Professional Documents
Culture Documents
4-15. Encirclement. If the arms of a double envelopment are strong enough to meet after
trapping an enemy force and to prevent it from breaking out, large forces may be
neutralised, destroyed or forced to surrender within the encirclement. Large encirclements
may be costly operations in terms of forces required and the time taken to reduce the
fighting power of the encircled enemy. A properly encircled enemy can only be resupplied
by air or by the population inside the encirclement.
The deep envelopment based on surprise, which severs the enemy’s supply lines,
is and always has been the most decisive maneuver of war. A short envelopment
which fails to envelop and leaves the enemy’s supply system intact merely divides
your own forces and can lead to heavy loss and even jeopardy.