View source for All Your Base Are Belong to Us

{{trope}}
{{quote|'''Player 1:''' Dude, where are you?
'''Player 2:''' [[Memetic Mutation|im in ur base, killing ur d00dz]]
|Overheard during a game of ''[[StarCraft]]''}}

Ah, the [[Heroes-R-Us]] HQ. For some heroes, it's the place they eat, sleep, and generally live their lives; for others, it's a great place to kick back, relax, and have wacky hijinks with their friends while on downtime; and for everyone, it's the perfect place to run to after a failed mission, or at least an especially difficult one. After all, you gotta have a place for your heroes' R&R, and what better place than your very safe and secure [[Home Base]], right?

Cue explosions, warning klaxons, and many "[[This Is Not a Drill]]" announcements. [[Somebody Set Up Us the Bomb]] indeed.

For shows featuring a [[Superhero]] team, a military group, a secret service, or anything else that requires a [[Mission Control]] to operate, an attack on their headquarters is a great way to increase drama and tension. When an ordinary mission is botched, the heroes still have some place to return, lick their wounds, and plan their next encounter; but if they lose their homebase? Big morale crusher right there. Not only have they lost a safe haven and one of their biggest resources, but for many heroes, their [[Doomed Hometown|very home as well.]]

And if it gets destroyed while the heroes are out (or worse, despite their best efforts), have fun [[Watching Troy Burn]].

This situation is when [[The Mole]] frequently surfaces. You can also expect the story's [[Supporting Characters]] to have [[A Day in the Limelight|their own]] ([[Moment of Awesome|freaking AWESOME]]) moments, typically tied into their position - the agency's weapons guy will break out the big gun, the university physics professor will cobble together a death ray while the math teacher calculates firing solutions, the magical gardener will animate the topiary animals, etc.

Naturally, this is a great excuse to [[Trash the Set]]. If the attack succeeds and the base falls, it could create a [[Shocking Defeat Legacy]]. Compare with [[Die Hard on an X]], where at least one character is left to fight back after the initial attack, win or lose. See also [[The Siege]], [[Protect This House]]. When the heroes pull this on the villain, it's [[Storming the Castle]]. If the destruction is upgraded to the entire city or country, this may be a [[Throwaway Country]].

Often occurs at the beginning of videogames where you must fight [[Back From the Brink]].

If you are looking for a trope related to the ''phrase'' "All Your Base Are Belong To Us", see [[Zero Wing]]. Or try [[Good Bad Translation]], [[Blind Idiot Translation]], [[Memetic Mutation/Video Games|Video Game Memes]], or [[Intentional Engrish for Funny]].

{{examples}}
== Anime and Manga ==
* Happens rather often in the ''[[Mazinger Z|Mazinger]]'' saga, since several of the plans by the [[Big Bad]] involve attacking the Photoatomic Institute. The Photoatomic Research Institute from ''[[Mazinger Z]]'', the Fortress of Science of ''[[Great Mazinger]]'' and the Space Science Lab from ''[[UFO Robo Grendizer]]'' are preffered attack targets and often they get severely damaged, specially the first one. The worst damage the Institute suffered happened in the episode 34 from ''[[Mazinger Z]]'', when [[Robeast|Genocyder F9]] turned the place into smoking ruins. Great Mazinger's HQ was not destroyed in the anime, but in one of the [[Alternate Continuity|manga versions]] it was completely obliterated. The heroes were driven out of it and were forced to run away and lie low for a while.
** ''[[Mazinkaiser]]'' also features at least ''four'' attacks on the Institute, {{spoiler|which is finally destroyed in the General of Darkness movie.}}
* Occurs in ''[[Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha]]'''s third season during the two-parter "That Day, Riot Force Six". It ended with their base in ruins and [[Mission Control]] having to move somewhere else for the final battle.
* Happens in ''[[Full Metal Panic!]]!'''s first season, during the last episodes when the villain takes full conrol of the Tuatha de Danaan.
** In the yet unadapted novel ''Tsuzuku On My Own''  {{spoiler|most (presumable, all) Mythril bases get thoroughly trashed by Amalgam forces with their biggest and meanest [[Humongous Mecha|armslaves]]. Lots of people were killed and ''Danaan'' crew had to evacuate the Merida base in a hurry, without completing repairs and resupply of their sub.}} With Sosuke off-site, once again trying to save Kaname from kidnapping attempts and, now, [[Noble Demon|Leo's]] advances. {{spoiler|He fails.}} Unsurprisingly, the book ends on the biggest [[Cliff Hanger]] in the series.
* The Hanagumi lose their theater (which contains their secret base) in this manner near the end of the 26-episode ''[[Sakura Taisen]]'' anime.
* In ''[[Bubblegum Crisis]]: Tokyo 2040'', the Knight Sabers are driven out of their headquarters when  {{spoiler|[[Big Bad]] Galatea makes the Boomers begin the [[Robot War]]}}.
* Happens in ''[[Mobile Suit Gundam Wing Endless Waltz]]'', in which the villains take over the Presidential Palace / [[Elaborate Underground Base]]. In a mild subversion, the protagonist sends visual transmission to the villains, asking if the base's amour works, right before {{spoiler|firing his [[BFG]] to open the base}}.
** This also happens ''twice'' in the original ''[[Mobile Suit Gundam]]'': With [[Worthy Opponent|Ranba Ral]]'s infantry raid on the [[Cool Ship|White Base]], and later with the Zeon attack on [[The Federation]]'s [[Elaborate Underground Base]].
** Also happens during the second season of ''[[Mobile Suit Gundam 00]]''. As Celestial Being is getting resupplied at an asteroid base, [[Manchurian Agent]]  {{spoiler|Anew Returner}} exposes the base's location to the A-LAWS, resulting in the entire place getting blown up.
* Happens in ''[[Super Robot Wars]] [[Original Generation]]'' [[OVA]] (later gets carried over to OG Gaiden). An exhibition of new mecha series...nothing could go wrong with that. Except that those new mecha series [[A.I. Is a Crapshoot|got their AIs rigged on their own]] and goes berserk without warning. And the result was lots of casualties, the heroes too late to prevent that, and five of the main characters captured. {{spoiler|OG Gaiden adds up with the sudden kidnapping of one civilian in the middle of chaos.}} Getting their base attacked happens at least once per game throughout the entire series, if for no other reason than the fact that it happens so darn much in other anime series' (such as the ones included in those games).
* A late episode of ''[[Yes! Pretty Cure 5]]'' featured NutsHouse, the store that serves as Pretty Cure's headquarters (and Coco, Nuts, and Milk's home), being turned into a [[Monster of the Week|Kowainaa]].
* Late in ''[[Tokyo Mew Mew]]'', Quiche [[I Have You Now, My Pretty|kidnaps Ichigo]] and torments her with a vision of his fellow [[Quirky Miniboss Squad]] members attacking her friends at Cafe Mew Mew. After Ao no Kishi bails her out and they run back to base, it turns out to be true.
** This is just begging to be [[I Read That As|misread.]] Hilariously.
* Happens in ''[[Mai-Otome]]'', when Garderobe Academy and Mashiro's brand new castle are hijacked by Schwarz during the Otome graduation/promotion ceremony. The natives of Windbloom were, for lack of a better term, [[Torches and Pitchforks|really freakin' pissed]] that her (in)action led to the downfall of their kingdom.
* Happens twice in ''[[Neon Genesis Evangelion]]'': The attack of Zeruel, who makes it to [[The War Room|Central Dogma]] and gets close enough to stare the bridge crew in the face before Shinji's [[Foe-Tossing Charge]]; and, of course, the assault of the JSSDF from ''End of Evangelion''.
** And let's not forget the time Iruel pretty much took over Nerv's computer system and set the base to self-destruct before Ritsuko stops it with the single, free, uninfected MAGI system.
* [[Monster of the Week|EI-15]] in ''[[GaoGaiGar]]'' was produced from a programmer who didn't get picked to operate the heroes' base. As a Zonder, he infected the base computer itself, taking over all the systems. It took a double [[Big Damn Heroes]] moment by Volfogg infiltrating from outside while Entouji, the actual GGG programmer, trying to retake the system from the computer end. On its way out, the Zonder assimilated several spare [[Mirror Match|GaoGaiGar]] parts, including some that let it mimic and counter GaoGaiGar's moves. Whoops.
** And then there's the time [[Quirky Miniboss Squad|seven of the Primevals]] infiltrated the GGG's Orbit Base through a 0.02mm hole in their force field...
* ''[[Voltron]]'': The Castle of Lions comes under attack multiple times in the course of the several series.
* Happens in ''[[Hellsing]]'' when the Valentine brothers, [[Psycho for Hire|Jan]] and [[Bishounen|Luke]], attack Hellsing HQ with their squad of ghouls. They kill most of the [[Mooks]], but Alucard and Walter dispatch them quite easily. It is then found out that they were members of an army of [[Those Wacky Nazis|Nazi]] vampires who are planning to start World War 3 [[War for Fun and Profit|for fun]]. {{spoiler|And further down the line, it's revealed that Walter was the one who tipped them off.}}
** Happens again with Zorin leading an attack on HQ when the Nazis arrive in London. This attack was far more successful, leaving the headquarters in ruins and bringing the Hellsing organization down to three members before being defeated.
* Happens to the ''Silvana'' in ''[[Last Exile]]'' for a while.
* In ''[[Science Ninja Team Gatchaman|Gatchaman]]'', Galactor finally manages to destroy the heroes' base in episodes {{spoiler|91 and 92}}. The American ''Battle of the Planets'' never reached these episodes.
** Yes, it did. The two-part "Invasion of Space Center" was a revamp of those episodes. However, since the show had added 7-Zark-7, they had to explain why the robot wasn't destroyed or even threatened by separating Center Neptune into two parts: Space Center and Research Center.
* In ''[[Ghost in the Shell]]: [[Stand Alone Complex]]'', corrupt government officials order the attack on Section 9 headquarters by using Umibozu commandos. Being warned of the attack in advance, {{spoiler|the Major prepares for a fake defense and blows up most of the facilities to hide their escape. It [[It Got Worse|didn't help much]], though.}}
* The original ''[[Getter Robo]]'' series had the lab destroyed by the Dinosaur Empire just before the final episode.
* Subverted in [[Naruto]] on at least ''three'' different occasions:
** The Orochimaru/Sunagakure attack on Konohagakure during the Chunin Exams arc. After fending off these enemies, the residents of Konohagakure simply rebuild.
** The Team 7 attack on Orochimaru's base during the Sasuke/Sai arc. Orochimaru simply relocates to a different base.
** {{spoiler|Pain's attack on Konohagakure in which he [[Screw the Rules, I Have a Nuke|uses his jutsu to wipe the village off the face of the planet]]. Due to a [[Deus Ex Machina]], no one (except Tsunade) is seriously injured and...they simply rebuild ''again''.}}
* ''[[Argento Soma]]''
* In Part 3 of the five-part finale of the [[Kirby: Right Back at Ya!|Kirby anime]], Dreamland, Kirby's home country, gets attacked by fleets of Destrayer ships sent by Emperor Nightmare and his company, Holy Nightmare Co./Nightmare Enterprises.
* Both ''[[Gravion]]'' and ''[[Goddannar]]'' had episodes where a piece of a destroyed [[Robeast]] hitched a ride on the heroes' mecha and started to grow and/or multiply inside their base.


