diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 2374f77a1aae58..4470d7cfc0ae72 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -122,9 +122,6 @@
 /git-range-diff
 /git-read-tree
 /git-rebase
-/git-rebase--am
-/git-rebase--common
-/git-rebase--interactive
 /git-rebase--preserve-merges
 /git-receive-pack
 /git-reflog
diff --git a/Documentation/git-rebase.txt b/Documentation/git-rebase.txt
index 5e4e9276479c94..bc620c44e93916 100644
--- a/Documentation/git-rebase.txt
+++ b/Documentation/git-rebase.txt
@@ -543,8 +543,6 @@ In addition, the following pairs of options are incompatible:
  * --preserve-merges and --interactive
  * --preserve-merges and --signoff
  * --preserve-merges and --rebase-merges
- * --rebase-merges and --strategy
- * --rebase-merges and --strategy-option
 
 BEHAVIORAL DIFFERENCES
 -----------------------
diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 8a7e2353520ddd..6c3bfb1733e2b2 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -624,8 +624,6 @@ SCRIPT_SH += git-web--browse.sh
 
 SCRIPT_LIB += git-mergetool--lib
 SCRIPT_LIB += git-parse-remote
-SCRIPT_LIB += git-rebase--am
-SCRIPT_LIB += git-rebase--common
 SCRIPT_LIB += git-rebase--preserve-merges
 SCRIPT_LIB += git-sh-setup
 SCRIPT_LIB += git-sh-i18n
diff --git a/builtin/rebase.c b/builtin/rebase.c
index 21681a551b1983..ee2bc8b032a2fa 100644
--- a/builtin/rebase.c
+++ b/builtin/rebase.c
@@ -62,7 +62,7 @@ struct rebase_options {
 	const char *onto_name;
 	const char *revisions;
 	const char *switch_to;
-	int root;
+	int root, root_with_onto;
 	struct object_id *squash_onto;
 	struct commit *restrict_revision;
 	int dont_finish_rebase;
@@ -374,6 +374,7 @@ static int run_rebase_interactive(struct rebase_options *opts,
 	flags |= abbreviate_commands ? TODO_LIST_ABBREVIATE_CMDS : 0;
 	flags |= opts->rebase_merges ? TODO_LIST_REBASE_MERGES : 0;
 	flags |= opts->rebase_cousins > 0 ? TODO_LIST_REBASE_COUSINS : 0;
+	flags |= opts->root_with_onto ? TODO_LIST_ROOT_WITH_ONTO : 0;
 	flags |= command == ACTION_SHORTEN_OIDS ? TODO_LIST_SHORTEN_IDS : 0;
 
 	switch (command) {
@@ -1153,10 +1154,6 @@ static int run_specific_rebase(struct rebase_options *opts, enum action action)
 	}
 
 	switch (opts->type) {
-	case REBASE_AM:
-		backend = "git-rebase--am";
-		backend_func = "git_rebase__am";
-		break;
 	case REBASE_PRESERVE_MERGES:
 		backend = "git-rebase--preserve-merges";
 		backend_func = "git_rebase__preserve_merges";
@@ -1167,8 +1164,7 @@ static int run_specific_rebase(struct rebase_options *opts, enum action action)
 	}
 
 	strbuf_addf(&script_snippet,
-		    ". git-sh-setup && . git-rebase--common &&"
-		    " . %s && %s", backend, backend_func);
+		    ". git-sh-setup && . %s && %s", backend, backend_func);
 	argv[0] = script_snippet.buf;
 
 	status = run_command_v_opt(argv, RUN_USING_SHELL);
@@ -1816,15 +1812,6 @@ int cmd_rebase(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix)
 			      "'--reschedule-failed-exec'"));
 	}
 
