The Sun.
London, England, 1866-09-11 00:00:00

THE LINES OF VERONA.

(From the Times Military Correspondent)
VERONA, Sept. 5.

The sensations with which one regards a nest of
fortresses such as the Quadrilateral are very diffe-
rent in war and peace. When the Archduke fought
the battle of Custozza, Verona was regarded as a
port in a storm—a refuge in the hour of need; for
his whole army might have sought shelter within
the line of her forts if the fortunes of the day had
turned against the Austrians, and defeat instead of
victory had attended their arms. But now that Italy
bas achieved her long self-set task, and it only re-
mains for diplomatists to settle the exact terms of
the treaty, there is a crushing weight in the para-
pets, ditches, and detached forts that makes one long
for the free mountain air, so near in space and yet
so far removed in nature from these oppressive for-
tifications. Josefstadt, Koniggratz, and Theresien-
stadt are border strongholds ; Olmutz is a great
fortress ; Venice is a pearl placed in an almost im-
pregnable casket ; but Verona is a fortified camp,
built to contain a host, which it can shield from
sudden attack, and yet suffer to go forth against the
enemy without a check upon the mobility of the
mass of men. The Austrians have not exaggerated
its capabilities in this respect, nor have the sums
spent upon it been overestimated, and yet it is dis-
appointing onthe whole, and for purposes of defence
does not appear to me nearly equal to Venice. In
studying its capabilities it is always necessary to take
into consideration that the lines have been con-
structed rather as a refuge for an army and as a
great strategical point to be held than as an ordinary
fortress. The town contains some 60,000 inhabi-
tants, yet it seems but a garrison of soldiers ; some
of its fine old churches are turned into hospitals, its
theatres into corn stores, and the most perfect
Roman amphitheatre in Europe, a contemporary of
the Coliseum at Rome, was used as a prison for the
Italians taken at the battle of Custozza.

The strati *ml importance of the Quadrilateral
chiefly depends upon the facts that it covers the
passage of the great rivers, that the principal roads
from the south and east pass through it, and that
can always contain safely an army prepared to issue
forth at any moment and act on the enemy's com-
munications, or attack him in flank or rear. By its
proximity to the Tyrol and its command of the
great route to Vienna, by the Brenner, it may also
be considered as the key of the Tyrol. If Austria
could continue to hold Verona, she could pass her
armies into Italy whenever she pleased, and it is not
too much to say that Italy's existence as a nation
capable of holding its own depends more upon the
possession of Verona than of Venice. This strategi-
cal importance is not a late discovery. Parts of the
walls of the Emperor Gallienus still remain, but for
the most part forming the sides and angles of more
modern houses. Theoderic and Charlemagne suc-
cessively fortified the place, and the works of the
Scaligieri, improved by San Michell in the early
part of the 16th century, are left to show how art
can be combined with utility, and beauty with the
strength required to resist the sieges of that period.
But long-rouge rifled guns have introduced a new
era in fortifications, so that if the enemy is to be
kept at a safe distance it is necessary to build forts
far outside the enceinte, and when these are taken it
is doubtful if the main works would be of more use
than to gain better terms of capitulation. Here lies
Verona's weakness, for if the besieger advances
steadily against two or three of the forts and takes•
them, as be easily may, by regular attack, the re-'
minder of the works are almost in his power. The
outer forts have all been built since 1815, and may
be said to have always been in process of building
since that year, for, as the arms improved which
could be brought against her, Verona stretched
out her graSp further and further upon the sur-
rounding country. And this process was very
needful, for the enceinte is weak, consisting on
the east and south for the most part of very
flat
.bastions, weakly flanked and capable of
being enfiladed without much difficulty, and on the
west and north by irregular works, some of which
are more picturesque than powerful.
Though Verona lies at the foot of the last spurs
of the Tyrol, the town itself is almost completely on
flat ground, and is commanded by the most salient
point of the mountains which juts out from the im-
posing Alps above, reaching close down to the Adige,
which here winds backwards and forwards through
the town and its protecting forts. These windings
are all in favour of defence, for they render a direct
advance up or down the river bank impossible. The
mountain spur above the town divides itself into
three different elevations. That on the west comes
quite down upon the Adige, about 5,000 paces from
the nearest point of the enceinte, and as an enemy
could not turn the fortress in this direction without
crossing the Adige and exposing his flank and com-
munications to the army in the shelter of the works,
there are no forts on this elevation; but that in the
centre completely commands the town, touching the
river where it makes its next bend, about the very
centre of the works, and is occupied, besides the
Scaligierian main works with their towers and forked
battlements, by four forts and four towers, eight
distinct works, all completely detached from one
another, the furthest of them being about 5,000
paces from the bend in the Adige, and the nearest
about a sixth of that distance. The third division
of the spur is separated from the others by a consi-
derable valley, and may indeed be called a distinct
spur. It does not reach the river, but commands
the third bend and the country to the south-east by
two forts, the furthest of which is under 5,000 paces
from the stream, and about the same distance from
Fort Empress Elizabeth, which is situated on the
road to Vicenza, and commands the approaches
from the east both by road and railway. Supposing
an enemy to have taken Fort Elizabeth, and to be
advancing along the road to the town, he would
pass close by the bend of the river, receiving the
fire of Fort Catterina (within the loop), and
after marching 5,000 paces, would reach the part of
the enceinte to the east of the place, and find him-
self face to face with the first pentangular bastioned
front constructed in Europe, by the genius of San
3licheli. This part of the works is flanked on its
left by Fort Biondella at the south-east point of the
central spur mentioned above, and on its right by
Fort Scholl, which lies between the loop of the river
in which is situated Fort St. Catterina (or Fort
Hess) and the loop which passes through the town.
But I must not forget that a new fort has lately
been constructed, though not yet quite finished,
about half-way between Fort Empress Elizabeth'
and the nearest of the forts on the last-hamed spur
of the hills. On the west and south of the river are,
first, part of tt.' ,enceinte flanked by Fort Procolo
on the right, near the Bastion St. Procolo, and in
front of it the Redoubt Wallmoden. Both of these
flank the river in thenorth-west direction, and sweep
the ground in rear of the next line of forts which lie
outside, forming a chain along the railway at dis-
tances from each other of about 1,000 or 1,500
paces from centre to centre. A train coming down
the valley -
of the Adige would cross the river just as
it reached the first spur mentioned above, and im-
mediately on the right of this point lies the Work
(or Fort) Albrecht.'- The river makes a small bend
before the railwayandpi
runs close to it again between
the stream
Fort Emperor Francis Joseph. Here
the line of the
watersweeps round in is abandoned, and the train
a curve which passes close to Forts
Racletalty
Strafsolde,
(the only one behind the rail-
way), Lichtenstein, Aspre, se hwartzenburg, and
Wratislaw. At this point southwest of the centre
of the town the railway turns in, I.
ng
of works, which are continued by the
chain
Fort Clam, the
tower of Culoz, and, finally, a little • retired, stands
the large fort of St. Catterina (or II
(..ss) mentioned
above. In this line there are, therefore, 11 forts,
covering the town and a considerable portion of the
winding river, while their rear is protected some_
times by the river, sometimes by Forts Wallmoden
and Procolo, sometimes by the enceinte ; and,
finally, behind Fort Catterm
.
• I is Fort Scholl on the
other side of the river. _ _

But the hand has been stretched further than this,
for there are five forts in a curve extending to those
just named—Crown Prince, Archduchess Gizella,
New Wratislaw, Stadion, and last but not least in-
teresting, the new and excellently-constructed earth-
Work Ca Vecchia. The outer line averages about
5,000 paces from the nearest part of the enceinte,.