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See also:ENCEINTE OF See also:ANTWERP See also:Note. The reliefs are given in feet relatively to the See also:plane of site.!.+ alouee-below). a. Magazines G. See also:Shell Stores c. See also:Gun Rooms d.Barrack Rooms e. Guard Rooms f.8lockhouses See also:Emery Wk.. WINO •,5.5 casemated See also:caponier at See also:Posen breaks the enceinte and flanks it both with-out and within, at Antwerp the caponier is detached—a much sounder arrangement— and flanks the front only. The See also:defence of the faces rests on the width of the wet ditches and on the flanking See also:power of the caponier; there is no See also:attempt to add to it by fausse-braie or detached See also:wall. The dimensions are everywhere very generous, allowing See also:free See also:movement for the troops of the defence; the covered way is 22 yds. The See also:general arrangement of the fronts of the enceinte should be compared with the earlier See also:German See also:Section on G H. See also:Low See also:Battery 3? qo SO_._ _~oF¢et wide and there is a See also:double terreplein on the See also:face. The See also:parapet of the face is 27 ft. thick. The See also:masonry of the See also:casemate guns in the caponier, first flank and low battery, is protected by See also:earth, a la See also:Haxo. In 1859 See also:Austria acknowledged the See also:influence of the new See also:artillery with some new forts at See also:Verona. The detached forts built by See also:Radetzky in 1848 were only from l000 to 2000 yds. distant from the ramparts. Those now added, of which fig. 41 is an example, were from 3000 to 4000 yds. out. In the same See also:year the See also:land defences of some of the See also:British See also:dockyards were taken in See also:hand. These first serious attempts atsacrifice the command and See also:place them on the See also:lower parapet, as in fig. 43, the See also:infantry occupying the upper parapet. It will be observed that the bastioned trace is abandoned, the ditches, like those of the German fort, being defended by caponiers. While a See also:great See also:deal of See also:work was done on these lines, a very active controversy had already begun on the general question as to whether guns should be employed in forts at all. Some ,' , 11z '% Section on A.B. permanent fortification in See also:England were received with approval on the See also:continent, as constituting an advance on anything that had been done before. The detached forts intended to keep an enethy outside bombarding distance were roomy See also:works with small keeps. The parapets were organized for artillery and the ditches were defended by caponiers or See also:counterscarp galleries. The forts were spaced about a mile apart and arranged so as to support each other by their See also:fire. The sieges of the Franco-German See also:War of 1870 are alluded to in the section below dealing with the " Attack of Fortresses." As regards their effect on the designs of fortification See also:Period the most important thing to note is the distance to from 1870 which it was thought necessary to throw out the to 1885. detached forts. These distances were of course influenced by the See also:character of the ground, but for the most See also:part they were very largely increased. Thus at See also:Paris the fort at St Cyr was 18,000 yds. from the enceinte; at See also:Verdun the distances varied from 2300 to 12,000 yds.; at See also:Belfort the new forts were from 4500 to 11,500 yds. out; at See also:Metz 2300 to 4500; and at See also:Strassburg 5200 to 10,000. ' One result of these increased distances was of course to increase very largely the length of the See also:zone of investment, and therefore the strength necessary for the besieging force. As regards the character of the works, the typical shape adopted both in See also:France and See also:Germany was a very obtuse-angled See also:lunette, shallow from front to See also:rear. The German type had one parapet only, which was organized for \artillery and heavily traversed, the living casemates being under this parapet. The ditch defence was provided for by caponiers and a detached wall (see fig. 42). The See also:French forts had two parapets, that in the rear being placed over living casemates (in two tiers, as shown in the section of fig. 43 by a dotted See also:line), and commanding the front one. There was a See also:long controversy as to whether the artillery of the fort should be on the upper or the lower parapet, the See also:advocates pf the upper parapet attaching great importance to the command that the guns would have over the See also:country in front. The other school, objecting to having guns on the skyline, preferred to declared that the accuracy and power of artillery had already See also:developed so far, that guns in fixed and visible positions must needs be put out of See also:action in a very See also:short See also:time. The remedy proposed by these was the removal of the guns from the forts into " wing-batteries " which should be less conspicuous; but soon the broader See also:idea was put forward of placing the guns in concealed positions and moving them from one to another by means of previously prepared roads or See also:railways. Others declared that there was no safety for the guns outside the forts, and that the use of See also:steel turrets and disappearing cupolas was the only See also:solution of the difficulty. General See also:Brialmont, who had by this time become the first See also:European authority on fortification questions, ranged himself on the See also:side of the turrets. The younger school were largely in favour of mobility and expressed them-selves eagerly in a shower of See also:pamphlets. It was at this juncture that a new See also:factor was introduced, namely, the obus-torpille, or long shell with high-explosive bursting See also:charge. With its See also:appearance we say See also:good-bye to the old school and enter upon the See also:consideration of the fortification of to-See also:day. II. See also:MODERN PERMANENT FORTIFICATION
Modern fortification See also:dates by universal consent from 1885.
The Germans had begun experiments a year or two before this,
with long shell containing large charges of gun-See also:cotton.
