Echelon (formation)
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An echelon formation () is a (usually military) formation in which its units are arranged diagonally. Each unit is stationed behind and to the right (a "right echelon"), or behind and to the left ("left echelon"), of the unit ahead. The name of the formation comes from the French word échelon, meaning a rung of a ladder, which describes the shape that this formation has when viewed from above or below.


Military formation

Use of the formation dates back to ancient infantry and
cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from "cheval" meaning "horse") are soldiers or warriors who fight mounted on horseback. Cavalry were the most mobile of the combat arms, operating as light cavalry ...
warfare, as an alternative to
column A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member. ...
, line-abreast, or phalanx (box) formations. One of its earliest uses was at the Battle of Leuctra, when the Thebans attacked the Spartan right with a column 48 men deep while their weaker center and right were repelled. The echelon formation may have been used by
Hannibal Hannibal (; xpu, 𐤇𐤍𐤁𐤏𐤋, ''Ḥannibaʿl''; 247 – between 183 and 181 BC) was a Carthaginian general and statesman who commanded the forces of Carthage in their battle against the Roman Republic during the Second Puni ...
at the
Battle of Cannae The Battle of Cannae () was a key engagement of the Second Punic War between the Roman Republic and Carthage, fought on 2 August 216 BC near the ancient village of Cannae in Apulia, southeast Italy. The Carthaginians and their allies, led by ...
, Alexander the Great at the Battle of Gaugamela,
Frederick II of Prussia Frederick II (german: Friedrich II.; 24 January 171217 August 1786) was King in Prussia from 1740 until 1772, and King of Prussia from 1772 until his death in 1786. His most significant accomplishments include his military successes in the Sil ...
, and the
Confederate Confederacy or confederate may refer to: States or communities * Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities * Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between ...
army at the Battle of Gettysburg. The tactic still persists and is regularly employed by all branches of the modern armed forces. Tactically, echelon formations are used because of the excellent range of vision offered to each participant in the formation. In particular, it is commonly employed by armored cavalry because of the large, overlapping fields of fire that it gives to each tank in the formation, and by combat aircraft, allowing them to communicate visually and maneuver as a single unit. "Echeloning" is the name of a tactic in use by the United Kingdom's armed forces, mainly the infantry. It consists of using a
company A company, abbreviated as co., is a Legal personality, legal entity representing an association of people, whether Natural person, natural, Legal person, legal or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common p ...
to attack a set of positions. Once the first platoon in the company has reached its limit of advance (ammunition has been expended,
fatigue Fatigue describes a state of tiredness that does not resolve with rest or sleep. In general usage, fatigue is synonymous with extreme tiredness or exhaustion that normally follows prolonged physical or mental activity. When it does not resolve ...
has become high, or casualties are mounting) another platoon "echelons through" it to continue onto the next position. The tactic is similar to
leapfrogging Leapfrogging is a concept used in many domains of the economics and business fields, and was originally developed in the area of industrial organization and economic growth. The main idea behind the concept of leapfrogging is that small and incre ...
. Echelon formations are also commonly used by civic or riot police to move crowds either to the left or right. ''En echelon'' is also used for a type of arrangement of gun turrets on ships: see .


Derived meanings

The name has been adopted by the birdwatching community to describe the familiar V-shaped formations of flights of geese, ducks and other
migratory birds Bird migration is the regular seasonal movement, often north and south along a flyway, between breeding and wintering grounds. Many species of bird migrate. Migration carries high costs in predation and mortality, including from hunting by ...
, though this more symmetric formation is more strictly defined as a V formation. In geology, ''en echelon'' describes an arrangement where a set of short linear features overlap or are staggered in a line that runs obliquely to the strike of the individual features. Echelon faults and en echelon veins are examples. In sheet material response to shear stress it is typical for a series of echelon cracks to form. This is commonly seen in asphalt roads subject to shear stress imposed by aseismic fault creep. In mathematics, the term
row echelon form In linear algebra, a matrix is in echelon form if it has the shape resulting from a Gaussian elimination. A matrix being in row echelon form means that Gaussian elimination has operated on the rows, and column echelon form means that Gaussian ...
refers to a kind of
matrix Matrix most commonly refers to: * ''The Matrix'' (franchise), an American media franchise ** ''The Matrix'', a 1999 science-fiction action film ** "The Matrix", a fictional setting, a virtual reality environment, within ''The Matrix'' (franchis ...
where the non-zero elements are shaped in an echelon-like manner. In
road bicycle racing Road bicycle racing is the cycle sport discipline of road cycling, held primarily on Road surface, paved roads. Road racing is the most popular professional sport, professional form of bicycle racing, in terms of numbers of competitors, events and ...
, an echelon formation is a diagonal line of racers, which allows cooperative
drafting Drafting or draughting may refer to: * Campdrafting, an Australian equestrian sport * Drafting (aerodynamics), slipstreaming * Drafting (writing), writing something that is likely to be amended * Technical drawing, the act and discipline of compo ...
in
crosswinds A crosswind is any wind that has a perpendicular component to the line or direction of travel. This affects the aerodynamics of many forms of transport. Moving non-parallel to the wind's direction creates a crosswind component on the object and th ...
.


References

{{reflist Tactical formations Ornithology Structural geology