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A redoubt is a fort or fort system usually consisting of an enclosed defensive emplacement outside a larger fort, usually relying on earthwork
Earthworks (engineering)

Earthworks are engineering works created through the moving of massive quantities of soil or unformed rock . Engineers need to concern themselves with issues of geotechnical engineering and with quantity estimation to ensure that soil volumes in the Cut match those of the Fill dirt, while minimizing the distance of movement....
s, though others are constructed of stone or brick. It is meant to protect soldiers outside the main line of defense and can be a permanent structure or a hastily-constructed temporary fortification. Redoubts were a component of the military strategies of most European empires during the colonial era, especially in the outer works of Vauban
Vauban

S?bastien Le Prestre, Seigneur de Vauban and later Marquis de Vauban , commonly referred to as Vauban, was a Marshal of France and the foremost military engineer of his age, famed for his skill in both designing fortifications and in breaking through them....
-style fortresses made popular during the 17th century, although the concept of redoubts has existed since medieval times.






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A redoubt is a fort or fort system usually consisting of an enclosed defensive emplacement outside a larger fort, usually relying on earthwork
Earthworks (engineering)

Earthworks are engineering works created through the moving of massive quantities of soil or unformed rock . Engineers need to concern themselves with issues of geotechnical engineering and with quantity estimation to ensure that soil volumes in the Cut match those of the Fill dirt, while minimizing the distance of movement....
s, though others are constructed of stone or brick. It is meant to protect soldiers outside the main line of defense and can be a permanent structure or a hastily-constructed temporary fortification. Redoubts were a component of the military strategies of most European empires during the colonial era, especially in the outer works of Vauban
Vauban

S?bastien Le Prestre, Seigneur de Vauban and later Marquis de Vauban , commonly referred to as Vauban, was a Marshal of France and the foremost military engineer of his age, famed for his skill in both designing fortifications and in breaking through them....
-style fortresses made popular during the 17th century, although the concept of redoubts has existed since medieval times. A redoubt differs from a redan
Redan

Redan is a term related to fortifications. It is a work in a V-shaped salient angle toward an expected attack. It can be made from earthworks or other material....
 in that the redan is open in the rear, whereas the redoubt was considered an enclosed work.

The advent of mobile warfare
Mobile warfare

*For various forms of wars based on mobility, see Maneuver warfare.*For the specific military methods of Mao Zedong, yundong zhan, see Mobile Warfare....
 in the 20th Century generally diminished the importance of the defense of static positions and siege warfare, though combat bases and fire bases of the Vietnam War
Vietnam War

The Vietnam War, also known as the Second Indochina Wars, the Vietnam Conflict, or often in Vietnam the American War occurred in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia from 1959 to April 30, 1975....
, and Forward Operating Base
Forward Operating Base

A forward operating base is any secured forward position that is used to support tactical operations. A FOB may or may not contain an airfield, hospital, or other facilities....
s of the Iraq War
Iraq War

The Iraq War, also known as the Second Gulf War, the Occupation of Iraq, and Operation Iraqi Freedom, is an ongoing conflicts military campaign which began on March 20, 2003 with the 2003 invasion of Iraq by a Multinational force in Iraq now led by and composed almost entirely of troops from the United States and United King...
 and Afghanistan
War in Afghanistan (2001–present)

The War in Afghanistan, which began on October 7, 2001 as the U.S. military operation Operation Enduring Freedom, was launched by the United States with the United Kingdom in response to the September 11, 2001 attacks....
 can be seen as the descendants of this type of fortified position.

Historically important redoubts


Wars of the Three Kingdoms

During the Wars of the Three Kingdoms
Wars of the Three Kingdoms

The Wars of the Three Kingdoms formed an intertwined series of conflicts that took place in Scotland, Ireland, and England between 1639 and 1651 after these three countries had come under the "Personal Rule" of the same monarch....
 redoubts were frequently built to protect older fortifications from the more effective artillery of the period. Often close to ancient fortifications there were small hills that overlooked the defences, but in previous centuries these had been too far from the fortifications to be a threat. A small hill close to Worcester was used as an artillery platform by the Parliamentarians when they successfully besieged Worcester in 1646
Siege of Worcester (1646)

The Siege of Worcester took place in 1646, towards the end of the First English Civil War, when Parliamentary forces under the command of Thomas Rainsborough besieged the city of Worcester, accepting the capitulation of the 104 Royalist defenders on July 22 1646....
. In 1651 before the Battle of Worcester
Battle of Worcester

The Battle of Worcester took place on 3 September 1651 at Worcester, England and was the final battle of the English Civil War. Oliver Cromwell and the Parliament of England defeated the Cavalier, predominantly Scotland, forces of King Charles II of England....
 the hill was turned into a redoubt by the Royalists
Cavalier

Cavalier was the name used by Roundheads for a Royalist supporter of Charles I of England during the English Civil War . Prince Rupert of the Rhine, commander of much of Charles I's cavalry, is often considered an archetypical Cavalier....
, (the remains of which can be seen today in Fort Royal Hill Park
Fort Royal Hill

