combat formations
Tactical troop positioning
Combat formations are the tactical arrangements of military units during battle or movement.
Infantry may advance in lines, columns, or wedges; naval vessels steam in convoy patterns; aircraft fly in echelons or finger-fours.
The term extends to any organized group positioning for conflict: The protesters assembled in combat formations before the march.
Good formations balance firepower, protection, communication, and flexibility.
- phalanxMassed infantry formation
- wedgeTapered splitting tool
- flankSide of body
- battalionMid-sized military unit
- regimentColonel-led military unit
shield wall · close ranks · cavalry · infantry · vanguard · shock troops · rearguard · skirmish · maneuver · tactical · column · line · echelon · flying wedge · deployment · ranks · file · advance
combat formationsdisarray
Lack of order
rout · disorder · chaos · pandemonium · dispersion
combat formationsfull retreat
retreat · withdrawal · dispersal · flight · disengagement
combat, formations, combatant, combatants, combative, combated, combating, combats, form