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Counterattack

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</style><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">For other uses, see <a href="Counterattack_(disambiguation)" class="mw-disambig" title="Counterattack (disambiguation)">Counterattack (disambiguation)</a>.</div>

A counterattack is a tactic employed in response to an attack, with the term originating in "<a href="Military_exercise" title="Military exercise">war games</a>".<a href="#cite_note-DOD-1">[1]</a> The general objective is to negate or thwart the advantage gained by the enemy during attack, while the specific objectives typically seek to regain lost ground or destroy the attacking enemy (this may take the form of an opposing sports team or <a href="Military_organization#Commands.2C_formations.2C_and_units" title="Military organization">military units</a>).<a href="#cite_note-DOD-1">[1]</a><a href="#cite_note-2">[2]</a><a href="#cite_note-3">[3]</a>

A counter-offensive is a broad-scale counterattack. The counter-offensive is executed after exhausting the enemy's <a href="Front_line" title="Front line">frontline</a> troops and after the enemy <a href="Military_reserve" title="Military reserve">reserves</a> had been committed to combat and proven incapable of breaching defenses, but before the enemy has had the opportunity to assume new defensive positions. Sometimes the counter-offensive can be of a more limited operational maneuver nature, with more limited objectives rather than those seeking attainment of a <a href="Strategic_goal_(military)" title="Strategic goal (military)">strategic goal</a>. A counter-offensive was considered by <a href="Clausewitz" class="mw-redirect" title="Clausewitz">Clausewitz</a> to be the most efficient means of forcing the attacker to abandon offensive plans.<a href="#cite_note-4">[4]</a> Counter-offensives can be executed not only on land, but also by the <a href="Navy" title="Navy">naval</a>, and <a href="Air_force" title="Air force">air</a> forces.<a href="#cite_note-5">[5]</a> Strategic counter-offensives have been recorded by <a href="Military_historian" class="mw-redirect" title="Military historian">military historians</a> in many wars throughout <a href="Military_history" title="Military history">military history</a>. Although not always known as such, because they are usually described by historians in conjunction with the defensive phase, such as the <a href="Battle_of_Moscow" title="Battle of Moscow">Battle of Moscow</a>.

A saying, attributed to <a href="Napoleon_I_of_France" class="mw-redirect" title="Napoleon I of France">Napoleon Bonaparte</a> illustrates the tactical importance of the counterattack : "the greatest danger occurs at the moment of victory". In the same spirit, in his <a href="Battle_Studies" title="Battle Studies">Battle Studies</a>, <a href="Ardant_du_Picq" class="mw-redirect" title="Ardant du Picq">Ardant du Pic</a> noticed that "he, general or mere captain, who employs every one in the storming of a position can be sure of seeing it retaken by an organised counter-attack of four men and a corporal".<a href="#cite_note-6">[6]</a>

A counterattack is a military tactic that occurs when one side successfully fends off the enemy’s attack and begins to push the enemy back with an attack of its own. In order to perform a successful counterattack, the defending side must quickly and decisively strike the enemy after defending, with the objective of shocking and overwhelming the enemy.<a href="#cite_note-:0-7">[7]</a> The main concept of the counterattack is to catch the enemy by surprise.<a href="#cite_note-:0-7">[7]</a> Many historical counterattacks were successful because the enemy was off guard and not expecting the counterattack.<a href="#cite_note-:0-7">[7]</a>

<div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Analyzing_historical_counterattacks">Analyzing historical counterattacks</h2></div>

In the past, there have been many notable counterattacks which have changed the course of a war. To be specific, <a href="Operation_Bagration" title="Operation Bagration">Operation Bagration</a> and the <a href="Battle_of_Austerlitz" title="Battle of Austerlitz">Battle of Austerlitz</a> are good examples of the proper execution of a counterattack.

<div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Operation_Bagration">Operation Bagration</h3></div>

<a href="Operation_Bagration" title="Operation Bagration">Operation Bagration</a> is one of the largest counteroffensives in military history. In the summer of 1944 the assault, made up by roughly 1.7 million Red Army soldiers, succeeded in putting the Red Army on the offensive in the Eastern Front, as well as recapturing a large portion of the Soviet Union territory that Nazi Germany had captured 3 years prior in the summer of 1941 during <a href="Operation_Barbarossa" title="Operation Barbarossa">Operation Barbarossa</a>.

The <a href="Soviet_Union" title="Soviet Union">Soviet</a> counterattack focused on Belorussia, but prior to the counterattack starting, the Soviet Union fooled Nazi military leaders into believing that the attack would take place further south, near Ukraine.<a href="#cite_note-:2-8">[8]</a>

To aid the deception, the Red Army established fake army camps in Ukraine and after German reconnaissance planes reported Soviet troop concentrations in the area, <a href="Panzer" class="mw-redirect" title="Panzer">panzer</a> and infantry divisions were rushed south from Belorussia, leaving it vulnerable to a major assault.