High-See also:angle But it was the experiments at Fort Malmaison in France fire with
long shell. in 1886 that set the military See also:world speculating on the
future of fortification. The fort was used as a See also:target for 8-in. shell of five calibres length containing large charges of melinite. The reported effects of these made a tremendous sensation, and it was thought at first that the days of permanent fortification were over. See also:Magazine casemates were destroyed by a single shell, and revetment walls were overturned and practicable breaches made by two or three shells falling behind them. It must be remembered, however, that the works were not adapted to meet this See also:kind of fire. The casemates had enough earth over them to tamp the shell thoroughly, but not enough to prevent it from coming into contact with themasonry, and the latter was not thick enough to resist the ex-plosion of the big charges. Other experiments were made in the same direction in Germany, See also: See also:Concrete See also:roofs were made from 6 to ro ft. thick, and in many cases the See also:surface of the concrete was See also:left See also:bare so as to expose a hard surface to the shell without any earth tamping. The idea of cupolas and shielded guns gained ground, and is now practically accepted all over the continent of See also:Europe. In many cases the See also:main armament, in some only the safety armament (see below), is in cupolas in the forts.
But meanwhile Europe had been flooded with literature on the subject, and the whole policy of fortification as well as its minutest details were discussed ab ovo. The extremists of both sides revelled in their opportunity. Some declared that, with the use of heavy guns and See also:armour, fortresses could be made stronger than ever. Others held that modern fortresses were far too expensive, that their use led to strategic mistakes, and (arguing from certain well-known examples) that extemporized See also: 3. An enceinte is desirable, but need not be elaborate. 4. A few guns (called " safety armament ") should be in the forts, and these must be protected by armour. 5. The bulk of the artillery of the defence should be outside the forts; the See also:direct-fire guns preferably in cupolas, the howitzers in concealed positions. 6. The forts should be connected by lines of entrenched infantry positions and obstacles, permanent See also:bomb-See also:proof shelters being provided for the infantry. There should be ample communications—radial and peripheral —between the place and the forts, both by road and See also:rail. See also:Special lines of communication—such as See also:mountain passes—should be closed by barrier forts. These considerations will now be"taken somewhat more in detail, but first it will be useful to deal with the See also:plan of Metz in 1899 (fig. 44). Here the fortifications of successive periods can be readily recognized. First the old enceinte, unaltered by the Germans and now Metz. declasses. Next the detached forts. begun by the French
engineers in '1868 and still unfinished in 1870, can be readily recognized by their bastioned trace. Among them are Fort See also:Manteuffel, formerly St See also:Julien. and Fort See also:Goeben (fig. 45), formerly Queuleu. These were not altered in their general lines.
,r.
.•r,cn From Plessix and Legrand's Manuel complel de la fortification, by permission.
This See also:early line of detached forts, less than 3000 yds. from the enceinte, was completed by the Germans with forts of polygonal type such as Fort Prinz See also:August. The See also: These are reinforced by other batteries either for the defence of the intervals or to dominate important lines of approach such as the valley of the Moselle (See also:canal battery at Montigny). To these were added later armoured batteries. There are also infantry positions, shelters and magazines in connexion with this line. Finally some new forts of modern type were commenced in 1899 at about 9000 yds. from the place. Leaving out of consideration at See also:present the strategic use of Fortresses. See also:groups of fortresses, the places which, as mentioned above, are intrinsically See also:worth being defended as fortresses are: (a) Centres of See also:national, See also:industrial or military resources. (b) Places which may serve as points d'appui for manoeuvres. (c) Points of intersection of important railroads. d) See also:Bridges over considerable See also:rivers. e) Certain lines of communication across a frontier. Examples of (a) are Paris, Antwerp, See also:Lyons, Verdun. Again for (a) and (b), as is pointed out by Plessix and Legrand, Metz in the hands of the Germans may serve both as a See also:base of supplies and a point d'appui for one flank. Strassburg is a See also:bridge-See also:head giving the Germans a secure See also:retreat across the See also:Rhine if beaten in the plains of See also:Alsace, .and an opportunity of resuming the offensive when they have re-formed behind the See also:river. The distance of detached forts from the place depends on the range of the See also:siege artillery and the distance at which it can usually be established from the forts, and is variously given by different See also:continental writers at from 4 to 9 km. (4500 to 10,000 yds.). The bombarding range of siege howitzers with heavy shells is considered to be about 8000 yds., and if it is possible for them to be emplaced within say 2000 yds. of the forts, this would give a minimum distance of 6000 yds. from the forts to the See also:body of the place. Some writers extend the minimum distance to 7 km., or nearly 8000 yds. In practice, however, it must happen that the position of the forts is determined to a very large extent by the See also:lie of the ground. Thus some good positions for forts may be found within 4000 or From Plessix and Legrand's Manuel complel de la fortification, by permission. 5000 yds. of the place, and no others suitable on the same front within 15,000 yds. In that See also:case the question of expense might necessitate choosing the nearer positions. Some examples of the actual distances of existing forts have already been given. Others, more See also:recent, are, at See also:Bucharest 7-10 km., Lyons 8-14, See also:Copenhagen 7-8 and Paris 14-17. Strategic pivots are in a different See also:category from other fortresses. While not necessarily protected from bombardment, they may yet have one or two forts thrown out from 9 to 12 km., to get See also:advantage of ground. Such are See also:Langres, Epinal and Belfort. The Enceinte.