Questions tagged [tactics]

The deployment, martialing and maneuver of low-level units to achieve military advantage.

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18 answers
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Why bother attacking castles at all? Why not go around?

Castles were designed to hold people, weapons, and supplies to survive a siege. They were well-defended. Taking one could easily be a long, bloody struggle. Why attack at all? Most castles I've seen ...
spraff's user avatar
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55 votes
7 answers
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Why did the Roman military start to favour swords over the spear phalanx?

Up until the rise of the Roman Republic, the Greek phalanx was considered the dominant form of military tactics. Evolution had simply favoured longer and longer spears: by the time of Alexander, ...
Bob Tway's user avatar
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41 votes
6 answers
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Why didn't line infantry tactics try to keep up a constant volley of fire?

Often in movies on the American revolution and back when muskets were common place the opposing armies would line up facing each other and take turns firing. One side, then the other. Kind of like a ...
Alex's user avatar
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36 votes
2 answers
6k views

How were drawbridges and portcullises used tactically?

How were drawbridges and portcullises used tactically? I was recently asked why medieval castles would have both a drawbridge and a portcullis. After giving an explanation, I realized that it was just ...
ConanTheGerbil's user avatar
28 votes
10 answers
17k views

Are tanks the only reason for the abandonment of trench warfare?

The First World War in the West was for 4 years restricted to trench warfare. Gaining enemy territory cost many human lives for both sides. The main (or maybe most spectacular) battles were Verdun and ...
Voitcus's user avatar
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28 votes
4 answers
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Why were the losses in the Battle of Norfolk so lopsided?

During the 1991 Gulf War there were a lot of lopsided tank battles where such a large number of Iraqi vehicles got destroyed for very little Coalition losses. For example in the Battle of Norfolk ...
user69715's user avatar
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28 votes
4 answers
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How difficult was to escape from a naval battle after engaging into one during the Age of Sail?

So, I am designing a board game which includes pirates/imperial battles during the age of sail. While I have found a lot of information on the internet as well as books, papers and of course other ...
Spyros's user avatar
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27 votes
10 answers
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What's the advantage of the infantry column formation in the Napoleonic Wars?

In movies/books set in the Napoleonic Wars, the British are normally deployed into lines and the French into columns. The columns are usually the advancing ones, charging into the line as the line ...
Fitri's user avatar
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26 votes
7 answers
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What was the first battle in history fought by vast-majority-% "distance-shooting" non-mechanized force?

Historically, armies usually had a balance between warriors with projectile weapons (bows/guns) and close combat edged weapons (sword/pike/axe etc...). This was necessary because ranged weapons of ...
DVK's user avatar
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25 votes
8 answers
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What tactical situations made the use of traditional horse cavalry effective in World War II?

In another question When was the last cavalry charge?, answers discussed several occasions where horses were still used in combat, including in cavalry charges. I thought that the invention of the ...
Bruce James's user avatar
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22 votes
6 answers
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Why did Sun Tzu believe you shouldn't wait beside a river when eager to fight?

In Sun Tzu's Art of War, Chapter 9 (The Army on the March), Verse 5, Tzu says If you are anxious to fight, you should not go to meet the invader near a river which he has to cross. My thinking is ...
Albert Johnson's user avatar
22 votes
3 answers
8k views

When people use spears to fight cavalry do infantry stab the horse or the rider?

I am just curious. In most games spear infantry is a "counter" against cavalry. How does that really work anyway? Any clips on actual cavalry fighting infantry that's historically accurate would be ...
user4951's user avatar
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21 votes
5 answers
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What was the tactical benefit of using flamethrowers as weapons?

I often hear stories of flamethrower troops storming the beaches of Iwo Jima and burning bunkers full of troops. But isn't it more risky to carry a tank of flammable liquid with limited fuel and ...
RN_'s user avatar
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20 votes
4 answers
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WW1 tunneling - bypassing the front line?

During the first world war both sides engaged in tunnel warfare, the primary purpose of which (as far as I can tell) was to place large amounts of explosives under enemy lines and then detonate them ...
ConanTheGerbil's user avatar
16 votes
7 answers
16k views

How tight were shield walls in Saxon England?

After watching the BBC show The Last Kingdom, depicting conflicts between Saxons and Danes in the 800s AD, I was surprised by the multi-layered shield walls depicted. For example: or even: I had ...
lazarusL's user avatar
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15 votes
2 answers
3k views

Why didn't the Roman maniple make a comeback in the Renaissance?

In the late Medieval/Renaissance period, the concept of the Greek phalanx reappeared in the shape of the pike square. But, while the maniple system was by no means a straight counter of the phalanx, ...
Faerindel's user avatar
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15 votes
3 answers
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In Viking combat, how much damage was done using the shield?

