Defeat in detail

Defeat in detail is a military tactic that concentrates force against separated enemy units, destroying them one at a time before they can unite.

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Concentration of force: The military principle of massing combat power at a decisive place and time. Local superiority lets a force overwhelm one isolated unit before shifting to another.
Economy of force: The allocation of only the forces needed to secondary tasks so greater strength can serve decisive objectives. A force can screen some fronts while concentrating its main strength against one target.
Battle of Rossbach: A 1757 battle in which Frederick the Great’s Prussian army defeated a larger Franco-Imperial force. Prussian movement and concentration helped strike enemy formations before they could act together.
Attrition warfare: A strategy that seeks victory by inflicting losses until an opponent can no longer continue fighting. Attrition targets an enemy’s capacity over time, while defeat in detail exploits separation for successive local victories.
Interior lines: A position that lets a force move between fronts along shorter routes than an opponent can use. Shorter internal routes can help a defender reach separated threats before they combine.
Command and control: The exercise of authority and direction over military forces to accomplish a mission. Coordinated orders are needed to strike one unit and then redirect forces without delay.
Battle of Leuthen: A 1757 battle in which Frederick the Great defeated an Austrian army in Silesia. The Prussian oblique attack concentrated against part of the Austrian line rather than its full strength.
Envelopment: A maneuver that attacks an enemy’s flank or rear while fixing its front. Envelopment attacks around a force; defeat in detail centers on destroying separated forces in sequence.
Exterior lines: A position in which forces approach an opponent from multiple directions along routes outside that opponent’s position. Separated attackers on exterior lines risk being struck individually before mutual support arrives.
Combat power: The total capacity of a force to fight, shaped by personnel, weapons, organization, and other capabilities. The tactic converts available combat power into an advantage at a particular engagement.