Casemate 76

Members should note that Amazon supply the Fortress series at a very substantial reduction, and that Caliver Books, in offer the Fortress series at £10.50, so keep an eye on their regular booklist. www.caliverbooks.com; email: ask@caliverbooks.com; Telephone : +44 (0)1702 473986; 816-818 London Road, Leigh-on-Sea, Essex SS9 3NH, UK.

Fortress 37, D-Day Fortifications in Normandy:

Steven J Zaloga, illustrated by Hugh Johnston, ISBN 1.84176.876.6. £10.99. 2005.

In order to fit a survey of a complex subject into 64 profusely illustrated pages, considerable skill is needed to give a successful overall impression of the theme, and this Fortress volume succeeds admirably. The genesis of the D-Day defences, their construction, numbers and variety are well described and illustrated with contemporary and current photos and computer artwork - which I am happy to say is very effective.

Part of a map of the defences of Gold Beach, detailing the different types of obstacle and weapon type, and showing one of the works further inland which delayed the advance from the beaches in many places. ((c) Osprey)

Maps of the beach defences are models of clarity and easy to understand, and combine very effectively with the best parts of the book; the descriptions of the defences under attack on D-Day itself, and how the various designs of work fared on the day. The point is made that the defences were by no means up to their planned strength, for which the Allies could be thankful. Omaha beach showed what could happen when numerous strong works, approaching those recommended in Wehrmacht doctrine (and as many as on the Anglo-Canadian beaches combined), with natural terrain advantages and numerous high quality troops were encountered. Longues-sur-Mer 150mm battery in action is followed in some detail (our Annual Tour to Brittany should take in this site), and the section on 'The site today', combined with the maps, plans and action descriptions make this volume an excellent and informative companion to a visit to the beaches.

Fortress 38, American Civil War Fortifications (2) Land and field fortifications:

Ron Field, illustrated by Peter Dennis. ISBN 1.84176.883.9. £10.99. 2005.

A companion volume to Fortress 6, which introduced us to American Civil War coastal brick and stone forts (Casemate 68 p25), this book covers the field fortifications, by their very nature fewer and more poorly preserved. Recent reports sent by Charles Bogart from the Civil War News have highlighted the great pressure on earthworks from development for housing and roads. Others are being lost through lack of records and knowledge, while some are identified for what they are only at the last minute and saved, often by local action and initiatives. A war on the cusp of modern technology, but in many ways the last of the 'Napoleonic' wars, the American Civil War has the benefit of extensive contemporary photography, well used in the volume with excellent depictions of details of the works. Gabions, fraises and chevaux de fries are well illustrated.

Impressive gabionade traverses, Ft Sedgwick. (Library of Congress)

After an Introduction and 'Antebellum Experience', both very useful scene setters, the book splits up the campaigns between the various theatres, and goes into some detail of the defences of Washington, Richmond and Petersburg, the fighting - hard and brutal trench warfare much of it - describing the growth in extent, complexity and sophistication of the fortifications of both sides. As usual, there is an account of the Aftermath of the war, and a selective list of the main historical sites containing field fortifications.
The illustrative content is particularly strong; the artwork is lively, colourful and informative, though an obvious omission is any map of the whole theatre of war; not all readers will be familiar with the geography of the USA. I enjoyed the book and can recommend it as a very useful introduction. In the brief bibliography is a reference to a book by FSG member Paddy Griffith: Battle Tactics of the American Civil War. It is available from N&M Press (Newsletter No 98) for £6.95, published at £18.50. www.naval-military-press.com

Fortress 39, Russian Fortresses 1480-1682:

Konstantin S Nossov, illustrated by Peter Dennis. ISBN 1.84176.916.9. £11.50. 2006.

The bibliography of this book indicates the paucity of material in English on its subject matter, so the book is doubly welcome.
After the Tatar Golden Horde disintegrated in 1502, Russian defences became concentrated on her borders and interior fortifications languished. Her fortifications are distinct in style and purpose; to Russia's west and north, elaborate stone and brick defences were needed to combat Poles, Swedes and Lithuanians who had powerful artillery and were experienced in sieges.

Massive walls of solid brick; by the C17th Moscow had four separate enclosures, this is one of the few remains of the Kitai-Gorod (1534-38), the first enclosure outside the Kremlin (1485-95). (Konstantin Nossov)

To the south were the Tatar hordes of the Crimea, Astrakhan and Kazan, lightly armed and very mobile. Here the need was for long linear defences to delay assaults while forces were gathered, there were eventually three lines of earth and timber works; and in the east, in Siberia, small independent wooden forts or ostrogs were adequate. Timber fortifications were very elaborate, with tall towers, high conical roofs surmounted by watchtowers, and decorative wooden plank roofs. The tarrasy style, with joined timber cribs, filled with earth and interspersed with gun chambers was reckoned to be as strong as masonry. In the book are a Tour of the Sites, Linear Defensive Systems, the Living Sites and the sites at War, the last describing in useful detail five major sieges, two by Russians and three of Russian fortresses. The Aftermath concludes the story and the Sites Today is a useful guide. It is a very readable volume, very well illustrated with photos and admirable artwork, one of the best Fortresses yet, and I strongly recommend it.

Fortress 40, Ancient Greek Fortifications 500-300 BC:

Nic Fields, illustrated by Brian Delf. ISBN 1.84176.884.7. £11.50. 2006.

About Greek City States as opposed to military or urban fortresses; a useful introduction, photos limited by remains, artwork reasonable, lots of Greek terms to get familiar with.