—The desirability of this is almost universally allowed; but often it is more as a concession to tradition than for any solid See also:reason. The idea is that behind the line of forts, which is the main defensive position, any favourable points that exist should be provisionally fortified to assist in a " step-by-step " defence: and behind these again the body of the place should be surrounded by a last line of defence, so that the See also:garrison may resist to the last moment. It may be remarked that apart from the additional expense of an enceinte, such a position would not, under modern conditions, be the most favourable for the last stages of a defence. Again, there is the difficulty that it is practically impossible to shut in a large modern See also:town by a continuous enceinte. It has been proposed to construct the enceinte in sections in front of the salient portions of the place. This See also:system of course abandons several of the See also:chief advantages claimed for an enceinte. In actual practice enceintes have been constructed since 187o in France and other countries, consisting of a See also:simple wall 10 or 12 ft. high with a banquette and loopholes at intervals. This of course can only be looked upon as a measure of See also:police. For war purposes, in face of modern artillery, it is a reductio ad absurdum. The Safety Armament.—If the bulk of the artillery is to be placed in positions prepared on the outbreak of war, it is considered very necessary that a few heavy long-range guns should be permanently in position ready at any moment to keep an enemy at a distance, forcing him to open his first batteries at long range and checking the advance of his investment line. Such guns would naturally be in secure positions inside the forts, and if they are to be worked from such positions they must have armour to See also:shield them from the concentrated fire of the numerous field artillery that a besieger could bring to See also:bear from the first. Artillery outside the forts constitutes the most important part of the defence, and there is See also:room for much discussion as to whether it should have positions prepared for it beforehand 7. 8. The See also:ring of detached forts. or should be placed in positions selected as the attack develops itself. On the one hand the preparation of the positions before-The goes- hand, which in many cases means the use of armour tlon of and concrete, increases very largely the initial expense artltte;' of the defence, and ties the defender somewhat in positions, the special dispositions that become desirable once the attack has taken shape. Moreover, such See also:expenditure must be incurred on all the fronts of the fortress, whereas the results would only be realized on the front or fronts actually attacked. On the other hand much time and labour are involved in emplacing heavy and See also:medium artillery with extemporized See also:protection, and this becomes a serious consideration when one remembers how much work of all kinds is necessary in preparing a fortress against attack. Again, to avoid the danger of a successful attack on the intervals between the forts before their defences have been fully completed, the fire of the guns in the intermediate positions might be urgently required. The solution in any given case would no doubt depend on the importance of the place. In most cases a certain amount of See also:compromise will come in, some preparation being made for batteries, without their being completed. Armoured batteries of whatever kind must in any case be prepared in See also:peace time. It should not be overlooked that as, whatever theories may exist about successive lines of defence, the onus of the defence will now lie on the fort line, just as it formerly did on the enceintes, so that line should be fully prepared, and should not have to commence its fight in a position of inequality. Defence of Intervals of Forts.—The frontal fire of the batteries in the intervals and the flanking fire of some of the guns in the forts will See also:play an important part, but the main reliance should be on infantry defence. A fully prepared fortress would have practically a See also:complete See also:chain of infantry fighting positions and obstacles between the forts, at all events on the fronts likely to be seriously attacked. The positions would consist largely of fire trenches, with good communications; but it is See also:pretty generally recognized that there Section and See also:Elevation No. xmust be some points d'appui in the shape of redoubts or infantry forts, and also bomb-proof shelter for men, See also:ammunition and stores near the fighting line. This is usually included in the redoubts. If they are to resist the heaviest shell, such shelters must be built in peace time. Communications are of the first importance, not merely to facilitate the movement of the enormous stores of ammunition and materials required in the fighting line, but also that defenders may fully utilize the advantage of acting on interior lines. They should include both railways and roads running from the centre of the place to the different sectors of defence, and all See also:round, in rear of the line of forts; also ample covered approaches to the fighting line. Concealment is essential, and where the lie of the ground does not help, it must be got from earth parapets or plantations. The See also:principal use of barrier forts is in country where the necessary line of communication cannot be easily diverted. For instance, in a comparatively See also:flat country a barrier See also:Baer fort commanding a road or railway is of little use forts.because roads may be found passing round it, or a line of railway may be diverted for some miles to avoid it. But in mountainous country, where such diversion is impossible, it will be necessary for the enemy to See also:capture the fort before he can advance; and the impossibility of surrounding it, the few positions from which siege artillery can be brought into play, and the fact that there is practically only one road of approach to be denied, make these positions peculiarly suitable for forts with armoured batteries. See also:Italy makes considerable use of such forts for the defence of frontier passes. General Brialmont's Theoretical Claim for the Defence of a Country. —Before going into details, it is worth while to See also:state the full claim of strategic fortification advanced by General Brialmont, the most thorough of all its advocates. It is as follows: A. Fortify the See also:capital. B. Fortify the points where main lines of communication pass a strategic barrier. C. Make an entrenched See also:camp at the most important centre of communication in each zone of invasion.: and support it by one .or two places arranged so as to make a fortified See also:district. Section No.5. Section No.3 Section No.4 Scale of Yards ?ira.rsir 100 From Brialmont's Progris de la defense See also:des Rats et de to fortification permanence depuis See also:Vauban, by permission of M. le Commandant G. Meeus, D. See also:Close with barrier forts the lines necessary to an enemy across mountains or marshes. E. Make a central place behind a mountain chain as a See also:pivot for the See also:army watching it. F. Defend mountain roads by provisional fortifications. 