A mantlet was a large shield or portable shelter used for stopping arrows or bullets, in medieval warfare. It could be mounted on a wheeled carriage, and protected one or several soldiers. In the First World War a mantlet type of device was used by the French to attack barbed wire entanglements. In military use from pre-WW2 onward, a mantlet is th... Found on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mantlet