The Line of Forts

The Line of Forts PDF Author: Michael D. Coe
Publisher: UPNE
ISBN: 9781584655428
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 252

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Book Description
A fascinating analysis of artifacts that illuminates relationships among the English, French, and Indians at a critical moment in American history

The Line of Forts

The Line of Forts PDF Author: Michael D. Coe
Publisher: UPNE
ISBN: 9781584655428
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 252

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Book Description
A fascinating analysis of artifacts that illuminates relationships among the English, French, and Indians at a critical moment in American history

Breaking the Fortress Line, 1914

Breaking the Fortress Line, 1914 PDF Author: Clayton Donnell
Publisher: Pen and Sword
ISBN: 1473830125
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 263

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Book Description
Breaking the Fortress Line 1914 offers a fascinating new perspective on the German offensive against France and Belgium in 1914. In graphic detail it describes the intense fighting that took place around the forts and fortified cities that stood in the path of the German invasion. The ordeal began with the German assault on the mighty fortress of Lige. They took twelve days to batter their way through the 'Gateway to Belgium', losing thousands of men in repeated frontal assaults, and they had to bring up the heaviest siege artillery ever used to destroy the defences.This is the epic struggle that Clayton Donnell depicts in this compelling account of a neglected aspect of the battles that followed the outbreak of the Great War. Not only does he reconstruct the German attack on the strongpoints they encountered along the entire invasion line, but he traces the history and design of these fixed defences and analyses the massive military building programmes undertaken by the French, the Germans and the Belgians between 1871 and 1914. Thousands of huge forts, infantry strongpoints, bunkers, casemates and shelters were dug out along the French and German borders. The German Moselstellung and Steinbruch-stellung were born. These massive concrete fortress systems with steel gun turrets and diesel motors to generate electricity were a completely new concept of fortress design.As war approached, France and Germany devised plans to overcome each other's powerful armies and these border defences. The French plan avoided contact with the German fortress system. But the Kaiser's army faced twelve forts at Lige, nine more at Namur, and then the strongpoints of the first and second Sr de Rivires lines. Clayton Donnell provides a gripping narrative of the violent confrontation that followed.

The Maginot Line

The Maginot Line PDF Author: J. E. Kaufmann
Publisher: Casemate Publishers
ISBN: 1848840683
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 321

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Book Description
"The Maginot Line, the complex system of strongpoints constructed between the world wars by the French to protect against attack from Germany, is one of the most famous, extensive and controversial defensive schemes in all military history. It stretched from Belgium to Switzerland, and from Switzerland to the Mediterranean, and it represented the most advanced and ambitious system of static defenses of its time. Much of this historic line -- with its fortresses, artillery positions, barbed-wire networks, casemates, concrete bunkers -- has survived and can be visited today ... The strategic thinking that gave rise to this enormous feat of military engineering is described, as is the planning, design, and construction of the line -- and its operational history. Each of the key sites is described in detail, and visitor information and plans are provided"--Jacket.

Fortress France

Fortress France PDF Author: J. E. Kaufmann
Publisher: Stackpole Books
ISBN: 1461751047
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 270

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Book Description
Guide to the French defenses encountered by the German blitzkrieg in 1940 Includes finely detailed plans, diagrams, and schematics of forts, blockhouses, turrets, artillery pieces, tanks, and more Between the world wars, France constructed a vast and complex array of defenses designed to prevent German forces from penetrating the French heartland as they had during World War I. Among these was the famous Maginot Line, the last of the great gun-bearing fortifications, but France also built defenses along its coasts and in its territories in North Africa. Fully illustrated with photos, maps, and drawings, Fortress France describes the design and construction of these fortifications, discusses French defensive doctrine and strategy, and explains why these efforts proved unable to stop the German attack in the spring of 1940.

The Lines of Torres Vedras 1809–11

The Lines of Torres Vedras 1809–11 PDF Author: Ian Fletcher
Publisher: Osprey Publishing
ISBN: 9781841765761
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Following the battle of Bussaco on 27 September 1810 Wellington's heavily outnumbered troops began to withdraw towards Lisbon. By the evening of 9 October the British and Portuguese began to withdraw behind a line of defensive works that had been built to the north of Lisbon. These were not the rudimentary field works that the French anticipated, but an enormous network of forts, batteries and redoubts whose construction had been started the previous November - the Lines of Torres Vedras. This 30-mile-wide line utilised the area's natural defences, damming rivers, scarping hillsides, blocking roads and establishing forts upon almost all of the hills. This title describes its design, creation and effectiveness in the face of French attacks.

