bridgehead
noun/ˈbɹɪd͡ʒhɛd/
Etymology Calque of French tête de pont, equivalent to bridge + head.
1
An area around the end of a bridge.
2
Government, Military, Politics, War A fortification around the end of a bridge.
3
Government, Military, Politics, War An area of ground on the enemy's side of a river or other obstacle, especially one that needs to be taken and defended in order to secure an advance.
- He believed the invasion would happen elsewhere and it wasn't until late in the afternoon and long after the Allied forces had established a bridgehead that Hitler was convinced of the need to do something.2021, Otto English, Fake History, page 243:
- Related terms
- beachhead, dibridgehead, airhead, railhead