Fundamentals of military strategy and tactics. Combat tactics

The concept of tactics is known from ancient scientific works on military affairs. The ancient Chinese treatise Thirty-Six Stratagems defined the basic principles of warfare. The strategy and tactics outlined in the treatise have been successfully used in various military operations since ancient times. Some of them, in essence their principles, have survived to this day. The flip side of strategy is tactics. This is the ability to achieve assigned goals using the priorities of the current reality.

Similarities and differences

Any achievement of a goal in the short and long term is a collection of certain actions. Strategy and tactics are the very complex of measures that help to achieve success. In a narrower sense, these terms can be explained as an idea that can help in achieving a goal or military victory.

The similarity of these two concepts is that both are aimed at the implementation of the conceived idea. The difference is determined by the scale of the action. Both the cost of decisions and their consequences are taken into account. It is said that bad tactics lead to a wasted day. A bad strategy leads to a lost year.

Action planning model

Any direction of a successful business is dictated, first of all, by strategic development objectives. The development model of a successful enterprise contains at least two levels of direction for applying efforts - global strategic objectives and tactics that ensure their implementation. The structure of the solution of the assigned tasks can be imagined as a two-story house. The abstract top floor assigns strategic objectives. The bottom floor is tactics. This division very clearly represents the interaction of strategy and tactics, prompts the choice of priority tasks for a priority solution.

Multilevel structures

In the case of multi-level structures, for example, when it comes to the interaction of various single-level units, the complex of tasks can be represented as a multi-storey building. What counts as a strategy for one level is tactics for another. Just like the fifth, for example, level is a strategy for the fourth and tactics for the sixth. It all depends on the point of view on the task at hand.

Business and war

We must not forget that the method of solving the assigned tasks by separating priorities came to us from military affairs. Treatises on the art of killing and conquering were written long before business plans. Strategic questions were posed to the armies and commanders-in-chief, and battle tactics changed depending on certain objective factors.

A good example is the actions of the regular army in order to liberate their own country and the actions of partisan detachments. The global task is to liberate the occupied territory. This is a strategy for the war of liberation.

Army units can operate with large amounts of equipment and manpower. Combat tactics for army units consist in full-fledged opposition to the enemy army. Regular military units are capable of holding back the onslaught, conducting a counteroffensive, and losses in the scale of hostilities are acceptable.

Partisan detachments face completely different tasks. They pursue the same strategic mission, but they use completely different tactics from the army. These are, first of all, small but painful operations, sorties and sabotage, designed to inflict damage on the enemy in the occupied territory, demoralize him, make him lose his fighting spirit. The personnel of the partisan detachment and its technical resources are very limited, so head-on collisions with the enemy army will not bring any benefit. Only especially large partisan detachments can draw off enemy army units and weaken its positions on the fronts.

As you can see in this example, the basics of tactics in one case or another include an assessment of real possibilities. It makes no sense to use the army for pinpoint sabotage, and the partisan detachment for large-scale offensive operations. Using the available resources as directed and applying specific tactics, you can achieve much more significant success.

Tactics and business

According to statistics, only 4% of working organizations and enterprises become national leaders in a particular industry. In each of these cases, the management of the company had a clear strategic task, and the right tactics were used to solve it. This clever division of strategic and tactical priorities has ensured success, fame and access to the international market for the small enterprise.

The remaining 96% solve tactical problems without a clear strategy or setting themselves erroneous goals. For example, the goal of making a lot of money is impractical and unrealistic. After all, money is only a consequence of the achieved strategic goal. They can be won in the lottery or inherited - they have nothing to do with the strategic plan of the enterprise. But to become a sales leader in a city, to make a new product or service recognizable and famous are the right goals. Achieving them will require an analysis of all available resources.

An example of good business tactics

For example, the company has set itself the task of developing a retail chain of stores within walking distance. This is a strategic plan. The tactical solution to the task is to analyze the available resources. For example, one of the partners of the company owns a pig-breeding farm, a branch of the company is a wholesale supplier of beer. There is also a confectionery shop. The analysis of market demands suggests that bread and milk will also be in demand. For starters, small convenience stores can only sell these products, gradually expanding their range and attracting more and more customers. At this stage, the chain of stores uses the tactics of the partisan movement, only indicating its presence in the market.

Increasing sales is impossible without attracting new customers. This requires a larger assortment and reasonable prices. The backbone network can already dictate its terms to various distributors and use certain marketing techniques to achieve price reductions - for example, by bulk purchases. This is the tactic of a large partisan detachment. The next step of the retail chain management is to drive out competitors. This task is similar to the actions of regular army units.

Thus, the different stages of doing business are quite comparable to the stages of hostilities. Such an analogy can contribute to a clearer understanding of the tasks set in everyday life. This means that it will take less time and money to solve complex issues.

Dominant tactics conducting the battle of ground forces from the 15th to the 18th century, there were demonstration actions and active maneuvers by troops in order to bypass the enemy from the flanks or go to the rear and conduct offensive actions. Also important was the desire to cut off the enemy from his stores, i.e. from bases with provisions. Weighed down by a multitude of food wagons, such numerous (tens, or even hundreds of thousands of people) armies were little maneuverable and allowed marches for two or three daily transitions (10-20 km) from their stores. Leaving the army without provisions in those days was tantamount to defeat. For example, let's take the defeat of the Swedes at Poltava (Northern War), without going into the details of the battle itself.

Northern war interception of the convoy, as Tsar Peter said, the mother of victory at Poltava

Let's look at the root causes loss of strategic convoy (walking to the Swedish army, from Riga), then Tsar Peter used the scorched earth tactics (the initiator of it was PETER, not STALIN, for example, the campaign of the Swedes, the city of Baturin was destroyed by the advancing Russian troops, along with all the inhabitants, more so and was not reborn).

Destruction of the city of Baturin by Menshikov's dragoons

Further winter, more than three thousand losses of the Swedes from frostbite. So by the Battle of Poltava, the Swedish army was so weakened that our victory was a matter of technique. 9 o'clock battle from 2 am to 11 pm, and the Russian army turned the Swedes into a chaotic retreating crowd. Well, the second example, Napoleon's invasion. , and then the battle for resources, who will immediately name at least a couple of battles of that war huh ...? And, here are the peasants lifting the pitchforks, French foragers, I know everything.

Tthe practice of fighting ground forces from the 15th to the 18th century, in an open offensive battle, according to the classical formation, the infantry lined up in thirds (squares), artillery was located between them, and heavy (cuirassiers) and light cavalry on the flanks.
Cuirassiers (literally - men at arms, armor) are heavy cavalry, dressed in cuirasses.

