Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1918-10-29
DEFENSES OF METZ
Taking Of City viii Be a Big Under
taking.
FOUTIfICArIOEs OF GREAT STRENGTH

WIKI Long heH9e So"S' eN NV
Destruction of the Town Is Of Blu
Little Value, So Long as the Fort
I Stand In the Way.
Metz is going to.be hard nut tt
lcrack," said a French general the 9th
er day. refiectively:
Inasmuch as the cracking il evident.
lily destined as a task for the American
army, It will be interesting to consider
what the Notifications of Metz are like
and why they are so formidable.
Metz is defended by n girdle OF de-
tached forts four to seven miles out
side of the city. This Is the modern
method OF defending n town. Its OBJ
ject Is to prevent an enemy from get
ting near enough to the city to bonn
bard 1t effectively.
Thereby Is constituted what is called
an "intrenchcd camp. Antwerp is
such a camp: so likewise with their
Idcfcnses) are Paris. Verdun and Bel
fort. Strassburg is another.
Metz Is first class example. In
1870 (while still French) II was thus
defended. but the outlying forts were
unfinished. The Germans have mod
ernized them and have added a sec
ond and outer ring OF formidable
works.
Each fort stands by itself. but all
Of them compose n system. being
/ I;nly hx.o nj of in ~
highly elaborate concrete intrench-
ments. with moats and other obsta-
cles, bomb-proof shelters and maga-
zines for ammunition and stores near
the fighting line.
| Roads and railroads connect the
forts with one another. Other roads
and railroads run like spokes Of n
wheel from the center Of the system
to the different defensive sectors.
Thus the defenders. provided with
perfect communications. have a great
advantage. being able to operate on
interior lines. They can at brief no
tice concentrate their forces against
an attack at any point. And in doing
80 they are not obliged to expose their
men or transport vehicles. inasmuch
as adequate covered approaches to the
| fighting line are provided.
| Behind the outer and inner girdles
of detached forts at Metz, located at
favorable points. arc specialized for
tifications designed to assist step-by-
step defense: and in the rear Of these
is n so-called last line defense sur
rounding the city. where the garrison
may resist to the ultimate limit.
| To illustrate rather strikingly the
development of the art Of fortification
/ within' less 9Shsa zfalf q century. II
may be mentioned that In 1870. at the
time Of the Franco -Prussian War, the
last line Of defense at Metz was a
loop-holed wall of masonry twelve
feet high! Imagine how long II would
stand against modern guns!
| The idea of detached forts for the
defense Of city was first adopted just
about century ago. At first they
were placed only 1000 yards or so
outside the main wall. But as the
range of siege guns increased 1t was
necessary to establish them at cor
respondingly greater distance.
| Hence 1t will be understood why.
within very recent years. the Ger
mans have thought It worth while to
spend huge sums OF money in extend
ing n ring OF forts outside of the orig
inal girdle. There was however
another idea In view. II so increased
the size OF the defensive circle that an
enormous besieging force would be
required to invest 1t.
| The detached forts OF former days
were massive structures Of mansonry,
containing barracks for infantry and
magazines and storehouses for am
munition and supplies. But the ar
rival Of the rifled cannon made exposed
masonry obsolete, and the year 1886
| found the French pounding away ex-
perimentally at one of their own for
tresscs CMalmaison) with high ex-
plosivc shells.
The destructive results were amaz-
ing. and their ensued a fresh resolu-
ton in the art Of fortification. AL
ways there has been a race in devel-
opment between the means OF offense
and the means OF defense. But on
land as well as on sea the weapon Of
offense has clearly and decisively won
Its final victory as one might say.
having been celebrated when the Ger
mans literally blew to pieces the forts
at Liegc. Namur and Antwerp.
Herewith. however. It became ap-
parent that the defenses OF Metz,
Strassburg and other German cities
must be regarded as in large part OBJ
solete. Like methods of attack
brought against them would inevitably
wipe them out.
Thus. from the present point Of
view and relatively to up-to- date
methods OF attack the forts Of Metz.
even taking into account all recent
improvements are really no more for
midable than the primitive works of
la century ago-,considered individ-
Iually, that is to say. Their strategic
value on the other hand. Is incom-
parably greater-meaning by that
term their total defensive efficiency.
enablins them to hold of from the
city a great force for an indefinite per-
tiod.
Sooner or later Metz will be sur
rounded and Invested" as the phrase
Is by the Americans and their Allies.
The siege Is likely to be long. But
such a siege. II long continued. can
end only with the surrender Of the
lgarrison. So we'll Is that recognized
that no military commander today
would think of seeking safety for his
army in an intrenched camp. The
army under such circumstances would
be as good as lost-a fact strikingly
illustrated by the experience Of Mar