parados

noun3

1. •
   Generally a screen or embankment to protect the rear of a position from enemy attack, from bomb splinters from behind, from enemy fire from a commanding height, or fire from flanking positions. In common English usage since World War II, the term "parados", particularly in trench warfare, has largely been discarded in favour of "rear parapet", which, etymologically speaking, is a contradiction in terms. In some contexts the term "rear traverse" is preferred, but no usage is exclusive.

   • Although a parados takes up so much room, yet it may be turned to good account in the formation of blindages. — 1853
2. •
   In fortifications that were enfiladed by enemy in positions commanding the fort, an internal parados could defilade the enemy, serving as physical protection and blindage. Usages of the term have varied inconsistently according to times and sources. Some sources use parados as a synonym for a traverse; some other sources represent parados as a special class of traverse and not necessarily at the back of any particular position.
3. •
   In trench warfare parados referred to a bank of earth or similar material behind the rear of the trench, opposite the parapet, affording protection from explosions and fragments when shells or bombs overshot the trench.