1.
Concertina wire
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Concertina wire or Dannert Wire is a type of barbed wire or razor wire that is formed in large coils which can be expanded like a concertina. In conjunction with plain barbed wire and steel pickets, it is used to form military wire obstacles, during World War I soldiers manufactured concertina wire themselves, using ordinary barbed wire. In World War I, barbed wire obstacles were made by stretching lengths of barbed wire between stakes of wood or iron, at its simplest, such a barrier would resemble a fence as might be used for agricultural purposes. The double apron fence comprised a line of pickets with wires running diagonally down to points on the either side of the fence. Horizontal wires were attached to these diagonals, more elaborate and formidable obstructions could be formed with multiple lines of stakes connected with wire running from side-to-side, back-to-front, and diagonally in every possible direction. Effective as these obstacles were, their construction took considerable time, learning this lesson, World War I soldiers would deploy barbed wire in so-called concertinas that were relatively loose. Barbed wire concertinas could be pre-prepared in the trenches and then deployed in no-mans-land relatively quickly under cover of darkness, Concertina wire packs flat for ease of transport and can then be deployed as an obstacle much more quickly than ordinary barbed wire. A platoon of soldiers can deploy a single concertina fence at a rate of about a kilometer per hour, such an obstacle is not very effective by itself, and concertinas are normally built up into more elaborate patterns as time permits. Today, concertina wire is made and is available in forms that can be deployed very rapidly from the back of a vehicle or trailer. Oil-tempered barbed wire was developed during World War I, it was harder to cut than ordinary barbed wire. During the 1930s, German Horst Dannert developed concertinas of this high-grade steel wire, the result was entirely self-supporting, it did not require any vertical posts. Dannert wire was imported into Britain from Germany before World War II, during the invasion crisis of 1940–1941, the demand for Dannert wire was so great that some was produced with low manganese steel wire which was easier to cut. This material was known as Yellow Dannert after the yellow paint on the concertina handles. To compensate for the effectiveness of Yellow Dannert, an extra supply of pickets were issued in lieu of screw pickets. A barrier known as a triple concertina wire fence consists of two parallel concertinas joined by twists of wire and topped by a third concertina similarly attached, the result was an extremely effective barrier with many of the desirable properties of a random entanglement. A triple concertina fence could be deployed very quickly, it is possible for a party of five men to deploy 50 yards of triple concertina fence in just 15 minutes, optionally, triple concertina fence could be strengthened with uprights, but this increases the construction time significantly. Concertina wire is sometimes mistakenly called constantine wire, Constantine probably came from a corruption/misunderstanding of Concertina and led to confusion with the Roman Emperor Constantine. This in turn has led to people trying to differentiate between concertina wire and constantine wire by assigning the term constantine wire to what is commonly known as razor wire
2.
Military science
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Military science is the study of military processes, institutions, and behavior, along with the study of warfare, and the theory and application of organized coercive force. It is mainly focused on theory, method, and practice of producing military capability in a consistent with national defense policy. Military scientists include theorists, researchers, experimental scientists, applied scientists, designers, engineers, test technicians, Military personnel obtain weapons, equipment and training to achieve specific strategic goals. Military science is used to establish enemy capability as part of technical intelligence. In military education, military science is often the name of the department in the institution that administers officer candidate education. In part this was due to the mystique that accompanied education in a World where as late as the 1880s 75% of the European population was illiterate. He suggested that this was primarily so because as Clausewitz suggested, unlike in any science or art. Few were bloodier than the fields of the Western Front between 1914 and 1918, fascinatingly the man who probably understood Clausewitz better than most, Marshal Foch would initially participate in events that nearly destroyed the French Army. It is not however true to say that military theorists and commanders were suffering from some collective case of stupidity, quite the opposite is true. Because only the offensive could bring victory, lack of it, Foch thought that In strategy as well as in tactics one attacks. In many ways military science was born as a result of the experiences of the Great War, Military implements had changed armies beyond recognition with cavalry to virtually disappear in the next 20 years. Tactics changed too, with infantry for the first time segregated from the horse-mounted troops, perception of military discipline too had changed. Currently military science still means many things to different organisations, in the United Kingdom and much of the European Union the approach is to relate it closely to the civilian application and understanding. In Europe, for example Belgiums Royal Military Academy, military remains a academic discipline. The United States Department of Defense defines military science in terms of systems and operational requirements. Develops optimal methods for the administration and organization of military units, in addition, this area studies other associated aspects as mobilization/demobilization, and military government for areas recently conquered from enemy control. Force structuring is the method by which personnel and the weapons and equipment they use are organized and trained for military operations, force structuring applies to all Armed Services, but not to their supporting organisations such as those used for defence science research activities. Force structuring also provides information on the mission and capabilities of units, as well as the units current status in terms of posture
3.
