Séré de Rivières system
Encyclopedia
The Séré de Rivières system was an ensemble of fortifications built from 1874 and first used at the beginning of the First World War along the frontiers and coasts of France
. It derived its name from the man who conceived it, Raymond Adolphe Séré de Rivières
.
of 1870, France found itself seriously weakened and isolated from the rest of Europe
, menaced by Germany
and stung by the loss of Alsace-Lorraine
.
At the same time as the departure of the last German troops, France created the "Defense Committee" (Comité de Défense), active between 1872 and 1888, whose mission was to reorganize the defense of France's frontiers and coastal lands. To accomplish that, it was necessary to compensate for the lost territories of the Northeast, to modernize old fortifications which had been shown to be wanting in the last war, and to create new fortifications adapted to new combat techniques. In particular, the greatly improved effectiveness of artillery
in the new age demanded new measures.
The committee was created by a Presidential decree on 28 July 1872, with nine members from the Ministry of War and representatives from artillery and military engineering. General Séré de Rivières, commander of engineering for the Second Army Corps of Versailles
, was named secretary of the committee in 1873, and on 1 February 1874 was promoted to Chief of Engineers. During the ensuing years, Séré de Rivières was re-elected head of the committee with all powers necessary to realize his ideas without opposition.
The first works of the new French fortification system were launched in 1874.
In 1880, when the work was already quite advanced and after some internal rivalries and political machinations, General Séré de Rivières was removed from the Defense Committee. In spite of this, the work was continued, trench by trench.
, fortifications had not evolved during the course of the 19th century. During the conflicts of 1870 their shortcomings became clear: the principal of the "impregnable citadel" could not resist the assaults. It was necessary to re-think strongpoints and adapt them to the progress of artillery. Gone were citadels surrounding towns: forts were to be moved to the outside of the cities some 12 km to keep the enemy at a distance so their artillery could not bombard the city center. From now on a ring of forts were to be built at a spacing that would allow them to effectively cover the intervals between them.
The new forts abandoned the principle of the bastion
, which had also been made obsolete by advances in arms. The outline was a much simplified polygon, surrounded by a ditch that was covered by caponiers. These forts, built in masonry and shaped stone, were designed to shelter their garrison against bombardment. The fort's artillery was laid out on top of the fort in the open air.
One organizing feature of the new system involved the construction of two defensive curtains: an outer line of forts, backed by an inner ring or line of forts d’arrêt at critical points of terrain or junctions, along with great number of coastal batteries. Examples of the first sort may be found at Verdun
, Toul
, Épinal
, Belfort
in the northeast, as well as Paris
, and Brest
. Forts d'arrêts may be found at Manonviller
, (Meurthe-et-Moselle
) et de Bourlémont (Vosges).
. These developments multiplied the power of artillery against fortifications. Tests against the fort at Malmaison
indicated that forts built previously had been made were obsolete. Masonry forts were insufficiently resistant, and the artillery on their superstructures was extremely vulnerable. A new solution was required.
The answer was found in the use of high-strength concrete
, which was more resistant than masonry to explosive. The development of reinforced concrete
would allow the new fortifications to deal with the new threat. However, forts already constructed constituted a large portion of the system. The decision was made to downgrade some of the new forts and to improve others. Concrete was added to cover some forts, burying vulnerable portions such as magazines behind the new material.
and steel
industries allowed the new forts to use armor in innovative ways. In 1875 the Mougin system of laminated armor using rolled iron was first used in casemates to provide protection against field guns. Rolled iron gave way to cast iron
, providing protection against siege guns. Mougin also devised a revolving cast iron turret
for 155 mm guns. However, cast iron was not altogether suitable for protection against explosive shells, and its use was discontinued in 1882.
Beginning in 1885, steel was substituted for cast iron. Such non-retractable, or non-eclipsing turrets could avoid direct-fire damage to their gun embrasures only by facing away from the direction of fire. Eclipsing turrets were developed that could retract in the face of such attack, leaving only their top surfaces exposed. Such turrets were expensive and complex, with serious problems of noise and ventilation, but were shown to be effective. Where possible, casemated artillery was used, due to the lower cost of such an emplacement.