To support the attack, partisan groups in German-controlled territory were instructed to destroy German railroads to hamper German efforts to transport supplies and troops throughout the occupied territories and further weaken German Army Group Centre in Ukraine.<a href="#cite_note-:2-8">[8]</a>

On 22 June 1944, the attack on Belarus by 1.7 million Soviet troops began and overwhelmed the depleted Germans defenders.

On 3 July, the Red Army captured Minsk, and later the rest of Belorussia.

Operation Bagration was a huge Soviet success and opened a direct route to Berlin after the fall of Belorussia, leading to the Red Army beginning to take over the territory that had been taken by the Wehrmacht three years before.<a href="#cite_note-:2-8">[8]</a>

<div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Battle_of_Austerlitz">Battle of Austerlitz</h3></div>

Another military battle that utilized the counterattack tactic was the <a href="Battle_of_Austerlitz" title="Battle of Austerlitz">Battle of Austerlitz</a> on 2 December 1805. While fighting the Austrian and Russian armies, Napoleon purposely made it seem as if his men were weak from the fighting in several cases.<a href="#cite_note-:3-9">[9]</a> Napoleon had his men retreat in an attempt to lure the Allies to battle.<a href="#cite_note-:3-9">[9]</a> He purposely left his right flank open and vulnerable.<a href="#cite_note-:3-9">[9]</a> This deceived the Allies into attacking and the Allies fell into <a href="Napoleon" title="Napoleon">Napoleon</a>'s trap.<a href="#cite_note-:3-9">[9]</a> When the Allied troops went to attack Napoleon’s right flank, Napoleon quickly filled up the right flank so the attack was not effective.<a href="#cite_note-:3-9">[9]</a> However, on the Allied side, a large gap was left open in the middle of the Allied front line due to troops leaving to attack the French right flank.<a href="#cite_note-:3-9">[9]</a> Noticing the large hole in the middle of the Allied lines, Napoleon attacked the middle and had his forces also flank around both sides, eventually surrounding the Allies.<a href="#cite_note-:3-9">[9]</a> With the Allies completely surrounded, the battle was over.<a href="#cite_note-:3-9">[9]</a> The Battle of Austerlitz was a successful counterattack because the French army defended off the Allied attack and quickly defeated the Allies.<a href="#cite_note-:3-9">[9]</a> Napoleon deceived the Allies.<a href="#cite_note-:3-9">[9]</a> He made his men seem weak and near defeat.<a href="#cite_note-:3-9">[9]</a>

<div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Battle_of_St._Vith">Battle of St. Vith</h3></div>

The Battle of St. Vith was part of the <a href="Battle_of_the_Bulge" title="Battle of the Bulge">Battle of the Bulge</a>, which began on 16 December 1944, and represented the right <a href="Flanking_maneuver" title="Flanking maneuver">flank</a> in the advance of the German center, <a href="5th_Panzer_Army" title="5th Panzer Army">5th Panzer-Armee</a> (Armored Army), toward the ultimate objective of <a href="Antwerp" title="Antwerp">Antwerp</a>. Given the task of countering the German advance, US General <a href="Bruce_C._Clarke" title="Bruce C. Clarke">Bruce C. Clarke</a> decided that a <a href="Mobile_defense" title="Mobile defense">mobile defense</a> was the best solution. Knowing that the German army was aiming for an objective far behind the battle line, he decided that they could afford to lose a few kilometers a day - the idea being that a slowing down of the advance was as good as stopping them outright, since the Germans were limited by time.

The mobile defense he used at St. Vith involved the use of <a href="M36_tank_destroyer" title="M36 tank destroyer">M36 tank destroyers</a> acting as a base of fire to resist the oncoming German armored thrust, slowing them down enough to then counter-attack them with a force of <a href="M4_Sherman" title="M4 Sherman">M4 Sherman</a> tanks. Artillery and Infantry were involved in this process as a combined arms force. The key was not to engage the Germans in a pitched battle, but to slow their advance enough to ruin their offensive timetable. The counter-attacks ensured that the German forces could not break through the slowly retreating forces. Clarke's success was one of the first times armor had been used in a mobile defense.

<ul><li><a href="Cult_of_the_offensive" title="Cult of the offensive">Cult of the offensive</a></li>

<li><a href="Battleplan" title="Battleplan">Battleplan</a> (documentary TV series)</li></ul>

<div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Notes_and_references">Notes and references</h2></div>

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</style><cite id="CITEREFStaff" class="citation web cs1">Staff. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120928071148/http://www.dtic.mil/doctrine/jel/doddict/data/c/01333.html">"counterdeception"</a>. DTIC Online. DEFENSE TECHNICAL INFORMATION CENTER. Archived from <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.dtic.mil/doctrine/jel/doddict/data/c/01333.html">the original</a> on 28 September 2012. Retrieved 13 June 2012. <q>year: Unknown</q></cite>

</li>

<li id="cite_note-2"><a href="#cite_ref-2">^</a> <cite id="CITEREFTom_Cohen2010" class="citation news cs1">Tom Cohen (19 December 2010). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://edition.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/12/19/senate.start/index.html">"McConnell leads GOP counter-attack against START pact"</a>. Cable News Network. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. Retrieved 13 June 2012.</cite>

