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]
Analyzing historical counterattacks
In the past, there have been many notable counterattacks which have changed the course of a war. To be specific, Operation Bagration and the Battle of Austerlitz are good examples of the proper execution of a counterattack.
Operation Bagration
This map shows the point of attack during Operation Bagration and how the counterattack was executed.
Operation Bagration during World War II was one of the largest counterattacks in military history. In the summer of 1944 the assault by around 1.7 million Red Army soldiers successfully put the Red Army on the offensive in the Eastern Front after Nazi Germany in Operation Barbarossa had captured the territory against the Soviet Union in the summer of 1941.
The Soviet counterattack focused on Belorussia, but prior to the counterattack starting, the Soviet Union fooled Nazi military leaders into believing that the attack would take place further south, near Ukraine.[8]
To aid the deception, the Red Army established fake army camps in Ukraine and after German reconnaissance planes reported Soviet troop concentrations in the area, panzer and infantry divisions were rushed south from Belorussia, leaving it vulnerable to a major assault.
To support the attack, partisan groups in German-controlled territory were instructed to destroy German railroads to hamper German efforts to transport supplies and troops throughout the occupied territories and further weaken German Army Group Centre in Ukraine.[8]
On 22 June 1944, the attack on Belarus by 1.7 million Soviet troops began and overwhelmed the depleted Germans defenders.
On 3 July, the Red Army captured Minsk, and later the rest of Belorussia.
Operation Bagration was a huge Soviet success and opened a direct route to Berlin after the fall of Belorussia, leading to the Red Army beginning to take over the territory that had been taken by the Wehrmacht three years before.[8]
Battle of Austerlitz
Map depicting the famous counterattack that took place at the Battle of Austerlitz in 1805.
Another military battle that utilized the counterattack tactic was the Battle of Austerlitz on 2 December 1805. While fighting the Austrian and Russian armies, Napoleon purposely made it seem as if his men were weak from the fighting in several cases.[9] Napoleon had his men retreat in an attempt to lure the Allies to battle.[9] He purposely left his right flank open and vulnerable.[9] This deceived the Allies into attacking and the Allies fell into Napoleon's trap.[9] When the Allied troops went to attack Napoleon’s right flank, Napoleon quickly filled up the right flank so the attack was not effective.[9] However, on the Allied side, a large gap was left open in the middle of the Allied front line due to troops leaving to attack the French right flank.[9] Noticing the large hole in the middle of the Allied lines, Napoleon attacked the middle and had his forces also flank around both sides, eventually surrounding the Allies.[9] With the Allies completely surrounded, the battle was over.[9] The Battle of Austerlitz was a successful counterattack because the French army defended off the Allied attack and quickly defeated the Allies.[9] Napoleon deceived the Allies.[9] He made his men seem weak and near defeat.[9]
Battle of St. Vith
The Battle of St. Vith was part of the Battle of the Bulge, which began on 16 December 1944, and represented the right flank in the advance of the German center, 5th Panzer-Armee (Armored Army), toward the ultimate objective of Antwerp. Given the task of countering the German advance, US General Bruce C. Clarke decided that a mobile defense was the best solution. Knowing that the German army was aiming for an objective far behind the battle line, he decided that they could afford to lose a few kilometers a day - the idea being that a slowing down of the advance was as good as stopping them outright, since the Germans were limited by time.[citation needed]
The mobile defense he used at St. Vith involved the use of M36 tank destroyers acting as a base of fire to resist the oncoming German armored thrust, slowing them down enough to then counter-attack them with a force of M4 Sherman tanks. Artillery and Infantry were involved in this process as a combined arms force. The key was not to engage the Germans in a pitched battle, but to slow their advance enough to ruin their offensive timetable. The counter-attacks ensured that the German forces could not break through the slowly retreating forces. Clarke's success was one of the first times armor had been used in a mobile defense.[citation needed]
1 2 Staff. "counterdeception". DTIC Online. DEFENSE TECHNICAL INFORMATION CENTER. Archived from the original on 28 September 2012. Retrieved 13 June 2012. year: Unknown
1 2 3 Glantz, Mary E. (2016). Battle for Belorussia: the Red Army's forgotten campaign of October 1943-April 1944. University Press of Kansas. ISBN9780700623297. OCLC947149001.
Briggs, Clarence E., (ed.), translated by Oliver L. Spaulding, Roots of Strategy: 3 Military Classics: Von Leeb's Defense, Von Freytag-Loringhoven's the Power of Personality in War, Erfurth's Surprise, Stackpole Books, 1991
Glover S. Johns (2002). The Clay Pigeons of St. Lo. Stackpole Books. pp.174–175. ISBN9780811726047.
