A
salent or re-entering angle in the trace of a fortification that could not
be reached by defensive fire delivered from the parapet. Dead angles were
a serious nuisance to a good defense since they offered a sheltered location,
particularly within a work's ditch, where attacking troops could rest,
reorganize, and prepare to continue an assault by scaling the scarp and mounting
the parapet. Any angle greater than 90º tended to produce dead ground.
A
salent or re-entering angle in the trace of a fortification that could not
be reached by defensive fire delivered from the parapet. Dead angles were
a serious nuisance to a good defense since they offered a sheltered location,
particularly within a work's ditch, where attacking troops could rest,
reorganize, and prepare to continue an assault by scaling the scarp and mounting
the parapet. Any angle greater than 90º tended to produce dead ground.