== Comic Books ==
* Interesting subversion of this in [[Kurt Busiek]]'s ''[[Astro City]]'', during the "Tarnished Angel" story arc. The protagonist, a minor-league supervillain trying to go straight, has to stage an attack on the Honor Guard's floating home base. (Honor Guard is the AC version of the JLA). He's not trying to blow it up, though—he just wants to get the Honor Guard's attention and this is the only way he can think of to do it. So he blows his way in and then just stands there while the heroes come charging up to defend their home base. (Naturally they are not pleased with his method of getting their attention and they fail to listen to his story or help him the way he'd hoped.)
* The Xavier Institute of the ''[[X-Men (Comic Book)|X-Men]]'' has been attacked—and destroyed—often enough that it's the subject of occasional Lampshade Hanging and in-jokes within the comics.
** So often in fact that it's been outright abandoned at least twice. This just leads to their San Francisco island/Outback village/giant downtown spaceship/mystic lighthouse getting trashed instead.
* Played with at the end of ''[[Batman: Dark Victory]]'' when the villains manage to invade the Batcave. However, the villains find it entirely by accident (they're simply trying to escape the chaos in the sewers) and are completely unable to capitalize on their find before Batman and a debuting Robin take them down. Most of the villains probably aren't even aware where they actually are.
** Used for ironic purposes in ''[[Batman: No Man's Land|Batman: Cataclysm]]. Pretty much every Waynetech building survived the titular giant earthquake because Bruce Wayne made sure all his building were quake-proofed. Unfortunately, the Batcave and Wayne Manor were not.
** Played straight in ''[[Grant Morrisons Batman|Batman: RIP]].''
* In addition to the [[X-Men (Comic Book)|X-Men]] mansion, the HQ of the ''[[Fantastic Four]]'' gets blown up real good on a pretty regular basis (and invaded from the Negative Zone and other fun stuff). It's a downside of not having a secret identity and having your base be a well-known landmark and tourist destination. They usually rebuild it quickly with improvements, but sometimes there are lasting effects: during John Byrne's run on the book, he had Annihilus attack and trash the place while Alicia and Franklin were at home. Franklin's [[New Powers as the Plot Demands]] failed to activate and both of them wound up seriously hurt in the hospital for weeks. The FF were very much not happy.
** Recently,{{when}} Reed has gotten [[Genre Savvy]] about this and designed the Baxter Building to be able to rebuilt itself after an attack.
** This gets taken even further in ''[[Twisted ToyFare Theatre]],'' in which [[Large Ham|Dr. Doom]]'s only major accomplishment is repeatedly [[Overused Running Gag|shooting the Baxter Building into space.]]
*** He has actually tried that in his second appearance in comics. A Doom imposter later succeeded.
* [[Captain America (comics)|Captain America]] wasn't pleased either in the aftermath of the ''[[The Avengers (Comic Book)|Avengers]]'' storyline "Under Siege", where supervillain Baron Zemo and the [[Legion of Doom|Masters of Evil]] succeed in taking over the team's headquarters.
** Considering the fact that the Masters not only injured fellow Avenger Hercules, as well as faithful butler Jarvis, but Zemo tried (in vain) to break Cap's spirit by destroying his personal effects, which included the ''only'' photo of his deceased mother Sarah, as well as his original triangular-shaped shield, his reaction is probably justified.
** As a result of this attack, the Avengers ended up moving their base to an artificial island named, naturally, Avengers Island. The fact it's mentioned on this page can probably tell you what happened to it.
** The [[New Avengers]] have a poor track record when it comes to headquarters. Justified to an extent during ''[[Civil War (Comic Book)|Civil War]]'' and ''[[Dark Reign]]'', when they were hiding from Stark's Mighty Avengers and [[Norman Osborn]]'s [[Dark Avengers]]. Avengers Mansion has been a frequent victim.
* [[Doctor Strange]]'s Sanctum Sanctorum is similarly imperiled on a regular basis (once while it was serving as the headquarters of the New Avengers). He always comes back to it.
* The Second Titans Tower, home base of the [[Teen Titans (Comic Book)|Teen Titans]], was designed to address this problem with the whole above ground building being a hologram to attract enemies intending mayhem.
* A defining moment in the original ''[[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Mirage]]'' comic book: after Baxter Stockman unleashes his Mouser robots, they destroy the turtles' lair, forcing the turtles to relocate to April's apartment. Afterwards, the Foot attack the apartment, setting it on fire and forcing the turtles to relocate to Casey's grandmother's farmhouse in Massachusetts. Said story was eventually adapted in the first movie and second cartoon, with minor changes: in the movie, the Foot are responsible for both attacks, and in the cartoon, the turtles are present for the initial attack (only Splinter is present in the original).
* Occurs twice in ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog (comics)|Sonic the Hedgehog]]'', the first when Robotnik learns the location of Knothole and attacks it in the EndGame arc, and the second when Dr. Eggman decides to say "screw it" to his stalemate with the Kingdom of Acorn and rains [[Death From Above]] with his Egg Fleet burning it to cinders.
** Tends to happen a lot with Flynn's run. The [[Evil Twin]]s of "Moebus" managed to take Freedom HQ (which is all that's left of Knothole from said Death from Above) but this time, they could crash at New Mobotropolis (they got it back). However, with the Iron Dominion figuring out that they could control the helpful AI there, let's just say they press their advantage and take over the city. This time, only a few manage to get out but several of the heroes manage to fight within the city.
** Then Eggman launches an attack with the Death Egg Mrk. II, which is temporarily interrupted by the [[Cosmic Retcon]] of the ''Genesis'' arc, and resumes once the retcon is undone. This includes releasing the [[Attack of the 50-Foot Whatever|Titan Metal Sonic]] to wreck havoc. Oh, and this all coincides with a [[Xanatos Gambit]] by Ixis Naugus to usurp control of the city.  {{spoiler|The former fails; the latter doesn't.}}
*** And just when they're recovering from ''this'', the [[Feathered Fiend|Battle Bird Armada]] attacks the city and  {{spoiler|destroys the royal palace}}.
* This has happened to the [[Justice League]] satellite a number of times. At one point, the writers had to promise to not destroy it anymore unless they rebuilt it first.


==  Fan Works ==
* [[Dungeon Keeper Ami|Alphel breifly takes over Mercury's dungeon]] in a joint strike with Keepers Arachne and Nero, while Nero creates a distraction forcing all of Mercury's minions to fight on a battle field of his choice. The battle is vicious and protracted; but in the end all three are defeated for an epic [[Crowning Moment of Awesome]].
* ''[[My Little Avengers]]'': [[Big Bad|Loki]] briefly sets up shop in the Avengers Mansion at the climax of his [[Gambit Roulette]] (and the beginning of the story's [[Darkest Hour]]), before he and the [[The Psycho Rangers|Dark Avengers]] move on to occupy the royal palace.
* ''[[Jewel of Darkness]]'': Much like the canon ''[[Teen Titans (animation)|Teen Titans]]'' universe, Titans Tower is assaulted several times over the course of the story:
** First, like in canon, the HIVE trio attacks the tower after [[Disney Death|supposedly]] killing Robin and temporarily take it from the Titans.
** Later, during a three-pronged attack on the city, Midnight sends a couple dozen [[Mecha-Mooks]] to assault the tower, though they're repelled by Jinx.
** Though we don't see it, Mad Mod somehow manages to infiltrate the tower and kidnap the Titans for his "school".
* ''[[Queen of All Oni]]'': During [[Operation Blank|Operation: Steel Lightning]], Jade infiltrates Section 13 via  {{spoiler|possessed Captain Black's shadow}} before releasing the full force of the sumo tribe as a distraction, so she can steal the other masks from the Vault. It's only through Agent Wisker's [[Spanner in the Works|unforeseen interference]] that she's stopped.
** Drago later breaks into Section 13 (apparently through [[Air Vent Passageway|the air vents]], which he calls a cliche) in an attempt to steal the Talismans. Fortunately, [[Future Badass|Karasu]] also breaks in, and keeps him distracted long enough for the heroes to show up and scare him off.
* ''[[Ponies Make War]]'' has several examples:
** [[Blood Knight|Nihilus]] attacking Ponyville in her initial assault on the Mane Six.
**  {{spoiler|The [[Mooks|Puppets]] and [[Les Collaborateurs|Royal Army]] attacking the [[La Résistance|Loyalist]] base in the Canterlot undercity.}}
** [[Evil Matriarch|Terra]] attacking Ponyville ''again'' as a means of [[Revenge by Proxy|punishing]] the Loyalists for  {{spoiler|[[Storming the Castle|retaking Canterlot]]}}.


