Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1904-09-26
HOW FORTS ARE BUILT.
Modern Guns Have Made Obsolete
Once lnpregrabIe Earthworks.

Public Opinion par, phrases rs fol-
lows an article by Louis Zerlin in
| L'IlluStratiom:
Tile art of fortification has under
gone radical transformations in the
! laSt twenty years. In 1881. an lhNth-
ilnn came into existence which COM
pletely overthrow all former IDEAS il
! being discovered during this year that
II was possible to charge artillery pro-
JectIitS with powerful explosives; for
! example. with from ten 10 sixty pounds
Of gun cotton or melinite. In face OF
this now prNiectile none of the then eX-
lSllnS Notifications could stand even Il
snort siege. III all countries numerous
| experiments Were made, the results be
! ing terrifying and ut the same time 50
! contradictory that it WAS decided IT.
/ France to make an actual test. Instead
of artificial targets it was decided to
take Il real fort. that of MillnaiSon,
| near LaOn. and STUDY the effects !,rn-
| duced with The new projectileS. The
| iieW proicctilcS easily passed through
! twelve To eighteen feet OF earth, then
| burst ana thrcw the earth in tie air
with fore. which Ind never been
| known before that day, cutting great
bitches in til. ground Of from thirty to
one hundred and nifty square feet in
| extent. With Il ltW blows the cnor-
| lrous pnr&p"ts OF earth We're trans
| formed into 4 forlnlcSs mass which vas
utterly uSt lc-$. merely cutting or
twisting tie separate bars Withnu,
carnage to the r,St of the obstacle
| The nets Of wire were only twisted the
more, thus making the passage more
and more difficult.
| Here. then, WAS a real revolution.
All that existed in France and other
countries vas worthless. and il was
necessary to change everything. II
WAS demonstrated that the defence
| artillery could no longer remain as
| formerly. placed in forts which are
visible from Il distance. and in conse-
| quence of this it was decided TO place
the forces on the exterior of the forth
| fications. in so-called annex batteries.
| These batteries We're dug in the ground
| without any relief and We're consa-
| quently impossible to see from Il dis
! lance, being constructed as a rule only
at the time of need, so that their exact
! location should not be known to the
| enemy. In these batteries the greater
| portion Of the high power weapons are
| placed. Thus Il portion Of the de-
| tenders evacuate the forts and ds-
| tribute themselves a-rcMr Il c rtain
| number of exterior -. occupying
| successive lines of dcfcl,r which al"
arranged so as to r..a"ti tha first
| operations Of the si'@,. 'The enemy
not knowing the position of thcsr outer
works. cannot destroy them, as would
have been the ease f rmerly.
T FortificationS are thus now reduced
to the simple role of points of support
to the principle line of resistance. the
only guns placed in the forts being
certain pieces of great range ANA
| rapid-tire guns for close work. The
| r1st Of the defence artillery must lie
| rendered invulnera BILE. while at the
same time the positions which are oc-
! cupicd by the troops in the forts must
be completely protected against the
| effects of explosion. The solution OF
this difficulty was by means of
cunolas composed of iron plate on con-
crete, the cupolas under which the az
| tilery OF modern forts if protected be-
ing caps or mushrooms of special steel
and of sufficient thickness to resist the
| largest projcctles. They are placed
| for the most part in wells of concrete
or of steel.
| The two cupolas most in use are the
turning an@ the disappearing. The
first of these energies above the
| concrete in a very convex FORM the
cannon having their muzzles fitted into
| narrow opehings. These cupolas may
be rotated so that the opcnings-thc
only vulnar1 BILE points-are difficult to
| reach. This is the system which IN [,
recent times was almost exclusively
adopted abroad in Germany. Belgium,
ltoumAnia. Switzerland. etc. but ii was
afterwards recognized that the French
system WAS the best. and that is tho
one most used mt present. The French
models az" these Of the Galopin dis3n-
praIinr system. In this ease We have
. great cylinder placed in a wei Of
| concrete. tn" ,ylinG"r being pierced
with two holos for tie mouths of tho
cannon. which in no:,riy every case are
in couples. The base of this cylindcr.
is artiC ulatcd TO one Of the oxtremitirS
Of tw" strong levers. which end in
immense masses of iron. the lattp--
being designed to equlibratc the whole
Of tire turret. 1t is thus easy to see
how it is possible ut the moment of
firing to raise the turrct And to lower
1t Immediately tho explosion occurs
IRE turret is capped with steel which
IS pHojectile proof. the cap being very
Hat. So that both impact and visibility
are reduced to minimum. The
cylindrical portion of the turret-tha
only vulnerable parts only exposed
t" n height Of thirty or forty
rnntimetres ana during the two or
three seconds which are necessary for
IN" ascent and descent.
Ihis is not all that is necessary. how
ever. for one must see and observe
For this purpose ~ 4 distance from the
turret there is constructed an armored
post. little steel cylinder provided
with iGopholes and surrounded with
concrete. where the observer-the com
handing ofTicer-is practically in
vulnerable, direction Of the movements
in the fort being blamed by means Of
tp1aDhoup SpI1ctir7oc these &c 3