Fortification
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Fortifications are military constructions or buildings designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and also used to solidify rule in a region during peace time. Humans have constructed defensive works for many thousands of years, in a variety of increasingly complex designs, the term is derived from the Latin fortis and facere. From very early history to modern times, walls have been a necessity for cities to survive in a changing world of invasion. Some settlements in the Indus Valley Civilization were the first small cities to be fortified, in ancient Greece, large stone walls had been built in Mycenaean Greece, such as the ancient site of Mycenae. A Greek Phrourion was a collection of buildings used as a military garrison. These construction mainly served the purpose of a tower, to guard certain roads, passes. Though smaller than a fortress, they acted as a border guard rather than a real strongpoint to watch. The art of setting out a camp or constructing a fortification traditionally has been called castramentation since the time of the Roman legions. Fortification is usually divided into two branches, permanent fortification and field fortification, there is also an intermediate branch known as semi-permanent fortification. Castles are fortifications which are regarded as being distinct from the fort or fortress in that they are a residence of a monarch or noble. Roman forts and hill forts were the antecedents of castles in Europe. The Early Middle Ages saw the creation of towns built around castles. Medieval-style fortifications were made obsolete by the arrival of cannons in the 14th century. Fortifications in the age of black powder evolved into much lower structures with greater use of ditches and earth ramparts that would absorb, Walls exposed to direct cannon fire were very vulnerable, so were sunk into ditches fronted by earth slopes. The arrival of explosive shells in the 19th century led to yet another stage in the evolution of fortification, steel-and-concrete fortifications were common during the 19th and early 20th centuries. However the advances in warfare since World War I have made large-scale fortifications obsolete in most situations. Demilitarized zones along borders are arguably another type of fortification, although a passive kind, many military installations are known as forts, although they are not always fortified. Larger forts may be called fortresses, smaller ones were known as fortalices
4.
Barbed wire
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It is used to construct inexpensive fences and is used atop walls surrounding secured property. It is also a feature of the fortifications in trench warfare. A person or animal trying to pass through or over barbed wire will suffer discomfort, Barbed wire fencing requires only fence posts, wire, and fixing devices such as staples. It is simple to construct and quick to erect, even by an unskilled person, the first patent in the United States for barbed wire was issued in 1867 to Lucien B. Smith of Kent, Ohio, who is regarded as the inventor. Joseph F. Glidden of DeKalb, Illinois, received a patent for the invention in 1874 after he made his own modifications to previous versions. Barbed wire was the first wire technology capable of restraining cattle, Wire fences were cheaper and easier to erect than their alternatives. When wire fences became widely available in the United States in the late 19th century and they made intensive animal husbandry practical on a much larger scale. Englishman Richard Newton brought barbed wire to the Argentine pampas in 1845, fencing consisting of flat and thin wire was first proposed in France, by Leonce Eugene Grassin-Baledans in 1860. His design consisted of bristling points, creating a fence that was painful to cross, in April 1865 Louis François Janin proposed a double wire with diamond-shaped metal barbs, he was granted a patent. Michael Kelly from New York had a idea, and proposed that the fencing should be used specifically for deterring animals. More patents followed, and in 1867 alone there were six patents issued for barbed wire, only two of them addressed livestock deterrence, one of which was from American Lucien B. Smith of Ohio. Before 1870, westward movement in the USA was largely across the plains with little or no settlement occurring, after the American Civil War the plains were extensively settled, consolidating Americas dominance over them. Ranchers moved out on the plains, and needed to fence their land in against encroaching farmers, the railroads throughout the growing West needed to keep livestock off their tracks, and farmers needed to keep stray cattle from trampling their crops. A cost-effective alternative was needed to make cattle operations profitable, the Big Four in barbed wire were Joseph Glidden, Jacob Haish, Charles Francis Washburn, and Isaac L. Ellwood. Glidden, a farmer in 1873 and the first of the Big Four, is credited for designing a successful sturdy barbed wire product. Gliddens idea came from a display at a fair in DeKalb, Illinois in 1873, Rose had patented The Wooden Strip with Metallic Points in May 1873. This was simply a wooden block with wire protrusions designed to keep cows from breaching the fence and that day, Glidden was accompanied by two other men, Isaac L. Ellwood, a hardware dealer and Jacob Haish, a lumber merchant. Like Glidden, they wanted to create a more durable wire fence with fixed barbs
5.
