Weaponry and Tactics Barbed/Razor Wire Obstacles 2015-12-17

chelloveck submitted a new resource:

Barbed/Razor Wire Obstacles - The history and application of barded wire/razor wire obstacles

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A very nice obstacle I have discovered is a thicket of plumb trees. They have not got the sue-me for injuring a 'poor-misguided-youth' look to them and they also serve other practical purposes. Additionally, they have the hidden in plain sight advantage as well.

I bought hundreds of them from a state university program and they spread very well. After about eight years they made a very formidable obstacle for foot-traffic (not to mention bringing in the wildlife).

 

I understand where you are coming from. In a litigious tort prone society, turning your suburban cottage into a quiet sector of the Somme (1915-1918), may not be a practical option, but in a WROL environment...municipal councils (if such things will continue to function) will probably have more urgent concerns to worry about.

Or then again...one could start a WWI re-enactment society with a select group of friends and start wearing puttees, tin hats and start playing around with trench periscopes.

 

Thorny locust as well.

I have one on the property and the remains of an old one. If one was to get a thicket of them, they make a pretty decent visual deterrent. As well as the firewood properties.

 

Blackberry works as well. Course down here a person can just trim up the kudzu into a hedge worthy of Normandy fame!

 

Natal Plum is a spiny shrub, the fruit of which is edible, which is a nice bonus.


Via: Coco Plum, Mammee Apple, Pomegranate & Persimmon Photos

Natal Plums

Natal Plums Num Num

 

I have used agave cactus as fencing. Most of my plants were more than 8' high.

 

Currently the yard is fenced to keep the deer out and the Pitts in.

If and when society deteriorates to the point it becomes necessary; there isn't any reason to worry about the consequences of punji traps, dead falls etc.

 

Here ya go Chelly:
From the 5th Bat RAR
Booby traps created by the VC during the Vietnam War

 

Edible sure, but not as visually intimidating.



A few rows of those lying on their sides would certainly give someone pause for thought.

 

There is a place for both overt and covert obstacles.... When the opponent finds a way of planning and executing an overt obstacle breach, it's nice to have some covert obstacles in place to exploit the element of surprise...particularly when innocent looking leafy shrubs conceal barbed wire within.

Overt barbed obstacles, well sited, should tend to channel movement to areas that advantage the defender, and away from areas that disadvantage the defender.

 

Fatal funnels

 

We use this stuff

 

I planted the entire front of our property with Black Locust seedlings. The adolescent trees are nasty with thorns. They connect underground with horizontal running roots and grow in most any type of dirt. They are nasty. I keep what appear to the intruder as deer trails open . The deer do use them and these little trails empty out in front of our sand bag blinds. Any attempt to run and they start hitting other force multipliers. I have a 5 gallon pail of rusty nails and lots of treated deck boards for making nail boards hidden just under the leaves. Fake cover spots will be laced with painful traps . Anyone trying to advance on us is going to be stepping on nails running into thorns, and tripping wires, stakes etc. I am even working on the o plans for some black powder directional mines made from pipe and lead splitsot,wax and electric igniters. Like little cannons. Lots of work to do here yet. Surveilence cameras for one. I need 4 more.

 

I have one of these in my front yard that keeps popping up shoots from the roots. When enough of them show, I transplant them along the outside of my block wall in the back yard. Have about a dozenb of them, along with other cactus.

We refer to such barriers here in the SW as a desert mote.

 

Was watching a documentary on WW1 a few weeks ago where that tactic was used to channel the enemy directly into the path of the defenders' machine gun fire.

Tactics are interesting stuff.

 

Agree there is a place for overt and covert stuff. My thinking is in a TEOTWAWKI situation, I'm less worried about covert rather than I am making the place look as unappealing as I can. And ensuring I have good fields of fire for the latter. In normal times (if today could be seen as "normal" by any means) having a dual purpose shrubbery that looks pretty and makes a good barrier is wanted and even needed as not to arouse suspicion.

The only problem with natural obstacles such as the plums or thorny locust is the fire factor. Once burned, they are nothing more than an afterthought of what once was. And your carefully created channels end up being useless in the long run. And of course when removed, they cannot be replaced in short order. Which is where more permanent, non flammable solutions come into place. But of course, anything in a pinch to delay or deter an attacker is useful.

All in all this is a good exercise to get the wheels spinning on what's readily available at hand to help in defensive works.

 

Happiness is a warm Claymore.

 

Or even a cold one

 

As a reply to several posts, I also find the prickly pear variety of cactus very useful as well.

Also, having concertina and barbed wire with pickets in reserve is a good way to funnel bad guys into your 'make friends zone' in times of need.