You do not have permission to edit this page, for the following reasons:

This IP address has been blocked from editing Wikipedia.
This does not affect your ability to read Wikipedia pages.
Most people who see this message have done nothing wrong. Some kinds of blocks restrict editing from specific service providers or telecom companies in response to recent abuse or vandalism, and can sometimes affect other users who are unrelated to that abuse. Review the information below for assistance if you do not believe that you have done anything wrong.

The IP address or range 3.236.0.0/16 has been blocked by ‪ST47‬ for the following reason(s):

The IP address that you are currently using has been blocked because it is believed to be a web host provider. To prevent abuse, web hosts may be blocked from editing Wikipedia.
You will not be able to edit Wikipedia using a web host provider because it hides your IP address, much like a proxy or VPN.
We recommend that you attempt to use another connection to edit. For example, if you use a proxy or VPN to connect to the internet, turn it off when editing Wikipedia. If you edit using a mobile connection, try using a Wi-Fi connection, and vice versa. If you are using a corporate internet connection, switch to a different Wi-Fi network. If you have a Wikipedia account, please log in.
If you do not have any other way to edit Wikipedia, you will need to request an IP block exemption.

How to appeal if you are confident that your connection does not use a web host's IP address:
If you are confident that you are not using a web host, you may appeal this block by adding the following text on your talk page: ((unblock|reason=Caught by a web host block but this host or IP is not a web host. My IP address is _______. Place any further information here. ~~~~)). You must fill in the blank with your IP address for this block to be investigated. Your IP address can be determined here. Alternatively, if you wish to keep your IP address private you can use the unblock ticket request system. There are several reasons you might be editing using the IP address of a web host (such as if you are using VPN software or a business network); please use this method of appeal only if you think your IP address is in fact not a web host.

Administrators: The IP block exemption user right should only be applied to allow users to edit using web host in exceptional circumstances, and they should usually be directed to the functionaries team via email. If you intend to give the IPBE user right, a CheckUser needs to take a look at the account. This can be requested most easily at SPI Quick Checkuser Requests. Unblocking an IP or IP range with this template is highly discouraged without at least contacting the blocking administrator.

This block will expire on 06:21, 30 September 2026. Your current IP address is 3.236.200.115.

Even when blocked, you will usually still be able to edit your user talk page, as well as email administrators and other editors.

For information on how to proceed, please read the FAQ for blocked users and the guideline on block appeals. The guide to appealing blocks may also be helpful.

Other useful links: Blocking policy · Help:I have been blocked
This IP address range has been globally blocked.
This does not affect your ability to read Wikipedia pages.
Most people who see this message have done nothing wrong. Some kinds of blocks restrict editing from specific service providers or telecom companies in response to recent abuse or vandalism, and can sometimes affect other users who are unrelated to that abuse. Review the information below for assistance if you do not believe that you have done anything wrong.

This block affects editing on all Wikimedia wikis.
The IP address or range 3.236.0.0/16 has been globally blocked by ‪Jon Kolbert‬ for the following reason(s):

Open proxy/Webhost: See the help page if you are affected

This block will expire on 05:35, 21 February 2029. Your current IP address is 3.236.200.115.

Even while globally blocked, you will usually still be able to edit pages on Meta-Wiki.

If you believe you were blocked by mistake, you can find additional information and instructions in the No open proxies global policy. Otherwise, to discuss the block please post a request for review on Meta-Wiki. You could also send an email to the stewards VRT queue at stewards@wikimedia.org including all above details.

Other useful links: Global blocks · Help:I have been blocked

You can view and copy the source of this page:

((refimprove|date=October 2011))
((War))
((short description|Military tactic))
'''Defeat in detail''', or '''divide and conquer''', is a [[Military tactics|military tactic]] of bringing a large portion of one's own force to bear on small enemy units in sequence, rather than engaging the bulk of the enemy force all at once. This exposes one's own units to many small risks but allows for the eventual destruction of an entire enemy force.<ref name= EjEDiD >((cite book |title=Defeat in Detail: The Ottoman Army in the Balkans, 1912–1913 |first=Edward J |last=Erickson |publisher=Praeger Publishers |year=2003 |isbn=0-275-97888-5))</ref>

==Use==
In military strategy and tactics, a recurring theme is that units are strengthened by proximity to supporting units. Nearby units can fire on an attacker's flank, lend indirect fire support such as [[artillery]], or maneuver to [[counterattack]]. ''Defeat in detail'' is the tactic of exploiting failures of an enemy force to coordinate and support the various smaller units that make up the force. An overwhelming attack on one defending subunit minimizes casualties on the attacking side and can be repeated a number of times against the defending subunits until all are eliminated.

An attacker can successfully conduct the tactic of defeat in detail by exploiting the absolute weaknesses or [[Comparative advantage|comparative disadvantages]] in the deployment or structure of defending troops, as well as advantages such as maneuvering speed that the defender cannot match. In an [[Asymmetric warfare|asymmetric]] support structure, A can support B, but unit B cannot support unit A. For example, during [[World War I]], when [[Cavalry|horse cavalry]] was still in use to some extent, aircraft could support cavalry, but cavalry had little or no ability to support aircraft.