A while back I was watching some show on cable that was centered on recreating ancient combat (sorry, don't recall which of the many clones it was). One thing they stressed was that Vikings did NOT ...
DVK's user avatar
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13 votes
5 answers
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Why did ramming reappear then disappear in 1800s shipborn warfare?

This question is twofold. First, why the resurgence of naval ramming and return of rams to naval designs in the second half of the 1800s? Second, why the end to ramming in the 1900s? Can one ...
BOB's user avatar
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13 votes
2 answers
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In which situation is the broadside more preferable than every gun firing on their own time?

Mathematically, a ship should be able to fire more shots if each of the cannons fire at their fastest speed, instead of waiting for everyone to be ready, but it seems that a broadside is sometimes ...
Louis Rhys's user avatar
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12 votes
2 answers
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Physics of a heavy cavalry charge?

Can someone explain a heavy cavalry charge? A bunch of 500kg animals smashes into a dense crowd of men at speed of 40km/h. This simply cannot end good for neither side. Let's say the charge fails. The ...
Jotunn's user avatar
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11 votes
2 answers
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When was the testudo / tortoise formation first used by the Romans?

When was the earliest known use of the testudo formation by the Romans? Wikipedia's article on the testudo formation includes a quote from Cassius Dio which mentions the use of a testudo formation at ...
Null's user avatar
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8 votes
2 answers
2k views

What are the grenades and artillery cited in this testimony?

In the testimony of a Soviet officer of the raid on Tatsinskaya cited by Wikipedia, the Soviet officer speaks of two elements faced by Soviet tanks: Enemy artillery Germans "launching grenades [...
totalMongot's user avatar
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8 votes
1 answer
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What equipment and formations did the Muslim armies employ against the Crusades?

One can easily find articles on Wikipedia about typical tactical formations of Romans, but I haven't found such information on the Muslim world, specifically during the crusades. Did the Muslim armies ...
Medi1Saif's user avatar
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8 votes
2 answers
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Changing troops in first line during battle?

I remember Caesar in De Bello Gallico mentioning Romans changing fighting/resting troops in some siege defense while Celtic attackers didn't do this and lost the battle because of it. This is just one ...
Pavel's user avatar
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8 votes
3 answers
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How were mounted infantry (like dragoons) used in battle?

During the Napoleonic Wars, Some troops performed as "mounted infantry", i.e. they rode horses to move, but dismounted and fought like infantry. Dragoons are usually given as examples. How was this ...
Fitri's user avatar
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8 votes
1 answer
2k views

How do war elephants fight?

Do they just run into a phalanx, breaking it up? Do they lift their front foot and then crush enemies below? What do elephants do? Or do the fighters on top of it just shoot arrows?
user4951's user avatar
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7 votes
5 answers
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Why didn't Romans fight in a single line formation?

I read that historically, Romans fought in checker board formation, composed of 3 lines. But I play Rome Total War and in the game, that deployment means a nice recipe for high casualties. In the game,...
Utku's user avatar
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7 votes
3 answers
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What is the motivation of having heavy infantry to the right and light infantry to the left flank?

In Napoleonic wars era, a line contains mostly regular troops except for two kind of elite units, the heavy one, e.g. grenadiers, they normally are the bravest, strongest troops with the best stamina, ...
Fitri's user avatar
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7 votes
3 answers
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Did ancient or medieval warriors "substitute" in and out of combat?

This question arose in the role-playing games SE Some claim that in archery, horse archery, or hand-to-hand combat, a warrior could function effectively for at most 2-3 minutes. Therefore, frontline ...
Solanacea's user avatar
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7 votes
2 answers
13k views

Military tactics specifically aimed against cavalry horses

Were tactics specifically aimed against horses common in past cavalry warfare and what forms did they take? For instance, did opponents try to harm (poison or shoot-them-first), distract (loud ...
Drux's user avatar
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6 votes
2 answers
2k views

How were siege ladders used to attack medieval castle walls?

It's a common trope in both movies and computer games that ladders are used to climb walls when assaulting a castle. But in each case it seems like it would be incredibly easy to defend - it appears ...
komodosp's user avatar
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6 votes
2 answers
533 views

Was the flexibility of German army a big contributor to their success?

While in a conversation, my friend claimed that German soldiers were given greater flexibility at defying the orders given by the superiors than other armies around the world in both World War, hence ...
Hosea's user avatar
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6 votes
1 answer
2k views

Why was the massive Human Wave attack used in WWI? [closed]

If the Human Wave Attack wave tactic is in all the lights, a invitation to a carnage, why was it so largely used in battles in WWI? Weren't other tactical options available at the time that could have ...
Cheluis's user avatar
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6 votes
3 answers
1k views

How much armor did elephant units wear?

I often hear stories about enemies defeating elephant riders by axing the legs of the elephants. Does this mean that the commander of the elephant army did not put enough armor on the elephants' legs?...
user4951's user avatar
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6 votes
1 answer
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How were war elephants used against cavalry?

