削弱策略
定義：
削弱策略，就是使敵人整體分散或使其整體損失部分，或者使敵人由於物理規則而在某種條件下喪失某些力量的作為。
制約敵人力量．削弱．軍事．賀拉斯兄弟的決鬥
次分類「削弱．分兵」：
（《賀拉斯的誓約》（Oath of the Horatii ），Jacques-Louis David，1784）
前七世紀，羅馬（Rome）與阿爾巴（Alba）為了結束兩大家族之間的戰爭，於是決定採用劉邦與屋大維都不會幹的蠢事。由少數人的決鬥來決定誰該成為勝利者。於是羅馬方面推出了一組三胞胎兄弟，隸屬於賀拉斯（Horatii）家族；阿爾巴 方面也推出了一組三胞胎兄弟，隸屬於古里亞斯（Curiatii）家族。雙方擇定時間與地點，就由三兄弟展開生死決鬥，並由勝利者的那一方取得統治權，停止彼此的戰爭。
雙方六個勇士就在兩方陣營的眾人圍觀下，開始了戰鬥。結果羅馬方面，有兩個勇士已經先倒了下去，局勢演變成三對一的局面，唯一可以慶幸的是羅馬方面剩下的那一個賀拉斯毫髮無傷，而三個古里亞斯勇士已經都負傷了。於是賀拉斯那位勇士便想，由於三個古里亞斯都已經受傷，如果他跑著讓他們追，因為每一個人受傷的程度不同，勢必造成彼此間距離的不同，如此，他便可以將三對一的劣勢轉換成一對一的優勢（因為他沒有受傷）。於是他便開始奔跑，為了羅馬的光榮與自己的生命堅持戰鬥下去。
果然，賀拉斯勇士猜的沒錯，他這樣一跑，三個勇士的距離便逐漸拉開。於是他便停了下來，一對一（one by one）的把他們給收拾了。最後，羅馬贏得了勝利與榮耀。
解說：
毫無疑問。這是一種分兵的策略。一般而言，正常人總會以為一個人又沒有分身怎麼可能達到「分兵」的效果，但這是就「空間上」的思考而來的。賀拉斯能在如此危及的關頭想出這個著重在「時間上」的分兵策略，委實讓人對他的智勇雙全表示讚嘆。由於賀拉斯削弱了古里亞斯三兄弟的整體力量，自然符合削弱策略的定義。
參考資料：
李維《羅馬史》。
Livy's History of Rome: Book 1
Text Source:
Library collection: "Everyman's Library"
Published work: "The History of Rome, Vol. 1"
Author: Titus Livius
Translator: Rev. Canon Roberts
Editor: Ernest Rhys
Publisher: J. M. Dent & Sons, Ltd., London, 1905
[1.24]There happened to be in each of the armies a triplet of brothers, fairly matched in years and strength. It is generally agreed that they were called Horatii and Curiatii. Few incidents in antiquity have been more widely celebrated, yet in spite of its celebrity there is a discrepancy in the accounts as to which nation each belonged. There are authorities on both sides, but I find that the majority give the name of Horatii to the Romans, and my sympathies lead me to follow them. The kings suggested to them that they should each fight on behalf of their country, and where victory rested, there should be the sovereignty. They raised no objection; so the time and place were fixed. But before they engaged a treaty was concluded between the Romans and the Albans, providing that the nation whose representatives proved victorious should receive the peaceable submission of the other. This is the earliest treaty recorded, and as all treaties, however different the conditions they contain, are concluded with the same forms, I will describe the forms with which this one was concluded as handed down by tradition. The Fetial put the formal question to Tullus: "Do you, King, order me to make a treaty with the Pater Patratus of the Alban nation?" On the king replying in the affirmative, the Fetial said: "I demand of thee, King, some tufts of grass." The king replied: "Take those that are pure." The Fetial brought pure grass from the Citadel. Then he asked the king: "Do you constitute me the plenipotentiary of the People of Rome, the Quirites, sanctioning also my vessels and comrades?" To which the king replied: "So far as may be without hurt to myself and the People of Rome, the Quirites, I do." The Fetial was M. Valerius. He made Spurius Furius the Pater Patratus by touching his head and hair with the grass. Then the Pater Patratus, who is constituted for the purpose of giving the treaty the religious sanction of an oath, did so by a long formula in verse, which it is not worth while to quote. After reciting the conditions he said: "Hear, O Jupiter, hear! thou Pater Patratus of the people of Alba! Hear ye, too, people of Alba! As these conditions have been publicly rehearsed from first to last, from these tablets, in perfect good faith, and inasmuch as they have here and now been most clearly understood, so these conditions the People of Rome will not be the first to go back from. If they shall, in their national council, with false and malicious intent be the first to go back, then do thou, Jupiter, on that day, so smite the People of Rome, even as I here and now shall smite this swine, and smite them so much the more heavily, as thou art greater in power and might." With these words he struck the swine with a flint. In similar wise the Albans recited their oath and formularies through their own dictator and their priests.
