Herringbone (formation)
military formation

A Herringbone is one type of tactical formation (named after the herringbone pattern). When in a Herringbone formation, the person at the front of the squad faces forward, while the rest of the squad lines up behind them, facing alternately left and right. The final member of the squad in the herringbone formation faces backwards. When the squad decides to relocate, the person next to the member facing backwards will tap him on the shoulder to make sure he is not left behind. This formation is performed commonly after crossing obstacles.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Herringbone (formation)” is military formation. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Herringbone, formation and military, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “military formation” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Feb 2, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q5744131. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
Overview language is designed for orientation and should not be treated as a substitute for the evidence cited beneath it. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Herringbone (formation)”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Herringbone (formation) primary sources, Herringbone (formation) archive and Herringbone research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Herringbone (formation)”?
- What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Herringbone (formation)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.