Editing Ambush (section)

===Planning===
[[File:Ambush.gif|thumb|US Army idealised linear ambush plan]]
[[File:Ambush_L_shaped.png|thumb|US Army idealised L-shaped ambush plan]]
Ambushes are complex multiphase operations and are therefore usually planned in some detail.<ref name="Moore.Army">{{Cite web |title=Mission Command |url=https://www.moore.army.mil/Infantry/DoctrineSupplement/ATP3-21.8/chapter_08/CombatPatrols/ActionsontheObjective_Ambush/index.html |access-date=20 April 2024 |website=www.moore.army.mil |archive-date=20 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240420183206/https://www.moore.army.mil/Infantry/DoctrineSupplement/ATP3-21.8/chapter_08/CombatPatrols/ActionsontheObjective_Ambush/index.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> First, a suitable killing zone is identified. This is where the ambush will be laid, where enemy units are expected to pass, and gives reasonable cover for the deployment, execution, and extraction phases of the ambush patrol. A path along a wooded valley floor would be a typical example.

Ambush can be described geometrically as:<ref>{{Cite web |date=18 November 2023 |title=Military Tactics 101: The Anatomy of the Modern Ambush Attack |url=https://www.popularmechanics.com/military/research/a45574165/military-tactics-how-ambushes-work/ |access-date=20 April 2024 |website=Popular Mechanics |language=en-US |archive-date=20 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240420183206/https://www.popularmechanics.com/military/research/a45574165/military-tactics-how-ambushes-work/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Moore.Army" />
* '''Linear''', when a number of firing units are equally distant from the linear [[kill zone]]. It can easily be controlled under all visibility conditions.
* '''L-shaped''', when a short leg of firing units are placed to [[enfilade]] (fire the length of) the sides of the linear kill zone.
* '''V-shaped''', when the firing units are distant from the kill zone where the enemy enters and the firing units lay down bands of intersecting and interlocking fire. This ambush is normally triggered only when the enemy is well into the kill zone. The intersecting bands of fire prevent any attempt of moving out of the kill zone.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/policy/army/fm/7-85/ch6.htm|title=FM 7–85 Chapter 6 Special Light Infantry Operations|website=www.globalsecurity.org|accessdate=15 July 2024|archive-date=16 May 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230516162234/https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/policy/army/fm/7-85/ch6.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>