On the battlefield, dead space is defined as an area within the maximum range of a weapon, radar or observer that cannot be covered by fire or observed from a particular position. This may be because of intervening obstacles, the nature of the ground, the characteristics of the trajectory or the limitations of the pointing capabilities of weapons. For centuries, militaries have sought the best means to cover this dead space. Every conflict has engendered new solutions. During the Korean War, for example, stretches of enemy territory became dead space thanks to Korea's undulating terrain. The U.S. Army's indirect fire manual for .50-caliber machine guns presented an innovative, nonmaterial solution by using plunging, high-angle fire from machine-gun crews at safe, reverse-slope positions coupled with fire control by hilltop observers.
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