Glossary entry (derived from question below)
Spanish term or phrase:
las áreas de sostén
English translation:
support areas
Added to glossary by
Wendy Gosselin
Mar 16, 2023 14:53
1 yr ago
23 viewers *
Spanish term
Argentina
Multilingual Experts
Native in: English (Variants: Canadian, UK, US) 
Works in: English, Spanish to English, English to Spanish, and 12 more.
las áreas de sostén
Spanish to English
Other
Military / Defense
This is related to a question I asked a few days ago. The text is memoir of WWI by a New Zealander. The original English version was lost and I am translating the Spanish translation back into English:
Los cuarteles de división me ordenaron de coordinar con las metralletas la defensa de las áreas de sostén y reserva, que habían estado urgidas antes, pero uno de los oficiales comandantes de Brigada protestó a la idea de separar secciones de nuestras ametralladoras de cada de las compañías de infantería, pero yo insistí que cuando la infantería avance al ataque, las metralletas deberían tomar posiciones defensivas para sostén.
Someone in a query of mine for "sitio de sostén" had suggested defensive settlement. This second usage makes me think that might be right. Or support area?
Los cuarteles de división me ordenaron de coordinar con las metralletas la defensa de las áreas de sostén y reserva, que habían estado urgidas antes, pero uno de los oficiales comandantes de Brigada protestó a la idea de separar secciones de nuestras ametralladoras de cada de las compañías de infantería, pero yo insistí que cuando la infantería avance al ataque, las metralletas deberían tomar posiciones defensivas para sostén.
Someone in a query of mine for "sitio de sostén" had suggested defensive settlement. This second usage makes me think that might be right. Or support area?
Proposed translations
(English)
| 4 +4 | support areas |
patinba
|
| 3 | back-up (trench) lines |
Adrian MM.
|
Proposed translations
+4
25 mins
Selected
support areas
By now we must all be aware that the translation into Spanish that you have is very poor and extremely literal, so you need to imagine what words the translator was looking at to come up with the phrase in question. This can only have been "support areas." The providing of support is one of the functions of a machine gun position.
MACHINE GUN EMPLOYMENT B3N4478 STUDENT ...
Marines.mil
https://www.trngcmd.marines.mil › Docs › TBS
PDF
After the seizure of an enemy position or when the machine guns can no longer provide fire support from their positions, you must move them to a new location; ...
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Note added at 28 mins (2023-03-16 15:22:17 GMT)
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or "support positions" perhaps
MACHINE GUN EMPLOYMENT B3N4478 STUDENT ...
Marines.mil
https://www.trngcmd.marines.mil › Docs › TBS
After the seizure of an enemy position or when the machine guns can no longer provide fire support from their positions, you must move them to a new location; ...
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 28 mins (2023-03-16 15:22:17 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
or "support positions" perhaps
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Hernan Casasbuenas
: In this context support sounds perfect
4 mins
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Gracias!
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| agree |
O G V
: coincide con la referencia "site of support?" que puse en https://www.proz.com/kudoz/spanish-to-english/military-defen... y que he convertido en respuesta
30 mins
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Gracias!
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| agree |
neilmac
3 hrs
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Thank you!
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| agree |
Andrew Bramhall
: Support positions for me;
5 hrs
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Thank you!
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4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Thanks"
1 hr
Adrian MM.
Austria
Austria
Native in English
Austria
Retd.T&I, Barrister & Austro-Advokat
Native in: English (Variants: Scottish, British) 
Works in: Spanish to English, English to Spanish, French to English, and 5 more.
Related KudoZ points
:
4
back-up (trench) lines
I'm not quite sure how areas can act 'supportively' or, unless trenches, held in 'reserve', but agree that a literal translation is a safe option.
Example sentence:
Eight soldiers stand at ease in a trench. Reserve trenches provided a second line of defence in case the front line fell.
By 1915 both sides on the Western Front, having failed to make a decisive breakthrough at the onset, had established trench lines or strong points with overlapping fields of fire behind acres of barbed wire, and with backup trenches behind them
Discussion
https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/support...
In a war a reserve trench provided a second line of defense. (google.com)
A reserve area is an area of land withdrawn from the public domain.
https://www.law.cornell.edu/definitions/uscode.php?width=840...
It's called 'No man's land', though it might not be the idiomatic equivalent required by the question. See reference:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_man's_land