== Film ==
* ''[[Star Wars]]'': The famous battle of [[Single Biome Planet|Hoth]] in ''[[The Empire Strikes Back]]'', one of the last permanent bases that the Rebel Alliance had before the Empire discovered it, necessitating a complete evacuation.
** The [[Face Heel Turn|newly-minted]] Darth Vader pulled this on the Jedi Temple in a very [[Tear Jerker|heart-rending]] scene in ''[[Revenge of the Sith]]''.
** The Trade Federation briefly takes over Amadala's court in ''[[The Phantom Menace]]'' as well.
* In ''[[Serenity]]'', Mal discovers that the Operative has killed ''everyone'' who ever sheltered his crew in the past, including  {{spoiler|Shepherd Book}}.
{{quote|[[Kill'Em All|"If your quarry goes to ground, leave no ground to go to."]]}}
* Variation: In the live-action ''[[Ben 10]]'' movie, the scene in which their mobile home is blown up by Eon.
* Typically the enemy mooks burst into the heroes base and attack the [[Red Shirt]]s, slaughter ensues, but all (or most) of the named characters escape to fight another day thanks to the heroic sacrifice of countless Red Shirts. Seen in ''[[Total Recall]]'', ''[[They Live!]]'', and ''Logan's Run''.
* The final showdown of [[John Woo]]'s ''[[The Killer]]'' has the bad guys [[The Siege|launching an assault]] upon the church that served as the title character's primary place of refuge and peace. And just to drive home the point that the church is no longer a sanctuary for him or his love interest, at one point during the shootout, one of the bad guys uses a shotgun to [[What Do You Mean Its Not Symbolic|blow the church's centerpiece, the statue of Mary, to smithereens]].
* [[Blade (film)|Blade]] had this...and killed (indirectly) a main character no less!
** The feat was zig-zagged in ''[[Blade (film)|Blade II]]'': the invading vamps wanted to recruit Blade's help. But played straight in ''[[Blade (film)|Blade: Trinity]]'', also with the death of a supporting character... twice! The ''Blade'' series really likes this trope.
* [[Pirates of the Caribbean]]: Captain Jack Sparrow spends half his time getting back or stopping people from stealing his beloved ship, the ''Black Pearl''.
* In the [[X2: X-Men United|second X-Men film]], General Stryker's forces take over the X-Men mansion. Although this moment of All Your Base Are Belong to Us is also, to some, the [[Crowning Moment of Awesome]] for the whole film.
** In ''[[X-Men: First Class]]'', the group move into the mansion in the first place when their previous HQ, a CIA compound, is attacked and destroyed by the Hellfire Club.
* The opening of the 1995 Ian McKellen version of ''Richard III'' begins with a commando attack on the King's headquarters led by Richard of Gloucester, prefaced by an anachronistic Soviet tank crashing through the wall.
* Happens early on in ''[[Sky Captain and The World of Tomorrow]]''
* ''[[Dune]]'', including a Mole.
* ''[[Batman Forever]]'' - Two-Face and the Riddler break into Wayne Manor. Two-Face and his thugs deal with Bruce and his girl-of-the-movie while Riddler starts lobbing bombs around the Batcave.
** And ''[[Batman Begins]]''. Ra's al Ghul and his men walk right into the manor as guests of one of Bruce's social events. When he realizes who they are, he's quick to get everyone else out. Good thing, too, as they burn the house down immediately after.
** In ''[[The Dark Knight]]'', the Joker and his henchmen invade Bruce Wayne's penthouse. The trailer for ''[[The Dark Knight Rises]]'' also sees Bane and his men ransacking Wayne Manor so apparently Christopher Nolan loves doing this to Batman.
* In the film ''Battle of Britain'', based on actual events, the British air forces have a HQ which controls all fighter squadrons that gets hit and almost destroyed.
* ''[[The Last Starfighter]]'' the Starfighter base is destroyed by an attack killing all the Starfighters except Alex, who had returned to Earth
* In ''[[Get Smart (film)|Get Smart]]'' CONTROL headquarters is attacked by KAOS.
* ''[[G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra]]'', Zartan, the Baroness, and Stormshadow lead a Cobra attack on the Joes headquarters, the "Pitt" located underneath the Sahara desert.
* ''[[Men in Black (film)|MIB2]]'', Serlina and MIB HQ.
* Happens in ''[[Independence Day]]'', the aliens take out every major military base in the second day of their invasion, including NATO's headquarters, the president then assumes command and control in Area51, which is a safe haven because of its top secret nature.


== Literature ==
* All of House Atreides base were belong to House Harkonnen in Frank Herbert's sci-fi novel ''[[Dune]]'', with the Harkonnens using [[The Mole]] and other treachery to open a gap in the base's defense and attack under cover of night, with imperial troops on loan.
* This happens in ''[[A Song of Ice and Fire]]'' when {{spoiler|Theon takes Winterfell}}.
* The last half of ''[[Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (novel)|Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows]]'' is {{spoiler|Voldemort's siege of Hogwarts}}.
** Also happened at the end of ''[[Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (novel)|Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince]]'', but not quite as severe.
** Played straight in-universe when [[Fan Nickname|Voldy]] {{spoiler|takes over the Ministry.}}
* The siege of Troy, told from the perspective of the Trojans in the Aeneid, is an example of this trope, while it is an example of [[Storming the Castle]], as told from the Greek perspective in the Illiad.
* ''[[The Chronicles of Prydain]]'', book five. {{spoiler|Caer Dathyl is destroyed by invincible elite undead, so the heroes attack the enemy while the undead are away.}}
* In the [[Dale Brown]] novel ''Flight of the Old Dog'', the titular [[Airstrike Impossible]] is started prematurely when  {{spoiler|supposedly Soviet attackers strike at Dreamland.}}
** ''Shadow Command'' has this happen, with the attackers being  {{spoiler|other Americans duped by the [[Unwitting Pawn]] POTUS.}}
* The Yuuzhan Vong captured Coruscant in ''[[New Jedi Order|Star by Star]]''.
* During the [[Trauma Conga Line]] that was ''[[The Dresden Files]]'' book ''Changes'',  {{spoiler|this happens ''twice''. First his office building is revealed to have been bought by Red Court vampires years ago, who have inserted explosives into the walls ([[Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking|and put up the rent]]) and proceed to blow it up. Then they firebomb his home. Also, he's seriously injured rescuing his neighbors.}}
* Happens twice in the ''[[Percy Jackson & the Olympians]]''. Firstly, in ''Battle of the Labyrinth'', Kronus' army  {{spoiler|invades Camp Half-Blood via the Labyrinth, causing the titular battle}}. Secondly, in ''The Last Olympian'',  {{spoiler|the final battle with Kronos takes place in the throne room of Olympus itself}}.
* The [[Halo]] novels use the code "blood arrow" to indicate that all friendly positions on a planet have been overrun.


