7-1.     The offense is the decisive form of war. Offensive operations aim to destroy or defeat an enemy. Their purpose is to impose US will on the enemy and achieve decisive victory. While immediate considerations often require defending, decisive results require shifting to the offense as soon as possible.

7-2.     Offensive operations seek to seize, retain, and exploit the initiative to defeat the enemy decisively. Army forces attack simultaneously throughout the area of operations (AO) to throw enemies off balance, overwhelm their capabilities, disrupt their defenses, and ensure their defeat or destruction. The offense ends when the force achieves the purpose of the operation, reaches a limit of advance, or approaches culmination. Army forces conclude a phase of an offensive by consolidating gains, resuming the attack, or preparing for future operations. Additional tasks offensive operations accomplish include—

• Disrupting enemy coherence.
• Securing or seizing terrain.
• Denying the enemy resources.
• Fixing the enemy.
• Gaining information.

7-3.     Army operational commanders conduct offensive campaigns and major operations to achieve theater-level effects based on tactical actions. They concentrate on designing offensive land operations. They determine what objectives will achieve decisive results; where forces will operate; the relationships among subordinate forces in time, space, and purpose; and where to apply the decisive effort. Operational commanders assign AOs to, and establish command and support relationships among, tactical commanders. Tactical commanders direct offensive operations to achieve objectives—destroying enemy forces or seizing terrain—that produce the theater-level effects operational commanders require.

7-4.     At the operational level, offensive operations directly or indirectly attack the enemy center of gravity. Commanders do this by attacking enemy decisive points, either simultaneously or sequentially. Massed effects of joint and multinational forces allow attackers to seize the initiative. They deny the enemy freedom of action, disrupt his sources of strength, and create the conditions for operational and tactical success.

7-5.     To attain unity of effort, operational commanders clearly identify objectives and reinforce the relationships among subordinate forces. By minimizing interoperability challenges and harnessing system capabilities, commanders tailor their forces to achieve decisive effects. They allocate sufficient joint and multinational forces to achieve their objectives.

7-6.     Tactical commanders exploit the effects that joint and multinational forces contribute to the offense. They synchronize these forces in time, space, resources, purpose, and action to mass the effects of combat power at decisive points. Commanders direct battles as part of major operations. Battles are related in purpose to the operational commander's objectives.

7-7.     Battles may be linear or nonlinear and conducted in contiguous or noncontiguous AOs. Tactical commanders receive their AO, mission, objectives, boundaries, control measures, and intent from their higher commander. They determine the decisive, shaping, and sustaining operations within their AO. They direct fires and maneuver to attack and destroy the enemy and attain terrain objectives. Tactical commanders normally have clearly defined tasks-defeat the enemy and occupy the objective.

7-8.     Surprise, concentration, tempo, and audacity characterize the offense. Effective offensive operations capitalize on accurate intelligence and other relevant information regarding enemy forces, weather, and terrain. Commanders maneuver their forces to advantageous positions before contact. Force protection, including defensive information operations (IO), keeps or inhibits the enemy from acquiring accurate information about friendly forces. The enemy only sees what the friendly commander wants him to see. Contact with enemy forces before the decisive operation is deliberate, designed to shape the optimum situation for the decisive operation. The decisive operation is a sudden, shattering action that capitalizes on subordinate initiative and a common operational picture (COP) to expand throughout the AO. Commanders execute violently without hesitation to break the enemy's will or destroy him.

7-9.     In the offense, commanders achieve surprise by attacking the enemy at a time or place he does not expect or in a manner for which he is unprepared. Estimating the enemy commander's intent and denying him the ability to gain thorough and timely situational understanding is necessary to achieve surprise. Unpredictability and boldness help gain surprise. The direction, timing, and force of the attack also help achieve surprise. Surprise delays enemy reactions, overloads and confuses his command and control (C2) systems, induces psychological shock in enemy soldiers and leaders, and reduces the coherence of the defense. By diminishing enemy combat power, surprise enables attackers to exploit enemy paralysis and hesitancy.

