Fortification

A fortification is a military construction or building designed for

the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish
rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin
fortis ("strong") and facere ("to make").

From very early history to modern times, defensive walls have

often been necessary for cities to survive in an ever-changing world
of invasion and conquest. Some settlements in the Indus Valley Castillo San Felipe de Barajas,
civilization were the first small cities to be fortified. In ancient Colombia. Cartagena's colonial
Greece, large stone walls had been built in Mycenaean Greece, walled city and fortress were
such as the ancient site of Mycenae (famous for the huge stone designated a UNESCO World
blocks of its 'cyclopean' walls). A Greek phrourion was a fortified Heritage Site.
collection of buildings used as a military garrison, and is the
equivalent of the Roman castellum or English fortress. These
constructions mainly served the purpose of a watch tower, to guard
certain roads, passes, and borders. Though smaller than a real
fortress, they acted as a border guard rather than a real strongpoint
to watch and maintain the border.

The art of setting out a military camp or constructing a fortification

traditionally has been called "castrametation" since the time of the
Roman legions. Fortification is usually divided into two branches:
permanent fortification and field fortification. There is also an
intermediate branch known as semi-permanent fortification. Castles
are fortifications which are regarded as being distinct from the Maiden Castle in 1935. The Iron Age
generic fort or fortress in that they are a residence of a monarch or hillfort was first built in 600 BC.
noble and command a specific defensive territory.

Roman forts and hill forts were the main antecedents of castles in
Europe, which emerged in the 9th century in the Carolingian
Empire. The Early Middle Ages saw the creation of some towns
built around castles.

Medieval-style fortifications were largely made obsolete by the

arrival of cannons in the 14th century. Fortifications in the age of
black powder evolved into much lower structures with greater use
of ditches and earth ramparts that would absorb and disperse the Early 20th century aerial photograph
energy of cannon fire. Walls exposed to direct cannon fire were of the fortifications of Valletta, Malta
very vulnerable, so the walls were sunk into ditches fronted by which were built in the 16th and 17th
earth slopes to improve protection. centuries

The arrival of explosive shells in the 19th century led to yet another
stage in the evolution of fortification. Star forts did not fare well against the effects of high explosive, and
the intricate arrangements of bastions, flanking batteries and the carefully constructed lines of fire for the
defending cannon could be rapidly disrupted by explosive shells. Steel-and-concrete fortifications were
common during the 19th and early 20th centuries. The advances in modern warfare since World War I have
made large-scale fortifications obsolete in most situations.
Contents
Nomenclature
History
Neolithic Europe
Neolithic Indus Valley
Bronze Age Europe Aerial photograph of Fort Vossegat,
Bronze and Iron Age Near East Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Ancient Rome
India
China
Philippines
Spanish colonial fortifications
Local fortifications
Pre-Islamic Arabia
During Muhammad's lifetime
Islamic world
Africa
Medieval Europe
Development after introduction of firearms
19th century
20th and 21st centuries
Military airfields
Counter-insurgency
Forts
Prisons and others
See also
Notes
References
Bibliography
External links

Nomenclature
Many United States Army installations are known as forts, although they are not always fortified. Indeed,
during the pioneering era of North America, many outposts on the frontiers, even non-military outposts,
were referred to generically as forts. Larger military installations may be called fortresses; smaller ones were
once known as fortalices. The word fortification can also refer to the practice of improving an area's
defense with defensive works. City walls are fortifications but are not necessarily called fortresses.

The art of setting out a military camp or constructing a fortification traditionally has been called
castrametation since the time of the Roman legions. The art/science of laying siege to a fortification and of
destroying it is commonly called siegecraft or siege warfare and is formally known as poliorcetics. In some
texts this latter term also applies to the art of building a fortification.

Fortification is usually divided into two branches: permanent

fortification and field fortification. Permanent fortifications are
erected at leisure, with all the resources that a state can supply of
constructive and mechanical skill, and are built of enduring
materials. Field fortifications—for example breastworks—and often
known as fieldworks or earthworks, are extemporized by troops in
the field, perhaps assisted by such local labour and tools as may be
procurable and with materials that do not require much preparation,
such as earth, brushwood and light timber, or sandbags (see
sangar). An example of field fortification[1] was the construction of
Fort Necessity by George Washington in 1754.

There is also an intermediate branch known as semi-permanent

fortification.[2] This is employed when in the course of a campaign
it becomes desirable to protect some locality with the best imitation
of permanent defences that can be made in a short time, ample Small Chinese fort
resources and skilled civilian labour being available. An example of
this is the construction of Roman forts in England and in other
Roman territories where camps were set up with the intention of
staying for some time, but not permanently.

