ambuscade
Hidden military strike
Ambuscade is a literary or old-fashioned word for ambush—a surprise attack from a concealed position, or the concealment itself.
The verb means to attack from hiding: The patrol was ambuscaded in the narrow pass.
The word appears mainly in historical military accounts and period fiction.
Those who attack unexpectedly
- guerrillasIrregular combatants, unconventional warfare
- partisansStaunch factional supporters
- raidersThose who plunder
- bushwhackersForest ambushers or trail-clearers
highwaymen · brigands · bandits · marauders · outlaws · commandos · snipers · predators
Device for catching prey
- lureThing that tempts
- decoyFalse target for misdirection
- baitLure for prey
- pitfallHidden danger or drawback
entrapment · booby trap · tripwire · deadfall · ruse · ploy · setup · springing
At the sides of
- encirclementSurrounding enemy forces completely
- pincerGrasping claw organ
- feintDeceptive mock attack
- diversionRedirection of attention
crossfire · enfilade · choke point · bottleneck · deployment · positioning · reconnaissance · scouting
Concealment through visual blending
- coverProtect by overlaying
- hideConceal or pelt
- blindLacking the sense of sight
- thicketDense shrub cluster
undergrowth · foliage · brush · ditch · ravine · treeline · hedgerow · shadows
Quality of happening instantly
- shockViolent sudden disturbance
- startleFrighten suddenly
- unexpectedNot anticipated beforehand
- unforeseenNot predicted or expected
abrupt · swift · lightning strike · pounce · spring · rush · onslaught · assault
ambushers
Those who attack unexpectedly
- guerrillasIrregular combatants, unconventional warfare
- partisansStaunch factional supporters
- raidersThose who plunder
bushwhackers · highwaymen · brigands · bandits · marauders · outlaws · commandos · snipers · predators · hunters
snare
Device for catching prey
pitfall · entrapment · booby trap · tripwire · deadfall · ruse · ploy · setup · springing · lying in wait
flanking
At the sides of
- encirclementSurrounding enemy forces completely
- pincerGrasping claw organ
- feintDeceptive mock attack
diversion · crossfire · enfilade · choke point · bottleneck · deployment · positioning · reconnaissance · scouting · intelligence
camouflage
Concealment through visual blending
thicket · undergrowth · foliage · brush · ditch · ravine · treeline · hedgerow · shadows · darkness
suddenness
Quality of happening instantly
- shockViolent sudden disturbance
- startleFrighten suddenly
- unexpectedNot anticipated beforehand
unforeseen · abrupt · swift · lightning strike · pounce · spring · rush · onslaught · assault
- ambushbushwhack, sneak attack, surprise attack, trap, lying in wait
- attacksattack, assault, raid, strike, offensive
- Frontier WarsIndian Wars, French and Indian War, cavalry charge, militia, militias
- military tacticstactics, flanking, maneuver, battle formations, combat maneuvers
- warfarebattle, combat, attack, war, armed conflict
ambuscadepitched battle
Intense preplanned military confrontation
frontal assault · direct attack · charge · melee · siege
ambuscaderetreat
Sanctuary or withdrawal
defense · charge · declaration of war · warning · withdrawal