History Main / PendulumWar

** Justified by the wildly divergent nature of Chaos troops. Most Chaos forces are barely-controlled rabble, generally undisciplined and unskilled, with poor structure, no squad support weapons, and "armor" an average dune buggy could beat in a fight, if they have armor at all. On the other hand, elite Chaos troops are hardened fanatics, literally [[TrainingFromHell trained from hell]], with plenty of heavy weapons, Chaos [[TankGoodness Leman Russes and Baneblades]], and often backup from Chaos Space Marines, alien mercenaries, or other SuperSoldiers. There isn't a whole lot of middle ground between the crap and the elites.

* Both used and averted in the ''GauntsGhosts'' series; the titular Ghosts are usually either handing the assorted minions of Chaos their mutated Chaotic rears, or they're royally getting their own kicked. Even in the battles they win, they usually suffer some casualties.

* Largely averted in ''{{Anime/Robotech}}''. Even the winning side in the battles takes heavy losses, and Earth manages to do ''some'' damage even when using a few early space weapons against the massive and technologically superior Zentraedi fleet.

* In Creator/{{David Gemmell}}'s ''Legend'' the fortress of Dros Delnoch is designed with this in mind. It has seven walls and the Nadir invaders have to take each of them in frontal assault. The Drenai defenders can inflict massive casualties on the attackers but sooner or later a wall will be breached and the defenders will have to retreat to the next wall. During this retreat the attackers will have a chance to inflict extreme casualties on the defenders. The defense's leaders wisely concede the first wall after only a few days since their troops are still green enough to rout if forced into a fighting retreat. When the third wall is breached, a large group of defenders are trapped and are slaughtered. The siege then continues in this manner with the Nadir taking hundreds of casualties until they can break the defense of a wall and then it is the Drenai's turn to be slaughtered. As the fighting progresses, morale on both sides suffers and it is up to the champions of each side to inspire their fellow soldiers to keep going. Subsequently the various Drenai heroes have to perform {{Heroic Sacrifice}}s in order give the defenders time to recover from a wall being lost to the Nadir.

* ''{{Troy}}'' oscillates wildly between Trojans beating the snot out of the Greeks (when [[AchillesInHisTent Achilles isn't around]]) and Greeks annihilating the Trojans (when Achilles ''is'' around). This is actually a case of TruthInTelevision since the source material overestimates the effectiveness of heroes during the battle (see the [[Literature/TheIliad entry on the Iliad]]).

* Largely averted in ''{{Robotech}}''. Even the winning side in the battles takes heavy losses, and Earth manages to do ''some'' damage even when using a few early space weapons against the massive and technologically superior Zentraedi fleet.

* A recognizable theme in warfare among Europeans and European-inspired military cultures. One side will find some technical advantage and roll over its opponents for a time. However all occidental armies were formed in an environment so similar that it is impossible to find a technique that is incomprehensible; for instance HorseArcher s needed a culture that was BornInTheSaddle but Panzers were made by a culture similar enough to Britain, US, and Russia that they could be countered or copied sooner or later. As a result at some time there comes a point where the advantage of experience added to technical knowledge in the superior side does not make up for losses in officers, while their victims have gained enough experience to compete. Furthermore the originally successful power frightens others into taking the side of the loser to preserve the BalanceOfPower. Examples of this are UsefulNotes/TheNapoleonicWars, UsefulNotes/TheAmericanCivilWar, UsefulNotes/TheGreatNorthernWar, and UsefulNotes/WorldWarII.

* A recognizable theme in warfare among Europeans and European-inspired military cultures. One side will find some technical advantage and roll over it's opponents for a time. However all occidental armies were formed in an environment so similar that it is impossible to find a technique that is incomprehensible; for instance HorseArcher s needed a culture that was BornInTheSaddle but Panzers were made by a culture similar enough to Britain, US, and Russia that they could be countered or copied sooner or later. As a result at some time there comes a point where the advantage of experience added to technical knowledge in the superior side does not make up for losses in officers, while their victims have gained enough experience to compete. Furthermore the originally successful power frightens others into taking the side of the loser to preserve the BalanceOfPower. Examples of this are UsefulNotes/TheNapoleonicWars, UsefulNotes/TheAmericanCivilWar, UsefulNotes/TheGreatNorthernWar, and UsefulNotes/WorldWarII.