Castles are fortifications which are regarded as being distinct from

the generic fort or fortress in that it describes a residence of a
monarch or noble and commands a specific defensive territory. An
example of this is the massive medieval castle of Carcassonne.

History

Neolithic Europe

From very early history to modern times, walls have been a

necessity for many cities. In Bulgaria, near the town of Provadia a
walled fortified settlement today called Solnitsata starting from Large Chinese fort
4700 BC had a diameter of about 300 feet (100 meters), was home
to 350 people living in two-storey houses, and was encircled by a
fortified wall. The huge walls around the settlement, which were
built very tall and with stone blocks which are 6 feet (2 meters)
high and 4.5 feet (1.5 meters) thick, make it one of the earliest
walled settlements in Europe[3][4] but it is younger than the walled
town of Sesklo in Greece from 6800 BC.[5][6] Uruk in ancient
Sumer (Mesopotamia) is one of the world's oldest known walled
cities. The Ancient Egyptians also built fortresses on the frontiers of
the Nile Valley to protect against invaders from neighbouring
territories, as well as circle-shaped mud brick walls around their Han dynasty tomb brick showing
cities. Many of the fortifications of the ancient world were built gate towers
with mud brick, often leaving them no more than mounds of dirt for
today's archaeologists.
A massive prehistoric stone wall surrounded the ancient temple of
Ness of Brodgar 3200 BC in Scotland. Named the "Great Wall of
Brodgar" it was four metres thick and four metres tall. The wall had
some symbolic or ritualistic function.[7][8] The Assyrians deployed
large labour forces to build new palaces, temples and defensive
walls.[9]

Neolithic Indus Valley Han dynasty tomb brick showing

watchtowers
Some settlements in the Indus Valley civilization were also fortified.
By about 3500 BC, hundreds of small farming villages dotted the
Indus floodplain. Many of these settlements had fortifications and planned streets. The stone and mud brick
houses of Kot Diji were clustered behind massive stone flood dykes and defensive walls, for neighbouring
communities bickered constantly about the control of prime agricultural land.[10] Mundigak (c. 2500 BC) in
present-day south-east Afghanistan has defensive walls and square bastions of sun dried bricks.[11] The
entire city of Kerma in Nubia was encompassed by fortified walls surrounded by a ditch. Archaeology has
revealed various Bronze Age bastions and foundations constructed of stone together with either baked or
unfired brick.[12]

Bronze Age Europe

In Bronze Age Malta, some settlements also began to be fortified.

The most notable surviving example is Borġ in-Nadur, where a
bastion built in around 1500 BC was found. Babylon was one of
the most famous cities of the ancient world, especially as a result of
the building program of Nebuchadnezzar, who expanded the walls
and built the Ishtar Gate. Exceptions were few—notably, ancient
Remains of a fortified village, Borġ Sparta and ancient Rome did not have walls for a long time,
in-Nadur, Malta. Borġ in-Nadur is a choosing to rely on their militaries for defence instead. Initially,
notable example of Bronze Age- these fortifications were simple constructions of wood and earth,
fortifications. which were later replaced by mixed constructions of stones piled
on top of each other without mortar. In ancient Greece, large stone
walls had been built in Mycenaean Greece, such as the ancient site
of Mycenae (famous for the huge stone blocks of its 'cyclopean' walls). In classical era Greece, the city of
Athens built two parallel stone walls, called the Long Walls, that reached their fortified seaport at Piraeus a
few miles away.

In Central Europe, the Celts built large fortified settlements known as oppida, whose walls seem partially
influenced by those built in the Mediterranean. The fortifications were continuously being expanded and
improved. Around 600 BC, in Heuneburg, Germany, forts were constructed with a limestone foundation
supported by a mudbrick wall approximately 4 metres tall, probably topped by a roofed walkway, thus
reaching a total height of 6 metres. The wall was clad with lime plaster, regularly renewed. Towers
protruded outwards from it.[13][14]

The Oppidum of Manching (German: Oppidum von Manching) was a large Celtic proto-urban or city-like
settlement at modern-day Manching (near Ingolstadt), Bavaria (Germany). The settlement was founded in
the 3rd century BC and existed until c. 50–30 BC. It reached its largest extent during the late La Tène
period (late 2nd century BC), when it had a size of 380 hectares. At that time, 5,000 to 10,000 people lived
within its 7.2 km long walls. The oppidum of Bibracte is another example of a Gaulish fortified settlement.
Bronze and Iron Age Near East

