Back ربيئة Arabic Avanqard Azerbaijani Voahuat BAR Авангард (военно дело) Bulgarian Авангард (тӀеман гӀуллакх) CE Předvoj Czech Vorhut German Εμπροσθοφυλακή Greek Vanguardia (ejército) Spanish Avangard Estonian
The vanguard (sometimes abbreviated to van and also called the advance guard) is the leading part of an advancing military formation. It has a number of functions, including seeking out the enemy and securing ground in advance of the main force.
In naval warfare the van is the advance ship, or fleet, that will make the initial engagement with an enemy fleet.