History Main / Zergrush

!!Examples:

* ZergRush/ComicStrips

* Several ''VideoGame/ZenPinball'' tables have a mode where small figures of enemies will pop up directly on the playfield and begin advancing relentlessly towards the flippers. Whether it be xenomorphs in ''VideoGame/{{Aliens|ZenStudios}}'', vikings in ''Castle Storm'', zombies in ''VideoGame/PlantsVsZombiesPinball'' or Walkers from ''VideoGame/{{The Walking Dead|ZenStudios}}'', you'll be scrambling to knock down all the enemies with the ball while hoping it doesn't bounce straight down the middle.
----

[[AC: FanWorks]]
* A fan-made film created by [[Creator/RocketJump RocketJump]] literally titled [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wIIKUpryl2Q The Rush]] shows what happens when the titular, dreaded event happens on a small, simple farmstead. Needless to say... [[spoiler: it's '''painfully obvious''' from the title alone that it doesn't end well for the two... '''at all.''']]

->''"Quantity has a quality all its own."''
-->-- [[BeamMeUpScotty Attributed to]] '''UsefulNotes/JosefStalin'''

* A fan-made film created by [[Creator/RocketJump RocketJump]] literally titled [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wIIKUpryl2Q The Rush]] shows what happens when the titular, dreaded event happens on a small, simple farmstead. Needless to say... [[spoiler: it's painfully obvious from the title alone that it doesn't end well for the two... '''at all.''']]

* A fan-made film created by [[Creator/RocketJump RocketJump]] literally titled [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wIIKUpryl2Q The Rush]] shows what happens when the titular, dreaded event happens on a small, simple farmstead. Needless to say... [[spoiler: it's painfully obvious from the title alone that it doesn't end well for the two... '''at all.''']]
----

* Several DigitalPinballTables from Creator/ZenStudios have a mode where small figures of enemies will pop up directly on the playfield and begin advancing relentlessly towards the flippers. Whether it be xenomorphs in ''VideoGame/{{Aliens|ZenStudios}}'', vikings in ''Castle Storm'', zombies in ''VideoGame/PlantsVsZombiesPinball'' or Walkers from ''VideoGame/{{The Walking Dead|ZenStudios}}'', you'll be scrambling to knock down all the enemies with the ball while hoping it doesn't bounce straight down the middle.

* Several DigitalPinballTables from Creator/ZenStudios have a mode where small figures of enemies will pop up directly on the playfield and begin advancing relentlessly towards the flippers. Whether it be xenomorphs in ''Pinball/AlienS'', Vikings in ''Castle Storm'', zombies in ''Pinball/PlantsVsZombies'' or Walkers from ''Pinball/TheWalkingDeadSeasonOne'', you'll be scrambling to knock down all the enemies with the ball while hoping it doesn't bounce straight down the middle.

* ZergRush/NewspaperComics

* ZergRush/WebComics

-->-- [[BeamMeUpScotty Attributed to]] '''JosefStalin'''

-->-- '''JosefStalin'''

See also DeathOfAThousandCuts and WeHaveReserves. May lead to TheWarSequence. Often a component of HollywoodTactics. Contrast the EliteArmy.

The TropeNamer is the popular real-time strategy game ''{{StarCraft}}''; the original meaning of the term was more a form of SequenceBreaking where the Zerg race "rushed" to an attacking unit technology and invaded to take out all the {{Worker Unit}}s of their opponents. It evolved into the current definition by MemeticMutation.

* ZergRush/WebOriginal

[[quoteright:250:[[StarCraft http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/zergrush-kekeke.jpg]]]]

->''Quantity has a quality all its own.''

As an EvilOverlord, it is important to choose your EvilMinions so that this does not apply to ''your'' troops, since it [[ConservationOfNinjutsu usually doesn't work against heroes]]. The name of this trope originated in the popular real-time strategy game ''{{StarCraft}}''.