* A recognizable theme in warfare among Europeans and European-inspired military cultures. One side will find some technical advantage and roll over it's opponents for a time. However all occidental armies were formed in an environment so similar that it is impossible to find a technique that is incomprehensible; for instance HorseArcher s needed a culture that was BornInTheSaddle but Panzers were made by a culture similar enough to Britain, US, and Russia that they could be countered or copied sooner or later. As a result at some time there comes a point where the advantage of experience added to technical knowledge in the superior side does not make up for losses in officers, while their victims have gained enough experience to compete. Furthermore the originally successful power frightens others into taking the side of the loser to preserve the BalanceOfPower. Examples of this are the UsefulNotes/NapoleonicWars, The UsefulNotes/AmericanCivilWar, the UsefulNotes/TheGreatNorthernWar, and UsefulNotes/WorldWarII.

* A recognizable theme in warfare among Europeans and European-inspired military cultures. One side will find some technical advantage and roll over it's opponents for a time. However all occidental armies were formed in an environment so similar that it is impossible to find a technique that is incomprehensible; for instance HorseArcher s needed a culture that was BornInTheSaddle but Panzers were made by a culture similar enough to Britain, US, and Russia that they could be countered or copied sooner or later. As a result at some time there comes a point where the advantage of experience added to technical knowledge in the superior side does not make up for losses in officers, while their victims have gained enough experience to compete. Furthermore the originally successful power frightens others into taking the side of the loser to preserve the BalanceOfPower. Examples of this are the UsefulNotes/NapoleonicWars, The UsefulNotes/AmericanCivilWar, the UsefulNotes/GreatNorthernWar, and UsefulNotes/WorldWarII.

* ''SavingPrivateRyan'' averts this: the opening Omaha Beach sequence is one of the most realistic and unglamorous portrayals of war, ''ever'', in a Hollywood film. The winning side suffers great casualties almost from the start, and Captain Miller, the film's "hero", is just another insignificant soldier. Same with the final battle: long and hard, with the winning side suffering great casualties, and the victory is due to the collective efforts of the EnsembleCast.

* ''BattleLosAngeles'' features a surprise Alien attack, then the Marines get sent in with air support and seem to be coming out on top. [[spoiler: Only for alien aircraft to turn up, wipe out the FOB and dominate the battle. Then our heroes decide to go back into enemy territory, destroy a control centre and suddenly they're dominating.]]

* ''AceCombat Zero'' had Operation: Battleaxe (the 10th mission, Mayhem), where the allied air forces fought against the Belkan Air Force over the Round Table. Initially it became one sided in favor of the Belkans with almost the allies shot down. Then the Galm Team (consisting of ''two'' fighters) comes and turned the tide of battle. It was actually because of this battle that the Belkans knew they were going to [[HopelessWar lose]].
* PrincessWaltz is the [[OneManArmy One Girl Army]] variant of this trope, constantly [[CurbStompBattle curp-stomping one another]] until one side is OutGambited
* The final battle against the Sith Fleet in KnightsOfTheOldRepublic turns out this way if you redeem or kill [[spoiler: Bastila]] - but if you choose the Dark Side path, it rapidly goes from "[[CurbStompBattle Sith victory in progress]]" to "[[TheBadGuyWins complete annihilation of the Republic fleet]]". This is due to [[spoiler: her Battle Meditation; generally whoever she's supporting, if anyone, has the upper hand]].

* Averted in ''LegendOfTheGalacticHeroes'', where many of the larger pitched battles are brutal stalemates with millions of casualties on each side, no matter who wins in the end. The camera frequently switches to the gory deaths of {{mooks}} from both sides to highlight the horrific human suffering caused by war. These scenes tend to be filler for the narrator's {{Author Tract}}s bemoaning the futility and hypocrisy of jingoism and violence.

* The ''DynastyWarriors'' games take this trope to its logical extreme -- only the player's characters can actually score military victories. The various Redshirts on the field are just there to rack up your kill count; they mostly just mill around and certainly have no chance on their own against you.

* The ''[[Franchise/EvilDead Army of Darkness]]'', probably about a thousand zombies, were held off by sixty men until reinforcements came from Scotland. Bruce Campbell fought [[EnemyWithout on both sides]].