They originated in the 16th century as an addition to the relatively small number of knightly cavalry. She was equipped with relatively inexpensive incomplete armor, which covered a little more than half of the body - from knees to head - were called cuirassier. With the development of firearms, by the 19th century, equipment was reduced to a cuirass and a helmet.

breastplate of the French cavalryman 1854

Cavalier regiment officer's cuirass 1880

At the time of its inception, the main weapon, like that of a knight, was a knightly sword. Gradually, it was replaced by a broadsword, in some European armies a heavy saber was used.
The horses used heavy breeds weighing under 700 kg. Only strong and tall men from 170 cm and above were recruited into cuirassiers, bearing in mind that the average height of a European of those times was 160-165 cm.
In the battle, cavalry played a secondary role, supporting the infantry. According to the rules of conducting those wars, she had no right to break away from the infantry by more than 100-150 steps. When the troops attacked, the artillery, due to its bulkiness, remained in place, causing damage to the enemy from a distance. She first began to participate in the offensive, accompanying the infantry, in the French troops of Napoleon Bonaparte, when a lightweight version of the guns was created. There were situations when the cavalry lined up in front of the infantry or behind it, depending on the conditions of the battle. And, of course, the main task of the cavalry is to chase and defeat the demoralized enemy.

having approached, they fired several volleys, then either retreated, or began hand-to-hand combat

Approaching the enemy at a shot distance, the infantry, on command, opened fire from flintlock rifles, after several volleys, one of the sides began to retreat, or switched into a bayonet attack, which grew into hand-to-hand combat. Bayonets, rifle butts, sabers, broadswords, fists and everything that came to hand were used. The battle of Borodino, it was in it that the largest number of hand-to-hand fighting took place. A characteristic sign of participation in hand-to-hand combat is the almost complete destruction of the unit.
Flintbore shotguns had a poor hit rate. Out of a hundred bullets fired, no more than 25 hit a target 50 meters away.

squeaked battle tactics

squeaked Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich

Therefore, rifles were usually used simultaneously as a defensive fire. Of the mass of bullets fired, at least some of them hit the enemy's manpower. Interestingly, the conducted analysis of the shooting of a modern defending unit showed that about 25% of soldiers fire not only in the direction of the enemy in the direction, but often simply in the air.
Reloading the gun was an incredible challenge. It was necessary to execute up to a hundred commands. This is already later IN THE MID-18TH CENTURY, King Frederick Wilhelm of Prussia introduced the requirement "for each soldier to fire six bullets per minute with a seventh in the barrel."

flintlock, for example, in the war of 1812, guns of more than 20 calibers were used

Combat tactics of ground forces from the 15th to the 18th centuryIn this regard, in those days, the coherence of actions of soldiers in the ranks and the ability to wield a bayonet and a butt were valued. It was not for nothing that Alexander Vasilyevich Suvorov used to say: "A bullet is a fool, and a bayonet is a fine fellow." Note that even in the war of 1812, the Russian army did not have a single sample of a flintlock, although a single caliber was introduced in 1809, in practice, guns of 28 (!) Different calibers were in service at a time.
For defense, the walls of fortresses, castles and cities were widely used, which the enemy besieged for months, trying to deprive the defenders of water and provisions for the principle of survival. The walls were fired with cannon balls to destroy them, or undermines were carried out to further detonate them. Powder charges that were placed under the walls were called firecrackers. The infantry burst into the breaches, carrying out single chaotic shooting with the transition to saber-bayonet and hand-to-hand combat. Also, direct assaults of fortress walls were carried out using rams, ladders, ropes with hooks, etc. One should not think that the besieged fortress was usually doomed. The besieged also had their own tactics, not many, but they did. As an example of a successful defense, I have never heard of such an application again. For the time being, let's call his city N (I'll write it in more detail somehow), it was surrounded by an enemy army, and a systematic siege began. The shelling of the wall began, with the aim of breaking through (a very non-trivial task). Meanwhile, those besieged around the planned breach, begin to build an inner wall, in the form of a bag. Then a break, an attack, an entry into the bag of the inner wall, and the almost complete destruction of those who broke in ... but what happened next we will leave for later.
In defensive battles, as a rule, earthen or log redoubts, redans and flushes were built.

types of field fortifications redoubt lunette redan

Redoubt (shelter) - fortification of a closed type, not at all necessary, but usually earthen, with a ditch and a rampart, used for all-round defense. Although the defense was circular, the redoubt more often than it had the shape of a quadrangle, although both five and hexagonal redoubts were erected. The length of the redoubt was from 50 to 200 steps, in accordance with the size of the unit. On average, the redoubt was erected for 200-800 soldiers. The redoubt consisted of an outer ditch, a rampart with an earthen step to accommodate riflemen and cannons, and an inner ditch to shelter the defenders. The passage to the redoubt, about 6 paces wide, was arranged from the hill front (rear side), and behind it there was an embankment for shelling the enemy if he tried to use the passage.
The face (face) is the side of something facing the viewer. In military affairs, the face is the side of the fortification facing the enemy (front). In the modern sense, faces are also called straight sections of trenches, anti-tank ditches and wire obstacles.
Redoubts appeared in the 16th century, and became widespread as strongholds in the 17th-19th centuries.
Redan (ledge) or redant is a field fortification, consisting of two faces at an angle of 60-120 degrees, protruding towards the enemy (front). Small steps with an acute angle are called flushes.
Flushes (arrows) are field, sometimes long-term, fortifications. They consisted of two faces, each 20-30 m long, at an acute angle facing the enemy (front).

Flushes of Bagration

Flushes are essentially similar to redans, but unlike them, they are smaller in size and have a greater angle of more than 60-120 degrees, which are characteristic of a redan, and also protrude towards the enemy.

Siege of Plevna, capture of Grivitsa redoubt

Artillery, one should not exaggerate its role in the Middle Ages.

Medieval cannons, if you look closely, then in the 18th century there are few differences between guns

From about the turn of the 16-17th century (why such a gap in time, not all army commanders of that time equally emphasize artillery, in the same Battle of Poltava, Charles XII wanted to achieve victory practically without using cannons), an increase in the rate of fire and lightening of the gun, the improvement of artillery weapons, its role also increases until it becomes the dominant force on the battlefield, by the end of the 18th and beginning of the 19th century. She has yet to go through the carriage revolution, and it takes centuries to change the method of loading.

Vlad Tepes and the scorched earth tactics.