Barbed tape
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Barbed tape or razor wire is a mesh of metal strips with sharp edges whose purpose is to prevent passage by humans. The term razor wire, through usage, has generally been used to describe barbed tape products. While razor wire is much sharper than the barbed wire, it is named after its appearance. However, the points are sharp and made to rip and grab onto clothing. The multiple blades of a wire fence are designed to inflict serious cuts on anyone attempting to climb through. Razor wire usually contains a core of hardened steel strip that is often under tension, so if cut, more recently barbed tape has been used in more commercial and residential security applications. Residential usage of barbed tape has been criticized by some as the appearance of the barbs is thought to detract from the appearance of a neighborhood. Due to its dangerous nature, razor wire/barbed tape and similar fencing/barrier materials is prohibited in some locales, norway prohibits any barbed wire except in combination with other fencing, in order to protect domesticated animals from exposure. Some local jurisdictions further regulate or prohibit barbed wire altogether, razor-wire has a central strand of high tensile strength wire, and a steel tape punched into a shape with barbs. The steel tape is then cold-crimped tightly to the wire everywhere except for the barbs, Barbed tape is very similar, but has no central reinforcement wire. The process of combining the two is called roll forming, like barbed wire, barbed tape is available as either straight wire or spiral concertina wire. Unlike barbed wire, which usually is only as plain steel or galvanized, barbed tape is also manufactured in stainless steel. Typically the core wire is galvanized and the tape is stainless, Barbed tape is also characterized by the shape of the barbs. There does not seem to be much available research to indicate whether longer barbs are more effective in resisting penetration. Barbed wire became common in the American West in the 1870s, Barbed tape was first manufactured by Germany during World War I, as an expedient measure during a shortage of wire. Since it was punched out of a rolled ribbon of steel tape. From the early 1970s, unreinforced barbed tape was used in perimeter barriers of US prisons. In the early 1980s, several manufacturers began offering barbed tape with an embedded reinforcing wire, early brand names of reinforced barbed tape included Man Barrier and Razor Ribbon
6.
