Home›Open Questions›When was the pincer movement first used as a deliberate tactic?Open QuestionsWhen was the pincer movement first used as a deliberate tactic?Citation FormatsGeneral ReferenceGeneral Reference Citation TextWar and Military Atlas. "When was the pincer movement first used as a deliberate tactic?." Accessed August 30, 2026. https://military.interactiveatlas.org/open-questions-index/pincer-movement-first-deliberate-use.Copy General ReferenceAPA StyleAPA Style Citation TextWar and Military Atlas. (n.d.). When was the pincer movement first used as a deliberate tactic?. Retrieved August 30, 2026, from https://military.interactiveatlas.org/open-questions-index/pincer-movement-first-deliberate-useCopy APA StyleBibTeXBibTeX Citation Text@misc{warandmilitaryatlas-when-was-the-pincer-movement-first-used, author = {War and Military Atlas}, title = {When was the pincer movement first used as a deliberate tactic?}, year = {2026}, url = {https://military.interactiveatlas.org/open-questions-index/pincer-movement-first-deliberate-use}, note = {Accessed August 30, 2026} }Copy BibTeXOpen QuestionCross-Tradition ConnectionsSourcesComments (0)Reader Challenges (0 open reader challenges)Open QuestionSources disagree on the tactic's own origin. It may date to Miltiades' weakened-center formation at Marathon in 490 BC, but Wikipedia's own account calls Hannibal's Cannae in 216 BC the first successful use recorded in detail, leaving Marathon as a possible but not confirmed earlier instance.What would resolve this A close reading of the primary account of Marathon (Herodotus) checked against whether the U-shaped Athenian deployment was a deliberate envelopment plan or an accident of a stretched center meeting stronger wings.OpenMilitary HistoryWikipedia: Pincer movementCross-Tradition ConnectionsQuestion OnPincer Movement (General Envelopment Tactic), Strategy and Doctrine Well-attested Source Wikipedia: Pincer movementtier 4SourcesWikipedia: Pincer movementtier 4WikipediaHistorical origins sectionView the SourceComments (0)No comments yet. Be the first to share a thought.Sign in to join the discussion.Reader Challenges (0 open reader challenges)No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.View At A Past YearThe atlas records no dated fact of its own for this entry, so there is no other year to choose.Show This Year