![Redente do Cascalho, Elvas, Portugal](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7e/Redente_do_Cascalho%2C_Elvas%2C_Portugal.JPG)
Redan (a
French word for "projection", "salient") is a feature of
fortifications
A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...
. 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
A lunette (French ''lunette'', "little moon") is a half-moon shaped architectural space, variously filled with sculpture, painted, glazed, filled with recessed masonry, or void.
A lunette may also be segmental, and the arch may be an arc take ...
, originally a half-moon-shaped
outwork
An outwork is a minor fortification built or established outside the principal fortification limits, detached or semidetached. Outworks such as ravelins, lunettes (demilunes), flèches and caponiers to shield bastions and fortification curtains ...
; with shorter flanks it became a redan.
History
Redans were a common feature in the
coastal batteries built in
Malta
Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...
between 1715 and the end of the 18th century. Surviving batteries with redans include
Mistra Battery
Mistra Battery ( mt, Batterija tal-Mistra), formerly also known as Despirasse Battery ( mt, Batterija ta' Despirasse), is an artillery battery in Mistra Bay, Mellieħa, Malta. It was built by the Order of Saint John in the 18th century as one o ...
and
Saint Anthony's Battery
Saint Anthony's Battery ( mt, Batterija ta' Sant'Antnin) is an artillery battery in Qala, Gozo, Malta. It was built by the Order of Saint John between 1731 and 1732 as one of a series of coastal fortifications around the coasts of the Maltese I ...
.
The Russians used redans on their left at the
Battle of Borodino
The Battle of Borodino (). took place near the village of Borodino on during Napoleon's invasion of Russia. The ' won the battle against the Imperial Russian Army but failed to gain a decisive victory and suffered tremendous losses. Napoleon ...
against
Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
. A small redan whose faces make an
obtuse angle
In Euclidean geometry, an angle is the figure formed by two rays, called the '' sides'' of the angle, sharing a common endpoint, called the ''vertex'' of the angle.
Angles formed by two rays lie in the plane that contains the rays. Angles are ...
with a vertex toward the enemy is called a ''
flèche
Flèche or Fleche may refer to:
*Flèche (architecture), a type of church spire
*Flèche (cycling), a team cycling competition
*Flèche (fencing)
The flèche is an aggressive offensive fencing technique used with foil and épée.
Background
...
'' (arrow in
French). The ''
Bagration flèches
The Bagration flèches (russian: багратионовы флеши) are three historic military earthworks
named after General Pyotr Bagration, who ordered their construction. They served as the pivotal strongholds on the Russian left flank ...
'' were three redans backwards in
echelon
ECHELON, originally a secret government code name, is a surveillance program (signals intelligence/SIGINT collection and analysis network) operated by the five signatory states to the UKUSA Security Agreement:Given the 5 dialects that use ...
. The Shevardino
Redoubt
A redoubt (historically redout) is a fort or fort system usually consisting of an enclosed defensive emplacement outside a larger fort, usually relying on earthworks, although some are constructed of stone or brick. It is meant to protect soldi ...
(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 aspect of
golf course
A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a tee box, a fairway, the rough and other hazards, and a green with a cylindrical hole in the ground, known as a "cup". Th ...
architecture commonly associated with golf architect
Charles B. Macdonald
Charles Blair Macdonald (November 14, 1855 – April 21, 1939) was a major figure in early American golf. He built the first 18-hole course in the United States, was a driving force in the founding of the United States Golf Association, won the f ...
. The term alludes to the "Redan" type of fortification. Specifically, a Redan hole has a green which slopes downwards and away from the point of entrance, typically the front right portion of the green. Links golf is played on the ground as much as in the air and, consequently, the green slopes away from the golfer playing to the green from the tee or fairway. Thus, it is often played in an indirect manner; that is, the player plays somewhat away from the target and then allows contours to direct the golf ball to its final resting point.
Macdonald's oft-quoted description from ''Scotland's Gift: Golf'' is as follows:
This definition serves well to explain the basic concept. Macdonald built his original American Redan as the fourth hole at the
National Golf Links of America
National may refer to:
Common uses
* Nation or country
** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen
Places in the United States
* National, Maryland, ce ...
, commonly known as NGLA. He and his design cohorts,
Seth Raynor
Seth Jagger Raynor (May 7, 1874 – January 23, 1926) was an American golf course architect and engineer. He designed approximately 85 golf courses in about 13 years, his first in 1914, at age 40. His mentor was Charles Blair Macdonald, the creat ...
and Charles "Steamshovel" Banks built a Redan or a reverse version of it at nearly every course that they constructed. It is a design element that has been copied by modern architects frequently - most notably the husband & wife team of Pete and Alice Dye, and Tom Doak. The design element can be used as a green complex of any "par" hole - a par 3 most commonly, but it may also be used as a par 4 or par 5 green complex.
