Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
. It was constructed during the
Peninsular War
The Peninsular War (1807–1814) was the military conflict fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Spain, Portugal, and the United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French Empire during the Napoleonic Wars. In Spain ...
, forming part of the first of three defensive Lines of Torres Vedras aimed at protecting
Lisbon
Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...
, the capital of Portugal, from French invasion. The fort, which never saw battle, has been restored and can be visited.
History
Following the Treaty of Fontainebleau signed between France and Spain in October 1807, which agreed on the invasion of Portugal, French troops under the command of
General Junot
Jean-Andoche Junot, 1st Duke of Abrantes (24 September 1771 – 29 July 1813) was a French military officer during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars.
Biography
Early life
Junot was born in Bussy-le-Grand, Côte-d'Or, son ...
entered the country, which requested support from the British. In July 1808 troops commanded by the
Duke of Wellington
Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, (1 May 1769 – 14 September 1852) was an Anglo-Irish soldier and Tory statesman who was one of the leading military and political figures of 19th-century Britain, serving twice as prime minister of ...
, at the time known as Arthur Wellesley, landed in Portugal and defeated French troops at the Battles of
Roliça
Bombarral () is a municipality in the District of Leiria in Central Portugal. The population in 2011 was 13,193, in an area of . It includes four civil parishes ( pt, freguesia) that provide local services.
History
It is known that the area of ...
and
Vimeiro
Vimeiro () is a freguesia (civil parish) in the municipality of Lourinhã in west-central Portugal. It is in the District of Lisboa. The population in 2011 was 1,470,Convention of Cintra, which led to the evacuation of the French army from Portugal. In March 1809,
Marshal Soult
Marshal General Jean-de-Dieu Soult, 1st Duke of Dalmatia, (; 29 March 1769 – 26 November 1851) was a French general and statesman, named Marshal of the Empire in 1804 and often called Marshal Soult. Soult was one of only six officers in Frenc ...
led a new French expedition that advanced south to the city of
Porto
Porto or Oporto () is the second-largest city in Portugal, the capital of the Porto District, and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto city proper, which is the entire municipality of Porto, is small compared to its metropol ...
before being repulsed by Portuguese-British troops and forced to withdraw. However, the threat of further invasions by the French led Wellington, on October 20, 1809, to order the construction of defensive lines in order to protect Lisbon from Napoléon Bonaparte's troops. The Lines of Torres Vedras, consisting of 152 forts, redoubts and other military installations, were built rapidly and in conditions of great secrecy, under the overall supervision of Colonel Richard Fletcher who was commander of the
Royal Engineers
The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is heade ...
.
Located at the top of a small hill 227 meters high, the Fort of Arpim was built with the aim of linking the positions of the first defensive line, in the Calhandriz valley, to the second line that began at the
Fort of Casa
The Fort of Casa was the most easterly of the forts and redoubts built in 1809-10 during the Peninsular War on the second line of the three defensive Lines of Torres Vedras aimed at protecting the capital of Portugal, Lisbon. It is situated in th ...
close to the River
Tagus
The Tagus ( ; es, Tajo ; pt, Tejo ; see #Name, below) is the longest river in the Iberian Peninsula. The river rises in the Montes Universales near Teruel, in mid-eastern Spain, flows , generally west with two main south-westward sections ...
. Each of the works on the lines was given a number and Arpim was No. 125. It was to the rear of three other forts built at Calhandriz. In front of the four forts, the summit was scarped to make it inaccessible to the enemy. To defend the road that allowed access to Bucelas and Alverca do Ribatejo, Arpim also exchanged crossfire with three forts on the Aguieira mountain range and enjoyed a wide field of view, including of several other forts or redoubts of the second line such as the
Fort of Zambujal
The Fort of Zambujal, also referred to as the Fort of Casas Velhas, is located near the town of Zambujal-Casas Velhas, in the parish of Carvoeira, municipality of Mafra, Portugal, Mafra, Lisbon District, Portugal. Constructed in 1809–10, at 10 ...
and the
Fort of Ribas
The Fort of Ribas, also known as the Redoubt of Ribas ( pt, Reduto de Ribas) and the Redoubt of Freixial Alto, is one of a group of fortifications in Portugal that made up the second of the three defensive Lines of Torres Vedras, between the Atlan ...
. The Fort of Arpim had a seven-sided polygonal design and was surrounded by a trench or dry
moat
A moat is a deep, broad ditch, either dry or filled with water, that is dug and surrounds a castle, fortification, building or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. In some places moats evolved into more extensive ...
. It was made of packed earth reinforced with stone walls, and included a stone
magazine
A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combinatio ...
and some structures in wood, such as gun emplacements, which facilitated movement of the artillery pieces. It was designed for a garrison of 250 soldiers and is believed to have been equipped with four cannon. Gun emplacements were pointed both in the direction of Calhandriz and the Aguieira hills. Of the 152 forts in the Lines, the Fort of Arpim was numbered 125 and was one of the last to be built.
See also
*
List of forts of the Lines of Torres Vedras
The Lines of Torres Vedras were lines of Fortification, forts and other military defences built in secrecy to defend Lisbon, capital of Portugal, from the French during the Peninsular War. Named after the town of Torres Vedras, their construction ...