Since the idea of taking
up the offensive is absent, no strong reserves are held out for a
counter attack; the firing line is as strong as possible from the first;
every advantage is taken of obstacles, natural or artificial. The flanks
must be made secure.
The active defense seeks to attack the other side at some stage of the
engagement. It seeks to win and only the offensive wins. It is often
necessary for a commander to assume the defensive (active) either
voluntarily, in order to gain time, or to secure some advantage over the
enemy; or involuntarily, as in a meeting engagement where the enemy gets
a start in deployment for action or where the enemy's attack is
impetuous and without sufficient preparation. In either case the
defensive force contents itself with parrying the blows of the enemy,
while gathering and arranging its strength, looking and waiting for the
right place and time to deliver a decisive blow which is called the
counter attack. Hence, a counter attack is the offensive movement of an
active defense.
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