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{{Short description|Military trope}}
{{Use dmy dates|date = May 2020}}
{{other uses|Forlorn Hope (disambiguation)}}
[[File:William Barnes Wollen, Colin Campbell at the Siege of San Sebastián in 1813.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Colin Campbell, 1st Baron Clyde|Colin Campbell]] leading the 'forlorn hope' at the [[Siege of San Sebastián]], 1813. Painting by [[William Barnes Wollen]]]]

A '''forlorn hope''' is a band of soldiers or other combatants chosen to take the [[vanguard]] in a military operation, such as a [[Suicide mission|suicidal assault]] through the breach of a defended position, or the first men to climb a [[Escalade|scaling ladder]] against a defended fortification, or a rearguard, to be expended to save a retreating army, where the risk of casualties is high.<ref name = "brit">{{cite EB1911|wstitle=Forlorn Hope}}</ref><ref name=OED/>
Such men were volunteers motivated by the promise of reward or promotion, or [[Penal military unit|men under punishment]] offered pardon for their offenses, if they survived.

==Etymology==
The term comes from the [[Dutch language|Dutch]] {{lang|nl|verloren hoop}}, literally "lost heap". The term was used in military contexts to denote a troop formation.<ref name=OED>{{Cite OED|term=forlorn hope}}</ref><ref>{{Cite Merriam-Webster|forlorn hope|access-date=2020-05-15}}</ref> In the 16th century, when English-speakers first encountered the phrase, it was  misheard as "forlorn hope", giving an added meaning to the term. While
''verloren'' is correctly identified with the English "forlorn" (both words stemming from the [[Proto-Germanic]] ''ferliusan''), the Dutch word {{lang|nl|hoop}} (in its sense of "heap" in English) is not [[cognate]] with English "hope": this is an example of [[folk etymology]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Todd |first1=Loreto |last2=Hancock |first2=Ian |author-link2=Ian Hancock |title=International English Usage |chapter=Folk Etymology |publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]] |year=1990 |orig-year=1986 |location=London |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Im-KAgAAQBAJ |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Im-KAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT488 |isbn=0-203-97763-7 |page=488 |access-date=2020-05-15|quote=''Forlorn hope'', for example, has been reinterpreted from the Dutch ''verloren hoop'' meaning 'a lost group'… |via=[[Google Books]]}}
</ref>
This folk etymology has been strengthened by the fact that in Dutch, the word {{lang|nl|hoop}} is a [[homograph]] meaning "hope" as well as "heap",<ref name= Edwards>{{cite book |last1=Edwards |first1=John |editor-last1=Wei |display-editors=etal|chapter=Forlorn hope?|editor-first1=Li |editor-link1=Li Wei (linguist) |title=Opportunities and Challenges of Bilingualism |date=2002 |publisher=[[De Gruyter]] |location=The Hague, Netherlands |isbn=3110173050 |pages=25–26}}</ref> although the two senses have different etymologies.<ref>The Dutch ''hope'', meaning "expectation", derives from the [[Old Low German]] ''tôhopa'', whereas in the sense of "heap" or "pile", it is from Old Low German ''hôp'': [[Oxford English Dictionary]], respectively "hope, n.1" and "heap, n".</ref>

In  [[German language|German]], the term was ''[[:de:Verlorener Haufen| Verlorene Haufen]]'',<ref>{{cite book |last1=Blau |first1=Friedrich |title=Die deutschen Landsknechte |date=2016 |publisher=[[:de:Salzwasser-Verlag|Salzwasser-Verlag]] |location=Paderborn |isbn=9783846013687 |page=47}}</ref> which has the same meaning as the Dutch term (i.e., ''lost heap''), the word ''[[Haufen]]'' itself being a general term for a company of [[Landsknecht]].

In [[French language|French]] such a band was known as ''[[:fr:Enfants perdus (militaire)|enfants perdus]]''— "lost children".<ref>{{Cite Merriam-Webster|enfants perdus|access-date=2020-05-15}}</ref>

==History==
The notion of a band of volunteers undertaking a near-suicidal mission to lead an advance or guard a retreat is possibly as old as warfare itself; the story of [[Horatius at the bridge]], in Roman times, is an early example. With the rise of a [[Mercenary#Medieval warfare|professional soldiery]] in the [[Middle Ages]], the idea of troops undertaking such tasks for reward gave rise to their description as a "forlorn hope".

In the [[New Model Army]] of the [[English Civil War]], the "forlorn hopes" could lead a storming attack, be positioned in advance of the [[vanguard]], or be left behind to protect the [[rearguard]]. Men were assigned to these roles by the drawing of [[:wikt:lot|lots]], on the principle that [[divine providence]] would intervene in the selection and also decide the fate of those selected. The [[royalist]] forces also used the tactic.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Waddington |first1=Raymond B. |title=Looking into providences: designs and trials in Paradise Lost |date=2012 |publisher=University of Toronto press |location=Toronto |isbn=9781442643420 |page=75}}</ref>

