French frigate Poursuivante firing raking fire in enfilade on a British ship of line

French frigate Aréthuse and English frigate Amélia exchanging defilade fire on the shores of Guinea, the 7th of February 1813

Enfilade and defilade are military tactical concepts used to describe a fighting unit's exposure to enemy fire. In addition, enfilade fire is used to describe gunfire directed against an "enfiladed" unit or position. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1200x674, 176 KB) Fight of the Poursuivante - 28th of June 1803 Louis-Philippe Crepin (1772 Paris -- 1851) File links The following pages link to this file: Enfilade and defilade List of French sail frigates Raking fire User:Rl/Images ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1200x674, 176 KB) Fight of the Poursuivante - 28th of June 1803 Louis-Philippe Crepin (1772 Paris -- 1851) File links The following pages link to this file: Enfilade and defilade List of French sail frigates Raking fire User:Rl/Images ... In naval warfare, raking fire is fire along the long axis of an enemy ship. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1100x792, 263 KB) Combat de la frégate française lAréthuse contre la frégate anglaise lAmélia sur la côte de Guinée, le 7 février 1813 Fight of the French frigate lAréthuse... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1100x792, 263 KB) Combat de la frégate française lAréthuse contre la frégate anglaise lAmélia sur la côte de Guinée, le 7 février 1813 Fight of the French frigate lAréthuse... Military tactics is the collective name for methods of engaging and defeating an enemy in battle. ...

A unit (or position) is "in enfilade" if enemy fire can be directed along the long axis of the unit. For instance, a trench is enfiladed if the enemy can fire down the length of the trench. A column of marching troops are enfiladed if fired on from the front such that the gunfire traverses the length of the column. A line of advancing troops is enfiladed if fired on from the flank. Trench warfare is a form of war in which both opposing armies have static lines of fortifications dug into the ground, facing each other. ...

The benefit of enfilading the enemy is that, by firing along the long axis, it is relatively easy to hit a target (or several targets). Raising or lowering the aim of a weapon merely directs the fire to a different point along the axis of the position. The less desirable alternative is to fire from an oblique angle which requires precise aim to hit a target. Raising or lowering the aim when firing obliquely results in the target being straddled.

A unit or position is "defiladed" if it is protected from direct exposure to enemy fire. For an armoured fighting vehicle, defilade can be synonymous with hull-down. An armoured fighting vehicle (AFV) is a military vehicle, equipped with protection against hostile attacks and often mounted weapons. ... A tank in hull-down, turret-down, and hidden positions behind a crest of ground. ...

See also

• Raking fire
• Crossing the T
• Enfilade (band)