Aside from the Battle of Hogwarts, there is a lack of Large-Scale Combat Operations (LSCO) that occur in the wizarding world of Harry Potter; considering the prevalence of shield charms and their potential for fratricide, this is probably a good thing. The seven-book series focuses more on insurgency operations, first by Lord Voldemort and his followers, and then by the Order of the Phoenix after the former’s successful coup against the Ministry of Magic. There is one element of offensive operations though that is featured heavily throughout the series, particularly in the final book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Raids. With the ability to apparate, use a portkey, fly a broom, operate a flying motorbike, or ride a winged creature, rapid infiltration and exfiltration are key to conducting raids, which certain witches and wizards have perfected over the course of the series. Combine this with the ability to shrink an item, throw on an invisibility cloak, or simply destroy something with a wand (every magic-user’s personal and compact direct fire weapon system), raids are very well-suited to a witch or wizard’s strengths. And no one in the Potterverse has perfected the art of raiding more than Harry Potter, Ronald Weasley, and Hermione Granger. Throughout the series, the Golden Trio execute multiple raids, from the simple to the complex, improving upon their methods with each iteration.
It is sometimes difficult to make comparisons and identify parallels between magical realms and contemporary military doctrine, but the Harry Potter series has countless topics, such as this one, which could be of interest to the United States Military. While the members of the Order of the Phoenix abide by the rules banning the Unforgivable Curses set forth by the Ministry of Magic in 1717, Lord Voldemort (I am not afraid to say his name) and his Death Eaters are obviously unconcerned about the potential to be locked up in Azkaban, as they use the Killing, Cruciatus, and Imperius Curses at will; regardless of the United States Military’s adherence to the Law of Land Warfare and Geneva Convention, its adversaries will continue to cross the line knowing there will be no repercussions. When the Ministry of Magic refuses to acknowledge the return of Lord Voldemort, including severely limiting the Defense against the Dark Arts curriculum at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Harry, Ron, and Hermione took combat leadership into their own hands by creating Dumbledore’s Army and training their classmates in offensive and defensive combat spells; in a post-Vietnam military that refused to improve and adapt its development and acquisition program for combat vehicles and equipment, Col. (Ret.) John Boyd, Lt. Col. James Burton, and the reformers made famous in the book The Pentagon Wars took matters into their own hands to fix the deficiencies in the system and attempt to change the culture along the way. Some pureblood families, or those who boast there are no muggles, squibs, or half-bloods in their family trees, follow the lead of Salazar Slytherin, believing only individuals of “pure blood” should allowed to attend Hogwarts; in the United States Armed Forces, inclusion and diversity increase the pool from which we can recruit and retain talent, which will give us a stronger and more capable military. The series has many personalities, events, and organizations that are applicable to real-world military operations, and to demonstrate this, let us get to the topic at hand.
Raids
The following is an excerpt on raids from Field Manual (FM) 3-90, Operations: “A raid is a variation of attack to temporarily seize an objective with a planned withdrawal. The purposes of the raid are to: secure information, capture personnel or equipment, destroy a capability, rescue and recover individuals and equipment, or confuse an adversary.” Each raid conducted by the Golden Trio meets this criteria and, by the middle of the seventh book, had become their go-to limited offensive operation in the face of a larger force, secure areas, and overwhelming odds.
The team also loosely utilizes the five phases of a raid from FM 3-90: Approach the objective, Isolate the objective area, Set conditions for the assault element, Assault the objective, and Tactical movement away from the objective area. Given that the majority of their raids are conducted well within the enemy’s support zone, some of these phases, such as isolating the objective area, are very difficult to accomplish. Over the course of the series and through the lens of United States Army doctrine, Harry, Ron, and Hermione have perfected raids to conduct operations against their adversaries.