7-10.     Operational and tactical surprise complement each other. Operational surprise creates the conditions for successful tactical operations. Tactical surprise can cause the enemy to hesitate or misjudge a situation. But tactical surprise is fleeting. Commanders must exploit it before the enemy realizes what is happening.

7-11.     Outright surprise is difficult to achieve. Modern surveillance and warning systems, the availability of commercial imagery products, and global commercial news networks make surprise more difficult. Nonetheless, commanders achieve surprise by operating in a way the enemy does not expect. They deceive the enemy as to the nature, timing, objective, and force of an attack. They can use bad weather, seemingly impassable terrain, feints, demonstrations, and false communications to lead the enemy into inaccurate perceptions. Sudden, violent, and unanticipated attacks have a paralyzing effect. Airborne, air assault, and special operations forces (SOF) attacks— combined with strikes by Army and joint fires against objectives the enemy regards as secure—create disconcerting psychological effects on the enemy.

7-12.     Surprise can come from an unexpected change in tempo. Tempo may be slow at first, creating the conditions for a later acceleration that catches the enemy off guard and throws him off balance. US forces demonstrated such a rapid change in tempo before Operation Just Cause in 1989. Accelerated tempo resulted in operational and tactical surprise despite increased publicity and heightened tensions beforehand.

7-13.     Commanders conceal the concentration of their forces. Units mask activity that might reveal the direction or timing of an attack. Commanders direct action to deceive the enemy and deny his ability to collect information.

7-48.     Commanders organize forces to provide all-around security. This normally requires advance, flank, and rear guards. They lead with a combined arms security force to locate and fix the enemy. Corps and divisions normally organize a powerful, self-contained covering force to do this. Smaller formations organize security forces within the limits of their resources. Commanders employ the security force far enough ahead of the main body to provide enough time and space to react to enemy contact. Guard formations remain within supporting range of the main body. Advance and flank guards perform continuous reconnaissance to the front and flanks of the main body. They destroy or suppress small enemy forces so they cannot threaten the main body. The advance guard moves as fast and as far ahead of the main body as possible without moving beyond supporting range. The main body provides the advance guard, normally organized as a separate element. Main body units normally provide and control flank and rear security forces.

7-49.     Security forces remain oriented on the main body, taking into account enemy capabilities and the terrain. They bypass or breach obstacles in stride. Commanders decentralize movement authority to leaders on the front and flanks. Normally, commanders should position themselves well forward during movements to contact.

7-50.     Search and attack is a technique for conducting a movement to contact that shares many of the characteristics of an area security mission. Light and medium maneuver units, attack aviation, air cavalry, and air assault units normally conduct them. The purpose of a search and attack operation is to destroy enemy forces, protect the friendly force, deny an area to the enemy, or collect information. Commanders direct search and attack when the enemy disperses in close terrain unsuited for heavy forces, when they cannot find enemy weaknesses, or when they want to deny the enemy movement in an area. They also direct search and attack against enemy infiltrators or SOF operating in a given area. Search and attack is useful in area security missions, such as clearing AOs.

7-51.     A meeting engagement is a combat action that occurs when a moving force engages an enemy at an unexpected time and place. Such encounters normally occur by chance in small unit operations, typically when two moving forces collide. They may result in brigade or larger unit operations when intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) operations have been ineffective. Meeting engagements can also occur when opposing forces are aware of the general presence but not the exact location of each other and both decide to attack immediately. On contact, commanders quickly act to gain the advantage. Speed of action and movement, coupled with both direct and indirect fires, are essential. To maintain momentum, lead elements quickly bypass or fight through light resistance. Freedom to maneuver is always advantageous; however, commanders may choose to establish a hasty defense if the enemy force is larger or the terrain offers a significant benefit.

7-52.     The initiative and audacity of small unit leaders are essential for the friendly force to act faster than the enemy. Commanders balance focusing combat power rapidly with keeping other options open and maintaining pressure on the enemy. In meeting engagements, the force that gains and retains the initiative wins. Commanders seize and maintain the initiative through battle command: rapidly visualizing the situation, deciding what to do, and directing forces to destroy enemy combat power. A successful meeting engagement fixes or reduces the enemy force with maneuver and massed, overwhelming fires-both direct and indirect-while the friendly force bypasses or attacks it.