Thus, if a unit is equally suited for use against cavalry and aircraft, using it to eliminate enemy aircraft would have benefits that would last well into future engagements against enemy cavalry units weakened by their lack of support. However, using it against enemy cavalry, while leaving the enemy aircraft intact for subsequent engagements, would bring benefits only during that specific engagement.

===Weaknesses of defenders===
* Dug-in units that are spread out over so wide a distance that the maximum effective range of their weapons is significantly shorter than the distance between units, which prevents those units from supporting the flanks of neighboring units.
* Defending units on opposite sides of physical barriers such as hills, forests or rivers (but see the "[[reverse slope defence]]", now rendered obsolete by crewed and uncrewed aircraft, for a historically attested deliberate tactic).
* Defending units whose artillery support is too far to the rear and so cannot effectively engage attackers.
* Defending units that have no effective communications with their command structure and so cannot request assistance.

===Enabling methods===
The following methods can enable the attacker to defeat the enemy in detail:
* Attacking one unit faster than other defending units can move to counter-attack.
* Attacking faster than the defending intelligence, communications, command or control systems can respond to (exploiting the [[OODA loop]]).
* Disabling or disrupting systems required for one defending unit to support another (as by attacking communications, command, or control systems with air strikes, artillery attacks, or [[radio jamming]]).

==Examples==
===Strategic campaigns===
* 1796–1797: [[Napoleon Bonaparte]]'s [[Italian campaigns of the French Revolutionary Wars|first campaign in Italy during the French Revolution]], in which the French army of 37,000 men defeated 52,000 Piedmontese and Habsburg troops by rapid advances, which prevented the two nations' armies from combining.<ref>((cite web |url=http://www.historynet.com/general-napoleon-bonapartes-italian-campaign.htm |title=General Napoleon Bonaparte's Italian Campaign |first=Jeremy |last=Green |publisher=Military History |date=April 1997))</ref>
* 10–15 February 1814: the [[Six Days' Campaign]] was a final series of victories by the forces of Napoleon, as the [[War of the Sixth Coalition|Sixth Coalition]] armies closed in on [[Paris]].<ref>((cite web  |last=Webb |first=Jonathan |year=2009 |url=http://www.theartofbattle.com/six-days-campaign-1814/ |title=Six Days' Campaign, 1814 |publisher=theartofbattle.com)); and ((cite web  |last=Shosenberg  |first=James W. |date=30 April 2014|url=http://www.historynet.com/napoleons-six-days.htm |title=Napoléon's Six Days |publisher=Historynet.com))</ref>
* 1862: [[Stonewall Jackson]]'s [[Valley Campaign|Shenandoah Valley campaign]], in which Jackson defeated three [[Union Army|Union]] commands (a total of 60,000 men) with his own command (of 17,000 men), by fighting each of the enemy columns in turn while the Union commands were separated from each other by impassable terrain or a significant distance.
* 1912–1913: The [[Balkan League]]'s victory over the [[Ottoman Empire]] in the [[First Balkan War]].<ref name="Erickson2003">((cite book|author=Edward J. Erickson|title=Defeat in Detail: The Ottoman Army in the Balkans, 1912-1913|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0kIU3-xnmBkC&pg=PR12|year=2003|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-275-97888-4|pages=12–))</ref>
* 1914: The [[Battle of Tannenberg]] and the [[First Battle of the Masurian Lakes]], with the [[German Empire|Germans]] exploiting the geography of the [[Masurian Lakes]] and the personal antipathy between the Russian commanders to defeat the [[Russian Second Army]] and later the [[Russian First Army]].<ref name="Keegan2011">((cite book|author=John Keegan|title=The First World War|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=V1A1kalDBsYC&pg=PA155|date=31 August 2011|publisher=Random House|isbn=978-1-4070-6412-3|pages=155–))</ref>
* 1941: [[Operation Compass]], when the British defeated an Italian force more than four times larger in North Africa by exploiting the fact that the Italian defenses could not support each other.