!!Examples

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder: Anime & Manga]]
* In ''[=~D.Gray-Man~=]'' the Millennium Earl launched a siege on the Exorcist's base to retrieve a bit of AppliedPhlebotinum from them. It consisted of vast numbers of Akuma, which most Exorcists are capable of dispatching with relative ease. It nearly worked too.
* This was part of the defense of ''OnePiece'''s Enies Lobby. A 10,000 man force of {{Mook}} Marines and other forces set to defend against any attempt to attack against it. While Luffy single handedly defeated a good tenth of that force and more fell to the allies the Straw Hats brought with them, the power of the Zerg Rush kicked in after the Straw Hats got to where their battles with [=CP9=] would take place and their allies were subdued and captured.
** Don Krieg and his pirate armada presumably utilized this tactic as well. While they call themselves the strongest pirates in the East Blue, Luffy informs them that they're just the one with the most people.
* ''{{Naruto}}'' frequently has this tactic used by the title character, who can summon [[DoppelgangerAttack a large number of copies of himself]]. However, the individual clones are so fragile [[InverseNinjaLaw it rarely manages to hurt anyone]]. Ultimately he find out that making a lot of them is better for ''scouting''.
** When he begins to seriously utilize them for scouting is after he realizes that [[spoiler: any knowledge the clones gain is assimilated back into himself when he dismisses them. Along with his unusually-high chakra this allows him to summon entire fields of himself to all train at the same time - enabling him to do so hundreds if not thousands of times faster than a regular person.]]
** And don't forget [[spoiler: Madara's one hundred thousand Zetsu plant-men army made with First Hokage's chakra]]
* [[FacelessMooks The Safeguard]] in ''{{Blame}}!'', since they have many a MookMaker on hand and act as little more than a kind of elaborate anti-virus system (if the virus was humans).
* [[MobileSuitGundam00 Gundam 00]] seems to have been plagued by this one because in the series, a lot of Devines and Brings and also the [[StarfishAliens ELS]] in the movie.
* A non-violent version appears at the climax of ''Durarara'''s first season, when [[TheArthurDent Mikado Ryuugamine]] publically confronts [[MadScientist Namie Yagiri]] in a crowded hotspot of Tokyo nightlife: admitting he has neither "the power nor the wisdom" to [[LoveMakesYouCrazy reason through her delusion]], he will instead rely on numbers, and presses the "Send" button on his cell phone. ''Every phone for at least a city block'' goes off at once with an incoming text, [[spoiler:simultaneously revealing every single person present to be a member of the Dollars, and Mikado himself to be their mysterious, urban-legendary founder]], intimidating Namie and her mere handful of armed goons into retreating. Well, okay, [[spoiler:Celty driving down the side of a building and going berserk]] may have helped that along a bit, but still.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Card Games]]
* This is basically what the "weenie horde" deck archetype in ''[=~Magic: The Gathering~=]'' is all about. The inherent problems with it are the relative frailty of small cheap creatures and the one-draw-per-turn bottleneck that ultimately limits the ''size'' of the horde one can muster; ''good'' weenie deck designs generally include cards that deal with both. Screaming "elf deck!" can scare MtG players not prepared for weenies nearly as well as screaming "zerglings!" can RTS players not adept at dealing with rushes.
** Saprolings are the prime example of a weenie horde, although usually a slower one. There is a deck that involves a combination of cards allowing the player to generate a literally infinite amount of saprolings creatures which ran over any opponent in short order.
** Ravager Affinity is a particularly scary example of a ZergRush deck, with rapidfire Arcbound creatures and [[http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=49429 Frogmite]]s ''and'' [[http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=205296 Myr Enforcer]]s materialising at rapid speed, the offensive bolstered by the synergy between vast hordes of Artifact Creatures, Artifact Lands, [[http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=46106 Atog]]s, [[http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=50943 Arcbound Ravager]], [[http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=49835 Shrapnel Blast]], [[http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=194978 Skullclamp]], [[http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=48146 Aether Vial]], and [[http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=49090 Disciple of the Vault]]. Turn 1 Frogmite, turn 2 ''twin'' Myr Enforcers, and turn 3 "leave you hanging at 3 life" scenarios crop up far too often.
*** This differs from classic Zerg rushing in that Myr Enforcers, the deck's namesake Arcbound Ravager, and other creatures common in Affinity aren't weak at all, and aren't "really" cheap--they're just easy to ''make'' inexpensive. Also, Ravager Affinity is a GenreSavvy use of ConservationOfNinjutsu, with the basic early rush tactic compounded by saccing all the artifacts to power the Ravager when it comes on board. The main trick of Ravager Affinity is to force at least one attacker through unblocked by the Zerg Rushing, 'then'' feed the Ravager and cannibalize it to transfer the + 1/+ 1 counters to the unblocked attacker. Several cards that made the deck work were quickly banned, most infamously Skullclamp.
** Another classic example of a rushing archetype is Sligh. Variants of this deck put into play small red creatures, which are generally among the worst in the game compared to other colors, and smack them into the opponent as quickly as possible, then finishing the opponent [[KillItWithFire with fire]]. Despite the relative poor quality of small red creatures, mono-red Sligh and other similar decks using different balances of creatures to fire spells appear in every tournament, and their speed is the standard all other decks are measured against in MagicTheGathering's MetaGame.
*** The Onslaught Block enhanced the Goblin tribe until the strongest Goblin decks superseded classic Sligh.
** Somewhat closer thematically to the Tyranid example below are the slivers, in both the actual game and the world the game takes place on.
*** The combination of [[http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=108914 Conspiracy]], [[http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=111068 Sporesower Thallid]], [[http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=130323 Sporoloth Ancient]] and [[http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=116387 Hivestone]]s in the Time Spiral block allowed for something even worse: saproling-slivers. Every creature is a fungus, which can produce new saproling-sliver-funguses every turn, each of which produces further saproling-sliver-funguses, all benefiting from the slivers' AllYourPowersCombined ability.
*** Don't forget [[http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=89116 Doubling Season]] + [[http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=116737 Thelon of Havenwood]] meaning [[NoKillLikeOverkill all spore counters and saprolings are doubled when they are made, and each spore counter makes the creature that has it stronger.]]
*** The generally-recognised ultimate sliver combo, which effectively allows an infinite number of sliver tokens in one turn, is that of [[http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=207924 Heartstone]] (or [[http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=193490 Training Grounds]]), [[http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=11158 Ashnod's Altar]] (or [[http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=108792 Basal Sliver]]), and [[http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=5233 Sliver Queen]]. Spawn a token from the Queen, sack it using the Altar or to itself using the Basal ability, then produce two more with the bonus from the Heartstone or Grounds, and repeat until your opponent forfeits. A green-heavy Sliver deck depending on a [[http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=4747 Aluren]] and [[http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=201779 Overrun]] combo can put a very large number of Slivers on the table within a single turn; but has the weakness of requiring a large amount of mana to use, and is therefore slower to activate than a true ZergRush.
*** The card [[http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=207927 Coat of Arms]] is seemingly designed especially for the Zerg rush tactic, as it gives +1/+1 to all creatures for those of the same type(s) in play.
** When it comes to modern M:tG decks, most "Zerg Rush" tactics - if they can really be called that outside of the weenie deck archetype - basically boil down to perpetual motion systems, since the developers try to avoid letting you win without thinking. Example: the above mentioned Ashnod's Altar gives you 2 mana when you sacrifice a creature to it. [[http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=46126 Myr Retrievers]] cost 2 mana to summon, but they pull any artifact out of the graveyard the moment they die, and since they count as artifacts, they can resurrect each other. A [[http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=136156 Cloud Key]] can and/or an[[http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=176435 Etherium Sculptor]] always does reduce the cost of artifact spells. With an extra Myr Retriever in the mix of this combination, one literally has an endless supply of mana (sac Myr to Altar = 2 mana; Myr is dead, get other Myr; summon Myr for 1 mana; 1 mana left over). Add this to an artifact or creature that spawns 1/1 counter creatures and you instantly have an endless Zerg Rush powered by infinite resources, and Kerrigan would be proud. This combo also works with "plink cards" that cause a single point of direct damage for the cost of one mana, making this a [[DeathOfAThousandCuts painful way to die]].
** Woe to those who allow the use of Unhinged cards in their match and get slapped with [[http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=9769 Ashnod's Coupon]], only to come back and see about six [[http://gatherer.wizards.com/pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=74306 Cheatyfaces]] on the field.
* ''[=~Yu-Gi-Oh!~=]'' has an Archtype that plays to this tactic, technically speaking. The Blackwings (Black Feathers in Japan) specialize in swarming the field with monsters that have effects that play off each other can can One Turn Kill pretty quickly. Not really a "Zerg Rush" due to the 5 monster limit the game has, but it's pretty close.
** A better example would be the main strategy of an Infernity Deck. Though it's more of an example of the scale from this into a Boss Rush, which is a Zerg Rush consisting of ''the biggest monsters you could ever summon in one turn''. To point, Infernity Beetle (a level 2 monster) and Infernity Daemon/Archfiend (a Level 4 monster) together in the right combination can result in '''5 and more synchro monsters''', especially '''[[OhCrap Trishula]]'''. This was such a devastating strategy that the succeeding banlist had to target the already expensive cards, making the key monsters R1.
** There's an actual card called [[http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Human-Wave_Tactics Human-Wave Tactics]]
* The short lived Kingdom Hearts CCG is a huge example of this, if a Light Deck has a bunch of low level friends (0's and 1's, for instance), or any Dark Deck, which can basically get up to level 8 friends in a few turns if they can, it doesn't help that the only Level 9 Dark Card (Dragon Maleficent) allows you to discard cards from your hand to lower her level and play her sooner, meaning, if you decide to play her with a full hand of six cards, you can discard the other five cards and make her a level 4 Dark Card. Then you can start bringing out big ones that block your opponent from playing friends, (Captain Hook prevents Peter Pan and Tinkerbell from being played, Oogie Boogie prevents Jack Skellington, Maleficent prevents Beast, and so on). Or if you really want to be a douche, play Darkside, which removes all Level 1 and 0 friend cards in play from every player's (up to four) playfield.
* In the ''{{Deadlands}}'' CCG ''Doomtown'', lots of cheap dudes + We Got Ya Surrounded = big shootout bonus (and they're easier to heal in case the bonus still isn't enough).
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Comic Books]]
* The classic {{Batman}} story ''{{Knightfall}}'' involved Bane throwing villain after villain for Batman to defeat in order to wear him down both physically and mentally. This results in Batman being easy pickings for Bane who proceeds to deliver a NoHoldsBarredBeatDown to Bats, breaking his back.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:FanFiction]]
* In ''FanFic/EnemyOfMyEnemy'', the Brutes try a version of this, charging in a solid wave of fur and fury against a wall of Jackal-shield-wielding Elites, in a scene reminiscent of soccer hooligans rushing a fence. In this case, the fence pushes back and holds firm, while the Elites' human allies fire down on the Brutes. It's stated that the Brutes were so tightly packed, dozens were dead on their feet because there was no room to fall to the ground once they were killed.
* In the TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles fanfic "The Long Walk", this dry exchange happens between an OC and Mikey:
--> '''Mikey:''' "The Shredder thinks if he throws enough Foot ninja at a problem, it'll go away."
--> '''Breech:''' "That's right. There'll be less Foot ninja for a start."
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Films]]
* ''StarshipTroopers'' (the film) has this as the standard tactic against the giant antagonist bugs. Let me repeat that. The human infantry try to Zerg what is basically ''the actual Zerg''. As one might expect, this fails horribly. In the book, which averts it, if 1 human soldier dies but takes 100 bugs with him, it's still a net gain for the bugs.
* In ''TheMatrix Reloaded'', a fight scene between Neo and a now replicating Agent Smith basically escalates into this. It begins with Neo surrounded by maybe half a dozen or so Smith copies, and he tosses them around like rag dolls while occasionally taking a hit or two himself. From there, Smith then calls in more clones to join the fight and gains the upper hand, then Neo tips the odds back in his favor again (by improvising a weapon in the form of a metal pole), and then Smith calls in ''even more'' clones. By the end of the fight, there's maybe a hundred Smiths crowding the courtyard, and thus Neo is overwhelmed and forced to flee.
** ''The Matrix Revolutions'', however, averts this tactic when [[spoiler:Smith copies himself over the Oracle,]] thus producing ''one'' Smith clone that's powerful enough to take on Neo alone. Thanks to [[spoiler:the Oracle's prophetic abilities,]] he's also very confident that he will win, to say the least, so he decides to have the lesser clones just kick back and watch the fight.
* The ending to the 1999 film ''The Thomas Crown Affair'' features a large number of mean dressed like the subject from a René Magritte painting in order to distract the authorities.
* An old, old version of this was used by the mooks in AkiraKurosawa's ''TheSevenSamurai'': attacks on the seven protagonists generally took place in large numbers with each attacker cut down with one or two strikes. Kurosawa is believed to have used this technique since Kenjutsu focuses on doing maximum damage in one or two cuts, and to keep the sequences interesting whilst still observing Kenjutsu's principles -- a cinematic ZergRush was the answer.
** The peasants also used their own Zerg Rush in the final battle by only letting one or two bandits into the camp at a time and then swarming them with spears from all sides.
* ''RomperStomper'' features a gang of brawny, racist skinheads who pick on one Vietnamese immigrant too many, sending endless waves of enraged Vietnamese factory workers to overwhelm and hound them across the city.
* The Axe Gang in ''DrunkenMaster 2'' uses swarm tactics.
* As does the Crazy 88 in ''KillBill.'' Unfortunately for them, ConservationOfNinjutsu is in effect.
* The end of ''{{Stargate}}'' features the previously oppressed slaves of ScaryDogmaticAliens zerg rushing their former overlords, some with nothing more than sticks (or even just their bare hands), not even slowing down when some of them get killed by the panicking aliens' weapons. The facat that they cover the entire hillside when there are only a couple dozen warriors facing them makes it quite clear that they figured out the odds.
* ''TheLordOfTheRings'' films feature this heavily, with massive hordes of orcs swarming much smaller human armies. Possibly subverted by Sauron's use of heavier units such as trolls alongside the orcs.
** Also when we first see the orc army attacking (during the War of the Last Alliance) they do so mob-handed. When Sauron next makes his play for power, his armies attack in disciplined formations.
*** By the third movie the Orcs are using clever manuevers and combined-arms tactics to greatly increase the advantage their numbers give. The humans just charge in regardless.
* Ever since "fast" zombies in ''ReturnOfTheLivingDead'', this is a common attack by zombies in films and video games.
