A bridgehead (also 'Bridge-head'; French tête-du-pont) is literally a military fortification that protects the end of a bridge that is closest to the enemy. The term has been generalized in news coverage and the vernacular to also mean any kind of defended area that is extended into hostile territory (also called a foothold or incorrectly, a beachhead), in particular the area on the farside of a 'defended river bank' or a segment of a lake or riverine coastline, such as the Bridge at Remagen, and is especially applied when such a territory is initially seized by an amphibious assault with the tactical and strategic intent of establishing a supply line across the geographic barrier feature. // Originally founded in 1981 in Toronto by Oxfam, Bridgehead is a small fair trade coffeehouse chain which now has seven outlets in Ottawa, Canada. ... Table of Fortification, from the 1728 Cyclopaedia. ... This article is about the edifice (including an index to articles on specific bridge types). ... A beachhead is a military term used to describe the line created when a unit (by sea) reaches a beach, and begins to defend that area of beach, while other reinforcements (hopefully) help out, until a unit large enough to begin advancing has arrived. ... The Ludendorff Bridge was a railroad bridge across the Rhine in Germany, connecting the cities of Remagen and Erpel. ... Amphibious Assault began when 17-year-old, former Kittie guitarist, Fallon Bowman was on a plane from Ontario to New Jersey, skimming through a Tom Clancy novel when she came upon the term amphibious assault. ... A landform comprises a geomorphological unit, and is largely defined by its surface form and location in the landscape, as part of the terrain, and as such, is typically an element of topography. ...

As the process of moving an army over bridges is slow and complicated, it is usually necessary to secure it from hostile interruption, and the works constituting the bridge-head must therefore be sufficiently far advanced to keep the enemy's artillery out of range of the bridges. In addition, room is required for the troops to form up on the farther bank. In former days, with short-range weapons, a bridge-head was often little more than a screen for the bridge itself, but modern conditions have rendered necessary far greater extension of bridge defences.

Bridgeheads typically exist for only a few days, the invading forces either being thrown back or expanding the bridgehead to create a secure defensive lodgement area before breaking out into open country as happened when the U.S. 9th Armored Division seized the Ludendorff Bridge at Remagen in 1945 during World War II. In some cases, such as during the Gallipoli Campaign in World War I, a bridgehead may exist for months. A lodgement is an enclave made by increasing the size of a bridgehead, beachhead or airhead. ... Shoulder sleeve patch of the United States Army 9th Armored Division. ... The Ludendorff Bridge was a railroad bridge across the Rhine in Germany, connecting the cities of Remagen and Erpel. ... Remagen is a city in Germany in Rhineland-Palatinate, in the district of Ahrweiler. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... Battle of Gallipoli Conflict First World War Date 19 February 1915 - 9 January 1916 Place Gallipoli peninsula, Turkey Result Ottoman victory The Battle of Gallipoli took place on the Turkish peninsula of Gallipoli in 1915 during the First World War. ... “The Great War ” redirects here. ...

The term has also come to be used in a figurative sense, for instance in business, where a marketing "bridgehead" might be a specialized use of a new product in a particular market segment, in preparation for selling it against entrenched competitors across an entire market. In economics, a business is a legally-recognized organizational entity existing within an economically free country designed to sell goods and/or services to consumers, usually in an effort to generate profit. ... For the magazine, see Marketing (magazine). ... A Market segment is a subgroup of people or organizations sharing one or more characteristics that cause them to have similar product needs. ...

See also

Wikisource has an original article from the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica about:

Bridge-head

Look up Bridgehead in
Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• Airhead
• Beachhead
• Lodgement

Image File history File links Wikisource-logo. ... The original Wikisource logo. ... Encyclopædia Britannica, the eleventh edition The Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition (1910–1911) is perhaps the most famous edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica. ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Wiktionary (a portmanteau of wiki and dictionary) is a multilingual, Web-based project to create a free content dictionary, available in over 150 languages. ... This article is about a military term. ... A beachhead is a military term used to describe the line created when a unit (by sea) reaches a beach, and begins to defend that area of beach, while other reinforcements (hopefully) help out, until a unit large enough to begin advancing has arrived. ... A lodgement is an enclave made by increasing the size of a bridgehead, beachhead or airhead. ...

References

• This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.