New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1855-06-29
In order to accomplish this, the above redoubts

Hanling the Mamelon (KAmtscbstka) on it.
risbt, had to be taken Accordingly, after Sc
hours canronsding, on the evening Of the 9TH
of June the French advanced upOnthe two re-
doubts Selenghinsk and VolbJns over the Ca
reeniDg Bay and upon the MaInelon, while the
British assaulted the quarry. After an hours
sharp struggle the Allies were in possession Of
the works. number OF guns were taken as
we'll as 400 prisoners among them 10 officers.
Tie loss OIL both sides WAS very heavy.
Thus affairs on that side are nearly in the same
state now as they were before the odd February
OF tie redOubts CARRIE by the Allies that of the
Nam, Ion (cslled by the Russians the Ksmt-cbat-
ka redoubt) wss the most important 1t was con-
structed on the 10Th of March and the following
Gays. At that time we at once pointed out the
great importance Of this work and the consider
able pant it would play in the struggle. The
event has fully justified our views. This hastily
constructed field work has arrested the progress
of the besIegers on one-half Of the whole line of
attack for Lightweight days, or for a period
which in ordinary sieges is considered more
than sufficient 10 take good. sized fortress
twice over. We will now tx plain this astenish-
ing phenomenon, which has but two parallels in
the history Of sieges: one iD the defense of Col
berg, 1871, by the Prussians; the other in the
defense of DGntzic by the French in l5l3-H.
With the increase Of armies ia the field, the
old and generally small Notifications of the time
OF Yauban lost their significance. They were
safely passed by the hosts of the victor and
scarcely observed by his flying corps, until the
reserves of his army came up and found time to
take them. But when these considerable
armies on their march fell in with large for
tresses they were invariably arrested. This
was the case with Napoleon at Mantu4 in 1877,
and at Dsntzic in 1857. The reason is evil
dent. When an army Of 10000 men adj
vanced into a hostile country the small fry
of fortresses offered no danger in the rear:
all their gsrrisohs put together were not
strong enough to meet the reenforcements snd
reserves which were dispatched from the depots
to keep up the active army to its full strength.
Such small garrisOns, besides, could not detach
any strong bodies of troops to scour the field
and to interrupt the communications of the hos
tile army. But when fortress of consider
able extent was met with, garrsOned BY $1,000
to q, OC0 men, the case was different. Such
fortress was the nucleus Of defense for whole
provinces; it could detach in any direction, and
to considerable distance, strong body of
troops capable of acting in the field and always
sure, in case of superior attack, of safe re-
treat to the stronghold. To observe such for
tress was nearly as troublesome as to take it;
therefore, it had TO be taken at once.
Row the old fortresses of the Vauban aud
CaImontsgne sort concentrated all their means
of defense around tho main rampant and in the
main ditch. All their tenailles, demi-lunes, cOun-
ter guards, tOwer-reduits were accumulated sOas
to form with all but one line of defense, which,
when once broken into, was pierced altogether
in few days; and breach once made through
these deienses, the place was taken. 1t is evil
dent that such system was totally I'M
adapted to the large fortresses which alone
could check the advance of large invading
a. mics; It would have amounted to sacrificing
the garrisOn; the breach once effected the fort
became deftnseless. Another system had to
be resOTted tO-that of advanced works. The
French General Montalembert, the teacher of
Carnot, was the first who boldly stood up, in
spite of the prejudices Of his profession, for de-
tached forts; but the method Of constructing
large fortresses with detached forts so as to
form complete system of defense was elabo-
rated to its present perfection in Germany, par
ticularly by the Prussan General Aster. The
splendid defenses of Cologne, Coblentz, Posen,
K0ngsbeIg, and partly of Mayence are his work,
and they mark new era in the history of forth
fcations. The French at last acknowledged the
necessity of coming round to this system and
constructed the defenses of Paris with detached
wsrks planned and executed in frst-rate style.
The system ofdetached forts at once necessi-
tated new mode Of defense. The garrlsons
of large fortre-ses had TO be increased to
such numbers that there was no necessity of
keeping up merely passive defense, until
the enemy, advancing to the glscis, came
within reach of sallies A garrison of 20, 900 or
%, coo men was strong enough to attack the
enemy on his own ground. The fortress and the
space around il, so far as it protected by the
detached forts, took the nature of sn intrenched
camp or of base for the fed operations of the
garrison, which itself was converted into small
army. The hitherto passive defense became ac-
tive; il took on an offer sye character SO neces-
sary was this that when the French in 1907 be-
sieged Dantzic, the Prussian garrison which
numbered about 90, 600, constructed those very
detached forts which we're not in existence,
but which were Immediately found to be re-
quired in order to apply the resources of this
larca nerrison IN q nroner defense of tine DIare