Defense in trench warfare. Russian military fortress history As a fortress and military barrier author

Cavalier trench- siege construction proposed by Vauban in 1684. K. t. was learned when the besiegers approached, in the middle of the latter, on the right and left, on the continuation. Consisted of a high 3 tiers. The parapet was adapted to rifle defense and made it possible to fire at the covered path with oblique fire and drive the defender out of there. The prototype of the combat weapon was the weapon used in ancient wars during sieges.

Caucasian fortification- the term appeared during the conquest of the Caucasus in the 19th century. and established itself, although not completely, in military engineering literature. It was understood as guiding combat and technical data for the construction of fortifications in the Caucasus during the conquest of this region. determined by the mountainous nature of the Caucasus, the peculiarities of the slow and persistent war with the mountaineers and the nature of the latter’s tactics and weapons. K. f. was reduced to the construction of fortifications consisting of residential buildings and high walls connecting them. adapted for defense. Particular attention was paid to the mutual flank defense of individual units. The inside of the fortification was necessarily built from stone defensive buildings.

Defense barracks- barracks premises adapted for defense and safe from siege artillery fire. They were multi-storey (2 - 3 floors) stone or brick buildings with thick walls and vaults. artillery adapted for use from them. They were equipped with 1-2 guns, operating through large ones, covered with shields in peacetime. K. o. were built in all fortifications of independent importance, forming independent general and private ones. They were often placed in a gorge (). Sometimes the defensive barracks were multi-story. With the advent of heavy siege artillery at the end of the 19th century. have lost their meaning.

Casemated fire structures- long-term and field fortifications, built from reinforced concrete and stone with mortar (in the latter case with a ceiling of iron beams) and providing protection from a whole projectile.

Casemated buildings- cm. .

Casemated flanks- cm. .

Casemates- premises safe from heavy artillery fire and located in. The prototype of K. is the premises within the walls of fortresses of ancient centuries. The proposal in the literature of the first rational houses belongs to Albrecht Dürer in 1524. In practice, houses in Rus' were built much earlier and were called pechurs. K. are divided into defensive and protective. Defensive weapons include artillery and machine-gun infantry units set up in fortresses; for security purposes - powder magazines, living quarters for people, shelters for guns and machine guns, etc.

Stone Town (Kamen Gorod)- the original name of the ancient Russian, built of stone.

Stone throwers (stone throwers)- obstacle. They were arranged in the form of a pit, like an inclined truncated pyramid. with a propellant charge of about 25 kg, covered with a wooden shield and covered with stone (about 1.5 - 2 m3). The landmine is camouflaged and explodes electrically or by fire. K. were first used by the Swedes during the siege of Ossuary in 1633.

Capital- an imaginary line dividing the outgoing and incoming angles in half. The direction of outgoing corners is of great importance, since in its direction in front of the apex of the corner there is a so-called non-defensive or weakly defended sector that does not have frontal defense. Currently, due to the presence of automatic long-range weapons, the weakness of the weapon is significantly compensated by the possibility of creating crossfire in front of the outgoing angle.

Caponier- a flanking building that fires in two opposite directions. K. can be casematized, armored and open; the last two types are used in, and the first - mainly in. In K. was meant a casemated defensive building at the bottom of the fortress ditch, adjacent to and intended for longitudinal shelling of the ditch with cannon, machine gun and rifle fire. For shelling approaches to neighboring ones, they were located in.

Caponier system- a system consisting of a combination.

Caponier Front- the former name of a serf who received flank defense of a ditch from, located in the middle of the line of the training ground along which the ditches ran, and adjacent to.

Castra- Roman fortified camp.

Castrametation(Latin castra - camp and metor - measure) - an old term that fell out of use in the 19th century. and denoting the art of choosing places for troop camps and providing them with fortifications and barriers from enemy attack. Initially, combat as a department of military art appeared among the ancient Persians and Greeks, and reached special development in ancient Rome. In the Middle Ages, camps disappeared as a military art, and camps were built in the most primitive manner. In the 16th century, from the time of Gustavus Adolphus, this art was revived again, and in the 19th century, with the change in the nature of armies and the art of war itself, it completely disappeared.

Catapult- a throwing machine of ancient and middle ages, before the invention of firearms, it was used for mounted shooting. The frame consisted of two frames - horizontal and vertical, firmly attached to the end of the first frame. At the base of the vertical frame was a bundle of twisted wires, into which was inserted a lever with a spoon at the top for the projectile. To throw, the lever was pulled by a collar or rope to a horizontal position, and a stone was placed in the spoon. After releasing the lever, the latter with force, under the influence of twisted veins, hit the crossbar of the vertical frame and threw the projectile. Large K. - - threw stones weighing 150 kg at 600 steps, small ones - blidy - stones up to 30 kg at 1200 steps. Small K. survived until the 14th - 15th centuries. and at this time they were used on a par with the first firearms.