7-53.     An attack is an offensive operation that destroys or defeats enemy forces, seizes and secures terrain, or both. Attacks incorporate coordinated movement supported by direct and indirect fires. They may be either decisive or shaping operations. Attacks may be hasty or deliberate, depending on the time available for assessing the situation, planning, and preparing. Commanders execute hasty attacks when the situation calls for immediate action with available forces and minimal preparation. They conduct deliberate attacks when there is time to develop plans and coordinate preparations (see FM 3-90). The same fundamentals of the offense apply to each type of attack. Success depends on skillfully massing the effects of combat power.

7-54.     Commanders direct hasty attacks to seize opportunities to destroy the enemy or seize the initiative. These opportunities are fleeting. They usually occur during movements to contact and defensive operations. In a hasty attack, commanders intentionally trade the advantages of thorough preparation and full synchronization for those of immediate execution. In a movement to contact, commanders launch hasty attacks to destroy enemy forces before they concentrate or establish a defense. In the defense, commanders direct hasty attacks to destroy an exposed or overextended attacker. On-order and be-prepared missions allow units to respond quickly in uncertain situations.

7-55.     Once they decide to attack, commanders execute as quickly as possible. While hasty attacks maximize the effects of agility and surprise, they incur the risk of losing some synchronization. To minimize this risk, commanders make maximum use of standing operating procedures (SOPs) that include standard formations and well-understood and rehearsed battle drills. Supporting arms and services organize and position themselves to react quickly, using prearranged procedures. Habitual relationships among supported and supporting units at all echelons facilitate these actions.

7-56.     In contrast to hasty attacks, deliberate attacks are highly synchronized operations characterized by detailed planning and preparation. Deliberate attacks use simultaneous operations throughout the AO, planned fires, shaping operations, and forward positioning of resources needed to sustain momentum. Commanders take the time necessary to position forces and develop sufficient intelligence to strike the enemy with bold maneuver and accurate, annihilating fires. Because of the time required to plan and prepare deliberate attacks, commanders often begin them from a defensive posture. However, an uncommitted force may conduct a deliberate attack as a sequel to an ongoing offensive operation.

7-57.     Time spent preparing a deliberate attack may allow the enemy to improve defenses, retire, or launch a spoiling attack. Therefore, commanders direct deliberate attacks only when the enemy cannot be bypassed or overcome with a hasty attack. Commanders maintain pressure on the enemy while they plan and prepare. They aggressively disrupt enemy defensive preparations through aggressive patrolling, feints, limited-objective attacks, harassing indirect fires, air strikes, and offensive IO.

7-58.     Deliberate attacks require extensive planning and coordination, to include positioning reserves and follow-on forces while preparing troops and equipment. Commanders and staffs refine plans based on rehearsals and intelligence from reconnaissance and surveillance. Commanders conduct IO to deceive the enemy and prevent him from exercising effective C2. Effective IO mask attack preparations and conceal friendly intentions and capabilities. Commanders direct reconnaissance and surveillance missions to collect information about the enemy and AO. The intelligence system analyzes this information to find weaknesses in enemy capabilities, dispositions, or plans. Friendly forces exploit enemy weaknesses before and during the attack. Effective information management (IM) routes data collected by reconnaissance and surveillance assets to the right place for analysis. IM also facilitates rapid dissemination of intelligence products to forces that need them.

7-59.     Certain forms of attack employ distinctive methods and require special planning. Commanders direct these special purpose attacks to achieve objectives different from those of other attacks. Spoiling attacks and counterattacks are usually phases of a larger operation. Raids and ambushes are generally single-phased operations conducted by small units. Feints and demonstrations are military deception operations.

7-60.     Spoiling Attack. A spoiling attack is a form of attack that preempts or seriously impairs an enemy attack while the enemy is in the process of planning or preparing to attack. Normally conducted from a defensive posture, spoiling attacks strike where and when the enemy is most vulnerable-during preparations for attack in assembly areas and attack positions or while he is moving toward his line of departure. Therefore, proper timing and coordinating with higher headquarters are critical requirements for them. Spoiling attacks are highly dependent on accurate information on enemy dispositions. Commanders are alert for opportunities to exploit advantages created by a spoiling attack.