== Live Action TV ==
* The ''[[Power Rangers]]'' have this as a once a season tradition.
** All three seasons of ''[[Mighty Morphin Power Rangers]]'' has it. The [[Sixth Ranger|Green Ranger]] attacks and pillages the [[Home Base|Command Center]] in the first two seasons, while [[Those Two Bad Guys|Rito and Goldar]] plant a bomb that destroys it in the third.
** At the end of ''[[Power Rangers Turbo]]'', Divatox and her Piranhatrons launched an all-out assault upon the Power Chamber and ended up destroying it, but got recalled by Dark Specter, who had captured Zordon, before she could take over the planet, prompting the Rangers to pursue her into space and kick off ''[[Power Rangers in Space]]''.
** After that, "villains attacking the base" became a staple of the [[Grand Finale]]. ''Lightspeed Rescue'', ''Time Force'', ''Ninja Storm'', and ''Dino Thunder'' all include scenes of the Rangers' base (and, in some cases, home) being spectacularly destroyed. ''Lost Galaxy'' played with the format by having the heroes purposefully self destruct their spaceship base to deter their enemies.
** In the [[Non-Serial Movie]] Ivan Ooze strolls in, wrecks the place, and tries to murder Zordon all the while lamenting having missed the [[Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking|black plague, the Spanish Inquisition, and the Brady Bunch Reunion.]]
** The series in which the Rangers' base is invaded but survives, we must add in ''Lost Galaxy'' (ship destroyed as well as most of station, but city dome of station gets relatively gentle landing), ''Wild Force'', ''SPD'', ''Mystic Force'', and ''Operation Overdrive''. That leaves ''Space'', the ship ''did'' get invaded once during ''Space'', just not in the finale.
*** ''[[Power Rangers in Space]]'' has this during the crossover with the [[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles]]. It happens early in the season so it is often overlooked.
** Inverted in ''Jungle Fury:'' Casey [[Storming the Castle|gate-crashed the villain's hideout]], beat the [[Big Bad]] out of his host body and then dragged said host body out. The Ranger's base, situated in a Pizza Parlor, is left untouched.
** ''[[Power Rangers RPM]]'' had Tenaya 7 cause havoc by detaching her robot hand and sneaking it into the Rangers' base early on. Just a few episodes later, it happened ''again'' [[Wedding Smashers|when a wedding being held in the Rangers' base got crashed]], and it officially reached [[Running Gag]] territory when Tenaya invaded it ''again'' just two episodes after the "wedding". After that, though, the base stayed relatively untouched until the Grand Finale and its obligatory [[Trash the Set]].
** Only ''[[Power Rangers Zeo]]'' does not feature this trope, or its inverse ([[Storming the Castle]]).
* One of the cooler episodes of ''[[The Sentinel (TV series)|The Sentinel]]'' involved the Cascade police station being taken over and held hostage.
* Every incarnation of ''[[Star Trek]]'' has done this with the various [[Cool Starship]]s. Otherwise the various away teams would have been safe as soon as they could take a transporter out. Of course, this meant that they had the worst transporter room security ever.
** One ''Original Series'' episode had an escaped prisoner (who turned out to be something else entirely) hiding in a crate of medical supplies, and ''making it all the way to the bridge without getting caught''. It's a good thing the ''mentally unstable'' prisoner hadn't decided to shoot Kirk with his phaser.
** Also, Khan took over the ship in "[[Star Trek/Recap/S1/E22 Space Seed|Space Seed]]", and the Kelvans took it over in "By Any Other Name".
** One season of ''[[Deep Space Nine]]'' had the station being occupied by the Dominion. Gul Dukat seemed happy to get his office back, though, since from where the Cardassians sit (or at least Gul Dukat sits), the Federation pulled an All Your Base on ''them.''
*** Also, this trope was ''inverted'' in a third season episode of ''[[Star Trek: Deep Space Nine|Deep Space Nine]]''. Sisko, Jake, and O'Brien accidentally set off a Cardassian counterinsurgent program which was "inadvertently" left in the station computer. This set off an increasingly ridiculous chain of hopeless death traps, with each successive death trap growing increasingly more fatal and overengineered each time the crew attempted to defeat the previous death trap. The kicker was when ''Dukat himself'' couldn't even disable the program.
** The Borg pulled a "All Your Captain Are Belong To Us" by assimilating Picard, then shortly having the Borgified Picard send a message that "You have no chance to resist; make your time" to the ''Enterprise''.
*** ...and they took over the ''Enterprise'', or at least part of it, in ''First Contact''.
*** More embarrassingly, a group of Ferengi pirates snagged control of the ship using secondhand Klingon war surplus in "Rascals".
** You get the picture by now, but for thoroughness' sake: psychic aliens took over the title ship in ''[[Voyager]]'' in "Waking Moments", after a fashion: the entire crew was trapped in a dream version of the ship in which they had taken over. Only Chakotay and the Doctor remained in the real world.
*** The crew members under the control of the [[Lotus Eater Machine]] tried to keep Seven and the Doctor from keeping them from flying straight down the monster's throat. They were still in control of the ship, but they were definitely [[Not Himself|Not Themselves]].
*** The second season finale had the Kazon-Nistrim taking over the ship outright and stranding the crew on a nearby planet, leaving their only chance to take it back in the hands of Tom Paris, Lon Suder, and the Doctor.
*** The Doctor (can you tell he finds himself in a ''lot'' of [[Die Hard on an X]] situations when this happens? Being a [[Projected Man]] has its advantages) and another EMH had to take back a ship the Romulans had invaded.
** And in ''Enterprise'', we can't forget the numerous times the Suliban have been able to get in and out right under their noses. They're a slippery bunch indeed. They also had to deal with the Borg once.
*** And the Ferengi.
* A regular occurrence on ''[[Stargate SG-1]]'', to the point where it is subverted in a later season: the final test for prospective team members is a simulated [[Die Hard]] scenario, complete with alien infiltrators and noble (yet harmless) sacrifices. In contrast with most other examples however, Stargate Command is designed and operated with the ''expectation'' that hostile forces would frequently attempt to invade, up to including a [[Self-Destruct Mechanism]] into the base design from the get go.
* In what is possibly the silliest usage of this one, the ''[[Torchwood]]'' episode "They Keep Killing Suzie" has the team locked in by a crazy man reciting [[Emily Dickinson]]. [[It Makes Sense in Context|It makes slightly more sense in context]].
** And in ''Children of Earth'',  {{spoiler|the base (along with Jack) is completely blown up. Jack does better in the long run.}}
*** Also in ''Children of Earth'': the government has Thames House, a super-secure building designed to withstand all sorts of attacks by closing down completely. Cool, eh?  {{spoiler|Except if you invite the enemy in, and they proceed to use these very characteristics to kill everyone in the building, just to make a point.}}
** In "End of Days", as part of a plan to release a giant demon, Bilis infiltrates the base's holding cells to kill Rhys.
* The third season of the current incarnation of ''[[Doctor Who]]'' has the Master take over the TARDIS, then subsequently the flying UNIT headquarters. Oh, and ''the entire planet''.
** The 1996 movie also shows the TARDIS being overtaken by The Master and his accomplice.
* In season 7 of ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]'', Buffy's home becomes a literal base for their [[Superhero]] team, complete a [[The Mole]] (The First, impersonating one of the Potentials), multiple sieges and examples of set trashing, until the end of the season, which climaxes with the ultimate [[Trash the Set]].
** This is also what Adam did to The Initiative in season 4.
** Played with using {{spoiler|the Watchers' Council}}---their headquarters are attacked right as {{spoiler|Quentin Travers}} is announcing their plans to go to Sunnydale and help Buffy fight the First.
** For the first three seasons, the school library was where they always went to research, train, and plan for the upcoming confrontation with evil. Being (1) public space, and (2) the location of the [[Weirdness Magnet|Hellmouth]], bad guys came there looking for a fight pretty frequently.
*** Got one of the more low-key, if still very creepy, uses of this trope in the third season finale. The [[Main Characters]] are all gathered in the library, discussing how they should bring down the Mayor (the latest [[Big Bad]]), when, [[Speak of the Devil]], he comes in through the front door, not to attack them or interrupt their plans in anyway, just to see how they're doing and deliver a few threats while he's in the neighborhood.
* Hard not to spoiler this simply by writing the show, but in ''[[Angel]]'' {{spoiler|the Angel Investigations building is blown up at the end of Season 1, to be replaced by the Hyperion Hotel starting in Season 2.}}
** Inverted in the final season of ''Angel'', in a case of "All your Us are belong to our Base" -- {{spoiler|the Angel scooby gang ends up working ''for'' the bad guy law firm and setting up shop in their office building.}}
*** And one episode plays it straight, with Wolfram and Hart being invaded by cyborgs.
** Lampshaded late in Season 5.
{{quote|'''Angel:''' Call security, put 'em on red alert. Nobody gets in this building without clearance from me. I want a guard at every entrance, every elevator, every stairwell. Cover the whole building.
'''Harmony:''' ''(shrugs)'' OK, but you know how that never works?
'''Angel:''' Harmony!
'''Harmony:''' On it. }}
* Modified in the new ''[[Battlestar Galactica (2004 TV series)|Battlestar Galactica]]'', mainly the miniseries: the Cylons don't exactly occupy battlestars. Rather, they take over control of them through the computer networks.
** Season 2 begins with a Cylon boarding party attempting to take over the ''Galactica'', and in season 4,  {{spoiler|Gaeta's mutiny succeeds in doing just that, giving Adama and Tigh a [[Die Hard]] [[In Space]] opportunity}}
** Played straight with New Caprica, where it's all your ''planet'' are belong to us.
* Multiple examples on ''[[24]]'': During the course of eight seasons, attacks on the CTU included: detonation of a bomb, release of a canister of chemical weapon into the ventilation system, assault by a mercenary squad and activation of an EMP weapon. And these were just direct attacks, other minor hindrances to the protagonist consisted of computer viruses, various power plays and internal investigations.
* ''[[The Goodies]]'' both played this trope straight and parodied it: they had a recurring base which featured almost any room you pleased behind the same two doors (thanks to [[Chroma Key]]), a window that turns into a video screen when you pull down the blinds, a huge 1970s computer, and so forth. Graham's [[Gadgeteer Genius]] status meant that they also had similar bases on ships or planes in certain episodes.
* A heartbreaking example in ''[[Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future]]'': the good guys' home and base of operations, the Power Base, contains not only their living quarters and military facilities, but also vital information regarding human settlements, hidden sanctuaries, and resistance leaders—all of which [[Big Bad|Lord Dread]] covets. When he finally succeeds in deciphering the access code to the Power Base's [[Teleporters and Transporters|transport gates]], he sends [[The Juggernaut|Blastarr]] and a small army of Biodroids to conquer it, all while four members of the [[Five-Man Band]] are kept busy elsewhere. In the end, Jennifer "Pilot" Chase is [[Going Down with the Ship|mortally wounded]] and chooses to [[Heroic Sacrifice|detonate the Base's reactor]] instead of letting its information fall into Dread's hands. [["What Now?" Ending|And then the series ended]].
* In one episode in season one of ''[[Alias (TV series)|Alias]]'', SD-6 headquarters is taken over by a team of baddies led by a guest starring Quentin Tarantino.
** Also in season 5. APO HQ is bombed by The Mole/Magnificent Bastard, Sloane.
* This happens too often in ''[[NCIS]]'', whose base of operations is the Navy Yard, DC. You have to wonder how trained badass terrorists like {{spoiler|Ari}} have to go to such trouble to infiltrate the place when any serial killer or stalker can just walk in bold as they please. Possibly lampshaded in one installment when Gibbs wants to shut the base down due to a serial killer's threat:
{{quote|Vance: "Gibbs, I don't know if you've noticed but we run the ''navy'' out of the navy yard."}}
* At the end of Episode 11 of Season 4 of "[[Dexter]]", the Trinity Killer casually walks into Miami Metro Homicide, peruses the evidence being collected to catch him with bemused glee, and confronts Dexter in his lab, learning his real name and violating a space Dexter considered safe.
** On a smaller scale than is usual for this trope, Dexter pulls this most episodes with his victim of the week: Taking control of a place they had felt secure, sometimes only symbolically by putting up tokens of their criminal life and asserting dominance, other times literally taking control of their home base (a scrap yard, a cabin in the everglades, a shrink's office, etc.)
* In ''[[Flashpoint (TV series)|Flashpoint]]'', an old sergeant of the team came by to visit. Only to take someone hostage when things didn't go like he planned.
* ''[[Babylon 5]]'', due to its nature, is threatened in one way or another almost every episode. However, there are at lest three examples of large-scale invasions by boarding parties.
** In ''Babylon Squared'', Sinclair experiences a flash forward of  {{spoiler|the Shadows}} invading B5 (this was later [[Ret Conned]] to be what would have happened if Sinclair had stayed on B5 instead of becoming the Minbari Ambassador).
*** Disputable that this was a 'retcon.' Word of God has stated the destruction of B5 was 'always' the intended endpoint of the series. And Sinclair was  {{spoiler|always going to become Valen.}}
** In ''Severed Dreams'',  {{spoiler|Earthforce}} likewise boards the station in what becomes a very bloody struggle between them and station security.
** ''A View From The Gallery'', which follows two random maintenance personnel [[Day in the Life|as they go about their jobs]]...in the middle of a battle where aliens board the ship.
* Attempted in ''[[Firefly]]'', "Objects in Space", where Jubal Early successfully boards Serenity, knocks out and/or locks most of the crew in their quarters, and holds Simon at gunpoint throughout his complete search of the ship. Unfortunately for him, the ship fights back,  {{spoiler|when River pulls the same stunt on him.}}
* Done twice in ''[[Merlin (TV series)|Merlin]]'', when Morgana takes over the castle of Camelot.
* [[Kamen Rider Dragon Knight]] - Tired of being subtle, Wrath and Strike go to the bookstore, hold Lacey and Trent hostage, and then tear the place to pieces in a knock down, drag out fight with Len and Kase. (Technically, the bookstore isn't an offical base but it is treated as one by the four good Kamen Riders (Len, Kase, Kit and Kase)
** also suffered minor damage when Kit, Len and Chris nearly fought with Axe and Spear in the bookstore in an earlier episode, but at the end of the series, it was replaced by a better and bigger bookstore.
** It is also inverted with 'Storming the Castle' at the end of the season, when the Kamen Riders storm Xaviax's mechanical fortress. (though the only thing they really destroy is the shield generator and Xaviax)
** Kit's apartment, which serves as a 'base' for the Kamen Riders as well, remains intact.