In 1453, the Turkish Sultan Mehmed II ordered Wallachia to pay tribute. Wallachia - one of the three principalities that form modern Romania - has always been a kind of "buffer zone" between the Ottoman Empire (in the south) and the Kingdom of Hungary (in the north) and was forced to pay tribute to one or the other neighbor. But in 1461 Vlad Tepes decided to stop this practice and refused to pay tribute to the Turkish sultan.

Mehmed could not tolerate this, and in order to overthrow the rebellious Tepes, he gathered a huge army, exceeding the strength of Tepes by several, or even tens of times. Vlad Tepes decided to retreat inland, using the scorched earth tactics, that is, leaving nothing to his enemy. Turkish troops marched through the devastated lands, hardly finding food for themselves. Tepes' subjects not only destroyed all the villages, hiding with the cattle in the mountains, but also poisoned the water in the wells. The exhausted troops of Mehmed approached Targovishte, the capital of Wallachia. But near the city, which they planned to take, they saw the Turkish prisoners impaled (yes, we are talking about Dracula). This sight stopped Mehmed: he ordered to set up camp near the city walls. Then Vlad Tepes, who knew both the language and the customs of the enemy, disguised himself and entered the camp. Having reconnoitered the situation, his troops broke into the enemy's camp. Tepes failed to kill the Sultan, but the losses of the Ottoman army were so great that they were forced to retreat.

Fritz Klingenberg's cheeky lies and the capture of Belgrade.

Sometimes the success of an operation depends not so much on well-thought-out tactics as on the stubbornness and ambition of one person. So, the Balkan campaign of the Nazi army, April 1941, 28-year-old Fritz Klingenberg commands a company of a reconnaissance motorcycle battalion. His task is to scout the territory leading to Belgrade. But having reached the Danube, instead of returning, the commander Klingenberg, together with several soldiers, crossed the Danube and entered the city without hindrance. He hijacked a bus with Serb soldiers, dressed in a local uniform, passed through a checkpoint and hung a Nazi flag instead of a Yugoslav one on the main street of Belgrade. A rumor spread throughout Belgrade that the city was taken by the Nazis. Literally at the same hour, Klingenberg met with the mayor of Belgrade and, desperately bluffing, forced him to sign an act of surrender: he threatened the mayor with brutal bombing, shelling and a ruthless assault on tank divisions that allegedly surrounded the city. The Yugoslav soldiers laid down their arms.

True, then Klingenberg faced difficulties with the Nazi command: the story of such an "assault" sounded too fantastic, and he was suspected of treason and misinformation. To the accusations of the regiment commander Fritz Klingenberg boldly replied: “I took the city. What should I give it back? "

Tefari Royal Feast in Ethiopia.

Haile Selassie, the last emperor of Ethiopia, who bore the name Tefari Makonneun before his coronation, was appointed regent in 1916 and actively took up reforms. Tefari became the leader of the so-called Young Ethiopian movement. Like any reformer, he immediately had conservative enemies in power. One of them was Balcha Sappho, governor of the province of Sidamo, a representative of Old Ethiopian circles. Balcha Sappho not only organized a conspiracy against the progressive regent, but also tried to raise an armed uprising.

To get rid of the dangerous governor, Regent Tefari threw a grand celebration at the palace in honor of Balchi Sappho. The cautious Balcha did not arrive in the capital alone, but took several thousand soldiers with him, who accompanied his cities and awaited the end of the event. While Balcha was enjoying his grandeur in the palace, the cunning regent made two secret moves. First, he sent his man out of town, to the camp where the Balchi soldiers were staying, in order to bribe them against his commander. Secondly, behind Balchi's back, Sappho replaced him as governor with another politician. Such changes tied the Old Ethiopian hand and foot, and he was forced to "voluntarily" go to the monastery, where he stayed until the beginning of the Italo-Ethiopian war.

The wounded Zopyr and the conquest of Babylon.

This page in the history of the Ancient World remains controversial: someone considers it a legend, while someone completely trusts Herodotus. According to an ancient historian, around 500 BC. Babylon rebelled against Darius I. To return the city under his influence, Darius gathered a large army and approached the gates of Babylon, but was rebuffed. The emperor spent a year and a half besieging the city until the commander Zopir came to his aid. He injured himself with his own hands to look like a man who was subjected to violence, and then entered the territory of Babylon. He told the residents of the city that Darius had so cruelly mutilated him for military failures, and that he was looking for refuge in Babylon and years to join the rebels. They immediately believed him. Having won not only trust, but also respect, Zopyrus was soon appointed the chief commander of Babylon. In his post, he weakened the city's defenses and helped the troops of Darius to capture Babylon. True, during the next uprising, already under Xerxes, the Babylonians killed Zopyr: perhaps so as not to tempt fate, having at their side the famous "double agent".

Sun Bin and the destructive inscription on the tree.

The fate of the Chinese strategist Sun Bin is similar to a movie script, with twists and turns and the laws of the genre. According to legend, while still studying with the legendary philosopher, Sun Lin had a passionate envious person, Pan Juan, who, in a fit of ignoble feelings, slandered the talented Sun Bin. Because of the charge of high treason, Sun Bin was subjected to terrible torture: his kneecaps were cut out and his face tattooed. Sun Bin fled from the Wei principalities, where life had treated him so unfairly, to the Qi kingdom.

After years of successful service in the Qi kingdom, our hero had an opportunity to take revenge. The troops of the Wei kingdom under the leadership of the offender Pan Juan attacked the neighbors, the Han kingdom. The rulers of Han turned to the Qi kingdom for help, and they agreed and appointed Sun Bin as assistant commander of the army. By order of Sun Bin, his advancing troops, approaching the enemy's territory, lit 100,000 bonfires on the first night, 50,000 on the second, and only 30 on the third. It all looked like a retreat. Pan Juan recklessly decided that the Qi wars were cowardly, and decided to "pursue" them. Sun Bin predicted the enemy's route and organized an ambush. Having deployed forces along the road, the strategist ordered to cut down a large tree, clean it of bark, put it across the road and make an inscription on it: "Pan Juan will die under this tree." By order, the troops were to begin shelling as soon as they saw fire. Pan Juan reached this tree, wanted to read the inscription in the dark, lit a torch and ... read it. At the same instant, thousands of archers fired at him and his soldiers. Pan Juan's army was defeated, and Sun Bin was avenged.

