Castle Batteries are a series of

artillery batteries In military organizations, an artillery battery is a unit or multiple systems of artillery, mortar systems, rocket artillery, multiple rocket launchers, surface-to-surface missiles, ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, etc., so grouped to faci ...

that are part of the Northern Defences of the

British Overseas Territory The British Overseas Territories (BOTs), also known as the United Kingdom Overseas Territories (UKOTs), are fourteen dependent territory, territories with a constitutional and historical link with the United Kingdom. They are the last remna ...

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...

. The batteries descend from the

Moorish Castle The Moorish Castle is the name given to a medieval fortification in Gibraltar comprising various buildings, gates, and fortified walls, with the dominant features being the Tower of Homage and the Gate House. Part of the castle itself also house ...

to end at the sixth and seven batteries which are known as Crutchett's Batteries. There are brick vaulted bombproof rooms (casemates) under Crutchets Battery. Gibraltar northern approach 1567

The batteries were part of the northern defences of Gibraltar. Armies can only attack Gibraltar without ships from the north and therefore this is heavily fortified around the only gate to Spain called

Landport Landport is a district located on Portsea Island and is considered the city centre of modern-day Portsmouth, England. The district is centred around Commercial Road and encompasses the Guildhall, Civic Centre, Portsmouth and Southsea Statio ...

. Cornwell describes how this was defended by "several batteries, numerous batteries on the

Glacis A glacis (; ) in military engineering is an artificial slope as part of a medieval castle or in bastion fort, early modern fortresses. They may be constructed of earth as a temporary structure or of stone in more permanent structure. More genera ...

of Landport, by Crutchett's and the

Grand Battery {{Unreferenced, date=August 2010 Grand Battery (''Grande Batterie'', meaning big or great battery) was a French artillery tactic of the Napoleonic Wars. It involved massing all available batteries into a single large, temporary one, and concentrat ...

". He speculated that no army could withstand the

grapeshot Grapeshot is a type of artillery round invented by a British Officer during the Napoleonic Wars. It was used mainly as an anti infantry round, but had other uses in naval combat. In artillery, a grapeshot is a type of ammunition that consists of ...

from 400 "pieces of heavy artillery".

References

Batteries in Gibraltar {{Gibraltar-struct-stub