Human wave attack

An infantry assault tactic in which large numbers of troops advance in successive waves against enemy positions, often with limited supporting fire. It relies on concentrated numbers and momentum to overwhelm defenses.

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Infantry tactics: Methods infantry units use to maneuver, fight, and coordinate on the battlefield. Human-wave assaults are one approach within the broader practice of infantry combat.
Battle of the Somme: A major First World War battle fought by British and French forces against Germany in 1916. Infantry advanced across open ground after artillery bombardments, with catastrophic losses in many sectors.
Napoleonic warfare: European warfare during the Revolutionary and Napoleonic era, from the 1790s to 1815. Mass infantry formations and concentrated attacks formed part of the tactical inheritance later reshaped by firepower.
Machine gun: A firearm capable of sustained rapid fire through repeated loading and firing cycles. Its high rate of fire made exposed mass advances exceptionally dangerous.
Infiltration tactics: Methods that penetrate enemy defenses through gaps, concealment, and small-unit maneuver. Infiltration seeks to evade strongpoints, unlike a frontal advance in successive waves.
Fire and movement: A tactic in which one element provides covering fire while another advances. Unlike coordinated fire and movement, human-wave attacks may advance with little covering fire.
Battle of Verdun: A prolonged First World War battle between France and Germany in 1916. Repeated attacks and counterattacks around fortified positions illustrate the human cost of attritional assaults.
Crimean War: A 1853–1856 war fought mainly between Russia and an alliance including Britain, France, and the Ottoman Empire. Rifled weapons and defensive fire made dense frontal assaults increasingly costly.
Trench warfare: A form of warfare in which opposing forces fight from fortified trench systems. Trenches and interlocking fields of fire often turned wave attacks into severe casualties.
Banzai charge: A Japanese infantry charge, often conducted at night, associated with the Second World War. It is a specific form of massed assault, though not every human-wave attack is a banzai charge.