text: Chapter 7
  Defense
  The brigade combat team (BCT) conducts defensive operations to defeat enemy
  attacks, gain time, control key terrain, protect critical infrastructure, secure the
  population, and economize forces. Most importantly, the BCT sets conditions to
  transition to the offense or operations focused on stability. Defensive operations alone
  are not decisive unless combined with offensive operations to surprise the enemy,
  attack enemy weaknesses, and pursue or exploit enemy vulnerabilities. This chapter
  addresses the characteristics of the defense, common defensive planning
  considerations, forms of the defense, defensive control measures, defensive operations,
  and planning considerations when transitioning to other tactical operations.
  SECTION I – CHARACTERISTICS OF THE DEFENSE
  7-1. Successful defenses share the following characteristics: disruption, flexibility, maneuver, mass and
  concentration, operations in depth, preparation, and security. Defenses are aggressive. Defending
  commanders use all available means to disrupt enemy forces. Commanders disrupt attackers and isolate them
  from mutual support to defeat them in detail. Defenders seek to increase their freedom of maneuver while
  denying it to attackers. Defending commanders use every opportunity to transition to the offense, even if
  only temporarily. As attackers’ losses increase, they falter, and the initiative shifts to the defenders. These
  situations are favorable for counterattacks. Counterattack opportunities rarely last long. Defenders strike
  swiftly when the attackers reach their decisive point. Surprise and speed enable counterattacking forces to
  seize the initiative and overwhelm the attackers.
  7-2. The Battle of Kasserine Pass,described below,is an example of neglecting the characteristics of the
  defense. Prior to the Battle of Kasserine Pass,II Corps failed to adequately resource and prepare defensive
  positions; ensure defensive positions could mass effects of direct and indirect fires; adequately include
  flexibility,depth,and maneuver in planning,and conduct continuous reconnaissance and security operations
  to provide early and accurate warning.
  The Battle of Kasserine Pass
  The Battle of Kasserine Pass,Tunisia in February 1943,served as a rude awakening for
  the American Army in World War II. Over the course of the month,German Field Marshal
  Erwin Rommel’s veteran Armeegruppe Afrika delivered a series of defeats to the relatively
  inexperienced American II Corps under Major General Lloyd Fredendall. Kasserine Pass
  was a tremendous blow to American pride and a loss of confidence in the eyes of II Corps’
  British and French allies. However, lessons learned from the battle led to changes in
  leadership,tactics,and training,resulting in a competent force in the African theater,as
  well as more realistic and effective training in America. Kasserine Pass remains a bitterly
  poignant example of the disasters that befall a force that neglects the characteristics of the
  defense.
  The Anglo-Americanadvance into Tunisia transitioned to a defense in December 1942 due
  to poor weather and logistical challenges. Major General Fredendall’s II Corps was
  tasked with reinforcing the French defenses around several mountain passes and a road
  junction in southern Tunisia. Fredendall,headquartered some 70 miles from the forward
  line of troops,personally directed the dispersion of his subordinate elements over a large
  area of operations. Omar Bradleylater noted in A Soldier’s Storythat,“American Infantry
  had been lumped on isolated [hills]…and mobile reserves were scattered in bits and pieces