Fabian strategy

A military strategy that avoids decisive battle and wears down a stronger opponent through delay, harassment, and attrition. It is named for the Roman commander Quintus Fabius Maximus.

Attrition warfare: A form of warfare in which victory is pursued by steadily exhausting an opponent’s personnel, resources, or capacity to fight. Fabian forces seek to make continued campaigning more costly for the stronger enemy.
Quintus Fabius Maximus Verrucosus: A Roman statesman and general who served as dictator during the Second Punic War. His cautious campaign against Hannibal gave Fabian strategy its name.
George Washington: The commander in chief of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War and the first U.S. president. Washington preserved his army through retreats and selective engagements against Britain’s stronger forces.
Annihilation warfare: A military approach that seeks to destroy an enemy’s armed forces through decisive operations. It pursues the direct destruction that Fabian strategy deliberately postpones.
Scorched-earth policy: The deliberate destruction of resources that an advancing enemy could use. Fabius’ forces denied Hannibal supplies by removing food and forage from his route.
Second Punic War: The war between Rome and Carthage from 218 to 201 BCE, dominated by Hannibal’s invasion of Italy. Fabius’ delaying approach emerged during Rome’s struggle to survive Hannibal’s campaign.
American Revolutionary War: The conflict from 1775 to 1783 in which thirteen North American colonies won independence from Britain. The Continental Army’s survival made prolonged resistance possible despite British military superiority.
Blitzkrieg: A method of rapid, concentrated attack designed to rupture defenses and disrupt an opponent’s command. Its emphasis on speed and decisive penetration opposes Fabian delay and evasion.
Guerrilla warfare: Irregular warfare using small, mobile forces to harass an opponent and avoid sustained conventional battles. Raids and ambushes can impose losses without risking a decisive engagement.
Hannibal: A Carthaginian general who invaded Italy during the Second Punic War and defeated several Roman armies. His battlefield superiority made direct confrontation especially dangerous for Rome.

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