![Fotothek df tg 0008976 Architektur ^ Geometrie ^ Festungsbau ^ Befestigung ^ Schanze](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/eb/Fotothek_df_tg_0008976_Architektur_%5E_Geometrie_%5E_Festungsbau_%5E_Befestigung_%5E_Schanze.jpg)
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
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'' ...
.
[Rüstow: ''Militärisches Handwörterbuch.'' 1859, s.v. Schanze] The word is German and has no direct English equivalent, although the word
sconce
Sconce may refer to:
*Sconce (fortification), a military fortification
*Sconce (light fixture)
*Sconcing, imposing a penalty in the form of drink
*Sconce Point
Fort Victoria is a former military fort on the Isle of Wight, England (), built to ...
is derived from
Dutch
Dutch commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
* Dutch people ()
* Dutch language ()
Dutch may also refer to:
Places
* Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States
* Pennsylvania Dutch Country
People E ...
''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
siege
A siege is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition warfare, attrition, or a well-prepared assault. This derives from la, sedere, lit=to sit. Siege warfare is a form of constant, low-intensity con ...
s in the
Late Middle Ages
The Late Middle Ages or Late Medieval Period was the Periodization, period of European history lasting from AD 1300 to 1500. The Late Middle Ages followed the High Middle Ages and preceded the onset of the early modern period (and in much of Eur ...
, temporary defensive positions had frequently been built out of
gabion
A gabion (from Italian ''gabbione'' meaning "big cage"; from Italian ''gabbia'' and Latin ''cavea'' meaning "cage") is a cage, cylinder or box filled with rocks, concrete, or sometimes sand and soil for use in civil engineering, road building, ...
s, known in German as ''Schanzkörbe''.
[Duden: ''Herkunftswörterbuch.'' under ''Schanze''] Later such ''schanzen'' very often consisted of earthen
ramparts. As a result, in the 16th century, the verb ''schanzen'' became generally associated with earthworks of all kinds. In modern German military use, ''schanzen'' is still used to mean the construction of smaller earthworks, especially of
fire trenches. From this already derived usage comes the phrase ''sich verschanzen'', "to entrench oneself" in yet another derivative sense.
As defensive systems
![Barockschanze](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/57/Barockschanze.jpg)
As a rule a ''schanze'' is an independent fortified work. To block a valley or a pass, however, a line of adjacent ''schanzen'' could be erected, not infrequently connected by a low
rampart
Rampart may refer to:
* Rampart (fortification), a defensive wall or bank around a castle, fort or settlement
Rampart may also refer to:
* "O'er the Ramparts We Watched" is a key line from "The Star-Spangled Banner", the national anthem of the ...
and
ditch
A ditch is a small to moderate divot created to channel water. A ditch can be used for drainage, to drain water from low-lying areas, alongside roadways or fields, or to channel water from a more distant source for plant irrigation. Ditches ar ...
. In this case it is referred to as a ''verschanzte Linie'' – a fortified line of ''schanzen''. If such a defensive line completely enclosed an area on all sides, it was described as a ''verschanztes Lager'' – a fortified (with ''schanzen'') position. It was not uncommon in the 17th and 18th centuries for weaker armies to construct such works in order to protect themselves from a stronger foe.
During sieges fortified lines of ''schanzen'' were often used as lines of
contravallation
Investment is the military process of surrounding an enemy fort (or town) with armed forces to prevent entry or escape. It serves both to cut communications with the outside world and to prevent supplies and reinforcements from being introduced. ...
or
circumvallation
Investment is the military process of surrounding an enemy fort (or town) with armed forces to prevent entry or escape. It serves both to cut communications with the outside world and to prevent supplies and reinforcements from being introduced. ...
.
Depending on the layout, a distinction is made between "open" (''offene'') and "closed" (''geschlossene'') ''schanzen''. The closed type are further divided into
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 ...
s, that only have outward-facing angles, and "star schanzen" (''Sternschanzen'') with alternating inward and outward facing corners. In open ''schanzen'', which may take the shape of a
flèche
Flèche or Fleche may refer to:
*Flèche (architecture), a type of church spire
*Flèche (cycling), a team cycling competition
*Flèche (fencing), an aggressive offensive fencing technique
*Flèche (fortification)
A flèche ( Fr. for "arrow") is ...
,
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, ...
, half-redoubt,
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 ...
,
hornwork
A hornwork is an element of the Italian bastion system of fortification. Its face is flanked with a pair of demi-bastions.
It is distinguished from a crownwork, because crownworks contain full bastions at their centers. They are both outwork
...
or even more complex designs, the
gorge
A canyon (from ; archaic British English spelling: ''cañon''), or gorge, is a deep cleft between escarpments or cliffs resulting from weathering and the erosion, erosive activity of a river over geologic time scales. Rivers have a natural tenden ...
is open, i.e. the side where the army was encamped or on which their own defences lay, was unfortified.
There is a very extensive system of ''schanzen'' in the
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 t ...
, elements of which have survived. ''See
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, ...
.''
Another famous ''schanze'' is the
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 Ostp ...
located near the town of
Rastenburg in the north-eastern part of Poland. This military installation was
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 le ...
's command headquarters from which he commanded
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 ...
.
See also
*
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 ...
*
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 fortificatio ...
*
Wolfsschanze
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 Ostp ...
References and footnotes
Other sources
Schanzein
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 t ...
4th edn. 1888 ff., Vol. 14, p. 403
Replica of a hexagonal redoubt at 1:1 scale with a link to the construction diary
External links
{{Fortifications
Fortifications by type
de:Schanze (Festungsbau)