Operation "Berezino" was proposed by I. Stalin himself in the summer of 1944. Alexander Demyanov, a Soviet intelligence agent under the pseudonym "Heine", embedded in the Abwehr (the military intelligence organ of the Third Reich), transmitted false information to Berlin. In particular, in August 1944, he reported that a German unit was hiding near the Berezina River in Belarus, which had lost contact with the command and was in dire need of weapons and food. The non-existent part was represented by German prisoners of war who collaborated with the Soviet Union, including Lieutenant Colonel of the German Army Heinrich Scherhorn. Berlin decided not to leave its soldiers behind enemy lines and sent them the necessary assistance. Moreover, he directed until the end of the war - weapons, money, food and people were constantly at the disposal of the mythical part of Sherhorn. People were immediately arrested, some of them began to cooperate with the Soviet Union, thereby continuing the game. Sherhorn regularly reported on his partisan successes so convincingly that he was known among the Nazis as a national hero, leading a courageous activity behind enemy lines.

The cannon of William Washington. Another story from the American Revolution. In December 1780, Colonel William Washington and about 80 cavalrymen under his leadership surrounded a superior enemy. The Loyalists, along with their colonel, took refuge in the "fortress", which in reality was just a barn fortified by a moat. The cavalrymen of Washington fired at the barn-fortress in vain, and the loyalists already felt their superiority, when William Washington himself appeared before them: he appeared with a huge cannon, and threatening to destroy all their fortifications, offered to surrender. Seeing no other way out, the loyalists surrendered. And only after complete disarmament did they discover an insulting deception: instead of a cannon (which Washington did not have), they saw only a painted log on wheels, which from afar seemed to them a formidable weapon. This wooden dummy is called the "Quaker Cannon".

Superstitious Egyptians and Cambyses II.

As always, speaking of events that took place more than 500 BC, it is worth making allowances for the possible mythologization of what was happening. However, this is not a reason not to tell all the versions that exist. So, according to one of the stories, the Persian king Cambyses II, captured the ancient Egyptian fortress city of Pelusius, using "forbidden methods." Knowing about the piety and superstitions of the Egyptians, he put in front of his army the animals sacred to the Egyptians: cats, ibises, dogs. The Egyptians, fearing to injure them, were forced to surrender.

Tet offensive in Vietnamsignificant in that it turned not so much the course of military events as the public's attitude to the war in Vietnam. 1968 year. The guerrilla war in South Vietnam has been going on for almost 10 years, full-scale US intervention in its third year. Anti-war sentiments begin to prevail in the United States, which is why the government is forced to make statements that the enemy is almost broken and the end of the war is near. And then the Tet Offensive takes place.

Tet is the main holiday of the year in Vietnam, during which both sides usually negotiated a truce. But this time it was disrupted by the offensive of the North Vietnamese army. The large-scale offensive lasted several months; thousands of civilians were killed during the hostilities. The sudden indiscriminate massacre and violent clashes against the backdrop of government statements in the spirit of "everything is under control" created a furor in society. US citizens decisively lost their former faith in the need for military action in Vietnam, and over time, the Americans withdrew their troops. In military terms, the Tet Offensive was a major defeat for the North Vietnamese forces. However, the public outcry that changed attitudes towards the war ultimately led North Vietnam to victory, and America to military failure.

MILITARY TACTICS

1.1 General

Military tactics is an integral part of the art of war, including the theory and practice of preparing and conducting combat by formations, units (ships) and subunits of various types of the Armed Forces, combat arms on land, in the air and at sea. The military-theoretical discipline "Tactics" covers the study, development, preparation and conduct of all types of combat operations: offensive, defense, meeting engagement, tactical maneuver, etc.

Influenced by the changes in the way of warfare caused by the adoption of nuclear weapons and improved conventional weapons, the relationship and interdependence between strategy, operational art and tactics are becoming more multifaceted and dynamic. Tactical nuclear weapons allow the tactical command to display a certain degree of independence in the choice of methods of conducting combat operations and to achieve faster successes, which determine the achievement of operational results.

The main tasks of tactics are:

the study of the patterns, nature and content of the battle, the development of methods for its preparation and conduct, the determination of the most effective methods of using means of destruction and protection in battle;
study of the combat properties and capabilities of subunits, determination of their missions and battle formations in the conduct of hostilities and methods of organizing interaction between them;
studying the role of fire, strikes and maneuver in battle;
study of the forces and means of the enemy and his methods of fighting.

Each type of the Armed Forces, type of service and type of special forces, as well as the rear have their own tactics. General laws and regulations for the preparation and conduct of combat by formations, units and subunits of all types of the Armed Forces form the basis of the general theory of tactics. Investigating the diverse conditions of combat, tactics does not provide ready-made recipes. It develops only the main, most important provisions and rules, following which, the commander makes an independent decision.

Changes in tactics and its development are associated with the invention of new types of weapons and combat equipment, the level of training and general development of troops, the development of strategy and operational art, and the organization of troops. People and military equipment have a direct impact on the tactics and methods of combat operations. It is tactics that are the most changing part of the art of war.

The tactics of the ground forces cover the preparation and conduct of combined arms combat, the success of which is achieved through the joint efforts of all branches of the ground forces and special forces. Tactics determines the role and place of each type of troops in battle and, proceeding from the combat properties and capabilities, establishes the order and methods of their combat use.

1.2 Brief history

The development of tactics went from the simplest methods of action on the battlefield to more complex ones. Already the generals of antiquity, in the course of preparing and waging wars, developed and improved methods of fighting.

At the early stage of the development of slave-owning society, battle was reduced to straightforward movement and hand-to-hand combat of soldiers armed with melee weapons. The qualitative improvement of weapons, the organization of troops and the training of soldiers led to the emergence of more perfect battle formations and a corresponding change in tactics.

In the ancient Greek army, a phalanx arose - a dense and deep formation of heavy infantry, which delivered a strong initial blow, but was clumsy and incapable of maneuvering on the battlefield. The Greek commander Epaminondas in the battle of Leuktrah laid the foundation for the application of the tactical principle of uneven distribution of troops along the front in order to concentrate forces for delivering the main blow in a decisive direction. This principle was further developed in the army of A. Macedonian. The commander Hannibal in the battle of Cannes for the first time struck not on one flank, like Epaminondas or A. Macedonian, but on two, reaching the encirclement and almost complete destruction of the larger Roman army.

Tactics reached the greatest development under the slave system in the army of Ancient Rome. The Roman army switched from a sedentary phalanx tactic to a more maneuverable, manipulative tactic. The legion in battle was dismembered into 30 tactical units - maniples. At the end of the II - the beginning of the I century. BC. manipulative tactics were replaced by cohort tactics. The cohort of three maniples became a more powerful tactical unit, albeit somewhat less agile than the maniple. Lightweight throwing machines (ballistae, catapults) began to play a significant role in the field battle. Cohort tactics were further developed under G.Yu. Caesar. The Roman military theorist F.R. Vegetius summarized the experience of the Roman army and developed a variety of battle formations and various methods of fighting.