7-61.     Counterattack. A counterattack is a form of attack by part or all of a defending force against an enemy attacking force with the general objective of denying the enemy his goal in attacking. Commanders normally conduct counterattacks from a defensive posture; they direct them to defeat or destroy enemy forces or to regain control of terrain and facilities after enemy successes. Commanders direct counterattacks with reserves, lightly committed forward elements, or specifically assigned forces. They counterattack after the enemy launches an attack, reveals his main effort, or offers an assailable flank.

7-62.     Commanders conduct counterattacks much like other operations, synchronizing them within the overall effort. When possible, units rehearse and prepare the ground. Counterattacking forces may conduct local exploitations to take advantage of tactical opportunities, but then usually resume a defensive posture. Large-unit headquarters preplan counterattacks as major exploitations and pursuits. In those cases, a counterattack may be the first step in seizing the initiative and transitioning to offensive operations. A counterattack is the decisive operation in a mobile defense.

7-63.     Raid. A raid is a form of attack, usually small scale, involving a swift entry into hostile territory to secure information, confuse the enemy, or destroy installations. It usually ends with a planned withdrawal from the objective area upon mission completion. Raids have narrowly defined purposes. They require both detailed intelligence and deliberate planning. Raids may destroy key enemy installations and facilities, capture or free prisoners, or disrupt enemy C2 or other important systems.

7-64.     Ambush. An ambush is a form of attack by fire or other destructive means from concealed positions on a moving or temporarily halted enemy. An ambush destroys enemy forces by maximizing the element of surprise. Ambushes can employ direct fire systems or other destructive means, such as command-detonated mines, nonlethal fires, and indirect fires. Ambushes can disrupt enemy cohesion, sense of security, and confidence. They are particularly effective against enemy sustaining operations.

7-65.     Feint. A feint is a form of attack used to deceive the enemy as to the location or time of the actual decisive operation. Forces conducting a feint seek direct fire contact with the enemy but avoid decisive engagement. Feints divert attention from the decisive operation and prevent the enemy from focusing combat power against it. They are usually shallow, limited-objective attacks conducted before or during the decisive operation. During Operation Desert Storm, units of the 1st Cavalry Division conducted feints in the Ruqi pocket before 24 February 1991. The purpose of these feints was to fix Iraqi frontline units and convince Iraqi commanders that the coalition decisive operation would occur along the Wadi al-Batin.

7-66.     Demonstration. A demonstration is a form of attack designed to deceive the enemy as to the location or time of the decisive operation by a display of force. Forces conducting a demonstration do not seek contact with the enemy. Demonstrations are also shaping operations. They seek to mislead the enemy concerning the attacker's true intentions. They facilitate decisive operations by fixing the enemy or diverting his attention from the decisive operation. Commanders allow the enemy to detect a demonstration. However, doing this without revealing the demonstration's true purpose requires skill. If a demonstration reveals an enemy weakness, commanders may follow it with another form of attack.

7-67.     An exploitation is a type of offensive operation that usually follows a successful attack and is designed to disorganize the enemy in depth. Exploitations seek to disintegrate enemy forces to the point where they have no alternative but surrender or flight. Commanders of exploiting forces receive the greatest possible latitude to accomplish their missions. They act with great aggressiveness, initiative, and boldness. Exploitations may be local or major. Local exploitations take advantage of tactical opportunities, foreseen or unforeseen. Division and higher headquarters normally plan major exploitations as branches or sequels.

7-68.     Attacks that completely destroy a defender are rare. More often, the enemy attempts to disengage, withdraw, and reconstitute an effective defense as rapidly as possible. In large-scale operations, the enemy may attempt to mass combat power against an attack by moving forces from less active areas or committing reserves. During exploitations, commanders execute simultaneous attacks throughout the AO to thwart these enemy actions.

7-69.     During attacks, commanders remain alert to opportunities for exploitation. Indicators include—

• Large numbers of prisoners and the surrender of entire enemy units.
• Enemy units disintegrating after initial contact.
• A lack of an organized defense.
• The capture or absence of enemy leaders.