Related Research Articles
The Battle of Austerlitz, also known as the Battle of the Three Emperors, was one of the most important military engagements of the Napoleonic Wars. The battle occurred near the town of Austerlitz in the Austrian Empire. Around 158,000 troops were involved, of which around 24,000 were killed or wounded. The battle is often cited by military historians as one of Napoleon's tactical masterpieces, in the same league as other historic engagements like Cannae or Gaugamela. The military victory of Napoleon's Grande Armée at Austerlitz brought the War of the Third Coalition to an end, with the Peace of Pressburg signed by the French and Austrians later in the month. These achievements did not establish a lasting peace on the continent. Austerlitz had driven neither Russia nor Britain, whose armies protected Sicily from a French invasion, to settle. Prussian resistance to France's growing military power in Central Europe led to the War of the Fourth Coalition in 1806.
Prince Pyotr Ivanovich Bagration was a Russian general and prince of Georgian origin, prominent during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars.
Operation Bagration was the codename for the 1944 Soviet Byelorussian strategic offensive operation, a military campaign fought between 22 June and 19 August 1944 in Soviet Byelorussia in the Eastern Front of World War II, just over two weeks after the start of Operation Overlord in the west. It was during this operation that Nazi Germany was forced to fight simultaneously on two major fronts for the first time since the war began. The Soviet Union destroyed 28 of 34 divisions of Army Group Centre and completely shattered the German front line. The overall engagement is the largest defeat in German military history, with around 450,000 German casualties, while 300,000 other German soldiers were cut off in the Courland Pocket.
Deep operation, also known as Soviet deep battle, was a military theory developed by the Soviet Union for its armed forces during the 1920s and 1930s. It was a tenet that emphasized destroying, suppressing or disorganizing enemy forces not only at the line of contact but also throughout the depth of the battlefield.
The 324th Rifle Division was a standard Soviet infantry division of the Red Army during World War II. It was formed as part of the massive mobilization of August 1941, and first saw action in early December in the counteroffensive west of Moscow. During 1942 and into 1943 it saw limited action on a relatively quiet sector of the front north of Bryansk, before joining a limited offensive in February. During the general offensives of that summer, the division fought in the drive past Smolensk, and made a forced crossing of the upper Dniepr River. The 324th played a limited role in Operation Bagration, but distinguished itself in the fighting in East Prussia in 1945, sufficiently to be awarded the Order of the Red Banner. During the course of the war the men and women of the division served under no fewer than nine commanding officers.
The Belostok offensive was part of the third and final phase of the Belorussian strategic offensive of the Red Army in summer 1944, commonly known as Operation Bagration. The Belostok offensive was part of the third, or 'pursuit' phase of Operation Bagration, and was commenced after the completion of the encirclement and destruction of much of Army Group Centre in the Minsk offensive. Belostok is the Russian name of the Polish city of Białystok.
The 354th Rifle Division was raised in 1941 as a standard Red Army rifle division, and served for the duration of the Great Patriotic War in that role. It took part in the defense of Moscow and the winter counteroffensive of 1941–42, and then in the costly battles around the German salient near Rzhev. It also served in the defensive battle of Kursk and the summer offensive that followed in 1943. The division distinguished itself in at least three battles. It was credited with the liberation of the town of Kalinkovichi on January 14, 1944, and shared credit with other formations for the liberation of Bobruisk during Operation Bagration. It also played the leading role in the defense of 65th Army's bridgehead over the Narev River in October, 1944. During the final offensives into Germany in 1945 it advanced through Poland and Pomerania and ended the war near Stettin. The 354th compiled a highly distinguished record of service, but nevertheless was disbanded in June, 1946.
The 170th Rifle Division was originally formed as an infantry division of the Red Army in the Ural Military District in September 1939, based on the shtat of that same month. The division was relocated west with the 22nd Army in June 1941. After Germany invaded the Soviet Union, the division took part in the Battle of Smolensk as part of the Western Front. fighting north of Polotsk. During early July 1941 it was encircled along with its 51st Rifle Corps near the town of Nevel and struggled to break out at the cost of considerable losses in personnel and equipment. After the first battles around Velikiye Luki it was partly rebuilt with the escaped elements of the other divisions of its former Corps, but it was again encircled in late August and reduced to remnants. By the beginning of October this cadre had been moved to 24th Army in Reserve Front for another rebuilding, but during Operation Typhoon it was so severely depleted that it had to be disbanded a few days later.
