Terrain

One of the best utilizations of advantageous terrain, displayed especially during the Civil War, was having the high ground. The high ground enabled the soldiers to “dig in” and fortify a position with great efficiency. This came in handy especially if the soldiers on high ground were defending, but it also helped immensely when attacking. When defending, a soldier could easily set himself behind a tree or obstacle of some sort and act as a sniper. Longstreet explains it very well in The Killer Angels. He explains, “Just put one man behind a tree. You can hardly see him from two hundred yards away, but he can see you. And shoot. And shoot again. How many men d

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Another benefit to utilization of the terrain, which can commonly be overlooked, is the use of simple geographic features in the terrain such as a clump of trees or a large boulder that the men can use to keep a general idea of their location and also to help the generals plan the battle tactics. The attacking soldiers with the destitute terrain, on the other hand, would probably be much less organized and feel uneasy, causing much lower overall morale and much less efficient combat. Longstreet has a vision of “that gray rocky hill all spiked with guns, massed with blue troops at the top, and he knew as certainly as he had ever known anything as a soldier that the hill could not be taken”. Look at those rocks, marvelous position. o you think it will take to get to that man behind a tree, in a ditch, defended by a cannon, if you have to cross an open field to get him?” (Shaara 142) This defensive tactic would of course be best utilized when defending and having the beneficial terrain. They are dug in all over the ground and there are guns in the rocks above. ” (269) This is a perfect example of Lee’s encouraging outlook and the loyalty to Lee expressed by the soldiers. ” (221) A marvelous position it truly proved to be, the uphill terrain won the battle for the Union even though they were extremely outnumbered. This would enable them not only to predict the Confederates next moves but also to have more of an idea when the battle is about to begin. By the time the battle starts, the soldier has already chosen a spot and has more of an idea of what to expect. Other vital battle techniques such as strategic command and troop morale still depended greatly on the terrain that the soldiers had to fight on and their placement on that terrain. ” (233) General Lee also uses a similar method when he “was telling Pickett how to maneuver his troops sideways when he reached the road so that they would converge on that clump of trees toward the center. Fortifying a position with advantageous ground proved to be the decisive factor in the War.

Common topics in this essay:
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Approximate Word count = 1402
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)

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