'''Basic Trope''': Defeating the commander results in the army's defeat.
* '''Straight''': TheHero kills the BigBad, and when the army discovers this they surrender.
* '''Exaggerated''':
** The hero blows up the building containing all high command, and the soldiers in the army drop their weapons on the spot.
** The evil army has the rebel base, outnumbering them ten to one, yet once the hero sneaks in and kills the Big Bad, the entire army lays down and surrenders despite having every advantage.
* '''Downplayed''':
** The hero kills the Big Bad, which results in someone else taking over. However, the new leader does not have as much charisma, and most of his soldiers don't follow him.
** The death of the Big Bad is a serious blow to the organization, but they still have plenty of fight left in them and the hero still has his work cut out for him.
* '''Justified''':
** The army was only fighting out of fear of the commander, not out of loyalty, and were willing to avoid the war in the first place.
** The soldiers were loyal to the ''commander'', but not to the ''cause''; once their beloved leader is dead, they consider their options and decide they no longer wish to fight the war.
** The commander had them under mind control, which stopped the moment the commander was killed.
** Or they were mercenaries hired by the commander. When their incentive was gone, they had no reason to fight on.
** Alternatively, the army was made of remote controlled robots/zombies/constructs which without orders go back to waiting mode.
** YouKillItYouBoughtIt.
** Once the commander is killed no one is there to give orders. The army keeps following the last order indefinitely while its enemy cuts it to pieces.
** The commander is so strong that when he's killed, his mooks realize that they have no chance and give up.
** The commander is the King, and the war was over succession. Once the King is dead, the reason for the war no longer exists.
** The commander is AFatherToHisMen; killing him represents a ''severe'' blow to morale.
* '''Inverted''':
** Destroying the army causes the commander to surrender.
** Alternatively, destroying the commander causes his or her army to [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge start fighting with implacable ferocity for the sake of avenging the martyr]].
** The Big Bad kills off the hero, causing all of the hero's allies to immediately stop fighting and surrender.
* '''Subverted''':
** The commander is killed, but the army continues fighting when they find out.
** Turns out the army in question has a chain of command, and killing the commander only makes the 2IC the new 1IC.
* '''Double Subverted''': The commander is killed, yet the army continues fighting when they find out. Later, however, the implications dawn on them and they surrender.
* '''Parodied''': Every time the commander comes close to dying, or even suffers a paper cut, all the soldiers in the army blatantly get ready to drop their weapons. In extreme cases, they'll do this even when they couldn't possibly see or know what the commander's doing, even if he's just okay.
* '''Zig-Zagged''': The hero kills the commander, which results in the army's surrender. But then the soldiers become suspicious of the other side and continue attacking anyway. They set up a new commander, who is killed, but continue fighting as if nothing had changed. Then their third commander is killed, and suddenly they start fighting harder before surrendering.
* '''Averted''':
** The army does not stop fighting after the commander is killed.
** The commander is not killed.
** The army does not have a commander.
* '''Enforced''': ExecutiveMeddling, and/or the authors: "We want a quick resolution to the plot, but which also stops the enemy army."
* '''Lampshaded''': A GenreSavvy character: "Now, someone's going to try and kill the commander, right?" or "That's weird. One guy gets killed and suddenly everybody stops fighting?"
* '''Invoked''':
** A GenreSavvy character puts forward the idea to his allies, and they plan an operation to put it into action.
** The NobleDemon BigBad orders his army to surrender should he fall in battle.
** [[VideoGame/FireEmblemGaiden The commander orders his men to lay down their weapons if he falls in battle.]]
* '''Exploited''': A GenreSavvy character realises this and decides to try and profit from it. An example: TheStarscream plots to seize power once the commander is dead, perhaps by using a third army to defeat the first two.
* '''Defied''':
** A GenreSavvy character protects the commander from being killed.
** Alternatively, the character tries to keep the information hidden from the army, or persuades them to continue battling when they do find out.
** The commander instills loyalty to the cause in his soldiers, instead of mere fear to himself, so that they will continue fighting even if he is killed.
* '''Discussed''':
** The GenreSavvy commander warns his army or his allies that the enemy may try this.
** Alternatively, the commander debates with his lieutenant over whether to try this on the enemy or not.
* '''Conversed''': A fan of war films tells her friends about this strategy and how successful (or unsuccessful) it is.
* '''Deconstructed''':
** Though the army surrenders, it wasn't an unanimous agreement and they become immediately divisive over whether to continue the battle or not.
** The soldiers in the army are called out on being cowards enough to follow the commander in the first place. Or The hero is plagued by the realisation that an army of people could be controlled so easily by one person.
** The underlying issue that caused the war resurfaces and threatens to start another one.
** The first subversion (as well as the second inversion) also counts as this. Turns out that killing the man they respected so much had made them even angrier.
* '''Reconstructed''':
** The hero begins diplomatic negotiations to resolve the issue peacefully and more directly.
** The hero realizes that he has now learned what motivates people to do bad things for one person and resolves never to let it happen again.
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Back to DecapitatedArmy.
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%% Optional items, added after Conversed, at your discretion:
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%%* '''Implied''': ???
%%* '''Plotted A Good Waste''': ???
%%* '''Played For Laughs''': ???
%%* '''Played For Drama''': ???