Shock and Awe

The following contribution is from an associate.

Shock and Awe

The often taunted Shock and Awe  tactic was not invented during the 21st century.  One can find some aspect of it during  the warring history of Imperial China. 

Many of the students of the AoW know about the story of how Sunzi used a "Shock and Awe" maneuver to transform an undisciplined group of the Emperor's royal concubines into a perfectly marching platoon.

The Fan Li's Tale
During the warring states, the great Fan Li who served Goujian, the ruler of Yue, implemented a psychological "Shock and Awe" strategy that shattered the mind set of their opposition- Wu's state.  It also enabled the Yue troops to subjugate their Army.

Side note: Sun Wu (aka. Sunzi) mentored the ruler of the Wu State in the principles of strategy.   ...  The Wu's ruler and his advisers had already exiled him from their court by the time Fan-Li and the Yue army fought them.

Fan Li utilized an unorthodox  tactic that is called "Killing the Chickens to Shock The Monkey" where 300 condemned prisoners was inspired to march to the edge of the enemy's line where the troops of Wu were stationed at. Concurrently, there were 500 warriors from the Yue state that were concealing behind the bushes.

After arriving at their enemy line, these 300 condemned men announced their loyalty to the Yue state and slitted their throats altogether. This surprised action shocked the Wu Troops so dramatically that they began to scream in utter confusion. The confidence of the Wu solders immediately dissipated and fled in terror.

Yue's troops immediately attacked the retreating opposition. During the onslaught, thousands of the Wu troops were slaughtered and Helu the King of Wu became mortally wounded.

Summary
The alpha intent of this unorthodox strategy was to target the psychological weaknesses of the competitor's leader and their troops.  Due to its originality, the targeted competitor was caught off guard.  The outcome became devastating for the losing side. 

Retrospectively, an underdog usually prevails in an extreme competitive situation through the approach of combining the qualities of directness and indirectness. 

Q: Do you know how to subjugate your competition through the use of various unorthodox means?  

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Side note:  It was rumored that Fan Li was an ardent reader of  Tai Gong's Six Secret Teachings.  

Click here for an interesting perspective on Shock and Awe" from St Petersburg Times.