indirect attack
Strike from angles
An indirect attack targets something other than the main objective in order to achieve it.
In military strategy, attacking supply lines rather than the enemy directly.
In argument, undermining credibility instead of addressing the point: Rather than dispute the data, she launched an indirect attack on the researcher's funding sources.
The term implies calculated misdirection rather than frontal assault.
- flankingAt the sides of
- end runEvasive tactic avoiding direct confrontation
- subterfugeDeliberate deception to conceal
- feintDeceptive mock attack
- misdirectionIntentional focus manipulation
smoke and mirrors · false flag · guerrilla · hit and run · sabotage · fifth column · ambush · undermine · subvert · insinuation · sidestep · backdoor · back channel · stealth · under the radar · cunning · oblique · covert
indirect attackdirect attack
Offensive without concealment
frontal assault · charge · pitched battle · blitz · direct fire
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