Dragon’s Teeth is a passive anti-tank device. Basically, it is a small pyramid of reinforced concrete, placed in prepared defensive lines. Usually, Dragon’s teeth devices are not big nor heavy, although they may be in some cases. More often than not, they are relatively light to be placed quickly using simple construction equipment and are not dug in.
Newly placed Ukrainian Dragon’s teeth in Zaporizhia region. Image credit: ArmyInform via Wikimedia (CC BY 4.0)
Tanks first appeared on the battlefield in the First World War. In the Second World War, they looked very much different and the designs from before were already entirely obsolete. Dragon’s teeth were used extensively along the prepared defensive lines in the Second World War. For example, the Siegfried Line became quite famous for them, but they were placed everywhere.
Fast forward to today, where the warfare is dominated by big heavy main battle tanks, drones and missiles, and the Dragon’s Teeth is still here. In fact, the popularity of the Dragon’s teeth is growing.
Ukraine is preparing for the offensive by the Russian forces and part of those preparations is fortifying the defensive lines with Dragon’s teeth. The war in Ukraine forces other countries to reconsider their border security. Poland is placing Dragon’s teeth by the border with Kaliningrad while the Baltic states are fortifying their eastern border.
Some countries never forgot the usefulness of Dragon’s teeth. There are many of these structures between South and North Koreas.
But do they work? A short answer would be yes. That is how Dragon’s teeth stood the test of time. But you have to understand what they are trying to achieve.
Russians by their own Dragon’s teeth line in Ukraine. Image credit: Mil.ru via Wikimedia (CC BY 4.0)
Tanks cannot crawl over Dragon’s teeth as they are too steep and hard, but they can push them aside. However, the point of Dragon’s teeth is not to completely prevent the passage of armoured equipment, but to slow it down. It is possible to go through a line of Dragon’s teeth, but it is not possible to do so at full speed.
Furthermore, in a well-designed defensive line, Dragon’s teeth will direct the enemy traffic to particular areas. For example, mine fields or closer to positions of anti-tank weapons. In other words, by themselves Dragon’s teeth do not do much, but in a prepared multi-layer defensive line they can do a lot.
Also, they are still being used because they are quick to deploy. These little structures of reinforced concrete are being made in factories and get delivered to the spot with normal simple trucks. They don’t need to be dug in (although they can be). Fortifying a border region with more significant anti-tank obstacles would just be too costly and time-consuming.
People are quick to laugh at the sight of Dragon’s teeth, without considering their true purpose. They are there to slow down the assault, so that it can be completely stopped and destroyed using serious weapons. And it needs to be said that the point of minefields is pretty much the same – to slow down the advancing enemy.
Written by Povilas M.
Sources: Armyinform.com.ua, Wikipedia