Echelon formation
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An echelon formation (/ˈɛʃəlɒn, ˈeɪʃlɒ̃/)[1] is a (usually military) formation in which its units are arranged diagonally. Each unit is stationed behind and to the right (a "right echelon"), or behind and to the left ("left echelon"), of the unit ahead. The name of the formation comes from the French word échelon, meaning a rung of a ladder, which describes the shape that this formation has when viewed from above or below.
Military formation
Use of the formation dates back to ancient
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The tactic still persists and is regularly employed by all branches of the modern armed forces. Tactically, echelon formations are used because of the excellent range of vision offered to each participant in the formation. In particular, it is commonly employed by armored cavalry because of the large, overlapping fields of fire that it gives to each
"Echeloning" is the name of a tactic in use by the United Kingdom's armed forces, mainly the
Echelon formations are also commonly used by civic or
Derived meanings
The name has been adopted by the birdwatching community to describe the familiar V-shaped formations of flights of geese, ducks and other migratory birds, though this more symmetric formation is more strictly defined as a V formation.
In geology, en echelon describes an arrangement where a set of short linear features overlap or are staggered in a line that runs obliquely to the strike of the individual features.[2] Echelon faults and en echelon veins are examples.
In sheet material response to shear stress it is typical for a series of echelon cracks to form. This is commonly seen in asphalt roads subject to shear stress imposed by aseismic fault creep.
In mathematics, the term row echelon form refers to a kind of matrix where the non-zero elements are shaped in an echelon-like manner.
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In
References
- ^ "echelon". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.)
- ISBN 978-0-913312-89-6.
- ^ "Echelon the Crosswinds". CyclingTips. BikeExchange Pty Ltd. Retrieved 2016-07-15.
- ^ "What are Echelons? | How To Deal With a Crosswind | Eurosport Explainers". Eurosport. 2016-09-06 – via YouTube. Animation of the formation of echelons and breakaways during crosswind.