As stated previously, The Maneuver Warfare Handbook is perhaps the most important influence on Victorian military thought, and within Lind puts forth the following core principles of maneuver warfare doctrine: the decentralization of command, acceptance of confusion and disorder as the natural state of affairs, and the avoidance of all patterns, recipes, and formulas. Although the Victorian armed forces officially practice all three of these, their application is rather lacking to say the least. Command and control is officially decentralized but in practice the set-piece maneuvers deployed during the Fall of the United States were often entirely planned by John Rumfold, with little leeway given to individual unit commanders. Similarly, these complex plans almost always relied on several different units executing their role flawlessly, or they would completely fall apart, exemplified by the disastrous operations conducted against the Pacific Republic. The third principle is nigh impossible to actually fulfill, and maneuver warfare theory as defined by Lind itself easily fails the test by resting on an inductive proof of what is required for success, a formula if you will.
Indeed, there is a standard pattern to Victorian offensives carried out above the company level which is followed almost to the letter. Before the offensive begins, weak points in the defensive position will be plotted out for exploitation, and units shifted around to attempt to obtain local superiority. The actual offensive is commenced by the deployment of dozens of VBIEDs to generate chaos and disruption in enemy lines, and thereby pin them in place for the first assault wave. Lacking substantial numbers of heavy weapons to bring to bear, the majority of the attack will be carried out by light infantry, aiming to use speed and maneuver to find gaps in the line and exploit them to cause a collapse. It is here that the Victorian emphasis on maneuver and the fanaticism of many of their soldiers comes into play, hopefully enabling the infantry to overpower their less motivated opponents and effect a breakthrough. Once penetration is achieved, mobile forces, usually Christian Marine units, are rushed into the breach. These rush forward in an attempt to penetrate as deeply as possible, hoping to create a psychological breakdown in their enemy by dint of rapid encirclements and unexpected attacks, followed by regular army units to secure the flanks. Ideally at this point the entire frontline has collapsed, and chaos reigns supreme across the battlespace. If not, plans for a second offensive are to be developed and launched within a week's time. This aggressive impulse is mirrored on the defensive, where the counter-attack is considered the lynchpin of any successful defense. Trench static lines are to be avoided at all costs, and this thinking may result in Victorian commanders continually throwing bodies at seemingly vulnerable points in a line in an attempt to force a breakthrough even when it is clear that such attacks cannot possibly succeed.