== Video Games ==
* The name of this trope comes from the intro of ''[[Zero Wing]]'', which begins with an organization (or person?) known as "CATS" taking over the bases of the player's organization and attacking the ship the player is stationed in. The [[Good Bad Translation|badly translated]] line became an [[Memetic Mutation|Internet meme]] in late 2000 after a flash animation used it.
** ''[[Zero Wing]]'' is still one of the most popular games among the emulation community, despite being neither spectacularly good nor spectacularly bad; just [[Watch It for the Meme|because people want to see]] All Your Base Are Belong to Us in its original context.
* The Base Defense in the ''[[X-COM]]'' series is one of the more harrowing missions there is, especially if you didn't properly design your base. Not only does failing or quitting that mission mean you've lost the base (and if that was your last one, the game as well), but you lose any facility that was heavily damaged in the firefight as well.
** Don't forget that you're often fighting [[Demonic Spiders|terror units]], who, with the exception of the Muton and Floater ones, are fearsome opponents, and have a battleship load of supporting aliens. You would not believe how much [[Mind Control|psionics]] are used in some of those. And they have [[BFG|blaster bombs]].
*** And, if it doesn't happen to be the base that houses your elite squaddies (or they are out on a mission at the time), you often have to fight with a cobbled together band of scrubs.
** Just to add annoyance, game's 80 item limit can cause troubles: Instead of high-tech heavy plamse weapons your rookies might end with beginner rifles and pistols, if you haven't sold them. Ever tried to kill a muton armed with plasma using conventional weapons?
* ''[[Half-Life]] 2'' features this. No less than twenty minutes after the player reaches the well-equipped and well-hidden resistance base outside of City 17, the Combine fly in with their helicopters and start shelling the place with headcrab canisters. The base is lost, and the survivors relocate to the White Forest Base, where, incidentally, the same thing happens. Only this time, the rebels win.
* ''[[Freelancer]]'', it's safe to say, beats this trope to death, then reanimates its corpse as a zombie and does it again. Almost every friendly base, capital ship or space station Trent steps onto in the story mode is likely to come under heavy assault within minutes. And he visits a lot of them.
* Partly subverted in ''[[Suikoden V]]''. where letting the enemy succeed in invading your base without any resistance is the correct choice, as it's part of a [[Batman Gambit]] by [[The Strategist]] to wipe them out with minimal losses.
** Also played...mostly straight at the game's beginning, where, after one extended playable flashback and a few missions about the kingdom, the heroes return to Sol Falena's palace, only for it to be {{spoiler|attacked by the Godwin family and their ninjas.}} A possible subversion occurs, however, in that not only did the heroes {{spoiler|suspect something was coming and prepare for it (including by dosing themselves with antidotes before the feast because they knew full well there'd be sleeping drugs in the food), but actually looked like they were going to win against the attack. But then the Queen's mad with power moment got out of control, as she went from vaporising the attacking ninjas to reflexively vaporising her ''husband''}}...Things just went more and more wrong from there.
* While most games in the ''[[Mega Man (video game)|Mega Man]]'' series end with the titular robot invading Dr. Wily's (or, in the case of the sequel, Sigma's) fortress to take him out, ''[[Mega Man X]] 3'' started with an attack on the Maverick Hunters Headquarters.
** Dr. Light's lab in ''[[Mega Man 7]]'' also gets attacked.
** The first ''[[Mega Man Zero]]'' game also had a mission where you had to repel two attacks on the Resistance Base.
** And so does ''[[Mega Man ZX]]''.
* The PC game ''[[No One Lives Forever]] 2'' features a sneak attack on the good guy base...by [[Enemy Mime|mimes]]. With guns.
* The video game adaptation of ''[[The World Is Not Enough]]'' has [[James Bond]] fighting terrorists that invaded the [[MI 6]] headquarters, even though this never happened in the movie (the HQ was attacked by a remote bomb, but of course you can't shoot that so that makes for bad gameplay).
** Bizarrely they did do this in the next film but it was a VR simulation.
* The N64 game ''[[Perfect Dark]]'' features a level where once again, the enemy sneak-attacks the good guy HQ.
* Happens in ''[[Freedom Fighters (video game)|Freedom Fighters]]'': by the middle of the campaign, your base is taken over, and you have to find another place where you can run La Resistance.
** For what it's worth, the main plot of Freedom Fighters is that Russians pull a Sneak Attack Coup on New York City, and the actual game is you in a Die Hard situation.
* The first hour or so of ''[[Metroid Prime]] 3'' consists of a Space Pirate attack on both the ship you're on, and the base on the planet you're orbiting.
* Occurs in the ''[[Command & Conquer]]'' games several times, in which Kane hacks into the player's character communications to taunt him following an attack on the good guys. It's most apparent in the Tiberian Sun GDI intro, which is eerily similar to the intro of Zero Wing.
** Can also ''literally'' happen in gameplay—watch out for those Engineers....
*** And, of course, [http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=xIRPcICB-iY All Your Base Are Belong To George Takei.]
* This occurs in one of the later Gamma Campaign missions of ''[[Warzone 2100]]''. NEXUS, the [[Big Bad]] intruder virus created by disgruntled [[Mad Scientist]] Dr. Reed hacks into the Project's Synaptic Links(which were also developed by Reed) and begins taking control of the player's units and structures.
* The second level of ''[[Halo 3]]'' is a textbook example of this, and in true [[Bungie]] fashion you traverse the majority of the base three times. Still fun though.
** Also happens in ''[[Halo]]'' and ''[[Halo 2]]'', with the ''Pillar of Autumn'' and the ''Cairo'' defense station, respectively.
** In fact, the two examples of ''[[Halo 2]]'' and ''[[Halo 3]]'' are just smaller battles in the greater All Your Base Are Belong to Us battle for the Earth itself. Also, the "Pillar of Autumn" moment of ''[[Halo]] 1'' had you ''running away from'' an earlier All Your Base Are Belong To Us moment on the planet Reach.
*** Also happens with Sword Base in ''[[Halo: Reach]]'' twice before the planet itself is glassed. And you do get [[Somebody Set Up Us the Bomb|set up the bomb]] the second time.
** Bungie's earlier ''[[Marathon Trilogy|Marathon]]'' series starts off with you aiding in the takeover of an alien ship during their invasion of your colony. The sequel has you performing a planetary invasion of your own from it until the ship is taken over by a hax0ring AI, and you instead flee to a makeshift planetary base camp.
*** ...which is then belonged to walking bombs disguised as humans.
* Both ''[[Star Trek]]'': ''Elite Force 1'' & ''2'' have levels like this, on the ''Voyager'' and ''Enterprise'', repectively. In the second game, you even have to fight off enemies on the outside of the ship.
* ''[[Mass Effect 1]]'' had an interesting twist on All Your Base Are Belong to Us, with the base in question also being  {{spoiler|[[The Very Definitely Final Dungeon]]}}.
** ''[[Mass Effect 2]]'' had another variation:  {{spoiler|1=All Your Ship Are Belong To Us. Twice. And the first one completely ''destroyed'' the original ''Normandy'', and the second almost completely wiped out the crew of the ''Normandy SR2''.}}
*** The final outcome, depending on your last decision, is either {{spoiler|All Your Collector Base Are Destroyed By Shepard}}, or {{spoiler|All Your Collector Base Are Belong To Cerberus}}.
** And now, to complete the trifecta, ''[[Mass Effect 3]]'''s trailer has {{spoiler|All Your Earth Are Belong To The Reapers.}}
*** And later in the game  {{spoiler|All Your Citadel Are Belong To The Reapers. Again.}}
* ''[[Neverwinter Nights 2]]'' has an entire quest arc dedicated to such antics: should you choose to aid the City Watch, it falls to you and your compadres to expel sundry unsavory characters from the Docks district. If it were anything other than ''your own city'' it would be more like [[Storming the Castle]].
** And then there is the scene in between acts 1 and 2 where the Githyanki storm the Sunken Flagon and {{spoiler|kidnap Shandra (again)}}
* ''[[Lunicus]]'' had you and your buddies striking out from the titular hidden moonbase to fight an alien occupation of earth. It gets invaded later in the game, allowing you to hijack one of their boarding craft to pull an ''[[Independence Day]]''.
* ''[[Neverwinter Nights 2]]'' has assault on Crossroad Keep.
* The last mission in ''[[Soldier of Fortune]] II: Double Helix'' takes place at the Shop HQ, which has been taken over by the main terrorist organization.
* Irrational Games' ''[[Freedom Force]]'' features giant robots attempting to destroy the Freedom Fortress, and a successful invasion of [[Big Creepy-Crawlies|Giant Ants]].
* For the first half of ''[[Silent Hill 4]]'' your apartment is a haven where you can heal and rearm. In the second half of the game {{spoiler|it is overrun by ghosts who can hurt you by proximity, and who will contribute to giving you a worse game ending if you don't clear them out.}}
* ''[[Final Fantasy XI]]'' has Besieged, wherein the city of Al Zahbi is, from time to time, overrun by beastmen. There's also an infamous 3-month period where the cities in "Wings of The Goddess" were faced with constant invasions because the enemies in Campaign were so damn strong it was nearly impossbile to hold any areas so city invasions wouldn't happen. Additionally, in one scene during the Battle of Jeuno mission arc, the Allied Forces of Altana are presented with an ultimatum from the Beastmen Confederacy. The orc presenting the surrender treaty says outright "You press seal here. Then all your Jeuno are belong to us". After the player and other npc heros break up the meeting, that same orc yells "You have no chance to survive! Make your time!" One wonders what the game's japanese script had in the same scene.
** In ''[[Final Fantasy VI]]'', Kefka's battalion invades Figaro Castle and sets it on fire after Edgar refuses to hand over Terra. But then [[Crowning Moment of Awesome|Edgar, Locke, and Terra escape on chocobos while the castle itself sinks into the sand]], ejecting the invaders and thoroughly humiliating Kefka.
** In ''[[Final Fantasy VIII]]'', enemy forces invade and conquer Irvine's home, Galbadia Garden, then use it to do the same to Balamb Garden. After many difficult battles in the halls of his own home, and successfully fending off the invaders, Squall leads his SeeD classmates to counterattack and retake Galbadia Garden.
** In ''[[Final Fantasy IX]]'', every city that is allied with or is home to the heroes is either conquered or downright [[Doomed Hometown|annihilated]] by Queen Brahne of Alexandria.
** The Al-Bhed's Home in ''[[Final Fantasy X]]'' is overrun by the Guado and the [[Path of Inspiration|Church of Yevon]]. Cid, the very man who built Home, is forced to [[Macross Missile Massacre|rain missiles down on it]] to prevent the enemy from giving chase once evacuation is complete.
* In ''[[Knights of the Old Republic (video game)|Knights of the Old Republic]]'', the Ebon Hawk was inviolable to anything less than a full squadron of Sith fighters plus a poorly timed bathroom break/bikini-wearing spouse/cardiac arrest (or all three); the sequel, well...not only do you have to keep Sith troops out of it with a turret, but later, it suddenly fills up with pissed-off slavers for you to kill, and even intrusive Sith  {{spoiler|who can pull a [[Face Heel Turn]] and even become a romantic interest, depending on how nice you are}}.
** KOTOR 1,  {{spoiler|the Jedi Enclave on Dantooine is razed by Darth Malak's forces after you complete three planets}}.
* In ''[[StarCraft]]'', the Zerg can infect a Terran Command Center, seizing control of it, and use it to produce Infected Terran units.
** Not to mention the big plot points where the Zerg take over, oh, let's see: Chau Sara (to start the game), Mar Sara, Tarsonis, Aiur, Char, ...
*** [[My Friends and Zoidberg|And Antiga]]. ([[Throwaway Country|Nobody remembers Antiga...]]) Not to mention the Jacobs Installation (All Your Base's Secret Intel Is Belong To Us), the ''Amerigo'' (All Your [[Cool Ship|Spaceship's]] More Secret Intel Is Belong To Kerrigan), and one incident in the novels where Raynor shipjacks General Duke himself, ending up with the ''Hyperion''.
** The eminently quotable Michael Liberty had this to say about this state of affairs:
{{quote|'''Michael Liberty:''' We had the advantages of interior lines of supply (that's military for "surrounded") and native terrain (that's military for "we're fighting them in our living rooms").}}
* ''[[World of Warcraft]]'' rewards players for successfully [[Storming the Castle|attacking the opposite faction's capitol]] cities and killing their leaders. Opposite faction players will generally organize a defense, resulting in an epic battle.
* ''[[Baldur's Gate]] II: Shadows of Amn'', if the player character is a Fighter, and takes up responsibility of D'Arnise Hold afterwards, he has to prevent one of these.
** Come to think of it, this happens before hand when you liberate it from the bleedin' Trolls.
** PC Mage also gets one of these, thanks to Amn's Mage-hating society.
* ''[[Ratchet and Clank Up Your Arsenal]]'' features Dr. Nefarious's [[Ninja Pirate Zombie Robot|new-And-Improved]] army attacking the Star Ship Phoenix.
** And in the final level, {{spoiler|Ratchet and Clank get their revenge by infiltrating Dr. Nefarious' base. All alone, though (although Captain Qwark shows up for a bit in the end).}}
* ''[[Ace Combat]] 5'' the neccesary-to-spoiler-tag scene where your new base is {{spoiler|sunk by two sub-launched missiles.}} Before that, the first three levels of the game are the build-up to and execution of an attack on your first base. Later on, the bad guys (who weren't actually bad) also attempt a seaborne invasion.
** ''Zero'' tops this with the  {{spoiler|XB-0, a Belkan superweapon}} attacking and disabling your base
* In the final SWAT mission of ''SWAT 2'', the game's [[Western Terrorists]] have invaded Metro Station, killing one of the major NPCs [[Cutscene Incompetence|during a cutscene]] and putting the [[Non-Entity General|Chief of Police's]] life in peril.
* ''[[Tenchu]]''. The Azuma village in part 2. Gohda castle got torched in parts 2 and 4.
* At the beginning of ''[[The Witcher]]'', the witchers' castle is attacked by bandits. While they get their asses kicked, they do manage to steal the [[Plot Coupon|secret witcher-making potion]].
* [[Inverted Trope|Inverted]] in the penultimate scenario of [[Super Robot Wars Z]]. You've just taken over the [[Big Bad]]'s  {{spoiler|[[The Dragon|Dragon's]]}} [[Evil Tower of Ominousness]] in the previous mission, and now you have to fight off the forces sent to take it back.
* Fawful really goes all the way in ''[[Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story]]''; taking over both Peach's and Bowser's respective castles after putting both out of comission.
* Allowing the enemy to reach your starting stronghold in the [[Ogre Battle]] games is an instant [[Game Over]].
** Not so much in the ''March of the Black Queen'' - you lose the level and take a big reputation hit, but you can try again with no other consequences. The only [[Game Over]] condition is [[We Cannot Go on Without You|the death of the main character]].
* No mention of ''[[Boktai|Lunar Knights]]''? [[Creepy Twins|Eddie and Ginny]] take up the role of CATS and assault the Guild's base in Old Culiacan in the wake of Margrave Rymer [[Deader Than Dead|seeing the Purifex Cannon in operation from the business end]]. Save Ernest and Kay, the Guild evacuates to the inn and, later, to their old ops base. The vampires are on the defensive from there on out, so no repeats.
* One of the final missions in ''[[Dungeon Keeper]]'' 2's campaign has an interesting version. You are set up against the goodly King's right-hand man Lord Pureheart and his map-spanning fortress with an overpowering number of guards and other heroes only a single alarm away from your Dungeon Heart. Your base is tucked in a very meager niche of diggable rock to prevent traditional means of building up power and your resources in general are limited. The correct strategy is to slowly and quietly block off (with the help of the just-unlocked Secret Door) and take over the castle, starting from the outlying torture dungeons and storerooms while picking off and converting the patrolling guardsmen to your side one at a time. Ideally, after the entire castle has been silently subverted, the siege ends with the former heroes launching a massive attack into the Lord's throne room at the very core of the castle. Surprise!
* ''[[Red Faction|Red Faction: Guerrilla]]'': In the middle of a missions the game pulls a swerve: without warning the mission is aborted and you have to race to save a safehouse from a full-on assault. The safehouse is wrecked and your commander is killed.
* Hyrule Castle has been taken over by the forces of evil a total of 4 times yet, twice by [[Big Bad|Ganondorf]], once by ''[[The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap|The Legend of Zelda the Minish Cap]]'s'' Vaati and once by ''[[The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past|The Legend of Zelda a Link To T He Past]]'s'' Agnahim. It might have something to do with the fact that Hyrulean [[The Guards Must Be Crazy|Guards tend to be morons.]] Notably [[Averted]] in [[Spirit Tracks]], despite the set up being perfect for it, with  {{spoiler|the Princess being invisible}} and all.
** Not to mention  {{spoiler|the [[Big Bad]] being an insider}} in [[Spirit Tracks]].
* In ''[[Dead Rising]],'' the zombies start to encroach on your safe zones, appearing in the warehouse and elevator in greater numbers as the game proceeds.  {{spoiler|Following the main plot missions will eventually lead to commandos taking over the mall and your original safe room. Though Frank inverts this by taking over the ''enemy's'' secret hiding place and hiding there for the remainder of the game.}}
* In ''[[Super Robot Wars Compact]]'', [[Mobile Suit Gundam|Jaburo]] gets attacked by [[Dancougar|Emperor Muge Zolbados]] in Scenario 21: God Bless Dancougar
* [[Oni]] has this happen in its 6th chapter, just after losing [[Big Bad|Muro]]'s trail in chapter 5.
* In the endgame of ''[[Dragon Age]]'' ''Origins'',  {{spoiler|the Darkspawn attack Redcliffe and Denerim. You get to Redcliffe just in time to save the castle and everyone in it. Denerim isn't so lucky. By the time your forces get there, the Darkspawn have already established a foothold in the burning city and presumably killed everyone who couldn't escape in time.}}
* In several of the ''[[Ys]]'' games, the game's main town gets occupied by the enemy and its residents captured.
* ''[[Mechwarrior]] 4: Black Knight'' features a nasty one. While you're out on patrol after taking a big bite out of the enemy war machine, [[Card-Carrying Villain|House Steiner]] betrays your mercenary outfit and launches a surprise attack on the base. In the ensuing chaos, [[Colonel Badass]] and [[Mission Control]] are both killed, many survivors are taken prisoner, and you pretty much only make it out of there with a few civilian trucks plus whatever gear your [[Humongous Mecha]] squad had equipped at the time.
** Theoretically any mission in ''Mechwarrior 3'' can become this if you position your Mobile Field Base too close to the bad guys.
* Chapter 1 of ''[[Adventure Quest Worlds]]''' main storyline involves the good kingdom of Swordhaven coming under attack by the Shadowscythe Empire's [[Dem Bones|army of the undead]]. And then Drakath, the leader of the forces of Chaos, interrupts the battle between Good and Evil, kills Sepulchure, the former leader of the Shadowscythe, blasts down Shadowfall, and then [[It Got Worse|he threatens to destroy everything that both Good and Evil love]] and [[The End of the World as We Know It|end the world in chaos and destruction]].
* [[Samurai Warriors]]: The first game in particular had castle sieges, parts of the game where you infiltrate the enemy stronghold and kill the enemy. This was not a popular gameplay mechanic and so the castles became part of the main war map itself, and depending on whose story battle you were following you had to either invade or repel an invasion on your home fortress. The most iconic of this is the siege of Honnoji, in which Mitsuhide Akechi turns against [[Oda Nobunaga]],
* In ''[[Adventure Quest Worlds]]'', the main villain of its recent Skyguard storyline is a guy named Master, who plans to infiltrate the Skyguard to cause enough mayhem to make Drakath decide to make him the next Lord of Chaos. Shortly after the Skyguard induction ceremony ends, an attack is launched against the Skyguard Academy, and the academy is being invaded by Chaobolds, Bronze Sky Pirate Draconians, and an Inbunche waiting at the academy's cafeteria. And that's not all - Invidia, one of the Skyguard's newest recruits, {{spoiler|could actually be [[The Dragon]] to Master, the Dreamweaver, in disguise. They do look familiar, after all..}}.
* In ''[[Duke Nukem]]: Zero Hour'', the [[Player Headquarters]] is invaded by the aliens in the [[Bad Future]].
* This happens ''twice'' in [[Bastion]]. The first time is when {{spoiler|Zulf learns the origin of the Calamity and [[Face Heel Turn|goes on a rampage in the Bastion before leaving]].}} The second is when {{spoiler|he sends his fellow Ura to invade the Bastion}} near the end of the game.
* ''[[The Reconstruction]]'', towards the end. {{spoiler|The world is devastated by floods and a volcanic eruption, then the [[Big Bad]] destroys what's left. As a result, Wadassia, the city where most of the cast hails from and the main base of their operations, is reduced to ruins, in addition to every other city on the planet. Since the main character is heavily devoted to Wadassia, this also causes him to have a major [[Freak-Out]].}}
* ''[[Assassin's Creed]]'' series loves this trope:
** ''[[Assassin's Creed (video game)|Assassin's Creed I]]'': {{spoiler|Templars lay siege on Masayaf very early in the game.}}
** ''[[Assassin's Creed II]]'': {{spoiler|The game ends with Vidic's men storming the Hideout.}}
** ''[[Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood|Assassin's Creed Brotherhood]]'': {{spoiler|The main story begins when Cesare sieges Monteriggioni}}.
* Happens in [[Jeff Wayne's War of the Worlds]].
{{quote|'''Martian Elder''': "A rapid offensive to (the humans') social and economic heart should prevent any significant opposition."}}
** The Martians actually do this twice. The first time (a direct assault on London, shown during the intro movies) it backfires because they underestimate the humans' firepower. They then change their landing site to Scotland, which works much better - whichever side you play the campaign as, the Martians ''will'' be in control of most of Scotland by the end of the first week or two.
* Twice at the beginning of ''[[Deus Ex: Invisible War|Deus Ex Invisible War]]''. First the Tarsus base in Chicago gets destroyed by a Templar [[Grey Goo]] bomb, then the Seattle base comes under attack by the Order.
* ''[[The Game of the Ages]]'': You should have suspected this would happen as soon as you got a look at all the castle's defenses.
* At the beginning of ''[[Space Quest]] I'', Roger's ship is captured by the Sariens, [[Everybody's Dead, Dave|all crew members killed except for him]], the [[Solar CPR|Star Generator]] stolen, and the [[Self-Destruct Mechanism]] activated.
* Towards the end of ''[[Lust Grimm]]'', succubi invade the village of Back Cover. You defeat their leader while the villager's leader Herman performs a [[Heroic Sacrifice]] to get rid of the remaining succubi.

