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The Vauban Fortifications of France (Fortress)
 
 
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The Vauban Fortifications of France (Fortress) [Illustrated] (Paperback)

by Paddy Griffith (Author), Peter Dennis (Illustrator) "During the 77-year life of Louis XIV, France was at peace for only 17 years - less than one year in four ..." (more)
5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
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Product details

  • Paperback: 64 pages
  • Publisher: Osprey Publishing; illustrated edition edition (28 April 2006)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 1841768758
  • ISBN-13: 978-1841768755
  • Product Dimensions: 24.4 x 18 x 0.6 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 307,000 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Product Description

Product Description
Dunkirk, Toulon, Perpignan, Verdun and Brest stand out among the many historically significant sites created by Sebastien LePrestre de Vauban (1633-1707). Vauban was the foremost military engineer of France during the period of its centralisation and wars of expansion in the 17th and 18th centuries. His influence persisted long after Waterloo, and his name has become synonymous with the science of the construction, defence and attack of bastioned fortresses. This book examines the many achievements of this pivotal figure in fortification history, exploring the sites and their subsequent significance.
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During the 77-year life of Louis XIV, France was at peace for only 17 years - less than one year in four. Read the first page
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent overview of Vauban's work, 7 Feb 2007
Introduction:
I have read a number of the Osprey military history books in the past and have always found them to be good introductions to a topic but sometimes rather sparse. I am a student and spent a month in France studying Vauban's fortifications a few years back as well as running a fortification website, so it was with some trepidation that I ordered this book. I expected it to contain alot of things that I already knew and possibly some inaccurate information, but this was not the case.

Content:
The book gives a brief summary of Vauban's life and his place in the context of 17th century France and Louis XIV's wars, describing the nature of his work as well as his contributions to siegework. There is a list of 160 places that were fortified by Vauban, or have some evidence connecting Vauban to their defences. Some brief notes are given concerning the work carried out at each one. The author goes on to explain the design principles of the fortifications of the day and how Vauban went about applying them to the many places he fortified, discussing both the importance he placed on individual fortresses and how groups or lines of fortresses were strategically placed to support each other. There is a short section called "operational history", which essentially describes Louis XIV's wars in the context of Vauban's offensive and defensive work. Finally, the author goes into more detail about the elements of a 17th century fortification, before briefly dealing with the fate of Vauban's works after his death until the present day.

Illustrations:
The illustrations are excellent and are important in understanding Vauban's work, so I will spend some time discussing them. Particularly worthy of note are the artist's impressions, of which there are 6; the first shows a demi-lune under construction at Bergues, the second a completed gate and demi-lune at Bergues, the third is an aerial view of Charleroi (also the cover picture), the fourth shows a generic fortress under siege, the fifth a generic coastal battery and the sixth is a diagram explaining underground siege warfare. In addition to these there are various plans, pictures of relief maps and pictures of the works today. The illustrations have been chosen very well, and there is a good balance between pictures and text. The only downside is that some of the photographs are in black and white, which seems unnecessary in this day and age.

Conclusion:
The author has clearly done huge amounts of research and has dealt with the subject very well, so i was pleased with this book. However, the 5-star rating does not indicate a perfect book. I think that more attention could have been given to the state of the sites today, as visiting fortresses is becoming more popular and lots of people buying this book will be interested in this. As with all osprey books, its coverage of the subject is rather general, but it makes a very good introduction to the topic.
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