Charles Blackwood.

Fortress 41, The Channel Islands 1941-45: Hitler's Impregnable Fortress:

Charles Stephenson, illustrated by Chris Taylor. ISBN 1.84176.921.5. £11.50. 2006.

Before setting pen to paper, I looked again at the review in Casemate 71 of Charles Stephenson's The Fortifications of Malta (Fortress 16) and found I had reached conclusions very similar to that reviewer. This Osprey publication too is a 'useful introduction to the subject, with plenty of illustrations... although the selection is a little odd'.

Following an Introduction - in which a location map uses up a whole page - the author gives a succinct introduction to the build up of, and the reasons for, invading the Islands, and their inclusion as a heavily defended fortress within the Atlantic Wall. Three diagrammatic maps of the German defences of Jersey, Guernsey and Alderney follow; Alderney I know well, and on this map the defences shown are incomplete and contain errors; why is there insistence on spelling widerstandnest (resistance nest) as 'wiederstandnest'?
The next 24-page section entitled The Principles of Defence is good, although not without errors, and is the meat of the book; it describes, in some detail, the reasoning for, and the description of, the defences and many of the weapons used in the Islands. Unfortunately there are errors in the captions to the diagrams and photographs.

Type 670 casemate for a 10.5cm K331(f). (Chris Taylor)

Computer-generated images are well-drawn, but one, of the Luftwaffe Command bunker, with its caption, is most misleading. There is a myth that the top one-third of this tall structure was built after the war - it wasn't, and it didn't having a Freya radar on top either - this is a 'festung-fantasy'; it could have had a Flak gun on it, but it didn't! The next several pages describe underground tunnels, using the smaller Alderney examples, but again drawings and captions contain errors. The last 20 pages or so give a good, concise description of the conditions of the forced labourers, the German garrison and the islanders. This is followed by a brief description of what remains today with information on those sites restored by the Channel Islands' Occupation Society members with help from the States of Guernsey and Jersey. It is shame that with all the information readily available, there are so many errors, but for those new to the subject of the German occupation and defences of the Islands, this is an excellent introductory publication.

Trevor Davenport.

Fortress 42, The Vauban Fortifications of France:

Paddy Griffith, illustrated by Peter Dennis. ISBN 1.84176.875.8. £11.50. 2006.

I have been eagerly awaiting the publication of this volume of Fortress. It does not disappoint. The author presents a very realistic appraisal of what Vauban actually achieved - less an innovator, except by sheer numbers, more a supreme pragmatist who assessed each site individually and applied the practices of the day with great insight and effectiveness. He recognised no 'systems'; these were ascribed to him by others. He aimed to push the defence as far forward as possible, leading to a multiplicity of outworks, and eventually far advanced detached works and redoubts; his proposals for Belfort were only carried out in 1874. In France Vauban became a sort of military deity, his principles being followed and his designs being built long after his death, and his influence leading to conservatism in French military innovation. Louis XIV of France, the Sun King, lived for 77 years and during his reign France was at peace for a mere 17 of them while Louis pushed forward his borders, exploiting France's central position. In this atmosphere Vauban thrived, with the vast resources of an energetic and ambitious king behind him, and was able to realize his most grandiose plans to protect the borders, realized in the two lines of his Pré Carré, military strategy on a grand scale. Rather than erecting fortifications, Vauban's chief claim to fame is in devising a systematic and regular method of attacking them, which he did with great success.

Ever one to be mindful of the safety and welfare of his troops and aiming to avoid the profligate us of soldiers in grand frontal assaults, he also ensured the troops could move around inside the fortress under cover and protection, and by the end of his life, appreciating the vast cost of his works and the destructive tax burden implied, wrote tracts in favour of equality and a sharing of the burden.

While the text is fluent and easy reading, much research has gone into attempting to define exactly what works can be attributed to the Great Man himself, and amongst a wild assortment of offers, from 60 to 308, the author has settled on around 160, which are very usefully presented in table form with name, location and notes indicating what part Vauban played in proceedings. The subject of Vauban and his works demands a strong illustrative element, and the author, an FSG member, has very properly made much use of the famous models in the Musée des Plans Reliefs in Les Invalides, Paris. There are numerous well selected representative photos, plans and maps. Artwork is effective and usefully informative, though there are some inconsistencies and errors.

The book covers the development of defence in depth, the principles of defence and features of fortress design and operational history, followed by the Aftermath and the sites today. Vauban was a unique and pivotal figure in the history of fortress warfare, and for anyone not familiar with him and his works this is a very fine book to introduce you to the subject.

Fortress 46, Castles and Tower Houses of the Scottish Clans 1450-1650:

Stuart Reid, illustrated by Graham Turner. ISBN 1.84176.962.2. £11.50, 2006.

Tower houses were a common feature in Scotland before a royal edict of 1535 announced that 'every landed man...shall build a sufficient barmkin...for him and his tenants in troublous times; with a tower... if he thinks it expedient'. And many did as those were times of religious upheaval and weak royal government. A man's home quite literally needed to be his castle. Designed as a refuge and not to resist artillery, tower houses are a feature of, mainly, east and NE Scotland.
Other types of castles are described - enceinte and courtyard castles - and a Tour of a castle uses Urquhart, on the side of Loch Ness as its example. The design, development, construction, the principals of defence and the castle at war, and today, are covered.

Artwork is useful while many illustrations are culled from the engravings in Baronial and Ecclesiastical Antiquities of Scotland (1845-52), by R W Billings.

Charles Blackwood.