Talk:Demonstration (military)

deletion?

This article was created to explain a specialized type of military terminology because there have been two recent requests by readers to explain what it means in two different articles about battles. If you look in http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Military_terminology, you'll see that there are 211 similar articles. Hal Jespersen (talk) 18:48, 2 June 2009 (UTC)

I am one of those confused readers who did not know whether, in the Gettysburg article, it meant that a load of students shouted abuse at the police, or just that a manufacturer came out and said "look at our new high performance flintlock in the sensational 1863 brushed bronze finishes with heavy valve caps". This article met my need perfectly and indeed I thought it was a good example of wp working just how it should, which makes it somewhat ironical to me that someone else thinks it should not be here. If it's too short, expand it, don't delete it. It's doing a worthwhile job here. Cheers DisillusionedBitterAndKnackered (talk) 07:23, 3 June 2009 (UTC)

Why is this subject any different from feint? If judged to be the same, this text can be merged into that article. Binksternet (talk) 14:59, 3 June 2009 (UTC)

That's an alternative I had not considered. They are similar concepts. The DOD pub I referenced shows this full definition: "demonstration — (*) 1. An attack or show of force on a front where a decision is not sought, made with the aim of deceiving the enemy. See also amphibious demonstration; diversion; diversionary attack. 2. (DOD only) In military deception, a show of force in an area where a decision is not sought that is made to deceive an adversary. It is similar to a feint but no actual contact with the adversary is intended. (JP 3-13.4)" I'm not sure what the "(DOD only)" is supposed to mean. If that feint article were renamed feints and demonstrations and this content included, that would OK with me. I'd point out that feint also has the not-a-dictionary problem. Hal Jespersen (talk) 15:29, 3 June 2009 (UTC)

How about a new article Diversionary attack? I searched for it here and found that a ton of articles have that phrase, but there is no such article. In the military, a feint is a diversionary attack that includes contact with the enemy, but a demonstration does not always require contact. Can a demonstration include the peacetime action of holding military exercises near another country's border? How about simply building up forces in a visible manner so that the enemy must counter the threat? Binksternet (talk) 16:23, 3 June 2009 (UTC)

I could also support your concept of diversionary attack (or diversion (military)). Since this is a generic military topic and I focus almost exclusively on the American Civil War, I am not the best person to make a judgment and I am hoping that someone volunteers. I would just like to be able to link those two articles I mentioned to the explanation users are asking for. As to your question about peacetime actions, I notice that demonstration of force links to the military exercise article. Hal Jespersen (talk) 00:00, 4 June 2009 (UTC)