View source for Counterattack

[[File:Cedar Creek Union counterattack.png|thumb|right|250px|{{Center|Map of the Union counterattack at the Battle of Cedar Creek during  the [[American Civil War]]}}]]
{{War}}
A '''counterattack''' is a [[Military tactics|tactic]] used in response to an [[attack]]. The modern term became popular in "[[Military exercise|war games]]". The purpose is to [[neutral|neutral]]ize or stop the advantage gained by an [[enemy]] during an attack.<ref name=USMC>U.S. Marine Corps, ''Marine Corps Operations'' (New York: Cosimo, 2007), p. 8-14</ref> At the same time it is used to regain lost ground or destroy the attacking enemy.<ref name=USMC/> A counterattack depends on surprise, speed, and doing what the enemy does not expect. To be most effective it needs to be launched before an enemy has time to get [[Organization|organized]] and has not yet strengthened his new position.<ref>Martin Samuels, ''Command Or Control?: Command, Training and Tactics in the British and German Armies, 1888–1918'' (London; Portland, OR: Frank Cass Publishers, 2003), p. 219</ref> The [[China|Chinese]] general and [[Military strategy|strategist]] [[Sun Tzu]] (544 BC – 496 BC) is the earliest [[writer]] who mentioned the advantages of a bold counterattack.<ref>Sun Tzu; Lionel Giles, ''Sun Tzu's The Art of War: Bilingual Edition Complete Chinese and English Text'' (Boston: Tuttle Publishing, 2012), p. 21</ref>

== Counterattack Media ==
<gallery widths='160px' heights='100%' mode='traditional' caption=''>
File:Battle of cambrai 4 - German Counter-Offensive.png|Map of the [[Battle of Cambrai (1917)|Battle of Cambrai]] – German counter-offensive

File:Belorussia_Operation_Detailed.svg|This map shows the point of attack during Operation Bagration and how the counterattack was executed.

File:Battle_of_Austerlitz_-_Situation_at_0900,_2_December_1805.png|Map depicting the famous counterattack that took place at the Battle of Austerlitz in 1805.
</gallery>
== References ==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Military terminology]]