-	if (options.rebase_merges) {
-		if (strategy_options.nr)
-			die(_("cannot combine '--rebase-merges' with "
-			      "'--strategy-option'"));
-		if (options.strategy)
-			die(_("cannot combine '--rebase-merges' with "
-			      "'--strategy'"));
-	}
-
 	if (!options.root) {
 		if (argc < 1) {
 			struct branch *branch;
@@ -1855,7 +1842,9 @@ int cmd_rebase(int argc, const char **argv, const char *prefix)
 			options.squash_onto = &squash_onto;
 			options.onto_name = squash_onto_name =
 				xstrdup(oid_to_hex(&squash_onto));
-		}
+		} else
+			options.root_with_onto = 1;
+
 		options.upstream_name = NULL;
 		options.upstream = NULL;
 		if (argc > 1)
diff --git a/git-rebase--am.sh b/git-rebase--am.sh
deleted file mode 100644
index 6416716ee620cf..00000000000000
--- a/git-rebase--am.sh
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,85 +0,0 @@
-# This shell script fragment is sourced by git-rebase to implement
-# its default, fast, patch-based, non-interactive mode.
-#
-# Copyright (c) 2010 Junio C Hamano.
-#
-
-git_rebase__am () {
-
-case "$action" in
-continue)
-	git am --resolved --resolvemsg="$resolvemsg" \
-		${gpg_sign_opt:+"$gpg_sign_opt"} &&
-	move_to_original_branch
-	return
-	;;
-skip)
-	git am --skip --resolvemsg="$resolvemsg" &&
-	move_to_original_branch
-	return
-	;;
-show-current-patch)
-	exec git am --show-current-patch
-	;;
-esac
-
-if test -z "$rebase_root"
-	# this is now equivalent to ! -z "$upstream"
-then
-	revisions=$upstream...$orig_head
-else
-	revisions=$onto...$orig_head
-fi
-
-ret=0
-rm -f "$GIT_DIR/rebased-patches"
-
-git format-patch -k --stdout --full-index --cherry-pick --right-only \
-	--src-prefix=a/ --dst-prefix=b/ --no-renames --no-cover-letter \
-	--pretty=mboxrd --topo-order \
-	$git_format_patch_opt \
-	"$revisions" ${restrict_revision+^$restrict_revision} \
-	>"$GIT_DIR/rebased-patches"
-ret=$?
-
-if test 0 != $ret
-then
-	rm -f "$GIT_DIR/rebased-patches"
-	case "$head_name" in
-	refs/heads/*)
-		git checkout -q "$head_name"
-		;;
-	*)
-		git checkout -q "$orig_head"
-		;;
-	esac
-
-	cat >&2 <<-EOF
-
-	git encountered an error while preparing the patches to replay
-	these revisions:
-
-	    $revisions
-
-	As a result, git cannot rebase them.
-	EOF
-	return $ret
-fi
-
-git am $git_am_opt --rebasing --resolvemsg="$resolvemsg" \
-	--patch-format=mboxrd \
-	$allow_rerere_autoupdate \
-	${gpg_sign_opt:+"$gpg_sign_opt"} <"$GIT_DIR/rebased-patches"
-ret=$?
-
-rm -f "$GIT_DIR/rebased-patches"
-
-if test 0 != $ret
-then
-	test -d "$state_dir" && write_basic_state
-	return $ret
-fi
-
-move_to_original_branch
-
-}
diff --git a/git-rebase--common.sh b/git-rebase--common.sh
deleted file mode 100644
index f00e13e5d04df0..00000000000000
--- a/git-rebase--common.sh
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,69 +0,0 @@
-
-resolvemsg="
-$(gettext 'Resolve all conflicts manually, mark them as resolved with
-"git add/rm <conflicted_files>", then run "git rebase --continue".
-You can instead skip this commit: run "git rebase --skip".
-To abort and get back to the state before "git rebase", run "git rebase --abort".')
-"
-
-write_basic_state () {
-	echo "$head_name" > "$state_dir"/head-name &&
-	echo "$onto" > "$state_dir"/onto &&
-	echo "$orig_head" > "$state_dir"/orig-head &&
-	test t = "$GIT_QUIET" && : > "$state_dir"/quiet
-	test t = "$verbose" && : > "$state_dir"/verbose
-	test -n "$strategy" && echo "$strategy" > "$state_dir"/strategy
-	test -n "$strategy_opts" && echo "$strategy_opts" > \
-		"$state_dir"/strategy_opts
-	test -n "$allow_rerere_autoupdate" && echo "$allow_rerere_autoupdate" > \
-		"$state_dir"/allow_rerere_autoupdate
-	test -n "$gpg_sign_opt" && echo "$gpg_sign_opt" > "$state_dir"/gpg_sign_opt
-	test -n "$signoff" && echo "$signoff" >"$state_dir"/signoff
-	test -n "$reschedule_failed_exec" && : > "$state_dir"/reschedule-failed-exec
-}
-
-apply_autostash () {
-	if test -f "$state_dir/autostash"
-	then
-		stash_sha1=$(cat "$state_dir/autostash")
-		if git stash apply $stash_sha1 >/dev/null 2>&1
-		then
-			echo "$(gettext 'Applied autostash.')" >&2
-		else
-			git stash store -m "autostash" -q $stash_sha1 ||
-			die "$(eval_gettext "Cannot store \$stash_sha1")"
-			gettext 'Applying autostash resulted in conflicts.
-Your changes are safe in the stash.
-You can run "git stash pop" or "git stash drop" at any time.
-' >&2
-		fi
-	fi
-}
-
-move_to_original_branch () {
-	case "$head_name" in
-	refs/*)
-		message="rebase finished: $head_name onto $onto"
-		git update-ref -m "$message" \
-			$head_name $(git rev-parse HEAD) $orig_head &&
-		git symbolic-ref \
-			-m "rebase finished: returning to $head_name" \
-			HEAD $head_name ||
-		die "$(eval_gettext "Could not move back to \$head_name")"
-		;;
-	esac
-}
-
-output () {
-	case "$verbose" in
-	'')
-		output=$("$@" 2>&1 )
-		status=$?
-		test $status != 0 && printf "%s\n" "$output"
-		return $status
-		;;
-	*)
-		"$@"
-		;;
-	esac
-}
diff --git a/git-rebase--preserve-merges.sh b/git-rebase--preserve-merges.sh
index afbb65765d4610..dec90e9af67785 100644
--- a/git-rebase--preserve-merges.sh
+++ b/git-rebase--preserve-merges.sh
@@ -77,6 +77,61 @@ rewritten_pending="$state_dir"/rewritten-pending
 # and leaves CR at the end instead.
 cr=$(printf "\015")
 
