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Infiltration tactics
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{{short description|Infantry bypassing strongpoints}} {{About|infantry battlefield tactics|uses of infiltration involving deception|Espionage|and|Clandestine operation|and|False flag|other uses|Infiltration (disambiguation){{!}}Infiltration}} {{EngvarB|date=December 2016}} [[File:US Marines on reconnaissance exercise 2003.jpg|right|thumb|300px|Deep Reconnaissance Platoon on exercise in 2003, Bravo Company, 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion, US [[3rd Marine Division]]]] {{war}} In [[warfare]], '''infiltration tactics''' involve small independent [[light infantry]] forces advancing into enemy [[rear (military)|rear]] areas, bypassing enemy [[front line|frontline]] [[strongpoint]]s, possibly isolating them for attack by follow-up troops with heavier weapons. Soldiers take the initiative to identify enemy weak points and choose their own routes, targets, moments and methods of attack; this requires a high degree of skill and training, and can be supplemented by special equipment and weaponry to give them more local combat options. Forms of these [[infantry tactics]] were used by [[skirmisher]]s and [[irregular military|irregulars]] dating back to [[classical antiquity]], but only as a defensive or secondary tactic; [[Decisive victory|decisive]] battlefield victories were achieved by [[shock combat]] tactics with [[heavy infantry]] or [[heavy cavalry]], typically [[charge (warfare)|charging]] ''[[en masse]]'' against the primary force of the opponent. By the time of [[early modern warfare]], defensive [[firepower]] made this tactic increasingly costly. When [[trench warfare]] developed to its height in [[World War I]], most such attacks were complete failures. [[Trench raiding|Raiding]] by small groups of experienced soldiers, using stealth and cover, was commonly employed and often successful, but these could not achieve decisive victory. Infiltration tactics developed slowly through World War I and early [[World War II]], partially as a way of turning these [[hit-and-run tactics|harassing tactics]] into a decisive offensive doctrine. At first, only special units were trained in these tactics, typified by German [[Stormtroopers (Imperial Germany)|''Stoßtruppen'']] ([[shock troops]]). By the end of World War II, almost all [[regular army|regular]] ground forces of the major powers were trained and equipped to employ forms of infiltration tactics, though some specialize in this, such as [[commando]]s, [[long-range reconnaissance patrol]]s, [[United States Army Rangers|US Army Rangers]], [[Airborne forces|airborne]] and other [[special forces]], and forces employing [[irregular warfare]].<ref>The Handbook Of The SAS And Elite Forces. How The Professionals Fight And Win. Edited by Jon E. Lewis. p.287-Tactics And Techniques, Landings And Raids On Enemy Territory. Robinson Publishing Ltd 1997. ISBN 1-85487-675-9</ref> While a specialist tactic during World War I, infiltration tactics are now regularly fully integrated as standard part of the modern [[maneuver warfare]], down to basic [[fire and movement]] at the [[squad (military)|squad and section]] level, so the term has little distinct meaning today. Infiltration tactics may not be standard in modern combat where training is limited, such as for [[militia]] or rushed [[conscript]] units, or in desperate attacks where an immediate victory is required. Examples are German ''[[Volkssturm]]'' formations at the end of World War II, and Japanese [[banzai attack]]s of the same period.
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