View source for Mantlet

{{short description|Movable defensive structure in medieval warfare}}
{{About|the medieval shield|"mantelet", the garment|Mantle (clothing)}}
{{wikt | mantlet}}
{{Refimprove|date=December 2009}}

In [[medieval warfare]] a '''mantlet''' or '''{{linktext|mantelet}}''' was a portable wall or shelter used for stopping [[projectiles]]. Some versions used wheels for enhanced mobility. A mantlet could protect one or several soldiers.

In the [[First World War]] (1914-1918) French soldiers used a mantlet-style device to attack [[barbed wire entanglement]]s.<ref>{{Cite book |last= |first= |url =https://books.google.com/books?id=HykDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA30 |title =Popular Science |date = January 1919|publisher =Bonnier Corporation |language=en | quote = One of the simpler and more satisfactory devices, developed by the French, is a shield of steel, bent so as to protect the head of the wire-snipping soldier in front and on top. It is attached to the axle of two hollow wheels filled with sand to give them greater weight. The soldier using the device crawled toward the enemy's entanglement[...], pushing the shield forward as he progressed. When he reached the entanglement, he thrust his wire nippers through an opening in the front of the shield and cut the wires. [...] The device is small, inconspicuous, and very effective.
}}</ref>

== Gun mantlet ==
{{main|Gun mantlet}}
In military use from pre-WW2 onward, a mantlet is the thick, protective steel frontal shield, usually able to elevate and depress, which houses the main gun on an armoured tank, examples being [[Tiger I|Tiger Tank]], [[Sherman Tank]] and [[Churchill Tank]].

== Gallery ==
<gallery widths="160">
File:Mantelets.defensifs 34.png|A wicker U-shaped mantlet on wheels. Wicker was a popular material for siege defences as it was lightweight, effective and easy to construct. The wheels add further mobility which meant that the user could move forward slowly but surely.
File:Mantelets.defensifs 35.png|A wood-planked, L-shaped mantlet on wheels.  Wooden-planked construction with proper joinery and even arrow slots would make this a more hard-wearing and expensive option. It would be heavier to push and would require more time and skill to construct; this might not be the sort one would use when attacking uphill.
File:Mantelet.defensif.2.png|A [[pavise]] like wicker mantlet. This is probably the cheapest and simplest option, but it would not be as hard wearing and does not offer as much cover as the other variations.
File:Mantelet.defensif.3.png|A wood-planked mantlet on wheels, affording the hard protection of a wooden structure but still being mobile. The lever-like handle would allow the mantlet to be pushed along and then held upright in a stationary situation.
File:Mikasa-Bridge-Painting-by-Tojo-Shotaro.png|The Japanese commonly used mantlets composed of bundles of blankets wrapped in a mattress to reduce the effects of shell shrapnel.  Print of Admiral Togo aboard the ''Mikasa'' during the [[Battle of Tsushima]] (May 27, 1905).
File:Bundesarchiv Bild 101II-MW-3722-22, St. Nazaire, Zerstörer 'HMS Campbeltown'.jpg|alt=In the Royal Navy from the 18th Century onwards, hammocks and bedding were rolled up each day and stowed in netting along the ships sides to air (unless the weather was bad) and performed the function of mantlets to reduce the effect of splinters, grape and musket fire in battle. By World War I these had been replaced by splinter mats to protect exposed areas such as the bridge (nautical). These were again used in World War II. A German photo of HMS Campbeltown after the St Nazaire Raid before she exploded.|In the [[Royal Navy]] from the 18th century onwards, hammocks and bedding were rolled up each day and stowed in netting along the ship's sides to air. They functioned as mantlets to reduce the effect of splinters, grape and musket fire in battle. By [[World War I]] these had been replaced by splinter mats to protect exposed areas such as the [[bridge (nautical)|bridge]]. These were again used in [[World War II]]. A German photo of {{HMS|Campbeltown|I42|6}} after the [[St Nazaire Raid]] before she exploded.
</gallery>

==See also==
*[[Chemise (wall)]]
*[[Gabion]]
*[[Pavise]]
*[[Mantle (clothing)#Mantelets|Mantelets]]
*[[Testudo formation]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
*Farrow's military encyclopedia: a dictionary of military knowledge By Edward Samuel Farrow. [https://books.google.com/books?id=UusfAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA259 Page 259]

[[Category:Siege equipment]]


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