Ancient Rome

The Mura aureliane are a line of city walls built between 271 AD
and 275 AD in Rome, Italy, during the reign of the Roman
Emperors Aurelian and Probus. The walls enclosed all the seven
hills of Rome plus the Campus Martius and, on the right bank of
the Tiber, the Trastevere district. The river banks within the city Reconstructed walls of Bibracte, a
limits appear to have been left unfortified, although they were Gaulish oppidum, showing the
fortified along the Campus Martius. The full circuit ran for 19 construction technique known as
kilometres (12  mi) surrounding an area of 13.7 square kilometres murus gallicus. Oppida were large
(5.3 sq mi). The walls were constructed in brick-faced concrete, 3.5 fortified settlements used during the
metres (11 ft) thick and 8 metres (26 ft) high, with a square tower Iron Age.
every 100 Roman feet (29.6 metres (97  ft)). In the 5th century,
remodelling doubled the height of the walls to 16 metres (52 ft). By
500 AD, the circuit possessed 383 towers, 7,020 crenellations, 18 main gates, 5 postern gates, 116 latrines,
and 2,066 large external windows.[15]

The Romans fortified their cities with massive, mortar-bound stone walls. The most famous of these are the
largely extant Aurelian Walls of Rome and the Theodosian Walls of Constantinople, together with partial
remains elsewhere. These are mostly city gates, like the Porta Nigra in Trier or Newport Arch in Lincoln.
Hadrian's Wall was built by the Roman Empire across the width of what is now northern England
following a visit by Roman Emperor Hadrian (AD 76–138) in AD 122.

India

A number of forts dating from the Later Stone Age to the British
Raj may be found in India. "Fort" is the word used in India for all
old fortifications. Numerous Indus Valley Civilization sites exhibit
evidences of fortifications. While Dholavira has stone-built
fortification walls, Harrapa is fortified using baked bricks; sites
such as Kalibangan exhibit mudbrick fortifications with bastions
and Lothal has a quadrangular fortified layout. Evidence also
suggested of fortifications in Mohenjo-daro. Even a small town –
for instance, Kotada Bhadli, exhibiting sophisticated fortification-
Defensive wall of the ancient city of
like bastions – shows that nearly all major and minor towns of the Dholavira, Gujarat 2600 BCE
Indus Valley Civilization were fortified.[16] Forts also appeared in
urban cities of the Gangetic valley during the second urbanisation
period between 600 and 200 BC, and as many as 15 fortification sites have been identified by
archaeologists throughout the Gangetic valley, such as Kaushambi, Mahasthangarh, Pataliputra, Mathura,
Ahichchhatra, Rajgir, and Lauria Nandangarh. The earliest vedic brick fortification occurs in one of the
stupa mounds of Lauria Nandangarh, which is 1.6  km in perimeter and oval in plan and encloses a
habitation area.[17] India currently has over 180 forts, with the state of Maharashtra alone having over 70
forts, which are also known as durg,[18][19][20] many of them built by Shivaji, founder of the Maratha state.
A large majority of forts in India are in North India. The most notable forts are the Red Fort at Delhi, the
Red Fort at Agra, the Chittor Fort and Mehrangarh Fort in Rajasthan, the Ranthambhor Fort, Amer Fort
and Jaisalmer Fort also in Rajasthan and Gwalior Fort in Madhya Pradesh.[19]
China

Large tempered earth (i.e. rammed earth) walls were built in ancient
China since the Shang dynasty (c. 1600–1050 BC); the capital at
ancient Ao had enormous walls built in this fashion (see siege for
more info). Although stone walls were built in China during the
Warring States (481–221 BC), mass conversion to stone
architecture did not begin in earnest until the Tang dynasty (618–
907 AD). The Great Wall of China had been built since the Qin
dynasty (221–207 BC), although its present form was mostly an
The Great Wall of China near
engineering feat and remodelling of the Ming dynasty (1368–1644 Jinshanling. The Great Wall was a
AD). series of fortifications built across
the historical northern borders of
In addition to the Great Wall, a number of Chinese cities also
China.
employed the use of defensive walls to defend their cities. Notable
Chinese city walls include the city walls of Hangzhou, Nanjing, the
Old City of Shanghai, Suzhou, Xi'an and the walled villages of Hong Kong. The famous walls of the
Forbidden City in Beijing were established in the early 15th century by the Yongle Emperor. The
Forbidden City made up the inner portion of the Beijing city fortifications.

Philippines

Spanish colonial fortifications

During the Spanish Era several forts and outposts were built throughout the archipelago. Most notable is
Intramuros, the old walled city of Manila located along the southern bank of the Pasig River.[21] The
historic city was home to centuries-old churches, schools, convents, government buildings and residences,
the best collection of Spanish colonial architecture before much of it was destroyed by the bombs of World
War II. Of all the buildings within the 67-acre city, only one building, the San Agustin Church, survived the
war.

