France's Perfect Fortresses and Infallible Sieges (~1700)

Summary

Sebastien Le Prestre de Vauban revolutionized siege warfare in the 17th century with his innovative fortress designs and systematic offensive strategies. His methods, including the use of parallels, ricochet firing, and cavaliers de tranchée, transformed the art of siege, making fortress assaults more predictable and efficient. Vauban's influence extended beyond his lifetime, shaping military engineering and fortification strategies across Europe. His work on the 'pré carré' fortified frontier protected France for generations, showcasing his enduring legacy as a master of military engineering.

Takeaways

• 💡 Sebastien Le Prestre de Vauban revolutionized siege warfare in the 17th century, making French military strategies highly effective.
• 🏰 Vauban designed some of the most resilient fortresses of his time and developed nearly infallible offensive siege routines.
• 🇫🇷 When Vauban began his work, France was lagging in siege warfare, often relying on poorly prepared frontal assaults known as 'attack a la française'.
• 📜 Vauban's systematic approach to siege warfare established principles that remained unaltered for nearly two centuries.
• 🔧 Vauban's offensive innovations included the use of parallels, ricochet firing, and elevated fighting platforms called cavaliers de tranchée.
• ⚔️ Vauban's methods allowed for a more structured and effective siege attack, reducing unnecessary casualties and making the point of attack less predictable.
• 🛡️ In addition to offensive strategies, Vauban perfected the bastion fort design and fortified France's borders with a network of strongholds.
• 📖 Although Vauban never wrote down his defensive strategies, his improvements to fortress design contributed significantly to defensive siege warfare.
• 🔒 Vauban's three systems of fortress design—based on the trace italienne—were adapted to various terrains and needs, emphasizing the importance of flexibility and adaptation.
• 🏞️ Vauban's comprehensive approach to fortifying France, known as the 'pré carré', created a defensive frontier that protected the nation for generations, influencing military strategy well beyond his lifetime.

Q & A

Who is Sebastien Le Prestre de Vauban and why is he significant in the history of siege warfare?

Sebastien Le Prestre de Vauban was a French military engineer who profoundly changed siege warfare by designing resilient fortresses and developing an effective offensive siege routine. His innovations in siege tactics and fortress design remained largely unaltered for almost two centuries.

What was the state of French siege warfare before Vauban's innovations?

Before Vauban, French siege warfare was less advanced, with frontal assaults often resulting in unnecessary losses. These attacks were known as 'a la française' or 'the French way', and were considered less effective compared to the siege skills of Spain and the Dutch Republic.

What is the significance of the contravallation and circumvallation in siege warfare?

The contravallation and circumvallation are two rings of entrenchment used in siege warfare. The contravallation faces inward to the besieged fortress, while the circumvallation faces outward to protect the attackers from a relief army. They are crucial for cutting off reinforcements and supplies to the fortress under siege.

How did Vauban's system of saps and parallels improve upon traditional siege methods?

Vauban's system of saps and parallels introduced a more organized approach to siege warfare. By digging trenches (saps) in a zigzag pattern and establishing fortified lines (parallels) at strategic distances from the fortress, attackers could approach the fortress with less predictability, forcing defenders to spread their efforts.

What is ricochet firing and how did Vauban use it in siege warfare?

Ricochet firing is a technique where cannons are loaded with less powder to lob cannonballs over the parapet and make them bounce along the covered ways and ramparts, causing chaos among defenders. Vauban perfected this technique, using it to increase the effectiveness of artillery during sieges.

What is the purpose of the cavalier de tranchée in Vauban's siege strategy?

The cavalier de tranchée is an elevated infantry firing platform built close to the fortress's glacis. It allowed attacking infantry to shoot along the covered way, bypassing the costly phase of fighting for the covered way and potentially reducing casualties.

How did Vauban's methods impact the resources required for a siege?

Vauban's methods, while saving lives by reducing casualties, were resource-intensive. He calculated that 20,000 men were needed to besiege even a modest fortress, along with large quantities of food, ammunition, and other supplies.

What were Vauban's three systems of fortress design and how did they differ?

