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 named after Raymond Adolphe Séré de Rivières, its originator. The system was an ensemble of fortifications built from 1874 along the frontiers and coasts of France. The fortresses were obsolescent by 1914 but were used during ...

of fortifications constructed after the Franco-Prussian War of 1870. Described as the Vauban of the 19th century, his Belgian counterpart was

Henri Alexis Brialmont Henri-Alexis Brialmont (Venlo, 25 May 1821 – Brussels, 21 July 1903), nicknamed The Belgian Vauban after the French military architect, was a Belgian army officer, politician and writer of the 19th century, best known as a military archi ...

Early life

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

Albi Albi (; oc, Albi ) is a commune in southern France. It is the prefecture of the Tarn department, on the river Tarn, 85 km northeast of Toulouse. Its inhabitants are called ''Albigensians'' (french: Albigeois, Albigeoise(s), oc, albig� ...

, 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 École may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * École, Savoi ...

in 1835, where the students included

Adolphe Thiers Marie Joseph Louis Adolphe Thiers ( , ; 15 April 17973 September 1877) was a French statesman and historian. He was the second elected President of France and first President of the French Third Republic. Thiers was a key figure in the July Rev ...

, 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 ( , ; pcd, Aro; historical nl, Atrecht ) is the prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais Departments of France, department, which forms part of the regions of France, region of Hauts-de-France; before the regions of France#Reform and mergers of ...

where he refined his studies, inspired by the ideas of the

Marquis de Montalembert A marquess (; french: marquis ), es, marqués, pt, marquês. is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman w ...

. He was promoted to lieutenant in 1841, then captain second class in January 1843, and was nominated to the engineering district of

Toulon Toulon (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Tolon , , ) is a city on the French Riviera and a large port on the Mediterranean coast, with a major naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, and the Provence province, Toulon is th ...

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 (, , ; ca, Perpinyà ; es, Perpiñán ; it, Perpignano ) is the prefecture of the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France, in the heart of the plain of Roussillon, at the foot of the Pyrenees a few kilometres from the ...

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 (administ ...

in March 1849, *

Carcassonne Carcassonne (, also , , ; ; la, Carcaso) is a French fortified city in the department of Aude, in the region of Occitanie. It is the prefecture of the department. Inhabited since the Neolithic, Carcassonne is located in the plain of the ...

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 Franco-Austrian War, the Austro-Sardinian War or Italian War of 1859 ( it, Seconda guerra d'indipendenza italiana; french: Campagne d'Italie), was fought by the Second French Empire and t ...

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

Nice Nice ( , ; Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative c ...

in January 1862, *

Metz Metz ( , , lat, Divodurum Mediomatricorum, then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers. Metz is the prefecture of the Moselle department and the seat of the parliament of the Grand E ...

in August 1864, *

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...

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

(the Tête de Chien and the Drette et de la Revère works), Metz (Forts Saint-Quentin, Plappeville, Saint-Julien and Queuleu, and

(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 Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

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 Charles Denis Sauter Bourbaki (22 April 1816, Pau, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, Pau – 22 September 1897, Bayonne) was a French general. Career Bourbaki was born at Pau, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, Pau, the son of Greek colonel Constantin Denis Bourb ...

, 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 Fort d'Issy was one of the fortifications of the city of Paris, France, built between 1841 and 1845. It was one of six forts built to the south of the main wall around the city. The fort was placed too close to the city to be effective, and had a p ...

, the Fort de Vanves and the

Fort de Montrouge 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'' ...

, which had been occupied during the

Commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

, 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 Charles Auguste Frossard (26 April 1807 – 25 August 1875) was a French general. He entered the army from the École polytechnique in 1827, being posted to the engineers. He took part in the siege of Rome in 1849 and in that of Sevastopol in 185 ...

, 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 François () is a French masculine given name and surname, equivalent to the English name Francis. People with the given name * Francis I of France, King of France (), known as "the Father and Restorer of Letters" * Francis II of France, King o ...

with the construction of defenses from

Dunkerque Dunkirk (french: Dunkerque ; vls, label=French Flemish, Duunkerke; nl, Duinkerke(n) ; , ;) is a commune in the department of Nord in northern France.Jura, the

Vosges The Vosges ( , ; german: Vogesen ; Franconian and gsw, Vogese) are a range of low 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 ...

, the

Meuse (river) The Meuse ( , , , ; wa, Moûze ) or Maas ( , ; li, Maos or ) 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 t ...

region, and the northern frontier from

Montmédy Montmédy (, german: Mittelberg) 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 ...

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