A sortie (from the French word meaning
''exit'' or from Latin root ''surgere'' meaning to "rise up") is a deployment or dispatch of one military unit, be it an
aircraft
An aircraft ( aircraft) is a vehicle that is able to flight, fly by gaining support from the Atmosphere of Earth, air. It counters the force of gravity by using either Buoyancy, static lift or the Lift (force), dynamic lift of an airfoil, or, i ...
,
ship
A ship is a large watercraft, vessel that travels the world's oceans and other Waterway, navigable waterways, carrying cargo or passengers, or in support of specialized missions, such as defense, research and fishing. Ships are generally disti ...
, or troops, from a
strongpoint
In military tactics, a strongpoint is a key point in a defensive fighting position which anchors the overall defense line. This may include redoubts, bunkers, pillboxes, trenches or fortresses, alone or in combination; the primary requirement ...
.
The term originated in
siege warfare
A siege () . is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or by well-prepared assault. Siege warfare (also called siegecrafts or poliorcetics) is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict characte ...
.
In siege warfare
In
siege warfare
A siege () . is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or by well-prepared assault. Siege warfare (also called siegecrafts or poliorcetics) is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict characte ...
, the word ''sortie'' refers specifically to a sudden sending of troops against the enemy from a defensive position—that is, an attack launched against the besiegers by the defenders. If the sortie is through a
sally port
A sallyport is a secure, controlled entry way to an enclosure, e.g., a fortification or prison. The entrance is usually protected by some means, such as a fixed wall on the outside, parallel to the door, which must be circumvented to enter and ...
, the verb ''to sally'' may be used interchangeably with ''to sortie''.
Purposes of sorties include harassment of enemy troops, destruction of siege weaponry and engineering works,
joining the relief force, etc.
Sir
John Thomas Jones
Major General Sir John Thomas Jones, 1st Baronet (25 March 1783 – 26 February 1843) was a British officer in the Royal Engineers who played a leading engineering role in a number of European campaigns of the early nineteenth century. Jones w ...
, analyzing a number of sieges carried out during the
Peninsular War
The Peninsular War (1808–1814) was fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Kingdom of Portugal, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French ...
(1807–1814), wrote:
In aviation
In
military aviation
Military aviation is the design, development and use of military aircraft and other flying machines for the purposes of conducting or enabling aerial warfare, including national airlift (air cargo) capacity to provide military logistics, logist ...
, a sortie is an aircraft flight or mission (training or combat),
starting when the aircraft takes off. For example, one mission involving six aircraft would tally six sorties. The sortie rate of a unit is the number of sorties that it can support in a given time.
References
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