war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

fare, a meeting engagement, or encounter battle, is a combat action that occurs when a moving force, incompletely deployed for

battle A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

, engages an enemy at an unexpected time and place.

Description

Such encounters normally occur by chance in small

unit Unit may refer to: Arts and entertainment * UNIT, a fictional military organization in the science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'' * Unit of action, a discrete piece of action (or beat) in a theatrical presentation Music * ''Unit'' (alb ...

operations, typically when two moving forces collide unexpectedly. Engagements involving larger units may occur when

intelligence Intelligence has been defined in many ways: the capacity for abstraction, logic, understanding, self-awareness, learning, emotional knowledge, reasoning, planning, creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving. More generally, it can be des ...

, surveillance, or

reconnaissance In military operations, reconnaissance or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, terrain, and other activities. Examples of reconnaissance include patrolling by troops (skirmisher ...

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 fire, are essential. To maintain momentum, lead elements quickly bypass or fight through light resistance. Freedom to

maneuver Maneuver (American English), manoeuvre (British English), manoeuver, manœuver (also spelled, directly from the French, as manœuvre) denotes one's tactical move, or series of moves, that improves or maintains one's strategic situation in a compet ...

is always advantageous; however, commanders may choose to establish a hasty defense if the enemy force is larger or the

terrain Terrain or relief (also topographical relief) involves the vertical and horizontal dimensions of land surface. The term bathymetry is used to describe underwater relief, while hypsometry studies terrain relative to sea level. The Latin wo ...

offers a significant benefit. In general, the force that gains and retains the initiative in a meeting engagement wins. If both sides choose to reinforce their position instead of disengaging, then what started out as a skirmish may turn into a

pitched battle A pitched battle or set-piece battle is a battle in which opposing forces each anticipate the setting of the battle, and each chooses to commit to it. Either side may have the option to disengage before the battle starts or shortly thereafter. A ...

, as happened at the

Battle of Gettysburg The Battle of Gettysburg () was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, by Union and Confederate forces during the American Civil War. In the battle, Union Major General George Meade's Army of the Po ...

during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

and the

Battle of Mars-la-Tour The Battle of Mars-la-Tour (also known as the Battle of Vionville or Battle of Rezonville) was fought on 16 August 1870, during the Franco-Prussian War, near the village of Mars-La-Tour in northeast France. One Prussian corps, reinforced by t ...

during the Franco-Prussian War.

References

US Department of Defense Dictionary
* {{cite book , author=Headquarters, Department of the Army , authorlink=United States Department of the Army#Headquarters, Department of the Army , title=FM 3–0, Operations , date=14 June 2001 , place=Washington, DC , publisher=

GPO GPO may refer to: Government and politics * General Post Office, Dublin * General Post Office, in Britain * Social Security Government Pension Offset, a provision reducing benefits * Government Pharmaceutical Organization, a Thai state enterpris ...

, oclc=50597897 , url=http://155.217.58.58/cgi–bin/atdl.dll/fm/3-0/fm3-0.exe , archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20020219134603/http://155.217.58.58/cgi-bin/atdl.dll/fm/3-0/fm3-0.exe , archivedate=19 February 2002 , url-status=dead , format=PDF inside ZIP– SFX , accessdate=19 August 2013 Warfare by type