Vauban's three systems of fortress design were adaptations of the trace italienne. The first system was a straightforward version with bastions and curtain walls. The second system introduced the bastion tower for better resistance on hills. The third system, used only in Neuf-Brisach, added recesses in the curtain wall for more firepower and covered positions.

What was the 'pré carré' strategy and how did Vauban implement it?

The 'pré carré' was a strategy to fortify France's frontiers by creating a continuous line of fortresses. Vauban advocated for this strategy, proposing which fortresses to seize or abandon to create a fortified frontier that would protect France from invasion.

How did Vauban's work in fortress design and siege warfare influence military engineering and strategy in Europe?

Vauban's work set a new standard in military engineering and siege warfare. His methods were admired and copied across Europe, and his fortress designs became a model for defensive architecture. His influence can be seen in the way military engineers approached both attack and defense in siege situations.

What was the long-term impact of Vauban's fortresses on France's defense?

Vauban's fortresses provided France with a strong defensive line that lasted well beyond his lifetime, protecting the country during various conflicts, including the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars. His fortifications were still considered effective during the Franco-Prussian War in 1870.

Outlines

00:00

🛡️ Vauban: Pioneer of Modern Siege Warfare

Sebastien Le Prestre de Vauban was a French military engineer who revolutionized siege warfare in the 17th century. He designed impenetrable fortresses and developed a highly effective siege routine that lasted for centuries. Vauban's innovations addressed France's shortcomings in siege techniques, replacing the reckless 'attack a la française' with a systematic approach. His methods, which included the use of parallels, ricochet firing, and cavaliers de tranchée, were later adopted by the British in WW1 and are still the foundation of military engineering principles. Vauban also played a significant role in professionalizing military engineering and fortifying France's borders with a line of formidable fortresses.

05:03

🏰 Vauban's Offensive Innovations in Siege Tactics

Vauban introduced several key innovations to siege warfare, starting with the systematic use of saps and parallels. He established a three-tiered approach to sieges, beginning with a contravallation and progressing to three parallel lines of attack, each with specific functions such as breaching batteries. Vauban's second innovation was ricochet firing, which involved lobbing cannonballs over parapets to cause chaos among defenders. The third innovation was the cavalier de tranchée, an elevated platform for infantry to fire along the fortress's covered way. These innovations, while not entirely new, were perfected and systematized by Vauban, making siege warfare more predictable and less costly in terms of lives, though resource-intensive.

10:06

🏯 Vauban's Fortress Design: Adapting and Innovating

Vauban's approach to fortress design was flexible and adaptive, emphasizing the importance of terrain and practicality over rigid systems. He built upon the trace italienne design, incorporating elements like tenailles for improved defense. His second system introduced the bastion tower, a strongpoint that could withstand attacks even after the outer bastion was breached. Vauban's third system, used only in Neuf-Brisach, featured enhanced firepower and protected positions. Despite his disdain for rigid systems, Vauban's fortress designs were categorized into three systems for ease of understanding, each reflecting his ingenuity in adapting to different strategic needs.

15:07

🗺️ Vauban's Strategic Fortification of France

Vauban envisioned a fortified France, protected by a continuous line of fortresses known as the pré carré. He advocated for strategic construction and deconstruction of fortresses to strengthen France's borders and reduce the need for maintaining a large number of defenses. Vauban's efforts led to the creation of a robust defensive line that protected France for generations, enduring through various conflicts including the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars. His legacy in military engineering and strategic planning remains unparalleled, with his fortress designs and siege tactics serving as a blueprint for future military engineers.

Keywords

💡Sebastien Le Prestre de Vauban

Sebastien Le Prestre de Vauban was a prominent French military engineer who revolutionized siege warfare. His innovative designs and strategies for both offense and defense significantly impacted the art of war during his time. In the script, Vauban's name is synonymous with the transformation of fortress design and siege tactics, as he introduced systematic approaches that were almost infallible and remained largely unaltered for almost two centuries.

