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Shock tactics
rapid offensive maneuver / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Shock tactics are those military tactics designed to overwhelm an enemy with fear, causing panic and confusion.[1] Shock tactics are as old as warfare itself. The Mongols got their reputation for being invincible by the use of shock tactics.[2] Numbers of Medieval knights mounted on their warhorses made coordinated shock attacks into the ranks of enemy soldiers.[3] Robert E. Lee saw the advantage of the shock attack as not so much killing enemy soldiers, but to "create a panic and virtually destroy the [enemy] army."[4] The disadvantage of a shock attack is that the attacker may suffer heavy casualties. During World War I, for example, Germany suffered great losses with its use of the shock attack.[5]
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A Bayonet attack can be a very effective shock tactic