Flushing (military tactic)

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Flushing (or Flush) is a military tactic employed by skirmishers (normally infantry). This is where multiple skirmishing units work together using guerilla warfare tactics or espionage in order to maintain a strategic advantage over the enemy before attacking major strategic points (ie outposts, airports and docks) which will hold trade and gains time to make an offensive. After these major strategic points are damaged, the opposing countries' military might will go mainly into the preservation of other such strategic points, most commonly in the immediate area of the past assaults. This allows for the assault of military bases and major training facilities.

Further planning will allow for critical strikes to be made including marking sites for aerial bombardment, assassination attempts, sabotage, poisoning of supplies, release of toxic gases etc. The main aim of these tactics is to destabilize or terrorize the opposition so that the defending military force will be diverted or demobilized to either protect the population or help rebuild infrastructure.

These tactics generally contravene international laws of war governing military conduct and as such could be considered war crimes.