Hit-and-run tactics

Hit-and-run tactics is a tactical doctrine where the purpose of the combat involved is not to seize control of territory, but to inflict damage on a target and immediately exit the area to avoid the enemy's defense and/or retaliation.

History

Hit-and-run tactics are a cornerstone of irregular warfare like guerrilla warfare, militant resistance movements and terrorism where the enemy typically overmatches the attacking force to the point where sustained combat is to be avoided. However the tactics can also be used as part of more conventional warfare. Examples of the latter include commando or other special forces attacks or sorties from a besieged castle. Hit-and-run tactics were also where the lightly armed and nearly unarmored horse archers typical of the Eurasian steppe peoples excelled at. This holds especially true for such troops that were not part of a large army (such as scouting parties), but it was not unusual to see them employed in such a way even as part of a major force. For example, the Seljuk victory over the Byzantine Empire at the Battle of Manzikert was preceded by hit-and-run attacks of Seljuk cavalry which threw the Byzantine army into confusion, which proved fateful once it started to retreat. Similarly, the earlier Parthian and Sassanid Persian horse archers paved the way for their cataphract's attack that achieved the decisive victories at the Battle of Carrhae and Battle of Edessa. The use of hit-and-run tactics dates back even earlier to the nomadic Scythians of Central Asia, who employed them against Darius the Great's Persian Achaemenid Empire and later against Alexander the Great's Macedonian Empire.

Economics

Hit-and-run tactics are also used in economics to describe a firm that enters a market to take advantage of abnormal profits and then leaves. These tactics can be seen in a Contestable market.

See also

• Chevauchée
• Shoot-and-scoot
• Drive-by shooting