Military tactics
Science and art of organizing a military force and techniques
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We include updates on Battle of Waterloo, Battle of Berlin, Battle of Vienna, 2020–2021 U.S. troop withdrawal from Afghanistan, Charge of the Light Brigade, False flag, Battle of Crécy, Hannibal Directive, Scorched earth, Reconnaissance, Banzai charge, Decentralization, Battle of Arnhem, Tercio, Siege of Budapest, Israeli disengagement from the Gaza Strip ... and more.
| May 2025 |
Scorched earth
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich stated 'Gaza will be entirely destroyed' and suggested displacing Palestinians to third countries.
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| 2025 |
False flag
During the Canadian federal election campaign, Liberal Party strategists were exposed for a failed false flag operation. They placed 'Stop the Steal' buttons at a Conservative Party event, hoping to associate Conservative supporters with Donald Trump. After a CBC News journalist reported the incident, Liberal leader Mark Carney reassigned the involved operatives.
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| 2025 |
Encirclement
Velyka Novosilka offensive, a recent military operation involving potential encirclement tactics.
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| February 2025 |
Hannibal Directive
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant officially admitted the use of the Hannibal Directive during the Gaza war, confirming its implementation in military operations.
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| January 2025 |
Scorched earth
UN figures showed 90% of homes in Gaza destroyed or damaged, with 60% of total buildings affected.
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| 2024 |
Battle of Vienna
The city of Vienna rejects a monument to King Jan Sobieski due to concerns about Islamophobia and anti-Turkish sentiment.
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| 2024 | A Royal United Services Institute report reveals Hamas's sophisticated tunnel infrastructure, detailing two types of tunnels: deep, well-equipped tunnels for high-ranking commanders and shallower tunnels for lower-level members. |
| December 2024 |
Scorched earth
UN reported over 60,000 structures destroyed in Gaza, with more than 20,000 severely damaged.
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| October 2024 | During a ground offensive, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) target and report destroying over 50 tunnel shafts constructed by Hezbollah in southern Lebanon. |
| September 2024 |
Hannibal Directive
ABC News (Australia) report detailed multiple incidents of Israeli forces potentially firing on vehicles with hostages, including a case at Kibbutz Be'eri where 13 civilians were killed.
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| September 2024 |
Hannibal Directive
ABC News reported on the use of the Hannibal Directive during the October 7 attacks.
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| July 2024 |
Hannibal Directive
A Haaretz investigation revealed that the IDF ordered the use of the Hannibal Directive during the October 7 attacks.
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| July 14 2024 |
Hannibal Directive
IDF releases an operational review clearing itself of wrongdoing in the October 7th incidents, which is disputed by survivors like Sharon Cohen who questions the investigation's conclusions.
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| June 2024 |
Hannibal Directive
UN Commission report found Israel Security Forces used the Hannibal Directive on October 7th, potentially killing up to 14 Israeli civilians.
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| March 28 2024 |
Hannibal Directive
IDF Captain Bar Zonshein gave an interview recounting firing tank shells on vehicles on October 7, stating it was better to stop abduction even if Israeli soldiers were killed.
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| January 2024 |
Hannibal Directive
Noam Dan, cousin of hostage Ofer Calderon, accused the Israeli government of deliberately sacrificing captives as part of a political strategy, invoking the Hannibal Directive.
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| January 2024 |
Hannibal Directive
Yedioth Ahronoth investigation concluded the IDF applied the Hannibal Directive from noon on October 7, ordering combat units to stop hostage-taking 'at all costs'.
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| 2023 | During the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, Hamas's extensive underground tunnel network becomes a critical strategic focus, with the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) identifying tunnel destruction as a top priority. |
| December 16 2023 |
Hannibal Directive
Israeli Channel 12 reported IDF forces shot at a tractor carrying hostages to Gaza, killing one hostage and injuring others.
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| December 5 2023 |
Hannibal Directive
Israeli hostages released by Hamas met with Benjamin Netanyahu's war cabinet and claimed they were attacked by Israeli helicopters and constantly shelled during their captivity.
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| November 4 2023 |
Scorched earth
Colonel Yogev Bar Sheshet, deputy head of Israel's Civil Administration, publicly stated that returning Palestinians would find 'scorched earth' with no houses, agriculture, or future.
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| October 7 2023 |
Scorched earth
Hamas attacks on Israel triggered military operations in Gaza, leading to the implementation of the Dahiya doctrine with extensive destruction of infrastructure.
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| October 7 2023 |
Hannibal Directive
At Kibbutz Be'eri, in the house of Pessi Cohen, an IDF attack resulted in 13 out of 14 hostages being killed while in the house.
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| October 7 2023 |
Hannibal Directive
At 7:18 AM, an observation post reported a kidnapping at the Erez crossing, resulting in a 'Hannibal at Erez' command to dispatch an unmanned assault drone.