* Subverted (or maybe inverted) in [[TheGamers The Gamers: Dorkness Rising]] where Flynn the "how different can it be" Bard becomes a Zerg Wall of Defense (in the end, literally) while the RPG Adventure Party's mage is studying up on a spell to attack TheDragon (really... [[BetterThanItSounds it's better than it sounds]])
* Used with varying degrees of success by the [[SpaceElves Na'vi]] in ''{{Film/Avatar}}'' in the last battle in an attempt to overwhelm the humans' technological superiority. The aerial component, which started with a ZergRush out of ambush at extreme close range, works relatively well. The ground component involved cavalry charging emplaced, [[MoreDakka Dakka]]-laden infantrymen from extreme long range, and works exactly as much as you think it might. [[spoiler:On the other hand, the planetary {{Hive Mind}}'s own ZergRush with creatures the size of tractor-trailers works out much better.]]
* In ''{{Inception}}'', a person's dream state is populated by people generated by the subject's subconscious (i.e. "projections" as they're called in the film.) When using the film's dream-sharing technology, someone screwing around with the dream space will eventually draw the attention of the projections to the fact that there's an "outsider" in the subject's mind, and they'll then instinctively ZergRush the person with intent to kill.
** This Zerg Rushing mob tactic is eventually averted in later parts of the film when we're introduced to the concept of a trained subconscious, which apparently amounts to teaching the subconscious to generate trained soldiers to fight off intruders.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Literature]]
* JimButcher's ''CodexAlera'' novels feature the Vord, basically a fantasy CaptainErsatz of the Zerg. Fighting against Roman ''legionaires'' with ElementalPowers.
** However, what makes the Vord ''absolutely terrifying'' is that they don't just rely on HollywoodTactics; Vord Queens are brilliant strategists. For instance, the first time the protagonists went up against a hive, the queen [[spoiler:got the steadholders to split their forces in half so she could take over quietly, then when the reinforcements arrived Zerg Rushed them from ambush. After inflicting heavy damage, she had her warriors draw back, knowing that the ''legionaires'' would take their wounded inside, where she had Takers waiting to turn sleeping soldiers into drones. She specifically targeted the healers and Knights, crippling their combat force.]] In other words, one five-minute ZergRush = half the army down.
* In ''{{Halo}}: Ghosts of Onyx,'' this was the purpose of the Spartan-III soldiers, since most of the Spartan-[=IIs=] has been killed by that point. It's a slight subversion in that they're physically and mentally tougher than the average shock troop, but they're still treated tactically as an expendable resource.
** In ''Halo: Fall of Reach'', Spartan-117 along with the rest of his team observe a formation of roughly 1000 Unggoy (grunts) and reminds himself that while they can be cowardly, he is also aware instances where they have attacked in such numbers that even though the Human defenders keep mowing them down wave after wave, eventually they run out of bullets... at which time another wave of grunts steps forward. (which happens to be a main tactic of the Tyranids see below)
* ''TheLordOfTheRings'' and some of JRR Tolkien's other works feature Zerg Rush tactics, typically by orc or goblin forces.
** The forces of evil can also be surprisingly clever tacticians, though, as several major defeats for the good guys show. They just almost always have the numerical advantage and decide to make use of it.
* In the ''{{Warhammer 40000}}'' GreyKnights novel, the Allking of Sophano Secundus had an army with horses and spears that just rushed at the Grey Knights, which Alaric actually thought would have killed them because of sheer numbers. They were able to get away though, suffering one casualty and another with an injury while the army of Sophano Secundus lost countless.
* Sheer numbers are the primary thing which made the People's Republic of Haven such a threat to the far more technologically advanced Star Kingdom of Manticore in the ''HonorHarrington'' series. In fact, the Battle of Manticore in ''At All Costs'' is a classic Zerg Rush strategy, as it's an attempt to claim outright military victory before the Manticorans can get their latest {{Gamebreaker}} deployed throughout their fleet.
** Though they aren't willing to admit it, the same is even more true of the Solarian League. Complacent in their superiority, they never upgraded their technology during the 20-plus years Haven & Manticore shot at one another and are largely content to throw men and ships at problems. As the Harrington trope page itself says, [[WeHaveReserves even their reserves have reserves.]]
** In ''On Basilisk Station'', [[spoiler: the drug-crazed Medusan natives try to do this. Given that they have nothing better than breech-loading rifles, they die en masse when the air support appears.]]
* In Andy Hoare's WhiteScars novel ''Hunt for Voldorius'', Voldorius deploys thousands of cultists and conscripted militia against the Space Marines.
* In RobertEHoward's "The Slithering Shadow", ConanTheBarbarian is nearly overcome by incompetent soldiers who get in each other's way -- there are so many of them, and they do not lack courage.
** In "The Shadow Kingdom", {{Kull}} and Brule face a horde of Snakemen.
-->''"Valka! What a killing!" said Brule, shaking the blood from his eyes. "Kull, had these been warriors who knew how to use the steel, we had died here.\\
"These serpent priests know naught of swordcraft and die easier than any men I ever slew. Yet had there been a few more, I think the matter had ended otherwise."''
* In HenryDavidThoreau's ''{{Walden}},'' he discusses a war between red and black ants that played out like this.
* In the first of {{TheDarkTower}} books, ''The Gunslinger'', the Man In Black sets a trap for Roland by convincing the entire town of Tull to turn on him when he inevitably stops there to rest. [[GoodIsNotNice Roland coldly guns down every last man, woman and child.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Live-Action Television]]
* The Magog on {{Andromeda}} favoured this tactic.
* The Wraith in ''StargateAtlantis'' prefer this kind of tactic. Their tech may have been inferior to the Ancients, but with wave after wave of meat shields at their disposal, it didn't really matter.
* The drones in ''StargateUniverse'' are somewhat closer to the trope than the Wraith. They use nothing except fighter-sized attack ships controlled by an unarmed command ship, and their sole battle tactic is to attack from every direction until the enemy dies.
* This is one of the tactics the [[TheEmpire The Dominion]] employs in ''StarTrekDeepSpaceNine''. They have small, 80-120 meter attack vessels that don't have really as much firepower as their larger Federation/Klingon/Romulan counterparts, however, a massive force could be created of them. Case in point, when the Tal Shiar/Obsidian Order attacked the Changeling homeworld with a 'large' fleet of 23 capital ships (''Keldon''-class Cruisers, ''Galor''-class Destroyers, ''D'Driniex''-class Battleships), the Dominion retaliated with 150 Attack Ships which completely swarmed and overwhelmed the Cardies and the Romulans.
* After an initial attack by a relatively small number of Foot Clan ninja in the first episodes of ''NinjaTurtlesTheNextMutation'' , The Shredder angrily declared his intention to rally all of his followers in New York City and crush the Turtles with sheer numbers. It likely would have succeeded without the intervention of Venus De Milo, who proceeded to ''MindRape'' Shredder.
* The Daleks did this in "Destiny of the Daleks," draping some of their own number with bombs and sending them off to blow up the Movellans [[spoiler: with predictable results: the Doctor blows them up before they arrive.]]
* Kamen Rider Imperer of ''KamenRiderRyuki'' (a.k.a. Spear in ''KamenRiderDragonKnight'') is contracted to an entire herd of gazelle Mirror Monsters instead of the one monster most Riders have a contract with. His FinishingMove involves the herd running at the foe and hitting him (using looped CG footage), building it up to Imperer himself kneeing the villain for the final blow.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Mythology]]
* Very commonly {{inverted}} in myths and legends the world over, making the hero/ine larger than life even in death by having them single-handedly square off against faceless hordes of foreign invaders and/or enemy troops, [[HeroicResolve strengthened by some belief or dedication]] that their foes lack. The anonymous berserker who held off the English at the Battle of Stamford Bridge, for example; or Ramses II's claim that he took on many Hittite chariots whilst isolated from his guards during the Battle of Kadesh; heck, any {{samurai}} worth mentioning probably did this at ''least'' once in their story.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:NewspaperComics]]
* A ''TheFarSide'' cartoon showed an amoeba army with the strategy "[[IncrediblyLamePun divide and conquer]]".
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
* ''{{Warhammer 40000}}'': Tyranids all over. Also a fairly valid tactic for Orks, ImperialGuard and Chaos cultists/mutants/plague zombies, too. (Note that of the abovementioned factions, the ImperialGuard is the only one without a hive mind, berserker bloodlust, mind control, or all of the above. Needless to say, their morale is not good.)
** Of course the Guard do have an advantage the others don't: damn good artillery, and lots of it.
*** [[TankGoodness And tanks.]]
**** The Imperial Guard really takes the cake for Zerging, as they can also do this with tanks as well. If any other given faction mechanized their entire force, they would have 17 Tanks in total. The Imperial Guard, however, can come at a whopping '''59''' Tanks (41 Transports + 6 squadrons of 3) based on their legal Force Organisation chart, in part due to the fact that they alone are allowed tanks in squadrons and have the Platoon System, which gives them alot of squads for one actual choice (each squad can take it's own transport).
** Also worth noting that Tyranids were actually the "inspiration" for the TropeNamer, making them a sort of proactive TropeCodifier.
** The 'nids really do take the cake here; their main soldier, the 'gaunts' (in all forms), main job is to rush at defences so they'll run out of ammo when the bigger 'nids show up; most of the time it takes weeks of non-stop rushing, and in fact most 'nids don't even have a ''digestion system''. The main reason why they do this is because since the Hive Fleet eats everything, they eat their dead (and their still living forces) so it's still a net gain even if they lose ''billions''.
*** 'Gaunts can be returned to the table every time they are killed to represent the endless swarms of them that exist (with the beautiful ability name of Without Number). Apocalypse battles (very big games with lots of 'gaunts) actually have a rule where opponent's troops will run out of ammo if they shoot too many of them.
*** Only in the fluff, since the [[TheScrappy 5th edition Tyranid Codex]] basically decided that Tyranids ought to be almost unilaterally more expensive than they used to be, sometimes double their former cost, [[{{Nerf}} while gaining nothing]]. ([[MoneyDearBoy That is, unless that unit just had a new model released...]]) Now they're more of a [[GlassCannon glass hammer]] army, leaving the true ZergRush to the Orks and Imperial Guard. Granted, when Tyranids actually do bring superior numbers to bear, they still hit like a ''mother''. It's just hard to bring numbers to bear when [[SuperSoldier Space Marines]] outnumber you. However, all is not lost because the Tyranids now have the [[GameBreaker Tervigon]], a unit that can retroactively birth new units in the middle of a game, and even upgrade them for free! The catch? They can only birth [[ScrappyMechanic one single specific type of critter]]. And they tend to [[MadeOfExplodium explode violently]] upon their deaths.
*** See the Futurama example below? With the ships clogging the enemy's main cannons with their wreckage? The Tyranids did that to Tyran, their TropeNamer planet, ''using their own bodies''.
** There is actually a class of units in both games that are classified as "Swarms". These are literally a swarm of creatures too tiny to count as individual combatants, but nonetheless can form into a swarm and fight as a cohesive unit (which can be then formed into squads). They are weaker than even the most basic troopers in the army, rarely have ranged weapons, and can even be totally ignored when shooting in favor of larger targets (normally you'd have to shoot the closest thing possible). Their use? They have an ridiculous amount of Wounds (HP) and can tie up enemies in combat, so they can't do squat until your big bouncers come and mop them up. The Wounds-to-Price Ratio on these are also the best, so you can get a literal meatshield for dirt cheap.
*** And as per 40K fasion, even these are turned up to eleven in the 5th Edition. Swarms now can provide Cover Saves to units behind them, meaning that other troopers can literally use them as moving shields that would otherwise be only attainable through being in cover. Almost all Swarms are also buffed with Poison weapons and, in the case of Nurgle's Nurglings when Epidemus is around, Power weapons. They are still as dirt cheap as always.
** Imperial Guards have a special character named Kubrik Chenkov, who has a rule named "Send in the Next Wave!". Basically it's a small upgrade you can buy for any squad of Conscripts (each squad can number 50, and you can take a maximum of 6 squads) that allows them to return to the table if they're wiped out. Since they're troops (meaning they can hold objectives) this makes them retardedly effective when contesting or capping objectives. Fluff wise, Chenkov's regiment has been refounded an innumerable amount of times, because he's reportedly killed more of his men than his enemies have combined.
* Warhammer Fantasy Battles also has notable examples of ''ZergRush'' applying armies, such as the Skaven, Orcs and (mostly) Goblins and the Gnoblars (the latter only existing as an army list published in Games Workshop's "White Dwarf" magazine).
** In the 8th edition the rules actually allowed for such tactics to work, and possibly quite well. In previous editions only units in the front and second rank can fight, and only the front can ever fight at full capacity (the second rank was only allowed to use spears and make one attack). Most ranks are only 5 models strong, but units could usually number 20, so this means that only ever 10 models got to fight regardless of how big the unit was. Newer rules introduced the "Horde" rule, where models had to make ranks of 10, and up to three ranks can fight, with the first two fighting at max capacity. This meant that a total of ''30'' models can fight, three times as much as before.
** Bretonnians takes this concept and turn it up to 11 (or 12, to be precise) where their Lance Formation allowed them to Zerg Rush with ''armored knights on barded warhorses''.
** Skaven goes over 9000 with the concept as they literally have the cheapest troops in any army (of both game systems) and can fire into combat. For 1000 points, they can field ''500'' models.
* The standard method of attack of ''DungeonsAndDragons'' kobolds when they're out of their mines. Defensively, though, the entire point of Kobolds is to lead opponents through deadly traps and mazes, and areas where they have the edge (e.g., leading medium sized creatures into Kobold sized spaces). They only attack en-masse when there is no other option (i.e., when they're not on turf they can make use of in this fashion). This is expanded on in ''Races of the Dragon'', the 3.5 supplemental book covering Kobolds and other races descended from dragons -- Kobolds take a very socialist view to life, being extremely Lawful Evil (leaning Lawful Neutral) -- while the first defense of a Kobold city is going to be it's hundreds of extremely deadly traps, ambushes, etc., as a last resort, the Kobold men will throw themselves en mass at attackers to buy the women and children time to escape with the eggs, the idea being that their lives are a small price to pay to ensure the survival of the ''town''.
* According to ''Moneyball'', a player of tabletop naval combat simulations did this with PT boats and won every round in a particular tournament, although most of the boats were destroyed each round. The next year the rules were modified to emphasize mobility, which PT boats lose when damaged--so he ''scuttled every boat as soon as it took damage''.
** [[http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/05/11/090511fa_fact_gladwell?currentPage=6 Doug Lenat, playing in the Traveller Trillion Credit Squadron tournaments, 1981 and 1982]]. Made [[Awesome/{{Other}} still more awesome]] by the fact that Lenat was not a wargamer, but [[AwesomenessByAnalysis a computer programmer using an AI on the rulebook]].

