A little bit about the 17th century fortifications genius, who not only left monuments to his work in France, but all over Europe. "Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban (1633-1707), is considered one the of the greatest military engineers of all time. In his life he was responsible for the fortification of over 160 places in France, however his major contribution to warfare was his methods of attack, which revolutionised siege warfare." http://www.fortified-places.com/vauban.html World Heritage status for his work- http://hautes-alpes.net/Presse/Press_Vauban_0708.pdf And it's influence on modern warfare- "Today positional warfare is a long-forgotten art. Armies of the future will never allow themselves to become bogged down in reducing fortresses or, for that matter, in building them. Such anachronisms can be bypassed by vertical envelopment or destroyed by precision munitions. Speed and violence of execution are the tenets of today's doctrinal manuals. Picks and shovels belong in museums. Or do they? When he became king, France's Louis XIV joined with Inspector General Jacques Martinet and the Minister of War, the Marquis de Louvois, to create an excellent standing army of 200,000 men. Although it was the best-drilled and best-equipped in Europe, in the long series of dynastic wars that followed, Louis' army became very adept at maneuver and fortifications. This expertise was the result of the genius of one man--an engineer named Sebastian le Prestre de Vauban." A Genius for Fortification: Vauban and the Future of Positional Warfare | Engineer: The Professional Bulletin for Army Engineers | Find Articles at BNET
I think his forts are some of the most beautiful constructions anywhere, especially from the air. Thanks for bringing him up again Gordon
No worries, Nigel. The only one I can say I've toured are the fortifications at Berwick-on-Tweed. I pity anyone who tried to attack that.
One of my favorites is Gravelines in Northern France. and this is the map of his 12 most beautiful forts that are ALL Unesco world Heritage.
This site has some good links, VAUBAN in N.FRANCE:17th century military engineer and also brings up an interesting point that the Maginot mentality was in no way new, when that was built.
Several years ago I moved to France. As I started to travel around and discover the south west part of this country (near my home city of Toulouse) I came across of the "chain" of fortified places built by Vauban. They still stand tall and amaze the visitor with their complex construction and (usually) star shaped surrounding walls. There are many fortifications built by Vauban in France (and other countries) - they are now listed in the UNESCO's World Heritage - but I have visited only 18 in the Pyrenean Mountains and the south part of the French Atlantic coast. Visiting the forts made me search for information about their builder's life and thus I started to read about Vauban's life and battles, his philosophy of life and I even found out that there is a small planet orbiting Mars (Mars is the god of war in Roman mythology) that was given the name Vauban. I gathered much of my research - and information about the forts I have visited and their photos - in two web pages: http://southweststory.com/the-story-of-sebastian-vauban and http://southweststory.com/vauban-forts-in-the-south-west-of-france This way I hope to share my enthusiasm about a chapter of France's history and my appreciation of Vauban.
My favourite one is the one in Gravelines but the one on Belle île I like too (this is where Sarah Bernardt lived and where German pow were kept in rather luxurious conditions during WWI )
This is a good read for anyone with an interest in Vauban. http://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Marshal-Vauban-and-the-Defence-of-Louis-XIVs-France/p/3124/
Fortts are "force multipliers" that allow a weaker defender to pin and wear down a stronger one allowing the defender's manouver army freedom to attack elsewhere, thet can be quite effective think Verdun, Stalingrad, Tobruk 1941 or the role pplayed by the Siegfried line in 1939 and 1940. They can also become traps if the manouver army gets defeated anyway like the French in 1940 or Tobruk 1940 and 1942. The French somethimes brought this strategy too far, concentating to much in the forts at the expense of the mobile army, besides 1940 Dien Bien Phu comes to mind. The current tech of Vauban's forts produced something that was both highly effective and very nice to look at, it basically brought back fortifications until superheavy artillery and aircraft bombs made them too vulnerable to be cost effective once again.
TiredOldSoldier, that is a long handle "G" !!......I am reminded of Lucca. Vauban's forts display a good bit of slightly slopped masonry/stone face that modern artillery could reduce but Lucca has that huge earth glacis that would absorb a great deal of energy . Vauban's forts are they themselves things of great architectural beauty today and Lucca's has produced a lovely park and green band surrounding the city. Rare positive results of preparing for war. Interestingly two British architects, Alison and Peter Smithson, touring the Atlantic Wall post war were impressed with the massive concrete pours and coined the term "Brutalist Architecture" to describe much of early modernism in the field. Many credit the French architecture " Le Corbusier" or "Corbu" with starting the idea," beton brut" being his term. that the massive structures of the Atlantic Wall would inspire 20-25 years of modern architecture intended for peaceful use is pretty remarkable. But they are certainly impressive but critics now question the suitability .for we humans ( Using the term loosely.