In the era of feudalism, until the end of the coup in military affairs (XVI century), caused by the development of firearms, the theory and practice of tactics developed slowly. During the period of the formation and victory of capitalist relations, linear tactics became widespread, associated with equipping the army with firearms, including artillery, and increasing the role of fire in battle, as well as recruiting the army with hired soldiers. According to this tactical scheme, the troops were deployed in line to conduct combat. The outcome of the battle was decided by a frontal collision and the power of rifle and artillery fire.

Russian generals of the 18th century - Peter I, P.A. Rumyantsev-Zadunaisky, adhering mainly to linear tactics, sought new ways of fighting. Peter I, in a linear battle formation, created a reserve and introduced a deeper formation, which contributed to the victory of the Russian troops over the troops of Charles XII at Poltava. Rumyantsev began to use loose system and square. A.V. Suvorov, along with linear battle formations, used squares, columns, loose formation and combinations of various formations.

By the end of the XVIII century. linear tactics have exhausted their possibilities. The French, Russian and other armies switched to new tactics based on a combination of columns and a loose formation. This tactic was characterized by the activity, decisiveness of actions and maneuverability of the troops, the initiative of the chiefs, the interaction of the combat arms, the dismemberment of battle formations along the front and in depth. The troops in loose formation prepared for the battle with fire, and the troops, formed in columns, delivered the decisive blow. In the improvement of new methods of warfare in the late XVIII - early XIX centuries. a great contribution was made by Napoleon I and MI Kutuzov.

Further development of tactics is associated with the introduction of troops in the 2nd half of the 19th century. rifled weapon, which had a higher rate of fire, range and accuracy compared to smooth-bore. The experience of combat operations showed that the use of columns on the battlefield became impossible, since they suffered heavy losses from targeted artillery and small arms fire even during the period of rapprochement with the enemy. Therefore, in the course of the Crimean, Franco-Prussian and Russian-Turkish wars, the transition to rifle chains was basically completed. In the offensive, the infantry began to use dashes, crawling and self-entrenching, to combine fire, maneuver and strike. In defense, the engineering equipment of the area began to be widely used, field and long-term defense was significantly developed, especially during the Russian-Japanese war of 1904-05.

In the 1st World War 1914-18. the increased saturation of the armies with rapid-fire artillery, automatic weapons, the emergence of new means of struggle (tanks, aircraft) and a sharp increase in the number of armies created the preconditions for the further development of tactics. The creation of defensive positions echeloned in depth, the widespread use of trenches, communication trenches, engineering barriers and the use of various types of weapons made the defense more and more powerful in comparison with the forces and means of the attacking side, which led to the transition to a positional form of struggle.

Beginning in 1915, the breakthrough of the positional front became the main problem of tactics. For this purpose, several echelons of "wave" rifle chains began to be created. The attacking side tried to destroy the enemy defenses and pave the way for the infantry with massive artillery fire. For this purpose, a multi-day artillery barrage was used, but even it did not ensure the suppression of firing points to the entire depth of the defense.

In 1918, the warring parties abandoned the use of "waves" and chains and switched to group tactics, which was the dismemberment of rifle chains into small infantry groups (squad, platoon), reinforced with light machine guns, rifle grenade launchers and flame throwers, which made it possible to better use the capabilities of the infantry ... The appearance in 1916 of tanks and escort artillery increased the fire and strike power of the advancing troops. The offensive was carried out methodically according to the principle: artillery destroys, infantry occupies. The infantry advanced in narrow strips.

The tactics of the Soviet ground forces began to take shape during the Civil War of 1918-20. The tactics of the Soviet troops were comprehensively developed during the Great Patriotic War.

1.3 The current stage of development of tactics

In the post-war period, the introduction into the troops of nuclear missile weapons with tremendous destructive capabilities, electronics, various types of the latest conventional weapons and military equipment, and the complete motorization of ground forces immeasurably increased their combat capabilities, changed the nature and methods of conducting combined arms combat.

The basic principles of the tactics of modern ground forces follow from the general principles of military art.

Modern means of combat have had a decisive influence on the change in the content of combined arms combat. It is believed that in the event of the use of nuclear weapons, the main content of the combined arms battle will be nuclear and fire strikes in combination with maneuver and attacks by troops.

The massive introduction of infantry fighting vehicles and armored personnel carriers, self-propelled artillery and other military equipment into the armament of motorized rifle troops, makes it possible to sharply increase the pace of the offensive. Motorized rifle subunits were able to conduct an attack without dismounting together with tanks. Due to the saturation of the troops with helicopters, the widespread use of airborne assault forces, aviation, as well as the maneuver of troops by air, the combined arms battle acquired a ground-air character.

The modern tactics of the offensive of the ground forces are:

in reliable fire suppression of the enemy defense to its entire depth, the transition to the offensive of formations and units on the move from areas significantly remote from the forward edge of the enemy defense;
in carrying out rapid attacks by motorized rifle and tank troops;
in the rapid breakthrough of the enemy's tactical defense and the development of the offensive in its depth.

The methods of preparing and conducting a defensive battle have also changed significantly.

PART 2. THE BATTLE.

Combat is an organized armed struggle between subunits, units and formations of the belligerent parties. Combat can be fought on land, in the air and at sea. The art of combat belongs to the field of tactics, as opposed to operations, which belong to the field of operational art and strategy. The purpose of ground combat is to defeat the opposing tactical group of the enemy and capture (hold) important areas (lines) of the terrain.

The main principles of modern combat are:

interaction of units and subunits of various combat arms and services of the Armed Forces;
surprise of hostilities;
activity and persistence in achieving the set goal;
skillful creation of a grouping of forces and means for conducting combat operations;
all-round support of the battle.

Depending on the objectives and methods of achieving them by the troops, combat operations are classified according to the types of combat, which include oncoming engagement, offensive, withdrawal and defense.

Air and sea battles take place in different conditions than ground ones, and have their own special methods of waging.

Part 3 BASICS OF COUNTER FIGHT.

3.1 General information.

A counter engagement is a type of offensive engagement in which both sides strive to accomplish the assigned task by attacking. In a meeting engagement, the troops have the goal of crushing the advancing enemy within that time frame, seizing the initiative and creating favorable conditions for further actions.