== Web Comics ==
* In ''[[Sluggy Freelance]]'' Aylee does this ''twice'' during her [[Face Heel Turn]]. First she turns the apartment building where the [[Main Characters]] all lived into the headquarters/fortress for her company (a subsidiary of [[Big Bad|Hereti-Corp]]). Then, as soon as the cast finds a new place to live, she shows up at their Halloween party, [[Moral Event Horizon|injects every person there with a paralyzing toxin, and taunts them with how helpless they are against her]].
* In ''[[Ciem Webcomic Series|Ciem]]'', Candi and Denny's house gets blown up. That was ''his'' house. Candi's lakeside house was ''almost'' subject to this trope, but the invasion failed. But since Candi no longer had her other house when Denny's was blown up, she was forced to have to buy yet another house. ''That one'' stays up. Averted for Ploribus' / [[Ultimate Universe|Darius]]' base, though Dirbine / Evansville [[Doomed Hometown|is pretty much trashed]] by the time of ''Ciem 3'' / ''Condemnation''. [[Storming the Castle|Inverted]] in ''Ciem 3''.
* ''[[The Order of the Stick]]'': Most of the third arc is dedicated to the Order and the forces of Azure City defending the city from the hobgoblin/undead army led by [[Big Bad|Xykon]] and [[The Dragon|Redcloak]]  {{spoiler|and eventually being overrun}}.
** [http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0825.html Later in the comic] (warning: spoilers!), Redcloak's forces have also managed to crush the {{spoiler|resistance in Azure City, killing every member of the resistance except for Niu and destroying their mountain base}}.