+resolvemsg="
+$(gettext 'Resolve all conflicts manually, mark them as resolved with
+"git add/rm <conflicted_files>", then run "git rebase --continue".
+You can instead skip this commit: run "git rebase --skip".
+To abort and get back to the state before "git rebase", run "git rebase --abort".')
+"
+
+write_basic_state () {
+	echo "$head_name" > "$state_dir"/head-name &&
+	echo "$onto" > "$state_dir"/onto &&
+	echo "$orig_head" > "$state_dir"/orig-head &&
+	test t = "$GIT_QUIET" && : > "$state_dir"/quiet
+	test t = "$verbose" && : > "$state_dir"/verbose
+	test -n "$strategy" && echo "$strategy" > "$state_dir"/strategy
+	test -n "$strategy_opts" && echo "$strategy_opts" > \
+		"$state_dir"/strategy_opts
+	test -n "$allow_rerere_autoupdate" && echo "$allow_rerere_autoupdate" > \
+		"$state_dir"/allow_rerere_autoupdate
+	test -n "$gpg_sign_opt" && echo "$gpg_sign_opt" > "$state_dir"/gpg_sign_opt
+	test -n "$signoff" && echo "$signoff" >"$state_dir"/signoff
+	test -n "$reschedule_failed_exec" && : > "$state_dir"/reschedule-failed-exec
+}
+
+apply_autostash () {
+	if test -f "$state_dir/autostash"
+	then
+		stash_sha1=$(cat "$state_dir/autostash")
+		if git stash apply $stash_sha1 >/dev/null 2>&1
+		then
+			echo "$(gettext 'Applied autostash.')" >&2
+		else
+			git stash store -m "autostash" -q $stash_sha1 ||
+			die "$(eval_gettext "Cannot store \$stash_sha1")"
+			gettext 'Applying autostash resulted in conflicts.
+Your changes are safe in the stash.
+You can run "git stash pop" or "git stash drop" at any time.
+' >&2
+		fi
+	fi
+}
+
+output () {
+	case "$verbose" in
+	'')
+		output=$("$@" 2>&1 )
+		status=$?
+		test $status != 0 && printf "%s\n" "$output"
+		return $status
+		;;
+	*)
+		"$@"
+		;;
+	esac
+}
+
 strategy_args=${strategy:+--strategy=$strategy}
 test -n "$strategy_opts" &&
 eval '
diff --git a/sequencer.c b/sequencer.c
index f88a97fb10a322..ca119c84e577c9 100644
--- a/sequencer.c
+++ b/sequencer.c
@@ -767,7 +767,7 @@ static int parse_key_value_squoted(char *buf, struct string_list *list)
  *	GIT_AUTHOR_DATE='$author_date'
  *
  * where $author_name, $author_email and $author_date are quoted. We are strict
- * with our parsing, as the file was meant to be eval'd in the old
+ * with our parsing, as the file was meant to be eval'd in the now-removed
  * git-am.sh/git-rebase--interactive.sh scripts, and thus if the file differs
  * from what this function expects, it is better to bail out than to do
  * something that the user does not expect.
@@ -3256,6 +3256,9 @@ static int do_merge(struct repository *r,
 	struct commit *head_commit, *merge_commit, *i;
 	struct commit_list *bases, *j, *reversed = NULL;
 	struct commit_list *to_merge = NULL, **tail = &to_merge;
+	const char *strategy = !opts->xopts_nr &&
+		(!opts->strategy || !strcmp(opts->strategy, "recursive")) ?
+		NULL : opts->strategy;
 	struct merge_options o;
 	int merge_arg_len, oneline_offset, can_fast_forward, ret, k;
 	static struct lock_file lock;
@@ -3404,7 +3407,7 @@ static int do_merge(struct repository *r,
 		goto leave_merge;
 	}
 
