-
Skip These Ads
-
Skip These Ads|
|
 |
Click here and add this page to your favorites!
|
Encyclopedia Britannica - Main :: VAN-VIR |
|
|
VAUBAN , StBASTIEN LE PRESTRE DE (1633-1707), marshal of France, the most celebrated of military engineers (see FORTIFICATION), was born at Saint-Leger-Vauban ( Yonne
952 of the time. Between that year and the peace of 1659 he had taken part in or directed ten sieges with distinction, had been several times wounded, and was rewarded by the king with the free gift of a company in the famous Picardy regiment. About this time he married a cousin, Jeanne d'Aulnay. After the peace Vauban was put in charge of the construction of several important defences, amongst other places at Dunkirk, where his work continued until the year before his death. On the renewal of war in 1662 he conducted, under the eyes of the king, the sieges of Douai, Tournai and Lille. At Lille he so distinguished himself that he received a lieutenancy in the guard (ranking as a colonelcy).The peace of Aix-la-Chapelle confirmed France in the possession of new fortresses, which Vauban now improved or rebuilt. Hitherto the characteristic features of his method of fortification had not been developed, and the systems of preceding engineers were faithfully followed. Colbert and Louvois were profoundly interested in the work, and it was at the request of the latter that the engineer drew up in 1668 his Memoire pour servir a l'instruction clans la conduite des sieges (this, with a memorandum on the defence of fortresses by another hand, was published at Leiden in 1740). On the renewal of war Vauban again conducted the most important sieges (Rhein- bergen and Nijmwegen 1672, Maestricht and Trier 1673, Besancon 1674). In the latter he the year also supervised only defence in which he ever took part, that of Oudenarde. This was followed by the reduction of Dinant, Huy and Limburg. At this time he wrote for the commandants of Verdun and Le Quesnoy, valuable Instructions pour la defense (MS. Depot des Fortifications, Paris; see also Quincy, Art de la guerre, Paris, 1740). In 1676 he was made marechal de camp. He took Conde, Bouchain and other places in that year, Valenciennes and Cambrai in 1697, Ghent
It was at this time that Vauban synthesized the methods of attacking strong places, on which his claim to renown as an engineer rests far more than on his systems of fortification. The introduction of a systematic approach by parallels (said to have been suggested by the practice of the Turks at Candia in 1668) dates from the siege of Maestricht, and in principle remains to this day the standard method of attacking a fortress. The peace of Nijmwegen gave more territory to France, and more fortresses had to be adapted. Vauban was named commissaire-general des fortifications on the death of De Clerville, and wrote in 1679 a memorandum on the places of the new frontier, from which it appears that from Dunkirk to Dinant France possessed fifteen fortresses and forts, with thirteen more in second line. Most of these had been rebuilt by Vauban, and further acquisitions, notably Strassburg (1681), involved him in unceasing work. At Saarlouis for the first time appeared Vauban's " first system " of fortification, which remained the accepted standard till comparatively recent
manual
chief
Alsace
scheme of attack. He instituted a company of miners, and the elaborate experiments carried out under hissupervision resulted in the establishment
But Louis ?DIV. was now thrown on the defensive, and the war of the Spanish Succession saw the gradual wane of Vauban's influence, as his fortresses were taken and retaken. The various captures of Landau, his chef-d'ceuwe, caused him to be regarded with disfavour, for it was not realized that the greatness of his services was rather in the attack than in the defence. In the darkness of defeat he turned his attention to the defence; but his work De la defense des places (ed. by General Valaze, Paris, 1829) is of far less worth than the Attaque, and his far-seeing ideas on entrenched camps (Traite des fortifications de campagne) were coldly received, though therein may be found the elements of the " detached forts " system now universal in Europe. The close of his life, saddened by the consciousness of waning influence and by failing health, he devoted largely to the arrangement of the voluminous manuscripts (Mes oisivetes) which contained his reflections on war, administration, finance, agriculture and the like. In 1689 he had had the courage to make a representation to the king in favour of the republication of the Edict of Nantes, and in 1698 he wrote his Projet d'une royale (see Economistes fanancieres du XVIII siecle, Paris, 1851), a remarkable work foreshadowing the principles of the French Revolution. Vauban was deeply impressed with the deplorable condition of the peasantry, whose labour he regarded as the main foundation of all wealth, and protested in particular against the unequal incidence of taxation and the exemptions and privileges of the upper classes. His dix'" royale, a tax to be impartially applied to all classes, was a tenth of all agricultural produce payable in kind, and a tenth of money chargeable on manufacturers and merchants. This work was published in 1707, and instantly suppressed by order Of the king. The marshal died heart-broken at the failure of his efforts a few days after the publication of the order (March 30, 1707). At the Revolution his remains were scattered, but in 18o8 his heart was found and deposited by order of Napoleon in the church of the Invalides. Vauban's attention was closely engaged, not only in general military matters, but in political and financial reform and the inland navigation of France. He carried out the rearmament of the French infantry with flint-lock muskets and the socket bayonet. The order of St Louis was suggested by him, and lastly may be mentioned the fortress-models which he constructed, most of which are in the Invalides at Paris, and some in the Berlin Zeughaus. The actual total of his work as an engineer is worth recording. He conducted forty sieges and took part in more than three hundred combats, while his skill and experience were employed on the construction or re-building of more than 160 fortresses of all kinds. Mes oisivetes long remained unpublished, and of the twelve volumes of ;manuscript seven are lost. The remainder were published in Paris, 184145, in an abridged form, and of the five manuscript volumes three are in public hands, and two belong to the families of two famous engineers, Augoyat and Haxo. At the Hague (17371742) appeared, dedicated to Frederick of Prussia, De Hondt's edition of De l'attaque et defense, &c., and of this work an improved edition appeared subsequently. But the first satisfactory editions are those of Augoyat and Valaze mentioned above. End of Article: VAUBAN If you wish, you can link directly to this article.
<a href="http://jcsm.org/StudyCenter/Encyclopedia/VAN_VIR/VAUBAN.html"> VAUBAN </a> |
|
|
(Previous) VATTEL, EMERIC (EMER) DE (1714-1767) |
(Next) VAUCLUSE |
Jesus Christ Saves Ministries, P.O. Box 70696, Pasadena, CA 91117JCSM is a 501(c)(3), non-profit organization. Copyright © 1997-present. |
Free & Cheap Cell
Phones |
Cheap Long Distance
Phone Service Carriers |
Talk America Local Phone Service
|
Ztel & MCI - Unlimited Long Distance
Compare
Cell Phone Plans & Companies |
International Calling Cards & Prepaid Phone Cards |
Voice Over IP Broadband Internet Phone
Service | Wireless
Phone Plans & Cheap Cell Phones
|
_____________________________________________________________________________
Online First Aid and CPR Certification . The Online Christ Centered Ministries . The Skeptic's Annotated Bible: Corrected and Explained . The Inerrancy Discussion Board . Free Email Accounts . Home Equity Loans . JasonGastrich.com . The Missions, Apologetics, and Creation Bible Conference . Young Earth Creation Science . San Diego Music Lessons . 10,000 Wise Quotes and Spiritual Sayings . Gastrich.net . Maximizing the Internet: 12 Keys to Success . Louisiana Baptist University . NKJV Web Hosting and Services . Michael Newdow . San Diego Soccer Training . Christian Guitar Lessons . Jesus Christ Saves Ministries . Eternal Security