Partial listing of Spanish forts:

1. Intramuros, Manila
2. Cuartel de Santo Domingo, Santa Rosa, Laguna
3. Fuerza de Cuyo, Cuyo, Palawan
4. Fuerza de Cagayancillo, Cagayancillo, Palawan
5. Real Fuerza de Nuestra Señora del Pilar de Zaragoza, Zamboanga City
6. Fuerza de San Felipe, Cavite City
7. Fuerza de San Pedro, Cebu
8. Fuerte dela Concepcion y del Triunfo, Ozamiz, Misamis Occidental
9. Fuerza de San Antonio Abad, Manila
10. Fuerza de Pikit, Pikit, Cotabato
11. Fuerza de Santiago, Romblon, Romblon
12. Fuerza de Jolo, Jolo, Sulu
13. Fuerza de Masbate, Masbate
14. Fuerza de Bongabong, Bongabong, Oriental Mindoro
15. Cotta de Dapitan, Dapitan, Zamboanga del Norte
16. Fuerte de Alfonso XII, Tukuran, Zamboanga del Sur
17. Fuerza de Bacolod, Bacolod, Lanao del Norte
18. Guinsiliban Watchtower, Guinsiliban, Camiguin
19. Laguindingan Watchtower, Laguindingan, Misamis Oriental
20. Kutang San Diego, Gumaca, Quezon
21. Baluarte Luna, Luna, La Union

Local fortifications

The Ivatan people of the northern islands of Batanes built their so-called idjang on hills and elevated
areas[22] to protect themselves during times of war. These fortifications were likened to European castles
because of their purpose. Usually, the only entrance to the castles would be via a rope ladder that would
only be lowered for the villagers and could be kept away when invaders arrived.

The Igorots built forts made of stone walls that averaged several
meters in width and about two to three times the width in height
around 2000 BC.[23]

The Muslim Filipinos of the south built strong fortresses called kota
or moong to protect their communities. Usually, many of the
occupants of these kotas are entire families rather than just warriors.
Lords often had their own kotas to assert their right to rule, it served
An American flag raised at the Fort not only as a military installation but as a palace for the local Lord.
Santiago, 1898. Fort Santiago was a It is said that at the height of the Maguindanao Sultanate's power,
citadel that was a part of the they blanketed the areas around Western Mindanao with Kotas and
Intramuros, a walled city within other fortifications to block the Spanish advance into the region.
Manilla. These kotas were usually made of stone and bamboo or other light
materials and surrounded by trench networks. As a result, some of
these kotas were burned easily of destroyed. With further Spanish
campaigns in the region, the Sultanate was subdued and majority of Kotas dismantled or destroyed. Kotas
were not only used by the Muslims as defense against Spaniards and other foreigners, renegades and rebels
also built fortifications in defiance of other chiefs in the area.[24] During the American occupation, rebels
built strongholds and the Datus, Rajahs or Sultans often built and reinforced their kotas in a desperate bid to
maintain rule over their subjects and their land.[25] Many of these forts were also destroyed by American
expeditions, as a result, very very few kotas still stand to this day.

Notable Kotas:

Kota Selurong: an outpost of the Bruneian Empire in Luzon, later became the City of Manila.
Kuta Wato/Kota Bato: Literally translates to "stone fort" the first known stone fortification in
the country, its ruins exist as the "Kutawato Cave Complex"[26]
Kota Sug/Jolo: The capital and seat of the Sultanate of Sulu. When it was occupied by the
Spaniards in the 1870s they converted the kota into the world's smallest walled city.

Pre-Islamic Arabia

During Muhammad's lifetime

During Muhammad's era in Arabia, many tribes made use of
fortifications. In the Battle of the Trench, the largely outnumbered
defenders of Medina, mainly Muslims led by Islamic prophet
Muhammad, dug a trench, which together with Medina's natural
fortifications, rendered the confederate cavalry (consisting of horses
and camels) useless, locking the two sides in a stalemate. Hoping to
make several attacks at once, the confederates persuaded the
Medina-allied Banu Qurayza to attack the city from the south.
However, Muhammad's diplomacy derailed the negotiations, and
broke up the confederacy against him. The well-organized
defenders, the sinking of confederate morale, and poor weather
conditions caused the siege to end in a fiasco.[27] Map of the defences available during
the Battle of the Trench, 627. Muslim
During the Siege of Ta'if in January 630,[28] Muhammad ordered
defenders repelled the Confederates
his followers to attack enemies who fled from the Battle of Hunayn using Medina's natural fortifications
and sought refuge in the fortress of Taif.[29] and makeshift trenches.

