that emphasizes mobility, communication, unit
autonomy and coordination/synchronization.
Theater strategy Concepts and courses of action directed toward securing the
objectives of national and multinational policies and strategies through the
synchronized and integrated employment of military forces and other instruments
of national power
Total war War in which a nation's survival is at stake
Troop surge - deploying a large number of troops into theatre in order to
overcome resistance
Turning maneuver An attack that penetrates the enemy's flank, then curls into its
rear to cut it off from home
Win without fighting Sun Tzu argued that a brilliant general was one that could
win without fighting

Defensive strategies
Boxing maneuver A strategy used to "box in" and force an attack on all sides at
once
Choke point A use of strategic geography, usually in a narrow area, intended to
concentrate the enemy into a confined area where the defender can maximize his
forces
Defence in depth A strategy to delay rather than prevent the advance of the
attackers by buying time and causing additional casualties by yielding space so
that the momentum of the attack is lost and the attacking force can be attacked on
its flanks
Fortification - A semi-permanent or permanent defensive structure that gives
physical protection to a military unit
Fabian strategy Wearing down the enemy by using attrition warfare and
indirection, while avoiding pitched battles or frontal assaults
Military district - An area controlled by a military force, for administrative
purposes rather than combat. Also known as Wehrkreis in German
Scorched earth Destroying anything that might be of use to the enemy while
retreating, or advancing
Turtling Continuous reinforcement of the military front until it has reached its
full strength, then an attack with the now-superior force
Withdrawal A retreat of forces while maintaining contact with the enemy

Strategic concepts
 Center of gravity (military) The hub of all power and movement on which
everything depends, the point at which all energies should be directed
Decisive point A geographic place, specific key event, critical system, or
function that allows commanders to gain a marked advantage over an enemy and
greatly influence the outcome of an attack
DIME(FIL) The elements of national power diplomacy, information, military,
and economics, often included are financial, intelligence, and law enforcement
see MIDLIFE
Expediency War is a matter of expedients von Moltke
Fog, friction, chance War is characterized by fog, friction, and chance
Golden Bridge To leave an opponent an opportunity to withdraw in order to not
force them to act out of desperation Sun Tzu
Iron Calculus of War Resistance = Means x Will Clausewitz
MIDLIFE The elements of national power diplomacy, information, military, and
economics, often included are financial, intelligence, and law enforcement, see
DIME(FIL)
Moral ascendancy Moral force is the trump card for any military event because
as events change the human elements of war remain unchanged Du Piq
OODA loop Decision-making occurs in a recurring cycle of observe-orient-
decide-act. An entity (whether an individual or an organization) that can process
this cycle quickly, observing and reacting to unfolding events more rapidly than
an opponent, can thereby "get inside" the opponent's decision cycle and gain the
advantage Boyd
Paradoxical nature The nature of strategy is a paradoxical and does not follow a
linear pattern Luttwak
Positive ends The possibility of taking advantage of a new security environment
to create conditions for long-term peace Wass de Czege
Primary Trinity (1) primordial violence, hatred, and enmity; (2) the play of
chance and probability; and (3) war's element of subordination to rational policy
Clausewitz
o Secondary Trinity People, Army, and Government Clausewitz
Principles of war:
o Objective (Direct every military operation towards a clearly defined,
decisive, and attainable objective)
o Offensive (Seize, retain, and exploit the initiative)
o Mass (Concentrate combat power at the decisive place and time)
o Economy of Force (Allocate minimum essential combat power to
secondary efforts)
o Maneuver (place the enemy in a disadvantageous position through the
flexible application of combat power)
o Unity of Command (For every Objective, ensure Unity of effort under one
responsible commander)
o Security (Never permit the enemy to acquire an unexpected advantage)
o Surprise (Strike the enemy at a time, at a place, or in a manner for which
he is unprepared)
 o Simplicity (Prepare clear, uncomplicated plans and clear, concise orders to
ensure thorough understanding) US Army FM 3.0
Systems approach Nation-states operate like biological organisms composed of
discrete systems. These systems included: leadership, organic essentials,
infrastructure, population, and the military Warden
Tipping point The point at which "the momentum for change becomes
unstoppable." Gladwell
VUCA Volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity characterize the
strategic environment U.S. Army War College
Weinberger-Powell Doctrine A list of questions have to be answered
affirmatively before military action is taken by the United States:
o Is a vital national security interest threatened?
o Do we have a clear attainable objective?
o Have the risks and costs been fully and frankly analyzed?
o Have all other non-violent policy means been fully exhausted?
o Is there a plausible exit strategy to avoid endless entanglement?
o Have the consequences of our action been fully considered?
o Is the action supported by the American people?
o Do we have genuine broad international support?

See also
List of established military terms
List of military tactics
Military science
Military strategy
Military tactics
Tactical formation
Sun Tzu and The Art of War
Thirty-Six Stratagems