TACTICS SERIES: POST 2 | Achieving a Decision: Turning Opportunity Into Victory

Achieving a Decision: Turning Opportunity Into Victory

In war, every action has one main goal: to force a decision. We are often reminded that firepower, numbers, or perfect plans alone do not win battles. Victory happens when a force breaks the enemy’s ability to resist, whether physically, mentally, or morally. To "achieve a decision" means shaping events so the enemy can no longer keep fighting. In the Battle of Austerlitz in 1805, Napoleon's strategic ingenuity forced the combined forces of Austria and Russia into disarray, leaving them unable to continue the fight effectively. This not only led to a decisive French victory but also underscored the importance of breaking the enemy’s cohesion rather than merely overpowering them.

This idea is simple, but not easy. Making a decision requires judgment, timing, and a willingness to act with purpose even in the face of uncertainty.

The Goal: Shatter Cohesion, Not Just Bodies

One of the most important lessons from Marine Corps doctrine is that warfare is fundamentally psychological. The point is not to wipe out every enemy element, but to attack what holds them together. When an enemy loses cohesion—when their plans unravel, their leaders lose control, their units hesitate—the battle is already decided, even if many of their forces remain intact.

Achieving a decision is about creating that break.

Sometimes it comes from overwhelming violence at the right moment. Sometimes it’s caused by a small disruption—a flank collapsing, an element being isolated, or a rapid shift in tempo that the enemy can’t match. The scale matters less than the effect: the enemy becomes unable to continue effective resistance.

Tempo: Acting Faster Than the Enemy Can React

Maneuver warfare emphasizes tempo. The side that cycles through observation, orientation, decision, and action faster gains control of the fight. In practice, this looks like:

• Acting before the enemy finishes thinking
  
• Forcing them into a reactive posture
  

Giving them problems faster than they can solve them

When we keep up the tempo, we take the initiative. If the enemy is always reacting, they lose cohesion, and chances for decisive action open up.

Making a decision often depends on identifying these moments and acting on them immediately.

Surfaces, Gaps, and Exploiting Opportunity

History teaches that no enemy is strong everywhere. They have surfaces, which are strengths, and gaps, which are weaknesses. A force that can spot these patterns can shape the battle before any decisive action starts.

• A surface invites avoidance.
• A gap invites exploitation.

The key is to avoid fighting the battle exactly as the enemy wants. Instead, we should fight in a way that exposes and widens their weaknesses. When we break through a gap and attack the enemy from within, we often create a significant impact that leads to a quick decision.

The Decisive Action: When to Strike

In war, decisive actions rarely happen under perfect conditions. They come from bold judgment at the right time. Leaders need to be ready to act when an opportunity is just starting to appear, not when it is already clear.

The decisive moment might be:

• When the enemy commits their reserve
• When their communication wavers
• When their flank overextends
• When their attention is fixed on the wrong threat

What matters most is noticing when the enemy is vulnerable and using combat power to take full advantage of that weakness.

Maintaining Pressure: The Follow-Through

Even after a decisive strike, the enemy might try to regain control. Doctrine stresses pursuit and exploitation, meaning we keep pressing the attack so the enemy cannot recover. This is where many battles are truly won. If we wait too long, the enemy might pull themselves together again, and the decision could be delayed or lost.

To achieve a decision, we must:

• Follow success rapidly
  
• Keep the enemy off balance
  
• Deny them time to reorganize
  
• Victory is confirmed when the enemy can no longer mount meaningful resistance.

Why It Matters Today

Modern conflicts remain deeply dependent on quick decision-making and the ability to disrupt an opponent's cohesion. Despite advances in technology, the core principles persist. For instance, in Ukraine, forces deployed drone swarming technology to rapidly disorient opposing units, demonstrating how modern tactics apply age-old military strategies.

• Think faster
  
• Act faster
  
• Exploit weakness
  
• Break cohesion
  
• Press the advantage
  

Achieving a decision is more than just a phrase from doctrine. It is a mindset: win by making the enemy unable to keep fighting.