Fence
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A fence is a structure that encloses an area, typically outdoors, and is usually constructed from posts that are connected by boards, wire, rails or netting. A fence differs from a wall in not having a solid foundation along its whole length, alternatives to fencing include a ditch. Brushwood fencing, a fence made using wires on either side of brushwood, slate fence, a type of palisade made of vertical slabs of slate wired together. Commonly used in parts of Wales and this type of fence is commonly used for privacy. Vaccary fence, a fence to restrain cattle, made of upright thin slabs of stone, the slabs are not necessarily linked to each other. Found in various places in the north of the UK where suitable stone can be found, vinyl fencing Wattle fencing, of split branches woven between stakes. Wood-panel fencing Wrought iron fencing, made from steel, also known as ornamental iron. Hedge, including, Cactus fence Hedgerows of intertwined, living shrubs Live fencing is the use of woody species for fences. Transformer stations are surrounded with barbed-wire fences. Around mast radiators, wooden fences are used to avoid the problem of eddy currents, common disagreements include what kind of fence is required, what kind of repairs are needed, and how to share the costs. In some legislatures the standard height of a fence is limited, servitudes are legal arrangements of land use arising out of private agreements. Under the feudal system, most land in England was cultivated in common fields, by the sixteenth century the growth of population and prosperity provided incentives for landowners to use their land in more profitable ways, dispossessing the peasantry. Fences redefined the means by which land is used, resulting in the law of servitudes. In the United States, the earliest settlers claimed land by simply fencing it in, ownership of a fence on an ownership boundary varies. Generally title deeds will show which side owns the fence, using a T symbol, commonly the cladding is on non-owners side, enabling access to the posts for the owner when repairs are needed but this is not a legal requirement. They may then erect a fence or hedge on the spoil, exceptions often occur, for example where a plot of land derives from subdivision of a larger one along the centre line of a previously-existing ditch or other feature. On private land in the United Kingdom, it is the responsibility to fence their livestock in. Conversely, for land, it is the surrounding landowners responsibility to fence the commons livestock out
7.
Dragon's teeth (fortification)
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Dragons teeth are square-pyramidal fortifications of reinforced concrete first used during the Second World War to impede the movement of tanks and mechanised infantry. The idea was to slow down and channel tanks into killing zones where they could easily be disposed of by anti-tank weapons and they were employed extensively, particularly on the Siegfried Line. In practice, the use of engineers and specialist clearance vehicles enabled them to be disposed of relatively quickly. The obstacles could also simply be buried using bulldozers and dump trucks, Dragons teeth were used by several armies in the European Theatre. The Germans made extensive use of them in the Siegfried Line, typically, each tooth was 90 to 120 cm tall depending on the precise model. Land mines were laid between the individual teeth, and further obstacles constructed along the lines of teeth. Behind minefields were the dragons teeth and they rested on a concrete mat between ten and thirty meters wide, sunk in a meter or two into the ground. On top of the mat were the teeth themselves, truncated pyramids of reinforced concrete about a meter in height in the front row and they were staggered and spaced in such a manner that a tank could not drive through. The only way to take those pillboxes was for infantry to get behind them, but behind the first row of pillboxes and dragon’s teeth, there was a second, and often a third, and sometimes a fourth. Due to the numbers laid and their durable construction, many thousands of dragons teeth can still be seen today, especially in the remains of the Siegfried. Switzerland continues to maintain lines of teeth in certain strategic areas. In the military jargon these constructions are often referred to as Toblerone lines, Dragons teeth are also present in some areas along the Korean Demilitarized Zone borderline and were also used on the Eastern Side of the Berlin Wall. Bollard is another term for such a post, some countries, such as those formed after the breakup of Yugoslavia, have movable teeth, positioned at roadsides at strategic locations, which are to be lifted and placed on the roads. Some stages of Rallye Deutschland, the German round of the WRC rally championship, are run on roads belonging to the training ground at Baumholder. The roads are lined with teeth, known as hinkelsteins. They usually serve as obstacles to prevent tanks from leaving the roads, popular Science, June 1942, pp. 106–112. Field expedient tank traps constructed of logs, white Cliffs Underground - Dragons Teeth and Tank Traps around Englands south coast Dragons Teeth on Libyan border with Egypt ANTI-TANK OBSTACLES, ISLE OF GRAIN, KENT
8.