== Web Original ==
* In ''[[The Gamers Alliance]]'', the [[The Empire|Yamato Empire]] and the [[Religion of Evil|Clergy of Mardük]] launch a surprise attack on the Aisonian capital Myridia during the Yamatian Invasion arc and end up taking over the city. Later the [[Dirty Communists|Proninist Party]] and the [[The Legions of Hell|Northern Horde]] pull this off in Maar Sul City and Vanna, respectively, during the Godslayer era.
* [[Whateley Universe|Whateley Academy]] has had its (in)famous Halloween attack. No students actually died, but this was primarily due to most of them being incapacitated right from the start and the attackers being under orders not to actually kill any students except their assigned targets anyway; the campus security forces weren't as lucky.
* The [[Protectors of the Plot Continuum|PPC]]'s headquarters has been invaded repeatedly, though the 2006 attack and prelude to the 2008 invasion were the only ones that had any real success.
* When [[Ancient Conspiracy|Tarot]] attacked the sattelite base of the [[Global Guardians PBEM Universe|Global Guardians]] in force, it resulted in the near death of two Guardians, two civilian contractors who were onboard, broke the base into pieces, and knocked those pieces out of orbit. The parts of the base that didn't burn up on re-entry crashed into the Pacific and Indian Oceans.
* The [[Anti Cliche and Mary Sue Elimination Society]]'s base of operations, the [[Library of Babel|Library]] [[Inn Between the Worlds|Arcanium]], is taken over by the Sues in "Insert Red Skies Twilight Here".
* The season 2 finale of ''[[We're Alive]]'' ends with  {{spoiler|the fall of the Tower.}}
* ''[[The Gungan Council]]'' has Naboo being the headquarters of the Jedi. This makes it a frequent target for attack, with the most prolific one being the year-long "Theed Under Attack."
* In [[Greek Ninja]], Ariadnio, the school Sasha Hunter is attending, is invaded. In the battle between the opposing forces that follows, her teacher is killed and thus, the story begins.

