Flanking maneuver

"Flanking" redirects here. For other uses of the word, see Flank (disambiguation).

The Battle of Marathon, an example of the double-envelopment, a form of flanking maneuver

In military tactics, a flanking maneuver is a movement of an armed force around an enemy force's side, or flank, to achieve an advantageous position over it.[1] Flanking is useful because a force's fighting strength is typically concentrated in its front, therefore, to circumvent an opposing force's front and attack its flank is to concentrate one's own offense in the area where the enemy is least able to concentrate defense.

Flanking can also occur at the operational and strategic levels of warfare.

  1. ^ Headquarters, department of the Army (2012) Army doctrine reference publication 3-90: Offense and defense. p. 2-11. Retrieved 22 March 2015 from http://armypubs.army.mil/doctrine/DR_pubs/dr_a/pdf/adrp3_90.pdf