text: The Offense
  3-18. A well-trained unit with rehearsed standard operating procedures, augmented with digital systems,
  enjoys reduced engagement times and an enhanced planning process. This enhances its ability to control the
  tempo of the battle and stay ahead of the enemy’s decision cycle. Greatly improved knowledge of enemy and
  friendly situations facilitates the employment of fires and maneuver at extended ranges. Such knowledge also
  enhances friendly forces’ freedom to move to those battlefield locations that best enable their ability to
  influence the battle or engagement at the critical time and place.
  MOVEMENT AND MANEUVER WARFIGHTING FUNCTION
  3-19. Attacking units maneuver to avoid enemy strengths and to seek positions of relative advantage that
  they can exploit to accomplish their mission. They seek to overwhelm enemy forces with one or more
  unexpected attacks before enemy forces have time to react in an organized fashion. Echelon security forces
  prevent an enemy force from discovering friendly dispositions, capabilities, and intentions, or from
  interfering with the preparations for the attack. Finally, units maneuver to close with and destroy enemy
  forces by close combat and shock effect. Close combat is warfare carried out on land in a direct-fire fight,
  supported by direct and indirect fires and other assets (ADP 3-0). Close combat encompasses all actions that
  place friendly forces in immediate contact with enemy forces where units use direct fire and movement in
  combination to defeat or destroy enemy forces or to seize and retain ground.
  3-20. The forward movement of subordinate units is critical to the unit maintaining the initiative necessary
  for successful offensive actions. By maintaining a high tempo, units deny enemy forces a chance to plan,
  prepare, and execute an effective response to friendly offensive actions. This is a key way to ensure the
  survivability of the force. Techniques for maintaining a high offensive tempo include using multiple routes,
  dispersion, highly mobile forces, piecemeal destruction of isolated enemy forces, scheduled rotation and
  relief of forces before they culminate, and the wise use of terrain. The exact techniques employed in a specific
  situation must address the mission variables.
  3-21. Units can overwhelm an enemy force by seizing and retaining key and decisive terrain early. Key
  terrain is an identifiable characteristic whose seizure or retention affords a marked advantage to either
  combatant (ADP 3-90). When present, decisive terrain is key terrain whose seizure and retention is
  mandatory for successful mission accomplishment (ADP 3-90). If decisive terrain is present, commanders
  designate it to communicate its importance to their concept of operations. A friendly force must control
  decisive terrain to accomplish its mission. (See ADP 3-90 and ATP 2-01.3 for more information on key
  terrain.)
  INTELLIGENCE WARFIGHTING FUNCTION
  3-22. Units use available information collection assets to study the terrain and confirm or deny the enemy
  force’s strengths, dispositions, and likely intentions, especially where and in what strength the enemy force
  defends. Indications of the location and composition of obstacles and the positioning of engineer assets may
  be key in determining where and when an enemy force defends. These assets also gather information
  concerning the civilian population within an assigned area to confirm or deny their numbers, locations, and
  likely intentions, especially with regard to staying in shelters or fleeing from combat operations.
  3-23. By studying the terrain, units try to determine the principal mounted and dismounted avenues of
  approach to their objectives. They also try to determine the most advantageous areas for the enemy’s main
  defense, routes that enemy forces may use to conduct counterattacks, and other factors, such as observation
  and fields of fire, avenues of approach, key terrain, obstacles, and cover and concealment (known as
  OAKOC). Attacking units continuously conduct information collection (reconnaissance, surveillance,
  intelligence operations, and security operations) during their offensive actions because it is unlikely that they
  have complete knowledge of the enemy force’s intentions and actions.
  3-24. Commander’s critical information requirements in the offense commonly include three to five focuses
  such as—
  * Locations, composition, equipment, strengths, and weaknesses of the enemy force, to include
  high-value targets and enemy reconnaissance and surveillance capabilities.
  * Location of unmanned aircraft system ground control stations and launch and recovery sites.
  * Probable locations of enemy reconnaissance objectives.