Fortifications - History of architecture flashcards
Fortification is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime.Latin fortis means strong and facere means to make.
In an ever-changing world of invasion and conquest, defensive walls have been necessary for cities to survive.The first small cities to be fortified were some settlements in the valley.The ancient site of Mycenae is famous for the huge stone blocks of its 'cyclopean' walls, which were built in ancient Greece.The Greek phrourion is similar to the Roman castellum or English fortress.The purpose of these constructions was to guard certain roads, passes and borders.They were a border guard rather than a strong point to watch and maintain the border.
Since the time of the Roman legions, the art of setting out a military camp has been called "castrametation".Fortification is divided into two parts: permanent and field.Semi-permanent fortification is an intermediate branch.Castles are fortifications which are considered to be distinct from the generic fort or fortress in that they are a residence of a monarch or noble and command a specific defensive territory.
castles in Europe emerged in the 9th century from Roman forts and hill forts.Some towns were built around castles during the Early Middle Ages.
Cannons in the 14th century made Medieval-style fortifications obsolete.Fortifications in the age of black powder evolved into lower structures that used ditches and earth ramparts to absorb and diffuse cannon fire.The walls were sunk into ditches to improve protection against cannon fire.
In the 19th century, there was another stage in the evolution of fortification.The intricate arrangements of bastions, flanking batteries and the carefully constructed lines of fire for the defending cannon did not fare well against the effects of high explosives.During the 19th and early 20th centuries, fortifications were made of steel and concrete.Modern warfare has made large-scale fortifications obsolete.
Forts are not always fortified.During the early days of North America, many outposts on the frontiers were referred to as forts.Larger military installations may be called fortresses.Fortification is the practice of improving an area's defense with defensive works.City walls are not fortresses.
Since the time of the Roman legions, the art of setting out a military camp has been called castrametation.siegecraft or siege warfare is the art of laying siege to a fort and destroying it.This term also applies to the art of building a fortress.
Fortification is divided into two parts: permanent and field.All the resources that a state can provide for constructive and mechanical skill are used to build permanent fortifications.Field fortifications, also known as fieldworks or breastworks, are extemporized by troops in the field, perhaps assisted by local labour and tools, and with materials that do not require much preparation, such as earth, brushwood.Fort Necessity was built by George Washington in 1754.
Semi-permanent fortification is an intermediate branch.When in the course of a campaign it becomes necessary to protect some locality with the best imitation of permanent defences that can be made in a short time, ample resources and skilled civilian labour being available, this is employed.The construction of forts in England and other Roman territories where camps were set up with the intention of staying for some time, but not permanently, is an example of this.
Castles are fortifications which are distinct from the generic fort or fortress in that they describe a residence of a monarch or noble and command a specific defensive territory.The castle of Carcassonne is an example of this.
Walls have been a necessity for a long time.In Bulgaria, near the town of Provadia, there was a walled fortified settlement called Solnitsata that was home to 350 people in two-storey houses and had a diameter of about 100 meters.It is one of the earliest walled settlements in Europe and it is younger than the walled town of Sesklo.One of the oldest walled cities in the world is called Uruk.The Ancient Egyptians built fortresses on the frontiers of the Nile Valley to protect against invaders, as well as circle-shaped mud brick walls around their cities.Mud brick was used to build many of the ancient world's fortifications, leaving them no more than mounds of dirt.
