Cult of the offensive refers to a strategic military dilemma, where leaders believe that offensive advantages are so great that a defending force would have no hope of repelling the attack; consequently, all states choose to attack. It is most often used in context of explaining the causes of World War I and the subsequent heavy losses that occurred year after year, on all sides, during the fighting on the Western Front. It is also often used to explain Israeli strategy during the 1960s and 1970s, as demonstrated in the Six Day War in which Israeli forces attacked and routed much larger enemy forces in a lightning attack.
Read more about Cult Of The Offensive: Military Theory, International Politics, World War I
Famous quotes containing the words cult of the, cult of, cult and/or offensive:
“Look at this poet William Carlos Williams: he is primitive and native, and his roots are in raw forest and violent places; he is word-sick and place-crazy. He admires strength, but for what? Violence! This is the cult of the frontier mind.”
—Edward Dahlberg (1900–1977)
“Look at this poet William Carlos Williams: he is primitive and native, and his roots are in raw forest and violent places; he is word-sick and place-crazy. He admires strength, but for what? Violence! This is the cult of the frontier mind.”
—Edward Dahlberg (1900–1977)
“A cult is a religion with no political power.”
—Tom Wolfe (b. 1931)
“Hats divide generally into three classes: offensive hats, defensive hats, and shrapnel.”
—Katharine Whitehorn (b. 1926)