7-70.     Commanders plan to exploit every attack unless restricted by higher headquarters or exceptional circumstances. Exploitation pressures the enemy, compounds his disorganization, and erodes his will to resist. Upon shattering enemy coherence, attacking forces strike targets that defeat enemy attempts to regroup. Attackers swiftly attack command posts, sever escape routes, and strike enemy reserves, field artillery, and critical combat support and CSS assets.

7-71.     Opportunities for local exploitations may emerge when the main effort is elsewhere in the AO. Commanders vary tempos among subordinate commands to take advantage of these opportunities while continuing to press the main effort. Simultaneous local exploitations at lower echelons can lead to a major exploitation that becomes the decisive operation.

7-72.     Exploiting success is especially important after a deliberate attack in which the commander accepted risk elsewhere to concentrate combat power for the decisive operation. Failure to exploit aggressively the success of the decisive operation may allow the enemy to detect and exploit a friendly weakness and regain the initiative.

7-73.     When possible, lead forces transition directly into an exploitation. If that is not feasible, commanders pass fresh forces into the lead. Exploitations require the physical and mental aggressiveness to combat the friction of night, bad weather, possible fratricide, and extended operations.

7-74.     Successful exploitations demoralize the enemy and disintegrate his formations. Commanders of exploiting units anticipate this situation and prepare to transition to a pursuit. They remain alert for opportunities that develop as enemy cohesion and resistance break down. Commanders posture CSS forces to support exploitation opportunities.

7-75.     A pursuit is a type of offensive operation designed to catch or cut off a hostile force attempting to escape with the aim of destroying it. Pursuits are decisive operations that follow successful attacks or exploitations. They occur when the enemy fails to organize a defense and attempts to disengage. If it becomes apparent that enemy resistance has broken down entirely and the enemy is fleeing, a force can transition to a pursuit from any type of offensive operation. Pursuits encompass rapid movement and decentralized control. Unlike exploitations, commanders can rarely anticipate pursuits, so they normally do not hold forces in reserve for them.

7-76.     For most pursuits, commanders designate a direct pressure force and an encircling or enveloping force. The direct pressure force maintains pressure against the enemy to keep him from establishing a coherent defense. The encircling force conducts an envelopment or a turning movement to block the enemy's escape and trap him between the two forces. The trapped enemy force is then destroyed. The encircling force must have greater mobility than the pursued enemy force. Joint air assets and long-range precision fires are essential for slowing enemy movement.

7-77.     Exploitations and pursuits test the audacity and endurance of soldiers and leaders. After an attack, soldiers are tired and units have suffered personnel and materiel losses. As an exploitation or pursuit unfolds, LOCs extend and commanders risk culmination. Commanders and units must exert extraordinary physical and mental effort to sustain momentum, transition to other operations, and translate tactical success into operational or strategic victory.

7-78.     Commanders direct the operations process. They strive for continuous attacks at tempos the enemy cannot match. Commanders visualize the situation, make effective decisions, and assess the planning, preparation for, and execution of offensive operations. Staffs help commanders anticipate the outcome of current and planned operations. Commanders apply judgment to develop the situational understanding upon which they base decisions that lead to mission success (see FM 6-0).

7-79.   Commanders plan to attack enemy forces and systems simultaneously throughout the AO to seize the initiative, exploit success, and maintain momentum. In the decisive operation, commanders focus combat power to defeat the enemy. They conceive simple plans by assessing and visualizing their battlespace and mission. Commanders select the best course of action and develop a concept of operations that ensures mission accomplishment.

7-80.   Commanders tailor their concept of operations to the situation. Offensive plans—

• Allow rapid concentration and dispersal of units.
• Introduce fresh forces to exploit success while resting other forces.
• Protect the force.
• Facilitate transition to future operations.
• Sustain forces throughout the operation.

Offensive planning may occur while units defend. Plans anticipate shifting efforts and transitioning to other forms of attack to exploit opportunities. By planning to exploit success, commanders avoid losing momentum.