The ancient temple of Ness of Brodgar was surrounded by a stone wall.Four metres tall and four metres thick, it was the "Great Wall of Brodgar".The wall had a symbolic function.The Assyrians used large labour forces to build new palaces, temples and defensive walls.[9]
The settlements in the valley were fortified.By about 3500 BC, there were hundreds of small farming villages.Many of the settlements had fortifications.The stone and mud brick houses of Kot Diji were clustered behind massive stone flood dykes and defensive walls, and neighbours bickered constantly about the control of prime agricultural land.In present-day Afghanistan, there are defensive walls and square bastions of sun dried bricks.The entire city of Kerma was surrounded by a ditch.The Bronze age bastions and foundations were constructed with either baked or unfired brick.[13]
Some settlements in Bronze Age Malta began to be fortified.Bor in-Nadur is the most notable example that is still standing.Nebuchadnezzar expanded the walls and built the Ishtar Gate in order to make Babylon one of the most famous cities in the ancient world.Sparta and Rome did not have walls for a long time, so they relied on their armies for defence.Initially, these fortifications were simple constructions of wood and earth, which were later replaced by stones piled on top of each other without mortar.The ancient site of Mycenae is famous for the huge stone blocks of its 'cyclopean' walls, which were built in ancient Greece.The city of Athens built two parallel stone walls, called the Long Walls, that reached their fortified seaport a few miles away.
The walls of oppida, the large fortified settlements built by the Celts, seem to be influenced by those built in the Mediterranean.The fortifications were continually being improved.forts in Heuneburg, Germany, were built with a limestone foundation supported by a mudbrick wall and a roofed walkway, reaching a total height of 6 metres.The wall was lime plaster.The towers protruded from it.It was 13 and 14.
The Oppidum of Manching was a large Celtic settlement located in Germany.The settlement was founded in the 3rd century BC.During the late 2nd century BC, it had a size of over 300 hectares.Thousands of people lived within its walls.The oppidum of Bibracte is an example of a fortified settlement.
During the reign of the Roman Emperors Aurelian and Probus, a line of city walls were built in Rome.The Trastevere district is located on the right bank of the Tiber and is surrounded by the walls.The river banks in the city were fortified, but they were left unfortified.The full circuit ran for 19 kilometres around an area of over 13 square kilometres.The walls were built in brick-faced concrete with a square tower every 100 Roman feet.The height of the walls was doubled in the 5th century.By 500 AD, the circuit had 383 towers, 7,020 crenellations, 18 main gates, 5 postern gates and 116 latrines.[15]
Stone walls were used to fortify the cities of the Romans.The Aurelian Walls of Rome are the most famous of these.The Newport Arch in Lincoln is one of the city gates.Hadrian's Wall was built across the width of northern England following a visit by Roman Emperor Hadrian in AD 122.
There are forts dating from the Later Stone Age to the British Raj in India.All old fortifications in India are referred to as forts.Evidences of fortifications can be found at a number of Indus Valley Civilization sites.Kalibangan has mudbrick fortifications with bastions and Lothal has a quadrangular fortified layout.There was evidence of fortifications in the area.Kotada Bhadli, a small town, shows that nearly all major and minor towns of the Indus Valley Civilization were fortified.During the second urbanisation period between 600–200 BC, forts appeared in urban cities of the Gangetic valley, and as many as 15 of them have been identified by archaeologists.The earliest vedic brick fortification can be found in one of the stupa mounds, which is 1.6 km in perimeter and oval in plan.The state of Maharashtra has over 70 forts, many of which were built by Shivaji, the founder of the Maratha state.Most of the forts in India are located in North India.The Red Fort at Delhi is one of the most notable forts in the country.[19]
The earth is large.The capital of ancient Ao had enormous walls built in this fashion.Stone walls were built in China during the Warring States, but mass conversion to stone architecture did not begin until the Tang dynasty.The present form of the Great Wall of China is mostly an engineering feat, although it was built in the past.
In addition to the Great Wall, a number of Chinese cities used defensive walls to defend their cities.The walled villages of Hong Kong are one of the notable Chinese city walls.The Yongle Emperor established the walls of the Forbidden City in Beijing in the early 15th century.The inner portion of Beijing's fortifications were made up of the Forbidden City.
forts and outposts were built throughout the archipelago during the Spanish Era.The old walled city of Manila is located along the southern bank of the Pasig River.The best collection of Spanish colonial architecture was destroyed by the bombs of World War II, but the historic city was still home to centuries-old churches, schools, convents, government buildings and residences.Only one building in the 67-acre city survived the war.