The 331st Rifle Division was formed as an infantry division of the Red Army in the summer of 1941, based on a cadre of volunteer workers and reservists from the Bryansk Oblast, and so was known from the beginning as the 331st Bryansk Proletarian Rifle Division. It fought to defend Moscow during the last stages of the German invasion, and then went over to the offensive in early December. It spent much of the next twelve months in the same general area, west of the capital, taking part in the mostly futile battles against the German-held salient at Rzhev. On September 25, 1943, the division shared credit with several other units for the liberation of the city of Smolensk and was given its name as an honorific. The 331st had a highly distinguished career as a combat unit, ending its combat path in Czechoslovakia, advancing on Prague.
The 338th Rifle Division was first formed in September 1941, as a standard Red Army rifle division, at Penza. This formation took part in the early stages of the winter counteroffensive and made gains in the direction of Vyazma before being cut off behind German lines in February and largely destroyed by May. The division was formed again in June, once again in the Western Front, and proved itself a stolid and reliable unit in the often frustrating battles east and west of Smolensk and into the Baltic states over the next two and a half years. After taking part in the conquest of East Prussia in 1945, the 338th, along with the rest of its 39th Army, was railed all the way to the far east to join in the Soviet invasion of Manchuria in August.
The 356th Rifle Division formed in August, 1941, as a standard Red Army rifle division, in the Kuibyshev Oblast. After reaching the front it played a minor role in the defense of Moscow and the winter counteroffensive and remained in the line north and east of the Oryol salient through 1942 and into 1943. It then took part in the offensive to reduce this salient, Operation Kutuzov, after which it advanced towards the Dniepr River through the summer and autumn before becoming involved in the complex fighting in eastern Belarus in the winter of 1943/44, during which it won a battle honor. In the early stages of Operation Bagration the 356th was instrumental in the liberation of Bobruisk, for which it received the Order of the Red Banner. Later during this offensive the division advanced into the Baltic states before being reassigned to 1st Belorussian Front for the final offensive on Germany. Remarkably, the division was assigned to the 61st Army for nearly its entire wartime path. It ended the war north of Berlin, along the Elbe River, but in spite of a fine record of service it was disbanded shortly thereafter.
The 371st Rifle Division was raised in 1941 as a standard Red Army rifle division, and served for the duration of the Great Patriotic War in that role. It began forming in August 1941 in the Urals Military District. It was soon moved to the front lines near Moscow, and took part in the counteroffensive that began on December 5. It spent all of 1942 and the first months of 1943 in the fighting around the Rzhev salient, and after a short break served in the offensive that liberated Smolensk. After a winter of brutal combat on the approaches to Orsha and Vitebsk it was reassigned to 5th Army in 3rd Belorussian Front and took part in Operation Bagration, during which it was recognized for its role in the liberation of the latter city with a battle honor. The division was further distinguished in late July with the Order of the Red Banner for its part in the liberation of Vilnius. In January 1945, it fought its way into East Prussia, and as that campaign was winding down it was moved across Asia, along with the rest of 5th Army, to take part in the campaign against the Japanese Kwantung Army in Manchuria.
The 385th Rifle Division was raised in 1941 as an infantry division of the Red Army, and served for the duration of the Great Patriotic War in that role. It began forming in August 1941, in the Central Asian Military District. It was first assigned to Southwestern Front but on its arrival it was seen to be far from combat-ready and so was moved north to the Moscow area for further training. It served in the later stages of the counteroffensive west of the capital in Western Front and remained in that Front until early 1944. It was on a relatively quiet sector through most of 1942 and early 1943 before joining the summer offensive towards Smolensk. It then spent the autumn and winter in the costly and difficult struggles on the approaches to the upper Dniepr River and in eastern Belarus, during which it won a battle honor. From this point on it shared a very similar combat path with the 380th Rifle Division. The division took part in Operation Bagration and was awarded the Order of the Red Banner for its successes. Following this it helped to eliminate the German forces trapped east of Minsk, for which it received a second unit decoration, before joining the advance into Poland. During the Vistula-Oder Offensive the 385th was part of 2nd Belorussian Front's 49th Army, and ended the war advancing north of Berlin towards the Baltic coast. Despite its distinguished record it was selected as one of the many divisions to be disbanded during the summer of 1945.
The 12th Guards Rifle Division was reformed as an elite infantry division of the Red Army in January, 1942, based on the 1st formation of the 258th Rifle Division and served in that role until after the end of the Great Patriotic War. It was in 50th Army when it was redesignated but was soon assigned to the 49th Army, then to the 10th Army and finally to the 16th Army near the end of that month. In June it was assigned to the 9th Guards Rifle Corps of 61st Army where it remained almost continually for the duration of the war, serving under several Front commands but always on the central sector of the front. During the summer offensive in 1943 it fought through western Russia and into Belarus during the winter campaigns there. Along with the rest of 61st Army it took part in the second stage of Operation Bagration in the summer of 1944, advancing into the Pripyat marshes region, winning a battle honor and shortly thereafter the Order of the Red Banner. After a short time in the Reserve of the Supreme High Command it was moved to the 3rd Baltic and later the 1st Baltic Front driving into Latvia and Lithuania, being decorated with the Order of Suvorov for its part in the occupation of Riga. In December it was returned to the 1st Belorussian Front and took part in the offensives that propelled the Red Army into Poland and eastern Germany. After the fall of Berlin the division advanced to the Elbe River where it linked up with the US 84th Infantry Division. Following the German surrender it was disbanded in July, 1946.