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Video Games]]
* Named for the Zerg in ''{{Starcraft}}'', whose main tactic is pretty much this in a nutshell -- overwhelming numbers of cheap, disposable troops. (MemeticMutation follows usage of this term with "Kekeke", the Korean equivalent of "hahaha.") Though as mentioned above, the meaning of the name in StarCraft multiplayer is rather different than the above description. In single player, the trope holds true for the Zerg.
** The classic Zerg rush refers to using the zerg's advantage in the early game of being able to quickly churn out weak units (e.g zerglings) to sack the enemy's base before they can set up their slower-to-build but more powerful units. Of course, the numbers will be few, thus rendering the trope null and void in this case, but it is where the term originated.
*** In [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jen46qkZVNI this infamous video]], the tactic is applied in reverse: the Terran player performs a Zerg Rush [[DeathByIrony on the Zerg]]! With [[WorkerUnit SCVs]]!
* Strangely enough, in {{Starcraft II}} the Terran (with their dual build queue option) and Protoss (with their warp-in ability) can both pull this off better then the rather boom-y zerg.
** The Zerg player can choose to build a spawning pool as soon as possible instead of building workers. You have to fight off their first wave of Zerglings using your workers. Of course, it so fundamentally damages the Zerg economy that if the player hasn't won within about seven minutes, they have lost.
** With Queens and the returning dual-spawning zerglings, Zerg players can still send in a vast amount of rapidly dying forces...especially should they choose to upgrade them to Banelings. With teching, Zerg players can also create Infestors, which can create temporary Zerg rushes of Infested Terrans.
* This is the favorite strategy of the enemies in ''[[{{Diablo}} Diablo 2]]'' (even for the bigger guys). Think about it: You and up to 7 other guys, up against hundreds of demons. It especially gets nuts when you're up against those bug things, that spawn smaller bug things, from Act 2. There are some structures that spawn enemies, which look like something out of the Zerg Faction. I guess Blizzard LOVES this trope.
* This is the AI's strategy in any TowerDefense game, in which the player's goal is to prevent their base from being overwhelmed by sheer weight of numbers.
* In ''[[{{Warcraft}} Warcraft 2: The Tides of Darkness]]'', it was a common (and much cursed) strategy of the Orcs to use a "Grunt Rush" to win battles -- the father of the ZergRush. (Unlike ''Starcraft'', you started with only 1 worker and no buildings. The thought was to build a Town Hall with the gold the game started you with to get an economy going. Some players, however, build a barracks instead and used whatever gold left to make basic fighting units and go attack the enemy, who would be lucky to even have a barracks started, much less have any units to defend with.)
** Of course, this could only work on High or Medium resources. Those of us that prefer Low (where you only had enough for the town hall and first farm) had little worries of this sort of all-in. Though, more befitting the trope was producing footmen/grunts heavily out of three barracks and hitting your opponent when they were just starting to get knights/ogres, overwhelming them with the weaker infantry.
* In ''[[{{Warcraft}} Warcraft 3]]'', the Undead have an '''exploding''' ZergRush. This is because Necromancers casting "Raise Dead" raise two skeletons from every corpse - so if you send in a rush of ghouls backed up by a couple of Necromancers set to auto-cast "Raise Dead" the resultant explosion of skeletons from friendly and enemy corpses alike can be very destructive.
** Before the patch, some Alliance players built a town hall in front of the enemy town, and then swarm the enemy with an endless stream of militia.
* ''KingdomHearts'' has this with TheHeartless. The [[TheWarSequence section in the second game]] where you have to fight off one thousand {{Mooks}} springs to mind.
* Most side-scrolling {{Beat Em Up}}s have this, with the player character facing off against hundreds of faceless, weak {{Mooks}} who are more than capable of wearing you down over time.
* ''DynastyWarriors''. Any enemy faction against the player character.
* Zerg Rushing is fairly common in ''NintendoWars'', including the classic "Mech Rush" tactic and its infantry-and-artillery variant in the [=AW2=] and AW:DS era. Even in situations where foot soldiers are ineffective, it is usually wise to deploy multiple cheap units rather than fewer, stronger ones (copters instead of bombers is a prime example).
** Some [=COs=] have specializations that seem to have been designed with this trope in mind. Colin of the original Advance Wars series is the epitome of it, since his troops are weaker but cheaper. Hachi, Sasha, and Sensei are also particularly capable of using sheer numbers to overwhelm. Andy's supports this indirectly, as his repairs ability help all units a set amount, being more effective when you go for numbers over strength.
** This troper has confirmed that infantry rushes are effective, if rather inelegant: testing whether or not ScratchDamage is employed in [=AW2=], I created a map with 50 infantry versus 1 neotank, and set Andy as both [=COs=], with powers off (so that every unit's attack and defense is its exact baseline stat). It took 8 turns to destroy the neotank, and it only killed 7 infantry units. (In subsequent tests, it took 8 turns for Colin to destroy the neotank with Max as its [=CO=], and Colin lost 9 infantry; with Sami vs Sami, it took six turns and only 3 infantry were destroyed.)
* For most ''FireEmblem'' games, this is a favored tactic of the AI opponents; they'll typically field armies that are anywhere between twice to four times the size of your party and, unless they're on the defensive, will send units to attack you in large numbers. This is offset somewhat by the player units having better stats, better equipment and the benefit of support relationships, so a properly-leveled party will take little/no damage from the resulting Rush. [[NintendoHard Hard/Maniac Modes, however...]]
* The Russians in ''AgeOfEmpires III''. Their light infantry is weak and has low HP, but they're built by tens and are the cheapest units in the game.
** You can rush with Hittite elephants in ''AgeOfEmpires''. Much like real elephants they're hard to get rushing but man, once they start it's hard to get them to stop.
*** The Yamato cavalry rush was another staple of the original game.
*** Plus the late-game Shang villager horde, involving villager-only upgrades that turned them into passable fighting units. When you consider that the Shang had the cheapest villagers in the game...
** For a dramatic demonstration of this, play [=AoE2=] with the "aegis" cheat activated. That cheat allows all players to create buildings and units instantly, but may also make the game [[HopelessWar damn near impossible to win]] as your opponents will inevitably send an endless stream of constantly-replenishing units at you.
*** Also, the dominant strategy in [=AoE2=] is to flood out weak and cheap second tier units faster than the enemy, before gradually moving onto stronger units (the "flush").
** For whatever reason, Anti-Zerg Rushing {{Scrub}}s are particularly common in the [=AoE=] community. Many games are played with a house rule that neither side can attack for some fixed length of time, sometimes ranging up to ''45 minutes.'' It was so popular in the expansion "treaty" mode was introduced, so neither side could attack each other for 10, 20, 30, or 40 minutes depending on what is selected.
* ''{{Overlord}}'', definitely. Your "Minions" are extremely expendable, and quite often, the easiest way to handle any given encounter, is to just keep throwing minions at it 'till it breaks. Sure, there are probably more elegant ways to do it, but...
* ''FinalFantasyXI'' has this in spades... mostly on the part of the ''players''. Over the years, a common phrase for beating endgame monsters is to [="Throw Rangers/Black Mages/Summoners/Melees/=]{{Samurai}}[=/Dark Knights at it."=] Hell, the strategy is named Zerging.
** Many a player can tell a story about the time they range-attacked a weak monster on the other side of an impassable obstacle, only to see the monster go charging off in some random direction... only to appear fifteen minutes later, having finally navigated the zone to find the player, ''and having alerted all its friends that it met along the way''. Twenty floppy little bunny rabbits equals quick death.
** One of the missions in the Crystalline Prophecy expansion involves 30 mandragoras attacking you in waves of about 5 or 6 each. They're comically weak and take an enhanced amount of damage, so it's part zerg rush and part whack-a-mole as the mandragoras die in one hit each.
*** However, if you leave these enemies alone long enough they can Zerg Rush ''you'' by performing a move that takes nearly all of their HP and turns it into about 300ish damage. This attack can be used by the entire crowd in quick succession if you let them, which results in a near-instant and humiliating death on the player's part.
*** The mini-expansion which came out after Crystalline Prophecy, A Moogle Kupo d'Etat, features another such battle where a swarm of [[RobotBuddy Cardians]] attack the player. They are exceptionally weak, much like the previous expansion's mandragoras, until you realize that half of the crowd attacking you are in the middle of [[OneHitKill casting some of the most powerful spells in the game]].
* As fitting for a Blizzard game, ''WorldOfWarcraft'' also has the zerg rush as an encounter in the Zul'Farrak instance.
** Many instances feature large packs of weak enemies that have to be killed by area of effect-attacks or they simply owerwhelm the players. Particularly notable are the ones like the boss encounter in Zul'Farrak where the enemies just spawn when an event is triggered and immdediately attack the players.
** Also, at the Battlegrounds (side vs side [[PlayerVersusPlayer PvP]] areas), zerging (which is called just that, even by people who use it) is usually the most common tactic for defeating the enemy. Suggesting anything more complicated will either get you ignored or insulted. However, the final bosses of Alterac Valley are designed so that zerging them will only result in lots of unnecessary deaths.
*** Don't tell this [[CaptainObvious completely obvious]] point to players in the Alterac Valley however. [[FailureIsTheOnlyOption Zerg teh 0lny w@y 2 win!1!]]
**** In the old PVP Rank Grind days, skilled, rank-minded presets or premades - groups of players all queueing together and acting as a team, instead of the random team the game's queueing system throws you together with - often had multiple, pre-planned strategies for each map, in case the enemy team resorted to Zerg. Zerg in WoW PVP is very powerful - it's jsut a cloud of red names haphazardly smashing everything in sight - but very, very stupid. It often ends up with the entire enemy team moving around at once - suicidal to attack directly, but none of these maps rely on merely killing opponents to win, capture of critical points (like flags or towers) are ''always'' required. Thus, when facing a Zerg, the appropriate response is to disperse, not ever attack it head-on, and just get behind it, re-capping everything they leave behind. The end result is a huge, dangerous and yet helpless mass of players constantly losing everything they've just gained as soon as they move on to the next point, losing the game in spite of the seemingly overwhelming display of force.
** This type of instance event is usually called a "gauntlet" where waves of enemies will attack the party, with little to no downtime between waves, followed immediately by a powerful boss. A couple of notable gauntlets in the latest expansion include: The Violet Hold which is nothing more than 3 gauntlets, one after the other; Gothik the Harvester in Naxxramas, where the waves of enemies you must defeat before you can fight Gothik return in waves of ''undead'' after you kill them.
*** The "wave boss" of Halls of Stone follows this pattern for the most part, but has no final boss. Instead, the waves consist of 2-3 elites, which can Charge past you instantly into the room you're protecting. Unlike Violet Hold or the gauntlet from Culling of Stratholme, waves are on a set timer, which is shorter than most geared-at-level parties can kill them. Also, the room you're protecting is firing lasers at you from behind. This is considered one of the most challenging encounters in the Heroic tier, especially when running with a tank without a Zone of Threat capability.
** The infamous LeeroyJenkins incident. The dragon eggs in the particular room must be touched to hatch initially, but once they start hatching it usually results in a chain reaction which leads to entirely too many dragon hatchlings all heading towards the party at once....
** On the Alliance there's the (in)famous Hogger raids. Forty level ones constantly rushing towards perhaps the lowest level elite in the game (level 11) results in some hilarious moments. The Horde does the same with Gamon, though he's not elite.
*** As of the Cataclysm, Gamon is a Level 85 elite who can easily kill a player with a stern glare if the player is not of the highest level. During the run-up to the 3rd expansion, you could see him being Zerg Rushed by dozens of players in an attempt to defeat him. At that time, as a level 85 elite, he would be a raid boss in his own right (tougher, actually... raid bosses were elite 83s, while he was an elite 85).
** Any time, in WorldofWarcraft, that any kind of strategic planning is discarded in favor of just overwhelming a problem with sheer force, is referred to as Zerging it. For example, an early WrathOfTheLichKing boss called Sartharion - a gigantic black dragon - comes pre-equipped with three smaller dragon MiniBoss es. These Mini Bosses can be killed in advance - or you can take on all four dragons at once to make the encounter significantly harder and dramatically increase the value and quantity of Sarth's loot drops. This significanty harder encounter either requires planning, experience and a little time for all players to learn the fight... or just enough significantly-stronger-than-this-content-was-tuned-for players to Zerg it and burn Sarth down before he can even begin calling in his Mini Bosses.
*** Ironically, this is the exact opposite of the ZergRush concept. Rather than a multitude of weak units overwhelming the dragon, it's a standard number of much more powerful units.
**** It's a twist on the ZergRush concept, but it's still a simple strategy of quick, overwhelming damage on a single target with no backup plan rather than anything fancy or complicated. It's close.
* Basically the entire premise of ''{{Pikmin}}''.
