Bounding overwatch
Bounding overwatch is a military tactic of alternating movement of coordinated units to allow, if necessary, suppressive fire in support of offensive forward "fire and movement" or defensive "center peel" disengagement.
As members of a unit take an overwatch posture, other members advance to cover; these two groups continually switch roles as they close with the enemy. This process may be done by "leapfrogging" with fireteams, but is usually done within fireteams along a squad/platoon battle line to simulate an overwhelming movement towards the enemy and make it more difficult for the enemy to distinguish specific targets.
This military tactic takes continuous training and focused coordination to be effectively practiced on the modern battlefield. It was first developed in World War II, when the prevalence of man-portable automatic weapons made suppressing fire possible.
Example of tactic
A squad in an urban combat zone must advance to a building 100 feet away, crossing an intersection they believe might be in enemy rifle sights from elevated buildings. If the team simply made a run for it, they expose themselves to potential enemy fire without protection.This is where bounding overwatch comes into play.
One fireteam takes an overwatch position while the other team bounds to a new covered position. This way there is always an overwatch team that can react instantaneously to enemy fire. Once the covered position is reached by the bounding team, they now assume overwatch positions while the other team then becomes the bounding team.
By using bounding overwatch, this unit is able to effectively move through a hostile urban street and intersection, without unnecessarily exposing themselves to enemy fire.
If enemy contact is made, the overwatch team opens fire and the unit takes up a process called fire and maneuver which is very similar to bounding overwatch in that teams alternate firing and maneuvering. During fire and maneuver, the commander takes more direct control of team movements and positions.
In infantry tactics, leapfrogging is a technique for advancing personnel and/or equipment on or past a target area being defended by an opposing force. This technique is taught in U.S. Army Basic Training and reinforced with all unit and advanced training throughout a soldier's career. It can be modified for use with equipment as well as personnel.