帝国：全面战争——科技单位介绍

　　Fougasse

　　Fougasse

　　This defensive weapon is a landmine constructed by military engineers and fired by the defenders lighting a fuse. A fougasse consists of a pit, sometimes dug at an angle, with gunpowder packed into the bottom and suitably wrapped to keep it dry. The hole is then backfilled with rubble and stones, taking care not to break the fuse, creating a huge “canister shot” weapon. Any enemies caught by the explosion are blown to smithereens by the blast. Damp, of course, will cause the fougasse to misfire, like any other gunpowder weapon.

　　Historically, a later and nastier, refinement used a flintlock mechanism to fire the charge. As well as making the explosion more reliable, this allowed military engineers to turn the fougasse into a booby trap. A piece of twine tied to the trigger acted as a tripwire:an unfortunate booby then stumbled and fired the device into himself and his nearby comrades.

　　During the 20th Century, the fougasse was refined into a flamethrower by burying oil drums on top of the explosives. And at the time of writing, the fougasse remains in use, as only one of the IEDs(improvised explosive device) used by insurgents against occupying forces in Iraq

　　这种防御性武器是一种简易的原始地雷，在战前由工兵埋设并在恰当的时机点燃引信引爆。埋设地雷方法很简单：在地上挖一个与地面成一定角度的洞，把黑火药包好(防止火药受潮)放在洞底，然后把引信牵出来，拉到引爆者手里，最后用碎石块把洞填上，注意不要损坏引信，就行了。定向地雷的爆炸效果类似于特大号的霰弹：任何处于杀伤半径内的人都会被猛烈的爆炸和飞溅的碎石撕成碎片。当然，和其他火器一样，潮湿的天气经常导致地雷哑火。

　　后来的改进版定向地雷使用燧发装置引爆。绊索由合股细线制成，一头系在燧发装置的扳机上。只要某个呆头呆脑的倒霉蛋触动了绊索，剧烈的爆炸就会把他和他附近的同伴们掀上天。

　　在写这篇文章的时候，作为目前唯一仍在使用的IED(简易爆炸装置)，定向地雷依然活跃在战场上。联军在伊拉克经常遭到恐怖分子埋设的IED的袭击。实际上，在伊拉克，死于IED的美军人数占总阵亡人数的40%以上，比死于战斗(32%)的还要多。

　　Square Formation

　　Square Formation

　　A defensive posture for musket-armed infantry units, creating an impassable wall of steel to fend off cavalry attacks. As the name suggests, this is four two- or three-rank lines of infantry arranged as a hollow square, with everyone facing outwards. It is a version of the obsolete pike “hedgehog”, making any cavalry charge a suicidal exercise. Bayonets are fixed to muskets when appropriate and possible. Forming a square requires good order in the ranks. The outer companies of an infantry unit in line have to “fold back” to form the sides and back of the square, without losing cohesion in the process. The unit colours take up station in the centre, a final rallying point should the square be broken. It is also possible to form larger squares with more than one unit. The square is, of course, a tempting target for enemy artillery. Whether it is better to form square in the face of cavalry and risk an artillery barrage, or stay in line to mitigate artillery fire and risk a cavalry charge can be a tactical conundrum! Theoreticians argued infantry could defeat a cavalry charge by firepower alone. Brigadier General Richard Kane (later Military Governor of Gibraltar) remarked, “If a body of Foot have but Resolution and keep their Order, there is no Body of Horse dare venture within their Fire…” but for him that fire was to be delivered from a square, not a line. He was arguing for discipline as the key to success

　　方阵

　　方阵是装备带刺刀的滑膛枪的步兵使用的一种用于防御的阵型，如同铁墙一般使前来进攻的骑兵不能越雷池一步。

　　如它的名字一样，方阵由四组排成两线或三线的步兵组成一个空心正方形，所有人都朝向外侧。这是旧时代长矛兵刺猬阵的新版本，士兵们在此时为滑膛枪上刺刀，能使任何发起冲锋的骑兵在密集的刺刀上撞成筛子。组成方阵需要军队纪律严明。侧翼的连队需要进行折叠机动以构成方阵的侧面和背面，在此过程中队形不能发生丝毫混乱。掌旗官手持军旗立于方阵中心—距离敌军最远的位置。当然，也可以用更多的单位组成较大的方阵。不过，方阵是敌军炮兵最好的目标，因为所有人都挤在一起。是冒着被炮火打得粉碎的危险组成方阵抵御骑兵冲击?还是冒着被骑兵冲锋的危险维持线形阵以减轻炮击伤亡?这是战术指挥官的两难抉择。军事理论家倾向于步兵应该使用远程火力阻挡骑兵的冲锋。准将理查德·凯恩(晚期的直布罗陀军政*府总督)评论到：“如果步兵部队意志坚定，纪律严明，没有骑兵敢于冲进他们的弹幕……”但是此句的前提是这些弹幕是从方阵中射出的，而不是单薄的线形阵。他的核心意思是说，纪律是胜利的关键.