In this question: How do war elephants fight? it was mentioned that horses tend to dislike elephants, so they are effective against cavalry. How does this work in practice? I don't imagine it would be ...
Fitri's user avatar
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6 votes
0 answers
1k views

What weapons did Yue Fei use against the Jin Cavalry

One of my Chinese friends said that the Jin troops rode 5 horses at once and charged as a very heavy cataphract. Yue Fei used a special halberd and cut off the horses legs. The riders fell off their ...
user4951's user avatar
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5 votes
2 answers
1k views

How was reconnaissance performed in medieval warfare?

During the middle ages reconnaissance played at least a minor part in a tactician's plans. As evidenced by this question Irish Hobelars would be used to scout ahead in terrain that was too difficult ...
PausePause's user avatar
4 votes
3 answers
497 views

Was it possible to "aim for the epaulette boys" during the Middle Ages?

During the American Revolution, American troops were often told to "aim for the epaulette boys,"* that is, to first shoot at officers wearing epaulettes, on the theory that killing an officer would ...
Tom Au's user avatar
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4 votes
4 answers
665 views

How did Farragut know he could get his fleet through the Confederate line of "torpedos" at Mobile Bay?

At the Battle of Mobile Bay, Adm. David G. Farragut commanded an 18-vessel fleet that included two monitors and his own wooden-hulled flagship, USS Hartford. The entrance to Mobile Bay was guarded by ...
Bruce James's user avatar
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4 votes
3 answers
1k views

How could a skilled battle commander like Napoleon Bonaparte lose to Prussians at Waterloo (Belgium) as such?

According to this website Napoleon Bonaparte lost the battle at Waterloo to Prussians because of (chronologically): The failure of Grouchy keeping the Prussians away from the Battlefield. The late ...
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4 votes
1 answer
434 views

How deep would a Roman Marian cohort's battle line be, in a melee?

Are there any estimates for how deep a Roman battle line was, under Marius, at the level of a cohort? Whether the line was 3, 6, or another number of ranks deep? I'd suppose 3 would be a minimum, and ...
Hoseman's user avatar
  • 93
4 votes
1 answer
310 views

What would be a textbook example of Germans attacking a small defending force in the rubble of a village?

While reading this The Saving Private Ryan Online Encyclopedia I ran into: One of the most heavily criticized scenes in the film, the Battle of Ramelle is not a textbook example of how a German ...
Marian Paździoch's user avatar
4 votes
1 answer
648 views

Underwater U-boat battles [duplicate]

In the movie U-571 (IMDB) there's a scene where two U-boats fire torpedoes at each other, at close range, while both submerged. I always imagined U-boats would fight one another while on the surface, ...
rath's user avatar
  • 516
4 votes
0 answers
88 views

When exactly did General von Kluck learn of the French Sixth Army?

The French Sixth Army had been forming in Paris for some time before they positioned themselves to attack the German First Army under von Kluck. According to von Kluck's wikipedia: On 31 August ...
user avatar
3 votes
4 answers
1k views

What were German submarine tactics?

I watch a show about WWII submarines. After Pearl Harbor they send 4-5 submarines of a new class with large dimension so can have bigger autonomy range. This was related to the first German waves to ...
Juan Carlos Oropeza's user avatar
3 votes
1 answer
223 views

During the American Civil war did gunboats range far into enemy territory?

In other words during the American civil war did the “front line” or enemy held territory act as a barrier to the passage of gunboats up and down rivers? Or was it possible for any to move deep into ...
Slarty's user avatar
  • 187
3 votes
2 answers
463 views

How "old" is mechanized infantry in terms of usage in warfare and what should be called as such?

This topic often fascinated me as a kid. I often questioned myself if there was an equivalent of the use of machinery to protect ground soldiers during a siege or an attack at some city or whatever ...
Chris Steinbeck Bell's user avatar
3 votes
1 answer
337 views

Would Wright's attack on Cemetery Ridge have succeeded if Posey had covered Wright's Left Flank?

On the Second Day of the Battle of Gettysburg, the Third Confederate Brigade under Brig. Gen. Ambrose Wright (serving under Anderson's Division) charged from Seminary Ridge into Union forces holding ...
Bruce James's user avatar
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3 votes
2 answers
1k views

Did any "tanks in front" tactic exist during WW2?

I am searching for a tactic that would be in service in the British and/or French army during WW2. It would consist in placing the tank on forward position of other elements, especially in front of ...
totalMongot's user avatar
  • 6,605
2 votes
5 answers
2k views

In Battle of Zama, how did Hannibal's use of war elephants lead to a Roman victory?

Why did Hannibal attack with elephants from the front? Why not from side? Also why did the elephants just keep walking through the small gap? Why not wreak havoc in the middle of Roman troops? (like ...
user4951's user avatar
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