Siyuan explained to you: "The "width of the engagement surface at the micro level" I just mentioned, in layman's terms, is actually the number of units that are generally in the first row of combat shaping, or the front row, and can output firepower, which is almost what it means. Specifically, to get us in the first row"

On the battlefield, Siyuan can only be explained in such a relatively simple way.

To clarify this concept, we must first start with the two concepts of "battlefield width" and "battlefield depth."

"Battlefield width" in the macro battlefield, generally refers to the length of the front line of the exchange of fire between the two sides in a battle, and sometimes, it can even be used to refer to the length of the front line of the exchange of fire between the two sides in a war; The concept of "battlefield depth" generally refers to the distance between a combat unit from the edge of the battle to the line of fire at which the fire is crossfired, and this concept can also be used in strategy, and such "depth" is generally called "strategic depth".

The two concepts mentioned above are actually generally used to refer to the two concepts of the macro battlefield situation, but they have been used to describe the situation of the micro battlefield by Siyuan before, and in some cases, it is actually quite suitable.

Whether it is "width" or "depth", it has a certain role.

"Width" generally determines the firepower output capability of a combat formation or an operational whole, while "depth" generally determines the anti-breakthrough capability of a combat formation or an operational whole.

Commanders need to weigh how to adjust these two elements without increasing the number of units to make the combat formation or the whole more suitable for the battlefield, campaign, or war situation.

In fact, taking a specific example, it may be possible to make the concepts of "width" and "depth" more clear.

Here we take the "evolution" of the formation of the main infantry fighting units in a certain era of firearms development (16th to early 19th centuries) as an example to explain the "width of the engagement surface at the micro level".

In the early days of human use, soldiers with firearms formed a phalanx with soldiers with long pole cold weapons, such as spears, and soldiers with firearms generally gathered at the four corners of the phalanx, while other soldiers with cold weapons were located in a larger area in the middle of the phalanx.

Such a "large phalanx of muskets" can be said to be similar in "width" and "depth".

There is a reason why "width" and "depth" are arranged in this way.

In the early stages of the development of firearms, the firearms had a weak firepower output capacity due to the low firing frequency and the lack of rifling and poor accuracy of firearms at that time. If you are directly formed in a row by soldiers armed with firearms, you may not have a high resistance to breakthrough in the face of enemy shock cavalry or other hand-to-hand units.

Therefore, at that time, the musketeers needed to form a phalanx with cold-armed soldiers with a certain depth.

With the emphasis on firearms, the proportion of firearms in a combat formation or in an operational whole has begun to gradually increase, and with the development of firearms, the firing frequency and shooting accuracy of firearms themselves have also improved to a certain extent.

The invention of the bayonet also made the infantry armed with firearms have a stronger ability to defend against breakthroughs.

Gradually, the formation of an infantry combat group in that era gradually began to develop in the direction of optimizing firepower output.

Reducing the depth to increase the width can increase the instantaneous firepower output ability, and as for the reduction in the depth of the anti-breakthrough ability, you can use the attack as a defense to make up for it, by increasing the firepower output ability, to reduce the opponent's breakthrough ability - this transformation not only directly improves the firepower output ability, but even indirectly increases the ability of your own defense to break through in some cases.