View source for Caltrop

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[[File:Caltrop closeup.JPG|thumb|right|Late Medieval European caltrop]]
[[File:Caltrope (PSF).jpg|thumb|right|Caltrop, line drawing]]
[[File:Tetsubishi 1.jpg|thumb|right|Japanese caltrop or ''[[makibishi]]'']]
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A '''caltrop''' (also known as '''caltrap''', '''galtrop''', '''cheval trap''', '''galthrap''', '''galtrap''', '''calthrop''', <!--'''jack rock''', '''star nail''', '''partisan nails''', Removed from list pending satisfactory reference--> '''crow's foot'''<ref name = "Illustrated dictionary of Heraldry" >{{cite web
| url = http://www.dictionaryofheraldry.com/Caltrap.htm
| work = Illustrated dictionary of Heraldry
| title = Caltrap, Galtrop, Cheval Trap, Galthrap or Galtrap
| accessdate=16 September 2008}}</ref><ref name = "Alesia-2006" >''[[Battle of Alesia]]'' ([[Julius Caesar|Caesar]]'s conquest of [[Gaul]] in [[52 BC]])), Battlefield Detectives program, (2006), rebroadcast: 2008-09-08 on History Channel International (13;00-14:00 hrs EDST); Note: No mention of name caltrop at all, but illustrated and given as battle key to defend Roman lines of circumvaliation per recent digs evidence.</ref>) is an [[antipersonnel weapon]] made up of two or more sharp nails or spines arranged in such a manner that one of them always points upward from a stable base (for example, a [[tetrahedron]]). They may be thought of as the [[landmine]]s of antiquity, useful to shape the battlefield and force the enemy into certain paths and approaches, or to provide a passive defense as part of a defensive works system. Caltrops served to slow down the advance of [[horse]]s, [[war elephant]]s, and human troops. They were said to be particularly effective against the soft feet of [[camel]]s.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Seven Great Monarchies Of The Ancient Eastern World, Vol 6. (of 7): Parthia| url=http://www.gutenberg.org/files/16166/16166-h/16166-h.htm#2HCH0023|last= Rawlinson| first= George}}</ref> In more modern times, caltrops are used against wheeled vehicles with pneumatic [[tire]]s.

The modern name "caltrop" is derived from the Latin ''calcitrapa'' (foot-trap). The synonymous Latin word ''[[tribulus]]'' gave rise to the modern Latin name of a plant offering similar hazards to sandaled or bare feet, ''[[Tribulus terrestris]]'' ([[Zygophyllaceae]]), whose spiked seed case can also injure feet and puncture tires. This plant can also be compared to the [[starthistle]] ''[[Centaurea calcitrapa]]'', which is sometimes called the "caltrop". A water plant with similarly-shaped spiked seeds is called the "[[water caltrop]]", ''Trapa natans''.

==History==
Iron caltrops were used as early as 331 BC at [[Gaugamela]] according to Quintus Curtius (IV.13.36). They were known to the Romans as ''tribulus'' or sometimes as ''Murex ferreus'', the latter meaning 'jagged iron'.

The late [[Ancient Rome|Roman]] writer [[Vegetius]], referring in his work ''[[De Re Militari]]'' to [[scythed chariot]]s, wrote:

{{quote|The armed [[chariot]]s used in war by Antiochus and Mithridates at first terrified the Romans, but they afterwards made a jest of them. As a chariot of this sort does not always meet with plain and level ground, the least obstruction stops it. And if one of the horses be either killed or wounded, it falls into the enemy's hands. The [[Roman legion|Roman soldiers]] rendered them useless chiefly by the following contrivance: at the instant the engagement began, they strewed the field of battle with caltrops, and the horses that drew the chariots, running full speed on them, were infallibly destroyed. A caltrop is a device composed of four spikes or points arranged so that in whatever manner it is thrown on the ground, it rests on three and presents the fourth upright.<ref>{{cite book| url=http://www.pvv.ntnu.no/~madsb/home/war/vegetius/dere07.php#21| title=The Military Institutions of the Romans Book III: Dispositions for Action| first=Flavius Vegetius| last=Renatus| year=390| chapter=ARMED CHARIOTS AND ELEPHANTS}}</ref>}}

[[File:Caltrop from Vietnam 1968.jpg|thumb|right|Iron caltrop from Vietnam. It has been spray painted to help preserve it.]]

The caltrop continued in use into the 17th century; a single example was found in [[Jamestown, Virginia]], in the [[United States]].

{{quote|Undoubtedly the most unusual weapon or military device surviving from seventeenth-century Virginia is known as a caltrop, a single example of which has been found at Jamestown. It amounts to a widely spread iron tripod about three inches long with another leg sticking vertically upward, so that however you throw it down, one spike always sticks up. ... There is no doubt that the most inscrutable Indian treading on a caltrop would be shocked into noisy comment. ... The fact that only one has been found would seem to suggest that they were used little, if at all. As with all military equipment designed for European wars, the caltrop’s presence in Virginia must be considered in the light of possible attacks by the Spaniards as well as assaults from the Indians.<ref>[http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/ah/1963/3/1963_3_66.shtml American Heritage.com] link broken as of 2006-03-04</ref>}}

==Caltrop-like devices==
[[Punji stick]]s perform a similar role to caltrops. These are sharpened sticks placed vertically in the ground. Their use in modern times targets the body and limbs of a falling victim rather than well-shod feet, by means of a pit or tripwire.

