Are sallies effective?

[remnant]

There are varied techniques of warfare employed in the battlefield and its up to the military tacticians to gauge their effectiveness. One tactic that has been used in past wars to devastating effect is the use of sustained attacks with waves upon waves of infantry and support units attacking and then tactically retreating and rotating to maintain a continuous thrust on the enemy frontline. It has been used notably by the defunct LTTE of Sri Lanka with awesome success. Any thoughts about its applicability in modern warfare?

 

[vash]

Waves of waves infantry attack was so WWI. Even in WWI, the deployment of heavy machine-guns and artillery had proven the human wave tactics ineffective or at least not worth the heavy casualty for the little gain. By WWII, the human wave tactics was even less useful. If you talk about tank wave, it was still useful in WWII. Nowadays, superior firepower, air superiority, and precision bombing will render all types of "wave" attack useless.

Do not get me wrong, the number game can still work when the attacker also have similar firepower and technologies while on even footing on air superiority. It just that relaying on the wave attack alone is not going to work or not worth the cost.

 

[Susimi]

Waves of waves infantry attack was so WWI. Even in WWI, the deployment of heavy machine-guns and artillery had proven the human wave tactics ineffective or at least not worth the heavy casualty for the little gain. By WWII, the human wave tactics was even less useful. If you talk about tank wave, it was still useful in WWII. Nowadays, superior firepower, air superiority, and precision bombing will render all types of "wave" attack useless.

Do not get me wrong, the number game can still work when the attacker also have similar firepower and technologies while on even footing on air superiority. It just just that relaying on the wave attack alone is not going to work or not worth the cost.

I would agree to an extant. Wave tactics could still prove useful if you KNOW you'll be able to overwhelm your enemy with your vast numbers, but even then it's a massive risk to take that could cost the lives of hundreds if not thousands of your troops.

It's worked in the past but I suppose in modern tactics it would only work well on paper.

 

[remnant]

I am not referring to mindless blitzkrieg land operations or kamikaze type attacks of yore. I am alluding to well planned and scheduled offensives spearheaded by special forces in deliberate and well calculated tactical maneouvres. The type that will engender rotations of rapid advances and retreats backed by air cover and support units to maintain a constant thrust of firepower on enemy defences.