Raymond Adolphe Séré de Rivières (; 20 May 1815 – 16 February 1895) was a French military engineer and general whose ideas revolutionized the design of fortifications in France. He gave his name to the

Séré de Rivières system The system was an ensemble of fortifications built from 1874 along the frontiers, ridges and coasts of France. The fortifications were named after their architect, Brigadier-General Raymond Adolphe Séré de Rivières. The fortresses were obso ...

of fortifications constructed after the

Franco-Prussian War The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 Janua ...

of 1870. Described as the Vauban of the 19th century, his Belgian counterpart was Henri Alexis Brialmont.

Early life

Raymond Adolphe Séré de Rivières was born on 20 May 1815 in

Albi Albi (; ) is a commune in France, commune in southern France. It is the prefecture of the Tarn (department), Tarn Departments of France, department, on the river Tarn (river), Tarn, 85 km northeast of Toulouse. Its inhabitants are called ...

, France. His family had been part of the nobility as recently as the 17th century. Studying in Paris, he was admitted in 1833 to the École militaire de Saint-Cyr, but he chose not to enter, preferring to pursue the study of law. He entered the

École polytechnique (, ; also known as Polytechnique or l'X ) is a ''grande école'' located in Palaiseau, France. It specializes in science and engineering and is a founding member of the Polytechnic Institute of Paris. The school was founded in 1794 by mat ...

in 1835, where the students included

Adolphe Thiers Marie Joseph Louis Adolphe Thiers ( ; ; 15 April 17973 September 1877) was a French statesman and historian who served as President of France from 1871 to 1873. He was the second elected president and the first of the Third French Republic. Thi ...

, the future Prime Minister. After two years at Polytechnique he left with the rank of sub-lieutenant. He enrolled at the École d'Application de l'Artillerie et du Génie at Metz where he became familiar with the principals of permanent fortification. In 1839 he joined the second regiment of engineers at

Arras Arras ( , ; ; historical ) is the prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais department, which forms part of the region of Hauts-de-France; before the reorganization of 2014 it was in Nord-Pas-de-Calais. The historic centre of the Artois region, with a ...

where he refined his studies, inspired by the ideas of the Marquis de Montalembert. He was promoted to lieutenant in 1841, then captain second class in January 1843, and was nominated to the engineering district of

Toulon Toulon (, , ; , , ) is a city in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. Located on the French Riviera and the historical Provence, it is the prefecture of the Var (department), Var department. The Commune of Toulon h ...

in April of the same year. At this post he showed his abilities with the design of fortifications. At Toulon his work included the Caserne du Centre and the Fort du Cap-Brun. While at Toulon he married the daughter of the mayor of Toulon in September 1847. He was successively posted to: *

Perpignan Perpignan (, , ; ; ) is the prefectures in France, prefecture of the Pyrénées-Orientales departments of France, department in Southern France, in the heart of the plain of Roussillon, at the foot of the Pyrenees a few kilometres from the Me ...

in October 1848, *

Castres Castres (; ''Castras'' in the Languedocian dialect, Languedocian dialect of Occitan language, Occitan) is the sole Subprefectures in France, subprefecture of the Tarn (department), Tarn Departments of France, department in the Occitania (adminis ...

in March 1849, *

Carcassonne Carcassonne is a French defensive wall, fortified city in the Departments of France, department of Aude, Regions of France, region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania. It is the prefectures in France, prefecture of the department. ...

in July 1853, *Orléans in March 1860 (after having participated in the

Second Italian War of Independence The Second Italian War of Independence, also called the Sardinian War, the Austro-Sardinian War, the Franco-Austrian War, or the Italian War of 1859 (Italian: ''Seconda guerra d'indipendenza italiana''; German: ''Sardinischer Krieg''; French: ...

in 1859) *Paris-north in October 1860, *

Nice Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one million Metz Metz ( , , , then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle (river), Moselle and the Seille (Moselle), Seille rivers. Metz is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Moselle (department), Moselle Departments ...

in August 1864, *

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

in April 1868. His governing idea concerning fortifications - to defend a given place using detached forts arranged in a line - was first used in the places where Séré de Rivières worked: Toulon, as well as

(encirclement linking the Caluire and Montessuy forts).

