Dragon's teeth arepyramidalanti-tank obstacles ofreinforced concrete first used during theSecond World War to impede the movement oftanks andmechanised infantry. The idea was to slow down and channel tanks intokilling zones where they could easily be disposed of byanti-tank weapons.
They were employed extensively, particularly on theSiegfried Line.[1][2][3]
Dragon's teeth were used by several armies in theEuropean theatre. TheGermans made extensive use of them on theSiegfried Line and theAtlantic Wall. Typically, each tooth was 90 to 120 cm (3 to 4 ft) tall.
Land mines were often laid between teeth, and further obstacles were constructed along the lines of teeth, such asbarbed wire to impedeinfantry or diagonally-placedsteel beams to further hinder tanks. Many were laid in the United Kingdom in 1940–1941, as part of the effort to strengthen the country'sdefences against a possible German invasion:
Behind minefields were the dragon's teeth. They rested on a concrete mat between ten and thirty meters wide, sunk a meter or two into the ground (to prevent any attempt to tunnel underneath them and place explosive charges). On top of the mat were the teeth themselves, truncated pyramids of reinforced concrete about a meter in height in the front row, to two meters high in the back. They were staggered and spaced in such a manner that a tank could not drive through. Interspersed among the teeth were minefields, barbed wire, andpillboxes that were virtually impregnable by the artillery and set in such a way as to give the Germans crossing fire across the entire front. The only way to take those pillboxes was for infantry to get behind them and attack the rear entry. But behind the first row of pillboxes and dragon's teeth, there was a second, and often a third, and sometimes a fourth.[4]
Due to the huge numbers laid and their durable construction, many thousands of dragon's teeth can still be seen today, especially in the remains of the Siegfrieds.
The term has survived into the present day and can be used to describe a line of posts orbollards set into the ground to deter vehicle access, for example in rural car parking areas or alongside roads.
InBelgorod Oblast, defensive lines of dragon's teeth were constructed in October 2022 under the supervision of theWagner Group along theRussia–Ukraine border, intended as a second line of defense alongside trenches and a trained militia in the event theUkrainian Armed Forces break through the Russian border in theRusso-Ukrainian war.[7]
A series of dragon's teeth fortifications named theWagner Line have also been built by the Wagner Group in Russian-occupiedHirske inLuhansk Oblast. The Wagner Group aims to complete the Wagner Line in Russian-controlled Ukrainian territories as far east asKreminna and as far south asSvitlodarsk.[8][9]
In November 2022, the Russians were seen by Ukrainian journalists to have fortified the region aroundMelitopol with dragon's teeth lines.[10][11] At least one journalist, quoting someone at theInstitute for the Study of War, called these theSurovikin Line.[12] The dragon's teeth were only a component of the echeloned Russian defenses in southernKherson: minefields, anti-tank ditches, dugouts, and trenches added to the complex.[13][14] A number of Belarusian firms supplied Russian troops with dragon's teeth.[15] Dragon's teeth were also set up in the area ofMariupol,Nikolske andStaryi Krym around the same time.[16]
In February 2023, Poland began to fortify its border withKaliningrad with dragon's teeth,[17] due to insecurity the country was feeling over commenters likeDmitry Medvedev, who floated the idea of "pushing back" Polish borders during the one-year anniversary of the 2022Russian invasion of Ukraine.[18] A few weeks later the Polish authorities decided to fortify their border withBelarus too.[17] This is additional to the border fence the Poles completed in October 2022.[17]
A 1,000-mile (1,600 km) stretch of the borders of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania is to be fortified with dragon's teeth in the projectBaltic Defence Line.
This section of the Siegfried Line sat in the middle of the Hardt Mountains, where the landscape was dotted with pillboxes and dragon teeth tank obstacles.
it was late afternoon on 18 Feb when [we] passed through the Siegfried Line dragons teeth
Human-made obstacles such as the "dragon teeth" were integrated carefully into the defense system of the line.