In the German [[mercenary]] armies of the [[Landsknecht]], these troops were called the  {{lang|de|verlorene Haufen}}, and carried [[zweihänder|long double-handed swords]], with which they had to hew their way through the massive pike formations opposing them. Alternatively, a  small force of {{lang|de|verlorene Haufen}} could be used as "bait", to draw forward enemy formations and so expose them to the main force of ''Landsknecht'' behind.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Axelrod |first1=Alan |author1-link=Alan Axelrod |title=Mercenaries : a guide to private armies and private military companies |date=2014 |publisher=[[CQ Press]] |location=Thousand Oaks, California |isbn=9781608712489 |page=56|quotation=Bait, essentially sacrificed to the enemy onslaught}}</ref> They also had to withstand the first wave of attacks when defending a [[Breastwork (fortification)|breastwork]]. Members of the {{lang|de|verlorene Haufen}} earned double pay, thus giving them the name of ''[[Doppelsöldner]]'' ('Double-wagers').<ref>{{cite book |last1=Nolan |first1=Cathal J. |title=The age of wars of religion, 1000-1650 : an encyclopedia of global warfare and civilization |date=2006 |publisher=Greenwood Press |location=Westport, Conn. |isbn=9780313337338 |page=227}}</ref> Since there were not enough volunteers for this assignment, criminals who had been sentenced to death were taken into the ranks as well. As a field sign, the {{lang|de|verlorene Haufen}} carried a red {{lang|de|Blutfahne}} ('Blood Banner').<ref>{{cite book |last1=von Reymond |first1=Moritz |title=Weltgeschichte |date=1893 |publisher=Julius Neumann |location=[[Dębno|Neudamm]] |oclc=177318251 |page=61|authorlink=:de:Moritz von Reymond}}</ref>

By extension, the term ''forlorn hope'' became used for any body of troops placed in a hazardous position, e.g., an exposed outpost, or the defenders of an [[outwork]] in advance of the main defensive position.<ref name="brit" /> This usage was especially common in accounts of the [[English Civil War]], as well as in the [[British Army]] in the [[Peninsular War]] of 1808–1814. In the days of muzzle-loading [[musket]]s, the term was most frequently used to refer to the first wave of soldiers attacking a breach in defenses during a [[siege]].

While it was likely that most members of the forlorn hope would be killed or wounded, the intention was that some would survive long enough to seize a foothold that could be reinforced, or, at least, that a second wave with better prospects could be sent in while the defenders were reloading or engaged in mopping up the remnants of the first wave.<ref name="brit" />  That said, such soldiers were rarely suicidal or foolhardy: British troops of the forlorn hope at the 1812 [[Siege of Badajoz (1812)|Siege of Badajoz]] carried a large bag ({{convert|5|-|6|ft}} by {{convert|2|ft}} in diameter) stuffed with hay or straw, which was thrown down into the enemy trenches to create a cushion and prevent injury as they jumped down.<ref name=":0">{{Cite magazine |url=https://www.economist.com/united-states/2018/08/11/never-trump-republicans-could-have-their-revenge |title='Never Trump' Republicans could have their revenge| department=Lexington |date=9 August 2018 |magazine=[[The Economist]]| location=London|issn=00130613 |access-date=15 August 2018|url-access=subscription|quote=The phrase “forlorn hope” entered English from Dutch and German in the 17th century. It referred to a suicide mission or, more often, the ambitious and condemned men chosen to execute it.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=The London Journal, and Weekly Record of Literature, Science, and Art|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XRRLAQAAMAAJ|year=1847|publisher=G. Vickers|page=155}}</ref>

A forlorn hope may have been composed of volunteers and conscripted criminals, and were frequently led by ambitious junior officers with hopes of personal advancement: if the volunteers survived, and performed courageously, they would be expected to benefit in the form of promotions, cash gifts, and added glory to their name (a military tradition at least as old as the Roman Republic<ref>Crowns were bestowed after a Roman triumph by generals to soldiers who won personal victories in battle... [such as being] first to scale a wall. [[Cassius Dio|Dio Cassius]]: Roman History 6.21
</ref>). The commanding officer was virtually guaranteed both a promotion and a long-term boost to his career prospects if he survived.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Army of the French Revolution: From Citizen-soldier to Instrument of Power|last=Bertaud |first=Jean-Paul|publisher=Princeton University Press|year=1988|pages=23–37}}</ref>

In consequence, despite the grave risks involved for all concerned, there was often serious competition for the opportunity to lead such an assault and to display conspicuous valor.

The French equivalent of the forlorn hope, called {{lang|fr|Les Enfants Perdus}} ('The Lost Children'), were all guaranteed promotion should they survive. Both enlisted men and officers joined the dangerous mission as an opportunity to raise themselves in the army.<ref name=Edwards/>

==See also==
* [[Banzai charge]]
* [[Battle of Sari Bair]]
* [[Berserker]]
* [[Second Battle of Fort Wagner]]
* [[Battle of Stony Point]]
* [[Cannon fodder]]
* [[Battle of Halidzor]]
* [[Donner Party#"The Forlorn Hope"|Forlorn Hope of the Donner Party]]
* [[Frontal assault]]
* [[Inghimasi]]
* [[Kamikaze]]
* [[Last stand]]
* [[Penal military unit]]
* [[Shock troops]]
* [[Suicide attack]]
* [[Suicide mission]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{Wiktionary}}

[[Category:Military slang and jargon]]
[[Category:Siege tactics]]
[[Category:Suicide attacks]]