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Schanze (fortress)
A ''schanze'' () is, according to the specialist terminology of German fortification construction, an independent fieldwork, that is frequently used in the construction of temporary (not permanent) field fortifications.Rüstow: ''Militärisches Handwörterbuch.'' 1859, s.v. Schanze The word is German and has no direct English equivalent, although the word sconce is derived from Dutch ''schans'', which is cognate to the German word. In everyday German speech, however, it is commonplace to refer to permanent fortifications as ''schanzen'', because in many places in times of war, fieldworks that were only temporarily thrown up were later turned into permanent fortifications. Derivation The word ''Schanze'' derives originally from the fact that, during sieges in the Late Middle Ages, temporary defensive positions had frequently been built out of gabions, known in German as ''Schanzkörbe''.Duden: ''Herkunftswörterbuch.'' under ''Schanze'' Later such ''schanzen'' very often co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Redan
Redan (a French word for "projection", "salient") is a feature of fortifications. It is a work in a V-shaped salient angle towards an expected attack. It can be made from earthworks or other material. The redan developed from the lunette, originally a half-moon-shaped outwork; with shorter flanks it became a redan. History Redans were a common feature in the coastal batteries built in Malta between 1715 and the end of the 18th century. Surviving batteries with redans include Mistra Battery and Saint Anthony's Battery. The Russians used redans on their left at the Battle of Borodino against Napoleon. A small redan whose faces make an obtuse angle with a vertex toward the enemy is called a ''flèche'' (arrow in French). The ''Bagration flèches'' were three redans backwards in echelon. The Shevardino Redoubt (another redan) was erected as an early warning post a mile in front of the Bagration flèches. The "Redan hole" in golf A ''Redan hole'' or ''Redan'' is an aspe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Meyers Konversations-Lexikon
' or ' was a major encyclopedia in the German language that existed in various editions, and by several titles, from 1839 to 1984, when it merged with the '. Joseph Meyer (1796–1856), who had founded the publishing house in 1826, intended to issue a universal encyclopaedia meant for a broad public: people having a general knowledge as well as businessmen, technicians and scholars, considering contemporary works like those of and to be superficial or obsolete. First edition The first part of ' ("Great encyclopaedia for the educated classes") appeared in October 1839. In contrast to its contemporaries, it contained maps and illustrations with the text. There is no indication of the planned number of volumes or a time limit for this project, but little headway had been made by the otherwise dynamic . After six years, 14 volumes had appeared, covering only one fifth of the alphabet. Another six years passed before the last (46th) volume was published. Six supplementary vol ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sconce (fortification)
A sconce is a small protective fortification, such as an earthwork, often placed on a mound as a defensive work for artillery. It was used primarily in Northern Europe from the late Middle Ages until the 19th century. This type of fortification was common during the English Civil War, and the remains of one such structure can be seen on Fort Royal Hill in Worcester, England. During the Eighty Years' War for Dutch independence, the sconces (''schans'' in Dutch) were often used to defend strategic places, but were used also during sieges and in circumvallations. Several more or less intact sconces remain in the Netherlands. The Zaanse Schans, one of the top tourist locations in the Netherlands, derived its name from its original function as a sconce. Sconces played a major part in the Serbian Revolution, countering the numerical superiority of the Turkish army. Etymology The etymology of sconce is from the Latin ''absconsus'', via the French ''esconce'': a word of many meanin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Baroque Schanzen
The Baroque fortifications in the Black Forest (german: link=no, Barocke Verteidigungsanlagen im Schwarzwald), also called Baroque Schanzen (''Barockschanzen'') or Black Forest lines (''Schwarzwaldlinien''), are historical, military earthworks, known as ''schanzen'', that were built in the Black Forest in what is now Germany. They were built in the 17th century to defend the Margraviate of Baden from French invasion. Together with their adjoining defensive lines, the Black Forest fortifications formed a defensive system over long that ran from north to south. Construction These defensive positions were built during the time of the conflicts between the House of Habsburg and the Kingdom of France in the 17th and 18th centuries, mainly during the War of the Palatine Succession and the War of the Spanish Succession. After the events of 1689 (including the destruction of Heidelberg Castle), Margrave Louis William of Baden-Baden (1655–1707), who was also known as "Turkish ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa (german: link=no, Unternehmen Barbarossa; ) was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and many of its Axis allies, starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during the Second World War. The operation, code-named after Frederick Barbarossa ("red beard"), a 12th-century Holy Roman emperor and German king, put into action Nazi Germany's ideological goal of conquering the western Soviet Union to repopulate it with Germans. The German aimed to use some of the conquered people as forced labour for the Axis war effort while acquiring the oil reserves of the Caucasus as well as the agricultural resources of various Soviet territories. Their ultimate goal was to create more (living space) for Germany, and the eventual extermination of the indigenous Slavic peoples by mass deportation to Siberia, Germanisation, enslavement, and genocide. In the two years leading up to the