noun a military strategy involving the construction of defensive walls or fortifications around a besieged city or fortress
In military history, contravallation refers to the fortification built by an army around a besieged city to prevent the garrison from escaping and to protect the besieging forces from sorties.
Contravallation is a key concept in fortification engineering, where it involves the construction of defensive works such as trenches, walls, and redoubts to surround and contain a besieged enemy.
In the context of siege warfare, contravallation plays a crucial role in the tactics used to besiege and capture fortified cities or strongholds.
The concept of contravallation is often referenced in historical accounts of famous battles and sieges throughout history, showcasing its significance in military strategy and tactics.
Contravallation may be used in historical fiction novels to describe the military strategy of surrounding an enemy fortification with defensive walls and trenches.
In the field of psychology, contravallation could be used metaphorically to describe the act of building emotional barriers or defenses in response to perceived threats or stressors.
For military strategists, contravallation is a key tactic used in siege warfare to isolate and weaken enemy positions before launching an attack.
Historians may use contravallation to analyze past military campaigns and understand the effectiveness of defensive strategies in different historical contexts.