699 G. Make a large place in each See also:theatre of war which is far from the principal theatre, and where the enemy might wish to establish himself. H. Fortify coasts and harbours. Objections to these proposals will be readily supplied by the Section No. l Section No.4 Section No.5 ri From Brialmont's Progres de is defense des ants et de Is fortificsiion depuis Vauban, by permission of Commandant G. Meeiis. officials of the national See also:treasury and the commanders-in-chief of the active armies. So many types of detached forts have been proposed by competent authorities, as well as actually constructed Types of in recent years, that it is impossible here to consider forts.hed all of them, and a few only will be reproduced of these which are most representative of modern continental thought. This parapet has no concrete shelter for the defenders. The case-mates are all collected in the keep and the See also:gorge, with a passage all round giving See also:access to the parapet and the cupolas. Fig. 49 is a German work, Fort See also:Molsheim at Strassburg. This is a simple type of triangular fort., The main See also:mass of concrete rests on the gorge, and is divided by a narrow courtyard to give See also:light and See also:air to the front casemates. The fort has a medium armament for the artillery fight, consisting of four 6-in. howitzers in cupolas. On each face are two small Q.F. guns in cupolas for close defence, for which purpose, it will be seen, there is also an infantry parapet. At the angles are look-out turrets. The ditch has escarp and counterscarp, and is defended by counterscarp galleries at the angles. There is no covered way.. The thickness of concrete over the casemates, where it is uncovered, is about 10 ft. Fig. 5o is Fort Lyngby at Copenhagen. The new Copenhagen defences See also:ate very interesting, giving See also:evidence of clear and See also:original thought, and effectiveness combined with See also:economy. There is one special feature worth noting about the See also:outer ring of forts, of which Lyngby is one. These works are intended for the artillery fight only, their main armament being four 6-in. guns (in pairs) and three 6-in. howitzers, all in cupolas. The armament for immediate defence is Taking first the type of heavily armed fort, which contains guns for the artillery fight as well as safety armament, we must give See also:precedence to General Brialmont. The two works here shown are taken from the Progres de in defense des etats, &'c., published in 1898. The pentagonal fort (fig. 47) has two special features. In section 1 is shown a concrete infantry parapet, with a See also:gallery in which the defenders of the parapet may take shelter from the bombardment preceding an See also:assault. In section 2 it will be seen that the See also:counter-scarp galleries flanking the ditch are See also:drawn back from the face of the counterscarp. This is to counteract proposals that have been made to obscure the view from the flanking galleries, and perhaps drive the defenders out of them by throwing See also:smoke-producing materials into the ditch at the moment of an assault. The arrangement may See also:save the occupants of the galleries from excessive See also:heat and noxious fumes, but will not of'cc'urse prevent the smoke from obscuring the view. The following points may be noticed about this See also:design in comparing it with earlier types. There is no escarp, the natural slope of the rampart being carried down to the bottom of the ditch. There is a •counterscarp to the faces, but no covered way. The flanks have no counterscarp, but a steel fence at the See also:foot of the slope, and the covered way which is utilized for a See also:wire en-tanglement which is under the fire of the parapet. The gorge has a very slight bastioned indentation, which allows for an efficient flanking of the ditch by a couple of See also:machine guns placed in a single casemate on either side. The abolition of the covered way as such is note-worthy. It marks an essential difference between the fort and the old enceinte profiles; showing that offensive action is not expected from the garrison of the fort, and is the See also:duty of the troops of the inter-mediate lines. The great central mass of concrete containing all the casemates and the gun-cupolas, a very popular feature, is omitted in this design, advantage being taken of the great lateral extent of the fort to spread the casemates under the faces, flanks and gorge, with a communication across the centre of the fort. This arrangement gives more freedom to the disposition of the cupolas. The thickness of the concrete over the casemate See also:arches is more than 8 ft. Communication between the faces and the counter- scarp galleries is obtained Section on AS. by posterns under the ditch. From Brialmont's Progris de la del ense des elals, &c., by permission of Commandant G. Meets. The armament, which is all FIG. 49.-Fort Molsheim, Strassburg. protected by cupolas, is powerful. It consists of two 150-mm. (6 in.) guns, four 120-mm. (4.7 in.) guns, two 210-mm. (8.4 in.) howitzers, two 210-mm. (8.4 in.) mortars, four 57-mm. Q.F. guns for close defence. There is also a shielded electric light projector in the centre. This fort is a great advance on General Brialmont's designs before 1885. These were marked by great complexity of earth parapets and various chicanes which would not long survive bombardment. This type is simple and powerful. It is also very expensive. The second Brialmont fort (fig. 48) is selected because it shows a keep or citadel, an inner work designed to hold out after the capture of the outer parapet. General Brialmont held strongly to the See also:necessity of keeps for all important works. See also:History of course gives instances of citadels which have enabled the garrison to recapture the main work with assistance, or caused a really useful delay in the progress of the general attack. It affords still more instances in which the keeps have made no resistance, or none of any value. Some think that the existence of-a keep encourages the defenders of the main work; others that it encourages the idea of retreat. The British school of thought is against keeps. In any case they add largely to expense. In the present design the keep is a mass of concrete, which depends for the defence of its front ditches on counterscarp galleries in the main work, the few embrasures for frontal defence being practically useless. Its main See also:function is to prevent the attackers from establishing themselves on the gorge, thus