Fire and movement

Fire and movement or fire and maneuver is a military tactic that uses suppressive fire to decrease the enemy's ability to return fire, its organization, unit cohesion, and morale. The tactic is used by squad or section unit commanders on the modern battlefield. The "movement" part of the action consists of a separate organizational unit moving forward in greater safety afforded by the suppressive fire laid down on the enemy.

The Swedish king Gustavus Adolphus was likely the first to use the tactic in wartime, in the Thirty Years' War, against his Habsburg opponents.

Fire and Movement became particularly important when more and more rifled muskets and breech-loading weapons, later followed by machine guns, were fielded on the battlefields of the 19th century. The increased accuracy, range and rate of fire translated into more firepower, allowing smaller units to operate more independently. This marked the transition from First to Second-generation warfare that saw the increasing application of Fire and Movement on the tactical level.

During the First Boer War, it was a standard Boer tactic, and contributed to a series of victories, culminating at the Battle of Majuba Hill.

According to Stephen Biddle, the effective use of fire and maneuver was the key to ending the stalemates on the lines of the Western Front during the final months of World War I. Since that time, he argues, mastery of fire and maneuver has been one of the central components of successful military tactics in modern land warfare.

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