The Oblique Order (or declined or refused flank) is a military tactic where an attacking army focuses its forces to attack a single enemy flank.The force commander concentrates the majority of his strength on one flank and uses the remainder to fix the enemy line. This allowed a commander with weaker or equal forces to achieve a local superiority in numbers. The commander can then try to defeat the enemy in detail. It was the most famously used by the armies of Frederick II of Prussia. Oblique order required disciplined troops able to execute complex maneuvers in varied circumstances. Flank is a word which might mean any of several different things: A flank is the side of either a horse or a military unit. ... Defeat in detail is a military phrase referring to the tactic of bringing a large portion of ones own force to bear on a small enemy unit, rather than engaging the bulk of the enemy force. ... Frederick II (German: ; January 24, 1712 – August 17, 1786) was a King of Prussia (1740–1786) from the Hohenzollern dynasty. ...

In the oblique order attack, commander of the army would intentionally weaken one portion of the line to concentrate their troops elsewhere. They would then create an angled or oblique formation, refuse the weakened flank and attack the strongest flank of the enemy with a concentration of force. Once the critical flank was secure, the commander would wheel their troops 90 degrees to roll up the enemy line and the angled formation would continue to advance. On occassion both commanders would attempt the same tactic (e.g.the Diadochi trying to replicate Alexander's tactics). Force concentration is the practice of concentrating military power on a target to cause disproportionate losses for the enemy. ... In general Diadochi (in Greek Διάδοχοι, transcripted Diadochoi) means successors, such that the neoplatonic refounders of Platos Academy in Late Antiquity referred to themselves as diadochi (of Plato). ...

History

The first recorded use of a tactic similar to the oblique order was at the Battle of Leuctra, when the Thebans under Epaminondas defeated the Spartans. Philip of Macedon studied under Epaminondas, and his descendants, including Alexander the Great, used its variations in their campaigns. Combatants Thebes Sparta Commanders Epaminondas Cleombrotus I † Strength 6,000–7,000 10,000–11,000 Casualties Unknown About 2,000 The Battle of Leuctra is a battle fought between the Thebans and the Spartans and their allies in the neighbourhood of Leuctra, a village in Boeotia in the territory... Thebes (in Demotic Greek: Θήβα — Thíva, Katharevousa: — Thēbai or Thíve) is a city in Greece, situated to the north of the Cithaeron range, which divides Boeotia from Attica, and on the southern edge of the Boeotian plain. ... For information about the modern board game of the same name, see Epaminondas (game). ... Sparta (Doric: Spártā, Attic: Spártē) is a city in southern Greece. ... Philip II of Macedon (Macedonia) (382 BC - 336 BC), King of Macedon (ruled 359 BC - 336 BC), was the father of Alexander the Great (Alexander III of Macedon) and Philip III of Macedon. ... Alexander the Great (Greek: ,[1] Megas Alexandros; July 356 BC–June 11, 323 BC), also known as Alexander III, king of Macedon (336–323 BC), was one of the most successful military commanders in history. ...

Prussian generals under Frederick the Great used the tactic in their own manner. The Prussian attacking army sent a strong advance force of infantry directly towards the enemy. The frontline troops occupied the attention of the enemy and the rest of the troops would maneuver behind it. They could also exploit any locally available obstacle, using hindering terrain or the smoke of cannon and musket fire to mask maneuvers. The Prussian cavalry would be stationed so as to cover the flank of the main body.

The main body of the army would then spread their forces to one side and deploy in an echelon (or the "oblique order"), spreading their firepower and attacking the stronger enemy flank with increasing pressure. The protective cavalry would then exploit any enemy collapse. This tactic decided the Battle of Leuthen in Frederick's favor. Combatants Prussia Austria Commanders Frederick the Great Charles of Lorraine Strength 39,000 167 guns 58,500 210 guns Casualties 1,141 dead 5118 wounded 85 captured 3000 dead 7,000 wounded 12,000 captured 51 flags 116 cannons The Battle of Leuthen was a battle fought on December 5...

