The Washington weekly post., 1900-09-04
MILITARY OBSTACLES.
Modern Devices To Interrupt the Progress.
of an Army.

From PearsOn's Magazine
The use of obstacles in warfare is as old
as war itself, and between the turf-coyer-
cd holes and caltrops of Bruce at Ban
nockburn and the modern military MIR
and 'crowsfoot" there is little difference.
The obstacle which best fulhlIs the re-
quired conditions, and which has practical
ly only one drawback, is "Wire-entangle-
ment"
III does not afford cover to the enemy
should he gain possession of il III IS diff
hcult TO remove or surmount, and sDecial
tools, such as cutting pliers or nippers.
are required for It's destruction. II is diff
heult to see, and. if exposed TO artillery
hre' cannot be set alight on the other
hand, IL is an obstacle to a counter-at-
tack, and in bulk rather cumbrous 10
transport from one place to another.
Nlre-entanglement" may be either
high or low" In the high" variety
stout stakes are driven into the ground i'm
rcws about six feet apart, about four feet
belng left above ground; the wire is then
taken dldgonally from the top of one
stake to the bottom of another, and after
Wafd horizontally between the stakes. the
"hole forming a network very difficult 10
get through -
., nc io" Wlfe-entdngl glement" the
STAKES are only eighteen inches aho,-a
ground, and the wire is Stretched d;ao,,
of the stakes. 'he meat .
Low Low wire-entanglement' is more easily
eSSncedIed than high" and also takes \
ei siott yer tline 10 erect, but il is nor %
Ihuch OF an obstacle, and large masSas of
men soon trample il down. "a
Aoatls Is favOrite and effective form,
VI obstacle, and its use depends only M
tile number OF trees available 0ii
II may be formed either nv c,,-+,,. &C
| the limbs Of trees, and nirkeIinn. ,tLIIs on
the ground where they are wantsd ~ n ~
ing pointed out ana sharnena5 81 .
Drdhches; or, especially when the sdga nf
Wooa Is being held. by half-cuitinp
ss 1bstl Vusn tIees-youhg ones for preference,
as lhey do not eaten fire so easilv-hend
Ihs lhem over in the direction Of rbe
enemy ana lnterla cling with ropes
Military pits" have rather gone ou, of
use nowadays, but consist, as their nsma
iIllpiles, iill, oi N-shaped pits from eighteen
lnches 10 three feet deep with a breadth
al the top OF from two 10 three feet III
Ihe pits are arranged in rows checker
WISE ana are usually covered with q
thin layer of turf or brushwood wbiIa
sSndrp-polnted stakes are driven into them
They are useful against cavalry huf ~
hardly likely 10 repay the time and iabnr
involved IN their construction. and II
captured by the enemy, are easily CON
verted into intrenchments for his use
"Crowsfeet' are practically obsolete
now, but may be mentioned as relic of
former days. 'Crowsfeet" are made 0f
four spikes welded together. and arranS-
ed in such manner that, whichever wav
they are thrown, one spike will always
be uppermost They are useful against
cavalry. bui, on account of their buik and
weight, would rarely be carried by a mod
ern army.
We now come 10 an essentially Gallic
obstacle, "chevauN-defrise which was
largely employed diving the street fight
ing of the French revolution. A section
of "chevaux-de-frise" consists OF a
length generally six feeO of iron piping.
which is pierced with holes: through these
holes pointed iron rods are passed. cross
ing one another so as 10 form a double
row of spikes at the top, and at the same
time TO act as legs Tor The section 10 stand
on.
Palisades" are principally employed in
the defense OF bitches In front OF large
earthWorks, and are formed by driving
st0ug pointed stakes into the bottom Of
the ditch, the stakes being further secur-
cd by longitudinal beams called ri
bands" so that when the attackers leap
into the ditch they run every chance OF
being impaled.