Turning movement

A turning movement , also called a wide envelopment is a maneuver designed to pass around the enemy's front to strike a vital part of the enemy's rear.^[1] It is a military tactic where a command is divided into two parts.^[2] The first part holds the enemy from the front while the other part moves around to attack the enemy's rear or flank.^[2] Unlike an envelopment or a flanking maneuver, the two forces operate beyond the distance where they could usually support each other.^[1] It is often easier for an enemy force to avoid an envelopment than it is to avoid a turning movement.^[1] To counter a turning movement, the enemy must either abandon their position or turn to meet the new threat.^[3] The turning movement is a variation of the envelopment tactic.^[4] Another difference is that the turning movement often seeks to avoid enemy contact until they are deep in the enemy's rear.^[4] Faced with a new threat in his rear area, the enemy is "turned" out of his defensive position and forced to act.^[4]

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2} Milan N. Vego, Joint Operational Warfare: Theory and Practice (Newport, RI: Naval War College, 2007), p. 62
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} "turning movement". Merriam Webster Dictionary. Retrieved 21 August 2016.
3. ↑ "turning movement". Military Factory. Retrieved 21 August 2016.
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1 4.2} "Forms of Maneuver" (PDF). FM-105, Operations, Department of the Army, Washington DC. Good Strategy/Bad Strategy. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 October 2015. Retrieved 21 August 2016.