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List of Military Strategies and Concepts - Wikipedia
List of Military Strategies and Concepts - Wikipedia
strategies and
concepts
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
Elastic Defense - A strategy to
flexibly absorb then repel the
advance of attackers through
carefully planned integrated
fighting positions, perfected by the
German Army in WWI
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.
Named after Quintus Fabius
Maximus Verrucosus in his defense
against Carthage. See Pyrrhic
warfare
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 the 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
Secondary Trinity – People,
Army, and Government –
Clausewitz
Principles of war:
Objective (Direct every military
operation towards a clearly
defined, decisive, and
attainable objective)
Offensive (Seize, retain, and
exploit the initiative)
Mass (Concentrate combat
power at the decisive place and
time)
Economy of Force (Allocate
minimum essential combat
power to secondary efforts)
Maneuver (place the enemy in
a disadvantageous position
through the flexible application
of combat power)
Unity of Command (For every
Objective, ensure Unity of effort
under one responsible
commander)
Security (Never permit the
enemy to acquire an
unexpected advantage)
Surprise (Strike the enemy at a
time, at a place, or in a manner
for which he is unprepared)
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:
Is a vital national security
interest threatened?
Do we have a clear attainable
objective?
Have the risks and costs been
fully and frankly analyzed?
Have all other non-violent
policy means been fully
exhausted?
Is there a plausible exit
strategy to avoid endless
entanglement?
Have the consequences of our
action been fully considered?
Is the action supported by the
American people?
Do we have genuine broad
international support?
Economic concepts
Salaries – Always pay your troops
on time.
Asymmetric costs – ensure the
cost of enemy losses (or
objectives) is at least an order of
magnitude higher than the costs of
attacking.
Budget like a business – Ensure
there is sufficient funds and
revenue streams to finish the war.
Intentional insufficient
Funding(Rcoined) - ensure you
make the funds less than the return,
if a cost of logistics costs X$ in
delivering army collateral, and
supplies. By only closing a canal or
an route, using sea denial strategy
then the price becomes (X$)*4=
4x$. For example a country from
the gulf is to attack the United
States, if only the souize Canal
(Egypt canal closed) then the
supplies need to take an expensive
route, whereas the funding
becomes insufficient.
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
References
Notes
1. "blitzkrieg | Definition,
Translation, & Facts" .
Encyclopedia Britannica.
Retrieved 2020-02-25.
2. "Limited warfare" . Encyclopedia
Britannica. Retrieved 2020-02-25.
3. "Total War | Meaning of Total War
by Lexico" . Lexico Dictionaries |
English. Retrieved 2020-02-20.
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Strategic Theories and Concepts
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