- Neil_Baumgardner
The 3-1 defense advantage rule is a rule of hand that dates back to Clausewitz, which can be adjusted to the particulars of any situation and may or may not have any validity. I will grant defense probably does have advantage, but whether its 2-1, 3-1, etc can vary... OTOH, there certainly have been many thinkers & generals, Patton may have been one of them, that believed in offensive advantage.
- C_Sherman- Neil_Baumgardner
The 3-1 defense advantage rule is a rule of hand that dates back to Clausewitz, which can be adjusted to the particulars of any situation and may or may not have any validity. I will grant defense probably does have advantage, but whether its 2-1, 3-1, etc can vary... OTOH, there certainly have been many thinkers & generals, Patton may have been one of them, that believed in offensive advantage.
The 3-1 rule is, as you say, a rule of hand. However, it has been validated many times over in actual combat, and remains an accepted rule in military planning. It can be adjusted based on the preparation of the defense and other factors, but most often it is adjusted upwards rather than downwards. In urban terrain, the ratio is significantly larger, with the advantage to the defender. For the Allies in NWE, I would say higher is more likely, based on Allies unfamiliarity with terrain, German preparation time, and other advantages held by defending Germans.
Patton's belief in offensive advantage had nothing to do with invalidating the 3-1 rule, but spoke rather to a way of avoiding the engagement. His thesis, still in current use by the US Army (among others), is that speed in the offense will deny the enemy the opportunity to prepare a defense, and creates opportunities to avoid defensive battles altogether. Controlled speed and decisive action preserve initiative and freedom of action to the attacker, allowing him to set the time and place of the fight. Thus, it negates the 3-1 advantage of the defender by avoiding the defensive "fair fight". The advantage remains, it just doesn't apply.
However, this offensive advantage applies more at the operational level of warfare (Division and above), which was of course Patton's domain. Below that, the ebb and flow of the battlefield will inevitably result in attacks against a prepared defender, whether we want it to or not. The overall principle of offensive speed may still apply, but at some level the attacker still has to "take that hill".
Since the ratios in question are at that lowest tactical level, where a single tank or platoon of tanks stands in the way of the advance, Patton's offensive advantage is less applicable and the 3-1 rule will dominate the action. Changes in these advantages may certainly be debated, but experience shows that 3-1 is on average correct.
C
- Neil_Baumgardner
Chuck, very good points. As a student of military history & analysis, I'm impressed. Only counterpoint or question I would make is that at what point does offensive advantage at the operational level filter or "trickle" down to tactical advantage?
Neil
- C_Sherman
Whew. Somebody please tell me all this makes sense? (See what happens when you get me going?)
- C_Sherman
Hi again Neil,
Your question found the seam between the science and "art" of warfare! The answer is also the key to "modern" manuever warfare.
The offensive advantage exists down to the tactical level, in a very dynamic way (dynamic, in the sense of rapid interactive and interdependant changes). The effect can be very localized, and depends greatly on the relative capabilities of the players. Basically, the offensive advantage comes from being "inside the decision cycle" of the adversary, acting before or while they react to your previous actions. Flexible, mentally nimble leaders are key to attaining this advantage, in addition to equipment that can support them.
The advantage comes when the attacker retains the initiative, and manuevers to bypass or overwhelm specific points in the defenders' arrangements.
By being where the Germans were not, or turning a flank, or focussing overwhelming force at a weak point, before the Germans could react or move their own forces, the Allies could achieve this advantage and avoid the attack against prepared defense. The Sherman actually fed this advantage for the Allies, by being faster than the German defenders could. That they did not always exploit this ability says more about the leadership than it does about the tanks and other vehicles the Allies employed.
In the defense, eliminating the advantage requires agile command and control systems and leadership, as well as mobility to counter the attackers' moves. The faster the attacker can adjust or shift effort, the more agile and responsive the defender must be.
The Germans were at a general disadvantage in the defense, most of the time. Arguably, their command and leadership was not as systemically reactive, both at the operational level (Hitler being the final authority for moving divisions), and at the tactical level. Their command and control systems were damaged and fragmented, and their tactical intelligence picture was largely incomplete. A subtle psychological handicap occurred because the Germans were accustomed to reacting to their own slower, less mechanized equipment in training. This meant that the Germans were often incapable of reacting in a timely way to Allied actions, even when those actions appeared ploddingly slow on the surface. So the Allies often achieved the offensive advantage, not always intentionally.
As currently executed by the users of the Abrams/Challenger2/Leo6-class militaries, speed and agility is a cornerstone of tactical operations. Historical narratives of the Gulf War and emerging histories of the Iraq War make it clear that the rapid actions in the attack left defenders befuddled, confused and vulnerable. Current efforts to digitalize combat vehicles and even individual soldiers are not just "gee whiz, because we can", they are designed to shorten the decision cycle even further. This serves well in the offense, and will serve to negate the offensive advantage in the defense.
Whew. Somebody please tell me all this makes sense? (See what happens when you get me going?)
C
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