For other uses, see Counterattack (disambiguation).
A counterattack is a tactic employed in response to an attack, with the term originating in "war games".[1] The general objective is to negate or thwart the advantage gained by the enemy during attack, while the specific objectives typically seek to regain lost ground or destroy the attacking enemy (this may take the form of an opposing sports team or military units).[1][2][3]
A counter-offensive is a broad-scale counterattack. The counter-offensive is executed after exhausting the enemy's frontline troops and after the enemy reserves had been committed to combat and proven incapable of breaching defenses, but before the enemy has had the opportunity to assume new defensive positions. Sometimes the counter-offensive can be of a more limited operational maneuver nature, with more limited objectives rather than those seeking attainment of a strategic goal. A counter-offensive as considered by Clausewitz to be the most efficient means of forcing the attacker to abandon offensive plans.[4] Counter-offensives can be executed not only on land, but also by the naval, and air forces.[5] Strategic counter-offensives have been recorded by military historians in many wars throughout military history. Although not always known as such, because they are usually described by historians in conjunction with the defensive phase, such as the Battle of Moscow.
A saying, attributed to Napoleon Bonaparte illustrate the tactical importance of the counterattack : "the greatest danger occurs at the moment of victory". In the same spirit, in his Battle Studies, Ardant du Pic noticed that "he, general or mere captain, who employs every one in the storming of a position can be sure of seeing it retaken by an organised counter-attack of four men and a corporal".[6]
A counterattack is a military tactic that occurs when one side successfully defends off the enemy’s attack and begins to push the enemy back with an attack of its own. In order to perform a successful counterattack, the defending side must quickly and decisively strike the enemy after defending, with the objective of shocking and overwhelming the enemy.[7] The main concept of the counterattack is to catch the enemy by surprise.[7] Many historical counterattacks were successful because the enemy was off guard and not expecting the counterattack.[7]
^ abStaff. "counterdeception". DTIC Online. DEFENSE TECHNICAL INFORMATION CENTER. Archived from the original on 28 September 2012. Retrieved 13 June 2012. year: Unknown
^Tom Cohen (19 December 2010). "McConnell leads GOP counter-attack against START pact". Cable News Network. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. Retrieved 13 June 2012.
^Tim Vickery (27 July 2011). "Uruguay's momentum, Paraguay's bumpy road, more Copa America". SI.com. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. Retrieved 13 June 2012.
^p.540, Briggs
^Air Force, US (6 September 2019). "Counter-Air Operations" (PDF). Air Force. Retrieved 24 May 2023.
^Ardant du Picq, 'Battle Studies'
^ abcPike, John. "A View On Counterattacks In The Defensive Scheme Of Maneuver". www.globalsecurity.org. Retrieved 9 April 2017.
A counterattack is a tactic employed in response to an attack, with the term originating in "war games". The general objective is to negate or thwart...
The Bougainville counterattack, also known as the Second Battle of Torokina, was an unsuccessful Japanese offensive against the Allied base at Cape Torokina...
Elephant Gambit (also called the Queen's Pawn Countergambit, Englund Counterattack or Turkish Gambit) is a rarely played chess opening beginning with the...
overland campaign in the Territory of Papua. The Americans planned a counterattack against Japanese positions in the southern Solomon Islands, primarily...
characters and mecha. Starting with 1989's Mobile Suit SD Gundam's Counterattack, the series began featuring a regularly appearing set of SD Gundam characters...
totalled around 548,000. In the spring of 1916, the Austro-Hungarians counterattacked in Asiago in the Strafexpedition, but made little progress and were...
PC-6601, and Sharp X1 personal computers titled Donkey Kong 3: The Great Counterattack. A version for the FM-7 was also planned, but was never released. This...
SD Gundam (SDガンダム, Esu Dī Gandamu, short for Superior Defender Gundam or Super Deformed Gundam) is a media franchise that spawned from the Gundam franchise...
headquarters at Zaporizhia. Manstein informed him that an immediate counterattack on Kharkov would be fruitless, but that he could successfully attack...
its 8th and 11th Armies. The Soviets immediately launched a powerful counterattack against the German 4th Panzer Group with the Soviet 3rd and 12th Mechanised...
counterattack towards the hill to rescue any survivors and recover the dead men of B Company. Although Capt. Yap lost his life in the counterattack,...
The New Georgia counterattack was a counterattack on 17–18 July 1943 by mainly Imperial Japanese Army troops against United States Army forces during...
series not receiving a release outside of Japan. Boktai 3: Sabata's Counterattack was released on July 28, 2005, in Japan with a retail price of ¥4980...
Crittenden), 31st Infantry, in reserve behind the MLR, were ordered to counterattack and began their attack at 04:30 on 17 April. By dawn they reached the...
Cobra Satan, Haniwa Satan, Saurus Satan Yudetamago Cameo: Ukon III Counterattack! The Underground Space Choujin (逆襲!宇宙かくれ超人,, Gyakushuu! Uchuu Kakure...
afraid of his past, and the 1988 feature film Mobile Suit Gundam: Char's Counterattack where he takes part in new conflict against his rival Char Aznable....
Americans' initial impression was that this was the anticipated, localized counterattack resulting from the Allies' recent attack in the Wahlerscheid sector...
States at the start of the 1950s. Issued by the right-wing journal Counterattack on June 22, 1950, the pamphlet-style book names 151 actors, writers...
toward the English Channel. On 21 May, the British launched an armored counterattack against the flanks of the 7th Panzer Division and SS-Totenkopf. The...
to February 15, 2011. The second manga is Code Geass: Suzaku of the Counterattack (コードギアス 反攻のスザク, Kōdo Giasu: Hankō no Suzaku). It was written by Atsuro...