Shock tactics, shock tactic or shock attack is the name of an offensive maneuver which attempts to place the enemy under psychological pressure by a rapid and fully-committed advance with the aim of causing their

combatants Combatant is the legal status of an individual who has the right to engage in hostilities during an armed conflict. The legal definition of "combatant" is found at article 43(2) of Additional Protocol I (AP1) to the Geneva Conventions of 1949. ...

to retreat. The acceptance of a higher degree of risk to attain a decisive result is intrinsic to shock actions.

Pre-modern

Shock tactics were usually performed by

heavy cavalry Heavy cavalry was a class of cavalry intended to deliver a battlefield charge and also to act as a tactical reserve; they are also often termed '' shock cavalry''. Although their equipment differed greatly depending on the region and histori ...

, but were sometimes achieved by

heavy infantry Heavy infantry consisted of heavily armed and armoured infantrymen who were trained to mount frontal assaults and/or anchor the defensive center of a battle line. This differentiated them from light infantry who are relatively mobile and lig ...

. The most famous shock tactic is the

medieval cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from "cheval" meaning "horse") are soldiers or warriors who fight mounted on horseback. Cavalry were the most mobile of the combat arms, operating as light cavalry in ...

charge. This shock attack was conducted by heavily

armour Armour (British English British English (BrE, en-GB, or BE) is, according to Lexico, Oxford Dictionaries, "English language, English as used in Great Britain, as distinct from that used elsewhere". More narrowly, it can refer specificall ...

ed cavalry armed with

lance A lance is a spear designed to be used by a mounted warrior or cavalry soldier ( lancer). In ancient and medieval warfare, it evolved into the leading weapon in cavalry charges, and was unsuited for throwing or for repeated thrusting, unli ...

s, usually couched, galloping at full speed against an enemy formation.

Modern

After the introduction of firearms, the use of the cavalry charge as a common military tactic waned.

Infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and m ...

shock action required the holding of fire until the enemy was in very close range, and was used in defence as well as attack. The favorite tactic of the

Duke of Wellington Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, (1 May 1769 – 14 September 1852) was an Anglo-Irish soldier and Tory statesman who was one of the leading military and political figures of 19th-century Britain, serving twice as prime minister o ...

was for the infantry to fire a volley and then give a loud cheer and charge.Forward into battle: fighting tactics from Waterloo to the near future The increasing firepower of

machine gun A machine gun is a fully automatic, rifled autoloading firearm designed for sustained direct fire with rifle cartridges. Other automatic firearms such as automatic shotguns and automatic rifles (including assault rifles and battle rifl ...

s, mortars, and

artillery Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieg ...

made this tactic increasingly hazardous.

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

saw the infantry charge at its worst, when masses of soldiers made frontal, and often disastrous, attacks on entrenched enemy positions. Shock tactics began to be viable again with the invention of the

tank A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and good battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful e ...

. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, the

Germans , native_name_lang = de , region1 = , pop1 = 72,650,269 , region2 = , pop2 = 534,000 , region3 = , pop3 = 157,000 3,322,405 , region4 = , pop4 = ...

adapted shock tactics to modern mechanized warfare, known as

blitzkrieg Blitzkrieg ( , ; from 'lightning' + 'war') is a word used to describe a surprise attack using a rapid, overwhelming force concentration that may consist of armoured warfare, armored and motorised infantry, motorized or mechanised infantry, ...

, which gained considerable achievements during the war and was afterwards adopted by most modern armies. The US tactic of shock and awe during the Second Gulf War was a shock tactic based on overwhelming military superiority on

land Land, also known as dry land, ground, or earth, is the solid terrestrial surface of the planet Earth that is not submerged by the ocean or other bodies of water. It makes up 29% of Earth's surface and includes the continents and various isl ...

and unchallenged dominance in naval and

aerial warfare Aerial warfare is the use of military aircraft and other flying machines in warfare. Aerial warfare includes bombers attacking enemy installations or a concentration of enemy troops or strategic targets; fighter aircraft battling for control o ...

Famous examples

*The charge of the Polish cavalry (September 12, 1683) at the

Battle of Vienna The Battle of Vienna; pl, odsiecz wiedeńska, lit=Relief of Vienna or ''bitwa pod Wiedniem''; ota, Beç Ḳalʿası Muḥāṣarası, lit=siege of Beç; tr, İkinci Viyana Kuşatması, lit=second siege of Vienna took place at Kahlenberg Mo ...

in the Great Turkish War. *

Charge of the Light Brigade The Charge of the Light Brigade was a failed military action involving the British light cavalry led by James Brudenell, 7th Earl of Cardigan, Lord Cardigan against Russian forces during the Battle of Balaclava on 25 October 1854 in the Crimea ...

(October 25, 1854) at the Battle of Balaklava in the

Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included t ...

. * Pickett's Charge (July 3, 1863) at the

Battle of Gettysburg The Battle of Gettysburg () was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, by Union and Confederate forces during the American Civil War. In the battle, Union Major General George Meade's Army of th ...

in the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by state ...

. *Charge of the 21st Lancers (September 2, 1898) at the

Battle of Omdurman The Battle of Omdurman was fought during the Anglo-Egyptian conquest of Sudan between a British–Egyptian expeditionary force commanded by British Commander-in-Chief ( sirdar) major general Horatio Herbert Kitchener and a Sudanese army of th ...

in the Mahdist War: the last cavalry charge in battle by a British cavalry unit. * Battle of Beersheba (October 31, 1917) in

: one of the last successful cavalry charges in history. * Charge at Krojanty (September 1, 1939) in

: a cavalry charge that gave birth to the myth of Polish cavalry charging German armoured vehicles.

Shock units

Cavalry

* Hetairoi *

Cataphracts A cataphract was a form of armored heavy cavalryman that originated in Persia and was fielded in ancient warfare throughout Eurasia and Northern Africa. The English word derives from the Greek ' (plural: '), literally meaning "armored" ...

* Clibanarii * Polish Hussars *

Cuirassiers Cuirassiers (; ) were cavalry equipped with a cuirass, sword, and pistols. Cuirassiers first appeared in mid-to-late 16th century Europe as a result of armoured cavalry, such as men-at-arms and demi-lancers, discarding their lances and adopt ...

* Lancers *

Knights A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the G ...

* Gendarme (historical)

Infantry

* Phalanx * Hoplites * Caroleans

Mechanized

Tank A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and good battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful e ...

References

{{War-stub Military tactics Land warfare