Fougasse

　　Fougasse

　　This defensive weapon is a landmine constructed by military engineers and fired by the defenders lighting a fuse. A fougasse consists of a pit, sometimes dug at an angle, with gunpowder packed into the bottom and suitably wrapped to keep it dry. The hole is then backfilled with rubble and stones, taking care not to break the fuse, creating a huge “canister shot” weapon. Any enemies caught by the explosion are blown to smithereens by the blast. Damp, of course, will cause the fougasse to misfire, like any other gunpowder weapon.

　　Historically, a later and nastier, refinement used a flintlock mechanism to fire the charge. As well as making the explosion more reliable, this allowed military engineers to turn the fougasse into a booby trap. A piece of twine tied to the trigger acted as a tripwire:an unfortunate booby then stumbled and fired the device into himself and his nearby comrades.

　　During the 20th Century, the fougasse was refined into a flamethrower by burying oil drums on top of the explosives. And at the time of writing, the fougasse remains in use, as only one of the IEDs(improvised explosive device) used by insurgents against occupying forces in Iraq

　　這種防御性武器是一種簡易的原始地雷，在戰(zhàn)前由工兵埋設(shè)并在恰當(dāng)?shù)臅r機點燃引信引爆。埋設(shè)地雷方法很簡單：在地上挖一個與地面成一定角度的洞，把黑火藥包好(防止火藥受潮)放在洞底，然后把引信牽出來，拉到引爆者手里，最后用碎石塊把洞填上，注意不要損壞引信，就行了。定向地雷的爆炸效果類似于特大號的霰彈：任何處于殺傷半徑內(nèi)的人都會被猛烈的爆炸和飛濺的碎石撕成碎片。當(dāng)然，和其他火器一樣，潮濕的天氣經(jīng)常導(dǎo)致地雷啞火。

　　后來的改進(jìn)版定向地雷使用燧發(fā)裝置引爆。絆索由合股細(xì)線制成，一頭系在燧發(fā)裝置的扳機上。只要某個呆頭呆腦的倒霉蛋觸動了絆索，劇烈的爆炸就會把他和他附近的同伴們掀上天。

　　在寫這篇文章的時候，作為目前唯一仍在使用的IED(簡易爆炸裝置)，定向地雷依然活躍在戰(zhàn)場上。聯(lián)軍在伊拉克經(jīng)常遭到恐怖分子埋設(shè)的IED的襲擊。實際上，在伊拉克，死于IED的美軍人數(shù)占總陣亡人數(shù)的40%以上，比死于戰(zhàn)斗(32%)的還要多。

　　Square Formation

　　Square Formation

　　A defensive posture for musket-armed infantry units, creating an impassable wall of steel to fend off cavalry attacks. As the name suggests, this is four two- or three-rank lines of infantry arranged as a hollow square, with everyone facing outwards. It is a version of the obsolete pike “hedgehog”, making any cavalry charge a suicidal exercise. Bayonets are fixed to muskets when appropriate and possible. Forming a square requires good order in the ranks. The outer companies of an infantry unit in line have to “fold back” to form the sides and back of the square, without losing cohesion in the process. The unit colours take up station in the centre, a final rallying point should the square be broken. It is also possible to form larger squares with more than one unit. The square is, of course, a tempting target for enemy artillery. Whether it is better to form square in the face of cavalry and risk an artillery barrage, or stay in line to mitigate artillery fire and risk a cavalry charge can be a tactical conundrum! Theoreticians argued infantry could defeat a cavalry charge by firepower alone. Brigadier General Richard Kane (later Military Governor of Gibraltar) remarked, “If a body of Foot have but Resolution and keep their Order, there is no Body of Horse dare venture within their Fire…” but for him that fire was to be delivered from a square, not a line. He was arguing for discipline as the key to success

　　方陣

　　方陣是裝備帶刺刀的滑膛槍的步兵使用的一種用于防御的陣型，如同鐵墻一般使前來進(jìn)攻的騎兵不能越雷池一步。

　　如它的名字一樣，方陣由四組排成兩線或三線的步兵組成一個空心正方形，所有人都朝向外側(cè)。這是舊時代長矛兵刺猬陣的新版本，士兵們在此時為滑膛槍上刺刀，能使任何發(fā)起沖鋒的騎兵在密集的刺刀上撞成篩子。組成方陣需要軍隊紀(jì)律嚴(yán)明。側(cè)翼的連隊需要進(jìn)行折疊機動以構(gòu)成方陣的側(cè)面和背面，在此過程中隊形不能發(fā)生絲毫混亂。掌旗官手持軍旗立于方陣中心—距離敵軍最遠(yuǎn)的位置。當(dāng)然，也可以用更多的單位組成較大的方陣。不過，方陣是敵軍炮兵最好的目標(biāo)，因為所有人都擠在一起。是冒著被炮火打得粉碎的危險組成方陣抵御騎兵沖擊?還是冒著被騎兵沖鋒的危險維持線形陣以減輕炮擊傷亡?這是戰(zhàn)術(shù)指揮官的兩難抉擇。軍事理論家傾向于步兵應(yīng)該使用遠(yuǎn)程火力阻擋騎兵的沖鋒。準(zhǔn)將理查德·凱恩(晚期的直布羅陀軍政*府總督)評論到：“如果步兵部隊意志堅定，紀(jì)律嚴(yán)明，沒有騎兵敢于沖進(jìn)他們的彈幕……”但是此句的前提是這些彈幕是從方陣中射出的，而不是單薄的線形陣。他的核心意思是說，紀(jì)律是勝利的關(guān)鍵.