While heavy armament was being armored, lighter armament and observers were also protected. A range of armored machine gun and observation positions were developed and were widely installed.
A support network of 60 cm railways extended behind the lines to provide logistics. Known as the Péchot system, it was first installed at Toul
and was adopted as a standard in 1888.
Stop forts were intended to be autonomous, able to function in isolation from the rest of the system and assuring their own defense. Such forts could fire in all directions.
Screening forts were intended to lend mutual support to others of their kind and generally defended on one front. Their artillery focused on specific areas of control.
on the opposing side. Moat
s were unusual features at Séré de Rivières; most ditches were dry. Some walls were crenelated for defense, and many had caponier
s at angles to fire along the length of the ditch. Entries were typically by drawbridge
s.
Inside the fort's perimeter were multi-story barracks with facades facing interior courtyards. Barracks were typically semi-recessed into the walls and included mess halls, kitchens and cisterns. Powder magazines were buried for protection from artillery, located behind triple-locked double doors, and illuminated indirectly from lamp rooms to prevent accidental explosion.
The artillery was laid out in the open air on top of the ramparts. Shelters were provided for ready ammunition. In some cases, artillery was located in armored casemates or Mougin turrets. Special infantry positions were provided for defense of the ditch.
The most vulnerable locations in the fort were the magazines, which in the modernized forts were dispersed and more deeply buried. Protected paths were created along the ramparts, along with protected sally ports giving on to the ditch, and galleries within the counterscarps looking back at the fort.
Artillery was removed from the ramparts and placed under shelter of concrete. While the number of artillery pieces declined, the new equipment was as effective as the former batteries. Eclipsing infantry positions and observation cloches were also provided. The newest forts of this time were given central electrical plants.
the troops, under a flood of fire and fearing for the concrete fort, excavated new galleries under the fort for shelter and living quarters. Some of these galleries connected neighboring fortifications, foreshadowing the connected systems of the Maginot Line
. The so-called travaux de 17 (built in 1917) prefigured this advance as well.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. It derived its name from the man who conceived it, Raymond Adolphe Séré de Rivières
Raymond Adolphe Séré de Rivières
Raymond Adolphe Séré de Rivières was a French military engineer and general whose ideas revolutionized the design of fortifications in France. He gave his name to the Séré de Rivières system of fortifications constructed after the Franco-Prussian War of 1870...
.
Origin of the system
Following the Franco-Prussian WarFranco-Prussian War
The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the 1870 War was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia. Prussia was aided by the North German Confederation, of which it was a member, and the South German states of Baden, Württemberg and...
of 1870, France found itself seriously weakened and isolated from the rest of Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, menaced by Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and stung by the loss of Alsace-Lorraine
Alsace-Lorraine
The Imperial Territory of Alsace-Lorraine was a territory created by the German Empire in 1871 after it annexed most of Alsace and the Moselle region of Lorraine following its victory in the Franco-Prussian War. The Alsatian part lay in the Rhine Valley on the west bank of the Rhine River and east...
.
At the same time as the departure of the last German troops, France created the "Defense Committee" (Comité de Défense), active between 1872 and 1888, whose mission was to reorganize the defense of France's frontiers and coastal lands. To accomplish that, it was necessary to compensate for the lost territories of the Northeast, to modernize old fortifications which had been shown to be wanting in the last war, and to create new fortifications adapted to new combat techniques. In particular, the greatly improved effectiveness of artillery
Artillery
Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...
in the new age demanded new measures.
The committee was created by a Presidential decree on 28 July 1872, with nine members from the Ministry of War and representatives from artillery and military engineering. General Séré de Rivières, commander of engineering for the Second Army Corps of Versailles
Versailles
Versailles , a city renowned for its château, the Palace of Versailles, was the de facto capital of the kingdom of France for over a century, from 1682 to 1789. It is now a wealthy suburb of Paris and remains an important administrative and judicial centre...
