Fabian strategy The Fabian strategy is a military strategy where pitched battle s and frontal assault s are avoided in favor of wearing down an opponent through a war of attrition and indirection . While avoiding decisive battle s , the side employing this strategy harasses its enemy through skirmishes to cause attrition , disrupt supply and affect morale . Employment of this strategy implies that the side adopting this strategy believes time is on its side , but it may also be adopted when no feasible alternative strategy can be devised . History . This strategy derives its name from Quintus Fabius Maximus Verrucosus , the dictator of the Roman Republic given the task of defeating the great Carthaginian general Hannibal in southern Italy during the Second Punic War ( 218 – 202 BC ) . At the start of the war , Hannibal boldly crossed the Alps in wintertime and invaded Italy . Due to Hannibal ' s skill as a general , he repeatedly inflicted devastating losses on the Romans despite the numerical inferiority of his army — quickly achieving two crushing victories over the Romans at the Battle of Trebbia and the Battle of Lake Trasimene . After these disasters the Romans appointed Fabius Maximus as dictator . Well aware of the military superiority of the Carthaginians and the ingenuity of Hannibal , Fabius initiated a war of attrition which was designed to exploit Hannibal ' s strategic vulnerabilities . Hannibal suffered from two particular weaknesses . First , he was commander of an invading foreign army on Italian soil , effectively cut off from the home country by the difficulty of seaborne resupply . His only hope of destroying Rome was by enlisting the support of her allies . As long as the Italians remained loyal to Rome , then there was no hope that Hannibal would win ; but should the Romans keep on losing battles , their allies ’ faith in Rome would weaken . Therefore , Fabius calculated that the way to defeat Hannibal was to avoid engaging with him in pitched battles , so as to deprive him of victories . He determined that Hannibal ' s extended supply lines , and the cost of maintaining the Carthaginian army in the field , meant that Rome had time on its side . Rather than fight , Fabius shadowed Hannibal ' s army and avoided battle , instead sending out small detachments against Hannibal ’ s foraging parties , and maneuvering the Roman army in hilly terrain , so as to nullify Hannibal ’ s decisive superiority in cavalry . Residents of small northern villages were encouraged to post lookouts , so that they could gather their livestock and possessions and take refuge in fort ified towns . He used interior lines to ensure that at no time could Hannibal march on Rome without abandoning his Mediterranean ports , while at the same time inflicting constant , small , debilitating defeats on the North Africa ns . This , Fabius had concluded , would wear down the invaders ’ endurance and discourage Rome ’ s allies from going over to the enemy , without having to challenge the Carthaginians to a decisive battle . Hannibal ' s second weakness was that much of his army was made up of mercenaries from Gaul and Spain , who had no great loyalty to Hannibal , although they disliked Rome . Being mercenaries , they were unequipped for siege - type battles ; having neither the equipment nor the patience for such a campaign . The mercenaries desired quick , overwhelming battles and raids of villages for plunder , much like land - based pirates . As such , Hannibal ' s army was virtually no threat to Rome , a walled city which would have required a long siege to reduce , which is why Hannibal never attempted it . Hannibal ' s only option was to beat Roman armies in the field quickly before plunder ran out and the Gauls and Spaniards deserted for plunder elsewhere . Fabius ' s strategy of delaying battle and attacking supply chains thus hit right at the heart of Hannibal ' s weakness ; time , not energy , would cripple Hannibal ' s advances . The Fabian strategy , though effective in some ways , was perceived as cowardly and unbecoming of the Fabian name , established by his ancestors ' victories in pitched battles . Political opposition . Fabius ' s strategy , though a military success , was a political failure . His indirect policies , while tolerable among wiser minds in the Roman Senate , were deemed unpopular , because the Romans had been long accustomed to facing and besting their enemies directly in the field of battle . The Fabian strategy was in part ruined because of a lack of unity in the command of the Roman army . The magister equitum , Marcus Minucius Rufus , a political enemy of Fabius , is famously quoted exclaiming , Did we come here to see our allies butchered , and their property burned , as a spectacle to be enjoyed ? And if we are not moved with shame on account of any others , are we not on account of these citizens . . . a Carthaginian foreigner , who was advanced even this far from the remotest limits of the world , through our dilatoriness and inactivity ? As the memory of the shock of Hannibal ' s victories grew dimmer , the Roman populace gradually started to question the wisdom of the Fabian strategy , the very thing which had allowed them the time to recover . It was especially frustrating to the mass of the people , who were eager to see a quick conclusion to the war . Moreover , it was widely believed that if Hannibal continued plundering Italy unopposed , the terrified allies , believing that Rome was incapable of protecting them , might defect and pledge their allegiance to the Carthaginians . Since Fabius won no large - scale victories , the Roman Senate removed him from command . Their chosen replacement , Gaius Terentius Varro , led the Roman army into the debacle at the Battle of Cannae . The Romans , after experiencing this catastrophic defeat and losing countless other battles , had at this point learned their lesson . They utilized the strategies Fabius had taught them , and which , they finally realized , were the only feasible means of driving Hannibal from Italy . This strategy of attrition earned Fabius the cognomen " Cunctator " ( the Delayer ) . Later usage . The strategy was used by the medieval French general Bertrand du Guesclin during the Hundred Years ' War against the English following a series of disastrous defeats in pitched battles against Edward , the Black Prince . Eventually du Guesclin was able to recover most of the territory that had been lost . The most noted use of Fabian strategy in American history was by George Washington , sometimes called the " American Fabius " for his use of the strategy during the first year of the American Revolutionary War . While Washington had initially pushed for traditional direct engagements and victories , he was convinced of the merits of using his army to harass the British rather than engage them both by the urging of his generals in his councils of war , and by the pitched - battle disasters of 1776 , especially the Battle of Long Island . In addition , with a history as a Colonial officer and having witnessed Indian warfare , Washington predicted this style would aid in defeating the traditional battle styles of the British Army . However , as with the original Fabius , Fabian strategy is often more popular in retrospect than at the time . To the troops , it can seem like a cowardly and demoralizing policy of continual retreat . Fabian strategy is sometimes combined with scorched earth tactics that demand sacrifice from civilian populations . Fabian leaders may be perceived as giving up territory without a fight , and since Fabian strategies promise extended war rather than quick victories , they can wear down the will of one ' s own side as well as the enemy . During the American Revolution , John Adams ' dissatisfaction with Washington ' s conduct of the war led him to declare , " I am sick of Fabian systems in all quarters ! " Later in history Fabian strategy would be employed all over the world . Used against Napoleon ’ s Grande Armée the Fabian strategy proved to be decisive in the defense of Russia . Sam Houston effectively employed a Fabian defense in the aftermath of the Battle of the Alamo , using delaying tactics and small - unit harrying against Santa Anna ' s much larger force , to give time for the Army of Texas to grow into a viable fighting force . When he finally met Santa Anna , on the fields of San Jacinto , Houston chose the time for attack equally well , launching his forces while the Mexican Army was lounging in siesta . The resulting victory ensured the establishment of the Republic of Texas . Houston ' s detractors were able to see the validity of his delaying tactics , with the victory at San Jacinto , otherwise improbable . Fabian Socialism . Fabian Socialism , the ideology of the Fabian Society which originated in 1884 and launched the Labour Party in the United Kingdom in 1904 , utilizes the same strategy of a " war of attrition " in their aim to bring about a socialist state . The advocation of gradualism distinguished this brand of socialism from those who condone revolutionary action .