Envelopment is the
military tactic of seizing objectives in the enemy's
rear with the goal of destroying specific enemy forces and denying them the ability to
withdraw. Rather than attacking an enemy head-on, as in a
frontal assault, an envelopment seeks to exploit the enemy's
flanks, attacking them from multiple directions and avoiding where their defenses are strongest. A successful envelopment lessens the number of casualties suffered by the attacker while inducing a
psychological shock on the defender and improving the chances to destroy them.[1] An envelopment will consist of one or more enveloping forces, which attacks the enemy's flank(s), and a fixing force, which attacks the enemy's
front and "fixes" them in place so that they cannot withdraw or shift their focus on the enveloping forces.[2] While a successful tactic, there are risks involved with performing an envelopment. The enveloping force can become overextended and cut off from friendly forces by an enemy
counterattack, or the enemy can counterattack against the fixing force.[3]
A
flanking maneuver or single envelopment consists of one enveloping force attacking one of the enemy's flanks. This is extremely effective if the holding forces are in a well defensible spot (e.g., Alexander the Great's hammer and anvil at the
Battle of Issus) or if there is a strong, hidden line behind a weak flank (e.g.
Battle of Breitenfeld (1631) and
Battle of Rocroi).
An
encirclement whereby the enemy is surrounded and isolated in a
pocket. The friendly forces can choose to attack the pocket or
invest it (to stop resupplies and to prevent breakouts) and wait for a beleaguered enemy to surrender.
A
vertical envelopment is "a tactical maneuver in which troops, either air-dropped or air-landed, attack the rear and flanks of a force, in effect cutting off or encircling the force".[4]
A special type is the
cabbage tactics that has been used by the Chinese Navy around disputed islands. Its goal is to create a layered envelopment of the target.[5]