During times of war, the Ivatan people built idjang on hills and elevated areas to protect themselves.The purpose of these fortifications made them similar to European castles.Usually, the only entrance to the castles would be via a rope ladder that would only be lowered for the villagers and kept away when invaders arrived.
The forts made of stone walls averaged several meters in width and height and were built around 2000 BC.[23]
The Muslim Filipinos of the south built strong fortresses to protect their communities.Many of the people in these kotas are not just warriors, they are entire families.It was a military installation and a palace for the local Lord when the lords had their own kotas.It is said that at the height of the Maguindanao Sultanate's power, they blanketed the areas around Western Mindanao with Kotas and other fortifications to block the Spanish advance into the region.The kotas were usually made of stone and bamboo and surrounded by trench networks.Some of the kotas were easily burned.The majority of Kotas were dismantled or destroyed as a result of the Spanish campaigns.The Muslims built Kotas as a defense against Spaniards and other foreigners and also built fortifications in defiance of other chiefs in the area.During the American occupation, rebels built strongholds and the Datus, Rajahs or Sultans built kotas in a desperate bid to maintain rule over their subjects and their land.Many of these forts were destroyed by American expeditions, as a result, very few kotas still stand to this day.
Many tribes used fortifications during Muhammad's time in Arabia.In the Battle of the Trench, the largely outnumbered defenders of Medina, led by Islamic prophet Muhammad, dug a trench, which together with Medina's natural fortifications, rendered the confederate cavalry useless, locking the two sides in a stalemate.Banu Qurayza was persuaded to attack the city from the south by the confederates.Muhammad's diplomacy broke up the confederacy against him.Poor weather conditions, as well as the well-organized defenders, caused the siege to end in a fiasco.[28]
During the Siege of Ta'if in January 630, Muhammad ordered his followers to attack enemies who fled from the Battle of Hunayn and sought refuge in the fortress of Taif.[29]
According to the Guinness Book of Records, the walls of Benin are the second longest man-made structure and the most extensive earthwork in the world.Between the 13th and mid-fifteenth centuryCE and the first millenniumCE, the walls may have been constructed.In areas of Africa, strong citadels were built.The sites of Yorubaland were surrounded by the full range of earthworks and ramparts seen elsewhere.The defensive potential was improved by hills and ridges.A double wall of trenches and ramparts was used to protect the Yoruba fortifications, and the main works were often bristled with rows of sharpened stakes.A maze of defensive walls allowed for cross fire on opposing forces as they were laid out to blunt an enemy penetration.[34]
Powerful log stockades were created at key points.In later wars against the British, this was used.Some of the fortifications were over a hundred yard long.They were impervious to destruction.The soldiers were behind the stockades to check the movement of the enemy.While formidable in construction, many of these strongpoints failed because of poor guns, gunpowder and bullets.After laying down some covering fire, British troops overcame or bypassed the stockades by mounting old-fashioned bayonet charges.[35]
The defensive works were important in the African Kingdoms.The fortifications in the Kingdom of Kongo were destroyed by trenches and low embankments.Strongpoints held up better against European cannon than taller structures.36
castles in Europe emerged in the 9th century from Roman forts and hill forts.Some towns were built around castles during the Early Middle Ages.Most of the time, these cities were protected by a combination of both walls and ditches.Hundreds of settlements of all sizes were founded throughout Europe in the 12th century, which gave them the right of fortification.
During the period of Eastern Colonisation, many cities in eastern Europe were founded for the purpose of territorial expansion.These cities are easy to spot because of their regular layout and large market spaces.The fortifications of these settlements were continually improved.The Venetian Republic raised great walls around cities during the Renaissance era, and the best examples are in Cyprus and Italy.The Ottomans built smaller fortifications but in larger numbers, and only rarely fortified entire settlements such as Poitelj, Vratnik and Jajce in Bosnia.
