Download or read book The Forts and Fortifications of Europe 1815 1945 The Neutral States written by J.E. Kaufmann and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2014-10-30 with total page 258 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: After the Napoleonic Wars the borders of Europe were redrawn and relative peace endured across the region, but the volatile politics of the late nineteenth century generated an atmosphere of fear and distrust, and it gave rise to a new era of fortress building. In the neutral states situated between France and Germany - The Netherlands, Belgium and Switzerland - the need for extensive fixed defences was particularly urgent, and this is the subject of this highly illustrated new study. The strategic thinking that gave rise to these defensive schemes is described in detail, as is the planning, design and construction of the lines themselves. Their operational history in wartime, in particular during the Second World War, is a key element of this expert account.
Download or read book The Forts Fortifications of Europe 1815 1945 The Central States written by J. E. Kaufmann and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2014-07-02 with total page 340 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “Extremely well written and presented and gives you every scrap of information you’ll ever need on cupolas, embrasures and cloches.”—War History Online After the Napoleonic Wars, the borders of Central Europe were redrawn and relative peace endured across the region, but the volatile politics of the late nineteenth century generated an atmosphere of fear and distrust, and it gave rise to a new era of fortress building, and this is the subject of this highly illustrated new study. The authors describe how defensive lines and structures on a massive scale were constructed along national frontiers to deter aggression. The Germans, Austro-Hungarians and Czechs all embarked on ambitious building programs. Artillery positions, barbed-wire networks, casemates, concrete bunkers, trench lines, observation posts all sprang up in a vain attempt to keep the peace and to delay the invader. The strategic thinking that gave rise to these defensive schemes is described in detail in this study, as is the planning, design and construction of the lines themselves. Their operational history in wartime, in particular during the Second World War, is a key element of the account. “A useful introduction for those wishing to develop a knowledge of fortifications and their impact on the conduct of war.”—Firetrench “The maps and plans, especially the plans, are numerous and extremely helpful. They show the arrangement of fortifications in a way that simple text would have found impossible. For those with an interest in European land fortifications of the 19th and 20th centuries, this book is an excellent general survey.”—The Coast Defense Journal
Download or read book Forts and Fortifications of Europe written by Joseph E. Kaufmann and published by . This book was released on 2014 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Forts and Fortifications of Europe written by Joseph E. Kaufmann and published by . This book was released on 2014 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Fortress Europe written by J. E. Kaufmann and published by Da Capo Press. This book was released on 2002 with total page 431 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The only comprehensive description of all of Europe's World War II forts-from the Atlantic Wall to the Molotov Line-supplemented by scores of remarkable technical drawings
Download or read book Fortress Europe From Stone to Steel Fortifications 1850 1945 written by J. E. Kaufmann and published by Pen & Sword Military. This book was released on 2022-05-30 with total page 400 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A few of the fortifications and fortified lines of the world wars are well known and have often been written about, illustrated and studied. But they tend to distract attention from the wide range of fixed defenses constructed across Europe on an enormous scale after the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71, during a period of insecurity and aggression. That is why this new, highly illustrated study, which covers the entire continent, is so valuable. The authors examine the major fortified positions and describe their strategic purpose, their design and construction, and the role they played in military planning and operations.The outstanding contribution of the major military architects of the time is a key theme. The work of Séré de Rivières, Brialmont and others had a major influence on the course of the First World War and on the fortifications built before and during the Second World War. Their approach is visible in the designs for the Maginot Line, the East and West walls of Germany, the Vallo Alpino in Italy, the Soviet Stalin and Molotov lines, the Mannerheim and Salpa lines of Finland, the Greek Metaxas Line, the Benes Line of Czechoslovakia as well as the defenses built by the Dutch and Scandinavians.The breadth of the coverage, the degree of detail and the numerous illustrations make the book essential reading and reference for anyone who has a special interest in the world wars and the history of fortifications.
