Enemy You Can Attack

Observed lessons

There are eight conditions when the enemy are vulnerable enough to be attacked without knowing too much else about them:

Wind and cold: Where they are on the move, cold and tired.
Heat: When they hot, thirsty, hungry and in a hurry.
Exhaustion: When they have been in the field for a long time and are tired and resentful.
Scarcity: When resources are low, including food, water, fuel and ammunition.
Isolated: When there are few of them, the terrain is awkward and there is little chance of reinforcement.
Distant: When they are far from home, tired and anxious.
Incompetence: When their leaders are weak, irresponsible and ineffective, so the whole unit lacks cohesion and discipline.
Unformed: When they are in disarray, such as when they are setting up camp or straggled out along a route.

Discussion

Forces are not always ready for battle. In fact there are times, such as in the eight examples above, where they are positively unready. These are the times they are most vulnerable and consequently open to easy defeat. Be careful when assuming the enemy is not ready, as they may be able to form up more quickly than you expected. They might also be feigning unreadiness in order to draw you into a trap.

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