In old western movies sometimes, and in occasional history videos, I've seen people utilize a tactic where they form a circle with their horse-drawn carriages. What is this called? What was it for?
In the movies it was often referred to as "circling the wagons." It was a defensive tactic, to provide cover from an attack by (usually) Indians who would circle this, shooting in.
I have no idea if this was an actual defensive move irl or just in the movies, but you referred to old Western movies. And they were called "covered wagons"; in the US, horse-drawn carriages were quite different (something you'd see Cinderella or the British Royal Family riding in).