Download or read book Fortress Europe written by J.E. Kaufmann and published by Pen and Sword Military. This book was released on 2022-06-02 with total page 474 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A few of the fortifications and fortified lines of the world wars are well known and have often been written about, illustrated and studied. But they tend to distract attention from the wide range of fixed defenses constructed across Europe on an enormous scale after the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71, during a period of insecurity and aggression. That is why this new, highly illustrated study, which covers the entire continent, is so valuable. The authors examine the major fortified positions and describe their strategic purpose, their design and construction, and the role they played in military planning and operations. The outstanding contribution of the major military architects of the time is a key theme. The work of Séré de Rivières, Brialmont and others had a major influence on the course of the First World War and on the fortifications built before and during the Second World War. Their approach is visible in the designs for the Maginot Line, the East and West walls of Germany, the Vallo Alpino in Italy, the Soviet Stalin and Molotov lines, the Mannerheim and Salpa lines of Finland, the Greek Metaxas Line, the Beneš Line of Czechoslovakia as well as the defenses built by the Dutch and Scandinavians. The breadth of the coverage, the degree of detail and the numerous illustrations make the book essential reading and reference for anyone who has a special interest in the world wars and the history of fortifications.
Download or read book The Forts and Fortifications of Europe 1815 1945 written by J.E. Kaufmann and published by . This book was released on 2014 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Forts and Fortifications of Europe 1815 1945 The Central States written by J.E. Kaufmann and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2014-07-02 with total page 271 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: After the Napoleonic Wars the borders of Central Europe were redrawn and relative peace endured across the region, but the volatile politics of the late nineteenth century generated an atmosphere of fear and distrust, and it gave rise to a new era of fortress building, and this is the subject of this highly illustrated new study. The authors describe how defensive lines and structures on a massive scale were constructed along national frontiers to deter aggression. The Germans, Austro-Hungarians and Czechs all embarked on ambitious building programmes. Artillery positions, barbed-wire networks, casemates, concrete bunkers, trench lines, observation posts all sprang up in a vain attempt to keep the peace and to delay the invader. The strategic thinking that gave rise to these defensive schemes is described in detail in this study, as is the planning, design and construction of the lines themselves. Their operational history in wartime, in particular during the Second World War, is a key element of the account.
Download or read book Forts written by The National Archives and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2018-09-20 with total page 226 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Ever since humans began to live together in settlements they have felt the need to organise some kind of defence against potentially hostile neighbours. Many of the earliest city states were built as walled towns, and during the medieval era, stone castles were built both as symbols of the defenders' strength and as protection against potential attack. The advent of cannon prompted fortifications to become lower, denser and more complex, and the forts of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries could appear like snowflakes in their complexity and beautiful geometry. Without forts, the history of America could have taken a very different course, pirates could have sailed the seas unchecked, and Britain itself could have been successfully invaded. This book explains the history of human fortifications, and is beautifully illustrated using photographs, plans, drawings and maps to explain why they were built, their various functions and their immense historical legacy in laying the foundations of empire.
Download or read book Fortress Europe written by Robert Kaufman and published by Da Capo Press. This book was released on 1999-04-21 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Maginot Line is the most famous fortification system of World War II, but in fact most European countries were busy building fortified defensive lines from the end of World War I until 1941, when the limitations of the French approach became obvious. In addition to the West European sources and contacts he drew upon for the popular Hitler's Blitzkrieg Campaigns, J.E. Kaufmann has now been able to use previously-unavailable East European archives to provide new material on the Soviet Stalin and Molotov Lines and the Czech Nachod-Ostrava defenses. A truly comprehensive account of all European fortifications of the World War II era is available now for the first time, supplemented by scores of remarkable technical drawings by Polish artist Robert M. Jurga.
Download or read book Castle to Fortress written by J. E. Kaufmann and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2019-07-30 with total page 391 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The authors of Castrum to Castle trace the “evolution of defensive architecture at the turn of the late Middle Ages and the beginning of the Renaissance.” —Old Barbed Wire Blog Across western Europe, the long tradition of castle-building took on its most sophisticated form in the later Medieval period and then, in response to the development of gunpowder weapons, it underwent a fundamental change—from castle to fortress. This, the second volume of a highly illustrated new study of medieval fortification, gives a fascinating insight into the last great age of castles and the centuries of violence and conflict they were part of. It traces the advances made between the twelfth and the fifteenth centuries, looking in particular at the form these fortifications took in contexts as different as Italy, Wales, France and the Iberian Peninsula. Many would regard this period in the history of castles as the classic age. It was followed by a phase of relative decline as the conditions of warfare changed and castles had to be adapted to cope with cannon. The conventional castle gave way to new styles of fortification. But, as the authors demonstrate, they were still essential factors in military calculations and campaigns—they were of direct strategic and tactical importance wherever there was an attempt to take or hold territory. “A fascinating treatise on the way such buildings were modified to provide protection from growing threats.” —Books Monthly
Download or read book Fighting Terror after Napoleon written by Beatrice de Graaf and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2020-10 with total page 519 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Europe was forged out of the ashes of the Napoleonic wars by means of a collective fight against revolutionary terror. The Allied Council created a culture of in- and exclusion, of people that were persecuted and those who were protected, using secret police, black lists, border controls and fortifications, and financed by European capital holders.