Cannons on the 14th century battlefield made Medieval-style fortifications obsolete.Fortifications in the age of black powder evolved into lower structures that used ditches and earth ramparts to absorb and diffuse cannon fire.Walls that were exposed to cannon fire were sunk into ditches.
This placed a heavy emphasis on the geometry of the fortification to allow defensive cannonry interlocking fields of fire to cover all approaches to the lower and more vulnerable walls.
The evolution of this new style of fortification can be seen in transitional forts such as the one in North West Italy which was built between 1492 and 1502.There are two crenellated walls with towers typical of the medieval period and one curtain wall which is protected from flanking fire by a gun platform.Rhodes is the only walled town in Europe that still shows the transition between medieval and modern fortifications.[38]
Fortifications extended in depth, with protected batteries for defensive cannonry, to allow them to engage attacking cannon to keep them at a distance and prevent them bearing directly on the vulnerable walls.
Fort Bourtange is an excellent example of star shaped fortifications with tier upon tier of hornworks and bastions.In the Nordic states and Britain, the fortifications of Berwick-upon-Tweed and the harbour archipelago of Suomenlinna are examples.
In the 19th century, there was another stage in the evolution of fortification.The intricate arrangements of bastions, flanking batteries and the carefully constructed lines of fire for the defending cannon did not fare well against the effects of high explosives.
The large open ditches surrounding forts of this type were an important part of the defensive scheme.The ditch was vulnerable to bombardment.
Military engineers came up with a new style of fortification.The ditch became deep and vertically sided, cut directly into the native rock or soil, laid out as a series of straight lines creating the central fortified area that gives this style of fortification its name.
The ditch was swept by fire from defensive blockhouses set in it as well as firing positions cut into the outer face of it, making it a difficult target for enemy shellfire.
The fort's profile became very low, surrounded by caponiers by a gently sloping open area so as to eliminate possible cover for enemy forces, while it also provided a minimal target for fire.The entrypoint became a gatehouse in the inner face of the ditch, thanks to a curving ramp that gave access to the gate via a rolling bridge.
The fort was moved underground.The blockhouses and firing points in the ditch were connected to the fort proper through tunnels and deep passages.The guns were mounted in open emplacements and protected by a parapet in order to keep a lower profile and also because they had been put out of action by rubble as their own casemates were collapsing around them.
Forts were to be moved to the outside of the cities to keep the enemy from bombarding the city center.The forts were to be built at a spacing that would allow them to cover the intervals between them.
The principle of the bastion, which had been made obsolete by advances in arms, was abandoned by the new forts.The outline was surrounded by a ditch.The forts were designed to shelter the garrison against bombardment.An organizing feature of the new system was the construction of two defensive curtains: an outer line of forts, backed by an inner ring or line at critical points of terrain or junctions.
European armies engaged in warfare in colonies established in Africa against lightly armed attackers from amongst the indigenous population continued to use traditional fortification.A relatively small number of defenders in a fort impervious to primitive weaponry could hold out against high odds.
During the 19th and early 20th centuries, fortifications were made of steel and concrete.Modern warfare has made large-scale fortifications obsolete.Fort Campbell in Malta was built in the 1930s and 1940s with designs that took into account the new threat of aerial warfare.Underground Bunkers are still able to provide some protection in modern wars.A number of historical fortifications that were demolished during the modern age are still popular tourist destinations today.
Field fortification dominated defensive action.These defences were more temporary than the trench warfare of World War I.It formed a less obvious target for enemy force to be directed against since it was less extensive.
The line could be re-established relatively quickly if enough power were massed against one point.As defenders were forced to pull back or were overrun, the lines of defenders behind them could take over the defence.
The defences were usually thin and spread along the length of the line because the mobile offensives practised by both sides focused on avoiding the strongest points of a defensive line.The defence was not always strong.
The strength of the defensive line was determined by how quickly an attacking force could progress in the terrain that was being defended and the ground behind it.The ground has a strategic value and a defensive value.
