Counterpreparation

one of the methods of thwarting an offensive or weakening the force of the initial blow of an enemy who has prepared for an offensive; carried out by strategic units on the defensive.

Counterpreparation takes the form of an unexpected, massive strike by missile forces, aviation, artillery, and other means of fire against the most important elements of the battle formation of the main enemy grouping. The targets of counterpreparation may include nuclear attack weapons; artillery; mortars; tactical aviation at airfields; clusters of tanks and mechanized infantry in their assault position, in the assembly area, or moving to the lines of deployment for the attack; command and control posts and communications centers; fuel and ammunition storage facilities; and other objects whose destruction decreases the combat capability of the attacking enemy forces.

An example of counterpreparation was seen during the Great Patriotic War of 1941–45 when the forces of the Central and Voronezh fronts hit the fascist German grouping, which was prepared for an offensive during the battle of Kursk in 1943.