The Battle of Nevel was a successful military operation conducted by the Red Army in the Pskov Oblast of western Russia and in northern Belarus during World War II, from October 6 to roughly December 16, 1943, although fighting persisted in the area into the new year.
The 88th Rifle Division was twice formed as an infantry division of the Red Army, first as part of the prewar buildup of forces. In its first formation in the far north it had an unusual shtat probably to facilitate its movement in the roadless tundra and forests of that region. During the Winter War against Finland it saw action in the fighting around Salla. Its organization again proved beneficial in the spring of 1942 during the first stages of the Great Patriotic War. It played a large role in holding and then pushing back the Finnish III Army Corps during Operation Silver Fox and for this success was redesignated as the 23rd Guards Rifle Division.
The 26th Guards Rifle Division was reformed as an elite infantry division of the Red Army in April, 1942, based on the 1st formation of the 93rd Rifle Division, and served in that role until after the end of the Great Patriotic War. It would soon after provide the headquarters cadre for the 8th Guards Rifle Corps. It was soon assigned, with its Corps, to 20th Army of Western Front and saw extensive fighting, while also suffering extensive casualties, in two campaigns against the German 9th Army in the Rzhev salient through the rest of 1942. The division, again with 8th Guards Corps, joined the 11th Guards Army when it was formed in April, 1943 and, apart from a brief reassignment in early 1944, remained under those commands for the duration of the war. During that summer the division took part in the liberation of Bryansk. By December, after fighting through western Russia north of Smolensk it was in 1st Baltic Front, attacking south towards Gorodok and won the name of that city as a battle honor. By the start of the offensive against Army Group Center in the summer of 1944 the 26th Guards had been redeployed with its Army to the south of Vitebsk as part of 3rd Belorussian Front, where it would remain for the duration. Driving westward during Operation Bagration the division advanced north of Orsha and then helped to seize a crossing over the Berezina River for which it was awarded the Order of the Red Banner. It continued to advance through Lithuania to the border with East Prussia later that year. As part of the East Prussian Offensive the 26th Guards entered that heavily fortified region in the winter of 1945 and helped gradually break the German resistance there, particularly at Insterburg and Königsberg, winning the Order of Suvorov for its part in the battle for the former place. The division ended the war at Pillau. The 26th Guards remained in the Kaliningrad Oblast well after the war, becoming the 26th Guards Motorized Rifle Division in 1957 and not finally disbanded until 1989.
The 84th Guards Rifle Division was reformed as an elite infantry division of the Red Army in April 1943, based on the 2nd formation of the 110th Rifle Division, and served in that role until after the end of the Great Patriotic War. Throughout its combat path it was considered a "sister" to the 83rd Guards Rifle Division.
The 91st Guards Rifle Division was reformed as an elite infantry division of the Red Army in April 1943, based on the 2nd formation of the 257th Rifle Division, and served in that role until after the end of the Great Patriotic War. It ended the war in the far east of Asia following the Soviet invasion of Manchuria with a highly distinguished record.
The 234th Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Red Army, originally formed out-of-sequence in the Moscow Military District in October–November 1941. Due to having a large cadre of members of the Communist Party it was commonly referred to as the Yaroslavl Communist Division. After forming and briefly taking part in the rear defenses of Moscow in early 1942 it was assigned to 4th Shock Army in Kalinin Front. It became involved in the fighting near Velizh and remained in that region until nearly the end of the year. In March 1943 the division played a minor role in the follow-up to Army Group Center's evacuation of the Rzhev salient, and at the beginning of August liberated several strategic villages northeast of Smolensk, soon being rewarded with a battle honor. During the following autumn and winter it took part in the grinding battles around Vitebsk until it was removed to the Reserve of the Supreme High Command for rebuilding and reorganization. When it returned to the front it was assigned to 47th Army in 1st Belorussian Front and took part in the later stages of Operation Bagration, advancing to the Vistula River near Warsaw. In September it received a second honorific for its part in the liberation of Praga. The 234th fought across Poland and into Pomerania early in 1945, winning two decorations in the process before being transferred to the 61st Army for the final offensive into northeast Germany. It was disbanded shortly thereafter.
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