Islamic world

Africa

The walls of Benin are described as the world's second longest man-made structure, as well as the most
extensive earthwork in the world, by the Guinness Book of Records, 1974.[30][31] The walls may have
been constructed between the thirteenth and mid-fifteenth century CE[32] or, during the first millennium
CE.[32][33]
Strong citadels were also built other in areas of Africa. Yorubaland for example had several sites
surrounded by the full range of earthworks and ramparts seen elsewhere, and sited on ground. This
improved defensive potential- such as hills and ridges. Yoruba fortifications were often protected with a
double wall of trenches and ramparts, and in the Congo forests concealed ditches and paths, along with the
main works, often bristled with rows of sharpened stakes. Inner defenses were laid out to blunt an enemy
penetration with a maze of defensive walls allowing for entrapment and crossfire on opposing forces.[34]

A military tactic of the Ashanti was to create powerful log stockades at key points. This was employed in
later wars against the British to block British advances. Some of these fortifications were over a hundred
yard long, with heavy parallel tree trunks. They were impervious to destruction by artillery fire. Behind
these stockades numerous Ashanti soldiers were mobilized to check enemy movement. While formidable in
construction, many of these strongpoints failed because Ashanti guns, gunpowder and bullets were poor,
and provided little sustained killing power in defense. Time and time again British troops overcame or
bypassed the stockades by mounting old-fashioned bayonet charges, after laying down some covering
fire.[35]

Defensive works were of importance in the tropical African Kingdoms. In the Kingdom of Kongo field
fortifications were characterized by trenches and low earthen embankments. Such strongpoints ironically,
sometimes held up much better against European cannon than taller, more imposing structures.[36]

Medieval Europe

Roman forts and hill forts were the main antecedents of castles in Europe, which emerged in the 9th
century in the Carolingian Empire. The Early Middle Ages saw the creation of some towns built around
castles. These cities were only rarely protected by simple stone walls and more usually by a combination of
both walls and ditches. From the 12th century hundreds of
settlements of all sizes were founded all across Europe, which very
often obtained the right of fortification soon afterwards.

The founding of urban centres was an important means of territorial

expansion and many cities, especially in eastern Europe, were
founded precisely for this purpose during the period of Eastern
Colonisation. These cities are easy to recognise due to their regular
layout and large market spaces. The fortifications of these
Medieval defensive walls and towers
settlements were continuously improved to reflect the current level
in Szprotawa, Poland, made of field
of military development.
During the Renaissance era, the Venetian
stone and bog iron.
Republic raised great walls around cities, and the finest examples,
among others, are in Nicosia (Cyprus), Rocca di Manerba del
Garda (Lombardy) and Palmanova (Italy), or Dubrovnik (Croatia),
which proved to be futile against attacks but still stand to this day.
Unlike Venetians the Ottomans used to built smaller fortifications
but in greater numbers, and only rarely fortified entire settlements
such as Počitelj, Vratnik and Jajce in Bosnia.

Development after introduction of firearms

Medieval-style fortifications were largely made obsolete by the

arrival of cannons on the 14th century battlefield. Fortifications in John Smith's 1624 map of the
the age of black powder evolved into much lower structures with fortifications of the Castle Harbour
greater use of ditches and earth ramparts that would absorb and Islands and St. George's Harbour in
disperse the energy of cannon fire. Walls exposed to direct cannon Bermuda. Construction beginning in
1612, these were the first stone
fire were very vulnerable, so were sunk into ditches fronted by
fortifications, with the first coastal
earth slopes.
artillery batteries, built by England in
This placed a heavy emphasis on the geometry of the fortification the New World.
to allow defensive cannonry interlocking fields of fire to cover all
approaches to the lower and thus more vulnerable walls.

The evolution of this new style of fortification can be seen in transitional forts such as Sarzanello[37] in
North West Italy which was built between 1492 and 1502. Sarzanello consists of both crenellated walls
with towers typical of the medieval period but also has a ravelin like angular gun platform screening one of
the curtain walls which is protected from flanking fire from the towers of the main part of the fort. Another
example are the fortifications of Rhodes which were frozen at 1522 so that Rhodes is the only European
walled town that still shows the transition between the classical medieval fortification and the modern
ones.[38]

Fortifications also 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.

The result was star shaped fortifications with tier upon tier of hornworks and bastions, of which Fort
Bourtange is an excellent example. There are also extensive fortifications from this era in the Nordic states
and in Britain, the fortifications of Berwick-upon-Tweed and the harbour archipelago of Suomenlinna at
Helsinki being fine examples.

19th century
The arrival of explosive shells in the 19th century led to yet another stage in
the evolution of fortification. Star forts did not fare well against the effects
of high explosive and the intricate arrangements of bastions, flanking
batteries and the carefully constructed lines of fire for the defending cannon
could be rapidly disrupted by explosive shells.

