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Shock tactics,shock tactic, orshock attack is an offensivemaneuver which attempts to place the enemy under psychological pressure by a rapid and fully-committed advance with the aim of causing theircombatants to retreat. The acceptance of a higher degree of risk to attain a decisive result is intrinsic to shock actions.
Shock tactics were usually performed byheavy cavalry, but were sometimes achieved byheavy infantry. The most famous shock tactic is themedieval cavalrycharge. This shock attack was conducted by heavilyarmoured cavalry armed withlances, usually crouched, galloping at full speed against an enemyinfantry and/orcavalry formations.
After the introduction offirearms, the use of the cavalry charge as a commonmilitary tactic waned.Infantry shock action required the holding of fire until the enemy was in very close range, and was used in defence as well as attack.[1] The favorite tactic of theDuke of Wellington was for the infantry to fire a volley and then give a loud cheer and charge.[2][3] During theSecond Italian War of Independence, the French Army used shock tactics to overcome the superior range of the AustrianLorenz rifle, quickly closing into Austrian lines with bayonet charges with 100-men battalions, six men deep, making use of loose line formations and taking advantage of the Lorenz curved trajectory to minimize casualties. The Austrians emulated these tactics against the Prussians during theAustro-Prussian War, but without success.[4] In fact, the Stoßtaktik ("shock tactics") negated the Lorenz range and muzzle velocity advantages over theDreyse needle gun used by the Prussian Army.[5]
The increasing firepower ofmachine guns,mortars, andartillery made this tactic increasingly hazardous.World War I saw the infantry charge at its worst, when masses of soldiers made frontal, and often disastrous, attacks onentrenched enemy positions.
Shock tactics began to be viable again with the invention oftanks andairplanes. DuringWorld War II, theGermans adapted shock tactics to modernmechanized warfare, known asblitzkrieg, which gained considerable achievements during the war and was afterwards adopted by most modern armies.
The United States tactic ofshock and awe during theSecond Gulf War was a shock tactic based on overwhelming military superiority onland and unchallenged dominance innaval andaerial warfare.
