Arms and Armour

Ditch (fortification)

In military engineering, a ditch is a defensive obstacle designed to slow down or break up the charge from an attacking force (especially cavalry and combat vehicles), in contrast to a trench, which is intended to provide cover (defilade) for infantry defenders against direct fire and artillery barrages. In military fortifications, the side of a ditch furthest from the enemy and closest to the next line of defence is known as the scarp while the side of a ditch closest to the enemy is known as the counterscarp.

Also on this shelf

See also

• ▸Attack on Derryard checkpoint
• ▸Dickite
• ▸Aurelian Walls

Uncatalogued shelf

Text from Wikipedia; plate via Wikimedia Commons. Text CC BY-SA 4.0; plate freely licensed (see Commons). Source record. Images and catalogue data are reproduced from open-access collections.