-	if (to_merge->next) {
+	if (strategy || to_merge->next) {
 		/* Octopus merge */
 		struct child_process cmd = CHILD_PROCESS_INIT;
 
@@ -3418,7 +3421,14 @@ static int do_merge(struct repository *r,
 		cmd.git_cmd = 1;
 		argv_array_push(&cmd.args, "merge");
 		argv_array_push(&cmd.args, "-s");
-		argv_array_push(&cmd.args, "octopus");
+		if (!strategy)
+			argv_array_push(&cmd.args, "octopus");
+		else {
+			argv_array_push(&cmd.args, strategy);
+			for (k = 0; k < opts->xopts_nr; k++)
+				argv_array_pushf(&cmd.args,
+						 "-X%s", opts->xopts[k]);
+		}
 		argv_array_push(&cmd.args, "--no-edit");
 		argv_array_push(&cmd.args, "--no-ff");
 		argv_array_push(&cmd.args, "--no-log");
@@ -4430,6 +4440,7 @@ static int make_script_with_merges(struct pretty_print_context *pp,
 {
 	int keep_empty = flags & TODO_LIST_KEEP_EMPTY;
 	int rebase_cousins = flags & TODO_LIST_REBASE_COUSINS;
+	int root_with_onto = flags & TODO_LIST_ROOT_WITH_ONTO;
 	struct strbuf buf = STRBUF_INIT, oneline = STRBUF_INIT;
 	struct strbuf label = STRBUF_INIT;
 	struct commit_list *commits = NULL, **tail = &commits, *iter;
@@ -4596,7 +4607,8 @@ static int make_script_with_merges(struct pretty_print_context *pp,
 
