History Main / HiddenArmyReveal

* ''Film/Predator2'': Several Predators de-cloak just after the hero has finished killing one. Apparently, they were watching, and approve.

* In ''Film/KeepYourPowderDry'' (1945), some female soldiers have a picnic and go swimming in some sort of lake. A male officer comes up to them, tells them there's a 'problem', and marches his dozens of camouflaged men away.

* ''Film/Predator2''. Several predators de-cloak just after the hero has finished killing one. Apparently, they were watching, and approve.

[[quoteright:350:[[Machinima/RedVsBlue https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/locus_and_feds.png]]]]

* The climactic battle in the eleventh season of ''Machinima/RedVsBlue'' begins this way, with Locus showing up seemingly alone and the other Feds uncloaking soon after.

* ''Film/GoldenEye''. At the end of the film after Bond and Natalya get off the helicopter that took them away from the exploding base in Cuba, they just get started on some GladToBeAliveSex when they're interrupted by Wade from the CIA strolling in. With a shout of "Yo! Marines!", a platoon them suddenly stand up from among the tall grass along with a couple of helicopters surrounding them to escort them back to the US. ([[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vq_I7ys1R64 Youtube clip]])

* ''Film/GoldenEye''. Near the end of the film a field full of marines and a couple of helicopter appear at the shout of "Yo! Marines!" ([[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vq_I7ys1R64 Youtube clip]])

* The opening to the Dosuun mission in ''VideoGame/JediKnightJediAcademy'' has Jaden Korr notice cloaked enemies are nearby shortly after leaving his ship. He activates his lightsaber, ready to take them on, before they uncloak and reveal just how many are surrounding him - at least five around him, plus another two on the high ledge near their commander when he comes to gloat, and they all have one of the deadliest weapons in the game pointed right at Jaden - at which point Jaden wisely decides to drop his lightsaber and surrender at the commander's suggestion.

* In ''Keep Your Powder Dry'' (1945), some female soldiers have a picnic and go swimming in some sort of lake. A male officer comes up to them, tells them there's a 'problem', and marches his dozens of camouflaged men away.

** In ''[[Film/TheLordOfTheRingsTheReturnOfTheKing The Return of the King]]'' Aragorn pulls this when he arrives at the battle of Minas Tirith. What appears to be just one man charging at the enemy is suddenly one man followed by an [[ArmyOfTheDead army of ghosts]].

** In ''[[Film/TheLordOfTheRingsTheReturnOfTheKing The Return of the King]]'' Aragorn pulls this when he arrives at the battle of Minas Tirith. What appears to be just one man charging at the enemy is suddenly one man followed by an Army of ghosts.

* At one point in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'', Snake gets in an apparently empty elevator, which buzzes to indicate excessive weight, despite its capacity being significantly more than Snake's weight. A long Codec conversation occurs during the ride, discussing among other things the recent disappearance of four of Otacon's prototype [[InvisibilityCloak Stealth Camouflage systems]]. It takes Snake and his support team [[IdiotBall an embarrassingly long time]] to work out that four cloaked soldiers are on the elevator with him. For their part, the four soldiers [[MookChivalry politely wait for the end of the conversation, then dramatically decloak around Snake and announce their presence before attacking]].

Note: To clear up any possible confusion. For something to be an example of this trope the army in question needs to be physically present, but not visible. This means teleporting in armies don't count. This trope can overlap with YouAndWhatArmy and TheCavalry, indeed an example might be present on all three trope pages.

The hero or villain has defeated their final target, they stand triumphant, only for an entire army to appear out of thin air, apparently they were all hiding, waiting for a signal of some kind.

The hero/villain has defeated their final target, they stand triumphant, only for an entire army to appear out of thin air, apparently they were all hiding, waiting for a signal of some kind.

* The opening to the Dosuun mission in ''VideoGame/JediKnightJediAcademy'' has Jaden Korr notice cloaked enemies are nearby shortly after leaving his ship. He activates his lightsaber, ready to take them on, before they uncloak and reveal just how many are surrounding him - at least five around him, plus another two on the high ledge near their commander when he comes to gloat, and they all have one of the deadliest weapons in the game pointed right at Jaden - at which point Jaden wisely decides to drop his lightsaber and surrender at the comamnder's suggestion.

* Just prior to Operation Bagration, in June 1944, Soviet forces manage to completely surprise German Army Group center in Belarus by pulling off this trick, mainly by only moving their troops and vehicles forward at night, and making it seem to German reconnaissance planes that they were moving out of Belarus and into Ukraine. German High command, falling for this trick, move their best troops out of the area and into Ukraine, leaving the front lightly defended. By the time the offensive actually takes place on the 22nd, the Germans are completely dumbfounded when Soviet tanks and infantry emerge from the swamps.
* During the Korean War the Chinese managed to move several hundred thousand troops to the border of Korea in complete secrecy by moving only at night and constructing camouflaged camps to hide from air patrols, soldiers were ordered to stay completely still if an aircraft passed by upon pain of death. Their offensive was so fast and unexpected that many UN commanders didn't believe the Chinese were involved at all in the beginning stages.

** In ''[[Film/TheLordOfTheRingsTheReturnOfTheKing The Return of the King]]'' Aragorn pulls this when he arrives at the battle of Minis Tirith. What appears to be just one man charging at the enemy is suddenly one man followed by an Army of ghosts.

** There's a moment in ''VideoGame/CallOfDuty4ModernWarfare'' where the player starts out looking at what appears to be empty grassland, even after a replay not really knowing where their ally is until part of the ground gets up and starts moving.
** ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyModernWarfare3'' does a non-foliage variant during the stealth mission in Prague, where Price sneaks up on and takes out a sniper on a rooftop just as the player is sighting in on him, then when told about how lopsided the odds are, reassures you that he's "brought friends" - cue as many rebels as could possibly fit on that rooftop revealing themselves and opening fire on the opposing army.

* In ''Film/TheReturnOfTheKing'' Aragorn pulls this when he arrives at the battle of Minis Tirith. What appears to be just one man charging at the enemy is suddenly one man followed by an Army of ghosts.
** Villain-to-villain variant: Earlier, in ''Film/TheTwoTowers'', as [[TheQuisling Grima Wormtongue]] and [[TheDarkLord Saruman]] walk-and-talk around Saruman's MageTower, Grima points out that the fortress they want to besiege is filled with basically all of [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy the Rohirrim]], and that capturing it would take thousands of troops. Saruman corrects him to "tens of thousands". Grima complains "But my lord, there is no such force" before Saruman leads him to a balcony above [[AlwaysChaoticEvil tens of thousands of Uruk-Hai]]. (Grima apparently didn't hear any of the super-soldier orcs shouting [[BehindTheBlack until he could actually see them.]])

* ''Disney/{{Mulan}}'': As Mulan's unit is attacked by snipers in a mountain pass, they fire cannons at them, which seems to hold them off. But then, as the smoke clears, Shan Yu appears at the top of a ridge. And just behind them, about a thousand Huns on horseback...

The method of hiding isn't important as look as the area appears empty on initial inspection and leave the character wondering where the hell they came from.