 | This article includes a list of references, related reading, or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. (January 2013) |
Hasty attack is a specific form of attack identified within United States and Canadian military doctrine, in which upon contact with the enemy that is unprepared a unit decides to conduct an attack with limited planning and coordination and with rapid preparation and execution to exploit the enemy's weakness. Though applicable to infantry operations historically and in modern times, hasty attacks are a hallmark of mechanized force operations. During the Civil War, the command for a hasty attack was "sally forth".
FM 17-97, the United States Army field manual for Cavalry Troop operations, defines it as: "A hasty attack is conducted with a minimum of preparation to defeat an enemy force that is not prepared or deployed to fight. It is a course of action routinely employed in cavalry operations to seize or retain the initiative, or to sustain the tempo of operations. A hasty attack can be executed while the troop is engaged with a zone reconnaissance mission or movement to contact."
The hasty attack stands in contrast to a deliberate attack, an offensive mission conducted to defeat enemy forces in prepared defensive positions or strongpoints, employing detailed tactical planning and rehearsal of the attack, or a raid which is an attack into enemy territory for a specific purpose, with no intent to gain or hold terrain, and where the unit returns to friendly lines after the attack.
A textbook example of a hasty attack was the Battle of 73 Easting. There the cavalry troop commander Captain H. R. McMaster upon advancing into an Iraqi Armor Brigade assembly area ordered his unit to advance and engage the Iraqis, exploiting surprise and momentum to win a decisive victory over a much larger and heavily armed force.