Some points about caltrops

The caltrop - a small spiky thing that is obscure enough for Google's spell-checker not to know it. Do not tread on one.

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Lindybeige: a channel of archaeology, ancient and medieval warfare, rants, swing dance, travelogues, evolution, and whatever else occurs to me to make.

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[nottarealguy]

As long as Lindybeige is talking about ancient weapons, Old YouTube is still alive.

[owlauxGR]

This is old school lindybeige content posted in 2024 with an active military combatant discussing the effectiveness of the subject matter. Nice.

[AlexanderRM]

I work at a mail sorting facility and just want to say I really appreciate how much care Stephen took with proper packaging

[spambob]

WW2 journalist Ernie Pyle noted a caltrop attack while at an air field in Italy. The troops called it a jacks raid and quickly swept them up with jeep mounted magnets normally used for collecting shrapnel along roads.

[Brentisimo]

28:36 These evil seed pods were the bane of my bike tires. I personally called them, “the devil’s tack-weed, ” before learning that they are actually named “goathead puncturevine”.

[artyjnrii]

Another modern Caltrop is the British Type G electrical plug. These are designed to fall in a way that leaves three sharp prongs sticking up, so you deal additional damage. While these no doubt have prevented some burglaries, they seem to be much more effective at stopping people from going to the bathroom at night.

[AAA-piv]

You are correct, Lloyd; there are indeed quite some points about a caltrop.

[Sepultra]

Only Lindy could post a vid like this on New Years Eve :D

[ryanhouk]

Something I'm surprised you didn't mention!

I was taught that caltrops were not widely used as weapons for the common soldier but instead scouts.

If being pursued, they're convenient things that are easy enough to make, small enough to carry, and simple enough to throw behind you as you're possibly being chased down by enemy who might have discovered your position.

[Encie_]

Really delighted to see an old format video from you, very comfy and very passionate rambles are what I love about em

[Plaprad]

Ok, this one pinged a memory about area denial. So, story time.

I had a buddy who was in the US Army in Bosnia during the late 90's (This is all from him and I have no documentation, but I love the story). He was at a camp somewhere and they had issues with, let's say "impolite characters" sneaking into the camp and causing issues. They figured out after a while that they were getting in through one small area that was hard to monitor due to the terrain and they needed to keep people out. So the solution was a mine field set up in that area. He said after that, no one came through there again while he was there. I then asked "How many mines did that take?" His response, "None, we didn't have any. We just paid a local to make a few signs warning of a minefield and put them up." Brilliant.

As for the Jamestown bit, I once heard that caltrops used to be used as a training aid for new blacksmiths to learn the basics. Make a few, and if you did well you get to do more complicated stuff. They also took very little metal to make. That may be why they found one. New guy didn't want to show his crap work and hid it for a few hundred years.

[Hoplopfheil]

A classic Lindybeige topic with modern Lindybeige running time! What a treat.

[Janduin]

27:28 The Swedish word "Fotangel" came about during medieval times from the German word "Fußangel" which basically mean "Foot hook" or, as some would claim, "Foot point". The word "angel" has nothing to do with the English word "angel" which instead would be translated to "ängel" in Swedish. Those two little dots above the "a" might seem rather insignificant, but I assure you they are not.

[HSMiyamoto]

Lindybeige has a fantastically expressive lecturing style. Not many students will fall asleep when he is lecturing.

[bow-tiedengineer]

For the bomb thing, I could see it being used over a military camp, where there's lots of foot traffic and people running about. You can't rely on a direct hit on anything useful, but you can get a bunch of caltrops all over the place and force people to walk more slowly and carefully in case they weren't cleaned up.

[wandapease-giyo]

The terrible foot pain I remember is treading on a Jack after playing with that little red rubber ball and picking up those little baby caltrops as part of a childhood game! Anyone else remember those!

[ToozdaysChild]

Lindy, there's something you're neglecting to factor in: Delay of Advancement (I don't know if there's a proper term for this so I'm just gonna use my own).

If your column is advancing and suddenly one of your men steps on a caltrop... well, now you have to assume the area ahead of you is seeded with caltrops, and you have to stop and clear those caltrops before your main force can advance. Psychologically, area denial is about more than "they can't go this way", there's also "they CAN go this way, but it will take an awful lot longer". The Vietcong used this against the US to devestating effect; a single infantryman injured by a punji trap slows the whole squad down, and a single punji trap found can slow a whole unit down as they search for more.

The value of caltrops, mines, boobytraps and other such devices is not in how many men it kills/disables, but how long it can keep a force from advancing.

[shortjohnson]

In my opinion caltrops are mainly useful for skirmishing and/or delaying actions against infantry. You’re being chased so you toss a few dozens in a narrow path with vegetation that the enemy has to follow you through. One guy steps on one in a run and now everyone has to slowdown to prevent more casualties allowing you to escape/regroup/counterattack etc.

[MrEvanfriend]

We used caltrops in Iraq. We'd string about a dozen of them on some 550 cord, and then they could be thrown across the road at a vehicle checkpoint if we needed to stop a car. Never actually saw a car stopped by them, but they were easier to deploy than police-style spike strips, easier to pick up too.

[TheRealInscrutable]

In Oklahoma we called those spiked seeds "goatheads" and they were the bane of bicycle tires. Some had spikes over 1/8" in length. We'd buy a tube of this gunk and inject it into the tire before inflating it and it would ooze out of such holes and seal them until you could get home and make a proper repair.