7-81.     Staffs analyze the situation in terms of METT-TC to understand the mission and to prepare estimates. Staff sections maintain current estimates for their functional fields or battlefield operating system throughout an offensive operation. Commanders incorporate staff estimates into their visualization. As the operation unfolds and the situation changes, commanders continuously assess threats and opportunities and decide whether to modify the concept of operations (see FM 5-0).

7-82.     Commanders provide their subordinates with a clear statement of what to accomplish and why—the mission. They anticipate likely developments. To prepare subordinates for subsequent actions, commanders give them their superior's mission and intent, tell them what they envision for the future, and issue warning orders as appropriate. To maintain momentum, they assign subordinates tasks that encompass the full scope of the operation. Some offensive operations, such as deliberate attacks, require greater control and coordination. However, whenever possible, commanders assign force-oriented objectives and AOs and avoid restrictive control measures.

7-83.     In offensive operations, commanders look for gaps or weaknesses in enemy defenses. They study enemy defensive preparations and direct actions to obstruct and frustrate them. They set priorities for ISR operations. They plan to penetrate enemy security areas, overcome obstacles, avoid enemy strengths, and destroy the coherence of the defense. Success requires an active, responsive intelligence effort oriented on critical units and areas.

7-84.     Commanders select avenues of approach that orient on key terrain and provide maneuver opportunities for attackers. Good avenues of approach permit rapid advance, provide cover and concealment, allow good communications, and are hard to block with obstacles. Commanders exploit weather conditions that affect mobility, concealment, and air support. They need tactical weather forecasts that focus on how weather might affect the operation.

7-85.     Terrain designated for the decisive operation should allow for rapid movement into the enemy rear. Commanders typically identify and avoid terrain that will hinder a rapid advance; however, an initial maneuver over difficult terrain may surprise defenders. Commanders personally reconnoiter the terrain whenever possible, particularly the terrain where they will conduct the decisive attack.

7-86.     Attackers pay particular attention to obstacles. Commanders plan to negotiate or avoid urban areas, rivers, extreme slopes, thick forests, or soft ground. Such terrain, when it parallels axes of advance, can protect attackers' flanks. Light forces can use such areas as avenues of approach, or they can defend from them, freeing heavier forces for maneuver. To deny key terrain to the enemy, commanders seize it or control it by fire. Most offensive operations are force-oriented; however, attacks can focus on decisive terrain.

7-87.     Weather and visibility conditions affect offensive operations. Concealment and protection from air attacks that weather or light conditions offer is important, especially for air assault and airborne operations. Ground conditions affect the number of avenues available and movement speed. Inclement weather also increases heavy force maintenance and CSS requirements.

7-88.     Commanders consider a unit's readiness and its leaders' experience when assigning missions. They take into account their force's mobility, protection, and firepower relative to enemy capabilities.

7-89.   Commanders employ units according to their capabilities and limitations. The number of possible force combinations enhances agility. Dismounted infantry can attack through heavy cover or penetrate antiarmor defenses to open approaches for armored and mechanized forces. Air assault and airborne units can seize objectives in depth to block enemy reserves or secure choke points. Armor can move rapidly through gaps to disorganize the defense. Field and air defense artillery, engineer, and chemical units provide critical support. Aviation maneuvers to attack the enemy throughout the AO.

7-90.     Attackers carefully integrate CSS operations into plans. Effective CSS is especially important during high-tempo operations. Habitually associating combat units with the CSS units that support them facilitates it. When plans call for attacking units to pass through defending units, defending units assist CSS operators in conducting sustaining operations.

7-91.     Commanders consider the risk involved when deciding how much time to allocate to planning and preparing an offensive operation. The more time attackers take to plan and prepare, the more time defenders have to improve their defenses. Attackers reduce the time available to the enemy by operating at a high tempo, achieving surprise, and avoiding detection. Defenders gain time by delaying and disrupting attacks. In all cases, commanders give as much time as possible to their subordinates for planning.

