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Anti-tank trenches, also called anti-tank ditches, are ditches dug into and around fortified positions to hold up the advance of enemy tanks. Anti-tank ditches were first used in World War I by Germany in an effort to protect their trenches against the newly developed British tanks. An anti-tank ditch has to be wide enough and deep enough to prevent a tank from crossing. Armies have been known to disguise anti-tank ditches to enable the ditch to disable an enemy tank. Anti-tank trenches can be defeated by use of a fascine.
According to the United States Army, there are several methods by which combat engineers can dig an anti-tank ditch on the battlefield. Using only hand tools, a platoon of soldiers can dig a triangular-shaped ditch 100 feet long, 12 feet wide and 6 feet deep in seven and a half hours; a trapezoidal-shaped ditch of similar dimensions would take fourteen hours. Equipping the platoon with a 3/4 cubic yard power shovel cuts these digging times to four and a half hours and nine hours respectively. Alternatively, a squad of soldiers with a power auger and sufficient demolition charges can blast a ditch 100 yards long, 30 feet wide and 12 feet deep in twelve hours.