flank maneuver
Attack the side
A flank maneuver is a military tactic of attacking an enemy's side rather than its front, where defenses are typically strongest.
The goal is to bypass fortified positions and strike where the opponent is vulnerable: The general ordered a flank maneuver to avoid the entrenched artillery.
The term extends to any strategic approach that avoids direct confrontation: Her flank maneuver in the negotiation caught them off guard.
- outflankBypass an opponent's position
- pincer movementTwo-pronged tactical encirclement
- encircleSurround on all sides
- double envelopmentTwo-sided flanking maneuver
- ambushSurprise strike from concealment
surprise attack · tactical · battle plan · surround · pincer · cavalry · fall back · rear guard · advance · end run · wing · battlefield · strike · cut off · envelopment · guerrilla · feint · skirmish
flank maneuverbrute force attack
Systematic password guessing
attrition warfare · war of attrition · shock and awe · blunt force
flank maneuverdefensive position
Fortified spot for resistance
holding action · entrenchment · fortification · retreat · withdrawal
flank, flanks, flanked, flanking, flanker, flankers, maneuver, maneuvers, maneuvered