Anti-tank trench

Anti-tank trenches, also called anti-tank ditches, are ditches dug into and around fortified positions to hold up the advance of enemy tanks.[1][2] Anti-tank ditches were first used in World War I by Germany in an effort to protect their trenches against the newly developed British tanks. An anti-tank ditch has to be wide enough and deep enough to prevent a tank from crossing. Armies have been known to disguise anti-tank ditches[3] to enable the ditch to disable an enemy tank. Anti-tank trenches can be defeated by use of a fascine.

Men of the Volkssturm-militia digging an anti-tank ditch during the Battle of Berlin at the outskirts of the city (February 1945)

See also

References
  1. "12. Antitank Obstacles and Road Blocks: Beach Obstacles: German Coastal Defenses, WWII Military Intelligence Service, Special Series No. 15, June 15, 1943 (Lone Sentry)". www.lonesentry.com. Retrieved 2017-12-18.
  2. Rottman, Gordon L. (2012-12-20). Soviet Field Fortifications 1941–45. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84908-061-3.
  3. The Military Engineer. Society of American Military Engineers. 1919.


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