Cataract- lowering grille for closing gates of ancient and middle ages.

Roller armored turret- cm. .

Column barriers of Totleben- cm. .

Cap- a monolithic or prefabricated element made of reinforced concrete or metal, installed motionlessly on a wooden or stone base. Designed for fire or surveillance use and protects against shrapnel, bullets and mines. Depending on the material, reinforced concrete and metal (armor) are distinguished.

Barbed wire- a special type of wire used for the device. There are several types of cables - double-strand, single-strand, round and square. In single-strand, a piece of wire with pointed ends is wound onto a wire thread; in double-strand, it is woven between two strands. The ends of these pieces are cut at an acute angle. K. p. appeared at the end of the 19th century. for agricultural needs - fences, fences. During the Anglo-Boer War 1899 - 1902. the Boers first used it as an obstacle; Following them, the British began to use it. This wire was widely used during the Russo-Japanese War. Currently it is one of the main anti-personnel obstacles.

Command post- the area where the commander is located with the main part of the headquarters and communications equipment, from where he controls the battle or operation, is equipped in engineering terms to ensure the operation of control organs and for protection from ground and air attack.

Command of fortifications- the excess of their line of fire (crest) above the local horizon or the crest of the parapet of another structure ahead. Nowadays the term is rarely used.

Counter requests- at first they meant all the fortifications that were erected by the besieged (, , etc.) in addition to the aim of countering the advance () of the enemy. K. a. as a means of active struggle contributed to the duration and tenacity of the defense, which was achieved by the defense of Sevastopol in 1854 - 55. is brilliant proof. At the end of the 19th century. under K. a. They began to understand mainly the wide ones that were aimed towards the attacker. For the first time K. a. were used in 1592 by Villars during the defense of Rouen.

Counter batteries- siege cannon batteries, arranged by the attacker at the fortress against the flanks to destroy the flank defense of the ditches.

Counter-valuation line(Latin contra - against, vallare - strengthen) - a continuous line of fortifications erected in ancient and Middle Ages by the besieger to protect against attacks from the outside and the breakthrough of the garrison from the fortress. The line of fortifications usually consisted of a continuous ditch with a rampart and towers or towers located at a certain distance from each other.

Counter guard(French contre-garde - to protect something from any attacks) - in the form of a rampart, armed with artillery and located in a ditch in front of the fronts.

Counter-mine system- a set with connecting sleeves and branches located in front of individual fortifications or areas for the defense of the nearest approaches to them with mines.

Kremlin- Old Russian, internal fortification of Russian cities, built of stone with thick walls and towers, more often located than on external walls.

"Skeleton Fortresses"- cm. .

Rampart- earthen rampart. which, before its appearance, surrounded the entire, and after, the core of the fortress. Its purpose was to serve, together with the ditch, as a barrier for the attackers, to provide superiority to the command of the fortress artillery over the enemy, the convenience of shelling the surrounding area and siege work of the enemy, and to cover the inside of the fortress from longitudinal fire. It consisted of and a number of additional structures. It also bore the name of the main rampart - in the event that there were additional shafts, like a lowered rampart located in front.

Fortress polygon (fortress polygon)- a polygon along the sides of which are located. The sides of a polygon are called a polygon line; corners. formed by them, by the corners of the polygon, and by straight lines. dividing the corners in half, - capitals of the corners of the polygon.

Fortress front- a combination of long-term fortification faces (), having independent flank defense of ditches. Fronts, depending on the nature of the flanking, are divided into bastion, tonal, polygonal (or caponier) and cremalier.

Fortress lattices- vertical in the form of iron bars made of rods up to 5 m high, installed on, and in ditches on a concrete foundation as an obstacle to the attackers.

Fortress- there are the following definitions of K. a) K. - a fortified position of a long-term nature, allowing the defense of a given strategic point with the smallest forces against superior enemy forces and, even in peacetime, equipped with everything necessary for its defense, stubborn and completely independent; b) K. - a harmonious combination of troops, command and control, weapons, supplies and long-term fortifications, always ready for battle. adapted for the independent defense of a given point of military importance with small forces against superior enemy forces until the end of the war; c) K. is a strategic point, fortified by means of long-term fortification and equipped with a permanent garrison, weapons, supplies and administration.

K. as a fortification element of general measures to protect territory and borders has been known since ancient times. The pharaohs of ancient Egypt and the kings of Babylon built fortifications along the borders. K. consisted of high walls, sometimes in several rows, with high towers, which were most consistent with the siege art of that time. In the era of feudalism, capital disappears as an element of border defense, but the entire territory of the country is covered and. The revival of Kazakhstan is entirely connected with the emergence of absolutist states that eliminated feudal fragmentation.