, was named secretary of the committee in 1873, and on 1 February 1874 was promoted to Chief of Engineers. During the ensuing years, Séré de Rivières was re-elected head of the committee with all powers necessary to realize his ideas without opposition.
The first works of the new French fortification system were launched in 1874.
In 1880, when the work was already quite advanced and after some internal rivalries and political machinations, General Séré de Rivières was removed from the Defense Committee. In spite of this, the work was continued, trench by trench.
The 1874 fortifications
Since the fortifications executed by VaubanVauban
Sébastien 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 breaking through them...
, fortifications had not evolved during the course of the 19th century. During the conflicts of 1870 their shortcomings became clear: the principal of the "impregnable citadel" could not resist the assaults. It was necessary to re-think strongpoints and adapt them to the progress of artillery. Gone were citadels surrounding towns: forts were to be moved to the outside of the cities some 12 km to keep the enemy at a distance so their artillery could not bombard the city center. From now on a ring of forts were to be built at a spacing that would allow them to effectively cover the intervals between them.
The new forts abandoned the principle of the bastion
Bastion
A bastion, or a bulwark, is a structure projecting outward from the main enclosure of a fortification, situated in both corners of a straight wall , facilitating active defence against assaulting troops...
, which had also been made obsolete by advances in arms. The outline was a much simplified polygon, surrounded by a ditch that was covered by caponiers. These forts, built in masonry and shaped stone, were designed to shelter their garrison against bombardment. The fort's artillery was laid out on top of the fort in the open air.
One organizing feature of the new system involved the construction of two defensive curtains: an outer line of forts, backed by an inner ring or line of forts d’arrêt at critical points of terrain or junctions, along with great number of coastal batteries. Examples of the first sort may be found at Verdun
Verdun
Verdun is a city in the Meuse department in Lorraine in north-eastern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department.Verdun is the biggest city in Meuse, although the capital of the department is the slightly smaller city of Bar-le-Duc.- History :...
, Toul
Toul
Toul is a commune in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department in north-eastern France.It is a sub-prefecture of the department.-Geography:Toul is located between Commercy and Nancy, and situated between the Moselle River and the Canal de la Marne au Rhin....
, Épinal
Épinal
Épinal is a commune in northeastern France and the capital of the Vosges department. Inhabitants are known as Spinaliens.-Geography:The commune has a land area of 59.24 km²...
, Belfort
Belfort
Belfort is a commune in the Territoire de Belfort department in Franche-Comté in northeastern France and is the prefecture of the department. It is located on the Savoureuse, on the strategically important natural route between the Rhine and the Rhône – the Belfort Gap or Burgundian Gate .-...
in the northeast, as well as Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, and Brest
Brest, France
Brest is a city in the Finistère department in Brittany in northwestern France. Located in a sheltered position not far from the western tip of the Breton peninsula, and the western extremity of metropolitan France, Brest is an important harbour and the second French military port after Toulon...
. Forts d'arrêts may be found at Manonviller
Manonviller
Manonviller is a commune in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department in north-eastern France....
, (Meurthe-et-Moselle
Meurthe-et-Moselle
Meurthe-et-Moselle is a department in the Lorraine region of France, named after the Meurthe and Moselle rivers.- History :Meurthe-et-Moselle was created in 1871 at the end of the Franco-Prussian War from the parts of the former departments of Moselle and Meurthe which remained French...
) et de Bourlémont (Vosges).
The explosive shell crisis
From 1883 to 1885 a revolution occurred in artillery with the introduction of new materials and techniques, notably the introduction of rifled artillery and much more powerful explosives, such as picric acidPicric acid
Picric acid is the chemical compound formally called 2,4,6-trinitrophenol . This yellow crystalline solid is one of the most acidic phenols. Like other highly nitrated compounds such as TNT, picric acid is an explosive...