leaving the way open for a reinforcement from outside to enter (assisted by See also:bamboo flying bridges) through the passages left for the purpose in the outer and inner gorge parapets. As regards the main work, the arrangements for defence of the ditch and the armament are similar to the design last considered. C P 20 30 40 Sp 60 7,0 Sp 9p igoyds. a. See also:Cupola for See also:Howitzer b. Cupola for Q.F.gun c. Obseruing Cupola 393" 39.3,• i6 \1r+ 429" 32'9" trifling, consisting of only two 57-mm. guns and a machine-gun. There is no See also:provision for infantry defence. The ditch has no escarp or counterscarp, and is flanked by counterscarp galleries at the salient. It is usual in the case of works so slightly organized for their own defence, and intended only for the long-range artillery fight, to with-draw them somewhat from the front line. The Danish engineers, however, have not hesitated to put these works in the very front line, some 2000 metres in front of the permanent intermediate batteries. The See also:object of this is to force the enemy to establish his heavy artillery at such long ranges that it will be able to afford little assistance to the See also:trench attack of the infantry. The intermediate batteries, being withdrawn, are comparatively safe. They therefore do not require expensive protection, and can reserve their strength to resist the advance of the attack. The success of this arrangement will depend on the fighting strength of the cupolas under war conditions; and what that may be, war alone can tell us. In the details of these works, besides the bold cutting down of defensive precautions, we may note the skilful and economical use of layers of large stones over the casemates to diminish the thickness of concrete required. The roofs of the casemates are stiffened underneath with steel rails, and steel lathing is used to prevent lumps of concrete from falling on the occupants. The living casemates look out on the gorge, getting plenty of light and air, while the magazines are under the cupolas. The forts above described are all armed with a view to their taking an important part in the distant artillery fight. The next type to be considered (fig. 51) is selected mainly because it is a good example of the use of concealed flanking batteries, known on the continent as batteries traditores, which seem to be growing in popularity. This design by See also:Colonel Voorduin of the Dutch engineers has a z cupola concealed from view, though a. Cupola fore 6"'guns not protected, by a See also:bank of earth in 6. Cupola for 1 6"Howitzer front. The other six are in an armoured c. Disappearing Cupola for Q.F.gun d. Machine gun battery behind the cupola. It may be e. Observing Station remarked that as the cupola gets no real protection from the covering mass of earth, it would be better to be able to utilize the fire of its guns to the front. The batterie traditore, if properly protected overhead, would be very difficult to silence, and its flanking fire would probably be available up to the last moment. There is very much to be said both for and against the policy of so emplacing the guns. The immediate defence of the work, with the aid of a broad wet ditch, is easy; but the great mass of concrete, which is in-tended to See also:form See also:art indestructible plat-form and breastwork for the infantry, would seem to be a needless expense. Fig. 52, designed by the See also:Austrian See also:lieutenant field-See also:marshal See also:Moritz See also:Ritter von See also:Brunner (1839-1904), is selected as a type of the intermediate fort which is intended only to be a strong point in the infantry line of defence between the main forts. It has a See also:pro- tected armament, but this, which consists only of four small Q.F. guns in cupolas, is for its own defence, and not to take part in the artillery See also:duel. There is also a movable armament of four light Q.F. guns on wheels, for which a shelter is provided between the 03 two See also:observatory cupolas. The ,36 garrison would be a See also:half com- .•a. See also:parry of infantry, for whom tp., q~.,ax6 casemates are provided in the gorge. The gorge ditch is flanked by a caponier, but From Brialmont's Progres de to defense des lists, Coc., by permission of Commandant G. Needs. there is no flank defence for fended by a See also:glacis parapet. At medium armament, which is not intended for the artillery duel, but the bottom of the ditch is a wire entanglement and the glacis slope is to command the immediate front of the neighbouring forts and the planted with thorns. The thickness of concrete on the casemates is intervals. The fort is long and narrow, with small casemate accom- 2 metres (6 ft. 7 in.). This is a strong and simple form of infantry modation. It contains eight 4.7-in. guns. Two of these are in a work, but considering its role it appears to be needlessly expensive. Section No.2 B From Leltbner's Bestandige Betesligung. FIG. 5I. Fig. 53 is an See also:Italian type of barrier fort in mountainous country. A powerful battery of eight medium guns protected by a Gruson shield commands the approach. The fort with its dwelling case-mates is surrounded by a deep ditch flanked by counterscarp galleries. There are certain apparent weaknesses in the type, but the difficulties of the attack_in such country and its limitations must be See also:borne in mind. Modern Details of Protection and Obstacle.—After considering the above types of fort, it will be of use to note some of the details in which modern construction has been modified to provide against the increasing power of artillery. The penetration of projectiles varies according to the nature of the soil—the lighter the better for protection. See also:Sand offers the greatest resistance to penetration, See also:clay the least. Bomb- Since, however, the penetration of heavy shells fired p from long ranges with high elevation may be 20 ft. tecoontlon. or more in See also:ordinary See also:soil, we can no longer look to earth alone as a source of protection against bombardment. Again a moderate quantity of earth over a casemate increases the ex-plosive effect of a shell by " tamping " it, that is by preventing the force of the See also:explosion from being wasted in the open air. 4i 6,. 