💡Siege Warfare

Siege warfare refers to the methods of attacking and defending a fortress or town during a military conflict. It is a specialized form of warfare that requires specific strategies and tactics, as depicted in the script where Vauban's innovations in siege techniques brought France to the forefront of military engineering. The script describes how Vauban's methods, such as the use of parallels and ricochet firing, professionalized and systematized siege operations.

💡Fortress Design

Fortress design is the architectural planning and construction of defensive structures, such as castles or forts. Vauban was renowned for perfecting the bastion fort and creating a line of fortresses along the French border. The script outlines his three systems of fortress design, which were not rigid but adapted to the terrain and strategic necessities, showcasing his ingenuity in creating structures that were both formidable and practical.

💡Bastion Fort

A bastion fort is a type of fortification characterized by angular bastions that provide enfilading fire along the walls. Vauban perfected this design, as mentioned in the script, by creating fortresses that were highly resilient and capable of withstanding prolonged sieges. His improvements to bastion forts included the introduction of the tour bastionnée or bastion tower, which added an extra layer of defense.

💡Parallels

In the context of siege warfare, parallels refer to the trenches dug by the attackers parallel to the fortress walls. The script describes how Vauban introduced a system of saps and parallels during the siege of Maastricht in 1673, which allowed for a more organized and less predictable approach to attacking a fortress, forcing defenders to spread their efforts thin.

💡Ricochet Firing

Ricochet firing is a technique in which artillery is fired at an angle so that the shot bounces off the ground and into the enemy's defensive positions. Vauban's innovation of ricochet firing, as detailed in the script, was a game-changer in siege tactics, causing chaos among defenders and significantly reducing the effectiveness of traditional fortress defenses.

💡Cavalier de Trenchée

The cavalier de tranchée is an elevated firing platform for infantry, positioned close to the fortress walls. The script explains how Vauban used these platforms to allow attacking infantry to fire along the covered way, bypassing the typically costly phase of a siege and reducing casualties among the attackers.

💡Pré Carré

The pré carré, or 'square meal' in French, was a strategic concept for a fortified frontier that covered all fronts, as described in the script. Vauban advocated for this approach to create a continuous line of fortresses that would protect France from invasion. His strategy involved both the construction of new fortresses and the demolition of unnecessary ones to streamline the defensive line.

💡Trace Italienne

Trace Italienne refers to the style of fortification design that originated in Italy and was characterized by star-shaped fortresses with bastions. Vauban's first system of fortress design was based on this style, as mentioned in the script, and he adapted it to create a more effective and standardized form of defense.

💡Military Engineering

Military engineering encompasses the design, construction, and maintenance of military works and systems, such as fortresses, siege works, and defensive structures. The script highlights Vauban's contributions to this field, noting that his methods and designs were so influential that they became the standard for military engineering education and practice for centuries.

Highlights

Sebastien Le Prestre de Vauban revolutionized siege warfare with his resilient fortress designs and systematic offensive siege routine.

Vauban's innovations in siege warfare brought France to parity with its adversaries and influenced military tactics for nearly two centuries.

The British 'Military Engineering (Part II) Attack and Defence of Fortresses' manual from WW1 was largely based on Vauban's principles.

Vauban perfected the bastion fort, fortifying the French border with fortresses that proved their worth until Napoleon's era.

He was the first military engineer to rise through the ranks, establishing a professional class of military engineers.

Vauban introduced the concept of 'saps and parallels' during the siege of Maastricht in 1673, significantly reducing the time and losses in sieges.

His use of ricochet firing changed artillery tactics, causing balls to bounce along the fortress walls and inflicting damage on defenders.

The 'cavalier de tranchée', an elevated infantry firing platform, was introduced by Vauban to bypass the costly fight for the covered way.

Vauban's siege methods were so systematic that he claimed they guaranteed success if followed faithfully.

Despite saving lives, Vauban's methods were resource-intensive, requiring large numbers of men and supplies for a siege.

Vauban's fortress design evolved through three systems, each adapting to different terrains and strategic needs.

His first system was based on the trace italienne, emphasizing the importance of bastions and curtain walls in fortress design.

The 'tour bastionnée' or bastion tower, part of Vauban's second system, provided a strong retraction point after the bastion was breached.

