A crossfire (also known as interlocking fire) is a military term for the siting of weapons (often
automatic weapons such as
assault rifles or
sub-machine guns) so that their arcs of fire overlap. This tactic came to prominence in
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
.
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 armour, air support, indirect fire support, and stealth are tactics that may be used to assault a defensive position. However, when combined with
land mine
A land mine is an explosive device concealed under or on the ground and designed to destroy or disable enemy targets, ranging from combatants to vehicles and tanks, as they pass over or near it. Such a device is typically detonated automati ...
s,
snipers,
barbed wire, and air cover, crossfire became a difficult tactic to counter in the early 20th century.
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
Trench warfare is a type of land warfare using occupied lines largely comprising military trenches, in which troops are well-protected from the enemy's small arms fire and are substantially sheltered from artillery. Trench warfare became ar ...
.
Machine gun
A machine gun is a fully automatic, rifled autoloading firearm designed for sustained direct fire with rifle cartridges. Other automatic firearms such as automatic shotguns and automatic rifles (including assault rifles and battle rifles) ar ...
s were placed in groups, called
machine-gun nest
A defensive fighting position (DFP) is a type of earthwork constructed in a military context, generally large enough to accommodate anything from one soldier to a fire team (or similar sized unit).
Terminology
Tobruk type positions are nam ...
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.
"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
Collateral damage is any death, injury, or other damage inflicted that is an incidental result of an activity. Originally coined by military operations, it is now also used in non-military contexts.
Since the development of precision guided ...
).
References
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Crossfire
A crossfire (also known as interlocking fire) is a military term for the siting of weapons (often automatic weapons such as assault rifles or sub-machine guns) so that their arcs of fire overlap. This tactic came to prominence in World War I.
S ...
Defensive tactics
Trench warfare