Napoleonic FORUM
Entrenched Fortifications
Genevieve
I am a new member to this forum. One of my specific areas of historical interest is fortifications encompassing all periods, in particular the genesis of the entrenched encampments that in my opinion, began to flourish under Napoleon's inspiration. I was recently given an interesting book written by Waldemar Lysiak, wherein he states that Napoleon "was an outstanding expert in the science of fortifications, the author of admirably complete doctrines and practical blueprints that were utterly groundbreaking as far as the 19th Century was concerned. " Napoleon Fortyfikator by Waldemar Lysiak P. 281 1999. Lysiak in 1977 gained a Doctorate from the Warsaw Technical University. His doctoral thesis was titled 'Napoleon's Doctrine of Fortification' and he subsequently authored the book I am quoting from. According to Lysiak, Napoleon designed his first fortification in Corsica in 1793. This consisted of a "detailed plan for the defenses of Agaccio. The blueprints themselves have been lost but a description can be found in Poland among the Dzialynski Collection of the Polish Academy of Sciences Library in Kornik. Next on orders from Paris he fortified the coast of the island,( Calvi, Bastia, Saint-Florent), At the end of the same year he was charged with the fortification of the Mediterranean shoreline from Marseilles through Toulon to Nice. He built a string of coastal batteries and at the same time, took a searching look at the whole French system of fortification which he proceeded to subject to a withering criticism in a series of letters to the authorities. It was at this point, that his own doctrine began to crystalize, reaching its final shape in the years 1806-11." P- 282-3 Napoleon fortfikator, Waldemar Lysiak,
The near pinnacle representation of this development is the fortress of Modlin. "It is located near the village of Modlin on the Bugonarew river, some 50 kilometres north of Warsaw. It was renamed Novogeorgievsk (???????????????? ????????) after it was captured by the Russians in 1813."( Wikipedia) . What I am looking for is the common threads that go from the engineers, architect et al. directly to Napoleon. I did come across a clue wherein General Simon Bernard, a former French Army engineer and fortification expert who served under Napoleon, was appointed by President James Madison to supervise the Board of Fortifications and design a Third system of fortifications that decorate the Eastern Coast of the USA from Canada to Mexico today.
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| GPPearson |
1
Entrenched fortifications are as old as warfare itself, with such encampments, both in defensive and offensive (as in beseging) capacities, being found in texts, art and archaeology going back many thousands of years. The Roman marching camps are a form of entrenched fortification, utilising earth in a bank and ditch formation, and many of the hillforts of Britain are massive ditch-enforced topographical features. The battles of Ravenna and Fornovo in the C16 were fought using trenches in the field of battle. So entrenched positions is not something new to late C18-ealy C19 French art of war.
Indeed, Napoleon's fortifications were largely based upon the golden age of French fortication, that of Vauban and the evolution of the trace italienne to its finest baroque pinnacle. It wasn't until after Napoleon, with the development of rifled artillery, shells and breech-loading mechanisms that fortification took a giant leap forward.
Posted: 18-Oct-2009 22:56
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| GPPearson |
2
Just found one of Napoleon's Maxim's, where he becries the lack of progress on fortification. He doesn't offer any answers, though.
Maxim XLIII. Those who proscribe lines of circumvallation, and all the assistance which the science of the engineer can afford, deprive themselves gratuitously of an auxillary which is never injurious, almost always useful, and often indispensable. It must be admitted at the same time, that the principles of field-fortification require improvement. This important branch of the art of war has made no progress since the time of the ancients. It is even inferior at this day to what it was two thousand years ago. Engineer officers should be encouraged in bringing this branch of their art to perfection, and in placing it upon a level with the rest.
Posted: 18-Oct-2009 23:21
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