** The C-stick in the game is used to direct the mass of pikmin following you in a more precise direction, and when facing an enemy, is circled around to rush the entire pack in even faster. There's nothing more satisfying than swarming a tiny little Bulborb with all 100 of your minions from all sides.
* In ''SidMeiersAlphaCentauri'', this is the main tactic of the Free Drones, a faction of socialist proletariat who have a distrust for the well-educated upper echelons of society that once oppressed them (and so have a certain DumbIsGood ethos). They feature an industry bonus (the citizenry being made up almost entirely of blue-collar workers) and a research penalty ([[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment ...the citizenry being made up almost entirely of blue-collar workers]]), resulting in being able to deploy vast quantities of units but having subpar equipment. The Hive, the only other faction with an innate industry bonus, usually works similarly but to a lesser extent, mainly because they don't have a research penalty. They do have an economy penalty, though, which negatively effects their ability to research.
** Another faction that likes to ZergRush is [[ChurchMilitant the Believers]]. They have a bonus to Support under their preferred political system which allows them to field larger armies, combined with a bonus to attack and [[BeliefMakesYouStupid lack of research]] that causes them to have lower-tech units then normal (albeit not exactly weaker so long as they strike first). They can't build as quickly as the Hive or the Drones, but they can maintain a larger army and their bonus to attack is incentive to strike first.
* The Brotherhood of Nod in ''CommandAndConquer'' makes use of this at lower tech levels, able to produce huge numbers of cheap, expendable militia troops, as well as light, fast attack bikes, buggies, and tanks.
** Ultimately not the best example however, because while most soldiers fighting for The Brotherhood are poorly trained poorly armed rabble the other end of the spectrum is comprised of a much smaller group of super elites using technology that's actually superior in many ways to that of GDI. If Nod has a single overarching approach to warfare it's not just zerging the enemy, it could probably best be described as sending favored sons to stab him in the back with a billion dollar dagger made from alien technology while he's too busy fending off the ragged but very fanatical mob in front of him.
** Seriously, there is no need for this conversation. The Scrin can readily spam Disintegrators and buzzers while building an army of tripods in the background. THEY are the real Zerg. And let's not mention the mind-controlling cultists used by Traveler 59.
** Any faction can zerg rush an opponent with rifleman in the earlier games. Infantry have now been nerfed to the point that even the lowliest of vehicles is still marginally better than the best trooper (sans the Commando units, but you can't readily rush with them due to the one-per-army limit).
** Allies and Nod both relied on Zerg tactics in the first game of their respective series, mainly due to the fact that even their strongest tank was pathetically weak compared to even the lightest tank of the opposition. Somewhat subverted with the Allies, as they had Cruisers with [=BFGs=] that can level a whole base on Naval maps, but totally straight with Nod, as even their Air support was inferior to that of the GDI (they had no navel force whatsoever).
** An interesting Subversion: Some players (especially in Tiberian Sun, where APCs can travel underground, past barriers and undetected) would load up an APC with Engineers and rush it into the enemy base. Since all base-producing functions was concentrated on the Construction Yard, a good Engineer rush would cripple a player long before the real fighting started. It's more of a traditional Zerg Rush (where you cripple your opponent) than the more popular meaning.
** An interesting variant (and possibly Subversion) was the tank rush. What makes it a subversion is that this tend to be used with Heavy Tanks and Mammoth Tanks, the two heaviest tanks in the game, that would just steamroll over the opposition. You still use overwhelming numbers, but due to the cost and build time of the tanks, this is likely a late-game tactic. It is gruesomely effective, as fending off all those heavily armored tanks can be extremely difficult, to near impossible (especially Mammoth Tanks, as they literally had no weakness to exploit).
* China, in ''Command and Conquer: Generals''. Red Guards, the basic infantry, are built two at a time. Troop carriers come with 8 Red Guards free. To further encourage massing, groups of five or more of the same unit in close proximity get a damage bonus.
** Then again, the GLA faction has Angry Mobs, which is 9 civilians with pistols and rocks (unless you Arm The Mob with AK-47s) counting as a single unit. It's fun to throw a mass of 200 people firing Ak-47s and throwing molotov cocktails at your opponent's base.
* ''RiseOfNations'' has the Terra Cotta Army wonder, a Zerg Rush ''kit,'' basically. Every thirty seconds (initially; it goes up by half a second for every infantry you control), you get a free basic infantry unit. ''Read that again.''
** And, once you get the research (wonder?) that makes all timers complete instantly, you can basically send a never ending line of basic infantry trudging across the map towards your enemy. More like a Zerg Irressistable Force.
** Also present in the game are the Chinese race, whose main bonus is instant villagers. Depending on Age, villagers can be upgraded to simple military units. This makes for a semi-effective ''anti'' Zerg Rush tactic, as a Chinese player with adequate resources can spam their city with villagers up to their population cap. Which can mean several ''hundred'' instant soldiers.
** There is also the upgrade "Artificial Intelligence": All units are created instantaneosly, regardless of power or cost in resources. (Assuming you can pay, otherwise it doesn't work at all)
* The Mordor faction in the ''LordOfTheRings: Battle For Middle Earth'' {{RTS}} is a prime example. Their basic unit is weak but free and comes in large groups. An even more extreme example is the Orc Labourer from the Isengard faction, an unarmoured orc wielding a woodcutter's axe. They each take up 1 command point, in a game where the command point cap is usually 300 ''at the very least''.
** This very much applies to the armies of Mordor (and to a ''slightly'' lesser extent Isengard) in the original novels as well. Sauron is practically the poster boy (poster-Eye?) for the 'plenty more where they came from' school of evil strategy. His Orcs are clumsy, cowardly fighters and only effective in huge numbers, especially against skilled warriors like (most of) the Fellowship.
* Scout rushes are a frequently-suggested (if rarely-executed with more than 3 Scouts) strategy in ''TeamFortress2''--Scouts can reach the objective before any other class and have twice the capturing power at the cost of lower firepower and health.
** The addition of the Pain Train for the Soldier and Demoman that gives them additional capturing power in exchange for increased vulnerability to bullets may start shifting the {{Metagame}}.
* In ''TotalAnnihilation'', the equivalent tactic is the Flash Rush (or, inevitably, "Flush"): Arm's Flash light tank isn't ''quite'' the fastest or cheapest unit, but for its armour and firepower (dual energy machine guns that provide a slow but steady stream of damage, while also sounding awesomely like the HyperBlaster from ''QuakeII'': the light laser of Core's equivalent unit, the Instigator, just isn't the same) it is very cost-effective and very brutal en masse.
** The Peewee Rush was even more brutally effective, but tended to crash the game due to having too many units on the screen...
*** This one isn't because of the number of the units, but the gun they fire. With a slight hex edit, the game supports 5000 units at a time. The problem is the sound the Energy Machine Gun (The Peewee's weapon) makes, and the way that DirectX 5 handles sound.
** In Open Source remake - Spring - most mods still feature flash rush. Peewee rush is usually not as effective though - bigger maps and rebalanced stats mean that it won't reach the target before dying, unless their amount is really big. [=AoE=] units tend to deal with hordes of weak units in seconds, which reduces usefulness of this tactic. Peewees still have a role in the game, but it's not rushing.
* ''WorldInConflict'' has America being overrun on being esentially Soviet Zerg Rush. No missiles, just bunch of parachuting armies and war machines.
** The first half of the campaign pits you against a Russian force generally 2 to 3 times your size; the first few missions pretty much end up in a total retreat.
* In ''WarhammerOnline'', whichever of the two opposing realms (Destruction or Order) outnumbers the other is often accused of using this tactic to win in [=RvR=], using their increased numbers and over abundance of tanks to steamroller the opposition. Trouble is, the tactic often does work if the underpopulated side can't put up a decent melee line to slow them down whilst their ranged take them apart.
* In DawnOfWar, Orks have an upgrade that allows them to get Slugga Boyz (their basic troopers) for free. This is fairly late game (as you need to already have most of your base built before the upgrade is even unlocked) but it allows the Ork player to fully embrace the concept of human wave tactics as wave upon wave of his boyz pour into the enemy base (in DoW you can have your units set to "auto-recruit", thereby allowing you to command your units without having to micro back to your base for reinforcements. Since Boyz now cost no resources other than head-count, this means a literal green tide).
* One of the Event Matches in ''SuperSmashBros Melee'' is called "Super Mario 128", where 128 smaller, weaker Marios swarm the field and you have to defeat every one of them.
** And just so you get the point of how weak Zerg Rush soldiers can be, these soldiers can be defeated with any attack in one hit. Even Luigi's taunt.
*** Ah, so ''that's'' how you're supposed to get [[LastLousyPoint that bonus]]! Wait... event matches don't give out the bonuses... crap.
* Darwinians, basic Virus units a.k.a. Virii and especially Multiwinians in the ''Darwinia'' series include such sheer number of units at disposal that they outnumber Zergs at least from eight to one during peak moments.
* The coliseum in ''TalesOfVesperia'' uses this trope. You're forced to fight wave after wave of monsters, and it isn't too bad until you start fighting stronger {{Mooks}} that have the ability to stagger you. From there, you'll probably get staggered [[GoddamnBats over and over and over again until you die]]. If this wasn't bad enough, bosses join the rush at set intervals.
* Both your side, and the enemies' side can employ this trope in ''{{Final Fantasy XII}}: Revenant Wings''. If you don't capture a summon gate quickly enough, then often you can end up pratcially ''wading'' through espers, in order to reach/capture it. On the other hand, if used against a level III esper (provided that most of the other espers have been taken care of), it can be quite helpful.
* ''StarWars Galactic Battlegrounds'', since most of the differences between forces are in unique units and cosmetic changes, can let ''anyone'' do this. It's comparatively easy to sledgehammer a nearby opponent into the ground simply by hurling a swarm of basic troopers and mounted troopers at it. Of course, this can come back to bite you when everyone else upgrades tech levels first and [[CurbstompBattle curbstomps]] you with pummel siege engines and assault mechs.
** The republic however get the ultimate Zerg Rush ability, They can put out troop units a lot faster then everyone else and their Tech tree is meant to send clone troopers to the field (Their tech gives you more food and better med droids to keep your men alive), the Rebels get slightly sturdier troops with decent anti armor to compensate for their lack of Zerg Rushing production and the Trade Feds have no housing required but lacks the resources to produce soldiers.
* ''Left4Dead'' has this for the regular [[NightOfTheLivingMooks zombies]]. Whether the AI Director summons them or if a player gets vomited on by a Boomer, a huge swarm of zombies will all rush after the team, surround them, and proceed to beat the crap out of them. In VS mode, infected players may adopt the rush strategy by either having everyone attacking at once or rushing in after a Boomer player does his job.
* ''SurvivalCrisisZ'', oh man. Go to act 3 and find a neutral safehouse of level 11. You will never see the end of the mob.
* {{Disgaea}} blatantly states this in the tutorial of the first game, saying the best strategy in the game is to rush one unit wildly with your soldiers. This is also an effective strategy for distractions, by sending out weak and useless characters, thus the AI auto targets the weakest link, leaving your main fighter several turns of beating the ever living hell out of the enemy.
** ''[[{{Disgaea3}} Absence of Justice]]'' makes a reference to this after the first battle of the final chapter. After Mao smothers a Prinny bomb set by the brainwashed [[GoldfishPoopGang Vatos]] and Champloo helps them resist brainwashing relapse, a squad of brainwashed seniors appears to take down the group. The Vatos get a brief CMOA at this point by calling in their relatives for a diversion - ''[[BeyondTheImpossible all two hundred thousand of them]]''!
--> '''Almaz''': Heh... when you can't get good help, get more help...
--> '''Sapphire''': Indeed. Numbers are power. Human wave tactics of this scale can only be called amazing.
* SeriousSam often has [[TheWarSequence moments]] where rather weak Kleer skeletons or Marsh Hoppers can overwhelm the player just by having so many of them at the same time.
** Also, the headless suicide bomber. Seeing one appearing over the horizon is amusing. Seeing 50 of them coming at once is terrifying.
* While SupremeCommander doesn't have a single faction that utilizes this tactic, the scope and scale of the game lets the best fulfillment of this, since the ArbitraryHeadcountLimit is much higher than the usual FPS. One interesting (although ultimately doomed even against poorly placed defenses) strategy is to build 10+ factories with assisting engineers and pointing the freshly made robots and tanks towards the enemy base, sending a constant, never ending stream of units. This tactic can even work if you take the chance to send some siege-breaking units to destroy the front rows of enemy defenses, or use this stream as the distraction for a better localized attack.
