This article contains a list of military tactics. The meaning of the phrase is context sensitive, and has varied over time, like the difference between "strategy" and "tactics".

General

Eight classic maneuvers of warfare

Tactics

Deception

In the 4th century BCE, Sun Tzu said "the Military is a Tao of deception". Diversionary attacks, feints, decoys; there are thousands of tricks that have been successfully used in warfare, and still have a role in the modern day.

Defensive

• Basic principles • * Mutual support (e.g., by crossfire) • * Echelon formation • * All round defence • * Force dispersal • Fighting withdrawal • * Booby traps • Counter attack • * Counter battery fire • * Rapid reaction force • Delaying defence • * Break contact • Hedgehog defence • * military bottleneck • Pakfront • Fortification • * Field works (entrenchments) • ** Over head protection • ** Revetting • ** Shell scrapes • ** Defensive fighting position • Use and improvement of terrain • *Use of the High ground • * Protection • * Natural barriers – e.g., rivers • * Reverse slope defence • * Obstacles and barriers – man made • ** Barbed wire • ** Anti-vehicle ditches • ** Anti-vehicle berms (knife edges) • Multiple axis of movement Electronic countermeasures

Offensive

Use of a Kill zone• Ambush • Skirmish • Trench raiding • Peaceful penetration • Rapid dominance • * Blitzkrieg – a method of warfare whereby an attacking force is spearheaded by a dense concentration of armoured and motorized or mechanized infantry formations, and heavily backed up by close air support. • * Carpet bombing – also known as saturation bombing, is a large aerial bombing done in a progressive manner to inflict damage in every part of a selected area of land. • * Shock tactics • * Swarming • Planned attack • * Use of supporting fire • * Flying wedge (used by Alexander the Great) • * Armoured spearhead • * Encirclement • * Hammer and anvil • * Frontal assault • * Human Wave Attack • * Penetration or infiltration • * Pincer movement – an army assaults an enemy by attacking two sides at opposite locations, often planning to cut off the enemy from retreat or additional support in preparation for annihilation. • * Bull horn formation – an army assaults an enemy force by sending troops to the enemy's flanks and by attacking their front attacking three areas at once, often planning to cut off any retreat or support as well as confusing the enemy in preparation for annihilation. • * Flanking maneuver • * Defeat in detail • Interdiction – severing or disrupting lines of communication and supply • * Air interdiction • Control MSR (main supply routes) • Envelopment • * Circumvallation • * Siege (For attacking fortified places) • ** Mouse-holing • * Vertical envelopment • ** Airborne forces • ** Air mobile forces • Rapid deployment • * Capturing key points • * Airborne operations • * Air mobile operations • * Amphibious operations • * Motorized operations • * Tank desant • * Mechanized operations • * Armored operations • * Raiding – a small team is inserted deep behind enemy lines to capture a high-value individual or destroy a vital enemy installation then extracted before the enemy can respond. • Exhausting - sending in small teams of soldiers to wear out the enemy each day and then strike with all of your forces. • Disrupting communications • * Radar jamming • * Radio jamming

Small unit

• Individual movement techniques • * Fire and movement (also known as leapfrogging) – working in 'fire teams', one team attempts to suppress the enemy while the other moves either toward the enemy or to a more favourable position. • * Basic drill – a standard drill that all individual soldiers are supposed to perform if they come under fire. • * Contact drill • * Immediate ambush drill • * Counter ambush drill • Hull-down (in armored warfare) • Shoot-and-scoot • Infiltration tactics • Marching fire • * Four Fs: find, fix, flank, finish • * Overwatch • ** Bounding overwatch • * Center peel • Patrolling • * Reconnaissance patrol • * Fighting patrol • * Standing patrol (OP/LP) • Ambush • * Linear ambush • * L ambush • * Area ambush • Guerrilla • * Sniper trap – A sniper trap (colloquial term in US military “Chechen rat trap”) is a tactic used by snipers in which the sniper intentionally shoots to wound instead of kill an enemy combatant, with the end goal of drawing more enemy personnel into the field of fire so the sniper can fire on them as they provide aid to their wounded comrade. Not only does this tactic provide more targets for the sniper as enemy personnel come to help the wounded, but it also causes the sniper’s enemy to expend more resources in recovering, evacuating, and treating the wounded combatant than would be expended if the sniper simply killed the enemy combatant.