What does search and destroy mean?

Definitions for search and destroy
search and de·stroy

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word search and destroy.

Wikipedia

  1. Search and destroy

    Search and destroy, seek and destroy, or simply S&D is a military strategy best known for its employment in the Malayan Emergency and the Vietnam War. The strategy consists of inserting ground forces into hostile territory, searching out the enemy, destroying them, and withdrawing immediately afterward. The strategy was developed to take advantage of the capabilities offered by a new technology, the helicopter, which resulted in a new form of warfare, the fielding of air cavalry, and was thought to be ideally suited to counter-guerrilla jungle warfare. The complementary conventional strategy, which entailed attacking and conquering an enemy position, then fortifying and holding it indefinitely, was known as "clear and hold" or "clear and secure". In theory, since the traditional methods of "taking ground" could not be used in this war (as all disputed territory was technically already under the control of allied forces), a war of attrition would be used, with the aim of systematically and relentlessly finding and killing enemy combatants; the "body count" would be the measuring tool to determine the success of the strategy of search and destroy.

Wikidata

  1. Search and destroy

    Search and Destroy, Seek and Destroy, or even simply S&D, refers to a military strategy that became a large component of the Vietnam War. The idea was to insert ground forces into hostile territory, search out the enemy, destroy them, and withdraw immediately afterward. The strategy was the result of a new technology, the helicopter, which resulted in a new form of warfare, the fielding of air cavalry, and was thought to be ideally jumped to counter-guerrilla jungle warfare. The complementary conventional strategy, which entailed attacking and conquering an enemy position, then fortifying and holding it indefinitely, was known as "clear and hold" or "clear and secure." In theory, since the traditional methods of "taking ground" could not be used in this war, a war of attrition would be used, eliminating the enemy by the use of "searching" for them, then "destroying" them, and the "body count" would be the measuring tool to determine the success of the strategy of "search and destroy." It is common practice among military forces to enforce strict rules on a search and destroy mission. It became an offensive tool, crucial to General William Westmoreland’s second phase. In his three phase strategy, the first consisted of slowing down the Viet Cong Forces; the second was to resume the offensive and destroy the enemy; the third was to restore the area under South Vietnamese government control. The Zippo missions were mainly assigned to the second phase around 1966 and 1967, along with operations “Clear and Secure.”

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Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of search and destroy in Chaldean Numerology is: 1

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of search and destroy in Pythagorean Numerology is: 8

Examples of search and destroy in a Sentence

  1. State Rep. Mike Johnson:

    They’ve never even been to this school, they literally are trolling the Internet looking for things to be offended by. They are on a search and destroy mission for all things Christian.


Translations for search and destroy

From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary

  • suchen und zerstorenGerman
  • खोजो और नष्ट करोHindi

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"search and destroy." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 19 Mar. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/search+and+destroy>.

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    transmitting light; able to be seen through with clarity
    A transparent
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