Order of Battle
Order of Battlerefers to listings that count and categorize military forces in terms of unit type (e.g., armor, infantry, brigade, division) and quality and quantity of armament. Sometimes order of battle intelligence analysis offers estimates of military units' combat effectiveness by extrapolating from recent events. Units engaged heavily in combat might be rated less effective—because of recent personnel and equipment losses—than experienced full‐strength units.
Order of battle information is crucial to battlefield success: a commander who is unaware of the number, type, and quality of opposing units risks disaster. Attacks are more likely to succeed if they are directed against inexperienced units or units weakened by combat. Movement of experienced units to a given sector can indicate that an attack is imminent.
Because of its importance, operational security and deception often focus on...
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