Equipping troops with nuclear, highly effective conventional weapons, a variety of combat equipment and, as a result, increased firepower, striking force and mobility of formations, units and subunits significantly increased the offensive capabilities of the sides. Therefore, in modern conditions, the likelihood of a meeting engagement is especially high, its role in the system of combat operations. A counter engagement can occur during a march, in offensive and defensive operations.

During the march, a counter engagement can take place during the movement of troops by the march near the line of contact of the parties. The most likely encounter battle from the march, as evidenced by military history, in the initial period of the war. During this period, both sides strive to seize and hold the initiative, to achieve their immediate strategic goals as quickly as possible.

Before the start of the war, the main groupings of the parties' forces are at a certain distance from each other and their clash is preceded by the advance of units and formations by march from places of permanent deployment, areas of concentration, exercises and training assemblies on alert. Naturally, in such a situation, when both sides are moving with the same decisive goal of crushing the enemy with offensive actions, conditions are created for the emergence of numerous oncoming battles.

Units and formations of not only the first echelon, but also those moving out of the depths to build up efforts, develop success, or repel enemy strikes, can enter a meeting battle from a march. Consequently, in the initial period of a war, a meeting engagement with the deployment of troops from marching columns becomes the most characteristic type of offensive operations of troops.

In an offensive, oncoming battles can occur when repelling counterattacks and counterattacks, with the development of success, a collision with enemy troops moving forward to close gaps or occupy important lines, in the course of pursuit and other maneuvering actions in depth.

In the event of an oncoming engagement within the enemy's tactical defense zone, advancing troops will most often operate in battle or pre-battle formation. This will make it easier for them to enter the oncoming battle. However, in this case, enemy reserves are used, as a rule, according to previously developed options, move along prepared routes, deploy on pre-selected and equipped lines, and strike in well-studied directions. This will require the commander, while preparing the offensive, to foresee the possibility of a meeting engagement and take appropriate measures, and in the course of its conduct, strive as soon as possible to overcome the resistance of the defending troops, to forestall the advancing enemy reserves in seizing advantageous lines, to disrupt their deployment and organized entry into battle. ...

In defense, a counter engagement is possible when conducting counterattacks and counterattacks, during operations against air and sea landings, as well as when subunits and units are deployed to close gaps formed in the combat formation of troops, or to occupy tactically important lines and objects.

Despite the variety of conditions for the onset of a counter engagement, its essence - the simultaneous desire of the parties to solve problems by offensive actions - remains unchanged. This makes it possible to determine the characteristic features of a meeting engagement and the basic conditions for achieving success in its conduct.

The characteristic features of modern oncoming engagement are:

limited time to organize it;
quick rapprochement of the parties and their entry into battle on the move;
intense struggle to gain time;
seizing and holding the initiative;
sharp and frequent changes in the environment;
deployment of actions on a wide front and to great depths, their transience;
the presence of open flanks and gaps allowing freedom of maneuver.

To successfully conduct an oncoming engagement, it is necessary to creatively apply the general principles of modern combined-arms combat, skillfully use great firepower, high maneuverability, mobility and strike force of troops. At the same time, as combat experience shows, the outcome of a meeting engagement is seriously influenced by factors determined by the nature of this engagement. They must be fully taken into account when organizing and conducting a meeting engagement.

In a meeting engagement, both sides strive to accomplish their tasks by attack and engage in combat on the move, therefore one of the most important conditions for achieving success is the constant conduct of active reconnaissance of the enemy in order to obtain reliable information about him. Troops that do not know the position, forces and intentions of the enemy can be attacked from any direction, their actions acquire a spontaneous, disorganized character, they lose initiative and, as a result, are defeated.

Reconnaissance must timely detect the advancing enemy, reveal his grouping, plan and constantly monitor all his actions. Timely detection of the enemy and the establishment of continuous observation behind him allow the commander to correctly assess the situation and make an informed decision, as well as to anticipate possible changes in the situation during combat operations.

The commander receives information about the enemy from his reconnaissance and the intelligence agencies of the senior commander (chief) acting in front, from the security units, the vanguard, as well as directly from the reconnaissance and combat aircraft and helicopters, from airborne assault forces, neighbors and the senior commander (chief). The personal observation of the enemy by the commander is also of great importance, especially during the conduct of the battle by the marching guard.

Units and subunits enter the oncoming battle on the move. They will not have time to rebuild and redistribute reinforcements with the start of the battle. Therefore, in order to achieve success in a meeting engagement, the commander must create the necessary grouping of forces and equipment in advance, based on the concept of the upcoming battle.

On the march, in anticipation of the oncoming battle, it is important to correctly determine the composition and removal of the head marching outpost, vanguard, vanguard, as well as the places of artillery and anti-aircraft subunits in the column of the main forces.

One of the important conditions for achieving success in a meeting engagement is the timeliness of decision-making and bringing combat missions to subordinate units, for the time factor is of paramount importance in a meeting engagement. The slightest delay in making a decision and bringing combat missions to the attention of the troops entails a loss of initiative, a delay in the delivery of fire strikes, the deployment of subunits and the transition to the attack, and ultimately to defeat. At the same time, the speed of decision making should not be at the expense of its tactical expediency.

Success in a meeting engagement also depends on the quick implementation of a maneuver to capture an advantageous line; preemption of the enemy in fire and nuclear defeat, deployment and transition to the attack; delivering a sudden and strong blow to the enemy, as a rule, in the flank and rear.

An advantageous line for deploying troops can be a line dominating the terrain, ensuring the effective use of all types of troops and types of military equipment, especially tanks, infantry fighting vehicles, armored personnel carriers, ATGM installations and artillery, which has hidden approaches and paths for the advancement of troops, their rapid deployment and strike to the flank and rear of the enemy.

In the capture of an advantageous line, providing favorable conditions for the deployment and entry into battle of the main forces, a large role belongs to forward detachments, vanguards, and tactical airborne assault forces. In order for the forward detachments and vanguards to be able to successfully carry out the tasks assigned to them, tank subunits are first of all assigned to them.

In modern conditions, the importance of preempting the enemy in fire engagement has sharply increased. By preempting the enemy in fire engagement, and in the conduct of hostilities with the use of nuclear weapons and in the delivery of nuclear strikes, seizure of the initiative and important tactical advantages are achieved.

Along with preempting the enemy in delivering nuclear and fire strikes, it is also important to preempt him in the deployment of the main forces and the transition to the attack. The importance of this condition for achieving success in a meeting engagement is confirmed by the experience of many meeting battles conducted in past wars, and is emphasized in the manuals of many modern armies.

It is also important to prevent the organized advance of the enemy grouping.