Many Redan holes are flanked by a variety of deep bunkers, in the typical arrangement one fronts on the left side. The original "Redan" is the 15th hole on the
West Links of North Berwick. A frequent feature is a somewhat raised portion of ground, often called a kick mound or kick plate, with or without a bunker to the right (in a traditional Redan) side of the green which can be skillfully used to propel the ball onto the green and nearer the hole by the more skilled golfer. Redan holes in which the green is visible from the tee can produce a particular excitement for the golfer as the ball tracks its way to the hole. At the original Redan design in North Berwick, Scotland, the green is invisible (or blind) from the tee. The NGLA version, more the inspiration for modern copies than the original hole, introduced this concept of green visibility to the design. Many golf architecture connoisseurs feel that the NGLA hole is the perhaps the greatest example of this design, exceeding the original.
Place names
In Aldershot, once 'Home of the British Army', Redan Road leads from the High Street to the top of a hill where a redan was constructed for training soldiers in Victorian times. The redan was restored by the local council and a replica cannon is installed there above a glacis. At the time of the Crimean War, several
public houses
A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...
in Britain adopted the name. The Redan Inn (now The Quarterdeck) in
North Berwick
North Berwick (; gd, Bearaig a Tuath) is a seaside town
A seaside resort is a town, village, or hotel that serves as a vacation resort and is located on a coast. Sometimes the concept includes an aspect of official accreditation based on th ...
shared its name with the famous hole on the golf course, while there is also a Redan Inn in
Chilcompton
Chilcompton is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated in the Mendip Hills two miles south of Midsomer Norton and 3.0 miles south-west of Westfield. It is situated on the B3139 road between Radstock and Wells, close to the A ...
,
Somerset
( en, All The People of Somerset)
, locator_map =
, coordinates =
, region = South West England
, established_date = Ancient
, established_by =
, preceded_by =
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, lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset
, lord_ ...
. A street in
Shepherd's Bush
Shepherd's Bush is a district of West London, England, within the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham west of Charing Cross, and identified as a major metropolitan centre in the London Plan.
Although primarily residential in character, i ...
,
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
is named Redan Street, and there is a street in Ipswich named Redan Street; the pub on the corner of
Queensway and
Westbourne Grove
Westbourne Grove is a retail road running across Notting Hill, an area of west London. Its western end is in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and its eastern end is in the City of Westminster; it runs from Kensington Park Road in the ...
, London W2, was named The Redan. Its sign carried an illustration purportedly from a Napoleonic era battle, but it was more likely a Crimean War scene. The flag carried was British, but the defenders appeared to be wearing Russian uniform of the mid 19th century. Any engagement between Russians and Napoleonic armies would not have featured a British flag. Pub names like this and the Alma came into prominence after the Crimean War. The Redan public house on Thorpe Road in Norwich (now closed) was originally named ''The Hero of the Redan'', in reference to Major-General Charles Ashe Windham who took part in the storming of the Redan at Sevastopol during the Crimean campaign in 1855. An area of Maryhill, Glasgow was known as 'The Redan' for many years and there is a closed-down pub called 'The Redan' close to this area on Maryhill Road, Glasgow. There was also a beerhouse called The Redan at the junction of Blue Ball Road and Cross Wells Road, Soyland, near Ripponden, West Yorkshire. It opened in 1890 and closed in 1937. Unfortunately, the pub was later demolished. As at November 2018, CAMRA's WhatPub website lists only two extant pubs called the Redan: one in Wokingham, Berkshire and one in Chilcompton, near Bath.
The
census-designated place
A census-designated place (CDP) is a concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only.
CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counterparts of incorporated places, such ...
of
Redan, Georgia was likely named for the redans built in the area during the
Atlanta Campaign of the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
.
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, ...
is also a southern suburb of the regional city of Ballarat in central western Victoria, Australia. It was named for the fortifications used during the
battle at Sevastopol in the Ukraine during the
Crimean War
The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia.
Geopolitical causes of the war included the de ...
.
References
Further reading
"New York State Military Museum and Veteran's Research Center", Glossary: Redan NYS Division of Military and Navy Affairs
Civil War Field Fortifications Website
{{Fortifications
Fortification (architectural elements)