Feints are maneuvers designed to distract or mislead. The two types of feints in military tactics are feint attacks and feint retreats. Military tactics (Greek: Taktikē, the art of organizing an army) are the collective name for methods for engaging and defeating an enemy in battle. ...

Feint attacks

A feint attack is designed to draw defensive action towards the point under assault. It is usually used as a diversion to force the enemy to concentrate more manpower in a given area so that the opposing force in another area is weaker. Unlike a related diversionary maneuver, the demonstration, a feint involves actual contact with the enemy.

Feint retreats

A feint retreat is performed by briefly engaging the enemy, then retreating. It is intended to draw the enemy pursuit into a prepared ambush, or to cause disarray. For example, the Anglo-Saxon downfall to the Norman invasion was instigated by this tactic where the dominant shield wall of the Saxons broke in pursuit of the Norman cavalry. This forfeited the advantage of height (as the Saxons were positioned on a hill-top) and the line was broken. Thus providing the opportunity to fight in single handed combat on a neutral vantage point, a battle that the Saxons were not ready for. (guerrilla warfare). Look up guerrilla in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...