 		if (!commit)
 			strbuf_addf(out, "%s %s\n", cmd_reset,
-				    rebase_cousins ? "onto" : "[new root]");
+				    rebase_cousins || root_with_onto ?
+				    "onto" : "[new root]");
 		else {
 			const char *to = NULL;
 
diff --git a/sequencer.h b/sequencer.h
index 0c494b83d43e2c..d506081d3c8656 100644
--- a/sequencer.h
+++ b/sequencer.h
@@ -142,6 +142,12 @@ int sequencer_remove_state(struct replay_opts *opts);
  */
 #define TODO_LIST_REBASE_COUSINS (1U << 4)
 #define TODO_LIST_APPEND_TODO_HELP (1U << 5)
+/*
+ * When generating a script that rebases merges with `--root` *and* with
+ * `--onto`, we do not want to re-generate the root commits.
+ */
+#define TODO_LIST_ROOT_WITH_ONTO (1U << 6)
+
 
 int sequencer_make_script(struct repository *r, struct strbuf *out, int argc,
 			  const char **argv, unsigned flags);
diff --git a/t/lib-rebase.sh b/t/lib-rebase.sh
index 7ea30e50068be8..6d87961e419e10 100644
--- a/t/lib-rebase.sh
+++ b/t/lib-rebase.sh
@@ -44,10 +44,10 @@ set_fake_editor () {
 	rm -f "$1"
 	echo 'rebase -i script before editing:'
 	cat "$1".tmp
-	action=pick
+	action=\&
 	for line in $FAKE_LINES; do
 		case $line in
-		pick|p|squash|s|fixup|f|edit|e|reword|r|drop|d)
+		pick|p|squash|s|fixup|f|edit|e|reword|r|drop|d|label|l|reset|r|merge|m)
 			action="$line";;
 		exec_*|x_*|break|b)
 			echo "$line" | sed 's/_/ /g' >> "$1";;
@@ -58,11 +58,12 @@ set_fake_editor () {
 		bad)
 			action="badcmd";;
 		fakesha)
+			test \& != "$action" || action=pick
 			echo "$action XXXXXXX False commit" >> "$1"
 			action=pick;;
 		*)
-			sed -n "${line}s/^pick/$action/p" < "$1".tmp >> "$1"
-			action=pick;;
+			sed -n "${line}s/^[a-z][a-z]*/$action/p" < "$1".tmp >> "$1"
+			action=\&;;
 		esac
 	done
 	echo 'rebase -i script after editing:'
diff --git a/t/t3400-rebase.sh b/t/t3400-rebase.sh
index 42f147858d7c2e..80b23fd3269c78 100755
--- a/t/t3400-rebase.sh
+++ b/t/t3400-rebase.sh
@@ -285,7 +285,7 @@ EOF
 	test_cmp From_.msg out
 '
 
-test_expect_success 'rebase--am.sh and --show-current-patch' '
+test_expect_success 'rebase --am and --show-current-patch' '
 	test_create_repo conflict-apply &&
 	(
 		cd conflict-apply &&
diff --git a/t/t3418-rebase-continue.sh b/t/t3418-rebase-continue.sh
index bdaa511bb0ae10..fbf9addfd137b9 100755
--- a/t/t3418-rebase-continue.sh
+++ b/t/t3418-rebase-continue.sh
@@ -120,6 +120,20 @@ test_expect_success REBASE_P 'rebase passes merge strategy options correctly' '
 	git rebase --continue
 '
 