== Western Animation ==
* Happened a few times in the ''[[Justice League]]'' series. From the dream invasion by Dr. Destiny to the C.A.D.M.U.S. attack led by Galatea, the Supergirl clone.
** They use the Batcave as a back up base and that was also raided at one point.
* H.I.V.E. took over the ''[[Teen Titans (animation)|Teen Titans]]''' base in the very first episode of the cartoon, and to say the least, it certainly wasn't the last time such an event took place. One notable occurrence was when Slade attempted to destroy the base, but it turned out to be a [[Batman Gambit]] to have [[The Mole|Terra]] earn the Titans' trust by saving it.
** Befittingly, the Titans East's base would later be taken over in their debut episode.
** ''[[Teen Titans: Trouble in Tokyo]]'' movie started with a supervillain blatantly assaulting the Titans Tower with explosives.
* ''[[Beast Wars]]'' had an episode where a  {{spoiler|Starscream-possessed Waspinator}} spearheaded the (temporary) takeover of the Maximal base.
** Later, Rampage  {{spoiler|''destroys'' it, by '''shoving it off a waterfall''}}, forcing the Maximals to find a new base.
* In ''[[Avatar: The Last Airbender]]'',  {{spoiler|the Fire Nation takes over the city of Ba Sing Se, effectively conquering the Earth Kingdom and forcing the heroes to go incognito after escaping the city.}}
** Earlier in the series, Aang, Katara and Sokka arrive at the city of Omashu only to discover that it has fallen to the Fire Nation.
** More true to the trope is the Siege of the North, when the Northern Water Tribe, secure for generations, was subjected to a massive assault when the Fire Nation learned Aang was there.
*** Although in that case, they successfully defended themselves. Having a giant koi fish fight for them certainly helped.
* Happened to the ''[[Superfriends]]'' at least once, and almost certainly more.
* In the ''[[Kim Possible]]'' episode "Ill Suited", Kim and Ron are eating at Bueno Nacho when Professor Dementor attacks. Notable because Dementor says the following line: "[[Shout-Out|All your battlesuit now belongs to me!]]."
** Let's not forget "So The Drama", where Drakken took over the Bueno Nacho corporation...
** And that in both the movie and the grand finale her house gets totalled.
* Also occurred in ''[[Danny Phantom]]'' when the hero's [[Local Hangout]] were violently invaded by the Guys in White by order of [[Big Bad|Vlad]] who bought the franchise briefly to torment Danny.
* A variation appears in proper English in the ''[[Static Shock]]'' episode "A League of Their Own" (part one). After Static blasts down the buzzsaw-handed cleaning robot, Brainiac says "You only delay the inevitable. ''All of this base will soon belong to me.''"
* [[Codename: Kids Next Door|Sector V]] suffers this a lot, as their treehouse is taken over/destroyed/stolen by their archenemies, The Delightful Children, turnips, Santa's Elfa Strike Team, and their own organization being manipulated by [[The Mole]].
* Happens several times on ''[[ReBoot]]'', particularly since the heroes' headquarters doubled as the control post for the entire Mainframe.
* Happens all the time on ''[[Code Lyoko]]''. Not surprising considering the enemy's physical form is also the computer they use for their operations (at least until Season 3).
* In one of the rare moments in ''[[Transformers Armada]]'' where he wasn't holding the [[Idiot Ball]] or having the Autobots' newest gimmick ruin his plans, Thrust managed to  {{spoiler|draw the Autobots out to the battlefield, see that none of them had the Requiem Blaster, and then invade the now-unguarded Autobot base to steal the blaster while leaving Starscream as sacrificial decoy.}} It worked, but Starscream wasn't happy about it.
* Aside from the adaptation of the comic book story referenced above, the second ''[[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2003|Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles]]'' cartoon had this happen again, when Karai attacked the turtles' second lair, completely trashing it and forcing them to relocate to a third lair.
* Happens in the ''Hunter's Moon'' arc of ''[[Gargoyles]]'' with the  {{spoiler|destruction of the Clock Tower by the Hunters}}.
* Between Season 2 of ''[[Transformers Generation 1]]'' and ''[[Transformers: The Movie]]'', the Decepticons take over Cybertron.
* Occurs in the first season finale of [[Generator Rex]].  {{spoiler|Van Kleiss and his henchmen hijack the [[Airborne Aircraft Carrier|keep]], and [[Ramming Always Works|ram it]] into Providence Headquarters, then go to town on the place. Predictably, dozens of [[Red Shirts]] die in this episode.}}
* In the ''[[DC Super Friends]]'' short, Joker takes over the Hall Of Justice with help from Gorilla Grodd and Mr. Freeze.
* In the second season finale of ''[[Superjail]]'',  {{spoiler|The Ultraprison crew has taken over the titular jail while the main cast and other prisoners have been on their cruise and got lost for two months}}.
* In the ''[[Thundercats 2011]]'' episode "Omens Part Two," the [[Catfolk]]-populated magical kingdom of Thundera, stuck in [[Medieval Stasis]], and skeptical of the existence of so-called "[[Lost Technology|technology]]" is conquered in one night by their enemies the Lizards, who have been supplied with technological [[Superweapon Surprise|superweapons]] by [[The Dreaded|dreaded]] ancient enemy Mumm-Ra. Heroes the Thundercats must flee and go [[Walking the Earth]] in search of [[Ancient Artifact]]s that will stop him.

== Real Life ==
* Any number of real military forces have had this happen to them. Either because of surprise or defeats on the battlefield, the defenders find themselves fighting in their own front yard. At the end of the war, this may be combined with a [[Bolivian Army Ending]] for the losing side. Can also happen at the ''beginning'' of a war.
** Perhaps the most famous example of an opening All Your Base Are Belong to Us is the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor [[And Zoidberg|and the Philippines]] that pulled the US into [[World War Two]].
** Doolittle Raid. Two U.S. carriers launched a small fleet of bombers that firebombed Tokyo in early 1942. Tactically, the raid was not too important as nothing important was damaged and over half the bombers were lost, but it did a fantastic job of boosting U.S. morale and lowering Japanese morale in the capital city, in addition to forcing the Japanese to hold back many of their forces to defend the Home Islands from further attacks.
** Kind of the point actually. Firebombing Tokyo made the Japanese realize that their "Sacred" nation was vulnerable to attack, made them divert resources to protect space the allies had no real immidiate interest in and weakened them on other fronts, making them easier to defeat in battle.
* Another (in)famous example is the Tet Offensive of 1968, where a massive sneak attack managed to breach the perimeter at some of the "safest" places in Vietnam.
** And ended in the complete destruction of the Viet Cong as a cohesive fighting force. Although a surprise, and political turning point, the attack was not a military success.
* Second Ypres - the Germans almost, ''almost'' got through the British defenses with the help of poison gas. It came down to second-line troops attacking German Guards regiments, convincing the Germans that the British were still strong and causing them to back down). A captured German officer, asked what stood between his force and success, was told "Divisional headquarters." A small cluster of administrative staff, whose job is normally to plan battles and order supplies, were the last line of defense.
* The Battle of the Alamo in 1836.
* The Netherlands in World War II. In 3 days, when the first defenses reached the border, the German forces were already in the middle of the country. This happened mostly because the classic Dutch strategy of ''flooding part of the countryside'' provides an excellent defense against land-based troops - but the Germans had paratroopers. Oops.
** Similar the invasion of Denmark during which German forces crossed the border in the early morning and paratroopers took control of the Danish air bases. Some hours later German bombers dropped leaflets over Copenhagen, which pretty much said "All your base are belong to us!", and by noon the government had surrendered. The trope was played even more straight with the simultaneous invasion of Norway. Oslo's impressive naval defenses kept the German navy at bay for long enough to secure the kings escape into exile. Once he was safely away, the troops surrendered. [[La Résistance|Or retreated into hiding.]]
* The Fall of Constantinople, which finally ended the reign of the Byzantine Empire. Oddly, the Ottomans won when [[Idiot Ball|someone forgot to lock one of the city gates.]]
* [[Four-Star Badass|Von Lettow-Vorbeck]], leading the German East African troops during [[World War I]]. While having successfully defended East Africa against about 1.000.000 men with 14.000 soldiers, he was by no means close to being defeated in 1918, when he was informed that Germany had already capitulated.
* Sometimes All Your Base can be an advantage: at one point during the Seven Years War, the Austrian army took advantage of the Prussian army's absence fighting the French to capture the province of Silesia. When the Prussians eventually responded it was to discover they were outnumbered 2:1 on a battlefield of the Austrians' choosing. Unfortunately, the site they had chosen near Leuthen happened to be the Prussian Army's peacetime training ground, and the resulting familiarity with the terrain made the [[Crowning Moment of Awesome|Prussian victory]] almost hilariously [[Curb Stomp Battle|one-sided]].
** And then the Austrians did the same thing to Napoleon on the Marchfeld.
** Speaking of Napoleon, he tried to do this with the infamous failure that was his invasion of Russia, and in a [[Subverted Trope]], was turned back right before entered Moscow. Then, [[As You Know|as we all know]], Hitler [[Aesop Amnesia|tried to do exactly the same thing]] over a century later.
* This has happened to Poland too many times to list, especially Krakow. There's a reason it's considered [[The Chew Toy]] in European history.
* In retaliation for the destruction of York (now Toronto) in the War of 1812, the British invaded and burned Washington. This is seen as both a [[Crowning Moment of Awesome]] and [[Crowning Moment of Funny]] in Canada because, well, [[Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass|it's Canadians invading another country]].
* It should be pointed out that it was not by the Canadians who burnt Washington, but rather the professional British army, not Canadian militia
* During [[World War II]] the Royal Navy pulled one on the Italian navy with a torpedo plane assault on the Italian fleet in Taranto's harbour, disabling three battleships and showing to the world that the raid on Pearl Harbor was possible (both Taranto and Pearl Harbor having water shallow enough that the use of aircraft-launched torpedoes was thought impossible).
* During [[World War I]] Italy had Gabriele D'Annunzio, who pulled it ''twice'': first time he led a torpedo boat raid on the Austrian fleet in the harbour of Bakar and left a mocking message (it doesn't count as the [[Crowning Moment of Awesome]] both because the Austrians [[Crazy Prepared|placed torpedo nets to further protect their ships]] and later an Italian torpedo boat would sink the Austrian flagship after ''accidentally'' meeting it on patrol), and then he led a flight over Vienna to drop propaganda leaflets just prove they could bomb the enemy capital if they just wished so (cue [[Oh Crap]] for Vienna's people).
* The Italian Navy's [[Crowning Moment of Awesome]] during [[World War II]] was one of these: with some of the original manned torpedoes, the Italians penetrated Alexandria harbour and mined two battleships (including the flagship ''with admiral on board'') and a tanker (there was no carrier, so they mined another target), disabling the battleships and damaging the tanker and a destroyer (collateral damage).

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