| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Advance | Offensive operation designed to gain or re-establish with the enemy |
| Assault | Climax of an attack |
| Attack | Employment of firepower and manoeuvre to close and destroy or capture enemy |
| Block | Deny enemy access to a given area or to prevent advance in a given area |
| Breach | Create a lane through a minefield or clear a route through a barrier or fortification |
| Bypass | Manoeuvre around an obstacle, position or enemy force |
| Capture | To gain position or terrain |
| Clear | To clear terrain of enemy direct fire and keep clear until handed over to another unit/formation |
| Coerce | To persuade or restrain by force or the threat of force |
| Contain | Stop, hold or surround enemy forces |
| Counter | Attack Attack by part or all of a defending force regaining ground lost or cutting off or destroying enemy advance units |
| Deceive | Mislead the enemy by manipulation, distortion or falsification |
| Defeat | To diminish the effectiveness of the enemy |
| Defend | To defeat or deter a threat to provide circumstances for an offensive action |
| Degrade | Reduce by an appreciable amount |
| Delay | Operation in which a force under pressure trades space for time |
| Deliver | To set free |
| Demonstrate | Attack or show force on a front where a decision is not sought |
| Deny | To prevent access through direct or indirect action |
| Deploy | Move forces within areas of operation |
| Destabilise | Render unstable |
| Destroy | To kill or so damage an enemy force that it is rendered useless |
| Detain | Capture and hold a person temporarily including the right to search |
| Deter | Dissuade through action or the threat of action |
| Develop | To advance capability and competence |
| Disengage | Break of engagement in preparation for eventual withdrawal |
| Dislocate | To deny the ability to deny strength |
| Disrupt | To interrupt and cause disorder to an organisation and tempo |
| Empower | Promote confidence or authority in |
| Enable | Provide the means or authority to make possible |
| Envelop | Pass around or over the enemy’s principle defensive positions |
| Escort | Accompany and protect |
| Exploit | Take full advantage of success in battle and follow up initial gain |
| Extract | Recover reconnaissance, stay-behind or encircled forces |
| Feint | Distract the enemy through seeking contact but avoiding decisive engagement by the bulk of own forces |
| Find | Find, locate and identify assets |
| Fix | To deny the enemy his goals, to distract him and thus deprive him of freedom of action |
| Guard | To protect a force by fighting to gain time, while also observing and reporting information |
| Hand-Over | Pass responsibility for the conduct of combat |
| Harass | Fire designed to disturb the rest of enemy troops, to curtail movements and, by threat of losses lower morale |
| Hold | To maintain or retain possession of force, of a position or area |
| Identify | Determine by any act or means the friendly or hostile nature of a detected person, object or phenomenon |
| Infiltrate | Move as individuals or small groups over, through or around enemy positions without detection |
| Influence | To persuade – usually covertly |
| Inform | Tell |
| Intercept | Search for and listen to and/or record communications and/or electronic transmission |
| Interdict | Divert, disrupt, delay or destroy the enemy’s military potential before it can be used effectively against friendly forces |
| Isolate | To seal off and deny freedom of movement and/or isolation |
| Liaise | Maintain contact or intercommunications between elements of military forces |
| Link-up | Establishment of contact between 2 or more friendly units or formations |
| Maintain | Take supply and repair action to keep a force in condition to carry out a mission |
| Manipulate | Manage to advantage (person or situation) |
| Manoeuvre | Employ forces on the battlefield (using) movement in combination with fire or fire potential to achieve a position of advantage in respect to the enemy |
| Mask | Fire to obscure enemy observation |
| Mentor | Develop capacity through example and/or advice through planning and preparation, execution and lessons captured/AAR phases |
| Neutralise | To render ineffective or unusable |
| Occupy | Move into and proper organisation of an area to be used as a battle position |
| Organise | Give orderly structure to |
| Overthrow | Remove forcibly from power |
| Passage of lines | Move forward or rearward through another force’s combat positions |
| Permit | Give permission or consent |
| Persuade | Convince |
| Prevent | Monitor/ID causes of conflict and act to prevent occurrence, escalation or resumption of hostiles |
| Protect | Keep safe |
| Pursue | Catch or cut off a hostile force attempting to escape, with the aim of destroying it |
| Reassure | Restore confidence of dispel fear |
| Reconstitute | Expand the force structures and the infra-structure beyond existing levels |
| Reduce | Make smaller/less |
| Rehabilitate | Process during which units recondition equipment and are rested, furnished special facilities, filled up with replacements issued replacements supplies and equipment, given training |
| Reinforce | Supplement in place forces |
| Relieve | Replace all or part of a unit in an area |
| Re-supply | Maintain required levels of supply |
| Retire | To move away from the enemy when out of contact |
| Screen | Observe, identify and report |
| Secure | To gain possession of by direct or indirect means and to seek to retain |
| Seize | To gain possession of through direct or indirect action |
| Stabilise | Make stable |
| Strike | Inflict damage on, seize or destroy an objective |
| Support | Encourage and help |
| Suppress | Fire to inhibit the enemy’s ability to acquire and attack friendly targets |
| Sustain | Maintain the necessary levels of combat power |
| Target | To make the object of an operation |
| Undermine | Weaken covertly |
| Withdraw | Disengage from the enemy when in contact with the enemy |