20231220_Vocabulaire militaire français-anglais.pdf — page 46

Page 46 
 
L A  T O P O G R A P H I E  
 
Topography 
 
Exercices de topographie, des courses d’orientation 
- 
orienteering44,  
- 
overland navigation exercises 
En sortant de la gare, allez tout droit, traversez le 
parking. Vous déboucherez dans la Grand-Rue. 
Continuez dans la même direction sur plusieurs 
centaines de mètres. Vous passerez trois feux 
rouges. Tournez à droite au troisième, et vous vous 
trouverez dans la rue Maginot. Prenez la troisième 
rue à gauche et continuez jusqu'au bout de cette rue. 
Vous verrez le théâtre en face de vous. Empruntez le 
passage à gauche du théâtre, descendez les 
escaliers et vous vous retrouverez dans l'avenue des 
Marronniers. Traversez le carrefour en diagonale. 
Vous apercevrez une sorte de terrain vague sur votre 
droite après le carrefour. Le dernier magasin, juste 
avant le terrain vague, est celui d'un tailleur, et il y a 
un café.  
 You come out of the station. Go straight across the 
car park into Main Street. Keep straight on for several 
hundred yards over the first two sets of traffic lights 
and turn right at the third set into Maginot Street. 
Take the third street on the left and walk down to the 
end. Go down the alleyway to the left of the theatre 
and you'll come out in Marronniers Street. Cross over 
the road, going right towards a piece of open ground. 
The last shop before the open space is a tailor's with 
a coffee shop on the first floor. 
Orienter une carte  
 to set a map 
Une carte d’état-major  
 an ordnance survey map 
L’ordonnée  
 the northings 
L’abscisse  
 the eastings 
Système de positionnement terrestre  
 global positioning system (GPS) 
Cote 451  
 hill 45145, spot elevation 451 
Des points cotés  
 spot height, trig points 
Une courbe de niveau  
 contour line 
Les lignes de Thalweg46  
 the drainage system 
Les coordonnées  
 grid references, coordinates, grids 
À vol d’oiseau  
 as the crow flies 
Une course d’orientation  
 land navigation 
La configuration du terrain  
 the lie of the land 
Au-dessus du niveau de la mer  
 above sea level 
(In)franchissable  
 (un)passable 
Le topo (faire le topo / le point) 
 the blueprint, the scenario, the framework 
 
“Well guys, we’re at the church in the town and we must change our route ! 
First, we have to go northwards, along the street, over the bridge, and across the level crossing up to the 
residential area. There, we have to keep going straight on to [tout droit vers] the coast and follow it until we find 
the main railway line. We have to walk along it for about 2 kilometres, go under the motorway bridge and then 
turn right to find a clearing [clairière]. 
Secondly, we have to go around the clearing and run southwards through the brushwood [brousailles] to the 
main motorway junction ; and proceed [continuez] south-eastwards to the factory, bypass it to go up to a 
crossroads on the road B3227. At this crossroads, we have to run across the open areas and along the path to 
the river. 
Thirdly, we’ll walk along its banks [rives] to reach and pass over a dam ; if it’s not possible, we’ll swim across 
the river. Then, we have to move to the warehouses where a unit is waiting for us. Is that clear?” 
 
                                                          
44 A cross-country race in which each participant uses a map and compass to navigate between checkpoints 
along an unfamiliar course. Merriam-Webster. 
45 Lire chiffre par chiffre en anglais. 
46 Creux des vallées.