A line of communication (or communications) is the route that connects an operating

military unit Military organization or military organisation is the structuring of the armed forces of a state so as to offer such military capability as a national defense policy may require. In some countries paramilitary forces are included in a nation' ...

with its supply base. Supplies and reinforcements are transported along the line of communication. Therefore, a secure and open line of communication is vital for any military force to continue to operate effectively. Prior to the advent of the use of telegraph and radio in warfare, lines of communication were also the routes used by despatch riders on horseback and runners to convey and deliver orders and battle updates to and from unit commanders and headquarters. Thus, a unit whose lines of communication were compromised was vulnerable to becoming isolated and defeated, as the means for requesting reinforcements and resupply is lost. The standard military abbreviation is LOC. There is also SLOC for sea line of communication, GLOC for ground line of communication, or ALOC for air line of communication. The interdiction of supplies and reinforcements to units closer to the front lines is therefore an important strategic goal for opposing forces. Some notable examples: * The siege of Vicksburg in the American Civil War, in which Ulysses S. Grant encircled the city, leading to its eventual surrender in July 1863 * The

Battle of France The Battle of France (french: bataille de France) (10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign ('), the French Campaign (german: Frankreichfeldzug, ) and the Fall of France, was the Nazi Germany, German invasion of French Third Rep ...

in World War II, in which the Germans cut off the French and British armies in Belgium (although the

Dunkirk evacuation The Dunkirk evacuation, codenamed Operation Dynamo and also known as the Miracle of Dunkirk, or just Dunkirk, was the evacuation of more than 338,000 Allied soldiers during the Second World War from the beaches and harbour of Dunkirk, in the ...

rescued over 330,000 of them) * The encirclement of German 6th Army in the

Battle of Stalingrad The Battle of Stalingrad (23 August 19422 February 1943) was a major battle on the Eastern Front of World War II where Nazi Germany and its allies unsuccessfully fought the Soviet Union for control of the city of Stalingrad (later re ...

in World War II * United States attacks on the Ho Chi Minh trail during the Vietnam War

Notes

{{reflist A line of communication can also refer to a civilian management (corporations lines of communication)

See also

Logistics in general

Specific logistics operations

Notes

References