‘ And he divided the three hundred men into three companies, and he put into the hands of all of them ram's horns, and empty pitchers, with torches within the pitchers. And he said to them, “Watch me, and do the same. And behold when I come to the extremity of the camp it shall be that as I do, so you shall do. When I blow the ram's horn, I and all who are with me, then you blow the ram's horns also on every side of the whole camp, and say ‘For Yahweh and for Gideon'.” '
The strategy was simple. With the ram's horns hanging by a cord from their necks and their swords at their sides, they would carry the empty pitchers and the torches within the pitchers, to a point just outside the enemy camp. They would go in three companies so that they could spread out widely on three different approaches to the camp.
Then Gideon would blow his ram's horn first, a lone and disconcerting wail, alerting the camp that the attack was beginning. Thus would the camp be awoken and sleepily stirring when suddenly they would hear the sound of three hundred ram's horns over a wide range, replying to the first and sounding the charge. Racing from their tents in the unnerving darkness they would then see three hundred lights appear over a wide range, each held by the leader of a military unit to rally his men (or so they would think). Thus they faced three hundred military units, a huge force. And they were already unnerved at the thought that the gods were with Gideon. No wonder panic set in.