91i --- -393- 't i e in.: Section No.' 393 t 39 9,,404o't., Section No.a From Brialmont's Progres de la defense des etais, (Ste., by permission of Commandant G. Meeiis. We find therefore that in most modern designs 'the tops of casemates are left uncovered, or with only a few inches of earth over them, in which grass may be grown for concealment. For the materials of casemates and revetment walls exposed to fire, concrete (q.v.) has entirely replaced masonry and See also:brick-work, not because of its convenience in construction, but because it offers the best resistance. The exact See also:composition of the concrete is a See also:matter that demands great care and knowledge. It should be, like an armour See also:plate, hard on the surface and tough within. The great thickness of ro ft. of concrete for casemate arches, very generally prescribed on the continent in important positions, is meant to meet the danger of several successive shells striking the same spot. To stop a single shell of any siege calibre in use at present, 5 ft. of good concrete would be enough. A good deal is expected from the use of " reinforced concrete " (that is concrete strengthened by steel) both for revetment walls and casemates. Parapets are frequently made continuous or glacis-See also:wise, that is the See also:superior slope is prolonged to the bottom of the ditch so Parapets. that the whole rampart can be swept by the fire of the defenders from the See also:crest, and there is no dead ground in front of it. It is also See also:common to build the crest of the parapet in solid concrete, with sometimes a concrete banquette, so that bombardment shall not destroy the line the defenders have to See also:man in repelling an assault. This concrete parapet may be further reinforced by hinged steel See also:bullet-proof plates, to give head See also:cover; which when not in use hang down behind the crest. The escarp is falling into disfavour, on See also:account of the great expense of a revetment that can withstand breaching fire. A counterscarp of very solid construction is generally obstacles. used. It is low and gives cover to a wire entanglement in the ditch. This may be supplemented by a steel unclimbable A From General Rocchi's Traccia per lo studio della fortificazione, by permission. fence, and by entanglements or See also:thorn plantations on the covered way and the lower slopes of the parapet. Entanglements are attached to steel posts bedded in concrete. The upper parts of revetments and the See also:foundations of walls are protected against the action of shells, that falling steeply might See also:act as mines to overturn them, by thick aprons of large stones. Fig. 54 shows most of these dispositions. Electric See also:search-See also:lights are now used in all important works and batteries. They are usually placed in disappearing cupolas. They are of great value for discovering working parties s. at See also:night, and See also:lighting up the foreground during an See also:Aria attack; and since only the projector need be exposed, they are not very vulnerable. Their value, however, must not be over-estimated. The most powerful search-light can in no way compare with daylight as an illuminant, and, like all other See also:mechanical contrivances, they have certain marked drawbacks in war. They may give rise to a false confidence; an important light may fail at a See also:critical moment; and in foggy See also:weather they are useless. The use of armour (see also ARMOUR-PLATES) for See also:coast batteries followed closely upon its employment for See also:ships, for those were the days of short ranges and close fighting, and it seemed natural not to leave the battery in a position of inferiority to From Deguise's La Fortification pernmanenle, by permission of J. Polleunis. FIG. 54. the See also:ship in the matter of protection. In England the coast battery for a See also:generation after the See also:Crimean War was a See also:combination of masonry and See also:iron; and in 186o Brialmont employed armour, armoured turrets at Antwerp in the forts which commanded the See also:Scheldt. For land defence purposes, however, engineers were very slow to adopt armour. Apart from all questions of difficulty of manufacture, expense, &c., the idea was that See also:sea and land fronts were radically different. It was pointed out that a ship gun, fired from an unsteady See also:platform, had not enough accuracy to strike repeated blows on the same spot; so that a shield which was strong enough to resist a single shot would give complete protection. A battery on a land front, on the other hand, was exposed to an accurate fire from guns which could strike successive blows on the same spot, and break down the resistance of the strongest shield. But in time continental opinion gradually began to turn in favour of iron protection. account of. Nowhere has it been applied more boldly than in See also:Practical types of disappearing and revolving cupolas were See also:Rumania. The defences of Bucharest (designed by Brialmont) produced, and many engineers were influenced in their favour consist of 18 main and 18 small forts, with intermediate batteries. The main forts are some 4500 yds. apart, and ',coo to 12,000 yds. by the effect of the big high-explosive shell. Eventually it was from the centre of the place. The typical armament of a main fort argued that, after all, the object of fortification is not to obtain a resisting power without limit, but to put the men and guns of a work in an advantageous position to defend themselves as long as possible against a superior force; and that from this point of view armour cannot but add strength to defensive works. The question has of course long passed beyond the See also:stage of theory. Practically every European state uses iron or steel casemates and cupolas. German, Danish, Italian and other types of forts so armed have been shown. Recent French types have not been published, but it is known that cupolas are employed; and Velichke, the See also:Russian authority, long an uncompromising opponent of armour, in the end changed his views. These countries have had to proceed gradually, by improving existing fortresses, and with such resources as could be spared from the needs of the active armies. Among the smaller states Rumania and Belgium have entered most freely into the new way. In England, which is less directly interested, opinion has been led by See also:Sir See also:George See also: Different Forms of Protection: Casemate, Cupola, &'c.—The broad difference between casemates or shielded batteries and turrets and cupolas is that the former are fixed while the latter revolve and in some cases disappear. The casemate thus has the disadvantages that the arc of fire of the gun, which has to fire through a fixed See also:embrasure or See also:port-hole, is very limited, and that the muzzle of the gun and the port-hole, the weak points of the system, are constantly exposed to the fire of the enemy. The advantage of the casemate lies in its See also:comparative cheapness and the greater strength of a fixed structure. It is well suited for barrier forts (fig. 53) and other analogous positions; and the Italians amongst other nations have so employed it at such places as the end of the Mont Cenis See also:tunnel. Steel and iron case-mates are also useful as caponiers for ditch flanking (fig. 55). Turrets and Cupolas.