Sap

views updated

Sap

SAP. Underground gallery dug to get beneath fortifications, usually for the purpose of blowing a mine. It is also a trench pushed toward the enemy by digging at the saphead (head of the sap) while using the trench for defilade. If the earth is thrown to one side for additional protection, it is known as a full or single sap; if dirt is thrown to form parapets on both sides, it becomes a double sap. A flying sap is one constructed under fire by using two gabions for cover and pushing them forward, side by side, as the work progresses. A sap roller is a gabion rolled forward to protect the sappers as they work. A sapper is a military engineer trained not only for this type of siege work but also for other varieties of field fortification.

SEE ALSO Gabion.

More From encyclopedia.com