In [[United Kingdom|Britain]], during the [[Second World War]], large caltrop shaped objects made from [[reinforced concrete]] were used as [[anti-tank]] devices, although it seems that these were rare.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.britarch.ac.uk/projects/dob/crom1b.html| title=The 'Caltrop' as Anti-Tank Obstacle| accessdate=4 March 2006}}</ref> Very much more common were concrete devices called [[dragon's teeth (fortification)|dragon's teeth]] that were designed to wedge into [[tank]] treads, and large ones weighing over {{convert|1|tonne}} are still used by the army to deny access to wheeled vehicles, especially in camp areas. However, dragon's teeth are immobile, so the analogy with the caltrop is inexact, but caltrop-like concrete blocks that interlock when piled up are used in the construction of sea defences. Another caltrop-like WWII defence is the massive, steel, freestanding [[Czech hedgehog]]s that were designed as anti-tank obstacles and were also used to damage [[warship]]s and [[landing craft]]. These were in heavy use at [[Normandy Landings|Normandy]] and other beach-conflicts.

==Modern uses==
===Tire Deflation Device===
{{seealso|Spike strip}}
[[File:Caltrop.jpg|thumb|right|Caltrop used by the US [[Office of Strategic Services]]. The hollow spikes puncture self-sealing rubber tires. The hole in the center allows air to escape even if the other end of the tube is sealed by soft ground.]]

There have been a number of attempts to develop a caltrop-like device that will deflate tires in a manner useful to law enforcement agencies or the military.<ref>
{{cite web
| url= http://v3.espacenet.com/textdoc?DB=EPODOC&IDX=US2346713&F=0&QPN=US2346713
| title= Caltrop
| accessdate=11 April 2008
| author= Walker Brooks
| date= 18 April 1944
| work= US2346713
| publisher= European Patent Office}}
</ref><ref>
{{cite web
| url = http://v3.espacenet.com/textdoc?DB=EPODOC&IDX=US5921703&F=0
| title= Caltrop
| accessdate=11 April 2008
| author= Jonathan Becker ''et al.''
| date= 13 July 1999
| work= US5921703
| publisher= European Patent Office}}
</ref>

===Australian Light Horse troops===
Caltrops were collected by [[Australian Light Horse]] troops as keepsakes. These Caltrops were either made by welding two pieces of wire together to form a four pointed star or pouring molten steel into a mould to form a solid, seven pointed star. The purpose of these devices was to disable horses. They were exchanged with French troops for bullets. The Australian Light Horse troops referred to them as "Horse Chestnuts". Examples from 1917 are kept in the Cart Museum in Bundeena, situated in the state of Victoria, Australia.

===Labor activists===
Caltrops have been used at times during [[labor strike]]s and other disputes. Such devices were used by some to destroy the tires of management and replacement workers. In this context, caltrops are usually referred to as "jack rocks," and have become an icon in pro-union rallies, often depicted on t-shirts, hats, or even worn as jewellery in some cases.

Because of the prevalence of caltrops during the [[Caterpillar Inc.|Caterpillar]] strike of the mid-1990s, the state of Illinois passed a law making the possession of such devices a misdemeanor.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/documents/072000050K21-1.4.htm| title=Illinois Criminal Law On Damage And Trespass To Property| accessdate=21 October 2007}}</ref>

===Environmental activists===
In the 1970s, activists in the United States deployed caltrops against the tires of logging trucks. [[Earth First!]] quickly condemned the practice, seeing it as a hazard to humans and animals.{{Citation needed|date=July 2007}}

==Symbolic use==
[[File:3 Corps Shoulder Sleeve Insignia.svg|thumb|right|95px|Shoulder insignia of [[III Corps (United States)|III Corps]]]]
A caltrop has had a variety of symbolic uses and is commonly found in [[heraldry]].<ref name = "Illustrated dictionary of Heraldry"/><ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.burkes-peerage.net/articles/heraldry_c.aspx | work = Burkes Peerage and Gentry | title=A to Z Guide to Heraldic Terms| accessdate=21 October 2007}}</ref>

For example, the arms and standard of [[Clan Drummond]] include caltrops,<ref>[http://www.clandrummond.com/symbols.htm Symbols of the Chief and Clan] from [http://www.clandrummond.com/ www.clandrummond.com]</ref> memorializing their use in the [[Battle of Bannockburn]].

The caltrop is the symbol of the [[US Army's III Corps]], which is based at [[Fort Hood]], [[Texas]]. III Corps traces its lineage to the days of horse [[cavalry]], which used the caltrop as an [[area denial weapon]].

It is also the symbol of the [[United States Marine Corps]]' 3rd Division, formed on 16 September, 1942.

The Finnish noble family Fotangel ([[Swedish language|Swedish]] for 'caltrop') had arms ''Gules, three caltrops Argent''.

==See also==
* [[Water caltrop]], a plant
* [[Makibishi]]

==Footnotes==
{{reflist}}

==References==
* [http://www.scotclans.com/clans/Drummond/history.html# Clan Drummond]. A brief summary of the clan's history.
* New Discoveries at Jamestown, Site of the First Successful English Settlement in America By John L. Cotter and J. Paul Hudson 1957 [http://www.gutenberg.org/files/16277/16277-h/16277-h.htm#caltrop Project Gutenberg].

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[[Category:Roman weapons]]
[[Category:Roman fortifications]]
[[Category:Area denial weapons]]
[[Category:Fortification]]
[[Category:Medieval weapons]]
[[Category:Guerrilla warfare tactics]]