The Hedgehog was mounted on the bow of a destroyer. It was a series of specialized depth charges that were launched in front of the ship. About 30 were fired at once, on the front of each warhead was a contact trigger. When the warhead bumped into something, like the hull of a sub, the explosives would detonate. (Push button, will explode). The projectiles were also equiped with a standard pressure trigger. When the reached a given depth (50 ft.) they would explode.
This weapon forced to U-Boat captains to alter their tactics.v\
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The Hedgehog is the name of a well-known opening strategy for Austria-Hungary in the Diplomacy board game. It became known to the public in November 1976, when Richard Sharp published an article describing it in a Diplomacy magazine.
As most veteran Diplomacy players will agree, Austria-Hungary is infamous for being eliminated early in the game. The premise of the Hedgehog is that because of this tendency for fast death, Austria's primary goal is to defend itself. The Hedgehog strategy leaves Austria in a good defensive position, even if any of its neighbors should try to attack. Richard Sharp felt that the Hedgehog could ensure the survival of Austria until 1903, and that by that time one could engage in sufficient diplomacy to arrange further survival.
The Hedgehog strategy only dictates the very first set of orders submitted. There are a number of variations on it, each with their own name:
This was the original Hedgehog strategy outlined in Sharp's article. His only dissatisfaction with it was with the army in Budapest. Russia almost always orders its unit in Sevastopol to Rumania, which would mean that the army in Budapest would not be able to move into Rumania. Thus he invented...
This was also suggested in Sharp's article. He altered the Budapest order, instead moving the army to Serbia. This move is guaranteed to succeed, because no other country can reach that territory on the first turn. This was Richard Sharp's preferred opening for Austria.
Also outlined in Sharp's article, this strategy was not recommended. He offered it up, but then dismissed it as leaving Austria to open to attack from Italy and/or Russia.
The Turkish Hedgehog was published by Nicholas Whyte in October 1985. Turkey doesn't really need a hedgehog strategy, at least in the sense that they have no worries of early elimination. Turkey is one of the most difficult countries to eliminate, due to their defensible position in the corner of the board. In fact, this strategy really does not have much in common with the Austrian Hedgehog, save the name, which Whyte probably chose solely for recognition purposes.
Perusing through the openings library on www.diplom.org, I found a few other Hedgehog openings that I had not heard of before, all of which were named by Richard Sharp:
Prior to Sharp's 1976 article, the Hedgehog opening had rarely been used. According to Sharp, in the 313 postal Diplomacy games he had on record, the Hedgehog had only been tried 3 times and the Southern Hedgehog had been tried 4 times. Almost three years later, an April 1980, Richard Hucknall published an article discussing the Hedgehog opening. At that time, Hucknall reported that the Hedgehog opening had become so popular that it was the standard Austrian opening. After having seen it in action many times, Hucknall concluded that it was not a favorable opening after all. It was too warlike, and it limited how much the Austrian player could gain. Hucknall argued that Austria would be better off securing diplomatic agreements with its neighbors, rather than assuming they would all be attacking. Only as a last resort should the Hedgehog be used, argued Hucknall.
The Hedgehog variations are still employed today, in all of their forms, although some are more popular than others. In a debate of opening strategies for Diplomacy, rarely is there a definitive final word.
To learn more about the Hedgehog, I suggest the following sources. I consulted them during the creation of this writeup.
Some weeks ago, in the evening, I was standing at the bus stop. That particular bus stop is situated next to the back wall of a gymnasium. Some bushes grow along the wall, the bus stop is no more than a sign standing on the pavement. I was too early for the bus. It was already dark and the street was quiet, just someone cycling by now and then. I was enjoying the quiet.
Then, from the bushes behind me, I heard rustling. It sounded like a big animal, a dog perhaps, coming toward me. Only those bushes are way too low and thick to contain a dog. It was no dog. It was a hedgehog.
Now hedgehogs are noisy animals. They blunder through the undergrowth, snorting along, stamping their feet. It seems like they think, hey, it doesn't matter how much noise I make, I've got spines on my back, nobody better mess with me. Sometimes they are right. Sometimes they think the same thing about cars. Then they are wrong...
Hedgehogs are strange animals.
Hedge"hog` (?), n.
1. (Zoöl.)
A small European insectivore (Erinaceus Europæus), and other allied species of Asia and Africa, having the hair on the upper part of its body mixed with prickles or spines. It is able to roll itself into a ball so as to present the spines outwardly in every direction. It is nocturnal in its habits, feeding chiefly upon insects.
2. (Zoöl.)
The Canadian porcupine.[U.S]
3. (Bot.)
A species of Medicago (M. intertexta), the pods of which are armed with short spines; -- popularly so called. Loudon.
4.
A form of dredging machine. Knight.
Hedgehog caterpillar (Zoöl.), the hairy larvæ of several species of bombycid moths, as of the Isabella moth. It curls up like a hedgehog when disturbed. See Woolly bear, and Isabella moth. --Hedgehog fish (Zoöl.), any spinose plectognath fish, esp. of the genus Diodon; the porcupine fish. --Hedgehog grass (Bot.), a grass with spiny involucres, growing on sandy shores; burgrass (Cenchrus tribuloides). --Hedgehog rat (Zoöl.), one of several West Indian rodents, allied to the porcupines, but with ratlike tails, and few quills, or only stiff bristles. The hedgehog rats belong to Capromys, Plagiodon, and allied genera. --Hedgehog shell (Zoöl.), any spinose, marine, univalve shell of the genus Murex. --Hedgehog thistle (Bot.), a plant of the Cactus family, globular in form, and covered with spines (Echinocactus). --Sea hedgehog. See Diodon.
© Webster 1913
Hedge"hog`, n. (Elec.)
A variety of transformer with open magnetic circuit, the ends of the iron wire core being turned outward and presenting a bristling appearance, whence the name.
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