Envelopment

Envelopment is the military tactic of attacking the enemy's flank or rear while keeping the enemy's attention focused on its front by the use of diversionary attacks.^[1] The envelopment makes the enemy fight in a direction for which it is the least prepared.^[2] The maneuver requires a flank that can be attacked. Unlike a flanking maneuver, which uses the enemy's forward movement to create an attackable flank, envelopment depends on the enemy's defensive position, any obstacles and the terrain.^[2]

Envelopment has both advantages and disadvantages. Advantages include being able to capture or defeat all or part of an opposing army and offering less risk than other offensive maneuvers.^[3] Disadvantages include the possibility of an enemy counterattack on the weakened center or on the other flank.^[3]

Types of envelopment

• Turning movement is to "turn" the enemy from his defensive position and force it to act.^[1]
• Single envelopment is an attack on one flank or the enemy rear from one direction while holding their attention to its front.^[4]
• Double envelopment, also called a pincer movement, requires three forces. One holds the center, and the other two attack the right and left flanks.^[4] Once both flanking attacks reach the rear, the enemy is encircled.
• Vertical envelopment is an envelopment from the sky.^[5] First thought of by Benjamin Franklin, it was not practical until the invention of the airplane.^[5] Vertical envelopment uses paratroopers or other soldiers that arrive by air on the enemy's flank or rear.^[5]

Historic examples

Famous examples of the single envelopment include Alexander the Great, who used it at the Battle of Gaugamela in 331 BC.^[6] Robert E. Lee used the tactic during the American Civil War at the Battle of Chancellorsville in 1863.^[6] During World War II, German General Erwin Rommel used it successfully at the Battle of Gazala, which led directly to his capture of Tobruk in 1941.^[6]

Some of the famous double envelopments include Hannibal's defeat of the Roman army in 216 BC.^[6] During the American Revolutionary War, American General Daniel Morgan used it in 1781 successfully against British General Banastre Tarleton and caused many of the British soldiers to surrender.^[6] In the 1944 Falaise Gap, during Operation Overlord of World War II, German troops were caught in a double envelopment by British and American forces .^[6]