Vauban's third system, used only in Neuf-Brisach, featured enhanced firepower and covered positions for improved defense.

Vauban's strategic vision for France included a fortified frontier called the 'pré carré' to protect against invasions.

He advocated for the strategic construction and destruction of fortresses to strengthen France's defensive line and field army.

Vauban's legacy in fortress design and siege warfare continued to influence military tactics and engineering long after his death.

Transcripts

When it comes to siege warfare there’s no getting  around one name. Sebastien Le Prestre de Vauban.  

This French military engineer changed the face  of siege warfare profoundly and lastingly. He  

designed the most resilient fortresses ever  seen up to his times and developed a nearly  

infallible offensive siege routine. When Vauban  entered the stage of history in the middle of the  

17th century, France was in a predicament.  Spain and the Dutch Republic had both honed  

their siege skills in the Eighty Years’ War, a  conflict in which most military action consisted  

of sieges. The French, however, had been making  little progress. Their style of assault “amounted  

to little more than an ill-prepared storming of  the work targeted for attack” , as the expert  

for the French army of the Grand Siècle John  Lynn puts it. Soon, headlong frontal assaults,  

often involving unnecessary losses, were known as  attack "a la française”, “the French way”. Vauban  

was the man to bring about change. Not only did  he bring France to eye level with its adversaries,  

but he in fact established a routine of the siege  attack that was to remain unaltered for almost two  

centuries. Even the manual “Military Engineering  (Part II) Attack and Defence of Fortresses” which  

the British took to France in WW1 was still  largely based on his principles. Moreover,  

Vauban perfected the bastion fort and equipped  the French border with a line of fortresses that  

repeatedly proved their worth up until Napoleon’s  times. Vauban was the first military engineer ever  

to rise through the ranks, thereby paving the way  for a professional class of military engineers. 

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Chapter 1: Vauban’s offensive  Methods: The Formal Siege 

When Vauban began his work, siege warfare had  already come a long way. By the 17th century it  

was a specialized form of warfare with its  very own experts, strategies, and methods.  

Fortresses were no longer cracked open by heavy  bombardment or overran by storm assaults but by  

extensive digging, well, except when France was  attacking. But even for them the standard weapon  

to attack a fortress soon became the shovel. The average early modern siege began when the  

attacker encircled the fortress to cut it off from  reinforcements and supply. This was usually done  

with two complete rings of entrenchment,  the contravallation facing inward to the  

besieged and the circumvallation facing outward  to protect the attackers against a relief army.  

Such methods had been used sporadically throughout  history, Caesar’s Battle of Alesia might come to  

mind, but now they were standard. A complete  circumvallation could be very extensive. When  

besieging ‘s-Hertogenbosch in 1629, the army of  the Dutch republic built a contravallation of 25km  

and a circumvallation of 45km – walking around  it was an 11 hour walk. The contravallation,  

the inner line, was the starting point for  zigzagged trenches towards the fortress.  

They needed to be zigzagged because this way  the enemy could not shoot along the trenches.  

The angles of these so-called saps became ever  sharper as they came closer to the defenses.  

In addition, the attackers  sporadically built redoubts,  

where they could seek cover. This way their  trenches would worm ever closer to the walls. 

Now, Vauban didn’t invent an entirely new style  of siege warfare, but he perfected the often  

messy and inconsistent methods. To do so he made  several changes. We obviously can’t look at each  

and every one in detail here but we will talk  about his most important offensive innovations:  

parallels, ricochet firing, and the cavaliers de  tranchée, which are elevated fighting platforms. 

Vauban first implicated his system of saps and  parallels during the siege of Maastricht in 1673,  

when he took this major fortress in  just ten days and with much fewer  

losses than expected. Parallels were, as  the name suggests, dug parallelly to the  

enemy fortress. They did not span all around it,  however. When Vauban laid siege to a fortress,  

he also began by building a contravallation,  usually just outside the reach of the defenders,  

that is between 2.8 and 3.5km away from  their closest artillery position. From  

there Vauban had his men dig approaches towards  the fortress and then create the first parallel,  

equipped with batteries, at about 600m. They then  sapped forward to about 250 meters and installed  

a second parallel, where among others the ricochet  batteries were placed, about which we will talk in  

a minute. The third and final parallel then needed  to be very close to the walls, at the base of the  

glacis, an artificial slope outside the ditch,  usually at about 30 to 50m from the main wall.  

