English Explanatory Dictionary

operational encirclement

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. a situation of (partial) encirclement where the besieged forces are not yet in imminent danger of destruction or capture, but are unable to organize adequate defence for a longer period of time, especially in such a way that there remains a connection to the rear, which the enemy however can cover with precise artillery fire, severely hampering supply.

Word forms

operational encirclement operational encirclements

Etymology

Chiefly a calque of Russian оперативное окружение (operativnoje okruženije). In frequent use since the beginning of the Russo-Ukrainian war, but already before most usage seems to have been in reference to Russia and the Soviet Union.

This entry uses open data from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA/GFDL). Word forms are used for search and are not indexed as separate pages.
Back to search All on O Russian dictionary Dahl dictionary