I also use theese forms of tactics especially in an initial phase of a conflict, especially against a stronger or equal foe.
Ex: RTR, VH/VH: Carthaginian campaign vs Ptolemy (Egypt)
They blockade my port in Lepcis and came marching with stack upon stack upon stack.... across the Libyan desert. At the Tripolitanian border I already had a very good defensive general with onagers, archers and phalanxes so I sent one more army there from Lepcis to re-inforce him. My whole fleet except 3 are now thundering the coastline of Libya blockading port after port down the entire coasline towards the Levant. Meanwhile I always keep a very good commander in Sicily so I board the three remaining fleets and send them towards the Aegean on a more northern route. Goal: capture Kydonia, Rhodes (Colossus) and Salamis before they can react.
The main reason is that Cyrene and Siwa aren´t worth the fight and I rather take the islands and maybe Sidon and Tyre (old Phoenician homelands) before turning Ptolemy into a protectorate. The secon reason is, like Sun Tzu stated, to apear strong where I´m not and apear weak where I´m not, he he!

P.S "When the enemy advances, withdraw; when he stops, harass; when he tires, strike; when he retreats, pursue". (Mao Tse-Tung) This is actually Sun Tzu´s from the art of war so you might wanna change that.