This last parallel featured the breaching  batteries, heavy guns designed to blow  

a hole in the walls of the fortress by  pounding against them over and over again.  

In most cases, all three Parallels were  reinforced with redoubts at both ends and  

used as defensive positions for the attackers  and as valuable assembly points. Before the  

introduction of parallels an attacker, who wanted  to attack more than one spot had to undergo the  

immense task of opening several trenches right  from the contravallation, which made the point  

of attack predictable. Now, there were three  additional lines stretching along the defenses.  

Where exactly an attacker would strike became  clear only at the very last moment. This forced  

the defenders to spread their efforts. In some  cases, for example at the siege of Ath in 1697 ,  

parallels even replaced the contravallation. Vauban’s second offensive innovation was ricochet  

firing. To the consternation of the gunners, who  were used to batter at the walls with all they  

had and very much enjoyed the thundering sound of  a canon loaded to the maximum, Vauban had some of  

them load their cannons with less powder. This  way, their balls didn’t just sail over the heads  

of the defenders behind the parapets in a flat  trajectory but were rather lobbed over the parapet  

and then – ideally – bounced along covered ways  and ramparts, wreaking havoc among the defenders.  

This was made possible by the  parallels who allowed certain  

batteries to be positioned sideways, from  where they could shoot along the defenses.  

While Vauban experimented with this as early as  1674, the first time he used it on full scale was  

also during the siege of Ath in 1697 in which  he brought the use of artillery to perfection. 

The third innovation had a very similar purpose.  The cavalier de tranchée, was a raised firing  

platform for infantry built only thirty or  so meters away from the top of the glacis.  

It allowed the attacking infantry to shoot along  the covered way. Vauban emphasized these cavaliers  

as a means to bypass the phase of a siege that  was usually most costly in terms of casualties,  

the fight for the covered way. He thought of it  as a means to spare the lives of the attackers. 

So, no mine warfare regular viewers might ask.  Yes and no. Indeed, Vauban experimented with mines  

multiple times, but he was not too enthusiastic  about them and by the time he had completed his  

work, it took an exceptionally obstinate defense  to prompt the attackers to go to the trouble of  

digging mines at all. By applying Vauban’s  methods, a well-defended fortress could be  

taken in about forty-five days. Practice largely  confirmed this. Lille (1667) fell in fifty-one  

days, Maestricht (1673) in twenty-five,  Luxembourg (1684) in thirty-seven, and  

Namur (1692) in thirty-six,  to name but a few examples. 

In the past it has been argued that none of these  innovations were actually innovative. And that is  

in some sense true. Parallels and elevated firing  platforms had been used by Ottoman siege masters  

before, although not exactly in the same way. Yet,  before Vauban came on the scene, the siege attack  

was an indiscriminate and senseless chaos,  a labyrinthine accumulation of dangerous and  

countless trenches. Vauban adapted, reorganized  and structured what he found. His true achievement  

was systematizing siege warfare and thereby  creating a method which was almost foolproof.  

He himself promised in one of his treatises: “I  guarantee an infallible success without a day's  

extra delay if you will defer to my opinion  and follow faithfully the rules I lay down."  

Indeed if it was followed intelligently while  ample resources were available, the fortress  

under siege was almost certainly doomed. But while  Vauban’s methods undoubtedly saved lives they were  

prodigal with other resources. He calculated  that 20’000 men were required to besiege even a  

modest fortress and accordingly mountains of  foods, ammunition and other siege supplies.  

In fact, sieges following Vauban's principles  were so costly that the French rarely conducted  

more than one at a time. This led to some  clashes with the King, the minister of war  

and high-ranking field commanders. Especially  when armies grew bigger in the late 17th century  

such decision makers were more willing  to trade lives for time and resources.  