Information Collection in the Slytherin Dungeon
In the second book, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Harry, Ron, and Hermione conduct their first foray into the world of raiding. With the objective of receiving information from Draco Malfoy about the Heir of Slytherin, the trio plan to infiltrate the Slytherin Dungeon (house dormitories) using Polyjuice Potion. While Harry and Ron temporarily transformed into Gregory Goyle and Vincent Crabbe, respectively, Hermione unfortunately grabbed the wrong hair for the potion, transforming into Millicent Bulstrode’s cat instead, and was unable to participate in the operation. Although the team had a significant drop in their combat power prior to the Line of Departure (LD), Hermione’s participation was not critical to mission accomplishment, so Harry and Ron continued with the operation. Upon gaining access to the Slytherin common room through their disguises, the duo talked with Draco, confirmed he had no additional information of value on the Heir of Slytherin (although they did learn some new information about the last time the Chamber of Secrets was opened), and then conducted a hasty withdrawal before the effects of the Polyjuice Potion completely subsided. One could easily chalk this initial mission up to beginner’s luck, as they were not operating with a full team, but had a very limited objective. Even though the mission was a success, they would need to learn and improve upon it, as the objectives would only get more difficult and operations more complex.
Rescue Mission in the Department of Mysteries
In his fifth year at Hogwarts, chronicled in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Harry received visions of his godfather, Sirius Black, being tortured by Lord Voldemort within the Department of Mysteries at the Ministry of Magic. Hastily organizing a team composed of members of Dumbledore’s Army and requisitioning thestrals for movement to the Ministry, Harry led his team of six young witches and wizards on a rescue mission. After finding an empty room in the location where Sirius was presumably being tortured, Harry picked up a glass sphere with his and Lord Voldemort’s names on it, whereas the group was immediately surrounded by Death Eaters. Although the Death Eaters captured the team, the swift arrival of the Order of the Phoenix saved the students, but at the cost of Sirius’ life; even the arrival of Lord Voldemort was thwarted by Albus Dumbledore and his phoenix, Fawkes. This is the textbook definition of a failed raid. While the group infiltrated the Department of Mysteries with a well-defined objective, they made several mistakes that led to the operation being unsuccessful. First, they skipped the second phase of a raid, Isolate the objective area. Although the Death Eaters would have likely rendered themselves almost undetectable via magic, the group should have at least conducted a cursory search of the area to determine if it was secure. Second, after they realized Sirius was not in the Department of Mysteries and they could not accomplish their mission, the team should have immediately conducted a withdrawal from the Ministry. Instead, they chose to remain on the objective, with Harry’s choice to pick up the glass sphere leading the Death Eaters to spring their trap. Lastly, the raid was a setup from the very beginning. Using Harry’s love for Sirius, as well as the mental connection with him, Lord Voldemort conducted a deception operation to successfully lure Harry to the Ministry under the false assumption Sirius was in grave danger. Hermione assessed this was a possibility during mission analysis (facts and assumptions), which Harry angrily brushed off. And the group would have certainly been killed or captured if the Order’s Quick Reaction Force (QRF) had not arrived. As stated before, this was a failed raid for multiple reasons, but the loss of Sirius, while devastating, would not be completely in vain; his sacrifice for his godson would lead the team to conduct more deliberate planning and execution in future operations, which would go on to save countless lives in the wizard world.
