Quote Originally Posted by Fuchs View Post
I do also remember having read that a study of historical battles showed no significant correlation between numerical superiority (of an army) and victory (in battle).

It seems to be of much greater importance to fight when the opponent isn't really ready for a fight (that's another way to look at the topic of tactical surprise).
The teaching of so-called rules of thumb like the 3:1 rule are bad practice and lead to tactical group think. They do not aid tactical thinking at all, they actually hinder it.