* In the ''Literature/LordOfTheRings'' books (and [[Film/TheLordOfTheRings movies]]), Gondor is getting badly clobbered -- despite the huge death toll, Mordor's army breaks through the outer, strongest wall -- until Rohan's cavalry arrives. In the movies, the conflict is presented by scenes of desperate struggle within the city walls and civilians fleeing screaming in terror -- with emotive music playing in the background, of course.\\\ This also occurs in ''Literature/TheHobbit''; the Battle of Five Armies swings back and forth, back and forth, from extreme to extreme. However, the latter example is also a subversion, in that Bilbo, the viewpoint character of the book, is knocked out early in the battle and only comes to once it's all over.

* The ''StarWars'' films largely avert this, as named characters are usually essential for victory but random soldiers on both sides score most of the kills. That said, the battle of Naboo in ''ThePhantomMenace'' is completely a One Sided Battle. The good guys are getting creamed, and then [[spoiler: Anakin blows up the Trade Federation mothership, [[KeystoneArmy disabling all the droid soldiers]], [[InstantWinCondition wiping out the army in one swoop.]]]]

* In the ''TheLordOfTheRings'' books (and movies), Gondor is getting badly clobbered until Rohan's cavalry arrives. In the movies, the conflict is presented by scenes of desperate struggle within the city walls and civilians fleeing screaming in terror -- with emotive music playing in the background, of course. This also occurs in ''Literature/TheHobbit''; the Battle of Five Armies swings back and forth, back and forth, from extreme to extreme. However, the latter example is also a subversion, in that Bilbo, the viewpoint character of the book, is knocked out early in the battle and only comes to once it's all over.
** Gondor is not badly clobbered in the books. Gondor is beaten back by huge hordes of orcs (and managed to rack up awesome kill ratios - ten dead orcs for every dead man), but is hardly clobbered.
*** A siege that breaks through the outer walls of their capital city seems pretty clobbered. One character even remarks that they're like a child trying to threaten a knight. If Sauron had known that they didn't really have the One Ring, they would have been as good as dead.
**** The siege barely broke through the walls in the book; there were never orcs and trolls rampaging through the streets the way they did in the movie. The only enemy to enter the city is the Witch-King of Angmar, and he's only there for maybe a minute. Further, the line about being a "child trying to threaten a knight" is when they are attempting their diversionary action to distract Sauron from Frodo, after the siege has been broken.
***** Of course, assuming that Gondor actually WASN'T being clobbered, that would mean that the Reinforcements weren't as needed as they were made out to be. Which going by the theme of the book, rather unlikely. Of course, Gondor still had at least 1 Rigged Hero left, and all Mordor had was a bunch of Elite Mooks, Hordes of Even More Useless Mooks and TheDragon that never does anything useful. So maybe Gondor could of withstood it afterall.
**** It's also worth noting that the design of Minas Tirith meant it could actually survive surrendering not only the city's outer wall, but five of the inner walls (and the rings of city contained between them) as well[[note]] the city was built onto a hill. Seven levels of city, each surrounded by a rather impressive wall that apparently went down to bedrock, with only one gate in each wall. None of the gates lined up with any other gate, so if breached, an attacker had to fight their way round and through the streets of that ring to find the next gate[[/note]]. Provided the siege was eventually lifted, anyway.
* The ''{{Redwall}}'' book series is notorious for this. No matter how much the vermin army is built up, the actual fighting is almost always in favor of the good guys. Even if they're pacifist churchmice. Outnumbered 1,000 to 1.

* ''StarWarsCloneWars'' seems to have a pattern: First the big huge armies are fighting and the good guys are winning, next some character working for the Sith comes in and is able to completely turn the tide of the battle with just his/her presence, then a Jedi character comes in and flips it over again (unless the Federation's side has Grievous, then he'll beat the Jedi and it remains one-sided). [[spoiler:Of course, the same person ''is'' in charge of both sides, and is specifically trying to massacre both.]]

* A recognizable theme in warfare among Europeans and European inspired military cultures. One side will find some technical advantage and roll over it's opponents for a time. However all occidental armies were formed in an environment so similar that it is impossible to find a technique that is incomprehensible; for instance HorseArcher s needed a culture that was BornInTheSaddle but Panzers were made by a culture similar enough to Britain, US, and Russia that they could be countered or copied sooner or later. As a result at some time there comes a point where the advantage of experience added to technical knowledge in the superior side does not make up for losses in officers, while their victims have gained enough experience to compete. Furthermore the originally successful power frightens others into taking the side of the loser to preserve the BalanceOfPower. Examples of this are the NapoleonicWars, The AmericanCivilWar, the GreatNorthernWar, and WorldWarII.