Achieving success in a meeting engagement is impossible without capturing the initiative and holding it in the course of the battle. This is achieved by the high activity and decisiveness of the actions of the troops, their mobility, efficiency in the work of commanders and staffs, the manifestation of creativity, and anticipating the enemy in actions.

The presence of open flanks and gaps between subunits and units in a meeting engagement gives the enemy the opportunity to carry out wide maneuvers in order to deliver sudden and strong attacks on the flanks and rear. Therefore, the support of the flanks and rear is especially important for success in a meeting engagement. This is achieved by continuous reconnaissance on the flanks, timely detection of the enemy's preparation for an attack on the flank and taking measures to exclude such a possibility, placing reserves and anti-tank weapons closer to the flanks, and quickly organizing counteraction to the enemy in the event of a strike.

3.2 Combat missions of troops.

Due to the incompleteness of data on the enemy, the rapid change in his position when approaching, by the time the combat missions of his grouping in the area where the oncoming engagement is supposed to be determined, motorized rifle and tank subunits in the oncoming battle are assigned only the immediate task and indicate the direction of the further offensive ... The specific content of a combat mission is determined in each battle, taking into account the factors listed above.

3.3 Battle formation.

The order of battle of troops for conducting a meeting engagement is built in accordance with the assigned combat mission, the commander's plan for a meeting engagement and must ensure the delivery of a strong initial strike and the development of the achieved success.

To ensure a powerful initial strike against the enemy, it is advantageous to build the battle formation of combined arms subunits (units) in one echelon with the allocation of a strong reserve.

It is advisable to use the largest part of the forces and means of the first echelon, especially tank subunits and the main forces of motorized rifle subunits, in the main direction with the aim of striking the enemy's flank or rear, dismembering and destroying it in parts. To pin down the main enemy forces from the front, only a part of subunits, primarily motorized rifle ones, are used.

In a meeting engagement, it is especially important that units and subunits of the first echelon have tactical independence. To do this, SMEs in anticipation of the oncoming

an artillery battalion or battery, an anti-aircraft battery (platoon), an anti-tank battery (platoon), and engineering and chemical troops can be attached to collisions with the enemy on the march. TB can be reinforced by motorized rifle, and SME by tank units.

The reserve is intended for building up efforts in the main direction, defeating reserves advancing to enter battle and solving problems that suddenly arise in the course of an oncoming engagement. In a battalion, a reserve is usually created by force up to a company. Combat missions are assigned to him immediately before entering the battle.

The most important tasks of artillery are to support the battle of the vanguard and vanguard (head marching outpost), the destruction of identified nuclear and chemical attack weapons, artillery and mortar batteries, anti-tank weapons, command posts, air defense weapons, electronic warfare facilities, defeat suitable enemy columns, disrupt their organized deployment and attacks, ensuring the deployment of their main forces, fire (artillery) preparation and support for their attack, escorting the offensive, covering the flanks.

The grouping of air defense forces and means is created in such a way as to ensure reliable protection of troops, primarily in the main direction, from attacks by enemy aircraft and helicopters from any direction and from different heights.

An advance detachment is created and dispatched in advance, usually on the march in anticipation of an oncoming engagement or during an offensive. It is entrusted with the task of preempting the enemy in capturing an advantageous line and holding this line until the main forces approach.

PART 4. ORGANIZATION OF COUNTER FIGHT.

Taking into account the conditions of occurrence of a meeting engagement and the factors on which the achievement of success in a meeting engagement depends, its preparation is carried out.

Organization of a meeting engagement includes decision-making, setting combat missions to subunits, organizing interaction, engaging the enemy with fire, air defense, all-round combat support, and monitoring subunits' readiness to perform combat missions.

Early work on preparing the oncoming engagement contributes to its direct organization in a short time.

The commander makes a decision on a meeting engagement on the basis of a mission received from the senior commander (chief), or on his own initiative, based on data from air, ground reconnaissance and combat of the forward detachment, vanguard (head marching outpost).

Having received the task to defeat the enemy in a meeting engagement, the commander puts it on his working map, understands the task and assesses the situation.

When assessing the situation, the commander first of all determines the forces and composition of the advancing enemy, the probable line and time of meeting with him, the direction of his actions, conditions for maneuver, advantageous deployment lines, the line of transition to the attack, routes and time to reach them, the direction of the offensive of the main forces ...

The battalion commander usually makes the decision to defeat an advancing enemy in an oncoming engagement while moving around the map, starting the battle with the head marching outpost or receiving a combat mission.

The plan for a meeting engagement determines the direction of concentration of the main efforts, the type of maneuver and the sequence of destruction of the advancing enemy; the procedure for engaging the enemy with fire during the period of his advance and during deployment for battle; order of battle and the procedure for the use of staff and attached forces and assets.

Having made a decision, the commander assigns combat missions to the subunits by issuing a combat order or combat order.

When assigning tasks to subunits, the combat order usually indicates:

1) the head marching outpost - the composition, the route of movement, which line and by what time to capture and hold to ensure the deployment of the main forces, as well as the order of action with the beginning of their attack;

2) to regular and attached artillery units - tasks to support the battle of the head marching outpost and the main forces, areas of firing positions and the time of readiness to open fire, signals of fire, transfer and ceasefire, the order of movement during the battle;

3) MSR (TR) - combat mission, line of transition to the attack, route to reach it, time and direction of attack, order of interaction;

4) reserve - the composition, direction and order of movement during the battle;

5) to other subunits - the tasks of covering and supporting subunits of the main forces during advancement, deployment and during the battle, the place in the battle formation, the order of movement during the battle.

The commander immediately reports to the senior commander about the decision taken and the orders given.

Translator Sebastian Yakimenko

While many military tactics have long been studied and widely used, some of them, invented in a hurry or taking into account the prevailing circumstances, can rightly be classified as crazy. This also applies to the tactics listed below, which, it seemed, could bring an instant death sentence, but in fact, everything turned out to be just the opposite.

10. Cat army

Cats have been used throughout the history of human warfare, usually for reconnaissance or to prevent an attack. But no one else used cats as sophisticated as the king of Persia Cambyses II. The Persian ruler fought the Egyptians at the Battle of Pelusium in 525 BC. and since we all know that the cat held an honorable place in Egyptian society and was considered a sacred creature, the Achaemenid Empire decided to take advantage of this fact to invade Egypt. Cambyses ordered his men to paint felines on their shields, and sent a hundred cats to the front line. The plan worked: Egyptian archers refused to shoot the animals, fearing that they would injure or kill them, which is a crime and is punishable by death. Instead, the Egyptians retreated and most of them were killed by the Persians. Ultimately, the territory was captured, and the pharaoh was taken prisoner.

