Therefore, the covering force must have sufficient combat power to engage the enemy and accomplish its mission.
It fights longer and more often and defeats larger enemy forces.
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.
[1] During World War II, the main body of the British Home Fleet regularly sortied into the Norwegian Sea and provided a heavy covering force to protect Arctic convoys from attack by German warships stationed in occupied Norway.