The Franco-Prussian War

In 1870, Séré de Rivières was able to control an urban insurrection in Lyon and to put the city in a state of defense; these accomplishments earned him a promotion to brigadier general in October. Three months later he was named commander of the engineers of the 24th Corps of the Army of the East under the orders of General Charles Denis Bourbaki, receiving significant credit for the French victory at Arcey. This earned a promotion to commander of the ''Armée de l'Est's'' engineers. Some weeks later at the head of the engineers of the 2nd Corps of the Army of Versailles, he directed the sieges of the Fort d'Issy, the Fort de Vanves and the Fort de Montrouge, which had been occupied during the Commune, capturing them in May 1871. In the autumn of 1871, Séré de Rivières was in charge of a review of the French defenses along the Italian border. In 1872 he prepared an analysis on the fall of Metz in 1870 for Marshal

François Achille Bazaine François Achille Bazaine (13 February 181123 September 1888) was an officer of the French army. Rising from the ranks, during four decades of distinguished service (including 35 years on campaign) under Louis-Philippe I, Louis-Philippe and then ...

, with a full published report following on 6 March 1873.

The Séré de Rivières system

In June 1873 Séré de Rivières became secretary of the Committee of Defense, which had been established by Prime Minister

. Opposed to the policies of General Charles Auguste Frossard, Séré de Rivières had the opportunity to explain in detail his plan for the reorganization of France's borders. The plan envisioned a combination of offense and defense, with both static and moving elements. The plan was based on a system of strong defensive lines that would channel an enemy to a waiting army. The system took into account the evolution of armaments, and sought to maneuver an attacker away from Paris. This concept was first proposed by Vauban, but was not according to the taste of the times, in part because of the defeat of 1871. Vauban-style fortifications had proven to be poorly suited to new weapons and tactics, and required a complete rethinking of design and employment. Two texts were essential to the doctrine: *''Considérations sur la reconstitution de la frontière de l'Est'' ("Considerations on the reconstitution of the eastern frontier"), submitted to the Committee on 21 June 1873, adopted unanimously and published on 15 November; *''Exposé sur le système défensif de la France'' ("Discussion on the defensive system of France"), presented on 20 May 1874. On 17 July a law relative to the implementation of the defensive measures for the eastern defenses of France was adopted. In 1874 Séré de Rivières became director of the Service du Génie (Military Engineer Service) at the Ministry of Defense, charged by General François Charles du Barail with the construction of defenses from

Dunkerque Dunkirk ( ; ; ; Picard language, Picard: ''Dunkèke''; ; or ) is a major port city in the Departments of France, department of Nord (French department), Nord in northern France. It lies from the Belgium, Belgian border. It has the third-larg ...

to Nice which would bear his name. The project was launched on 17 July 1874 by unanimous vote. The northern and north-eastern frontiers were divided into four groups comprising the Jura, the

Vosges The Vosges ( , ; ; Franconian and ) is a range of medium mountains in Eastern France, near its border with Germany. Together with the Palatine Forest to the north on the German side of the border, they form a single geomorphological unit and ...

, the

Meuse (river) The Meuse or Maas is a major European river, rising in France and flowing through Belgium and the Netherlands before draining into the North Sea from the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta. It has a total length of . History From 1301, the upper ...

region, and the northern frontier from

Montmédy Montmédy (, ) is a commune in the Meuse department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. Citadel of Montmédy In 1221 the first castle of Montmédy was built on top of a hill by the Count of Chiny. Montmédy soon became the capital of his ...

to Dunkerque. The program also addressed the Italian frontier's defenses, reinforcing older mountain fortresses. The defenses of the important southern cities of Lyon, Nice and Toulon were also improved. Séré de Rivières' influence is also visible on the Spanish border and along the Atlantic coast, as well Paris, where a new, more distant ring of forts was built to place the city out of artillery range. Séré de Rivières was replaced as head of the ''Gènie'' in 1880 in a political intrigue, but his program continued without significant changes until 1885. In all, 196 forts, 58 smaller works and 278 batteries were built along the borders and at strategic points within the country, for an expenditure estimated at 450 million francs for the works and 229 million francs for their armament.

Death

Séré de Rivières died on 16 February 1895 in Paris. He is buried in Père-Lachaise cemetery in a modest tomb bearing the inscription "''Lapides clamabunt''" ("the stones will testify").

References

External links