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| October 7 2023 |
Hannibal Directive
At 6:40 PM, military intelligence believed militants were planning to flee back to Gaza from near Kibbutz Be'eri, Kfar Azza, and Kissufim, prompting artillery fire at the border fence area.
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| October 7 2023 |
Hannibal Directive
At 2:00 PM, a new IDF instruction was issued to turn the area around the border fence into a 'killing zone', closing it off toward the west.
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| October 7 2023 |
Hannibal Directive
Alleged mass implementation of the Hannibal Directive during Hamas attack, with IDF potentially firing on Israeli civilian hostages being taken into Gaza. First reported use of the directive involving Israeli civilians in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
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| March 2023 |
Scorched earth
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights condemned the Burmese military's scorched earth strategy, which resulted in killing thousands of civilians, displacing 1.3 million people, and destroying 39,000 houses across Myanmar.
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| 2022 |
Encirclement
Siege of Mariupol, a modern military encirclement during the Russian invasion of Ukraine involving the complete isolation of Ukrainian defenders.
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| April 2022 |
False flag
FSB staged a false flag operation involving an alleged Ukrainian assassination plot against Russian propagandist Vladimir Solovyov, which was undermined by comical details such as three Sims 3 expansion packs and a poorly staged note, ultimately revealing the operation's fabricated nature.
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| April 2022 | Ukrainian resistance used underground tunnels in Mariupol to hold off Russian invading troops for 80 days, with the last Ukrainian troops retreating into the complex tunnel and bunker system of the Azovstal Iron and Steel Works. |
| February 2022 |
False flag
U.S. officials continued to warn about potential Russian false flag operations in Ukraine as tensions escalated.
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| February 24 2022 |
False flag
Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, preceded by an intensive disinformation campaign featuring fabricated false flag videos alleging Ukrainian attacks on Russia.
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| January 2022 |
False flag
U.S. officials warned that Russian operatives were planning a false flag operation in Ukraine to justify a military intervention.
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| 2021 |
Scorched earth
Myanmar military coup d'état occurred, initiating a period of widespread conflict and civilian displacement.
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| October 2019 |
Hannibal Directive
Major-General Qasem Soleimani of the IRGC Quds Force gave an interview to Iranian state television discussing the impact of the Hannibal Directive on hostage-taking operations, specifically analyzing Hezbollah's cross-border raid tactics in response to the Israeli military protocol.
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| January 2019 | Continuation of Operation Northern Shield, with Israel continuing to destroy Hezbollah tunnels along its border. |
| 2018 |
False flag
Cesar Sayoc was convicted of mailing pipe bombs to prominent Democrats before the mid-term elections, with some conservative commentators suggesting it was a false flag operation to discredit Republicans and Trump supporters.
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| December 2018 | Israeli military begins Operation Northern Shield to destroy Hezbollah tunnels along Israel's border. |
| October 30 2017 | Israel detected and detonated a cross-border attack tunnel within its borders as part of ongoing efforts to prevent underground infiltration from Gaza. |
| January 2017 |
Hannibal Directive
The Hannibal Directive was replaced by three new directives: 'True Test', 'Tourniquet', and 'Guardian of life', which addressed abductions in different scenarios.
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| 2016 |
Hannibal Directive
The Hannibal Directive was officially revoked by the Israeli military.
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| July 6 2016 |
Withdrawal of United States troops from Afghanistan
President Obama announces he will draw down troops to 8,400 by the end of his administration in December 2016, continuing to focus on training, advising, and counter-terrorism efforts.
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| October 15 2015 |
Withdrawal of United States troops from Afghanistan
Following the Taliban's capture of Kunduz, President Obama announces a new plan to maintain 9,800 troops through most of 2016, then drawing down to 5,500 late in the year or early 2017.
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| March 2015 |
Withdrawal of United States troops from Afghanistan
President Obama announces slowing the pace of U.S. troop withdrawal, maintaining 9,800 troops through at least the end of 2015 at the request of Afghan President Ashraf Ghani.
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| March 4 2015 | Rebel forces (Islamic Front, Al-Nusra, and ISIS) attacked the Air Force Intelligence Building in Aleppo by detonating explosives in a tunnel dug close to or under the building. The explosion caused a partial collapse of the building, which was immediately followed by an armed rebel assault on the structure. |
| December 6 2014 |
Withdrawal of United States troops from Afghanistan
U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel announces a modification to the original troop withdrawal plan, keeping up to 10,800 troops for the first few months of 2015 before restarting the drawdown.
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This contents of the box above is based on material from the Wikipedia articles False flag, Investment (military), Withdrawal of United States troops from Afghanistan (2011–2016), Military tactics of Alexander the Great, Tunnel warfare, Scorched earth, Battle of Vienna, Encirclement & Hannibal Directive, which are released under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.