Assault on the Ministry of Magic
During the events of the seventh book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Harry, Ron, and Hermione decided to forego their final year at Hogwarts in order to find and destroy Lord Voldemort’s remaining horcruxes. By this time in the series, the group had conducted two raids together and learned from both experiences; Harry also conducted a successful operation with Dumbledore to find another horcrux, although Harry deemed it a failure at the time due the loss of his mentor immediately following the event. One of the first things the group had learned was to, if able, conduct a proper reconnaissance of the objective. During the group’s raid on the Ministry of Magic, specifically Dolores Umbridge’s office in the Muggle-Born Registration Commission, they conducted surveillance of the area for more than a month prior to their operation, studying the movement patterns of employees to better access the Ministry. By incapacitating three Ministry employees and using their hair to produce Polyjuice Potion, the disguised trio successfully infiltrated the Ministry with their objective to find and destroy Salazar Slytherin’s Locket. While Ron and Hermione got pulled for side quests by Death Eater Corban Yaxley and Umbridge, respectively, Harry focused on the objective and used his invisibility cloak to discretely head towards Umbridge’s office. Unfortunately, the locket was not in her office, and Harry deduced the locket must be on her person. After rejoining at a hearing presided by Umbridge and seeing her with the locket, the group stunned Umbridge and Yaxley, took the locket from her, and disapparated out of the Ministry. Yaxley managed to grab ahold of Hermione and travelled with them to 12 Grimmauld Place (headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix); since this granted him access to the previously secure location, it forced the group to further withdrawal, denying them their support zone and staging area. This was a textbook operation utilizing most of the phases of a raid (since they were disguised, they did not need to isolate the objective lest they attract additional attention), including a well-timed surprise attack, seizure of the objective, and quick withdrawal.
Heist at Gringotts
After the Ministry operation, the second lesson learned was the need to conduct rehearsals. FM 3-90 states that “at a minimum, all elements involved in a raid must rehearse their individual missions and tasks” and “if time permits all elements involved in a raid rehearse the entire mission together to ensure synchronization and understanding.” Harry deduced there was likely a horcrux within Bellatrix Lestrange’s vault at Gringotts Wizarding Bank, probably Helga Hufflepuff’s Cup or another item from the founders of Hogwarts. Spending weeks inside their room at Shell Cottage planning the raid, the team conducted Combined Arms Rehearsals (CAR) to run through the operation and plan for contingencies. During the operation, the group had inside information on the magical defenses within Gringotts and how to overcome them, in the form of the goblin Griphook, a Gringotts employee; he agreed to participate in the operation when Harry promised to give him the Sword of Godric Gryffindor after the mission was complete. Using Polyjuice Potion for Hermione (disguised as Bellatrix), a transfiguration spell for Ron, and the invisibility cloak for Harry and Griphook, the team entered Gringotts. With Griphook’s help, the group bypassed the bank’s initial magical security, but their progress was halted when the bank teller asked for “Bellatrix’s” wand; after stealing the wand from Bellatrix during their encounter at Malfoy Manor, the group became aware that the teller knew they were imposters. Harry quickly made the bold decision to cast the Imperius Curse on the teller, then on a Death Eater named Travers who had accompanied “Bellatrix” into the bank, thereby controlling them while breaking Ministry law for casting an Unforgivable Curse; the book’s epilogue never goes into detail if Harry was ever prosecuted for these violations.
When the team passed through the Thief’s Downfall, a waterfall that washes away all magical enchantments and concealments, their disguises were removed and Gringotts security was alerted to their presence. Again, using Griphook’s insider knowledge on the security measures at Gringotts, he helped them bypass a blind dragon to reach Bellatrix’s vault. Through trial, error, and magical means, the group collected Hufflepuff’s Cup, but were betrayed by Griphook, who ran off with the Sword of Gryffindor while yelling that there were thieves in Gringotts. After seizing the objective and realizing their initial withdrawal plan was no longer feasible, Harry broke the chain restraining the dragon, they jumped on its back, and then destructively exited Gringotts through the lobby. Aside from Harry’s use of the Imperius Curse, the Thief’s Downfall, and Griphook’s betrayal (which changed the plan for phase five), this raid mostly went according to plan. They had a detailed plan (which they rehearsed), successfully infiltrated both the bank and vault using disguises and insider information to bypass the security apparatuses, achieved their objective, and conducted a rapid withdrawal. Due to the intense security at Gringotts and another high-payoff target (HPT), this was probably the trio’s most audacious, complex, and successful raid throughout the series.