** Possible the best thing ever about Sup Com? Artillery rush! That is, building a continuing stream of artillery up to the enemy base and laugh with glee as his outer defenses are shredded to pieces by 50+ small artillery placements. Or better yet, if you can muster the resources, building 5 HEAVY artillery placements 10 Kms away from the enemy base and watch as the base simply vanishes by the 3rd or 4th salvo. Considering you manage to keep such a grand project hidden from your foe.
*** Maybe you can destract him using waves and waves of T1 bots rushing his base...
*** Fails against defenses? Not really. If you're sending enough units, the defenses will fall. In particular, the Second Cybran mission tasks you with destroying an enemy base. Sending wave after wave of T1 units will eventually punch through. Eventually of course being the key word. This troper was doing it with 25 factories though, so YMMV.
* ''{{X-COM}}: Apocalypse'' has what's called the Hoverbike swarm, where you buy lots of cheap, weak, but highly evasive hoverbikes which you use to absolutely overwhelm attacking {{Flying Saucer}}s. It works very efficiently for most of the game until the aliens start using Dimensional Multi-Bomb Launchers to take out many bikes in one shot.
* Star Wars: Empire At War absolutely adores this trope. Bombers are fairly inexpensive, and have powerful weapons that bypass the enemy's shield. The downside is that they move slow and only come 3 to a squad. However, since EaW lets you drop reinforcements right next to your other units, you can drop 12 or 15 bombers essentially right on top of the enemy station in around 3 minutes, usually before the enemy has a chance to upgrade their space station.
** Even more so in land battles.
* The Egyptians in ''AgeOfMythology'' are the ones with cheap weak troops that build fast. Throw in a few production speed upgrades and a Meteor god power dropped on a hostile chokepoint, and it's Wall of Slingers time, especially if you go with Ra and use your priests to empower military buildings. Isis boosts population cap and grants economic bonuses. This is very bad for whoever's on the receiving end. And Set has stronger slingers and the ability to summon cheap animals to fight.
* In ''{{Civilization}} III'' the Aztecs are made for this tactic. Their Jaguar Warrior unit is the earliest fast unit in the game, and ''fast units retreat at one health unless fighting other fast units.'' This allows for multi-turn rushes of epic proportions very early in the game. As a bonus, the Aztecs are Militaristic, which means that military buildings (such as Bunkers, which increase the total health of any unit produced in that city) cost half their normal price.
** Also applicable to Civilization II when using the "Fundamentalism" government type - they can produce the "Fanatic" Unit that requires no upkeep or support and any reasonable size city can produce one a turn. If you have twenty cities in ten turns you can throw two hundred of them at your enemy.
* Parodied in MarioAndLuigi: Bowser's Inside Story where Bowser states that running into people's feet is basically all {{The Goomba}}s learn in their military academy. He invokes this with the "Goomba Storm" special where he orders Goombas to rush the enemy, though when done right it becomes DeathFromAbove with [[IncendiaryExponent flaming Goombas]].
* In the ''{{Halo}}'' series, most skirmishes allow you to take on one squad of a few grunts/jackals backed by a brute/elite at a single time. When the [[GoddamnBats drones]] show up, they go down easily and typically carry piss-weak weapons, but show up in really large groups. The flood also tends to send in wave after wave of infected (even more annoying in ''Halo 3'', as flood infection forms can revive the combat forms you just put down).
* The Husks and Thorian Creepers in ''MassEffect''. They're not very effective with it, except in the higher difficulties, however.
** But in ''MassEffect 2'' the Husks are back with force, and in the tight, confined spaces they prefer to attack in, they will overwhelm you in moments unless you make very good use of your crowd-control abilities--even in Normal difficulty.
*** That is if you don't realise that a single throw (or similar) will kill them instantly.
** This is also how geth hack as well; as a "platform" will often have over a hundred geth ([[spoiler:Legion]] has over a ''thousand''--[[spoiler:good thing it's on your side]]), they can just overload most firewalls.
** The final cutscene battle in ''Mass Effect'' has [[spoiler:Alliance capital ships doing a Zerg swarm against Sovereign. Despite Sovereign being vastly more powerful than any of the Alliance ships, it's eventually overwhelmed by sheer numbers and destroyed]].
* Zerging a strong army with peasants in the ''TotalWar'' series is a viable strategy to wear them down. In ''Medieval II'', when the Mongols and Timurids arrive, this becomes a ''very'' effective strategy, if only because once they arrive, the invaders have large armies but lack cities or castles to replace their casualties. You, meanwhile, ''can'' replace your losses, so you can just keep hurling armies at them to wear them down.
** This is epitomized in the later ''Napoleon: Total War'', due to the fact that muskets are deadly whichever way you look at it. Even against cavalry and cannons, a swift advance with full armies of militia will defeat most enemy armies. The only downside is morale, because Militia tend to break easily during combat (this is true for previous games as well), though this can easily be countered by a single expensive (though instantly recruited) general. Also, each militia unit that gains some experience will quickly become as good as inexperienced line infantry - without the exorbitant upkeep cost.
* Pretty much in any stage in ''{{Spore}}'' will the AI creatures, tribes, civilizations, and empires launch massive waves of enemies at you. This can be really irritating especially in creature stage, in which at most your pack can contain four other species while a single nest can contain 8-12 creatures (and there's a mod that adds even more).
** Naturally, the best strategy in the tribal and civilization stages is to have sheer numbers over the enemies. This is especially easy to employ during the Civilization stage because land vehicles are rather cheap and sea vehicles only cost some 500 sporebucks more, making building an entire army very easy. Just hope that your that your machines are actually powerful enough to wage a war against a city.
** Enemy empires (including the Grox) have no trouble being able to launch their massive space navies at your colonies.
* GrimGrimoire - Behold the power of the [[http://www.viddler.com/explore/kazeugma/videos/69/ Imp Rush]].
* A bug (or so we hope) in ''PanzerGeneral 2'' allowed the Red Army to buy the T-34 tank for free, thereby allowing you to fill the map with them and {{Zerg Rush}}ing the vile Nazi.
* The favored tactic of the Mastermind archetype in ''CityOfVillains''. Though it varies depending on level and powerset, the average Mastermind can summon six minions to boss around. On Mastermind-heavy teams, upwards of 40 characters can be running around a map.
* The mutants in ''[[{{Crackdown}} Crackdown 2]]'' employ this swarming tactic.
* In the ''{{Homeworld}}'' verse, [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy Vaygr]] strike craft squadrons have more units than their - individually stronger - Hiigaran equivalents. However, the [[ScaryDogmaticAliens Kadeshi]] are simply the kings of this trope.
-->''(a few hundred Swarmers attack the Mothership)''
-->'''Fleet Intelligence:''' [[CaptainObvious The enemy seem to rely]] [[{{Understatement}} heavily]] [[CaptainObvious on fighter-class units]].
** Good thing they're really, really awful at defending their fuel supply
* The Soviet Union pretty much solely rely on this tactic in ''[[HeartsOfIron Hearts of Iron II]]'', especially in Human-vs-Human games where the Soviets enjoy five years of having to do nothing but build up their Industrial Capacity and then spam infantry/militia. The strategy can even compete against a talented Germany player's blitzkrieg tactics simply because they cannot replace the losses incurred fighting that many units spread over the entire European-Russian area.
* The weapon of choice of the Swarm in ''GratuitousSpaceBattles''. The Swarm's ship hulls are noticably cheaper than their enemies' ([[HopelessWar which is everyone]]) but consequently their hulls, shields, and armor are also weaker. As a result, the Swarm can put a ''lot'' more ships on the field, especially in high-budget battles.
* This trope is the basis of the entire shmups genre. [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSbe7QjqBi8 check]] [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUPWWuI2EY4 out]] [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qkSwM3RY0Lk some]] [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jao77MSC1ck gameplay footage]]
* And of course there's [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iU7Nxy_g75o Garden Gnome Carnage]] where seeming endless swarms of elves scale the sides of your building in an attempt to... give you presents?
* This is a desperation tactic sometimes deployed in ''DwarfFortress'', if whatever it is that's attacking a player's fort has wiped out the professional military (or turns up before there even ''is'' a professional military..) Dwarves have also been known to mass-stampede onto a battlefield on their own, not to attack, but to [[TooDumbToLive recover the clothing and armor]] of their dead compatriots.
* In the FPSMMO ''PlanetSide'' a Zerg rush was usually necessary to effectively wedge the enemy out of a tower. Taking a base was no real pain, requiring a multi angled approach until the enemy could be booted out. Attacking one of the outlying towers however... wave after wave after wave of soldiers holding doors open, having rockets spammed inside before a sizeable group of power-armored infantry could rush the basement where the spawn room was... God I love that game!
* Some players of [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steel_Panthers Steel Panthers]] are prone to do this: buying hordes of infantry (as opposed to a good infantry/armor mix), mortars (as opposed to howitzers) and cheap recoiless rifle jeeps (instead of tanks), even in open maps! The newest versions of this game have made spotting harder, which can make this trope more effective.
* In the fighting game "BlazBlue" the character Arakune uses a sort of ZergRush stratagy. God help you if Arakune curses you, because if he does he will summon a MASSIVE horde of bees and other insects to attack you. In fact the sequel ConinuumShift gives you an Xbox Acheivment for getting a 70-hit combo with Arakune called "BEEEEES!!!!"
** He doesn't even have to be on the screen to combo you: [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_qLvGwG0lo examples]]. Lots of curse combos last a long time on normal competitive matches.
* ''MuvLuv'''s BETA use that as their main tactics against the humans, and it usually proves to be very effective, since they outnumber the human forces at least 20 to 1, and the average survival time of human pilots is around 8 minutes.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Comics]]
* ''TheOrderOfTheStick'': This was Redcloak's main tactic in his assault on Azure City, until he was on the receiving end of a DivingSave HeroicSacrifice and [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone realised that he was sacrificing actual lives to fulfill a grudge]].
* See [[http://www.thenoobcomic.com/index.php?pos=306 this strip]] of ''TheNoob''.
** The people they are fighting are a merger of many anti-PvP guilds, whose players [[{{Scrub}} inevitably suck]], but there are many of them. They called their new guild the Zealous Elite Rightous Guardians...
** Also [[http://www.thenoobcomic.com/index.php?pos=296 this one]] for basic tactics behind zerging and rushing in general.
* [[CtrlAltDel "Achievement Unlocked -- Way to play like an asshole, asshole."]]
* The Maraudites of Stick Figure SluggyFreelance use this, but combined with acid blood, this makes for an unforeseen [[http://sluggy.com/comics/archives/daily/080718 disadvantage.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Original]]
* This is the primary tactic of the Yamani Empire in ''OpenBlue''. The ZergRush, combined with bushido.
* This ends up being the only real recourse of the forces of hell in ''TheSalvationWar: Armageddon''. Due to the fact they're at bronze age levels of technology and are up against modern armies, its not like they have much of a choice...
* From the ''GlobalGuardiansPBEMUniverse:'' Los Hermanos is a duplicator who can create thousands of clones of himself. Other than that, he's basically just an athletic, somewhat skilled martial artist. Guess what one of his primary tactics is when fighting a villain who is obviously much more powerful than he is?
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Western Animation]]
* In several episodes of ''{{Futurama}}'', Zapp Brannigan reminisces about winning one of his many "victories" using this tactic with human troops. What happened was there was an attack by "Killbots", in which he just sent waves and waves of his own men against them until they filled their pre-set "kill limit" and stopped. Yes, he did just devoid the purpose of attempting to ''fight'' the Killbots in the first place.
** There's also the episode where he plans to send wave after wave of ships to clog the enemy's weapons with ship wreckage:
---> '''Zapp''': The alien mothership is in orbit here. * points to map* If we can hit that bullseye, the rest of the dominoes will fall like a house of cards. Checkmate!\\
'''Kif''': * sigh* \\
'''Zapp''': Now, like all great plans my strategy is so simple an idiot could've devised it. On my command all ships will line up and fly directly into the alien death cannons, clogging them with wreckage.
* This is how the title insects of ''{{Antz}}'' storm the termite colony. It partially backfires, as all the termites are killed, but the only ant to survive was the one who barely did any fighting at all.
** It plays with the trope, however, in that this is what is supposed to happen. As it turns out, all the soldiers involved were loyal to the Queen instead of the head Soldier ant, which was supposed to leave him free to carry out his plan.
* A G-rated version in ''ABugsLife'': [[BigBad Hopper]] makes it clear to his soldiers early on that they have to keep the ants' morale low, because the ants outnumber the grasshoppers a hundred to one. A rare case in which the good guys use this tactic.
* A Zerg Rush gives the Monarch's henchmen a rare and costly victory over Brock Samson in ''TheVentureBrothers''.
* The aptly named "Rush" in ''{{Wakfu}}''. The favorite pastime of the Shushus, those who invoke it are pitted against [[NumberOfTheBeast 666]] low level Shushus until they fall. When the protagonists face it, they also have the added challenge of fighting [[TheDragon Anathar]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Real Life - Humans]]