Fort Royal Hill, is in a park in Worcester and the site of the remains of an English Civil War fort....
). During the Battle of Worcester
Battle of Worcester

The Battle of Worcester took place on 3 September 1651 at Worcester, England and was the final battle of the English Civil War. Oliver Cromwell and the Parliament of England defeated the Cavalier, predominantly Scotland, forces of King Charles II of England....
, the Parliamentarians captured this redoubt and turned its guns on Worcester. In so doing they made the defence of the city untenable. This action effectively ended the battle, the last of the English Civil War
English Civil War

The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Roundhead and Cavalier. The First English Civil War and Second English Civil War civil wars pitted the supporters of Charles I of England against the supporters of the Long Parliament, while the Third English Civil War saw fighting between supporters...
.

Other important redoubts

Hawthorn Ridge Mine 1 July 1916 2
See the Battle of Poltava
Battle of Poltava

The Battle of Poltava on 27 June 1709 was the decisive victory of Peter I of Russia over Charles XII of Sweden in the most famous of the battles of the Great Northern War....
 (1709), the Battle of Yorktown
Battle of Yorktown

The Battle of Yorktown can refer to:*Siege of Yorktown , a major battle during the the American Revolutionary War, also known as the American War of Independence....
 (1781) where Alexander Hamilton led his only military command against a British redoubt, the Battle of Bunker Hill
Battle of Bunker Hill

The Battle of Bunker Hill took place on June 17, 1775 on Breed's Hill, as part of the Siege of Boston during the American Revolutionary War. General Israel Putnam was in charge of the revolutionary forces, while Major-General William Howe, 5th Viscount Howe commanded the Kingdom of Great Britain forces....
 (1775), the Lines of Torres Vedras
Lines of Torres Vedras

The Lines of Torres Vedras were lines of Fortification built in secrecy to defend Lisbon during the Peninsular War. Named after the nearby town of Torres Vedras, they were ordered by Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, constructed by Portuguese workers between November 1809 and September 1810, and used to stop Andr? Mass?na 1810 offen...
 of the Peninsular War
Peninsular War

The Peninsular War or Spanish War of Independence was a contest between First French Empire and the allied powers of Spain, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and Kingdom of Portugal for control of the Iberian Peninsula during the Napoleonic Wars....
 (1809–1810), the Battle of Borodino
Battle of Borodino

The Battle of Borodino , fought on September 7, 1812, was the largest and bloodiest single-day action of the Napoleonic Wars, involving more than 250,000 troops and resulting in at least 70,000 casualties....
 (1812), the Charge of the Light Brigade
Charge of the Light Brigade

The Charge of the Light Brigade was a disastrous charge of British cavalry led by James Brudenell, 7th Earl of Cardigan against Russian forces during the Battle of Balaclava on 25 October 1854 in the Crimean War....
 (1854), the Railroad Redoubt
Railroad Redoubt

The Railroad Redoubt was one of several redoubts, or small defensive earthworks, that were constructed during the American Civil War to protect the city of Vicksburg, Mississippi, from Union army attack....
 of the Battle of Vicksburg
Battle of Vicksburg

The Siege of Vicksburg was the final major military action in the Vicksburg Campaign of the American Civil War. In a series of maneuvers, Union Army Major general Ulysses S....
 (1863), and during World War I
World War I

World War I, or the First World War , was a global military conflict which involved the Great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War I and the Central Powers....
 the "National Redoubt of Antwerp
Réduit national

The R?duit National , National Redoubt or 'De versterkte stelling Antwerpen' was a term given for the collection of strongholds and fortifications encircling the city of Antwerp built in the second half of the 19th century....
" (1914) as well as the Hawthorn Ridge Redoubt
Hawthorn Ridge Redoubt

Hawthorn Ridge Redoubt was a Germany front-line fortification west of the village of Beaumont Hamel on the Somme River. It was the scene of a number of costly attacks by United Kingdom infantry during the Battle of the Somme in 1916....
  (1916) are examples where redoubts played a crucial role in military history.

See also

  • List of established military terms: Fortification
    List of established military terms

    This is a list of established military terms which have been in use for at least 50 years. Technology has changed so not all of them are in current use, or they may have been superseded by more modern ones....
  • National redoubt
    National Redoubt

    A national redoubt is a general term for an area to which the forces of a nation can be withdrawn if the main battle has been lost?or even beforehand if defeat is considered inevitable....
  • Réduit
    Reduit

    Commonly, the r?duit is a fortified defence structure which is used in order that the defending troops can survive and hold out an attack....


External links

  • , near Pensacola
    Pensacola, Florida

    Pensacola is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle and the county seat of Escambia County, Florida. As of the United States 2000 Census, the city had a total population of 56,255 and as of 2006, the estimated population was 53,248....
    , Florida
    Florida

    Florida is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States of the United States, bordering Alabama to the northwest and Georgia to the northeast....