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Origin of the word "tactics" -

The word "tactics" originates in the Greek taxis, meaning order, arrangement, or disposition. From this the term tactica was derived, the art of drawing up soldiers in array, or formation.

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Formation fighting -

Byzantine soldiers and cavalrymen honed the art of formation fighting, as well as designing different ways of using weapons.

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False retreat -

At the Battle of Hastings, William's army used the tactic of a false retreat, tempting Harold's army into losing their strong defensive position to run after them. The Normans were then able to turn round and attack their Anglo-Saxon foes' weakened position.

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Envelopment -

As the Middle Ages progressed, tactical battle formations became more complex. The single or double envelopment, for example, was the classic tactic that involved engaging the enemy's front while outflanking them on one or both sides. 

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Set-piece battles -

Medieval strategists scorned conventional wisdom and instead devised new forms of warfare, set-piece battles for example.

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Era of the siege -

One of the most successful tactics developed during the medieval era was the siege.

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Siege tactics -

A siege refers generally to a military effort to surround and cut off an area or a fortification. The defender is trapped in a position (such as a fort or castle, and sometimes even an entire city) while the attacker bombards and/or barricades them from outside.

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Famous sieges -

Famous sieges through the Middle Ages include the siege of Orléans in 1428 and the 1648 siege of Colchester during the English Civil War.

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The infantry square -

One of the most successful battlefield tactics ever devised was the infantry square. A close order formation used in combat by infantry units as a defense against cavalry attacks, the infantry square was first used by the Romans but was more famously utilized during the Napoleonic Wars, especially by the British during the Battle of Waterloo in 1815.

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Guerilla warfare -

The term "guerrilla warfare" was coined in the context of the Peninsular War in the 19th century. This form of unconventional warfare involved groups of irregular military, such as rebels, partisans, paramilitary personnel or armed civilians who carried out sabotage, terrorism, raids, petty warfare, or hit-and-run tactics.

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Guerilla tactics -

Guerrilla war tactics involve protracted harassment of the enemy, often behind its lines, using subtle and unorthodox methods to destroy ammunition and fuel depots and installations, for example, and ambush patrols and supply conveys. Nearly every conflict from the mid-19th century onwards has featured guerilla armies.

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Volley fire -

Advances in musket arms technology in the mid-19th century saw greater accuracy being achieved by infantrymen and the development of disciplined volley fire, delivered at close range. The effective use of this battlefield tactic was clearly evident during the American Civil War, with both sides adopting the technique.

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The four battlefield functions -

Military tactics involve the application of four battlefield functions that are closely related—kinetic or firepower, mobility, protection or security, and shock action.

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Battle of Cambrai -

The Battle of Cambrai in 1917 during the First World War combined all these elements. Following a successful attack by the British to take the French town of Cambrai, the Germans launched a devasting counteroffensive.

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Surprise counterattack -

Under a heavy barrage of high explosive and gas, the Germans attacked. Low flying airplanes were deployed to harass the defending troops, while infiltration tactics were used to edge towards British positions. The speed and weight of the German counterattack surprised even the most battle hardened of Cambrai's defenders.

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Tactical advantage -

It was also during the Great War that the mobile firepower provided by tanks and other armored vehicles significantly widened the options of military tacticians, not least the ability of fixing an enemy in place to allow a decisive strike.

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Blitzkrieg -

The Second War saw a frightening new tactic employed by Nazi Germany: the blitzkrieg. Literally meaning "lightening war," blitzkrieg better translates as a violent surprise offensive by combined mass armed forces.

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Creating psychological shock -

The blitzkrieg was calculated to create psychological shock and resultant disorganization in enemy forces. The dive bomber known as the Stuka achieved this aim especially well. Affixed to its legs were mounted ram-air sirens known as screaming Jericho trumpets, which became a propaganda symbol of German air power.

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Propaganda tactics -

Propaganda and scaremongering played its own tactical role across all theaters during the conflict. Pictured is a leaflet dropped from an American B-29 bomber warning of the possible destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Thousands were dropped over both cities, but Japanese leaders chose to ignore the threat.

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The kamikaze pilot -

Instead, Japan continued to deploy kamikaze missions where military aviators deliberately flew their planes into allied warships during the closing stages of the Pacific campaign. Not even the most fanatical of Nazi airmen ever chose to follow this tactic.

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Ruse de guerre -

During the Battle of the Bulge, in an example of what's known as a ruse de guerre, German troops were caught wearing American uniforms in order to infiltrate American lines. It's a tactic still used as a means of military deception.

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Carpet bombing -

The first carpet bombing from air was the Bombing of Barcelona, this in 1938 during the Spanish Civil War. The tactic was later employed by the Luftwaffe during the London Blitz. Much later during the Vietnam War, America released three million tons of bombs over North Vietnam—more than all the bombs dropped in Europe during the Second World War.

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Agent Orange -

It was also during the conflict in Vietnam that the US Air Force sprayed huge quantities of a chemical herbicide and defoliant called Agent Orange. It was a tactic employed by Washington to clear vast tracts of jungle by effectively poisoning the flora.

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Great War tactics in the modern age -

During the Iran–Iraq War that began in 1980, the Iraqis employed a tactic first used in the Great War by shelling the enemy's front with a combination of high explosive and gas. It was a method designed to compel the enemy to first seek cover and then abandon their position on pain of suffocation. The war ended in stalemate in 1988.

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Mobile phone detection tactics -

Warfare in the 21st century is largely driven by technology. The ongoing Russia-Ukraine War has seen both sides use mobile phones to determine the location of opponents. Indeed, among other incidents, the tracking of mobile phones facilitated the 2022 New Year's Eve Ukrainian strike on Russian barracks in Makiivka.

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The rise of the drones -

Another tactic employed by both sides at the onset of the Russia-Ukraine conflict was the deployment of drones for both air reconnaissance purposes and bombing runs.

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Eyes in the sky -

And drones have been put to devasting use by the Israel Defense Forces in Gaza for strike and detection purposes.

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Underground tactics -

The vast network of secret underground tunnels used for smuggling and warfare unearthed in the Gaza Strip long enabled members of Hamas to move freely and undetected, a tactic used previously by the Vietcong during the Vietnam War.

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Exploding pagers -

But the alleged use by Israeli intelligence service Mossad of pagers rigged with explosives marks a new era of warfare in a region used to many decades of violent conflict.

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A new era of warfare -

The deadly attack also saw walkie-talkies exploding in the hands and on the person of alleged Hezbollah operatives. The wave of strikes across Lebanon has prompted the head of Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, to describe the spate of explosions as a possible "declaration of war."

Sources: (CNN) (BBC) (Reuters) (History) (Britannica) (Western Front Association) (Commsrisk) 

See also: The longest and shortest wars in history

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