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كانت الاتحادات تخوض معركة مدعومة /غير مكشوفة الظهر/مظفرة ضد المحاولات الحكومية لتجريدها من سلطاتها/صلاحياتها

تخوض الاتحادات "نزال خاسر مع خصم كاسر" ضد محاولة الحكومة لتجريدها من قواها

استعمال التقفية يفيد ويوحي بوجود قولاً مأثوراً ومثلا في النص الأجنبي بغض النظر هل ان المثل شائع ومستخدم أم هو من بنات أفكارك فحسب .

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Note added at 19 hrs (2008-10-21 08:34:55 GMT)
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خصم كاسر indicates retreat and final defeat is definite.

It means that you're doing something though there is little or no hope of succeeding.
This is exactly what it means from Oxford Talking Dictionary:
rearguard action-
Literal meaning: a defensive stand by the rearguard of a retreating army;

Figurative meaning: a defensive stand in an argument etc., especially when losing.

The example below is very similar. The phrase is used almost always figuratively, as is the case with the "unions" sentence.

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Note added at 2 days18 hrs (2008-10-23 08:21:38 GMT)
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The original sentence- the one to be translated is from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary (with a slight difference in wording). Here's what it says:
a final attempt to prevent something from happening
e.g. The unions were determined to fight a rearguard action against the government's plans to strip them of their powers.

TC