Download or read book Castrum to Castle written by J. E. Kaufmann and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2018-10-30 with total page 434 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A richly illustrated history of military fortifications in ancient and medieval times. For over a thousand years, from the time of the Roman Empire to the classic period of castle-building in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, fortified sites played a key role in European warfare. This highly illustrated history gives a fascinating insight into their design and development and into the centuries of violence and conflict they were part of. The study traces the evolution of fortifications starting with those of the Romans and their successors. Included are the defenses erected to resist Islamic invasions and Viking raids and the castles built during outbreaks of warfare. As the authors demonstrate, castles and other fortifications were essential factors in military calculations and campaigns. They were of direct strategic and tactical importance wherever there was an attempt to take or hold territory. The factors that influenced their location, layout, and construction are analyzed in this fascinating book, as is the way in which they were adapted to meet the challenges of new tactics and weapons.
Download or read book The Atlantic Wall written by J. E. Kaufmann and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2012-09-19 with total page 707 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This WWII history and visitor’s guide explores the extensive network of Nazi fortifications built to defend Fortress Europe. Hitler's Atlantic Wall, the complex system of coastal fortifications that stretched from Norway to the Spanish border during the Second World War, was built to defend occupied Europe from Allied invasion. Many of its principal structures survive and can be visited today. This authoritative guide provides both practical information for visitors and essential historical context. The wall, which was constructed on a massive scale between 1942 and 1944 by German engineers, forced laborers and troops, consisted of strong points, artillery casemates, bunkers, troop shelters, minefields, anti-tank and anti-boat obstacles. It also included the concrete U-boat and E-boat pens in the key ports and, behind the Channel coast, the V-weapon sites. This huge scheme of fortifications was one of the longest series of defensive lines in military history. This comprehensive volume takes readers and visitors through the entire story of the fortifications from the fall of France to the D-Day invasion on the beaches of Normandy that finally broke through. As a guide to some of the most impressive relics of the Second World War, this book is essential reading for travelers or anyone interested in the liberation of occupied Europe.
Download or read book The Fortifications of Verdun 1874 1917 written by Clayton Donnell and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2012-08-20 with total page 66 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The ring of fortifications protecting the city of Verdun on the Meuse River would become critical in the infamous battle of World War I. This book examines these fortifications, including the famous forts of Douaumont and Vaux that saw some of the fiercest fighting during the battle.
Download or read book Castles and Fortified Cities of Medieval Europe written by Jean-Denis G.G. Lepage and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2015-05-20 with total page 336 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: During the Middle Ages, castles and other fortified buildings were a common feature of the European landscape. As central powers rose and fell, the insecurity of the times inspired a revival of fortifications first introduced in the Roman Empire. Despite limitations in construction techniques and manpower, medieval fortifications were continuously adapted to meet new political circumstances and weapons technology. Here is an illustrated guide to the architecture of medieval fortifications, from the first castles to the fortified cities of the 15th and 16th centuries. In hundreds of detailed and thoroughly researched pen-and-ink drawings, historian and artist Jean-Denis G. G. Lepage introduces the reader to the development and diversity of European medieval military architecture. Each drawing is accompanied by meticulous descriptions of types of buildings (e.g., motte-and-bailey castles), built-in defenses (arrow slits, pepper-pot towers), and particular castles and cities (the Mont-Saint-Michel, the city of Jerusalem). Elements of medieval warfare and weaponry are also covered in drawings and text.
