Zerg Rush/Literature: Difference between revisions

* ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'' 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.

** 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-year [[Lensman Arms Race]] between Haven & Manticore and are largely content to throw men and ships at problems. As the Harrington trope page itself says, [[We Have Reserves|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 covering a bunch of [[Powered Armor]] [[Space Marines]] appears.}} Those natives have more luck {{spoiler|when they ambush a smaller scouting force, which is overrun even as the last surviving member is desperately unloading a Gatling gun with exploding bullets into them.}}

* In Andy Hoare's [[White Scars]] novel ''Hunt for Voldorius'', Voldorius deploys thousands of cultists and conscripted militia against the Space Marines.

** In "The Shadow Kingdom", [[Kull]] and Brule face a horde of Snakemen.

{{quote| ''"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.<br />

* Variation in the [[New Jedi Order]]. The [[Scary Dogmatic Aliens|Yuuzhan Vong]] will commonly ''open'' battle with a [[Zerg Rush]] composed of their slave-soldiers (mostly [[Reptiles Are Abhorrent|Chazrach]]) in order to test the enemy's strength and weed out the weakest. ''Then'' they go in themselves to fight the real battle against the remaining, more worthy, enemies (it's an honor thing) and though the Vong are big on brute force, they can be incredibly clever tacticians when they legitimately want to. They end up stopping [[Zerg Rush|Zerg Rushes]] altogether in the last few books as [[We Have Reserves|they don't have]] [[Subverted Trope|the numbers to do it anymore]].

* This is the primary use of [[Our Orcs Are Different|Trollocs]] in ''[[The Wheel of Time]]''. Though larger and stronger than humans, they're too stupid and undisciplined to be very good tacticians (though having human or [[Humanoid Abomination|Myrddraal]] officers in charge helps some). There are a ''lot'' of them, however, so they're generally sent out in massive waves to do as much damage as they can through sheer strength, bloodthirstiness, and weight of numbers. Averted with individual Fists (groups of a hundred Trollocs with one or two Myrddraal) as the smaller size allows the Myrddraal a greater degree of direct control, and they're actually quite clever.

{{reflist}}