Definition of a raid

[Stan]

just a raid and get the Foxtrot out

If we dump on Iran tomorrow with a raid, is it just a raid to destroy their nukes, or, is it indeed the first phase of a war ?

Why is a raid then so defined as a military act when our politicians do it every swingin' day and we pay the dear price of repairing "it" ?

As a former feeble military servant, it seems to me that a military raid and its outcome is no different than politics with potentially high costs to all in terms of casualties, civilian damage and economic disruption.

Fuchs: A political raid ?

[Fuchs]

Dunno what a political raid could be.


New (and quick) raid definition:

Veni, Vidi, GTFO

[Stan]

Dunno what a political raid could be.

New (and quick) raid definition:

Just did a quick search and bingo

The Jameson Raid was a botched raid on Paul Kruger's Transvaal Republic carried out by a British colonial statesman Leander Starr Jameson and his Rhodesian and Bechuanaland policemen over the New Year weekend of 1895–96. It was intended to trigger an uprising by the primarily British expatriate workers (known as Uitlanders) in the Transvaal but failed to do so. The workers were called the Johannesburg conspirators. They were expected to recruit an army and prepare for an insurrection. The raid was ineffective and no uprising took place, but it was an inciting factor in the Second Boer War and the Second Matabele War.

[JMA]

'Strooptocht' (excuse me for using the correct spelling)

That may be the correct spelling in Dutch but in Afrikaans it is strooptog.

[JMA]

I say it would be an "Air Raid" that is the term that was used from WW2 all the way up till the term "strike" became popular in the 1960's.

Yes... the term strike seems to be more used for the precision bombing of a target than the term raid in modern usage.

[Fuchs]

Pfft, invent your own thread, guys!

[davidbfpo]

Pfft, invent your own thread, guys!

Yes Fuchs point taken and I will try to separate out 'Definition of a Raid' and the 'Son Tay raid: stop or go?'.

[Stan]

... Let no officer, no matter how senior be allowed to be frivolous with soldiers lives and get away with it (that includes protecting the lives of their soldiers from the idiot ideas of politicians as well).

I'm not going there with you (today), but I will tell you that the intel available to DIA at the time, and the courses we attended at Carlisle would not have resulted in any mission. If Bill is correct, then Nixon was a real wise old fart (not too many alive today that would agree with that however).

Happy Vet's day to you and your fellow Congo vets, I bet you all still miss the place

I was just offered a job in the DRC and turned it down. I miss the 80s but have no desire to go back to Zaire circa 2012

[davidbfpo]

Thirty-one posts have been moved to a new thread, in the Historians arena and is available on:http://council.smallwarsjournal.com/...ad.php?t=14524

Meantime back to 'Definition of a Raid' and other historical examples.

[Misifus]

I think all three of those are adequate definitions. I think I have my old Ranger handbook laying about here somewhere. Maybe there is a definition in there.

I couldn't find my old Ranger handbook, so I went into my son's room because I think he had an old copy from some research he did at home while on leave regarding some guerrilla history. However the definition there seems to be a misprint, like some words got left out of a couple of sentences. The handbook is actually on line. Here's what I found.

A raid is a form of attack, usually small scale, involving a swift entry into hostile territory to secure information, confuse the enemy, or destroy installations followed by a planned withdrawal. Squads do not conduct raids. The sequence of platoon actions for a raid is similar to those for an ambush. Additionally, the assault element of the platoon may have to conduct a breach of an obstacle. It may have additional tasks to perform on the objective such as demolition of fixed facilities. Fundamentals of the raid include
• Surprise and speed. Infiltrate and surprise the enemy without being detected.
• Coordinated fires. Seal off the objective with well synchronized direct and indirect fires.
• Violence of action. Overwhelm the enemy with fire and maneuver.
• Planned withdrawal. Withdraw from the objective in an organized manner, maintaining security.

Applicability to this thread. Dunno.

P.S. My son is not a Ranger, and I am a tabbed Ranger, not a scrolled Ranger.