Bridgehead

A bridgehead is literally a military fortification that protects the end of a bridge that is closest to the enemy. The term has been generalized to mean any kind of defended area that is extended into hostile territory, in particular the area on the farside of a defended river bank or a segment of coastline initially seized by an amphibious assault.

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A bridgehead typically exists for only a few days, the invading forces being either thrown back or expand the bridgehead to create a lodgement area before breaking out into open country as happened when the U.S. 9th Armored Division ceased the Ludendorff Bridge at Remagen in 1945 during World War II. In some cases, such as during the Gallipoli Campaign in World War I, a bridgehead may exist for months.

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The term has also come to be used in a figurative sense, for instance in business, where a marketing "bridgehead" might be a specialized use of a new product in a particular market segment, in preparation for selling it against entrenched competitors across an entire market.

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Fortification: Fortifications are military constructions and buildings designed for defense in warfare. Humans have constructed defensive works for many thousands of years, in a variety of increasingly complex designs. The term is derived from the Latin fortis ("strong") and facere ("to make")....

Bridge: :This article is about the edifice (it is mostly an index to articles concerning specific bridge types). For other meanings, see bridge (disambiguation)....

Amphibious assault: Amphibious Assault is an electronic music project by Fallon Bowman....