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The 'cheval de frise' (plural: 'chevaux de frise') was a Mediaeval defensive obstacle consisting of a portable frame (sometimes just a simple log) covered with many long iron or wooden spikes or even actual spears. They were principally intended as an anti-cavalry obstacle but could also be moved quickly to help block a breach in another barrier. They remained in occasional use until they were replaced by wire obstacles just after the American Civil War, during which it was most often used by the Confederates.[1]

The term also came to be used for any spiked obstacle, such as broken glass embedded in mortar on the top of a wall.
A variation of the ''chevaux de frise'' are Czech hedgehog anti-tank obstacles, typically composed of three rails, crossed in such a way that they form a six-spiked figure, possibly sealed in concrete or partly buried in sand or earth (very much like a metal abatis). They can also be mined. The Atlantic Wall used millions of such obstacles to slow down landing of armored and mechanized troops, as to make them easy targets for machine guns and coastal artillery.
An anti-ship version was designed by Robert Erskine as a means of keeping British warships out of the Hudson River during the Revolutionary War. The device was never deployed.
Etymology: 'Cheval de frise' is French for "Frisian horse". The Frisians, having little cavalry of their own, relied heavily on such anti-cavalry obstacles.

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See also

★ Abatis

★ Caltrop

★ Gabions

★ Hudson River Chain

★ Sudis

★ Trou de loup

External links

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