* It may be surprising, but the more soldiers there are in a unit, the less likely they are to be killed. There's a reason for the saying "strength in numbers:" Lanchester's Square Law means that marginally larger units can have dramatically improved survival rates in battle. The larger group ''inflicts'' more casualties, which makes it even larger comparatively, which means it causes even more casualties compared to the enemy, and so on. Larger units can also back each other up with cover fire and assist in taking down targets faster, possibly even denying the enemy a chance to retaliate. Seriously, when you're already facing someone with a machine gun, chances are you're not gonna notice the second guy aiming for you, or the third or fourth. And if you do notice, you're probably going to panic and shoot badly.
** On the other hand though, that would make them an attractive target for [[DeathFromAbove an artillery strike...]]
*** [[TooDumbToLive If you're kind enough to stand very close together.]]
** Sweeping with a machine gun is effective when against waves. It also works against rushes, if you don't run out of ammunition or shit your pants at the sight of soldiers charging towards you.
* There was once a military manoeuvre/unit known as the Forlorn Hope. These were the first men into a breached wall in a siege situation, so called because of their chances of surviving (also possibly a corruption of the Dutch for "Lost Company", Verloren Hoop). Anyone who ''did'' survive was automatically made an officer.
** Among the French. While a British officer who survived the Forlorn Hope was promoted, for the men it was just the glory of having taken part and making it through.
** A lieutenant became a captain and sergeants were promoted to ensigns. If anyone were to survive it'd be them...but it didn't happen very often...
** And you had to lead it. Just being in it didn't guarantee promotion, one had to lead it from the front, and that person also carried the flag of his nation, showing everyone who to kill. See the Sharpe series for more info, as Bernard Cornwell gets it right.]
* The reason why Russia managed to win several battles against armies more organized than their own.
** There's an Hungarian saying that goes along the lines of "...as many as the Russians". Hungary lost both the revolutionary war in 1849 and the anti-soviet rebellion in 1956 due to the enemy calling in Russian reinforcements, who employed this tactic.
* The Korean War had many examples of the Zerg Rush. North Korean and/or Chinese forces would sometimes attack in massive waves usually with inadequate armament. One example being a human wave of people carrying nothing but baskets of grenades. Another being human waves of men armed only with submachine guns, charging over clear terrain from far outside their weapons effective range, against Americans armed with long-range rifles. These moments were still tense for the Americans, but they also found that the closer the Koreans and Chinese got, the more effective their rifles got, as their bullets would start going through their attackers, and continue on to hit another person in the wave.
** Other Wiki says "US Army historian Roy Edgar Appleman observed that the term "human wave" was a metaphor used by journalists and military officials to convey the idea that the American soldiers were assaulted by overwhelming numbers of enemies, but it had no relation to the real Chinese infantry tactics of the same period." However, Western Allied as well as Chinese combat records idicate that several times (Chosin, Spring Offensive, Hamburger Hill), the Chinese and their North Korean allies ''were'' forced to have everyone charge headlong into the Allied lines. This wasn't their preferred way of attacking (just as absolutely nobody on Omaha Beach wanted to HAVE to charge headfirst into a sea of German MG rounds), as this usually happened when they were caught out in the open by a spotter or a flare while planning a more traditional attack, when they were ordered to capture an objective at any cost, or when they were pressed on to attack by something even worse hammering them where they were (namely heavy support aircraft and artillery). However, while the Chinese were far savvier than most give them credit for, it's pretty much indisputable that the Chinese leadership were far more accepting of this sort of tactic than they should have been given its dismal results.
* During the AmericanCivilWar, the Union generals who typically won more battles were unafraid to lose massive amounts of men. In particular, several politicians rallied for Lincoln to fire Ulysses S. Grant due to the massive casualty rates of his soldiers. However, since Grant was one of the few generals Lincoln could count on to strike hard at the Confederates, Lincoln kept him on.
** The Federals also had a higher population density then the Confederates. Thus Federal units could be recruited as needed, while Confederate units were mostly local military fraternities. The Federals also made extensive use of the Scorched Earth doctrine, using their quickly assembled units to smash Confederate economy and thus fufill the RTS definition of a ZergRush (though it's worth noting that the South did plenty of the scorching themselves, to prevent supplies from falling into the North's hands). However, while the Union did suffer (roughly) 60% more casualties, the KIA excess was only 10%. Considering that the Confederates usually enjoyed the defending position (in the later years of the war, at any rate), and that the Civil War constituted the early days of trench warfare, with the known results during World War I, the numbers don't exactly point to rash tactics and disregard of one's own troops. Politicians lobbying against Grant had more to do with politicking after they decided the war was as good as won, using casualties as a pretext, than concern for the troops or about the general conduct of the war.
** Bigger irony: while the casualties were terrible, the losses would almost certainly have been much if not for leaders trying hard * not* to get people killed or at least eager to avoid battle. [=McClellan=] essentially threw away the single most promising position of the war, with his troops in huge numbers and his guns available to pound Richmond and Johnson (later Lee). During Grant's campaign against Lee, he faced time and time again great advantages being ignored or lost by poor leadership at the Junior officer and even General officer level. The result was that the war was prolonged, eventually resulting in a shattered South and massive manpower losses - but also the complete destruction of slavery.
* In the fallout after Iran's 2009 presidential elections, this strategy was on the protesters' side. [[http://www.dailymotion.com/user/mightier-than/video/x9ndxl_battle-w-police-tehran-iran-june-20_news These]] riot police don't seem too confident. Any sizable riot going up against riot police is essentially this trope.
** Most attempts to control a population with force, even if it's just ordinary police patrols, have this problem. It is logistically impossible to have a police force that can take the rest of the population on if they are determined, or even come close. Most areas have more career criminals than police, never mind the law-abiding majority. The general rule is that it's not the rioters, but whether those with the heavy firepower will bring it out.
* European warfare in the 18th century, after the devastation of 16th and 17th century total wars, had become a sort of song and dance with opposing generals actually meeting each other to mutually minimize their casualties, and to avoid destroying the actual resource they were fighting over. The rule of warfare was to wear brightly colored uniforms so that everyone knew just who was on whose side, and to use thin files so one row at a time could fire, then get out of the way while they reloaded. This was not a very effective way to win (or kill), but was (relatively) predictable, respectable (in context), and (relatively) civilized; it was generally agreed to because highly disciplined, professional soldiers in this form of warfare were expensive to train, keep, and equip. This system ended with the FrenchRevolution; suddenly you have a French army five times its pre-Revolution size, much less trained as a whole, and directed by a government more encroaching on the general populace than the kings could ever manage and under attack by most of its neighbors (and then going on for the counter-attack), with generals who had none of these dainty sensibilities and qualms about where replacements for killed soldiers were going to come from or what the upper crust in snooty aristocratically-run nations would think....
* Highland Charges in the 17th and 18th century. Unlike what happenned in Braveheart, traditional Scottish tactics called for tight and disciplined blocks of infantry. When newer firearms made those tactics obsolete they switched to a screaming charge at the enemy line, which was extremely successful when their enemies would break ranks. When other armies started training their armies to defend against them, they got massacred.
** Other factors, such as improved firearm drill, the invention of the bayonet and canister shot, also made the strategy obsolete.
* The SpanishCivilWar degenerated into this quite a bit, most infamously at the Ebro river, which mixed WWI trench warfare with RCW/WWII Eastern Front political persecution. Results were tragic but predictable.
* Reportedly used by the passengers on United 93 to defeat the hijackers.
* As a general rule the Zerg Rush does not work against a well-fortified position and concentrated fire. See Zulu Wars; Pickett's Charge; WW I...
** Though in the case of the Zulu, the Rush (in a slightly more complex form) was in fact a fairly new and effective tactic by which the Zulu had come to dominate the region, the work of a military genius who was unfortunately dead by the time the Zulu met the British. Had someone like him been around at the time, the Zulu might've fared better, as shown on one occasion when they did manage to get hold of some artillery.
* In the [=FAT32=] filesystem, each file occupies a minimum of 16KB of disk space, even if its size in bytes is less than that. Thus, tons of tiny files can waste much more disk space than a few big files.
** Similarly, Google Chrome. Unlike other browsers, each tab is it's own thread (basically, each tab is run as it's own program). While this has benefits such as a small number of tabs running better and crash resistance (one tab crapping out won't cause others to), it also means that having a large number of tabs can end up taking up a disproportionately large amount of memory, even if all those tabs are simply blank pages.
*** Which is not good for this very wiki.
* The internet. Want to get quick results when someone stole your artwork? Got an conflict issue that you want to spread out quick and get support? Post somewhere prolific, with substantial proof. Now sit back and watch as the internet zerg rushes someone's mailbox/account...
** Particularly nasty hackers not only launch denial-of-service attacks on a site they want to shut down, they'll hijack your computer to do it for them.
* Non intentional use: Could you imagine this tactic with ''fangirls'' yelling and going {{Squee}} out of the blue? Well, this was actually the reason why TheBeatles stopped giving concerts in 1965...
* Hunter-gatherer societies tend to have taboos against having many children. Agrarian societies encourage large families. (Think about the ideal Chinese family, pre-Maoism: Three boys and three girls.) Obviously, the agrarian societies won.
** This has nothing to do with combat, though. Hunter-gatherer societies tended to have fewer kids because their food source was unreliable; ergo, you wanted a minimum of mouths to feed because you never knew how much food you were going to have. Agrarian societies, on the other hand, have a steady, reliable food source, so the focus is on having enough hands to cultivate the food.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Real Life - Nature]]
* Ants do this. It's called Marabunta. Everything is wasted. They are probably the [[UrExample inspiration from which]] human wave attacks are drawn.
** Ant-termite wars are the epitome of this trope, as endless numbers of ants charge matching waves of termites. Every bit as epic as human battles, and casualties are predictably enormous.
** One African species of ant actually invades the major orifices of its prey and bite at once, inside and out: [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOe5Lmyyxiw& witness this BBC documentary]] of a raiding party defeating [[GiantEnemyCrab a freshwater crab]] by ''[[DidYouJustEatCthulhu crawling inside its mouth]] [[NightmareFuel and eating it alive]]''.
** Driver ants (the siafu) use similar tactics for downing prey and are capable of blanketing a forest floor for miles around their nest. They even apply zerg rushes to physical obstacles, when they encounter an impassable barrier they use themselves as ramps.
* About a year ago, a massive ten square-mile pack of jellyfish swarmed a salmon farm, [[http://www.reuters.com/article/scienceNews/idUSL2241858320071122 killing its entire population of about one hundred thousand fish.]] The water was so thick with jellyfish that the farm's boats could hardly even move, preventing the personnel from saving any of their salmon.
* This [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R5QxUR-mZVM defense]] [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0EZtXNIT5QQ mechanism]] employed by Japanese honeybees against a particular type of hornet. (European and, presumably, African honeybees haven't evolved that particular instinct.) Interestingly enough, it's not your typical "sting it 'til it dies" tactic you would expect from a hive of bees, because said hornets [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDSf3Kshq1M can apparently take it]]. Instead, these bees pile on top of the hornet and roast it alive by vibrating, their own tolerance for heat ''just barely'' higher than that of the hornet's.
** Zerging is a [[GoshHornet beehive's]] [[DisproportionateRetribution response]] [[GoddamnBats to pretty much]] [[WeHaveReserves everything, really...]]
* Killer bees are [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7fUXw-5T2Q KNOWN]] for doing this.
* So are [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4frRbnl50HU piranhas]].
** Watch [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfd5p1JqUsw this]].. Now, remember that piranhas hunt in [[NightmareFuel packs.]]
* Another RealLife version are ants, which kill prey or conquer rival ant nests or termite nests by swarming them with as many ant soldiers as possible, as the French documentary ''La Citadelle Assiégée'' illustrates.
[[/folder]]