Assault on Hogwarts
Realizing the raid on Gringotts would (and did) alert Lord Voldemort to their hunting horcruxes, with him also inadvertently letting Harry know through their connection the final horcrux location, they hastily planned their next operation for Hogwarts, which thankfully was a location they knew all too well; Lord Voldemort also decided to keep his snake, Nagini, close to his person and inside a protective spell, indicating to Harry that it was also a horcrux. Because of the concern about target decay on the horcrux at Hogwarts (fear that Lord Voldemort would soon move it), they had to go through the Rapid Decision-Making Synchronization Process (RDSP) for this operation, but did not neglect any of the five phases of a raid. After Griphook’s betrayal at Gringotts, the team used a more trusted source to facilitate their infiltration into Hogwarts: Neville Longbottom. The combined might of Neville, Dumbledore’s Army, and the remaining loyal staff at Hogwarts isolated the objective by “defeating” Headmaster Severus Snape, along with his enforcers Alecto and Amycus Carrow; this allowed the Golden Trio to continue with their mission. Dividing their forces, Ron and Hermione went to the Chamber of Secrets to destroy Hufflepuff’s Cup with basilisk venom (known to the group after destroying a previous horcrux, Tom Riddle’s Diary) while Harry headed off to find Rowena Ravenclaw’s Lost Diadem, a suspected horcrux. After speaking with the Gray Lady, the ghost of Ravenclaw House, Harry deduced Lord Voldemort had hidden the Lost Diadem in the Room of Requirement. Meeting up with Ron and Hermione (after they destroyed the Cup), the team found the Diadem in the Room of Requirement, but were ambushed by Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle. After Crabbe unleashed and lost control of a Fiendfyre Curse, the team exited the room as Crabbe was killed and the Diadem was destroyed. At this point, the raid was complete, both initial objectives had been accomplished, and the trio should have conducted their planned withdrawal. But due to Lord Voldemort’s arrival at Hogwarts and after viewing Snape’s memories, Harry realize all their objectives were now in close proximity to one another at Hogwarts: Nagini, Harry himself (an accidental horcrux), and Lord Voldemort. Considering the mission variables (Mission, Enemy, Terrain, Troops, Time, and Civil Considerations, or METT-TC), Harry hastily changed the operation in order to meet the trio’s ultimate endstate of destroying all the remaining horcruxes and defeating Lord Voldemort. Harry’s horcrux was destroyed by Lord Voldemort himself (thinking he had actually killed him), Neville sliced off Nagini’s head with the Sword of Gryffindor, and Lord Voldemort killed himself after his own Killing Curse was rebounded from Harry’ s disarming spell.
While most of the series focuses on Lord Voldemort and his followers’ growing insurgency against the Ministry of Magic, raids provide an excellent opportunity to see what magic and magical items are capable of in the wizarding world of Harry Potter. As stated in the opening paragraph, these operations specifically play to a witch or wizard’s strengths, such as using disguises, apparation, and magical devices to rapidly infiltrate an objective, spells to overwhelm defenders or destroy a target, and using similar abilities to quickly withdrawal. As Harry, Ron, and Hermione grow in age and magical experience (particularly combat), they improve on their ability to conduct these offensive operations through proper planning, rehearsals, and adhering to the five phases of raiding (as best as possible). In the end, the group, with the aid of their teachers and friends, defeated Lord Voldemort and his followers, bringing peace back to the wizarding world. But this would not have been possible without their ability to conduct raids and improve upon them with each successive iteration.
Major Robert A. Calkins is an officer in the United States Army and currently serving as the S2 for the 101st Airborne Division Artillery at Fort Campbell, KY. He has previously served as the Committee Chief for the Military Intelligence Captains Career Course, as well as the Executive Officer and Operations Officer for the 309th Military Intelligence Battalion. As a proud and archetypal Ravenclaw, besides looking for leadership and military lessons through fantasy and science fiction, he writes for two blogs: Adventures in Single Dadding, about balancing single parenting and the duties of a military officer, and Finances at the Fort, which provides financial education to Servicemembers.
The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the United States Army, the U.S. government, or the Ministry of Magic.
The Angry Staff Officer 
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