[2] It involved attacking two cooperating armies at their hinge, swinging around to fight one until it fled, then turning to face the other.
[3] At the battle of Blenheim (1704), the Duke of Marlborough and his ally Prince Eugene of Savoy realising the French were weak in the centre initially concentrated their attacks on the wings.
[4] Central position also describes the overall strategic situation of Frederick the Great[5] during the War of the Austrian Succession and the Seven Years' War in the Eighteenth Century where, although Prussia was surrounded by enemies, Frederick was able to use his central position to maneuver and attack each enemy separately despite being vastly outnumbered overall.
In World War II, Rommel maintained a central position on the Mareth Line between allied forces in Tunisia and Libya.
[6] The tactic loses at least some of its advantage when employed against successive wings or flanks of a single force with a unified command structure, as a single defending force's better communication and coordination enable it to better execute a pincer movement against the attacker.