entrenchment (fortification)

{{confuse|trench warfare}}

File:Part of the Naxxar Entrenchment v-shaped.jpeg within the Naxxar Entrenchment, an inland entrenchment in Naxxar, Malta]]

File:Louvier Entrenchment map.png, a coastal entrenchment in Mellieħa, Malta]]

In fortification, the term entrenchment ({{langx|it|trincieramento}}, {{langx|mt|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.{{cite journal|last1=Spiteri|first1=Stephen C.|title=Illustrated Glossary of Terms used in Military Architecture|journal=ARX Supplement|page=641|url=http://www.militaryarchitecture.com/index.php/Journals/illustrated-glossary-of-military-architecture-terms.html|date=2010|publisher=MilitaryArchitecture.com|access-date=30 December 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170603174909/http://www.militaryarchitecture.com/index.php/Journals/illustrated-glossary-of-military-architecture-terms.html |archive-date=3 June 2017}}

In the 18th century, the Knights Hospitaller built a number of coastal and inland entrenchments as part of the fortifications of Malta.{{cite web|last1=Debono|first1=Charles|title=Coastal Entrenchments|url=http://www.mellieha.com/places_interest/fortifications/coastal_entre.htm|website=Mellieha.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121218010803/http://www.mellieha.com/places_interest/fortifications/coastal_entre.htm|archive-date=18 December 2012}} Further entrenchments were built in Malta by insurgents during the blockade of 1798–1800, in order to prevent the French from launching a counterattack.{{cite journal|last1=Spiteri|first1=Stephen C.|title=Maltese 'siege' batteries of the blockade 1798-1800|journal=Arx - Online Journal of Military Architecture and Fortification|date=May 2008|issue=6|pages=4–47|url=http://www.militaryarchitecture.com/images/stories/Arx/arx6-2008.pdf|access-date=30 December 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161126232114/http://www.militaryarchitecture.com/images/stories/Arx/arx6-2008.pdf |archive-date=26 November 2016}}