Land mine
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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 automatically by way of pressure when a target steps on it or drives over it, a land mine may cause damage by direct blast effect, by fragments that are thrown by the blast, or by both. The name originates from the ancient practice of mining, where tunnels were dug under enemy fortifications or troop formations. These killing tunnels were at first collapsed to destroy targets located above, nowadays, in common parlance, land mine generally refers to devices specifically manufactured as anti-personnel or anti-vehicle weapons. The use of mines is controversial because of their potential as indiscriminate weapons. They can remain dangerous many years after a conflict has ended, harming the economy, to date,162 nations have signed the treaty. To act as passive area-denial weapons, land mines are currently used in large quantities mostly for this first purpose, thus their widespread use in the demilitarized zones of likely flashpoints such as Cyprus, Afghanistan and Korea. As of 2013, the governments that still laid land mines were Myanmar in its internal conflict. Land mines continue to kill or injure at least 4,300 people every year, even decades after the ends of the conflicts for which they were placed. This claim is dubious, as gunpowder warfare did not develop in China until the advent of the flamethrower in the 10th century, while the land mine was not seen in China until the late 13th century. Explosive land mines were being used in 1277 by the Chinese during the Song dynasty against an assault of the Mongols, the invention of this detonated enormous bomb was credited to one Lou Qianxia of the 13th century. The wad of the mine was made of wood, carrying three different fuses in case of defective connection to the touch hole. Pieces of bamboo are sawn into sections nine feet in length, all septa in the bamboo being removed, save only the last, boiling oil is next poured into and left there for some time before being removed. The fuse starts from the bottom, and is compressed into it to form an explosive mine, the gunpowder fills up eight-tenths of the tube, while lead or iron pellets take up the rest of the space, then the open end is sealed with wax. A trench five feet in depth is dug, the fuse is connected to a firing device which ignites them when disturbed. Further description of how this flint device operated was not made until a Chinese text of 1606 AD revealed that a drive had been used to work the steel wheel. Besides the use of steel wheels providing sparks for the fuses, there were other methods used as well, when the weapons were removed from the mound, this movement disturbed the bowl beneath them where the butt ends of the staffs were, which in turn ignited the fuses. According to the Wubei Huolongjing volume of the 17th century, the formula for this slow-burning incandescent material allowed it to burn continuously for 20 to 30 days without going out
9.
Union (American Civil War)
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The Union was opposed by 11 southern slave states that formed the Confederate States, or the Confederacy. All of the Unions states provided soldiers for the U. S. Army, the Border states played a major role as a supply base for the Union invasion of the Confederacy. The Northeast provided the resources for a mechanized war producing large quantities of munitions and supplies. The Midwest provided soldiers, food, horses, financial support, Army hospitals were set up across the Union. Most states had Republican governors who energetically supported the war effort, the Democratic Party strongly supported the war in 1861 but in 1862 was split between the War Democrats and the anti-war element led by the Copperheads. The Democrats made major gains in 1862 in state elections. They lost ground in 1863, especially in Ohio, in 1864 the Republicans campaigned under the National Union Party banner, which attracted many War Democrats and soldiers and scored a landslide victory for Lincoln and his entire ticket. The war years were quite prosperous except where serious fighting and guerrilla warfare took place along the southern border, prosperity was stimulated by heavy government spending and the creation of an entirely new national banking system. The Union states invested a great deal of money and effort in organizing psychological and social support for soldiers wives, widows, orphans, and for the soldiers themselves. Most soldiers were volunteers, although after 1862 many volunteered to escape the draft, Draft resistance was notable in some larger cities, especially New York City with its massive anti-draft riots of 1863 and in some remote districts such as the coal mining areas of Pennsylvania. In the context of the American Civil War, the Union is sometimes referred to as the North, both then and now, as opposed to the Confederacy, which was the South. The Union never recognized the legitimacy of the Confederacys secession and maintained at all times that it remained entirely a part of the United States of America, in foreign affairs the Union was the only side recognized by all other nations, none of which officially recognized the Confederate government. The term Union occurs in the first governing document of the United States, the subsequent Constitution of 1787 was issued and ratified in the name not of the states, but of We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union. Union, for the United States of America, is repeated in such clauses as the Admission to the Union clause in Article IV. Even before the war started, the preserve the Union was commonplace. Using the term Union to apply to the non-secessionist side carried a connotation of legitimacy as the continuation of the political entity. In comparison to the Confederacy, the Union had a large industrialized and urbanized area, additionally, the Union states had a manpower advantage of 5 to 2 at the start of the war. Year by year, the Confederacy shrank and lost control of increasing quantities of resources, meanwhile, the Union turned its growing potential advantage into a much stronger military force
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