pincers movement

American  

Or pincer movement

noun

1. a military maneuver in which both flanks of an enemy force are attacked with the aim of attaining complete encirclement.

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Etymology

Origin of pincers movement

First recorded in 1935–40

Example Sentences

Troops advanced in a pincers movement, attacking from the southwest and northeast, reaching at times the two roads.

From New York Times

Pyongyang sees itself caught in a “two-pronged pincers movement,” he said.

From Washington Post

On May 12, 1943, the Americans and the British staged a gigantic pincers movement to win the battle for Tunisia -- the essential staging point for invading Sicily and Italy.

From Time Magazine Archive

The pincers movement converging on Kharkov threat ens the German-occupied Donets basin, most valuable prize of the Nazis in Russia.

From Time Magazine Archive

A huge pincers movement threatened to put the entire Middle East in Axis hands.

From Time Magazine Archive