Axiom

Does: Strategically offensive, Tactically defensive,
apply to the Honorverse ?

TangoLima wrote:Does: Strategically offensive, Tactically defensive,
apply to the Honorverse ?

Only if RFC desires it.

TangoLima wrote:Does: Strategically offensive, Tactically defensive,
apply to the Honorverse ?

This axiom has never really applied to Naval (or space naval) combat due to the nature of the the battlespace.

In Land fights you can gain massive advantages by positioning yourself in good defensive terrain either natural (Hills) or artificial (Trenches) and make the attacker pay a steep price for comming close to you.

In Naval combat if anything tying yourself to a specific location is a disadvantage as it restricts you freedom to manouver. This is explicitly called out various times in the series where it is pointed out that forcing a naval force to fight in defence of a critical location was usually the only way to ensure they didn't just break off when the started loosing.

Also if you read the books most victories are about overwhelming firepower, ambushes or out teching the oposition. What they are usually not about is taking advantage of home ground. The battles in a short victorious war shows that even with the home ground advantage of deployed minefileds the best that Honor and Sarnow's BCs can do is bloody the nose of the havenite dreadnoughts who are on the offensive and cannot be stopped by the defenders and only the late arival of 10-11 Manty dreadnoughts throwing the attackers into strategic confusion saved the base at Hancock and the Peeps could have carried through if they had to but were concerned about further ambushes and withdrew.

All other things being equal it seems clear in the novels that being on the tactical offence is usually the more powerful position. Even when acting on the strategic defensive most commanders take the tactical initiative and move to engage rather than let themselves get pinned against a planet or junction point.

You could have the tactical loss bu a strategic victory like the first battle of Guadalcanal. Or the reverse a tactical victory and a strategic loss like the battle of Savo Island.

ldwechsler wrote:

TangoLima wrote:Does: Strategically offensive, Tactically defensive,
apply to the Honorverse ?

Only if RFC desires it.

Do Moriarty/Mycroft count? Mycroft sounds like a particularly offensive tactical defense to me.