Worse, the large open ditches surrounding forts of this type were an integral
part of the defensive scheme, as was the covered way at the edge of the
counter scarp. The ditch was extremely vulnerable to bombardment with
explosive shells.

In response, military engineers evolved the polygonal 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 Table of a typical bastion
that gives this style of fortification its name. fort, 1728. The development
of bastion forts resulted
Wide enough to be an impassable barrier for attacking troops, but narrow from the increased use of
enough to be a difficult target for enemy shellfire, the ditch was swept by cannons and firearms in the
fire from defensive blockhouses set in the ditch as well as firing positions 14th century.
cut into the outer face of the ditch itself.

The profile of the fort

The ditch and counter scarp of Fort
Delimara. Built in 1878, Delimara
was built as a typical polygonal fort
ditches and counter scarps made to
be very deep, vertically sided, and
cut directly into the rocks.
became very low indeed,
surrounded outside the
ditch covered by caponiers
by a gently sloping open
area so as to eliminate
possible cover for enemy
forces, while the fort itself
provided a minimal target
for enemy fire. The Suomenlinna, a sea fortress from
entrypoint became a sunken 18th century in Helsinki, Finland
gatehouse in the inner face
of the ditch, reached by a
curving ramp that gave access to the gate via a rolling bridge that
could be withdrawn into the gatehouse.

Much of the fort moved

underground. Deep passages and tunnels now connected the
blockhouses and firing points in the ditch to the fort proper, with
magazines and machine rooms deep under the surface. The guns,
however, were often mounted in open emplacements and protected
only by a parapet; both in order to keep a lower profile and also
because experience with guns in closed casemates had seen them
put out of action by rubble as their own casemates were collapsed
around them. The tunnels of Fort de Mutzig,
German fortifications built in 1893.
Gone were citadels surrounding towns: forts were to be moved to By the 19th century, tunnels were
the outside of the cities some 12 km to keep the enemy at a distance used to connect blockhouses and
so their artillery could not bombard the city center. From now on a firing points in the ditch to the fort.
ring of forts were to be built at a spacing that would allow them to
effectively cover the intervals between them.
The new forts abandoned the principle of the bastion, which had also been made obsolete by advances in
arms. The outline was a much simplified polygon, surrounded by a ditch. These forts, built in masonry and
shaped stone, were designed to shelter their garrison against bombardment. One organizing feature of the
new system involved 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 (see, for example, Séré de Rivières system in France).

Traditional fortification however continued to be applied by European armies engaged in warfare in

colonies established in Africa against lightly armed attackers from amongst the indigenous population. A
relatively small number of defenders in a fort impervious to primitive weaponry could hold out against high
odds, the only constraint being the supply of ammunition.

20th and 21st centuries

Steel-and-concrete fortifications were common during the 19th and

early 20th centuries. However the advances in modern warfare
since World War I have made large-scale fortifications obsolete in
most situations. In the 1930s and 1940s, some fortifications were
built with designs taking into consideration the new threat of aerial
warfare, for example Fort Campbell in Malta.[39] Despite this, only
underground bunkers are still able to provide some protection in Gun emplacement in Fort Campbell,
modern wars. Many historical fortifications were demolished built in the 1930s. Due to the threat
during the modern age, but a considerable number survive as of aerial warfare, the buildings were
popular tourist destinations and prominent local landmarks today. placed at a distance from each other,
making it difficult to find from the air.
The downfall of permanent fortifications had two causes:

The ever-escalating power, speed, and reach of artillery and air power meant that almost
any target that could be located could be destroyed, if sufficient force were massed against
it. As such, the more resources a defender devoted to reinforcing a fortification, the more
combat power that fortification justified being devoted to destroying it, if the fortification's
destruction was demanded by an attacker's strategy. From World War II, bunker busters were
used against fortifications. By 1950, nuclear weapons were capable of destroying entire
cities, and produced dangerous radiation. This led to the creation of civilian nuclear air raid
shelters.
The second weakness of permanent fortification was its very permanency. Because of this it
was often easier to go around a fortification and, with the rise of mobile warfare in the
beginning of World War II, this became a viable offensive choice. When a defensive line was
too extensive to be entirely bypassed, massive offensive might could be massed against
one part of the line allowing a breakthrough, after which the rest of the line could be
bypassed. Such was the fate of the many defensive lines built before and during World War
II, such as the Siegfried Line, the Stalin Line and the Atlantic Wall. This was not the case
with the Maginot Line; it was designed to force the Germans to invade other countries
(Belgium or Switzerland) to go around it, and was successful in that sense.[40]

Instead field fortification rose to dominate defensive action. Unlike the trench warfare which dominated
World War I, these defences were more temporary in nature. This was an advantage because since it was
less extensive it formed a less obvious target for enemy force to be directed against.