+test_expect_success 'rebase -r passes merge strategy options correctly' '
+	rm -fr .git/rebase-* &&
+	git reset --hard commit-new-file-F3-on-topic-branch &&
+	test_commit merge-theirs &&
+	git reset --hard HEAD^ &&
+	test_commit some-other-commit &&
+	test_tick &&
+	git merge --no-ff merge-theirs &&
+	FAKE_LINES="1 3 edit 4 5 7 8 9" git rebase -i -f -r -m \
+		-s recursive --strategy-option=theirs HEAD~2 &&
+	test_commit force-change-ours &&
+	git rebase --continue
+'
+
 test_expect_success '--skip after failed fixup cleans commit message' '
 	test_when_finished "test_might_fail git rebase --abort" &&
 	git checkout -b with-conflicting-fixup &&
diff --git a/t/t3422-rebase-incompatible-options.sh b/t/t3422-rebase-incompatible-options.sh
index a5868ea152f941..50e7960702da4f 100755
--- a/t/t3422-rebase-incompatible-options.sh
+++ b/t/t3422-rebase-incompatible-options.sh
@@ -76,14 +76,4 @@ test_expect_success REBASE_P \
 	test_must_fail git rebase --preserve-merges --rebase-merges A
 '
 
-test_expect_success '--rebase-merges incompatible with --strategy' '
-	git checkout B^0 &&
-	test_must_fail git rebase --rebase-merges -s resolve A
-'
-
-test_expect_success '--rebase-merges incompatible with --strategy-option' '
-	git checkout B^0 &&
-	test_must_fail git rebase --rebase-merges -Xignore-space-change A
-'
-
 test_done
diff --git a/t/t3427-rebase-subtree.sh b/t/t3427-rebase-subtree.sh
index d8640522a08696..39e348de163b72 100755
--- a/t/t3427-rebase-subtree.sh
+++ b/t/t3427-rebase-subtree.sh
@@ -11,113 +11,96 @@ commit_message() {
 	git log --pretty=format:%s -1 "$1"
 }
 
+# There are a few bugs in the rebase with regards to the subtree strategy, and
+# this test script tries to document them.  First, the following commit history
+# is generated (the onelines are shown, time flows from left to right):
+#
+# master1 - master2 - master3
+#                             \
+# README ---------------------- Add subproject master - master4 - files_subtree/master5
+#
+# Where the merge moves the files master[123].t into the subdirectory
+# files_subtree/ and master4 as well as files_subtree/master5 add files to that
+# directory directly.
+#
+# Then, in subsequent test cases, `git filter-branch` is used to distill just
+# the commits that touch files_subtree/. To give it a final pre-rebase touch,
+# an empty commit is added on top. The pre-rebase commit history looks like
+# this:
+#
+# Add subproject master - master4 - files_subtree/master5 - Empty commit
+#
+# where the root commit adds three files: master1.t, master2.t and master3.t.
+#
+# This commit history is then rebased onto `master3` with the
+# `-Xsubtree=files_subtree` option in three different ways:
+#
+# 1. using `--preserve-merges`
+# 2. using `--preserve-merges` and --keep-empty
+# 3. without specifying a rebase backend
+
 test_expect_success 'setup' '
 	test_commit README &&
-	mkdir files &&
-	(
-		cd files &&
-		git init &&
-		test_commit master1 &&
-		test_commit master2 &&
-		test_commit master3
-	) &&
-	git fetch files master &&
-	git branch files-master FETCH_HEAD &&
-	git read-tree --prefix=files_subtree files-master &&
-	git checkout -- files_subtree &&
-	tree=$(git write-tree) &&
-	head=$(git rev-parse HEAD) &&
-	rev=$(git rev-parse --verify files-master^0) &&
-	commit=$(git commit-tree -p $head -p $rev -m "Add subproject master" $tree) &&
-	git update-ref HEAD $commit &&
-	(
-		cd files_subtree &&
-		test_commit master4
-	) &&
-	test_commit files_subtree/master5
-'
 