As an EvilOverlord, it is important to choose your EvilMinions so that this does not apply to ''your'' troops, since it [[ConservationOfNinjutsu usually doesn't work against heroes]].

The name of this trope originated in the popular real-time strategy game ''{{StarCraft}}''.

RealLife versions are frequently known as [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_wave_attack human wave attacks]].

Defeating a strong opponent with a very large number of disposable combatants.

* Frequently known as [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_wave_attack human wave attacks]].

* Frequently known as [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_wave_attack human wave attacks]]

[[quoteright: [[StarCraft 250:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/zergrush-kekeke.jpg]]]]

[[quoteright:250:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/zergrush-kekeke.jpg]]

As an EvilOverlord, it is important to choose your EvilMinions so that this does not apply to ''your'' troops, since it usually doesn't work against {{heroes}}.

See also BeeBeeGun. Often a component of HollywoodTactics. Contrast the EliteArmy.

RealLife versions are frequently known as human wave attacks.

A strategy whereupon, instead of defeating your opponent with a small number of strong combatants, you attempt to overwhelm your opponent with a very large number of disposable combatants. Usually used by the evil side, since [[WeHaveReserves their definition of "disposable" will stretch a lot farther]]. Having a HiveMind helps a lot with smoothing out the PR difficulties of selling this tactic to your troops. Also, it generally helps if you [[VideogameCrueltyPotential get a kick out of it]], not so much if you [[VideogameCaringPotential care for]] the [[RedShirtArmy disposable little guys.]]

Similar on the tactical/strategic level to {{Death of a Thousand Cuts}}. See Also WeHaveReserves. It may serve as a justification for the Hero cutting down wave upon wave of {{Mooks}}. Beware {{Conservation of Ninjutsu}}. Fighting against one of these may lead to TheWarSequence. A way of achieving MoreDakka if specialised rapid-fire weaponry is unavailable or impractical. This is the favourite tactic of TheMinionMaster.

As an EvilOverlord, it is important to choose your EvilMinions so that this does not apply to your troops, since it usually doesn't work against {{heroes}}. In very few cases, DeathOfAThousandCuts has worked. However, it was never the true Hero who died because of it. For the solution to this see FearMySquad. Generally rat or insect armies using his principle tend to be infinitly more effective at weeding out the minor characters than an army of well armed goblins, probably because they can be naturally this destructive in real life.

The name of this trope originated in the popular real-time strategy game ''{{StarCraft}}''. However, note that "Zerg rush" in the context of strategy games has a somewhat different meaning; it refers to an attempt to produce a small handful of attacking units faster than the opponent would expect (the "rush" part of it), in hopes of crippling the opponent's economy. In early versions of ''{{StarCraft}}'', the Zerg could actually build attacking units and get them into an opponent's base before an opponent could have ''possibly'' built units to defend, hence the name.

RealLife versions are frequently known as [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_wave_attack human wave attacks]]. Another RealLife version are ants, which kill prey or conquer rival ant nests or termite nests by swarming them with as many ant soldiers as possible, as the French documentary ''La Citadelle Assiégée'' illustrates.