If sufficient power were massed against one point to penetrate it, the forces based there could be withdrawn
and the line could be re-established relatively quickly. Instead of a supposedly impenetrable defensive line,
such fortifications emphasized defence in depth, so that as defenders were forced to pull back or were
overrun, the lines of defenders behind them could take over the defence.
 Because the mobile offensives practised by both sides usually focused on
avoiding the strongest points of a defensive line, these defences were
usually relatively thin and spread along the length of a line. The defence
was usually not equally strong throughout however.

The strength of the defensive line in an area varied according to how

rapidly an attacking force could progress in the terrain that was being
defended—both the terrain the defensive line was built on and the ground
behind it that an attacker might hope to break out into. This was both for
reasons of the strategic value of the ground, and its defensive value.

This was possible because while offensive tactics were focused on

mobility, so were defensive tactics. The dug in defences consisted primarily
of infantry and antitank guns. Defending tanks and tank destroyers would
be concentrated in mobile brigades behind the defensive line. If a major
offensive was launched against a point in the line, mobile reinforcements
would be sent to reinforce that part of the line that was in danger of failing.

Thus the defensive line could be relatively thin because the bulk of the
fighting power of the defenders was not concentrated in the line itself but
rather in the mobile reserves. A notable exception to this rule was seen in
the defensive lines at the Battle of Kursk during World War II, where
A GBU-24 2,000lb bomb hits German forces deliberately attacked into the strongest part of the Soviet
the ground. The defences seeking to crush them utterly.
development of bunker
busters, bombs designed to The terrain that was being defended was of primary importance because
penetrate hardened targets open terrain that tanks could move over quickly made possible rapid
buried underground, led to a advances into the defenders' rear areas that were very dangerous to the
decline in the use of defenders. Thus such terrain had to be defended at all cost.
fortifications.
In addition, since in theory 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 because the enemy's advance into it would be slower, giving the
defenders more time to reinforce that point in the line. For example, the battle of the Hurtgen Forest in
Germany during the closing stages of World War II is an excellent example of how difficult terrain could be
used to the defenders' advantage.

After World War II, ICBMs capable of reaching much of the way around the world 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 (and air carriers) became major defenses and offensive weapons (leading to an
expansion of the use of airports and airstrips as fortifications). Mobile defenses could be had underwater,
too, in the form of nuclear submarines capable of firing missiles. Some bunkers in the mid to late 20th
century came to be buried deep inside mountains and prominent rocks, such as Gibraltar and the Cheyenne
Mountain Complex. On the ground itself, minefields have been used as hidden defences in modern
warfare, often remaining long after the wars that produced them have ended.

Demilitarized zones along borders are arguably another type of fortification, although a passive kind,
providing a buffer between potentially hostile militaries.

Military airfields
Military airfields offer a fixed "target rich" environment for even
relatively small enemy forces, using hit-and-run tactics by ground
forces, stand-off attacks (mortars and rockets), air attacks, or
ballistic missiles. Key targets – aircraft, munitions, fuel, and vital
technical personnel – can be protected by fortifications.

Aircraft can be protected by revetments, Hesco barriers, or

hardened aircraft shelters which will protect from many types of
attack. Larger aircraft types tend to be based outside the operational
theatre.
Cheyenne Mountain Complex is an
Munition storage follows safety rules which use fortifications underground bunker used by North
(bunkers and bunds) to provide protection against accident and American Aerospace Defense
chain reactions (sympathetic detonations). Weapons for rearming Command. Cheyenne Mountain is an
aircraft can be stored in small fortified expense stores closer to the example of a mid-20th century
aircraft. At Bien Hoa South Vietnam on the morning of 16 May fortification built deep in a mountain.
1965, as aircraft were being re-fuelled and armed, 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 (by both infiltration and stand off
attacks), led to the construction of revetments and shelters to protect aircraft throughout South Vietnam.

Aircrew and ground personnel will 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 prefabricated
concrete walls or barriers around them, examples of barriers are Jersey Barriers, T Barriers or Splinter
Protection Units (SPUs). Older fortification may prove useful such as the old 'Yugo' pyramid shelters built
in the 1980s which were used by US personnel on 8 Jan 2020 when Iran fired 11 ballistic missiles at Ayn
al-Asad Airbase in Iraq.

Fuel is volatile and has to comply with rules for storage which provide protection against accident. Fuel in
underground bulk fuel installations is well protected though valves and controls are vulnerable to enemy
action. Above ground tanks can be susceptible to attack.

Ground support equipment will need to be protected by fortifications to be usable after an enemy attack.

