Backup Party

To handle enemy cavalry, the first thing that had to be done was naturally to dig trenches. The trenches did not have to be too deep - a foot would suffice – but they must be numerous. They were the things cavalry hated the most. If the situation did not permit, then digging holes worked too.

To dig holes was actually more simple. The soil of the fertile Pelennor Fields was moist and compact. Find any shovel, stab it into the ground at an angle of 70 to 80 degrees, pull it out with force, and it would scoop the earth up, leaving behind a pit about 30cm deep. If a horse's hoof dropped into the pit in the middle of a gallop, the horse's foot would surely break due to the terrifying forward inertia of the sprint.