Editing Crossfire

{{Short description|Deliberately overlapping arcs of fire}}
{{About|the military term|other uses|Crossfire (disambiguation)}}
[[Image:Crossfireguns.svg|thumb|Depiction of crossfire]]
{{wiktionary}}
A '''crossfire''' (also known as '''interlocking fire''') is a military term for the siting of weapons (often [[automatic weapon]]s such as [[assault rifle]]s or [[sub-machine gun]]s) so that their [[arc of fire|arcs of fire]] overlap.<ref> Plainclothes and Off-duty Officer Survival: 0398055289
John Charles Cheek, Tony Lesce - 1988 "Bunching up nullifies any chance of catching an adversary in a cross-fire. Figure 13. Crossfire is a very powerful tactic. It enables a pair of combatants to catch an opponent from two directions at once. Cross-fire can even menace an adversary .."</ref> This tactic came to prominence in [[World War I]].{{citation needed|date=October 2024}}

Siting weapons this way is an example of the application of the defensive principle of ''mutual support''. The advantage of siting weapons that mutually support one another is that it is difficult for an attacker to find a covered approach to any one defensive position. Use of [[Armoured fighting vehicle|armour]], [[Close air support|air support]], [[indirect fire support]], and [[Military camouflage|stealth]] are tactics that may be used to assault a defensive position. However, when combined with [[land mine]]s, [[sniper]]s, [[barbed wire]], and [[air cover]], crossfire became a difficult tactic to counter in the early 20th century.{{Citation needed|date=August 2010}}

== Early modern warfare ==
[[File:Battle of Breitenfeld - Annihilation, 17 September 1631.png|300px|thumb|Swedish cavalry at Breitenfeld capture the Imperial artillery, turning them to crossfire bombardment of the main Imperial army.]] 
The concept of overlapping arcs of fire drove major developments in the use of [[cannon]] in early modern Europe. The [[star fort]] forced attackers approaching the walls into the overlapping [[enfilade]] of the protruding [[bastion]]s;<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.castlesandmanorhouses.com/types_10_star.htm |title=Types and History of Castles - Star Forts }}</ref> attempts to achieve a similar effect through maneuver on the battlefield were limited by the weight and size of the artillery of the time. The earliest experiments in mobile artillery, such as the [[leather cannon]], were generally flawed due to the limitations of the materials science of the period, but eventually gave rise to the [[regimental gun]].

Perhaps the most famous example of crossfire tactics in early modern warfare occurred in the final stages of the [[Battle of Breitenfeld (1631)|First Battle of Breitenfeld]]. [[Swedish Empire|Swedish]] cavalry under [[Gustavus Adolphus]] outflanked and seized the artillery pieces of the [[Holy Roman Empire|Imperial]] army. As the battle had progressed, the Imperial guns were now well-positioned to fire upon the bulk of the Imperial army, and the crossfire of Swedish and captured cannon shattered the Imperial forces.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.historynet.com/thirty-years-war-battle-of-breitenfeld/ |title=Thirty Years' War: Battle of Breitenfeld |date=12 June 2006 }}</ref>

==Trench warfare==
The tactic of using overlapping arcs of fire came to prominence during World War I where it was a feature of [[trench warfare]]. [[Machine gun]]s were placed in groups, called [[machine-gun nest]]s, and they protected the front of the trenches. Many people died in futile attempts to charge across the [[no man's land]] where these crossfires were set up. After these attacks many bodies could be found in the no man's land.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://spartacus-educational.com/FWWnoman.htm|title=No Man's Land|work=Spartacus Educational|access-date=2018-02-19}}</ref> 

=="Caught in the crossfire"==
To be "caught in the crossfire" is an expression that often refers to unintended casualties (bystanders, etc.) who were killed or wounded by being exposed to the gunfire of a battle or gun fight, such as in a position to be hit by bullets of either side. The phrase has come to mean any injury, damage or harm (physical or otherwise) caused to a third party due to the action of belligerents ([[collateral damage]]).

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Weapon operation|Crossfire]]
[[Category:Defensive tactics]]
[[Category:Trench warfare]]