Permanent (concrete) guard fortifications are safer, stronger, last longer and are more cost effective than
sandbag fortifications. Prefabricated positions can be made from concrete culvert sections. The British
Yarnold Bunker is made from sections of a concrete pipe.

Guard Towers provide increased field of view but a lower level of protection.

Dispersal and camouflage of assets can supplement fortifications against some forms of airfield attack.

Counter-insurgency

Just as in colonial periods, comparatively obsolete fortifications are still used for low-intensity conflicts.
Such fortifications range in size from small patrol bases or forward operating bases up to huge airbases such
as Camp Bastion/Leatherneck in Afghanistan. Much like in the 18th and 19th century, 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 – although
such fortifications are still vulnerable to mortar and artillery fire.
Forts
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 (military
barracks, administration, medical facilities, or intelligence).

However, there are some modern fortifications that are referred to

as forts. These are typically small semi permanent fortifications. In
urban combat they are built by upgrading existing structures such
as houses or public buildings. In field warfare they are often log,
sandbag or gabion type construction.
The Ozama Fortress in Santo
Domingo, Dominican Republic is
Such forts are typically only used in low level conflict, such as
recognized by UNESCO for being the
counterinsurgency conflicts or very low level conventional
oldest military construction of
conflicts, such as the Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation, which saw
European origin in the Americas.[41]
the use of log forts for use by forward platoons and companies. The
reason for this is that static above ground forts can not survive
modern direct or indirect fire weapons larger than mortars, RPGs
and small arms.

Prisons and others

Fortifications designed to keep the inhabitants of a facility in rather than attacker out can also be found, in
prisons, concentration camps, and other such facilities, with supermaxes having some of the strongest of
those. Those are covered in other articles, as most prisons and concentration camps are not primarily
military forts (although forts, camps, and garrison towns have been used as prisons and/or concentration
camps; such as Theresienstadt, Guantanamo Bay detention camp and the Tower of London for example).

See also
Border fence
Castra
Cavin
Citadel
Coastal fortification
Defense line
Defensive wall
Hesco bastion
Imperial fortress
Kuruwa, walls of a Japanese castle
List of fortifications
List of forts
Military camp
Slighting

Fort components

Abatis
 Banquette
Barbed wire, razor wire, wire entanglement, and wire obstacle
Bartizan
Bastion
Berm
Capital
Caponier
Casemate
Castle walls
Czech hedgehog
Defensive fighting position
Ditch
Embrasure
Glacis
Gun turret
Keep
Lunette
Machicolation
Outwork
Palisade
Parapet
Pillbox
Postern
Ravelin
Rampart
Revetment
Sandbag
Sangar
Scarp and Counterscarp
Turret
Zwinger

Types of forts and fortification

Blockhouse
Bunker
Castle
Chinese city wall
Compound
Defensive wall
Diaolou
Fire support base
Flak tower
Fortress church or fortified church
Grad, a Slavic wooden fortified settlement
Gusuku, fortifications in the Ryukyu Islands
 Korean fortress
Hill fort
Land battery
Martello tower
Medieval fortification
Missile launch facility
Pā, a 19th-century Māori fortification
Peel tower
Polygonal fort
Promontory fort
Redoubt
Stockade
Star fort

Fortification and siege warfare

Medieval warfare
Military engineering
Military history
Siege
Siege engine

Notable experts

Henri Alexis Brialmont

César Cui
Bernard de Gomme
Francesco Laparelli
Mozi
Diades of Pella
James of Saint George
Fritz Todt
Menno van Coehoorn
Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban
Maximilian von Welsch

Notes
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References
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh,
ed. (1911). "Fortification and Siegecraft". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 10 (11th ed.).
Cambridge University Press. pp. 679–725.

Bibliography
Murray, Nicholas. “The Development of Fortifications,” The Encyclopedia of War, Gordon
Martel (ed.). WileyBlackwell, 2011.
Murray, Nicholas. The Rocky Road to the Great War: The Evolution of Trench Warfare to
1914. Potomac Books Inc. (an imprint of the University of Nebraska Press), 2013.
Osadolor, Osarhieme Benson, "The Military System of Benin Kingdom 1440–1897]," (UD),
Hamburg University: 2001 copy (https://ediss.sub.uni-hamburg.de/volltexte/2001/544/pdf/Dis
se.pdf)
July, Robert Pre-Colonial Africa, Charles Scribner, 1975
Thornton, John Kelly Warfare in Atlantic Africa, 1500–1800, Routledge: 1999
ISBN 1857283937

External links
Fortress Study Group (http://www.fsgfort.com)
Military Architecture (https://web.archive.org/web/20181205190113/http://www.militaryarchit
ecture.com) at the Wayback Machine (archived 5 December 2018)
ICOFORT (http://www.icofort.org)

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