7-92.     Modern telecommunications capabilities and activities in the information environment may reduce the time available to plan and prepare. Modern information systems reduce the time required to collect and process information. This reduction may provide advantages for either attackers or defenders. Commanders who act quickly and make good decisions retain the initiative in fast-moving situations. Activities in the information environment, such as live news broadcasts of pending or ongoing attacks, may reduce the time available to accomplish a mission.

7-93.     Civil considerations are present throughout offensive operations. Commanders focus their staffs on considerations that may affect mission accomplishment. These factors include care and support for civilians within the AO and the possible effect of refugees on operations and movements. Other considerations include enemy locations with respect to civil populations, political and cultural boundaries, and language requirements. Civil considerations may preclude the attack of some targets, such as infrastructure and historically significant areas. They may also limit the use of land mines.

7-94.     Enemy propaganda may affect the attitude of civilians in the AO. It may also affect domestic and foreign support for the operation. Operational commanders pay particular attention to the effects of actions in the information environment. Tactical commanders may have limited awareness of media reporting and its effect on public opinion. Operational commanders gauge the effect of public opinion and keep their subordinates informed.

7-95.     Preparation postures the force to begin offensive operations. It includes assembling and positioning necessary resources. At the operational level, commanders arrange forces and resources to allow dispersion, responsiveness, protection, and sustainment, while retaining the ability to mass effects quickly. Commanders assign units a position and time to begin or support the attack. Selected friendly forces start conducting shaping and sustaining operations to develop opportunities for the entire force. To preserve surprise, attacking forces avoid and mask actions that could alert the enemy.

7-96.     Preparation includes reconnaissance operations conducted concurrently with planning (see FM 5-0). Reconnaissance collects information that is processed into intelligence and incorporated into plans. Intelligence tasks for offensive operations include identifying and locating enemy reserves, locating and tracking enemy fire support systems, and gathering information about enemy intelligence, air, and air defense capabilities. Conducting aggressive reconnaissance and surveillance, integrating joint collection assets, and exploiting the capabilities of information systems allow commanders to assess enemy capabilities and anticipate his reactions. Rehearsals help subordinates fully understand the commander's intent and how their actions relate to those of other friendly forces and contribute to the overall operation.

7-97.     Sustaining operations create conditions for executing an attack suddenly, violently, and efficiently. More important, they help preserve freedom of action as one operation or phase ends and another begins. At the operational level, sustainment is a key consideration in linking battles within major operations. CSS forces prepare by positioning supplies and units to support the operation. Movement control, terrain management, and engineer- conducted mobility operations contribute to efficient movements. Engineers also conduct countermobility operations to protect flanks. As in all operations, air defense forces protect the force from air and missile attack.

7-98.     Offensive operations require rapid shifts in the focus of combat power to take advantage of opportunities. Sustaining a tempo the enemy cannot match is vital to success. Commanders vary the tempo and methods of attack, while maintaining momentum. Units press the fight. A commander's ability to continually anticipate and visualize both enemy and friendly situations is essential. Making timely decisions is likewise important.

7-99.     Commanders increase the tempo of an operation through reconnaissance and by providing the proper field artillery and other combat support, including air support. They maintain a high tempo by passing forces forward and minimizing the time friendly forces spend under fire. Attacks succeed only if they achieve their objective before the enemy recovers his balance, identifies the threat, and masses combat power against it. Attackers must keep the enemy off balance as long as possible and maintain the momentum of the attack. Successful attacks maintain a tempo and degree of lethality that the enemy cannot match.

7-100.     ISR and IM provide commanders with enough relevant information to direct their attack. Commanders attack once they have sufficient information, even if it is not comprehensive. They can seize the initiative by attacking, even without a detailed operational picture or COP.

7-101.     The violence and intensity of the assault unhinges the coherence of the enemy's defense. Precision fires and IO allow attackers to strip away enemy security forces, cripple enemy C2 and CSS, and mislead defenders as to the true objective of the attack. The combined effects of these and other actions hinder the enemy's ability to make decisions. As attacking forces assault the objective, fires shift, fixing the enemy in depth and denying him the use of reserves. Whether seeking to destroy an enemy force or to seize terrain, the attacking force does not slow until it achieves success. A high tempo contributes to protection and enhances security.