-# FAILURE: Does not preserve master4.
-test_expect_failure REBASE_P \
-	'Rebase -Xsubtree --preserve-merges --onto commit 4' '
-	reset_rebase &&
-	git checkout -b rebase-preserve-merges-4 master &&
+	git init files &&
+	test_commit -C files master1 &&
+	test_commit -C files master2 &&
+	test_commit -C files master3 &&
+
+	: perform subtree merge into files_subtree/ &&
+	git fetch files refs/heads/master:refs/heads/files-master &&
+	git merge -s ours --no-commit --allow-unrelated-histories \
+		files-master &&
+	git read-tree --prefix=files_subtree -u files-master &&
+	git commit -m "Add subproject master" &&
+
+	: add two extra commits to rebase &&
+	test_commit -C files_subtree master4 &&
+	test_commit files_subtree/master5 &&
+
+	git checkout -b to-rebase &&
 	git filter-branch --prune-empty -f --subdirectory-filter files_subtree &&
-	git commit -m "Empty commit" --allow-empty &&
-	git rebase -Xsubtree=files_subtree --preserve-merges --onto files-master master &&
-	verbose test "$(commit_message HEAD~)" = "files_subtree/master4"
+	git commit -m "Empty commit" --allow-empty
 '
 
-# FAILURE: Does not preserve master5.
-test_expect_failure REBASE_P \
-	'Rebase -Xsubtree --preserve-merges --onto commit 5' '
+# FAILURE: Does not preserve master4.
+test_expect_failure REBASE_P 'Rebase -Xsubtree --preserve-merges --onto commit' '
 	reset_rebase &&
-	git checkout -b rebase-preserve-merges-5 master &&
-	git filter-branch --prune-empty -f --subdirectory-filter files_subtree &&
-	git commit -m "Empty commit" --allow-empty &&
+	git checkout -b rebase-preserve-merges to-rebase &&
 	git rebase -Xsubtree=files_subtree --preserve-merges --onto files-master master &&
+	verbose test "$(commit_message HEAD~)" = "master4" &&
 	verbose test "$(commit_message HEAD)" = "files_subtree/master5"
 '
 
 # FAILURE: Does not preserve master4.
-test_expect_failure REBASE_P \
-	'Rebase -Xsubtree --keep-empty --preserve-merges --onto commit 4' '
+test_expect_failure REBASE_P 'Rebase -Xsubtree --keep-empty --preserve-merges --onto commit' '
 	reset_rebase &&
-	git checkout -b rebase-keep-empty-4 master &&
-	git filter-branch --prune-empty -f --subdirectory-filter files_subtree &&
-	git commit -m "Empty commit" --allow-empty &&
-	git rebase -Xsubtree=files_subtree --keep-empty --preserve-merges --onto files-master master &&
-	verbose test "$(commit_message HEAD~2)" = "files_subtree/master4"
-'
-
-# FAILURE: Does not preserve master5.
-test_expect_failure REBASE_P \
-	'Rebase -Xsubtree --keep-empty --preserve-merges --onto commit 5' '
-	reset_rebase &&
-	git checkout -b rebase-keep-empty-5 master &&
-	git filter-branch --prune-empty -f --subdirectory-filter files_subtree &&
-	git commit -m "Empty commit" --allow-empty &&
-	git rebase -Xsubtree=files_subtree --keep-empty --preserve-merges --onto files-master master &&
-	verbose test "$(commit_message HEAD~)" = "files_subtree/master5"
-'
-
-# FAILURE: Does not preserve Empty.
-test_expect_failure REBASE_P \
-	'Rebase -Xsubtree --keep-empty --preserve-merges --onto empty commit' '
-	reset_rebase &&
-	git checkout -b rebase-keep-empty-empty master &&
-	git filter-branch --prune-empty -f --subdirectory-filter files_subtree &&
-	git commit -m "Empty commit" --allow-empty &&
+	git checkout -b rebase-keep-empty to-rebase &&
 	git rebase -Xsubtree=files_subtree --keep-empty --preserve-merges --onto files-master master &&
+	verbose test "$(commit_message HEAD~2)" = "master4" &&
+	verbose test "$(commit_message HEAD~)" = "files_subtree/master5" &&
 	verbose test "$(commit_message HEAD)" = "Empty commit"
 '
 