invasion, Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union signed political and economic pacts for st ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the leader of the Nazi Party, becoming the Chancellor of Germany, chancellor in 1933 and then taking the title of in 1934. During his dictatorship, he initiated European theatre of World War II, World War II in Europe by invasion of Poland, invading Poland on 1 September 1939. He was closely involved in military operations throughout the war and was central to the perpetration of the Holocaust: the genocide of Holocaust victims, about six million Jews and millions of other victims. Hitler was born in Braunau am Inn in Austria-Hungary and was raised near Linz. He lived in Vienna later in the first decade of the 1900s and moved to Germany in 1913. He was decorated during his Military career of Adolf Hitler, service in the German Army in Worl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kętrzyn
Kętrzyn (, until 1946 ''Rastembork''; german: link=yes, Rastenburg ) is a town in northeastern Poland with 27,478 inhabitants (2019). Situated in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship (since 1999), Kętrzyn was previously in Olsztyn Voivodeship (1975–1998). It is the capital of Kętrzyn County. The town was named after historian Wojciech Kętrzyński in 1946. The first settlement was established in 1329 and Rastenburg was granted town rights and privileges in 1357. Over the centuries it was part of the Teutonic State, Poland and East Prussia in Germany. The town is known for the surrounding Masurian Lakeland and numerous monuments of historical value such as the Wolf's Lair in nearby Gierłoż, where an assassination attempt against Hitler was made in 1944. History The original inhabitants of the region were the Balt tribe of the Aesti, mentioned by Tacitus in his ''Germania'' (AD 98). The town, known in German as ''Rastenburg'' and in Polish as ''Rastembork'', was establish ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wolf's Lair
The ''Wolf's Lair'' (german: Wolfsschanze; pl, Wilczy Szaniec) served as Adolf Hitler's first Eastern Front military headquarters in World War II. The headquarters was located in the Masurian woods, near the small village of Görlitz in Ostpreußen (now Gierłoż), about 8 kilometres (5 miles) east of the small East Prussian town of Rastenburg (now Kętrzyn), in present-day Poland. Being one of the most heavily guarded places in the world, the central complex and the ''Führer'''s bunker was surrounded by three security zones guarded by two SS units: the ''SS-Begleitkommando des Führers'', and the ''Reichssicherheitsdienst''. The ''Wehrmacht''s armoured ''Führerbegleitbrigade'' was held in readiness nearby but, as a part of the '' Heer'''s elite ''Großdeutschland'' Division, was used to counter-attack Red Army break-throughs in Army Group Centre's front and rescue cut-off ''Heer'', ''Luftwaffe'' '' Fallschirmjager'' and SS panzer troops. The most notable event that oc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Baroque Fortifications In The Black Forest
The Baroque fortifications in the Black Forest (german: link=no, Barocke Verteidigungsanlagen im Schwarzwald), also called Baroque Schanzen (''Barockschanzen'') or Black Forest lines (''Schwarzwaldlinien''), are historical, military earthworks, known as ''schanzen'', that were built in the Black Forest in what is now Germany. They were built in the 17th century to defend the Margraviate of Baden from French invasion. Together with their adjoining defensive lines, the Black Forest fortifications formed a defensive system over long that ran from north to south. Construction These defensive positions were built during the time of the conflicts between the House of Habsburg and the Kingdom of France in the 17th and 18th centuries, mainly during the War of the Palatine Succession and the War of the Spanish Succession. After the events of 1689 (including the destruction of Heidelberg Castle), Margrave Louis William of Baden-Baden (1655–1707), who was also known as "Turkish Loui ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Black Forest
The Black Forest (german: Schwarzwald ) is a large forested mountain range in the state of Baden-Württemberg in southwest Germany, bounded by the Rhine Valley to the west and south and close to the borders with France and Switzerland. It is the source of the Danube and Neckar rivers. Its highest peak is the Feldberg with an elevation of above sea level. Roughly oblong in shape, with a length of and breadth of up to , it has an area of about 6,009 km2 (2,320 sq mi). Historically, the area was known for forestry and the mining of ore deposits, but tourism has now become the primary industry, accounting for around 300,000 jobs. There are several ruined military fortifications dating back to the 17th century. History In ancient times, the Black Forest was known as , after the Celtic deity, Abnoba. In Roman times (Late antiquity), it was given the name ("Marcynian Forest", from the Germanic word ''marka'' = "border"). The Black Forest probably represented the bo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gorge (fortification)
A gorge in field fortification is the "unexposed side of a fieldwork", typically the rear of an independent fieldwork or detached outwork in front of the main fortress or defensive position. Outworks with open gorges Straith describes three commonly used classes of field work: "works open at the gorge, works enclosed all round and lines." He lists the following as works open at the gorge: * Redan * Lunette * Redan with flanks * Double Redan * Tenaille-head * Bastion-head Closed works are the redoubt, star fort and bastion A bastion or bulwark is a structure projecting outward from the curtain wall of a fortification, most commonly angular in shape and positioned at the corners of the fort. The fully developed bastion consists of two faces and two flanks, with fi ...ed fort. Gorges of 'half-closed works' were usually closed either by a parapet or stockade. References Literature * * * {{Fortifications Fortification (architectural elements) ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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