The pincer maneuver, alternatively referred to as Pincer Movement or simply a pincer, represented a strategic approach employed across naval, infantry, and ground vehicle engagements to encircle and trap an adversary. In ground-based scenarios, this tactic involved surrounding the target utilizing coordinated vehicle or infantry assaults on either flank. In naval warfare, the objective was to ensnare an enemy starship between converging warships.
The Nikardun Destiny gained notoriety for its extensive use of the pincer maneuver within the Unknown Regions, particularly as a component of their starfighter combat doctrines. During the Raid on Rapacc, which occurred around 19 BBY, the Nikardun military deployed this maneuver against Chiss Ascendancy warships. Furthermore, during the mission to the Lioaoin heartworld, also circa 19 BBY, Senior Captain Mitth'raw'nuruodo (known by his core name "Thrawn") discerned that the Lioaoi had fallen under the influence of the Nikardun Destiny due to their employment of the pincer maneuver in defense of their homeworld, a tactic uncharacteristic of the Lioaoin military's navy.
In 4 BBY, amidst the Galactic Civil War, Imperial Security Bureau agent Alexsandr Kallus spearheaded an assault on the planet Seelos targeting rebel forces and former [clone trooper](/article/clone_trooper] elements. He instructed his All Terrain Armored Transports to execute a pincer movement, flanking the All Terrain Tactical Enforcer operated by the clones Wolffe, Gregor, and Rex.
Around 3 BBY, insurgents commanded by Nightswan, alongside liberated Wookiee slaves, attacked the Imperial space station Lansend Twenty-Six in an effort to free their enslaved comrades. Commodore Thrawn, the commander of the Imperial I-class Star Destroyer Chimaera, directed his Star Destroyer against the attacking rebels positioned at the space station. Imperial Navy officer Zenoc, the colonel overseeing Lansend Twenty-Six, notified Thrawn that rebel insurgents had boarded the station, attempting to seize control through an infantry-based pincer maneuver. Despite the rebels' success in capturing portions of the station, Thrawn ordered Zenoc to evacuate and isolate those areas. Thrawn ultimately subdued the insurgents by bombarding the rebel-held sectors, resulting in significant casualties and the capture of the remaining survivors.
Following the battle of Endor, New Republic general Lando Calrissian, pilot Nien Nunb, and the Lepi smuggler Jaxxon embarked on a mission to liberate Rekkana from an Imperial remnant controlling the planet. While piloting the Millennium Falcon, they encountered a pincer maneuver executed by TIE fighters immediately after emerging from hyperspace within the star system containing Rekkana. Given the native Rekk species' expertise in artificial intelligence, Lando speculated that the attacking TIE fighters might be piloted by AI rather than Imperial pilots, owing to the precision and skill demonstrated in the flanking maneuver.
The pincer maneuver made its initial appearance in Star Wars canon within the Star Wars Rebels episode entitled "Relics of the Old Republic," which premiered at the New York Comic Con on October 8, 2015. Within the Legends continuity, the pincer maneuver was first introduced in Timothy Zahn's 1992 novel, Heir to the Empire.