Fortification

THE ORIGIN OF STONE CASTLES

Fortification France 14 Min Read

The dungeon at Montbazon just south of Tours is claimed to be what remains of the oldest castle in France. Earth-and-timber fortifications proved entirely inadequate to protect western europeans from the Viking and Hungarian incursions of the ninth and tenth centuries. Although motte-and-bailey castles were successfully used by William of Normandy to conquer and subdue England in the late eleventh…

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British Fortification 7 Min Read

Harlech

Reconstruction of the castle in the early 14th century, seen from the sea. Gatehouses The King’s gate at Caernarfon is one of the most powerful of gatehouses, begun in 1283. In front of the entrance is a turning bridge; the front end rose up into a recess while the rear…

Armies British Fortification France Siege 7 Min Read

The Siege of Badajoz: March-April 1812

Storming of Badajoz by Chris Collingwood. The last siege of Badajoz conducted by Wellington’s army was typified by a failed main assault on the breech and a successful secondary assault on the castle. The Allies had failed to take Badajoz before, and the lack of an adequate British siege train,…

Ancient Warfare Artillery Fortification Weapons 11 Min Read

Ancient Technology Transfer

Military technology is likely to be transferred to the enemy whenever it is used against them. Through battle the enemy at least learn of the existence and capabilities of the weapons and techniques used against them, and may attempt even on that basis to reproduce them. Thus Cato was said…

Fortification Medieval 34 Min Read

RAIDING AND EARLY MEDIEVAL WARFARE III

Devil’s Dyke – What was it for? The Dyke was constructed in the 5th or 6th centuries – perhaps by the Saxon kings of the East Angles in order to defend their newly established lands from attack by the Britons. It would certainly have helped provide control over the movement…

Fortification Medieval 19 Min Read

Raiding and Dykes

Offa’s Dyke RAIDING ACROSS THE WORLD As we lack detailed written descriptions of raiding in early medieval sources, let us examine periods of incessant small-scale military forays from other periods and places. By understanding how raiding worked, it may be possible to see how early medieval dykes functioned as a…

Australians at D-Day

On the night of 5/6 June Bomber Command conducted precision attacks on ten German coastal artillery batteries near the beaches where Allied troops were to land. Each battery was targeted by approximately 100 heavy bombers, and all four Australian heavy bomber squadrons took part in the operation. No. 460 Squadron…

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Flak towers: then and now

The construction of Flaktürme (Flak towers) in major cities began in response to the first…

Features of an Atlantic Wall Bunker

Features of an Atlantic Wall Bunker The bunker was primarily an instrument of defence. For…

Japanese Siege Weapons

Early Fortifications Although fortifications were constructed in Japan prior to the feudal period, frequent conflicts…

Atlantic Wall: Bunkers and Organization for Defence

Regelbau M162a fire-control bunker for gun battery at Frederikshavn, Denmark, in the summer of 1945.…