. These developments multiplied the power of artillery against fortifications. Tests against the fort at Malmaison
Malmaison
Malmaison may be:* Château de Malmaison, Rueil-Malmaison, France* Greenwood LeFlore's home, Greenwood, Mississippi, USA* Malmaison, a UK hotel chain....
indicated that forts built previously had been made were obsolete. Masonry forts were insufficiently resistant, and the artillery on their superstructures was extremely vulnerable. A new solution was required.
The answer was found in the use of high-strength concrete
Concrete
Concrete is a composite construction material, composed of cement and other cementitious materials such as fly ash and slag cement, aggregate , water and chemical admixtures.The word concrete comes from the Latin word...
, which was more resistant than masonry to explosive. The development of reinforced concrete
Reinforced concrete
Reinforced concrete is concrete in which reinforcement bars , reinforcement grids, plates or fibers have been incorporated to strengthen the concrete in tension. It was invented by French gardener Joseph Monier in 1849 and patented in 1867. The term Ferro Concrete refers only to concrete that is...
would allow the new fortifications to deal with the new threat. However, forts already constructed constituted a large portion of the system. The decision was made to downgrade some of the new forts and to improve others. Concrete was added to cover some forts, burying vulnerable portions such as magazines behind the new material.
Armor
Advances in the ironIron
Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...
and steel
Steel
Steel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten...
industries allowed the new forts to use armor in innovative ways. In 1875 the Mougin system of laminated armor using rolled iron was first used in casemates to provide protection against field guns. Rolled iron gave way to cast iron
Cast iron
Cast iron is derived from pig iron, and while it usually refers to gray iron, it also identifies a large group of ferrous alloys which solidify with a eutectic. The color of a fractured surface can be used to identify an alloy. White cast iron is named after its white surface when fractured, due...
, providing protection against siege guns. Mougin also devised a revolving cast iron turret
Mougin turret
The Mougin turret is a land-based revolving gun turret that housed some of the heaviest armament in French fortifications of the late 19th and early 20th centuries...
for 155 mm guns. However, cast iron was not altogether suitable for protection against explosive shells, and its use was discontinued in 1882.
Beginning in 1885, steel was substituted for cast iron. Such non-retractable, or non-eclipsing turrets could avoid direct-fire damage to their gun embrasures only by facing away from the direction of fire. Eclipsing turrets were developed that could retract in the face of such attack, leaving only their top surfaces exposed. Such turrets were expensive and complex, with serious problems of noise and ventilation, but were shown to be effective. Where possible, casemated artillery was used, due to the lower cost of such an emplacement.
While heavy armament was being armored, lighter armament and observers were also protected. A range of armored machine gun and observation positions were developed and were widely installed.
Defensive arrangement
The Séré de Rivières was based on the concepts of the fortified town and the defensive screen. The towns were intended to furnish locations for eventual counter-attack, while the defensive curtain prevented passage by an attacker. The screen was not continuous, and was arranged to channelize an attack to a secondary line of fortified towns. Other such systems were intended to delay the progress of an attack in order to build up defensive forces.Organization
A typical defended point consisted of a circle of forts about ten kilometers from the center, surrounding a town. The forts were able to provide mutual support and could fire on one another to suppress attacks. In addition to the principal forts, smaller works were provided to support the infantry in the intervals between forts. Such works provided shelter to infantry during bombardment and may contain reserve artillery.A support network of 60 cm railways extended behind the lines to provide logistics. Known as the Péchot system, it was first installed at Toul
Toul
Toul is a commune in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department in north-eastern France.It is a sub-prefecture of the department.-Geography:Toul is located between Commercy and Nancy, and situated between the Moselle River and the Canal de la Marne au Rhin....
and was adopted as a standard in 1888.
The forts
Three basic varieties of forts were constructed: stop forts, screening forts and point defense forts. Forts may be further categorized by their state of modernization.Stop forts were intended to be autonomous, able to function in isolation from the rest of the system and assuring their own defense. Such forts could fire in all directions.
Screening forts were intended to lend mutual support to others of their kind and generally defended on one front. Their artillery focused on specific areas of control.
