pincer is needed ("single pincer"), because the function of the second arm is taken over by the natural obstacle. The German attack into the lowlands of France in 1940 is a typical example of this. A third and rare type of encirclement can ensue from a breakthrough in an area of the enemy front, and exploiting that with mobile forces, diverging in two or more directions behind the enemy line. Full encirclement rarely follows, but the threat of it severely hampers the defender's options. This type of attack pattern is centerpiece to blitzkrieg operations. Because of the extreme difficulty of this operation, it cannot be executed unless the offensive force has a vast superiority, either in technology, organization, or sheer numbers. The Barbarossa campaign of 1941 saw some examples. The danger to the encircling force is that it is, itself, cut off from its logistical base; if the encircled force is able to stand firm, or maintain a supply route, the encircling force can be thrown into confusion (for example, Rommel's "Dash to the Wire" in 1941 and the Demyansk Pocket in 1942) or be comprehensively destroyed (as during the Burma campaign, in 1944). Notable encirclement battles Some examples of battles of encirclement are listed below. Battle of Thermopylae (480 BC) Battle of Cannae (216 BC) Battle of the Abas (65 BC) Battle of Walaja (633 AD) Battle of Fraustadt (1706) Battle of Kirkuk (1733) Battle of Kars (1745) Battle of Maymyo (1768) Ulm Campaign (1805) Battle of Ocaña (1809) Battle of Isandlwana (1879) Battle of Tannenberg (1914) Battle of Magdhaba (1916) Battle of Rafa (1916) First Battle of Gaza (1917) Battle of Beersheba (1917) Battle of Megiddo (1918) Battle of Suomussalmi (1939-1940) Battle of Kiev (1941) Battle of Smolensk (1941) Battle of Białystok–Minsk (1941) Battle for Velikiye Luki (1942) Battle of Hong Kong (1941) Battle of Stalingrad (1942-1943) Battle of the Korsun-Cherkassy Pocket (1944) Kamenets-Podolsky pocket (1944) Operation Bagration (1944) Battle of the Mons Pocket (1944) Siege of Bastogne, Belgium (1944) Battle of the Ruhr Pocket (1945) Battle of Berlin (1945) Six-Day War (1967) Battle of Khorramshahr (1980) Battle of Mogadishu (1993) Battle of Misrata (2011) Battle of Aleppo (2012–2016) Battle of Ilovaisk Second Battle of Tikrit (2015) Battle of Afrin (2018) Siege of Mariupol (2022) See also Blockade Encirclement Campaigns Maneuver warfare References External links The Great Kitilä Motti (Winter War history from a documentary film's website showing