Battle of Leuthen

Frederick's forces march around the hills to pounce on the unsuspecting Austrians

The Austrian army, led by Charles of Lorraine, was formed into a line five miles wide, with one flank resting on the Schweidnitz River and Kiepern Hill. Charles had decided to form his army in such a lengthy formation mainly due to his wariness of being outflanked, which Frederick had done in previous battles against Austrians such as Daun. However, this unwieldy formation would not be able to quickly respond to any penetration along any part of its front. Frederick deployed his army from marching order behind a covering line of hills and concentrated his army near Kiepern Hill and the small town of Sagschutz, while sending a small body of troops from his advance guard to distract the Austrian cavalry reserve to the other side of the field from the Schwerpunkt at Sagschutz. The ponderous Austrian army's left flank was quickly turned as the Prussian cavalry (under Ziethen) and the main Prussian body smashed into the lines at Sagschutz. The huge Austrian main body began to wheel around towards the Prussians, who were swinging to their left to begin dismantling the Austrian army, and a heavy firefight began in the town of Leuthen, punctuated by a heavy cavalry engagement which saw the Austrians fleeing from the scene, their army shattered. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 781 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (929 × 713 pixel, file size: 82 KB, MIME type: image/gif) http://www. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 781 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (929 × 713 pixel, file size: 82 KB, MIME type: image/gif) http://www. ... Prince Charles Alexander of Lorraine Prince Charles Alexander of Lorraine (December 12, 1712 – July 4, 1780) was the son of Leopold Joseph, Duke of Lorraine. ... Old town Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Świdnica Świdnica (German Schweidnitz, Czech Svídnice) is a town in southwestern Poland. ... Leopold Josef Graf Daun, Fürst von Thiano (Count Leopold Joseph von Daun or Dhaun) (September 24, 1705 – February 5, 1766), Prince of Thiano, Austrian field marshal, was born at Vienna. ... Hans Joachim von Zieten Hans Joachim von Zieten (May 14, 1699 – January 26, 1786), was a Prussian general. ... Lutynia (German: Leuthen) is a village in the W. of Wrocław, in Silesia, where Frederick the Great defeated the Austrians with great loss in 1757. ...

The main Austrian body's extreme unwieldiness, combined with Frederick's cavalry feint, made the choice of an echeloned formation perfect. However, the Prussian masterpiece was marred by the heavy losses suffered in the fighting, characteristic of a concentration in battle. With so few troops remaining, Frederick was hard put to stay in the field in the Seven Years' War, which was compounded by the losses suffered at such battles as Zorndorf, Kunersdorf, and Torgau. Though Napoleon would later call it a "masterpiece of maneuver and resolution"^[1], the strategic impact of such a costly use of troops kept Frederick from making territorial gains in the War and prolonged its length. Combatants Prussia Great Britain Hanover Portugal Brunswick Hesse-Kassel Austria France Russia Sweden Spain Saxony Naples and Sicily Sardinia The Seven Years War (1754 and 1756–1763), incorporating the Pomeranian War and the French and Indian War enveloped both European and colonial theatres. ... The Battle of Zorndorf was a battle fought on August 25, 1758 during the Seven Years War. ... The battle of Kunersdorf was fought on August 23, 1759 during the Seven Years War near Kunersdorf, east of Frankfurt an der Oder. ... The Battle of Torgau (Germany) was a battle fought on November 3, 1760 during the Seven Years War on the Süptitzer Höhen. ... Napoléon I, Emperor of the French (born Napoleone di Buonaparte, changed his name to Napoléon Bonaparte)[1] (15 August 1769; Ajaccio, Corsica – 5 May 1821; Saint Helena) was a general during the French Revolution, the ruler of France as First Consul (Premier Consul) of the French Republic from...

References

1. ^ Dupuy and Dupuy (1977), pp. 671