Mil. [Sp.] A strategic line of defences, as trenches, blockhouses, etc.; a military cordon.
1889. Gen. Saleas Marin, in Knoxville Jrnl., 10 Feb., 5/3. I never placed much reliance o the trocha as a means of preventing the insurgents crossing in either direction.
1896. Daily News, 9 Dec., 7/5. The Spanish force,… near Punta Brava [Cuba], on the western side of the trocha. Ibid. (1898), 13 April, 3/1. These trochas have at every corner and at frequent intervals along the sides what are called forts, but which are really small blockhouses.
1902. R. T. Hill, in Encycl. Brit., XXVII. 306/1. A corps of 20,000 mien was stationed on this trocha or military cordon.