—The difference between a turret and a cupola is that the former is cylindrical with a flat or nearly flat See also:top and presents a See also:vertical target; while the latter is a flattened AMI If:: ..:ail ;Kf+y '. From Leithner's Besldndige Bcfestigung, by permission. See also:dome, the vertical supports of which are entirely concealed. The turret appears to be little used. The object of both forms is at once to give an all-round arc of fire to the guns and to allow of the weak point of the structure, the port-hole and muzzle of the gun, being turned away from the enemy in the intervals of firing. Both usually emerge from a mass of concrete, which is strengthened round the opening by a See also:collar of chilled See also:cast iron about 12 to 15 in. thick. There are four types of cupolas, viz. (a) Disappearing, (b) Oscillating, (c) Central pivot, (d) On See also:roller rings. (a) Disappearing cupolas are used chiefly for small See also:quick-firing guns, on account of the expense of the various systems. They can Cupolas. be used for medium guns. The details of the best foreign systems are See also:secret. (b) The oscillating turret is a Mougin type, in which the turret is supported in the centre by a See also:knife-edge on which it can See also:swing. The oscillation is controlled by powerful springs. The effect of it is that after firing, the front of the cupola with the port-hole swings downwards under cover, and is held there until the gun is ready to fire again. (c) See also:Schumann's centre pivot is understood to be approved in Germany. It has been adopted in Rumania and Belgium for howitzer cupolas. It is only suitable for a single piece; d is strong and steady—the best cupola for coast batteries; c and d are best for rapid fire because they can be loaded without lowering. They are suited for long guns. The following types are illustrated as being generally representative of the different classes of cupola. Fig. 56 is a section of Messrs See also:Krupp's typical cupola for one 6-in. gun. The shield is of See also:nickel steel, the collar of cast steel. A small space is left between the cupola and its collar to prevent the possibility of the shield jamming after being damaged. The guns are muzzle-pivoting and thickened out near the muzzle by the addition of a ring, so as to close the port as much as possible. The recoil is controlled within narrow limits both to economize space and to prevent the smoke from the muzzle from getting into the cupola. To facilitate the elevation and depression of the gun (with muzzle pivotings the See also:breech has of course to be moved through a much larger arc than with ordinary mountings) it is balanced by a counterweight. The cupola rests on a roller ring and is traversed by a winch. It can be turned through a complete circle in about one See also:minute. Fig. 59 shows a disappearing turret for an electric light projector. Fig. 6o shows a Krupp transportable cupola for a 5.7-cm. gun. This is drawn on a four-wheeled See also:carriage, and when coming into action slides on rollers on to a platform in the parapet. It weighs about 21 tons, and with carriage and platform about 4 tons. From Leithner's Bestandige Befestigung. The mechanism of these cupolas is for the most part simpler than it appears. Counterweights and hand winches are much in use for the lighter natures of guns. The armouring of course keeps See also:pace with improvements in manufacture. The chilled cast iron first made popular by the Gruson See also:firm is now little used except for such purposes as the collar round a cupola. Wrought iron, steel and See also:compound plates for the tops of cupolas have all been tried, the most recent Krupp-Gruson designs being of nickel steel. The sighting in some cases may be done by See also:sights on the gun, with suitable enlargements in the port-hole; in others by sights affixed to the cupola itself (which of course can give See also:horizontal direction only) ; in others training and elevation are given in accordance with the readings on electric dials, or instructions by See also:telephone or speaking See also:tube. There is of course nothing unreasonable in this in the case of indirect fire guns and howitzers, for if not firing from cupolas they would be behind the shelter of some See also:wood or See also:quarry. Schumann's System: "Armoured Fronts." — Lieut. - Colonel See also:Maximilian Schumann (1827–1889) of the Prussian engineers, who took a very prominent part in the design and advocacy of armoured defences, eventually produced a system which dispensed entirely with forts and relied on the fire of protected guns. It consists of several lines of batteries for Q.F. guns and howitzers in cupolas. He considered that such batteries would be able to defend their own front, and the infantry garrison was not to be called into action except in the case of the enemy breaking through at some point of the line. This system was actually adopted by Rumania (1889–1892) for the Sereth Line. There are three routes by which the Russians can enter the country across the Sereth river: through See also:Focshani, Nemolassa and See also:Galatz. These three routes are barred by bridge-heads, those at Focshani, the most important, being on the left bank of the Milkov, a tributary of the Sereth. The Focshani works consist of 71 batteries arranged on a semicircular front about 12 M. long and from 800o to lo,000 yds. in advance of the bridges. The batteries are placed in three lines, which are about 500 yds. apart, and are subdivided into groups. The normal See also:group consists of 5 batteries, of which 3 arc in the first line, i in the second, and i in the third. The first-line batteries each contain five small Q.F. guns in travelling t i)11W~%~~' Fig. 57 shows a Schumann shielded See also:mortar (See also:sphere-mortar, Kugelmorser). L1 this case it will be observed that the cupola is replaced by st enlargement of the encircling collar; and the mortar (8.4-in. calibre) is enclosed in a sphere of cast iron, so as to close completely the opening of the collar in any position. Fig. 58 shows a Gruson cupola for one 4.7-in. Q.F. howitzer. cupolas. The second-line batteries, each six small Q.F. guns in disappearing cupolas. The third-line batteries have one See also:Ito-mm. gun in a cupola, and two 210-mm. spherical mortars with Gruson See also:shields. The immediate defence of the batteries consists of a glacis planted with thorn bushes and a wire entanglement. The fortification of these three bridge-heads are said to have cost about £i,See also:ioo,000. But the system of " armoured fronts is never likely to be reproduced, having been condemned by all authoritative continental opinion. Its defects have been summarized by Schroeter as follows: weakness of artillery at long ranges, want of See also:security against a surprise See also:rush, the neglect of the use of infantry in the defence, and the difficulty of command. This last is the most From Leithner's Bestandige Befetigung. serious of all. It is indeed difficult to conceive that any one should expect half-a-dozen See also:expert gunners, each shut up in an iron See also:box with a gun, to stop the rush of a thousand men, even by day. But imagine the feelings of the See also:gunner on the night of a big attack, alone in his box, his nerves already strained by a preliminary bombardment and nights of watching. He hears the sounds of See also:battle all around; he knows nothing of the progress of the attack, but expects every-thing, and feels every moment the See also:door of his box being opened and the See also:bayonet entering his back. No wise See also:commander would submit his troops to such a test. Sir George Clarke and Unarmoured Systems.