===Tactical examples===
* The [[Battle of Gaugamela]], in which [[Alexander the Great]] used his [[Companion cavalry|Companion Cavalry]] to charge [[Darius III]]
* Gallic tribes tried and nearly succeeded in defeating [[Julius Caesar]]'s army in detail at the [[Battle of the Sabis]].
* In the [[Battle of the Teutoburg Forest]], an army of Germans under [[Arminius]] exterminated [[Legio XVII]], [[Legio XVIII]] and [[Legio XIX]], Roman legions under [[Publius Quinctilius Varus]].<ref name="HaneyThomsen2007">((cite book|author1=Eric L. Haney|author2=Brian M. Thomsen|title=Beyond Shock and Awe: Warfare in the 21st Century|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ANOPptjRGl4C&pg=PT28|date=6 March 2007|publisher=Penguin Publishing Group|isbn=978-1-4406-2879-5|pages=28–))</ref>
* The [[Battle of Sluys]], a naval battle fought on 24 June 1340 between England and France.
* The [[Battle of Pavia]] (1525), during the [[Italian War of 1521–26|Italian War of 1521-1526]]
* The [[Battle of Pratapgarh]] in which [[Shivaji]] defeated the army of [[Afzal Khan (general)|Afzal Khan]]
* The [[Battle of the Little Bighorn]] (1876), in which [[George Armstrong Custer]] essentially orchestrated his own defeat by dividing his regiment in four portions, allowing the Sioux and Cheyenne to annihilate half of the 7th Cavalry
* The [[Battle of Raate Road]], in Finland (1940)<ref>((cite journal |url=https://brill.com/view/journals/ibmh/33/2/article-p121_3.xml   |title= Motti tactics in Finnish military historiography since World War II  |year= 2013 | publisher= Brill |doi= 10.1163/22115757-03302003 | access-date= May 13, 2020  |last1= Tuunainen |first1= Pasi |journal= International Bibliography of Military History |volume= 33 |issue= 2 |pages= 121–147 ))</ref>
* The [[Battle of Savo Island]], a naval battle fought on 8-9 August 1942 in which [[Vice admiral|Vice Admiral]] [[Gunichi Mikawa]] of the [[Imperial Japanese Navy]] was able to defeat [[Allies of World War II|Allied]] naval forces in detail, with only light damage to his own.

== See also ==
* [[Horatii]]
* [[Big Wing]]
* [[Strategy of the central position]]
* [[Battle of annihilation]]
* [[Swarming (military)]]
* [[Lanchester's laws]]
* [[Battle of Cold Harbor]]

==References==
((reflist|2))
<!-- How to add a footnote: 
   NOTE: Footnotes in this article use names, not numbers. Please see [[Wikipedia:Footnotes]] for details.
     1) Assign your footnote a unique name, for example TheSun_Dec9. 
     2) Add the macro ((ref|TheSun_Dec9)) to the body of the article, where you want the new footnote.
     3) Take note of the name of the footnote that immediately precedes yours in the article body. 
     4) Add #((Note|TheSun_Dec9)) to the list, immediately below the footnote you noted in step 3.  No need to re-number anything!
     5) Multiple footnotes to the same reference: see [[Wikipedia:Footnotes]] for a how-to.
   NOTE: It is important to add footnotes in the right order in the list!
-->
*((cite web |url=http://www.strategypage.com/onpoint/articles/20021231.asp |title=Can the U.S. Handle both Korea and Iraq? |first=Austin |last=Bay |publisher=StrategyPage |date=December 31, 2002))

[[Category:Military strategy]]
[[Category:Military tactics]]

Pages transcluded onto the current version of this page (help):

Defeat in detail (edit)
Template:Ambox (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Big (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Cite book (view source) (protected)
Template:Cite journal (view source) (protected)
Template:Cite web (view source) (protected)
Template:Find sources mainspace (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Hlist/styles.css (view source) (protected)
Template:Large (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Main other (view source) (protected)
Template:More citations needed (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Pagetype (view source) (protected)
Template:Refimprove (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Reflist (view source) (protected)
Template:Reflist/styles.css (view source) (protected)
Template:SDcat (view source) (protected)
Template:Short description (view source) (protected)
Template:Short description/lowercasecheck (view source) (protected)
Template:Sidebar with collapsible lists (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Small (view source) (protected)
Template:War (view source) (semi-protected)
Module:Arguments (view source) (protected)
Module:Category handler (view source) (protected)
Module:Category handler/blacklist (view source) (protected)
Module:Category handler/config (view source) (protected)
Module:Category handler/data (view source) (protected)
Module:Category handler/shared (view source) (protected)
Module:Check for unknown parameters (view source) (protected)
Module:Citation/CS1 (view source) (protected)
Module:Citation/CS1/COinS (view source) (protected)
Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration (view source) (protected)
Module:Citation/CS1/Date validation (view source) (protected)
Module:Citation/CS1/Identifiers (view source) (protected)
Module:Citation/CS1/Utilities (view source) (protected)
Module:Citation/CS1/Whitelist (view source) (protected)
Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css (view source) (protected)
Module:Disambiguation/templates (view source) (protected)
Module:Find sources (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Find sources/config (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Find sources/links (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Find sources/templates/Find sources mainspace (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Message box (view source) (protected)
Module:Message box/ambox.css (view source) (protected)
Module:Message box/configuration (view source) (protected)
Module:Namespace detect/config (view source) (protected)
Module:Namespace detect/data (view source) (protected)
Module:Navbar (view source) (protected)
Module:Navbar/configuration (view source) (protected)
Module:Navbar/styles.css (view source) (protected)
Module:Pagetype (view source) (protected)
Module:Pagetype/config (view source) (protected)
Module:Pagetype/disambiguation (view source) (protected)
Module:Pagetype/rfd (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Pagetype/setindex (view source) (protected)
Module:Pagetype/softredirect (view source) (protected)
Module:SDcat (view source) (protected)
Module:Sidebar (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Sidebar/configuration (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Sidebar/styles.css (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:String (view source) (protected)
Module:Unsubst (view source) (protected)
Module:Wikitext Parsing (view source) (protected)
Module:Yesno (view source) (protected)

Return to Defeat in detail.

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defeat_in_detail"