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Shock and awe

Shock and awe (technically known as rapid dominance) is a military strategy based on the use of overwhelming power and spectacular displays of force to paralyze the enemy's perception of the battlefield and destroy their will to fight.[1][2] Though the concept has a variety of historical precedents, the doctrine was explained by Harlan K. Ullman and James P. Wade in 1996 and was developed specifically for application by the US military by the National Defense University of the United States.[2][1]

For other uses, see Shock and Awe (disambiguation).

: The "application of massive or overwhelming force" to "disarm, incapacitate, or render the enemy militarily impotent with as few casualties to ourselves and to noncombatants as possible."

Overwhelming force

: The establishment of shock and awe through "instant, nearly incomprehensible levels of massive destruction directed at influencing society writ large, meaning its leadership and public, rather than targeting directly against military or strategic objectives even with relatively few numbers or systems."

Hiroshima and Nagasaki

Massive bombardment: Described as "precise destructive power largely against military targets and related sectors over time."

: The "intent was to apply precise, surgical amounts of tightly focused force to achieve maximum leverage but with total economies of scale."

Blitzkrieg

: The "selective, instant beheading of military or societal targets to achieve shock and awe."

Sun Tzu

Haitian example: This example (occasionally referred to as the example) refers to a martial parade staged in Haiti on behalf of the (then) colonial power France in the early 1800s in which the native Haitians marched a small number of battalions in a cyclical manner. This led the colonial power into the belief that the size of the native forces was large enough so as to make any military action infeasible.

Potemkin village

The : "Achieving shock and awe rests in the ability to deter and overpower an adversary through the adversary's perception and fear of his vulnerability and our own invincibility."

Roman legions

Decay and default: "The imposition of societal breakdown over a lengthy period, but without the application of massive destruction."

In popular culture[edit]

Following the 2003 invasion of Iraq by the US, the term "shock and awe" has been used for commercial purposes. The United States Patent and Trademark Office received at least 29 trademark applications in 2003 for exclusive use of the term.[24] The first came from a fireworks company on the day the US started bombing Baghdad. Sony registered the trademark the day after the beginning of the operation for use in a video game title but later withdrew the application and described it as "an exercise of regrettable bad judgment."[25]


In an interview, Harlan Ullman stated that he believed that using the term to try to sell products was "probably a mistake", and that "the marketing value will be somewhere between slim and none".[26]


Shock and awe is the job of Jane Doe, most commonly known as The Soldier from Valve's 2007 multi-player FPS game Team Fortress 2.


In the 2009 theatrical movie Avatar, the genocide attack on the Na'vi is described as a "Shock and Awe" campaign by doctor Max Patel.


In the 2011 theatrical film Battle: Los Angeles, the invasion by the alien force is described as using "rapid dominance" along the world's coastlines, including indiscriminate use of heavy ordnance.


A mission entitled "Shock and Awe" in the video game Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare concludes with the detonation of a nuclear warhead.


In the 2008 video game Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3, one of the songs in the soundtrack of the game is titled "Shock and Awe".


In the 2016 video game Hearts of Iron IV, one doctrine the player can select is named “Shock and Awe”, focussing on overwhelming Artillery- and Air support. However, the game is set before Ullman and Wade’s explanation of the terminology.

Demoralization (military)

Hearts and minds (Iraq)

Powell Doctrine

Psychological warfare

Rumsfeld Doctrine

Terror (politics)

London Blitz

Blitzkrieg

Blakesley, Paul J. "Shock and Awe: A Widely Misunderstood Effect". United States Army Command and General Staff College, June 17, 2004.

Branigin, William. "". Washington Post, October 27, 2003.

A Brief, Bitter War for Iraq's Military Officers

Peterson, Scott. "". Christian Science Monitor, January 30, 2003.

US mulls air strategies in Iraq

Ullman, Harlan K. and Wade, James P. Rapid Dominance: A Force for All Seasons. Royal United Services Institute in Defense Studies, 1998.

Archived 2007-03-12 at the Wayback Machine, from SourceWatch

Shock and awe

Command and Control Research Program