* In {{David Gemmell}}'s ''Legend'' the fortress of Dros Delnoch is designed with this in mind. It has seven walls and the Nadir invaders have to take each of them in frontal assault. The Drenai defenders can inflict massive casualties on the attackers but sooner or later a wall will be breached and the defenders will have to retreat to the next wall. During this retreat the attackers will have a chance to inflict extreme casualties on the defenders. The defense's leaders wisely concede the first wall after only a few days since their troops are still green enough to rout if forced into a fighting retreat. When the third wall is breached, a large group of defenders are trapped and are slaughtered. The siege then continues in this manner with the Nadir taking hundreds of casualties until they can break the defense of a wall and then it is the Drenai's turn to be slaughtered. As the fighting progresses, morale on both sides suffers and it is up to the champions of each side to inspire their fellow soldiers to keep going. Subsequently the various Drenai heroes have to perform {{Heroic Sacrifice}}s in order give the defenders time to recover from a wall being lost to the Nadir.

* There's a high-numbers war in the ''{{Mahabaratha}}'', but all the interesting stories about the main characters (on both sides) singlehandedly or in small groups breaking through formations made of hundreds of random soldiers. In fact, there's even a "hero" ranking reserved for warriors who can singlehandedly kill a thousand or so "normal" soldiers. Needless to say, main characters on both sides (and their near family) tend to do that.

* Remember ''Chanson de Roland'': In Roland's final battle, he slays thousands of enemies before perishing from blowing his horn too hard.

* When the titular guild of ''Manga/FairyTail'' breaks into the Phantom guild they completely decimate all of the [[{{Mooks}} opponents forces]], and it's seems that despite being a ''magic'' guild none of the members of Phantom but the highest are actually using any magic. Then, Master Makarov [[DeusExitMachina gets his magic drained]], and the generic Phantom guild-members--who are ''still'' not using any magic--somehow start fighting off the Fairy Tail members and Erza decides they need to retreat.

* When the titular guild of ''Manga/FairyTail'' breaks into the Phantom guild they completely decimate all of the [[{{Mooks}} opponents forces]], and it's seems that despite being a ''magic'' guild none of the members of Phantom but the highest are actually using any magic. Then, Master Makarov [[DeusExitMachina gets his magic drained]] (which is stated to mean "[[WeAreTeamCannonFodder their battle strength is reduced by half]]"), and the Phantom guild-members--who are ''still'' not using any magic--somehow start fighting off the Fairy Tail members and Erza decides they need to retreat.

The actions of the heroes, furthermore, are often disproportionate to their actual effect in the battle. No random extra achieves anything in the battle; only named characters can be militarily useful. Of course, given the power of many heroic or villainous characters, this is somewhat more believable -- especially if the series is Fantasy or Science Fiction, where a single individual may just have the power to destroy entire cities with a thought.

* The ''StarWars'' films largely avert this, as named characters are usually essential for victory but random soldiers on both sides score most of the kills. That said, the battle of Naboo in ''ThePhantomMenace'' is completely a One Sided Battle. The good guys are getting creamed, and then [[spoiler: Anakin blows up the Trade Federation mothership, disabling all the droid soldiers, [[InstantWinCondition wiping out the army in one swoop.]]]]

* The ''ArmyOfDarkness'', probably about a thousand zombies, were held off by sixty men until reinforcements came from Scotland. Bruce Campbell fought [[EnemyWithout on both sides]].

* The Korean War. First the North Koreans pushed the South Koreans all the way back to Pusan. Then America and her allies intervened and pushed the Northern forces back to the Yalu River. ''Then'' China [[ZergRush intervened]] [[WeHaveReserves and pushed back]]. Then the Allied forces pushed the Chinese back to the river in a series of curb stomp battles, causing both sides to fight there until they decided to call a draw.

* In the ''TheLordOfTheRings'' books (and movies), Gondor is getting badly clobbered until Rohan's cavalry arrives. In the movies, the conflict is presented by scenes of desperate struggle within the city walls and civilians fleeing screaming in terror -- with emotive music playing in the background, of course. This also occurs in ''TheHobbit''; the Battle of Five Armies swings back and forth, back and forth, from extreme to extreme. However, the latter example is also a subversion, in that Bilbo, the viewpoint character of the book, is knocked out early in the battle and only comes to once it's all over.