And to make that clear here, Vauban’s role  was primarily to counsel and implement – the  

decisions were made elsewhere, namely by the  King himself and the minister of War. For  

most of the time this was Marquis of Louvois. Vauban’s offensive methods quickly became the  

standard procedure for attacking a fortress but he  was also known for boasting of having “worked out  

an infallible method of defending a fortress”  as well. However, he never found himself under  

siege and actually died without ever writing  down or stating any of his alleged strategies.  

Nevertheless, he did perfect the bastion fort and  has therefore contributed more to defensive siege  

warfare than anybody else. To this day fortresses  all along the French border bear witness of to his  

famous capability as a fortress-builder. Chapter 2: Fortress design:  

Vauban’s Three Systems Vauban would certainly not be  

too happy with all the historians, including us,  who discuss his achievements as three systems.  

Although he emphasized structure and method in  offensive siege warfare , he deeply despised  

rigid systems when it came to the design  of fortifications. He insisted: "The art  

of fortification does not consist of rules and  systems, but uniquely in (consist of) good sense  

and experience." In fact, Vauban thought it  absolutely essential to adapt to terrain and  

harshly criticized those who built fortresses  as designed on a plane white piece of paper.  

But for the sake of simplicity I’m sure, the  great engineer would make an exception as  

long as we make clear that the three  systems are nothing more than useful  

categories summarizing retrospectively what  he was actually doing. Vgl. Bilder am Ende 

For most of the fortresses Vauban designed  he simply built on the straightforward,  

well-proportioned version of the trace  italienne designed by Blaise François Pagan,  

a great engineer under Louis XIII  and major influence on Vauban.  

This was Vauban's so-called first system. The core  elements of a trace italienne fortress, a bastion  

fort that is, were in his eyes the bastions, which  formed a set of mutually supporting strongpoints,  

merely connected by the curtain wall. The decisive  factor in making these strongpoints effective was  

the distance between them, which was the effective  firing range of a musket, that is about 125 yards.  

This way musketeers on both bastions  could cover the whole ditch between them.  

In addition, Vauban made use of all known  outworks: demi-lunes, ravelins, hornworks,  

crownworks, and so on. The one thing he did change  on the Pagan bastion fort was the adaption of a  

part of the Dutch so-called fausse-braye, that  is a lower wall just beneath the main wall.  

These so-called tenailles screened the assembly  of sorties and provided a low, secure firing  

position. Vauban masterfully applied known  methods according to the requirements of time  

and terrain. He liked the challenge of integrating  existing fortifications, town buildings and the  

civilian community and made the best of it. One thing that particularly puzzled Vauban were  

hills. A fortress dominated by neighboring  heights was at a significant disadvantage  

as became evident for example in the siege of  Ostende, where the Spanish could easily shoot over  

the parapets of the defense from a platform in the  dunes. Vauban found a solution for this problem.  

He placed the main artillery in a small, sturdy  tower and detached the bastion from the main wall.  

This invention is known as his second system the  tour bastionnée or bastion tower. Vauban explains:  

“In essentials the bastion tower is a very strong  retrenchment, which is capable of putting up a  

powerful resistance after the detached bastion  in front has fallen. In an ordinary fortress,  

when the bastions are breached the whole enceinte  is breached […]. This cannot occur in the new  

system, where only the individual work actually  under attack is at risk.” Hitherto the bastion  

had been the most obvious point of attack,  because an attack on the curtain wall meant  

advancing under the crossfire of two bastions  at the point usually shielded best by outworks.  

The bastion tower changed this as it made  it significantly more difficult to attack  

the bastion. Vauban, sometimes choosing  odd analogies described his creation as  

"pulling out the nose in order to  throw it in the face of its enemy."  

Bastion towers were first introduced in Besançon,  Belfort, and Landau in 1687. They were very  

effective and could be applied on almost any site,  given that considerable funds were available. 

The third system was only implemented in one  fortress, his defensive masterpiece: Neuf-Brisach  

in Alsace. This place was fortified in 1698 and  is one of the better conserved Vauban-fortresses.  

