Author: Paddy Griffith
Illustrator: Peter Dennis

About this book
Vauban was the foremost military engineer of France, not only during his lifetime, but also throughout the 18th century when his legacy and methods remained in place almost unchanged. Indeed, his expertise and experience in the construction, defence, and attack of fortresses is unrivalled by any of his contemporaries, of any nationality. In all three of those fields he was a significant innovator and prolific exponent, having planned approximately 160 major defensive projects and directed over 50 sieges. This book provides not only a modern listing of his varied interventions and their fates, but also a wide-ranging discussion of just how and why they pushed forward the international boundaries of the arts of fortification.

Contents

• Introduction
• Vauban: an indefatigable servant of the king
• The limits of Vauban's achievement
• The Pre Carre
• Vauban's pragmatic innovations in fortification design
• The importance of depth defence
• Operational history
• Principles of defence and features of fortress design
• Aftermath
• The sites today
• Bibliography and further reading
• Glossary
• Index

Paperback; April 2006; 64 pages; ISBN: 9781841768755