[1.25]On the conclusion of the treaty the six combatants armed themselves. They were greeted with shouts of encouragement from their comrades, who reminded them that their fathers' gods, their fatherland, their fathers, every fellow-citizen, every fellow-soldier, were now watching their weapons and the hands that wielded them. Eager for the contest and inspired by the voices round them, they advanced into the open space between the opposing lines. The two armies were sitting in front of their respective camps, relieved from personal danger but not from anxiety, since upon the fortunes and courage of this little group hung the issue of dominion. Watchful and nervous, they gaze with feverish intensity on a spectacle by no means entertaining. The signal was given, and with uplifted swords the six youths charged like a battle-line with the courage of a mighty host. Not one of them thought of his own danger; their sole thought was for their country, whether it would be supreme or subject, their one anxiety that they were deciding its future fortunes. When, at the first encounter, the flashing swords rang on their opponents' shields, a deep shudder ran through the spectators; then a breathless silence followed, as neither side seemed to be gaining any advantage. Soon, however, they saw something more than the swift movements of limbs and the rapid play of sword and shield: blood became visible flowing from open wounds. Two of the Romans fell one on the other, breathing out their life, whilst all the three Albans were wounded. The fall of the Romans was welcomed with a burst of exultation from the Alban army; whilst the Roman legions, who had lost all hope, but not all anxiety, trembled for their solitary champion surrounded by the three Curiatii. It chanced that he was untouched, and though not a match for the three together, he was confident of victory against each separately. So, that he might encounter each singly, he took to flight, assuming that they would follow as well as their wounds would allow. He had run some distance from the spot where the combat began, when, on looking back, he saw them following at long intervals from each other, the foremost not far from him. He turned and made a desperate attack upon him, and whilst the Alban army were shouting to the other Curiatii to come to their brother's assistance, Horatius had already slain his foe and, flushed with victory, was awaiting the second encounter. Then the Romans cheered their champion with a shout such as men raise when hope succeeds to despair, and he hastened to bring the fight to a close. Before the third, who was not far away, could come up, he despatched the second Curiatius. The survivors were now equal in point of numbers, but far from equal in either confidence or strength. The one, unscathed after his double victory, was eager for the third contest; the other, dragging himself wearily along, exhausted by his wounds and by his running, vanquished already by the previous slaughter of his brothers, was an easy conquest to his victorious foe. There was, in fact, no fighting. The Roman cried exultingly: "Two have I sacrificed to appease my brothers' shades; the third I will offer for the issue of this fight, that the Roman may rule the Alban." He thrust his sword downward into the neck of his opponent, who could no longer lift his shield, and then despoiled him as he lay. Horatius was welcomed by the Romans with shouts of triumph, all the more joyous for the fears they had felt. Both sides turned their attention to burying their dead champions, but with very different feelings, the one rejoicing in wider dominion, the other deprived of their liberty and under alien rule. The tombs stand on the spots where each fell; those of the Romans close together, in the direction of Alba; the three Alban tombs, at intervals, in the direction of Rome.
雙方六個勇士就在兩方陣營的眾人圍觀下，開始了戰鬥。結果羅馬方面，有兩個勇士已經先倒了下去，局勢演變成三對一的局面，唯一可以慶幸的是羅馬方面剩下的那一個賀拉斯毫髮無傷，而三個古里亞斯勇士已經都負傷了。於是賀拉斯那位勇士便想，由於三個古里亞斯都已經受傷，如果他跑著讓他們追，因為每一個人受傷的程度不同，勢必造成彼此間距離的不同，如此，他便可以將三對一的劣勢轉換成一對一的優勢（因為他沒有受傷）。於是他便開始奔跑，為了羅馬的光榮與自己的生命堅持戰鬥下去。
果然，賀拉斯勇士猜的沒錯，他這樣一跑，三個勇士的距離便逐漸拉開。於是他便停了下來，一對一（one by one）的把他們給收拾了。最後，羅馬贏得了勝利與榮耀。
解說：
毫無疑問。這是一種分兵的策略。一般而言，正常人總會以為一個人又沒有分身怎麼可能達到「分兵」的效果，但這是就「空間上」的思考而來的。賀拉斯能在如此危及的關頭想出這個著重在「時間上」的分兵策略，委實讓人對他的智勇雙全表示讚嘆。由於賀拉斯削弱了古里亞斯三兄弟的整體力量，自然符合削弱策略的定義。
參考資料：
李維《羅馬史》。
Livy's History of Rome: Book 1
Text Source:
Library collection: "Everyman's Library"
Published work: "The History of Rome, Vol. 1"
Author: Titus Livius
Translator: Rev. Canon Roberts
Editor: Ernest Rhys
Publisher: J. M. Dent & Sons, Ltd., London, 1905
[1.24]There happened to be in each of the armies a triplet of brothers, fairly matched in years and strength. It is generally agreed that they were called Horatii and Curiatii. Few incidents in antiquity have been more widely celebrated, yet in spite of its celebrity there is a discrepancy in the accounts as to which nation each belonged. There are authorities on both sides, but I find that the majority give the name of Horatii to the Romans, and my sympathies lead me to follow them. The kings suggested to them that they should each fight on behalf of their country, and where victory rested, there should be the sovereignty. They raised no objection; so the time and place were fixed. But before they engaged a treaty was concluded between the Romans and the Albans, providing that the nation whose representatives proved victorious should receive the peaceable submission of the other. This is the earliest treaty recorded, and as all treaties, however different the conditions they contain, are concluded with the same forms, I will describe the forms with which