As you see here (aerial view or plan wiki), the  bastion tower was complemented by a recess in the  

curtain wall. The curtain wall featured its own  little shoulders, so to speak, in which casemates,  

fortified gun emplacements or armored structures  that were used as firing positions, could be  

placed. In addition, Vauban gave the ravelins a  fully covered redoubts, making it harder to be hit  

from above. So, in essence this was very similar  to the second system but with more firepower  

and better covered positions. Neuf-Brisach  was probably the pinnacle of bastion forts.  

However, nobody took this system up after  Vauban’s death, because casemates fell into  

disrepute and the costs of remodeling the curtain  wall would have been overwhelming. Neuf-Brisach  

alone consumed an enormous 4 million livres. Chapter 3: The great Fortress called France 

Although Vauban despised war, he thought it a  necessary evil. He saw, as John Lynn puts it  

“predatory foes across the frontiers, surrounding  a beleaguered France.” As he perceived the  

European environment as very hostile, he thought  a fortified frontier to cover all fronts would  

be necessary, the so-called pré carré. In 1673 he  wrote to Louis XIV: “I do not like this pell-mell  

confusion of fortresses of ours and the enemy's.  You are obliged to maintain three for one;  

your men are plagued by it; your expenses are  increased, and your forces are much diminished  

[…]. That is why, be it by treaties, be it by  a good war, you should round off the borders.”  

Whenever possible he advocated this strategy  and proposed to Louis which fortresses should  

be seized and which abandoned. The King was fond  of Vauban‘s views and soon the pré carréee became  

a direction of strategy. Vauban was most concerned  with the northern frontier, where eight fortresses  

received entirely new walls or new citadels,  and twenty-three were significantly renovated.  

There Vauban built a double line of fortresses  resembling an army arrayed for battle.  

These fortresses withstood the test of time.  The frontier was not broken through for  

decades. (All fortresses in footnotes) Although the northern front was the  

centerpiece of Vauban’s ambitions,  he fortified all of France over time.  

Two double rows stretched south-east between  Lorraine and Luxembourg and along the Rhenish  

frontier, while the major roads from Italy through  the Alps were protected by a set of fortresses  

near Briançon. The defensive line then continued  all the way to the Mediterranean and an additional  

line stretched along the Pyrenean front. Rounding off the borders, included both adding  

and removing fortresses. In addition to conquering  and building new fortresses, old and unneeded ones  

had to be destroyed. This was necessary because an  unused, badly maintained or undermanned fortress  

simply invited the enemy to seize it and  would offer them a defensive position at  

the French border. Vauban knew this all too well  and in fact far more fortresses were destroyed on  

his advice than built. He was obsessed with  eliminating unnecessary strongholds. Apart  

from strategical purposes this cut expenses  and relinquished significant numbers of men  

for service in the field armies. So, razing  unnecessary fortresses strengthened both the  

defensive line and the field army. By deliberately constructing and  

destroying fortresses, Vauban created  a frontier that shielded France way  

beyond the reign of Louis XIV. In the  1790s it protected the young republic  

from monarchical Europe. In the early  1800s Napoleon was very well aware of  

how much he owed to Vauban's fortress  walls and even in the Franco-Prussian  

War in 1870 Vauban's fortifications could  still give a good account of themselves. 

After Vauban had conducted his last siege at  Breisach in 1703 the old engineer was put out  

to pasture. In a long hard-working life, he had  equipped France for generations with reliable  

defenses and brought it from the headlong attack  "a la française” to cutting edge siege methods.  

His work was admired and copied all over Europe  and the military engineers that followed in his  

footsteps were frustrated by the quest of  finding a reliable method of defense against  

the Vauban-style attack. Vauban had established a  nearly infallible routine, applicable by any man  

with a decent understanding of siege craft and  the will to become versed in it. When he died on  

30 March 1707, he had sustained eight wounds,  directed some forty-eight sieges, and drawn  

up projects for about 160 fortresses. This great  engineer had established his immortality in more  

concrete form than probably any other human being  since the time of the building of the Pyramids.