9. Spartan Sikhs

When you think of the Sikhs (if you know who they are), there is no violence whatsoever ... aside from one battle - in which 48 Sikhs held back 100,000 men. The Sikhs fled the Mughal Empire for several days and then established the state of Anandpur Sahib in Punjab, India. After seeking refuge, they were overtaken by the Mughal army, who surrounded them. For most, this would mean surrender even before the enemy could approach the gates to the city. But the Sikhs decided to defend themselves against the vastly superior forces of the enemy, in order to at least allow their leader Guru to escape. Either way, 48 men defended the fortress for an entire night, distracting the enemy and killing 3,000 enemies, as well as ensuring the survival of their religion.

8. Siege siege

After the Gallic revolt in Alesia in 52 BC, Julius Caesar sent 60,000 of his legionnaires to the city and laid siege to an 80,000 strong Gallic army. When Caesar learned that 120,000 Gaulish reinforcements were marching towards his forces, he ordered his men to build outer walls next to the besieged city, surrounded by a moat and palisade. Over the next several weeks, commanding forces that were almost 4 times inferior to the enemy's forces, Caesar led the siege of Alesia and the defense of his fortifications. On October 2, he, along with 6,000 cavalry, launched a devastating surprise attack against 60,000 troops, forcing the surrender of those in Alesia.

7. Hammers against submarines

German submarines were instrumental in disrupting British, American and French supplies during World War I. Otto Kretschmer alone, the most prolific submarine officer of the Second World War, was responsible for the sinking of more than 40 ships with a total cargo of more than 200 thousand tons. Without their own submarines and virtually no countermeasures plan, the British came up with a somewhat strange solution to the situation - a hammer and a small canvas sack. A convoy of a blacksmith and several shooters on a small raft sailed out into the deep night at sea, and as soon as the team noticed the raised periscope of the submarine, they imperceptibly approached it, smashed the lenses with a hammer or put a bag on the periscope so that the captain could not see anything, thereby forcing the boat to rise to the surface, where the artillery was waiting for it. Although this method was successfully used (16 submarines were damaged by the hammer), not a single vessel was completely destroyed.

6. Worst technology

Going with a knife to a man with a pistol is simply pointless, as well as fighting with spears against archers with arrows. The use of biplanes by Soviet troops on the Eastern Front during World War II, when the Luftwaffe had much more technologically advanced aircraft, seemed equally ridiculous. Few also know that Polikarpov's Po-2 biplanes were operated by the Night Witches, a brigade of female bombers. They were given outdated technology because they were women, but the bombers soon established themselves, flying over 1,000 missions by the end of the war. There was also one secret of their success: the fast German Me-109 could not slow down in order to strike at the slow-moving Po-2. And although they could only carry two bombs on board, their wooden frames made it possible to remain unnoticed on enemy radars, and thus Po-2 biplanes entered the history of Soviet aviation as one of the few aircraft that survived the German occupation in the sky.

5. Burial

The Trojan horse, as you know, was a gift from the Danaans to the Trojans and was just a cunning trick - but in this case, we will talk about the coffins of the Vikings. Hastein, the leader of the Vikings, was looking for an opportunity to get to Rome in 860 AD. and prove yourself. Taking advantage of the fact that the Vikings were looting mostly villages, not cities, he came up with a plan to get around the city walls: pretend to be a dead Scandinavian and be buried in the city. Hastein pretended to be dead in a coffin and his small party, accompanied by him, simply walked through the central gate. Although his plan was successful, he later found himself in the city of Luna, not Rome, and plundered the wrong city.

4. Patient waiting

Richard the Lionheart met Saladin's army at Arsuf in 1191. The enemy's army outnumbered his army three times and consisted mainly of cavalry. It would have been suicide to fight in an open field, and instead, Richard formed a defensive perimeter next to the river and waited - under constant fire - from early morning until noon. His tactic was to make Saladin attack, tired of waiting, and use his advantage to attack first; and after several hours Saladin nevertheless sent his archers into the attack, trying to force the heavy knights of the crusaders to counterattack. Richard intended to wait until the first Saracen forces came within close combat, and only then ordered his heavy cavalry to attack, thereby destroying the enemy's infantry and winning the battle.

3. Burning camels

Patience is one thing, but setting fire to your camels as the only means of salvation is quite another. Nothing prevented Timur, a descendant of Genghis Khan, from using this tactic to capture Delhi. When his army met the army of the Sultan, consisting of 120 war elephants in 1398, Timur ordered his retreating army to load the camels with hay, set it on fire, and then send the camels to the enemy. As you probably already guessed, the sight of the burning camels was enough to scare the elephants and send them back to the Indian front line. And the Indian army was trampled by its own elephants (who, moreover, were dressed in heavy chain mail and had poisoned tusks), which brought Timur an easy victory. He also replaced his camels with 120 elephants, which he later used to further his invasion of India.

2. The enemy of my enemy

On May 5, 1945, one of the strangest battles of World War II took place. Only three days before the official surrender of Germany, Major Joseph Gangl and his nine subordinates surrendered Itter Castle along with French prisoners to 14 American soldiers. But before the Americans arrived to evacuate the prisoners and to capture their former captors, the 17th SS Grenadier Division was already there, which was sent to exterminate the prisoners. Gangle, realizing that the prison would be emptied before the expected reinforcements, offered his help to the Americans. Throughout the morning, German and American soldiers fought side by side, which was the only recorded case of such a development in the war. After some time, American reinforcements arrived and finally defeated the SS unit, but Gangle was killed by one of the riflemen. It should be noted that it is advisable to provide automatic weapons to prisoners of war only in extreme situations.

1. Ice

History has taught us that if you are going to invade Russia in winter, you will have to go through hard times. The Teutonic Knights were also not immune from this. The Crusaders had much better uniforms than the Russians, with full armor and armored horses. The Russians had no chance of winning this battle, so they retreated to the ice of Lake Peipsi and then prepared to meet the attack, hoping that the icy lake would slow down the enemies. The knights followed them swiftly, not realizing that the ice would not be able to support their armored weight. The ranks of the Crusaders were in chaos, slipping and breaking the ice under their feet. The shelling of the archers of the Russian army led to the complete retreat of the Teutonic Order.

So the tactic doesn't have to be from the textbook. So it is in relationships. What can you think of? Sleeping bags. What are sleeping bags? you come in, buy, invite the girl home and sleep in a sleeping bag together ... Unusual and very close

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