Meeting engagement

A meeting engagement is one of several types of military tactics in which the strength and disposition of the enemy is uncertain. In the strictest sense, a meeting engagement takes place when one force, not in full combat formation, comes into sudden contact with an enemy force. This differs from a movement to contact, where contact is expected but the disposition of the enemy is not known, and a reconnaissance in force, where it is not certain if the enemy is present but the friendly force is in a flexible combat formation.