Casemate 76

Many books on fortification and armaments were published in the 19th century, and many are still available - at a price. So it is very good to see a publisher reprinting many of these books and making them available to a wider public.

Fortification: Its Past Achievements, Recent Development, and Future Progress;

by Sir George Sydenham Clarke. 312pp. 'With map of Port Arthur and 57 illustrations'. ISBN 1.905265.53.0. £47.50 + £5 p&p.
2005 (1907, John Murray, second edition).

Published by: D.P.&G. Military Publishers, PO Box 186, Doncaster, DN4 0HN

A classic in its day, controversial and provocative, the second edition of this work took into account the experiences of four more wars, notably the Russo-Japanese War of 1904/5, and particularly the attack on and defence of Port Arthur.

'I may not claim that my book, which on its first appearance was regarded in many quarters as dangerously heretical, has played any part in moulding opinion. I venture to think, however, that all the subsequent experience of war, culminating at Port Arthur, has strikingly justified the conclusions to which I was led'. 'It is not in any sense a text-book of Fortification; but ...it embodies principles and historic facts which are the necessary foundation of the text-book';

thus the author in his preface, accurately assessing his work. It is very readable indeed, old fashioned English, but perfectly comprehensible, and will give the reader an excellent idea of contemporary thoughts in the world of fortification. Clarke was a powerful advocate of the 'Blue Water' school and critic of Palmerston's forts, strongly influencing the Establishment in that direction and being linked to the disaster at Singapore in 1941.

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A review of the recent history of fortifications and sieges is followed by an assessment of arms and the American Civil War, the Franco-Prussian War and especially the Battle of Plevna. Strategic considerations and General Principles of Coast Defence follow, with coast artillery mountings, evolution of the coastal battery and an assessment of battleships, their armaments and their capability against coast defences.

It will be familiar to many members from the Beaufort Press 1980 reprint, an exact facsimile in its original size. This A4 version offers no particular advantage in presentation terms from its increased size, but has the considerable benefit of being of a size consistent with others of DP&G's HB reprints.

Notes on Land and Coast Fortification:

Major E R Kenyon; ISBN 1.905265.57.3. HB, 106pp. 52pp of line illustrations. Price: £47.50 + £5 p&p. 2006 (1894, RE Institute)

Published by: D.P.&G. Military Publishers, PO Box 186, Doncaster, DN4 0HN

Similar in intent to Fortification in that it is not a technical textbook, this volume aims to bring together the general principles of land and coast fortifications. It describes no system in minute detail but aims to describe the steps by which the designs should be worked out, and their leading features, so that the general idea of a design can be intelligently prepared or discussed. Reference is made to Lewis (also DP&G, Casemate 74 p31) and also Fortification. General Principles of Land fortification, Armaments, Effects of Shells, Design and Organization of Land Works and Foreign Proposals are followed by General Principles of Coast Defence, and Types and Design of Coast Batteries and Gun Mountings. The original XXI plates have been converted to 52 pages by splitting large plates into individual subjects, with no loss of clarity. Many of the illustrations are of guns and their mountings, with plans of emplacements and battery support facilities. The book is a bit more technical and less discursive than Fortification and complements it very satisfactorily. We can look forward to more to add to this splendid collection, which serious students of the C19th and early C20th should not be without.

Handbook for the 64-pr. RML Converted Guns of 58 and 71cwt. 45pp. 19 plates (2 fold out). ISBN 1.905265.52.2. £19 + £2 p&p. 2005 (1902, HMSO).

Handbook for the 12.5 inch RML 38-ton Gun Marks I and II Land Service. 92pp. 45 plates (9 fold out). ISBN 1.905265.64.6. £19 + £2 p&p. 2006 (1904, HMSO).

These Handbooks are exactly what they say; detailed technical field books designed to be used on site to enable troops to properly maintain, work and fire the guns and manage and identify different types of ammunition. The guns, carriages, tools and ammunition are identified, described, and illustrated with fine line drawings and plans; drills are described at length.

The 12.5-in RML was emplaced at Fort Delimara on Malta, where we saw four of them in position. I hoped to use the Handbook to identify the carriages, but although I could get close, none of the plates exactly matched the photo. This carriage must be a later Mark. Who will elucidate for me?

Delimara gun. (Caspar Vermeulen)