Abatis, abattis, or abbattis is a term in field fortification for an obstacle formed ( in the modern era ) of the branches of trees laid in a row, with the sharpened tops directed outwards, towards the enemy.

It was necessary to protect it with a stone citadel, or kremlin, which was completed by 1556 as part of the Great Abatis Belt.

Abatis is rarely seen nowadays, having been largely replaced by wire obstacles.

Abatis ( obstacles made of felled trees ) were placed in front of the earth walls.

Image: Abatis. jpg | Abatis improvised by Japanese troops during World War II

To achieve this aim, they sponsored the construction of the Great Abatis Belt and granted manors to nobles, who were obliged to serve in the military.

The raids of Crimeans, however, didn't cease until the late 17th century, though the construction of new fortification lines across Southern Russia, such as the Great Abatis Line, constantly narrowed the area accessible to incursions.

It was a key fortress of the Great Abatis Belt and successfully resisted a siege by the Tatars in 1552.

Kolomna citadel was a part of the Great Abatis Border.

In the Grand Duchy of Moscow, Zaraysk was one of the fortresses forming a part of the Great Abatis Border, a fortified line of felled trees, barricades, fortresses, ditches, which were built by Russians as a protection against the hordes of the Crimean and Kazan Tatars.

Kolomna Kremlin was built as part of the Great Abatis Border in 1525-31.

Zasechnaya cherta (, loosely translated as Great Abatis Line or Great Abatis Border ) is a chain of fortification lines, created by Grand Duchy of Moscow and later the Tsardom of Russia to protect it from the raids of the Crimean Tatars who, rapidly moving along the Muravsky Trail, ravaged the southern provinces of the country during a series of the Russo-Crimean Wars.

As a fortification construction stretching for hundreds kilometers, the Great Abatis Border is analogous to the Great Wall of China and the Roman Limes.

Stone and wooden kremlins of the towns were also included in the Great Abatis Line.

Great Abatis Border.

Abatis lines began appearing in southern Rus ' in the 13th century.

The ' Great Abatis Line ' extended from Bryansk to Meschera and was nominally completed in 1566.

The first mention of the island was in the ninth-century Latin text Navigatio Sancti Brendani Abatis ( Voyage of Saint Brendan the Abbot ), placing the island into Irish and European folklore.

The men who speculate on these institutions have, for the most part, come to at least one common conclusion: that many of the great enterprises and associations around which our democracy is formed are in themselves autocratic in nature, and possessed of power which can be used to frustrate the citizen who is trying to assert his individuality in the modern world ''.

Then, with staring eyes and lips drawn thin, Miriam said to the young woman, `` You are ugly -- uglier than you used to be, and you were always very ugly.

She used to tell me, `` When I stand there and look at the flag blowing this way and that way, I have the wonderful, safe feeling that Americans are protected no matter which way the wind blows ''.

The decision maker who acts for the community as a whole must decide whether the objectives pursued and the methods used are appropriate to public policy regarding cultural groups.

his broad but little used investigative powers are confirmed.

When different colors are used, she is just as likely to color trees purple, hair green, etc..

One cannot help wondering whether Molotov and the rest of the `` anti-party group '' are not being used as China's whipping-boys by Khrushchev and his faithful followers.

Proceeds realized from these pageants are used by the Jaycees to help support their various youth, health, welfare and community betterment activities throughout the state.

Since conventional methods are insensitive at the low frequencies of these molecular transitions, the paramagnetic resonance method is being used instead.

The funds recouped by reductions in item 12 above are used: first, to increase the unadjusted allotments to the specified minimum in those States where the unadjusted allotment is less than the minimum allotment ( item 13 above ) ; ;

Solid concrete blocks, relatively heavy and dense, are used for this shelter.

If they are used, the walls and roof should be 10 inches thick to give the same protection as the 8-inch solid concrete blocks.

It is thick, much like an egg plant's skin, so that poison sprays, if they are used, present no hazard to the consumer.

Such locks are nearly always used where the switch points `` face '' oncoming traffic.

Derails -- mechanical track devices that actually guide the wheels off the rails if a train passes a `` stop '' signal -- are used in many instances.

However, some formulas are used more than others.

The compression ratio arrived at with the formula will be the same regardless of whether cubic inches or cubic centimeters are used.

The only way to determine the final combustion chamber volume when such pistons are used is by measuring it with liquid while the cylinder head is bolted to the cylinder block and the piston is in top dead center position.

Photos of Conference Rooms and the General Assembly Hall can be made when these rooms are not being used for meetings.

Besides flathead bronze screws, silicon bronze Stronghold nails ( made by Independent Nail & Packing Co., Bridgewater, Mass. ) are used extensively in assembly and Weldwood resorcinol glue is used in all the joints.

After the frames and transom are set up on the jig and temporarily braced, a piece of three-inch-wide mahogany ( only widths will be given since the 13/16-inch thickness is used throughout ) is butted between frames one and two below the line of the keelson.

One-inch, No. 10 screws are used in both cases.

Glue and 1-1/2-inch, No. 10 screws are used.

Four pieces are used.