First generation forts
Prior to modernization, these forts were built entirely of masonry, using large quantities of shaped stone. The forts were provided with a ditch, six to twelve meters wide and bounded by the main wall of the fort on one side and a counterscarpCounterscarp
A scarp and a counterscarp are the inner and outer sides of a ditch used in fortifications. In permanent fortifications the scarp and counterscarp may be encased in stone...
on the opposing side. Moat
Moat
A moat is a deep, broad ditch, either dry or filled with water, that surrounds a castle, other building or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. In some places moats evolved into more extensive water defences, including natural or artificial lakes, dams and sluices...
s were unusual features at Séré de Rivières; most ditches were dry. Some walls were crenelated for defense, and many had caponier
Caponier
A caponier is a type of fortification structure. The word originates from the French word "caponnière" - which strictly means capon-cote i.e. chickenhouse.The fire coming from the feature A caponier is a type of fortification structure. The word originates from the French word "caponnière" -...
s at angles to fire along the length of the ditch. Entries were typically by drawbridge
Drawbridge
A drawbridge is a type of movable bridge typically associated with the entrance of a castle surrounded by a moat. The term is often used to describe all different types of movable bridges, like bascule bridges and lift bridges.-Castle drawbridges:...
s.
Inside the fort's perimeter were multi-story barracks with facades facing interior courtyards. Barracks were typically semi-recessed into the walls and included mess halls, kitchens and cisterns. Powder magazines were buried for protection from artillery, located behind triple-locked double doors, and illuminated indirectly from lamp rooms to prevent accidental explosion.
The artillery was laid out in the open air on top of the ramparts. Shelters were provided for ready ammunition. In some cases, artillery was located in armored casemates or Mougin turrets. Special infantry positions were provided for defense of the ditch.
Modernized forts
After the rise of the explosive shell the most important forts were modernized. A supplementary shell of concrete was placed over the masonry to protect against the new artillery. In some cases, entirely new concrete casemates were built, leaving the stone casemates alone.The most vulnerable locations in the fort were the magazines, which in the modernized forts were dispersed and more deeply buried. Protected paths were created along the ramparts, along with protected sally ports giving on to the ditch, and galleries within the counterscarps looking back at the fort.
Artillery was removed from the ramparts and placed under shelter of concrete. While the number of artillery pieces declined, the new equipment was as effective as the former batteries. Eclipsing infantry positions and observation cloches were also provided. The newest forts of this time were given central electrical plants.
Forts after 1885
These forts were built in concrete from the beginning, but due to budget cuts were smaller in scale than their predecessors.Wartime improvisation
During the Battle of VerdunBattle of Verdun
The Battle of Verdun was one of the major battles during the First World War on the Western Front. It was fought between the German and French armies, from 21 February – 18 December 1916, on hilly terrain north of the city of Verdun-sur-Meuse in north-eastern France...
the troops, under a flood of fire and fearing for the concrete fort, excavated new galleries under the fort for shelter and living quarters. Some of these galleries connected neighboring fortifications, foreshadowing the connected systems of the Maginot Line
Maginot Line
The Maginot Line , named after the French Minister of War André Maginot, was a line of concrete fortifications, tank obstacles, artillery casemates, machine gun posts, and other defences, which France constructed along its borders with Germany and Italy, in light of its experience in World War I,...
. The so-called travaux de 17 (built in 1917) prefigured this advance as well.
See also
- Fortification (general)FortificationFortifications are military constructions and buildings designed for defence in warfare and military bases. Humans have constructed defensive works for many thousands of years, in a variety of increasingly complex designs...
- List of fortifications
- DouaumontDouaumontDouaumont is a commune in the Meuse department in Lorraine in north-eastern France.The village was destroyed during World War I. Today the Douaumont ossuary, which contains the remains of more than 100,000 unknown soldiers of both French and German nationalities found on the battlefield, stands...
- VerdunVerdunVerdun is a city in the Meuse department in Lorraine in north-eastern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department.Verdun is the biggest city in Meuse, although the capital of the department is the slightly smaller city of Bar-le-Duc.- History :...