Although the exact dates of construction of the so-called Saxon Shore forts are uncertain, the development of the frontier system that ran form the Wash to the Solent on the south-east coast of Roman Britain was spread over at least a century and a half. Many of the new forts were notable for the superior strength of their defences, with thicker stone walls bristling with projecting curved bastions. These and other features were clearly designed to them more difficult to storm than old-style frontier forts with their classic playing-card shape and internal towers. Defense earlier in the...

Impressive in terms of scale and structure, the Fire Support Base became a dominant element in ground maneuver during the Vietnam War. Initially a mobile base, it soon evolved into a semi-permanent and more sophisticated fortress as a result of enemy counterattacks and bombardments.

As a consequence, the majority of US and other allied troops found themselves pinned down in defensive or support roles, rather than being free to conduct 'search and destroy' or other mobile missions. Thus, the first and foremost function of the Fire Support Base was defensive. Troops, machine guns,...

The Japanese invasion and occupation of Korea, which lasted from 1592 to 1598, was the only occasion in Japanese history when samurai aggression was turned against a foreign country. During the occupation of Korea the Japanese built 25 wajo or castles. Unlike the castles built in Japan, these castles were never developed or modernized after the Japanese departure meaning that the details of late 16th century castle construction are better preserved than at many other sites.

Written by Stephen Turnbull, an expert on the subject, this book examines the castles built by the Japanese in...

On October 29, 1891, the new forts built around the cities of Li_ge and Namur, known as the "Forts of the Meuse," were turned over to the Belgian Army.

The huge project, which had begun in 1888 and cost 71.6 million Belgian Francs, required over 9,000 workers to complete. It produced 21 modern forts that could defend the strategic rail, river, and road arteries passing through narrow gaps to the flat, open plains of Flanders.

The Forts of the Meuse were the creation of General Brialmont, one of the foremost military engineers of his time. The development of new and more...

From June 1941, the Soviets were forced to undertake large-scale defensive operations in the face of the overwhelming German blitzkrieg assault, operations which ran counter to their preference for highly mobile, offensive warfare. Lessons were quickly learned across a wide variety of terrain and climates, including the open steppes, dense forests, wooded swamps, cities, and in snow and ice, where the availability of construction materials differed greatly.

The first to cover this topic in the English language and containing detailed information about the trenches, bunkers,...

In 1942, with Germany's gradual loss of the strategic initiative to the Allies, Hitler was forced to construct an impenetrable wall of fortifications along the Atlantic and Mediterranean coast. However, Hitler's grandiose Atlantic wall scheme was hampered by the realities of Germany's wartime economy. Without the resources and manpower to fortify the entire coast, the emphasis was placed on the great festung ports, the likely location of an Allied amphibious landing.

This first volume in a series of three deals solely with the structures on the French Atlantic coast starting with...

In the last years of his reign Henry VIII needed a radically modern system of defense to protect England and its newly Protestant Church. Anticipating a foreign onslaught from Catholic Europe after his split from Rome, Henry energetically began the construction of more than 20 stone forts to protect England's major ports and estuaries, whilst modernizing existing fortresses from Hull to Milford Haven. The majority of this was paid for with his new-found fortune plundered from the monasteries, allowing Henry to employ a strong workforce well supplied with materials.

Aided by excellent...

The Berlin Wall and the Inner-German Border (IGB) were built to halt the flow of refugees from East Germany to the West. From August 13, 1961, over 96 miles of crude fences and more sophisticated walls were erected around West Berlin. Border defenses ran 858 miles from the Baltic to the Czechoslovakian border, cutting villages in two, running through buildings, and intersecting roads and railways. Gordon L Rottman, who became familiar with both sides of the border while posted to Germany, examines the international situations that led to the creation of the Berlin Wall, discussing how the...

The Mississippi River played a decisive role in the American Civil War. The Confederate fortifications that controlled the lower Mississippi valley were put to the test in the lengthy Federal campaign of 1862-63. Vicksburg was a fortress city, known as the "Gibraltar of the Confederacy," whose capture is often seen as the key to victory in the war.

This book explores the fortifications of the river valley, focusing on Vicksburg and its defenses which boasted a network of forts, rifle pits, and cannon embrasures surrounding the city and examining the strengths and weaknesses of the...