Anticavalry

Anticavalry refers to measures taken to prevent, deter, or defeat horse-mounted forces. It encompasses infantry formations, weapons, and defensive devices whose purpose is to break cavalry charges or protect positions from mounted attackers. The concept appears in ancient warfare and continued through the medieval and early modern periods, diminishing as cavalry's battlefield role declined in the late 19th and 20th centuries.

In antiquity and the classical era, long spears and pikes kept horsemen at distance. Greek phalanxes and Roman legions used dense formations to blunt charges; medieval and early modern infantry deployed pikemen, halberds, and shield walls to deter mounted troops. Missile troops — Archers and crossbowmen—harassed riders from safe positions, while protective devices such as caltrops, chevaux-de-frise, and spiked barriers blocked and damaged horses at approaches.

With gunpowder and mobility, anti-cavalry tasks migrated to coordinated infantry and artillery fire, terrain use, and later, armor and anti-armor capabilities. By the 19th and early 20th centuries, formal anticavalry concepts faded as cavalry and armored warfare evolved; the term is now largely historical, though it remains a subject in military history and wargaming discussions.