Fortifications - Page 5 of 5

Showing 49–60 of 60 results

The Ming Walls 1368–1644
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The Ming Walls 1368–1644
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Since the birth of agriculture, the settled populations of China’s great floodplains were perennial targets for nomadic raiders from the Asian steppes. The first attempts to block these depredations with walls date back almost 3,000 years, with many succeeding permutations. The Ming came to power by expelling the Mongols, who... More
The Norman Consolidation in England, Wales and Southern Scotland 1086–1200
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The Norman Consolidation in England, Wales and Southern Scotland 1086–1200
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Norman castles were a foreign intrusion on the British landscape. The signature Saxon defensive structure was the burh, a fortified settlement that protected ruler and ruled alike. The Normans, greatly outnumbered by a hostile native population, used earthwork motte-and-bailey structures for the first-wave of subjugation, following up with massive ‘statement’... More
The Race to the Sea September–October 1914
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The Race to the Sea September–October 1914
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The Race to the Sea was the last mobile phase of the war on the Western Front until the German Spring Offensive in 1918. It arose when the Allied advance after the First Battle of the Marne was halted by well-fortified German defences at the Battle of the Aisne. Each... More
The Roman Frontier with Germania 70 CE
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The Roman Frontier with Germania 70 CE
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The Rhine and Upper Danube were the natural frontiers that secured the borders of Rome’s dominion. These natural barriers were transformed into a fortified border that marked the edge of Empire and hence the civilized world. These rivers protected the Roman world with the exception of a gap stretching from... More
The Siegfried Line 1936–40
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The Siegfried Line 1936–40
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In 1936 Germany began building a series of defensive lines facing the borders of France and the Low countries, which was known as the Westwall to the Germans and later, to the western allies, as the Siegfried Line. It was a series or 16,000 bunkers, tank traps and tunnels some... More
The Wall around Beijing 1368–1644
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The Wall around Beijing 1368–1644
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The Ming made a powerful – and risky – statement of intent when they moved their capital to Beijing. Close to the notoriously porous borders with the warlike Mongol khanates, past rulers of China (1271–1368), it made secure defences crucial. The Ming would make massive, but ultimately futile efforts to... More
The Western Front December 1914
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The Western Front December 1914
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Following the swift German advance into eastern France through Belgium and Luxembourg in August 1914 under the Schlieffen plan, progress quickly slowed as both sides suffered unexpectedly heavy casualties. A series of offensives and counteroffensives yielding minimal ground forced a race to the sea as both sides attempted to outflank... More
Tintagel Castle 330–1330 CE
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Tintagel Castle 330–1330 CE
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A milestone discovered at Tintagel in Cornwall refers to the Emperor Licinius (r. 308–324) suggesting that it was occupied during the Roman era; there are also traces of earlier Bronze Age/Iron Age habitation. Archaeological remains from the 5th and 6th centuries, including pottery sourced from the Mediterranean, suggest a high-status... More
Vauban’s Parallels 1673
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Vauban’s Parallels 1673
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The French military engineer Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban shaped 17th-century siege warfare. First demonstrated at the Siege of Maastrict (1673), he introduced a scientific approach of attack whereby besiegers would excavate a series of trenches or ‘parallels’, linked by zig-zags called ‘saps’. This network enabled besiegers a safe passage... More
Viking Attacks on Anglo-Saxon England c. 886–900
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Viking Attacks on Anglo-Saxon England c. 886–900
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After the Treaty of Wedmore (c. 880), Alfred implemented a comprehensive system of defences designed specifically to counter the Viking threat. He established a network of 33 fortified settlements – burhs – across his kingdom, and a tax, ‘hidage’, to finance their upkeep. The burhs slowed down subsequent Viking incursions,... More
Závist Celtic Hillfort 600 BCE
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Závist Celtic Hillfort 600 BCE
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The fort of Závist in Bohemia occupies a hill, overlooking a river and fertile landscape. It was first occupied late in the Hallstatt phase of Celtic culture. Initially unfortified, the Acropolis enclosure at its summit may have been a ceremonial site. Around 500 BCE, and earthwork rampart was added, topped... More
Zhukov’s Blocking Line June–September 1941
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Zhukov’s Blocking Line June–September 1941
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As the Germans advanced towards Russia during Operation Barbarossa in the second half of 1941, they came across a line of outdated Soviet defensive fortifications known as the Stalin Line. Following the construction of the Molotov line further west after the beginning of the war, the fortifications of the Stalin... More