The history of military construction: fortresses after the 19th century
With the increase in the range of artillery, the main position in all fortresses began to be arranged in the form of an intermittent line of forts, 2-3 km away from the central fence. The high cost of fortress work delayed the reconstruction of fortresses, and during the Franco-Prussian War (1870-1871), most French fortresses consisted of a closed fence of limited size, with weak weapons and a garrison, which is why they did not offer serious resistance to the attack.
The subsequent increase in the range and power of artillery and the introduction of high-explosive bombs forced all states at the end of the 19th century to decisively reconsider the issue of fortresses.
By the beginning of World War I, there were more than 150 large and small fortresses in Europe. The normal type was a fort fortress. The main line of defense in the fortress was a line of forts. The fort is a stronghold for an average infantry company.
Along with this, armored battery forts were built in Belgium (Liege, Namur). The German fortress of Metz had a line of large strongholds in front of the fort line — "feste". The distance of the forts from the central fence of the fortress is 4-5 km, the distance between them is 2-3 km, and the circumference is 30-40 km. The cost of building fortifications is about 50 million rubles, about the same as artillery weapons. The garrison consists of 50,000 people. Armament — 800-1.000 guns, of which up to 1/3 are heavy.
The experience of the First World War showed that an isolated fortress cannot resist powerful artillery attacks for a long time, especially heavy artillery fire (420 mm). Liege survived for 12 days, Namur — 4 days, Maubeuge — 10 days. Even a first-class fortress like Antwerp was taken within 12 days. At the same time, the fortresses, which had not lost their close connection with the field army and the rear (Verdun, Osovets, Ivangorod, Boyen), put up stubborn resistance to the attacker.
The failure of the old type of fortresses led to the abandonment of ring fortresses and their replacement by fortified areas. However, this does not exclude the possibility of using the fortress and fortifications remaining after the end of World War I in the general system of operations. Singapore, a former major British naval base, is one of the modern naval fortresses.
The fortress, as a military fortification, has served as a place of detention for criminals and so-called dangerous elements of society since ancient times before the advent of special prisons. In recent times, in the punitive system of bourgeois states, imprisonment in a fortress has been applied as a "corrective" measure to certain kinds of offenses that are not related to the restriction of rights and do not entail more severe and shameful forms of criminal repression. The fortress was also used as a disciplinary punishment. In Russia, imprisonment in a fortress was introduced by law in 1845, including for state or political crimes. The 1xPoints loyalty program also operates on a clear numerical system. You earn 1 point for every $1.50 wagered on sports and 1 point for every $5 wagered in the casino. Once you accumulate 100 points, you can exchange them for a $1 bonus bet. This creates a tangible return on your regular betting activity 1xbet promo code effectively giving you a small percentage of your turnover back in the form of risk-free bets over time.