Terrain baptism

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The terrain baptism is a military process for designation of visible surface points for quick orientation. It is used to simplify targeting and is used for fire commands and situation reports . At the same time, location information can be concealed in such a way that the opponent cannot easily assign them to an intercepted radio message.

So that these can be understood by those affected, site baptisms between neighboring units or sub-units must be coordinated. The necessity of a site baptism arises on the one hand from the normally inadequate map equipment of the troops, on the other hand from the need to have as close a network of reference points as possible in the field. The determination of estimated or measured MGRS values ​​for a point in the terrain usually takes too long in the event of an enemy attack. Only with a dense network of reference points can sufficiently precise reports on observations be made promptly. It is important to choose names that are as memorable as possible, which emphasize the characteristics of the terrain point.

Individual terrain coverings, such as forests and trees, fields, roads and buildings, or terrain forms such as mountains, hills or depressions are named after conspicuous features. For example, an unwooded height is usually called a bare mountain , a farmstead with a silo as a silo or a piece of forest in the shape of a cross as a cross forest . If map material with altitude information is available, elevations or depressions can also be designated after the altitude information for the highest or lowest point. Examples of this would be height 234 , less often a 386 mountain .

The naming of terrain points with the assigned name enables faster target recognition according to the spatial location in the terrain than with the RE (E) HLZ method , for the description by direction, viewable terrain (foreground-middle ground background), distance, (striking) Auxiliary target, position of the target in relation to the auxiliary target and target object .

In the history of the war, parts of the area were often named after people or units who were deployed at this location for a long time. Because of this, later difficulties often arise when reading descriptions of the deployment, because the baptism of the terrain at the time can no longer be traced and the information can no longer be assigned afterwards.

In the Swiss Army, the site is also named using the SNORDA procedure.

Terrain baptisms are also common among the special police forces.

literature

  • Federal Ministry of Defense: 20 training aids for teaching and practical service . Series of publications Innereführung 5/1984, Bonn 1984
  • Konrad Saß: sandpit school . Potsdam 1934