A counter attack is a tactic used by defending forces when under attack by an enemy force. The defenders charge out of their fortifications, stunning the attackers, and press on, having gained the initiative. This can break a siege or change the tide of a battle. Fortifications (Latin fortis, strong, and facere, to make) are military constructions designed for defensive warfare. ... For the Boston area punk band see Siege (band). ...

Historical examples

In history, the counterattack has been used effectively and not so effectively. During the Greek invasion of Syracuse (Peloponnesian War, 415-413 BC), the Athenians were on the verge of carrying the day, but one Syracusan line held, and the pressed the attack, scattering and defeating the forces of the Athenian Empire. At the Battle of Poltava in 1712, Swedish infantry charged across a frozen lake, and appeared to be ready to emerge victorious, but an error in communication stopped the attack. Russian troops had time to regroup and counterattack, and the day was saved. Colonel Joshua Chamberlain commanded the Twentieth Maine Regiment on Little Round Top on the second day of the Battle of Gettysburg. The elite Rebel troops of John Bell Hood charged, but Chamberlain refused his lines, and then ordered a right wheel across the hill, sweeping the Confederates before them. Map of central Mediterranean Sea, showing location of Syracuse on the island of Sicily. ... Map of the Greek world at the start of the Peloponnesian War Temple of Apollo at Corinth The Peloponnesian War began in 431 BC between the Athenian Empire (or The Delian League) and the Peloponnesian League which included Sparta and Corinth. ... The Delian League was an association of Greek city-states in the 5th century BC. As it was led by Athens, it is sometimes pejoratively referred to as the Athenian Empire. ... The Battle of Poltava (or Pultowa) was a battle between the armies of Peter I of Russia and Charles XII of Sweden on 28 June (new style 8 July) 1709, the most famous of the battles of the Great Northern War. ... Maj. ... The Battle of Gettysburg (July 1–3, 1863), fought in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, as part of the Gettysburg Campaign, was the largest battle ever fought in North America, and is generally considered to be the turning point of the American Civil War. ... A rebellion is, in the most general sense, a refusal to accept authority. ... John Bell Hood John Bell Hood (June 1, 1831 – August 30, 1879) was a Confederate general during the American Civil War. ...

At the Battle of Kursk in July 1943, German Panther tanks exhausted themselves against Soviet antitank artillery. As soon as the Nazis ended their advance, Russian T-34 tanks flooded down a nearby ridge "like rats", according to General Heinz Guderian. The Wehrmacht was scattered, and could never mount an assault of that scale in Russia again. The Battle of Kursk was a significant battle on the Eastern Front of World War II. It remains the largest armored engagement of all time, and included the most costly single day of aerial warfare in history. ... General Heinz Guderian Heinz Wilhelm Guderian (17 June 1888-14 May 1954) was a military theorist and General of the German Army during the Second World War. ... Wehrmacht   listen? was the name of the armed forces of Germany from 1935 to 1945. ...

Value of the counterattack

The power of the counterattack can not easily be underestimated. It has changed the face of nations and of continents. If the Athenians had won at Syracuse, the Greeks, not the Romans, might have dominated the ancient Mediterranean basin. Other decisive battles, as well, have been won or lost by counterattacks. Ancient Rome was a civilization that existed in Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East between 753 BC and its downfall in AD 476. ...