  We study the dynamics of the one-dimensional complex Ginzburg Landau equation
(CGLE) in the regime where holes and defects organize themselves into composite
superstructures which we call zigzags. Extensive numerical simulations of the
CGLE reveal a wide range of dynamical zigzag behavior which we summarize in a
`phase diagram'. We have performed a numerical linear stability and bifurcation
analysis of regular zigzag structures which reveals that traveling zigzags
bifurcate from stationary zigzags via a pitchfork bifurcation. This bifurcation
changes from supercritical (forward) to subcritical (backward) as a function of
the CGLE coefficients, and we show the relevance of this for the `phase
diagram'. Our findings indicate that in the zigzag parameter regime of the
CGLE, the transition between defect-rich and defect-poor states is governed by
bifurcations of the zigzag structures.