this one was concluded as handed down by tradition. The Fetial put the formal question to Tullus: "Do you, King, order me to make a treaty with the Pater Patratus of the Alban nation?" On the king replying in the affirmative, the Fetial said: "I demand of thee, King, some tufts of grass." The king replied: "Take those that are pure." The Fetial brought pure grass from the Citadel. Then he asked the king: "Do you constitute me the plenipotentiary of the People of Rome, the Quirites, sanctioning also my vessels and comrades?" To which the king replied: "So far as may be without hurt to myself and the People of Rome, the Quirites, I do." The Fetial was M. Valerius. He made Spurius Furius the Pater Patratus by touching his head and hair with the grass. Then the Pater Patratus, who is constituted for the purpose of giving the treaty the religious sanction of an oath, did so by a long formula in verse, which it is not worth while to quote. After reciting the conditions he said: "Hear, O Jupiter, hear! thou Pater Patratus of the people of Alba! Hear ye, too, people of Alba! As these conditions have been publicly rehearsed from first to last, from these tablets, in perfect good faith, and inasmuch as they have here and now been most clearly understood, so these conditions the People of Rome will not be the first to go back from. If they shall, in their national council, with false and malicious intent be the first to go back, then do thou, Jupiter, on that day, so smite the People of Rome, even as I here and now shall smite this swine, and smite them so much the more heavily, as thou art greater in power and might." With these words he struck the swine with a flint. In similar wise the Albans recited their oath and formularies through their own dictator and their priests.
[1.25]On the conclusion of the treaty the six combatants armed themselves. They were greeted with shouts of encouragement from their comrades, who reminded them that their fathers' gods, their fatherland, their fathers, every fellow-citizen, every fellow-soldier, were now watching their weapons and the hands that wielded them. Eager for the contest and inspired by the voices round them, they advanced into the open space between the opposing lines. The two armies were sitting in front of their respective camps, relieved from personal danger but not from anxiety, since upon the fortunes and courage of this little group hung the issue of dominion. Watchful and nervous, they gaze with feverish intensity on a spectacle by no means entertaining. The signal was given, and with uplifted swords the six youths charged like a battle-line with the courage of a mighty host. Not one of them thought of his own danger; their sole thought was for their country, whether it would be supreme or subject, their one anxiety that they were deciding its future fortunes. When, at the first encounter, the flashing swords rang on their opponents' shields, a deep shudder ran through the spectators; then a breathless silence followed, as neither side seemed to be gaining any advantage. Soon, however, they saw something more than the swift movements of limbs and the rapid play of sword and shield: blood became visible flowing from open wounds. Two of the Romans fell one on the other, breathing out their life, whilst all the three Albans were wounded. The fall of the Romans was welcomed with a burst of exultation from the Alban army; whilst the Roman legions, who had lost all hope, but not all anxiety, trembled for their solitary champion surrounded by the three Curiatii. It chanced that he was untouched, and though not a match for the three together, he was confident of victory against each separately. So, that he might encounter each singly, he took to flight, assuming that they would follow as well as their wounds would allow. He had run some distance from the spot where the combat began, when, on looking back, he saw them following at long intervals from each other, the foremost not far from him. He turned and made a desperate attack upon him, and whilst the Alban army were shouting to the other Curiatii to come to their brother's assistance, Horatius had already slain his foe and, flushed with victory, was awaiting the second encounter. Then the Romans cheered their champion with a shout such as men raise when hope succeeds to despair, and he hastened to bring the fight to a close. Before the third, who was not far away, could come up, he despatched the second Curiatius. The survivors were now equal in point of numbers, but far from equal in either confidence or strength. The one, unscathed after his double victory, was eager for the third contest; the other, dragging himself wearily along, exhausted by his wounds and by his running, vanquished already by the previous slaughter of his brothers, was an easy conquest to his victorious foe. There was, in fact, no fighting. The Roman cried exultingly: "Two have I sacrificed to appease my brothers' shades; the third I will offer for the issue of this fight, that the Roman may rule the Alban." He thrust his sword downward into the neck of his opponent, who could no longer lift his shield, and then despoiled him as he lay. Horatius was welcomed by the Romans with shouts of triumph, all the more joyous for the fears they had felt. Both sides turned their attention to burying their dead champions, but with very different feelings, the one rejoicing in wider dominion, the other deprived of their liberty and under alien rule. The tombs stand on the spots where each fell; those of the Romans close together, in the direction of Alba; the three Alban tombs, at intervals, in the direction of Rome.