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<li id="cite_note-3"><a href="#cite_ref-3">^</a> <cite id="CITEREFTim_Vickery2011" class="citation web cs1">Tim Vickery (27 July 2011). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.today/20120714043501/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/writers/tim_vickery/07/25/copa.america.ten.questions/index.html">"Uruguay's momentum, Paraguay's bumpy road, more Copa America"</a>. SI.com. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. Archived from <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/writers/tim_vickery/07/25/copa.america.ten.questions/index.html">the original</a> on 14 July 2012. Retrieved 13 June 2012.</cite>

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<li id="cite_note-4"><a href="#cite_ref-4">^</a> p.540, Briggs

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<li id="cite_note-5"><a href="#cite_ref-5">^</a> <cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.doctrine.af.mil/Portals/61/documents/AFDP_3-01/3-01-AFDP-COUNTERAIR.pdf">"Counter-Air Operations"</a> (PDF). US Air Force. 6 September 2019. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210805133959/https://www.doctrine.af.mil/Portals/61/documents/AFDP_3-01/3-01-AFDP-COUNTERAIR.pdf">Archived</a> (PDF) from the original on 5 August 2021. Retrieved 24 May 2023.</cite>

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<li id="cite_note-6"><a href="#cite_ref-6">^</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/webbin/gutbook/lookup?num=7294">Ardant du Picq, 'Battle Studies'</a>

</li>

<li id="cite_note-:0-7">^ <a href="#cite_ref-:0_7-0">a</a> <a href="#cite_ref-:0_7-1">b</a> <a href="#cite_ref-:0_7-2">c</a> <cite id="CITEREFPike" class="citation web cs1">Pike, John. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/report/1990/CDC.htm">"A View On Counterattacks In The Defensive Scheme Of Maneuver"</a>. www.globalsecurity.org. Retrieved 9 April 2017.</cite>

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<li id="cite_note-:2-8">^ <a href="#cite_ref-:2_8-0">a</a> <a href="#cite_ref-:2_8-1">b</a> <a href="#cite_ref-:2_8-2">c</a> <cite id="CITEREFGlantz2016" class="citation book cs1">Glantz, Mary E. (2016). Battle for Belorussia : the Red Army's forgotten campaign of October 1943-April 1944. University Press of Kansas. <a href="ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <bdi>9780700623297</bdi>. <a href="OCLC_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="OCLC (identifier)">OCLC</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/947149001">947149001</a>.</cite>

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<li id="cite_note-:3-9">^ <a href="#cite_ref-:3_9-0">a</a> <a href="#cite_ref-:3_9-1">b</a> <a href="#cite_ref-:3_9-2">c</a> <a href="#cite_ref-:3_9-3">d</a> <a href="#cite_ref-:3_9-4">e</a> <a href="#cite_ref-:3_9-5">f</a> <a href="#cite_ref-:3_9-6">g</a> <a href="#cite_ref-:3_9-7">h</a> <a href="#cite_ref-:3_9-8">i</a> <a href="#cite_ref-:3_9-9">j</a> <a href="#cite_ref-:3_9-10">k</a> <cite id="CITEREFRobert.2005" class="citation book cs1">Robert., Goetz (1 January 2005). 1805: Austerlitz : Napoleon and the destruction of the third coalition. Stackpole Books. <a href="ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <bdi>1853676446</bdi>. <a href="OCLC_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="OCLC (identifier)">OCLC</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/260090494">260090494</a>.</cite>

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<div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Bibliography">Bibliography</h2></div>

<ul><li>Briggs, Clarence E., (ed.), translated by <a href="Oliver_Lyman_Spaulding_(general)" title="Oliver Lyman Spaulding (general)">Oliver L. Spaulding</a>, Roots of Strategy: 3 Military Classics : Von Leeb's Defense, Von Freytag-Loringhoven's the Power of Personality in War, Erfurth's Surprise, Stackpole Books, 1991</li>

<li><a href="United_States_Department_of_Defense" title="United States Department of Defense">Department of Defense</a> (US); <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20081123014953/http://www.dtic.mil/doctrine/jel/new_pubs/jp1_02.pdf">Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms</a>. Published by: <a href="United_States_Government_Printing_Office" class="mw-redirect" title="United States Government Printing Office">United States Government Printing Office</a>, Washington, DC. Retrieved: 13 October 2008.</li></ul>

<div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Further_reading">Further reading</h2></div>

<ul><li><cite id="CITEREFBruce_Schneier2003" class="citation book cs1">Bruce Schneier (2003). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.org/details/beyondfearthinki00schn_0/page/173">Beyond Fear</a>. Springer. pp. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.org/details/beyondfearthinki00schn_0/page/173">173–175</a>. <a href="ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <bdi>9780387026206</bdi>.</cite></li>

<li><cite id="CITEREFGlover_S._Johns2002" class="citation book cs1">Glover S. Johns (2002). The Clay Pigeons of St. Lo. Stackpole Books. pp. 174–175. <a href="ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <bdi>9780811726047</bdi>.</cite></li></ul></div><div><div class="zim-footer">

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