2-3. Offensive and defensive operations emphasize employing the lethal effects of combat power against an enemy force, yet they are also critical to success in some operations that emphasize stability operations. The side better able to leverage speed, surprise, and shock defeats its opponent quickly and incurs fewer losses. Victories create opportunities for an exploitation. Offensive tasks compel enemy forces to react, creating or revealing weaknesses that an attacking force can exploit. Defensive tasks counter the offensive actions of enemy or adversary forces. They defeat attacks, destroying as much of the attacking enemy as possible. In some operations, the effects of speed, surprise, and shock suffice to collapse organized resistance.