The Delay

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”Retreats are certainly the most difficult operations in war. This remark is so true that the celebrated Prince de Ligne said, in his usual piquant style, that he could not conceive how an army ever succeeded in retreating. When we think of the physical and moral condition of an army in full retreat after a lost battle, of the difficulty of preserving order, and of the disasters to which disorder may lead, it is not hard to understand why the most experienced generals have hesitated to attempt such an operation.”

Antoine-Henri Baron Jomini

LAST MONTH
In our last article, we began our mini-series on retrograde operations. Our focus was on one of the three forms of retrograde – the withdrawal. We essentially divided the article into three parts – planning, preparation, and execution of the withdrawal. We concluded the article with some lessons learned from von Mellenthin on his experiences in conducting numerous withdrawals during World War II.

THIS MONTH
In keeping with our retrograde theme, we will focus on perhaps, the most difficult of all operations – the delay. The delay places incredible demands both mentally and physically on every Soldier involved. No more so than a unit’s Commander! It is the Commander who must decide when to engage the enemy and when to fall back. If the Commander makes a poor decision or an untimely one, the end result is the worst possible endstate – decisive engagement for his unit.

To dissect this operation, we will answer the following: 1) What is a delay? 2) What are the keys to achieving success in a delay? 3) What should you consider in planning a delay? 4) What should you consider in preparing a delay? and 5) How should the delay be executed?

What is a Delay?
This is a form of retrograde where a unit under enemy pressure trades space (terrain) for time. It does this by slowing the enemy’s momentum (physically and hopefully psychologically) and inflicting damage (casualties, destroying assets, etc.) on the enemy without becoming decisively engaged. (Decisively engaged equates to not possessing freedom of action). In the delay, the destruction of the enemy force is secondary to slowing his advance and buying you time. This time is critical in enabling the Commander to set the conditions for success in future operations.

There are numerous reasons why a unit may conduct a delay. These could include:

• Time may be needed so the unit can regain the initiative by going on the offense. This time is often necessary to set the conditions logistically for the offensive.
• Time may be desired to better prepare a defense.
• A unit may simply need time to determine what the enemy plans to do.
• A unit may be assigned a delay mission to enable other forces to withdraw.
• To fix or contain an enemy attack on terrain that is not critical to the overall friendly plan. (Economy of Force)
• To draw the enemy into an area where other forces will counterattack into the enemy’s flank.
• As a deception operation to support the overall commander’s intent.

Principles/Keys to success
As we discussed earlier, the delay is an extremely challenging mission. Below you will find some principles that you must consider during the planning, preparation, and execution of the delay.

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