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Hit-and-run tactics are atacticaldoctrine of using short surprise attacks, withdrawing before the enemy can respond in force, and constantly maneuvering to avoid full engagement with the enemy. The purpose is not todecisively defeat the enemy or capture territory but to weaken enemy forces over time throughraids, harassment, andskirmishing and limiting risk to friendly forces. Such tactics can also expose enemy defensive weaknesses and achieve a psychological effect on the enemy'smorale.[1][2]
Hit-and-run is a favored tactic where the enemy overmatches the attacking force and any sustained combat is to be avoided, such asguerrilla warfare, militantresistance movements, andterrorism.[3] However,regular army forces often employ hit-and-run tactics in the short term, usually in preparation for a later full-scale engagement with the enemy when and where conditions are more favorable. Examples of the latter includecommando or otherspecial forces attacks,reconnaissance-in-force, orsorties from a fortress, castle, or otherstrongpoint. Hit-and-run tactics were also used by the lightly armedhorse archers, typical of theEurasian steppe peoples, who excelled at them. That holds especially true for such troops that were not part of a large army (such asscouting parties), but it was common to see them employed in such a way even as part of a major force.
Romans first encountered that tactic in theLusitanian War in whichLusitanians used the tactic calledconcursare ("bustling"). It involved charging forwards against the enemy lines, only to retreat after a brief clash or without clashing, which would be followed by more attacks in a similar cadence. The Lusitanians drove the Roman armies to break formation and chase them, leading them to traps andambushes.[4]
TheSeljuk victory over theByzantine Empire at theBattle of Manzikert was preceded by hit-and-run attacks of Seljuk cavalry,[5] which threw the Byzantine army into confusion and proved fatal once it started to retreat. Similarly, the earlierParthian andSassanid Persian horse archers paved the way for theircataphracts' attack, which achieved the decisive victories at theBattle of Carrhae andBattle of Edessa. The use of hit-and-run tactics dates back even earlier to the nomadicScythians ofCentral Asia, who used them againstDarius the Great'sPersianAchaemenid Empire and later againstAlexander the Great'sMacedonian Empire.[6] The Turkish generalBaibars also successfully used hit-and-run during theBattle of Ain Jalut,[7][8] the first defeat of the quickly expanding Mongol Empire.[9][10] Vastly outnumbered in North America, the French made effective use of hit-and-run raids during the variousFrench and Indian Wars.[11] In theTurkish War of Independence, the Turks fought against the Greeks by hit-and-run tactics before a regular army was set up.[12]Marathas under shivaji and his successors also resorted to hit and run tactics against Mughal Empire.[according to whom?]
During theVietnam War,Viet Cong forces used hit-and-run tactics to great effectiveness against U.S. military forces.[13] The tactic was also used inAfghanistan by rebel forces during theSoviet–Afghan War.[14] VariousIraqi insurgent groups have also used hit-and-run tactics againstIraqi Security Forces and American-led coalition forces in Iraq.[15] Improvised fighting vehicles, called "technicals", are often used in such operations.[according to whom?]
The term "hit-and-run" is also used ineconomics to describe a firm that enters a market to take advantage of abnormal profits and then leave. These tactics can be seen in acontestable market.