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The process credited for high efficacy of embankment pile support systems is the formation of soil arches in the embankment fill. The specific system considered in this presentation is one with cap beams over rows of columns inserted through soft clay to support an embankment fill. Such a system lends itself to a two-dimensional analysis. A formation of distinct arches, as conjectured in many design approaches, was not confirmed. However, based on the calculated stress distribution and the major principal stress trajectories, one can identify “dispersed” arches spanning the distance between two neighboring cap beams. The dispersed arching was not identified in low embankments, whereupon the settlement of the soft soil, a collapse mechanism propagated through the entire embankment height causing differential settlement of the embankment crown. This study was focused on the efficacy of the pile support system and on better understanding of the mechanisms behind the differential settlement at the crown of the embankment.