A crossfire (also known as interlocking fire) is a military term for the siting of weapons (often

automatic weapon An automatic firearm or fully automatic firearm (to avoid confusion with semi-automatic firearms) is a self-loading firearm that continuously chambers and fires rounds when the trigger mechanism is actuated. The action of an automatic firea ...

s such as

assault rifle An assault rifle is a select fire rifle that uses an intermediate cartridge, intermediate-rifle cartridge and a Magazine (firearms), detachable magazine.C. Taylor, ''The Fighting Rifle: A Complete Study of the Rifle in Combat'', F.A. Moyer '' ...

s or sub-machine guns) so that their arcs of fire overlap. This tactic came to prominence in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. 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 Armour (Commonwealth English) or armor (American English; see American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, spelling differences) is a covering used to protect an object, individual, or vehicle from physical injury or damage, e ...

air support Close air support (CAS) is defined as aerial warfare actions—often air-to-ground actions such as Strafing, strafes or airstrikes—by military aircraft against hostile targets in close proximity to friendly forces. A form of fire support, CAS r ...

, 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, or landmine, is an explosive weapon often concealed under or camouflaged on the ground, and designed to destroy or disable enemy targets as they pass over or near it. Land mines are divided into two types: anti-tank mines, wh ...

sniper A sniper is a military or paramilitary marksman who engages targets from positions of concealment or at distances exceeding the target's detection capabilities. Snipers generally have specialized training and are equipped with telescopic si ...

barbed wire Roll of modern agricultural barbed wire Barbed wire, also known as barb wire or bob wire (in the Southern and Southwestern United States), is a type of steel fencing wire constructed with sharp edges or points arranged at intervals along the ...

, and air cover, crossfire became a difficult tactic to counter in the early 20th century.

Early modern warfare

The concept of overlapping arcs of fire drove major developments in the use of

cannon A cannon is a large-caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder during th ...

in early modern Europe. The

star fort A bastion fort or ''trace italienne'' (a phrase derived from non-standard French, meaning 'Italian outline') is a fortification in a style developed during the early modern period in response to the ascendancy of gunpowder weapons such as c ...

forced attackers approaching the walls into the overlapping

enfilade Enfilade and defilade are concepts in military tactics used to describe a military formation's exposure to enemy fire. A formation or position is "in enfilade" if weapon fire can be directed along its longest axis. A unit or position is "in de ...

of the protruding

bastion A bastion is a structure projecting outward from the curtain wall of a fortification, most commonly angular in shape and positioned at the corners of the fort. The fully developed bastion consists of two faces and two flanks, with fire from the ...

s; 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 First Battle of Breitenfeld. Swedish cavalry under

Gustavus Adolphus Gustavus Adolphus (9 December N.S 19 December">Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="/nowiki>Old Style and New Style dates">N.S 19 December15946 November Old Style and New Style dates">N.S 16 November] 1632), also known in English as ...

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.

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 Trench#Military engineering, military trenches, in which combatants are well-protected from the enemy's small arms fire and are substantially sheltered from a ...

. Machine guns were placed in groups, called machine-gun nests, 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 a term for any incidental and undesired death, injury or other damage inflicted, especially on civilians, as the result of an activity. Originally coined to describe military operations, it is now also used in non-milit ...

References

{{reflist

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. ...

Defensive tactics Trench warfare