7-102.     Commanders integrate fires with maneuver throughout offensive operations. Accomplishing this requires detailed planning and coordination between assaulting and supporting forces, precise execution, and careful control of fire support. Dismounted assault forces move as closely behind their fires as possible. Armored forces attack under overhead field artillery fire. Air assault and airborne forces land directly on or as near to objectives as possible, once defenders and supporting field and air defense artillery have been suppressed or destroyed. As attackers near the enemy force, they overcome resistance with violent, massed firepower and rapid movement. Speed during this phase is essential to reduce casualties and avoid becoming stalled. Air defense and joint air assets destroy enemy air threats. Attack aviation strikes against uncommitted forces and reserves to isolate current engagements, shape future battles, and deny the enemy options.

7-103.     Attackers quickly move through the objective, destroying remaining enemy resistance. They anticipate a counterattack by maneuver forces, indirect fires, or aircraft. Security is paramount, as the attacker now occupies a position known to the enemy. Attackers consolidate on the objective, reorganize to meet a counterattack, prepare for the next mission, or continue the attack. If the situation allows, commanders immediately begin an exploitation, either with the same force or by passing follow-on forces through the objective area. Reconstitution may be necessary to return units to the fight. Initial attacking forces may reconstitute as follow-on forces pass forward.

7-104.     To maintain offensive momentum, commanders direct the introduction of fresh troops into the attack. Passing follow-on forces allows commanders to rest soldiers, resupply units, and move them to new areas and missions. The introduction of fresh troops is most common when forces enter an exploitation or pursuit, but may be necessary during the attack itself if committed forces cannot reach their objectives. Commanders usually commit fresh troops through a forward passage of lines to maintain the tempo and avoid a significant pause. A forward passage may occur before or after the attack starts. For it to be successful, a forward passage must be concealed from the enemy.

7-105.     Forward passages of lines and offensive reliefs require detailed planning and preparation. Planning a passage includes determining the battle handover criteria that designate when the passing force assumes the fight from the stationary force. The common higher headquarters of the two forces designates control measures for the passage. Subordinate commanders coordinate the details. During a passage, the stationary force provides all possible support to the passing force. The stationary force integrates its direct and indirect fires into the fire support plan of the passing force.

7-106.     Technology is changing the ways that modernized Army forces attack. Information technology allows commanders and subordinates to share a COP tailored to each echelon. Commanders throughout the attacking force use it to achieve greater situational understanding. They conduct operations based on more accurate and current information than ever before. Commanders may now lead from the front while remaining fully connected to the C2 system and the information it provides. Situational understanding, supported by the COP, allows commanders to synchronize their forces effectively and make rapid adjustments as the situation changes. Subordinates can view the overall situation and exercise initiative to achieve the commander's intent without waiting for higher headquarters to provide direction.

7-107.     Situational understanding based on an accurate COP changes the nature of maneuver before and during attacks. With it, Army forces depend less on movements to contact and meeting engagements to create the conditions to attack. Modernized Army forces may avoid movements to contact altogether, developing the situation largely out of contact. Advanced surveillance and reconnaissance assets refine the picture of the enemy, while precision fires and IO destroy enemy cohesion. Reconnaissance and security elements maintain contact only as required to collect information that unmanned sensors cannot. Commanders maneuver forces into position to begin the attack before major forces make contact. Attacks unfold as simultaneous sets of blows that bewilder and shock enemy forces. Attacks become opportunistic and fluid as commanders mass the effects of combat power swiftly and decisively and exploit the results ruthlessly.

7-108.     Fusing information from C2, ISR, indirect fire, and CSS systems increases tempo and the number of offensive options. Greater awareness of enemy and friendly forces means attacks need not originate from one place. Better situational understanding allows commanders to shift forces and efforts from one area to another to exploit opportunities. Nonlinear operations in noncontiguous AOs occur more frequently. Commanders project attacking forces on multiple axes throughout the AO. Lines of operations in the offense are related less by space than they are by purpose; thus, commanders bypass some enemy forces while focusing combat power at the decisive point. Exploiting opportunities that result from efficiently fusing information and determining its significance secures the initiative with attackers.