This was possible because offensive and defensive tactics were both focused on mobility.The defences were dug with infantry and antitank guns.Mobile brigades behind the defensive line would defend tanks and tank destroyers.Mobile reinforcements would be sent to reinforce a part of the line that was in danger of failing if a major offensive was launched against that point.
The defensive line was relatively thin because the bulk of the fighting power was in the mobile reserves.During World War II, there was an exception to this rule, where German forces deliberately attacked the strongest part of the Soviet defences in order to destroy them.
The terrain that was being defended was of paramount importance because open terrain made rapid advances into the defenders' rear areas very dangerous.The terrain had to be defended.
Since the defensive line only had to hold out long enough for mobile reserves to reinforce it, terrain that did not permit rapid advance could be held more weakly.The battle of the Hurtgen Forest in Germany during the closing stages of World War II is an excellent example of how difficult terrain can be used to the defense's advantage.
After World War II, ICBMs were developed, and so speed became an essential characteristic of the strongest militaries and defenses.Missile silos were developed so missiles could be fired from the middle of a country and hit cities and targets in another country, and airplanes became major defenses and offensive weapons, leading to an expansion of the use of airports and airstrips as fortifications.Nuclear submarine capable of firing missiles could be used for mobile defense.In the mid to late 20th century, some of the Bunkers were buried deep inside mountains and prominent rocks, such as Gibraltar and the Cheyenne Mountain Complex.In modern warfare, mines have been used as hidden defences, often remaining after the wars that produced them have ended.
A buffer between potentially hostile and benign is provided by demilitarized zones along borders.
Military airfields offer a fixed "target rich" environment for even relatively small enemy forces, using hit-and-run tactics by ground forces.Key targets can be protected by fortifications.
The aircraft can be protected with revetments, Hesco barriers, or hardened aircraft shelters.Outside of the operational theatre, larger aircraft types are based.
Safety rules usebunkers and bunds to provide protection against accident and chain reactions.Small fortified expense stores can be used to store weapons for rearming aircraft.At Bien Hoa South Vietnam on the morning of 16 May 1965, a chain reaction explosion destroyed 13 aircraft, killed 34 personnel, and injured over 100; this, along with damage and losses of aircraft to enemy attack.
Aircrew and ground personnel need protection during enemy attacks and fortifications range from culvert section "duck and cover" shelters to permanent air-raid shelters.Soft locations with high personnel densities, such as accommodation and messing facilities, can have limited protection by placing barriers around them.The old 'Yugo' pyramid shelters built in the 1980s were used by US personnel when Iran fired 11 missiles at Ayn al-Asad Air Base in Iraq.
Rules for storage provide protection against accident when fuel is volatile.Fuel in underground bulk fuel installations is protected, though valves and controls are vulnerable to enemy action.Tanks can be vulnerable to attack.
After an enemy attack, ground support equipment needs to be protected.
Concrete guard fortifications are more cost effective and last longer.Concrete culvert sections can be used to make fabricated positions.The British Yarnold Bunker is made from concrete.
Camouflage and dispersion of assets can help defend against airfield attacks.
Compared to colonial times, obsolete fortifications are still used for low-intensity conflicts.The fortifications range in size from small patrol bases to huge air bases.Because the enemy is not a powerful military force with the heavy weaponry required to destroy fortifications, walls of gabion, sandbag or even simple mud can provide protection against small arms and anti-tank weapons.
Forts in modern American usage often refer to space set aside by governments for a permanent military facility; these often do not have any actual fortifications, and can have specializations such as military barracks, administration, medical facilities, or intelligence.
Forts are modern fortifications that are referred to as forts.These are usually small fortifications.Existing structures such as houses or public buildings are upgraded in urban combat.They are often log or gabion type construction in field warfare.
Log forts can be used by forward platoons and companies in low level conflicts, such as the Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation, which saw the use of log forts.Modern indirect or direct fire weapons larger than mortars and small arms can't survive static above ground forts.