Along the Texas Forts Trail

Along the Texas Forts Trail PDF Author: B. W. Aston
Publisher: University of North Texas Press
ISBN: 1574410350
Category : Automobile travel
Languages : en
Pages : 182

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Book Description
A travel guide to the Texas Forts Trail, providing historical background on each of the eight forts along the route, and including information for tourists on independent motels, inns, and restaurants, as well as listings of festivals, specialty shops, and other points of interest.

Guarding the Frontier

Guarding the Frontier PDF Author: Mark L. Stein
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 0857713132
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 233

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Book Description
The seventeenth-century Ottoman-Habsburg frontier was the scene of chronic conflict. The defences of both empires were based on a line of fortresses, spanning the border. Mark Stein gives us a fascinating insight into everyday life on the frontier in this turbulent time in Ottoman history, by investigating the social, economic, and military aspects of Ottoman forts and garrisons in a new comparative approach. Drawing on a wide range of Ottoman and Western archival and narrative sources, "Guarding the Frontier" assesses the state of early-modern Ottoman military architecture and siegecraft; and, carefully dissects the Ottomans' ability to besiege, defend, build, and repair fortifications in the seventeenth century, as well as the relationship between the central and provisional administrations. This thorough overview includes an assessment of the empire's ability to marshal the manpower and supply requirements for lengthy sieges; a survey of Ottoman artillery; and the procedures involved in building and maintaining frontier forts. Studying an extensive database compiled from seventeenth-century garrison payroll records, Stein paints a fascinating description of the various types of troops who served on the Ottoman-Habsburg frontier: slave and levied soldiers, cavalry and infantry, Muslims and Christians, charged with defending the Ottoman Empire at this fascinating point in History.

The Forts of the Meuse in World War I

The Forts of the Meuse in World War I PDF Author: Clayton Donnell
Publisher: Osprey Publishing
ISBN: 9781846031144
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
On October 29, 1891, the new forts built around the cities of Li_ge and Namur, known as the "Forts of the Meuse," were turned over to the Belgian Army. The huge project, which had begun in 1888 and cost 71.6 million Belgian Francs, required over 9,000 workers to complete. It produced 21 modern forts that could defend the strategic rail, river, and road arteries passing through narrow gaps to the flat, open plains of Flanders. The Forts of the Meuse were the creation of General Brialmont, one of the foremost military engineers of his time. The development of new and more powerful artillery meant that Brialmont's forts were made of concrete, featuring underground barracks, storerooms, and guns protected in revolving steel turrets. In August 1914, the German Army attempted a quick crossing of this area in order to reach France, but it took them 12 days to destroy the fortresses, with the 30,000 Belgian troops putting up a valiant fight. Containing maps, diagrams, and photographs taken from private collections, this book explores the design, development, and influence of the "Forts of the Meuse," and highlights the importance of their role during the opening battle of World War I.

The Fortifications of Verdun 1874–1917

The Fortifications of Verdun 1874–1917 PDF Author: Clayton Donnell
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1849084130
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 66

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Book Description
The ring of fortifications protecting the city of Verdun on the Meuse River would become critical in the infamous battle of World War I. This book examines these fortifications, including the famous forts of Douaumont and Vaux that saw some of the fiercest fighting during the battle.

Fortress Europe

Fortress Europe PDF Author: J.E. Kaufmann
Publisher: Pen and Sword Military
ISBN: 1399002759
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 474

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Book Description
A few of the fortifications and fortified lines of the world wars are well known and have often been written about, illustrated and studied. But they tend to distract attention from the wide range of fixed defenses constructed across Europe on an enormous scale after the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71, during a period of insecurity and aggression. That is why this new, highly illustrated study, which covers the entire continent, is so valuable. The authors examine the major fortified positions and describe their strategic purpose, their design and construction, and the role they played in military planning and operations. The outstanding contribution of the major military architects of the time is a key theme. The work of Séré de Rivières, Brialmont and others had a major influence on the course of the First World War and on the fortifications built before and during the Second World War. Their approach is visible in the designs for the Maginot Line, the East and West walls of Germany, the Vallo Alpino in Italy, the Soviet Stalin and Molotov lines, the Mannerheim and Salpa lines of Finland, the Greek Metaxas Line, the Beneš Line of Czechoslovakia as well as the defenses built by the Dutch and Scandinavians. The breadth of the coverage, the degree of detail and the numerous illustrations make the book essential reading and reference for anyone who has a special interest in the world wars and the history of fortifications.