Share this postTactical Symbolstacticalnotebook.substack.comCopy linkTwitterFacebookEmailTactical SymbolsThe articles link to this page deal expressly with the use of graphical figures of various kinds to depict tactical, technical, or organizational reality.The Tactical NotebookRed versus BlueIn the middle years of the nineteenth century, officers of the Prussian General Staff adopted the custom of depicting friendly forces with blue tactical symbols and hostile units with red hieroglyphs. Over the years, this led to the related practice of referring, in both speech and writing, to friendly forces as “Blue” and enemy forces as “Red…Read more3 months ago · 1 like · Bruce I GudmundssonThe Tactical NotebookDepicting Infantry GunsIn the days when field artillery pieces frequently fired over open sights, batteries could assist nearby infantry units by rolling up a gun or two to engage particularly obstreperous obstacles. When, however, gunners adopted the custom of indirect laying, and moved several thousand meters to the rear of the places where foot soldiers fought, the infant…Read more2 months ago · Bruce I GudmundssonThe Tactical NotebookDepicting Anti-Tank GunsDuring the Second World War, German soldiers wishing to depict anti-tank guns on maps and diagrams faced two considerable challenges. One of these was the frequency with which anti-tank guns of a given type achieved obsolescence. The other was the changes in nomenclature that resulted from the replacement of the anti-tank guns of one generation with t…Read more3 months ago · 1 like · Bruce I GudmundssonThe Tactical NotebookDepicting MortarsBetween 1919 and 1935, the light Minenwerfer of the German Army fulfilled two distinct functions. When configured for high angle fire, they served as mortars. When employed in the direct-fire mode, they did the work of infantry guns. Nonetheless, when German soldiers depicted these dual-purpose weapons (or units armed with them) on a map or diagram, …Read more3 months ago · 1 like · Bruce I GudmundssonThe Tactical NotebookDepicting MinenwerferThe trench mortar made its debut in 1914, a time when, thanks a proliferation of new weapons and types of units, the standardization of tactical symbols lagged far behind the creation of such hieroglyphs…Read more3 months ago · 2 likes · Bruce I Gudmundsson