—Before leaving the subject of fortresses it is necessary to consider the ideas of those who, while recognizing the necessity for places permanently organized for defence, prefer to treat them more from the point of view of perfected field defences. It is to the See also:credit of See also:English military See also:science that Sir George Clarke may be taken as the representative of this school of thought. His study of fortification, as he tells us, began with a history of the defence of See also:Plevna (q.v.). He was led to compare the resistance made behind extemporized defences at such places as See also:Sevastopol, See also:Kars and Plevna, with those at other places fortified in the most complete manner known to science. From this comparison he See also:drew the conclusion that the true strength of fortification does not depend on great masonry works intricately pieced together at vast expense, but on organization, communications and invisibility. In his 1907 edition he says:and that those of the attacker shall have the minimum chances of effecting injury." Since Sir George Clarke published his first edition in 1890 continental ideas have See also:expanded a good deal. The foregoing statement as to the three categories of defences would be accepted anywhere now: the See also:differences of opinion come in when we reach the stage of classifying under the first head the permanent works to be constructed in peace time. In most countries these would include forts with guns for the artillery duel, forts with safety armaments, fixed batteries with or without armour, and forts for infantry only. Sir George Drawn from See also:illustration in Leithner's Bestandige Befesligung, by permission. Clarke will have no armour for guns except in certain special cases of barrier forts. Heavy guns and howitzers requiring permanent emplacements (concrete platforms, &c.) must either be well concealed or be provided with alternative positions. The only permanent works which he admits are for infantry. They are redoubts of simple form intended for 350 or 400 men, with casemate See also:accommodation for three-fourths of that number. Fig. 61 shows the design:—two rows of casemates, one under the front parapet, one under a See also:parados; frontal musketry defence; obstacle consisting of entanglements, mines, &c., with or without escarp and counterscarp. " The intervals (he says) between the infantry redoubts may be about 2500 yds.; but this will necessarily depend upon the con-formation of the ground. Where there are good artillery positions falling within the sphere of protection of the redoubts, large intervals will be permissible. Thus, in the case of an extended line of defence where the ground offers marked See also:tactical features, the idea of a continuous chain of permanent works may be abandoned in favour - lx Infantry redoubts. "Future defences will See also:divide themselves naturally into the following categories: (i) Permanent works wholly constructed in peace time and forming the See also: 62), and the other in the second in 1905 (fig. 63). In both these the defensive arrangements are merely trenches of field See also:profile with entanglements, the command and the obstacle being less than in Sir George Clarke's work; and it will be noticed that in the 1905 type, published after the Russo-See also:Japanese War, the plan is muchless simple and arrangements for close flanking defence have been introduced. But these works of Schroeter's are merely infantry supporting points in a line which contains forts of the triangular type with guns, and armoured batteries, as well as a very complete arrangement of field defences and communications; while Sir G. Clarke's redoubts are the only permanent works giving casemate protection in the front line. The comparative merits of either design for an infantry redoubt are not of much importance. It is agreed that the main line of defence must consist of a more or less continuous line of field defences and obstacles, and that at some points in the line there should be infantry supporting points with bomb-proof protection capable of resisting big shells. The open question is, what additional works, if any, are required for the artillery, whether for the medium and heavy guns that will take part in the " artillery duel," or for the lighter natures that will help in the close fight and defence of the intervals. Is it best for the defenders to rely on armoured protection or on concealment for his guns? See also:Official opinion outside England has certainly sanctioned armour, since all over the continent it is to Opposing some extent adopted in views as practice. National practice to armour, is usually based on the See also:advice g"n PT" of the most distinguished pons, &c. See also:officers of the day, and therefore it is unsafe to condemn it hastily. Sir George Clarke and those who are with him—and they are many, both in Great See also:Britain and abroad—object entirely to armour. He says (Fortification, ed. 1907, p. 96): "The great advantage possessed by the attack in all ages has been the employment of a See also:mobile artillery against armaments cribbed, cabined and confined by fortification. It is necessary to perpetuate this ad-vantage?" Of course the effect of long-range weapons, in increasing the length of front that can be held by a given force, has given much greater M 0 aa.Shelters for 120 men each 6. Latrine cc. Sentry posts d. See also:Wash place ee. Sentry posts for entanglement ac (splinter-proofl From Schroeter's Die Festung in der heutigen Kriegjiihrung, by permission of E. S. Mittlea u. Sohn. From Schroeter's Die Festung in der heutigen Kriegfuhrung, by permission of E. S. Mittler u. Sohn. FIG. 63. Scale of Yards for Section AS. Additional information and CommentsThere are no comments yet for this article.
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