Tank traps are fortifications used to prevent tanks and other vehicles from accessing certain areas. They are made of concrete pyramids and often have barbed wire and other deterrents. While not effective against tanks, they can prevent medium vehicles from passing through. Some traps are called “dragon’s teeth” and Switzerland has a line of traps called the “Toblerone line.” In a military situation, heavy weapons can destroy the traps, but if well defended, tanks may need to find another route.
Tank traps are fortifications designed to prevent tanks and other armored vehicles from passing through certain strategic areas. Tank traps are also used to control motor vehicle access to vulnerable areas such as conservation parks, beaches and forests. Some historical examples of these traps can be seen in parts of Europe, left over from World War II, and modern traps can sometimes be seen near parks and reserves. Unfortunately for soldiers, these traps aren’t very effective against tanks, although they are certainly useful for preventing access to medium vehicles in a non-military situation.
A classic tank trap is made by pouring heavy pyramid-shaped fortifications from concrete. Typically, the concrete is poured onto a large platform, designed to prevent tunneling and the use of explosives. The concrete pyramids are too big for the tanks to pass, so the tanks have to go around them or find a way through them. Some traps exploit this by essentially funneling tanks into vulnerable areas where they can be taken out with the use of anti-tank weapons.
From a distance, a tank trap can look like a kind of strange set of teeth, which is why some people call them “dragon’s teeth.” Many tank traps used multiple lines of these concrete fortifications, often staggered so that tanks would have extreme difficulty if they attempted to penetrate the trap. The spaces between the fortifications would also be strung with barbed wire, accordion wire, steel bars and other deterrents that would keep out infantrymen as well as tanks.
In parts of Switzerland, a tank trap is called the “Toblerone line,” in a playful reference to the Swiss chocolate bar of the same name. Toblerone bars traditionally look like a set of pyramid-shaped chocolate pieces connected together at the base and look more like a single line than a trap. Switzerland has numerous traps, including mobile traps that can be set up quickly to prevent invasion in the event of hostilities.
In a military situation, tools such as heavy weapons can be used to hit a tank trap with ammunition so that the pyramids are reduced to rubble. Most tanks are perfectly capable of crawling over concrete and steel rubble, so the trap is a momentary obstacle, rather than a serious defense. However, if a trap is well defended by troops protected with armor-piercing weapons, turning back and going another route can start to look quite attractive to tank division leaders.
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