Entrenchment (fortification)

In fortification, the term entrenchment (Italian: trincieramento, Maltese: trunċiera) can refer to either a secondary line of defence within a larger fortification (better known as a retrenchment), or an enceinte designed to provide cover for infantry, having a layout similar to a city wall but on a smaller scale. The latter usually consisted of curtain walls and bastions or redans, and was sometimes also protected by a ditch.^[1]

In the 18th century, the Knights Hospitaller built a number of coastal and inland entrenchments as part of the fortifications of Malta.^[2] Further entrenchments were built in Malta by insurgents during the blockade of 1798–1800, in order to prevent the French from launching a counterattack.^[3]