beachhead

beachhead
    n 1: a bridgehead on the enemy's shoreline seized by an
         amphibious operation; "the Germans were desperately trying
         to contain the Anzio beachhead"
    2: an initial accomplishment that opens the way for further
       developments; "the town became a beachhead in the campaign to
       ban smoking outdoors"; "they are presently attempting to gain
       a foothold in the Russian market" [syn: {beachhead},
       {foothold}]
    

beachhead \beach"head`\ n.
   an area in hostile territory that has been occupied and is
   held to allow aditional troops and supplies to enter.

   Syn: bridgehead, foothold.
        [WordNet 1.5]
    

53 Moby Thesaurus words for "beachhead":
      acropolis, advance guard, airhead, avant-garde, bastion,
      battle line, blockhouse, bridgehead, bunker, castle, citadel,
      donjon, farthest outpost, fasthold, fastness, first line,
      forefront, fort, fortress, front, front line, front rank,
      front-runner, garrison, garrison house, hold, keep, line, martello,
      martello tower, mote, motte, outguard, outpost, peel, peel tower,
      pillbox, pioneer, point, post, precursor, railhead, rath, safehold,
      scout, spearhead, strong point, stronghold, tower,
      tower of strength, van, vanguard, ward