-# FAILURE: fatal: Could not parse object
-test_expect_failure 'Rebase -Xsubtree --onto commit 4' '
+test_expect_success 'Rebase -Xsubtree --keep-empty --onto commit' '
 	reset_rebase &&
-	git checkout -b rebase-onto-4 master &&
-	git filter-branch --prune-empty -f --subdirectory-filter files_subtree &&
-	git commit -m "Empty commit" --allow-empty &&
-	git rebase -Xsubtree=files_subtree --onto files-master master &&
-	verbose test "$(commit_message HEAD~2)" = "files_subtree/master4"
+	git checkout -b rebase-onto to-rebase &&
+	test_must_fail git rebase -Xsubtree=files_subtree --keep-empty --onto files-master master &&
+	: first pick results in no changes &&
+	git rebase --continue &&
+	verbose test "$(commit_message HEAD~2)" = "master4" &&
+	verbose test "$(commit_message HEAD~)" = "files_subtree/master5" &&
+	verbose test "$(commit_message HEAD)" = "Empty commit"
 '
 
-# FAILURE: fatal: Could not parse object
-test_expect_failure 'Rebase -Xsubtree --onto commit 5' '
-	reset_rebase &&
-	git checkout -b rebase-onto-5 master &&
-	git filter-branch --prune-empty -f --subdirectory-filter files_subtree &&
-	git commit -m "Empty commit" --allow-empty &&
-	git rebase -Xsubtree=files_subtree --onto files-master master &&
-	verbose test "$(commit_message HEAD~)" = "files_subtree/master5"
-'
-# FAILURE: fatal: Could not parse object
-test_expect_failure 'Rebase -Xsubtree --onto empty commit' '
+test_expect_success 'Rebase -Xsubtree --keep-empty --rebase-merges --onto commit' '
 	reset_rebase &&
-	git checkout -b rebase-onto-empty master &&
-	git filter-branch --prune-empty -f --subdirectory-filter files_subtree &&
-	git commit -m "Empty commit" --allow-empty &&
-	git rebase -Xsubtree=files_subtree --onto files-master master &&
+	git checkout -b rebase-merges-onto to-rebase &&
+	test_must_fail git rebase -Xsubtree=files_subtree --keep-empty --rebase-merges --onto files-master --root &&
+	: first pick results in no changes &&
+	git rebase --continue &&
+	verbose test "$(commit_message HEAD~2)" = "master4" &&
+	verbose test "$(commit_message HEAD~)" = "files_subtree/master5" &&
 	verbose test "$(commit_message HEAD)" = "Empty commit"
 '
 
diff --git a/t/t3430-rebase-merges.sh b/t/t3430-rebase-merges.sh
index 42ba5b9f0981b2..8ea6ff3548444c 100755
--- a/t/t3430-rebase-merges.sh
+++ b/t/t3430-rebase-merges.sh
@@ -412,4 +412,25 @@ test_expect_success '--continue after resolving conflicts after a merge' '
 	test_path_is_missing .git/MERGE_HEAD
 '
 
+test_expect_success '--rebase-merges with strategies' '
+	git checkout -b with-a-strategy F &&
+	test_tick &&
+	git merge -m "Merge conflicting-G" conflicting-G &&
+
+	: first, test with a merge strategy option &&
+	git rebase -ir -Xtheirs G &&
+	echo conflicting-G >expect &&
+	test_cmp expect G.t &&
+
+	: now, try with a merge strategy other than recursive &&
+	git reset --hard @{1} &&
+	write_script git-merge-override <<-\EOF &&
+	echo overridden$1 >>G.t
+	git add G.t
+	EOF
+	PATH="$PWD:$PATH" git rebase -ir -s override -Xxopt G &&
+	test_write_lines G overridden--xopt >expect &&
+	test_cmp expect G.t
+'
+
 test_done