# Covering force

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A **covering force** is a military force tasked with operating in conjunction with a larger force, with the role of providing a strong protective outpost line (including operating in advance of the main force), searching for and attacking enemy forces or defending the main force from attack.

The [United States Army](/source/United_States_Army) field manual "FM 3-90.6 Brigade Combat Team" provides the following definition of the role of a covering force:[1]

A covering force is a self-contained force capable of operating independently of the main body, unlike a [screening or guard force](/source/Screening_(tactical)). A covering force, or portions of it, often becomes decisively engaged with enemy forces. Therefore, the covering force must have sufficient combat power to engage the enemy and accomplish its mission. A covering force develops the situation earlier than a screen or a guard force. It fights longer and more often and defeats larger enemy forces.

...

A covering force accomplishes all the tasks of screening and guard forces. A covering force for a stationary force performs a defensive mission, while a covering force for a moving force generally conducts offensive actions. A covering force usually operates forward of the main body in the offense or defense, or to the rear for a retrograde operation. Unusual circumstances could dictate a flank covering force, but this is usually a screen or guard mission. An offensive covering force seizes the initiative early for the main body commander enabling him to attack decisively. When the main body commander perceives a significant enemy to one of his flanks, he usually establishes a flank covering force. That force conducts its mission in much the same way as a flank guard performs its mission. The main differences between the two missions are the scope of operations and the distance the covering force operates away from the main body.

During [World War II](/source/World_War_II), the main body of the British [Home Fleet](/source/Home_Fleet) regularly sortied into the [Norwegian Sea](/source/Norwegian_Sea) and provided a heavy covering force to protect [Arctic convoys](/source/Arctic_convoys_of_World_War_II) from attack by German warships stationed in [occupied Norway](/source/German_occupation_of_Norway). The [Battle of Driniumor River](/source/Battle_of_Driniumor_River) is also an example of a covering force action.[2]

## References

1. ["Chapter 5. Security Operations"](https://web.archive.org/web/20150203115159/https://rdl.train.army.mil/catalog-ws/view/100.ATSC/F8845901-E30D-4488-A923-86825263F32B-1308728592977/3-90.6/chap5.htm). *FM 3-90.6 Brigade Combat Team*. Headquarters, Department of the Army. 2010. Archived from [the original](https://rdl.train.army.mil/catalog-ws/view/100.ATSC/F8845901-E30D-4488-A923-86825263F32B-1308728592977/3-90.6/chap5.htm) on February 3, 2015.

1. Drea, Edward J. (1984). [*Defending the Driniumor: Covering Force Operations in New Guinea, 1944*](https://web.archive.org/web/20101107124527/http://usacac.army.mil/cac2/cgsc/carl/download/csipubs/drea.pdf). Fort Leavenworth, Kansas: Combat Studies Institute, U.S. Army Command and General Staff College. Archived from [the original](http://usacac.army.mil/cac2/cgsc/carl/download/csipubs/drea.pdf) on November 7, 2010.

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