The appearance of artillery changed the nature of the fortification of K.: high walls and towers disappeared, and in their place earthen ramparts appeared, covering low walls that had a bastion, then a tonal and polygonal outline. However, K. were still confined to a small area of ​​the city, surrounded by a continuous fence. Such types of combat corresponded both to the size of the armies of the 17th and 18th centuries and to the military art of that time.

The appearance of mass armies (the beginning of the 19th century) showed that these forces did not correspond to the new principles of military art and the very size of the armies, which freely left them in their rear and allocated small detachments for their siege. For the new conditions, a new form of fortification was needed. This form was the fortress, consisting of a core (the old fortification) and a belt of individual fortifications (), placed forward several kilometers, and received the name. The rudiments of fort capitalism first appeared in Russia under Peter I in Kronstadt. The new idea was theoretically substantiated by the French engineer Montalembert at the end of the 18th century. In Russia, the word “fortress” appears for the first time in the 17th century, but only in the sense of material means for strengthening fortified points, and in the 18th century. it is replaced by the name “fortified long-term point.”

Development of artillery in the second half of the 19th century. - its long-range and destructive action - forced to increase the diameter of the fortification, erect a second belt of fortifications and begin strengthening. Before the First World War 1914 - 18 K. were divided as follows: or maneuverable K., which served as a support for maneuvering the field army; small K. or K. outposts - several separate forts that made up one group, the task of which was to cover only a given point from the enemy’s capture of the outpost fort - K., consisting of one fortification, the task of which was the same as for K. - outpost but in secondary sectors of the war.

In addition, large fortresses had the following gradation: K. of normal location, when the radius of the fortress did not exceed 5 - 6 km; K. close location - with a smaller radius; Fortresses of wide location - with a larger radius, in which there were two belts of external fortifications - the inner one of the forts and the outer one of the forts.

World War 1914 - 18 showed that although the K. played their role to a certain extent, they, as an element of the fortification preparation of the borders, no longer corresponded to the massive, million-strong armies equipped with the most advanced military equipment, and they were replaced. However, the Great Patriotic War showed that closed forms of all-round defense of large areas under certain conditions can still find application, so the term K. with modified content may appear again.

Outpost fortress- cm. .

Fortress-camp- a name during the period when it was looked at as a refuge for a defeated army. After the Franco-Prussian War of 1870 - 71, when the inconsistency of such a purpose became clear, the name of a maneuverable fortress appeared as a support for the action of a field army.

Normal location fortress- cm. .

Fortress of close location- cm. .

Fortress of wide location- cm. .

Chrome- an ancient Russian term meaning the outer defensive fence of fortified cities.

Crown parapet- a term used in the 18th and 19th centuries. and is now out of use. It meant the highest point or line of intersection of the planes of the ramp of the parapet and its internal slope. This line was also called the covering line, the top of the parapet, and the crest of the parapet.

Kron-werk(German kronwerk - crown-shaped fortification) - external, which served for strengthening and consisted of one bastion and two half-bastions on the sides, giving it the appearance of a crown. hence the name. It was first used in Holland during the War of Independence in the 16th - 17th centuries, when the haste to build fortifications, in the absence of stone, forced them to compensate for the lack of strength of buildings with their quantity, and therefore with the depth of defense.

Covered sapa- a method of working on a passage or in which a covering of boards, wattle fences, etc. is immediately made over the open area, and thus a covered passage is formed behind the workers. It was first used by the Spaniards during the siege of Haarlem in 1572.

Hook Destroyer- the destructive machine of the ancients. It was a long wooden beam with an iron hook attached to one end, which was suspended by ropes from a high narrow frame mounted on a cart. It was used to tear off battlements and other coverings from walls.

Couvre-fas(French couvrir - to cover, face - face) - a building in the middle of a ditch in the form of a long narrow fortification, covering the fronts from destruction by enemy artillery, hence the name.

Curtain(Italian curitne - curtain) - a section of the fortress fence between two adjacent or between two towers.

Ditch- a deep ditch in the middle of the bottom of dry fortress ditches for draining water, up to 4 - 6 m wide and up to 2 m deep. It was usually filled with water and served as an additional barrier to the attacker. Also called a cunet.

Notes:

Abshnit(German Abschnitt - segment) - an auxiliary fortress in the form of a rampart with a ditch in front, which made it possible to continue the defense after that. how the enemy occupied the main shaft (see), and fired at the interior of the latter. The term “abshnit” appeared in our country in the 18th century. and did not exist for long; was replaced by the term.

Acropolis(Greek acros - upper and polis - city) - an internal fortification in ancient Greek cities, usually located in the elevated part of the city. Played a role.

Active flooding- cm. .

Albanian stone thrower- anti-assault infantry, used in defense in mountainous conditions and consisted of stones laid on a steep slope and held there by logs parallel to the parapet. To activate the attack, the rope or cord holding the logs was cut off - the stones rolled down and crushed the attacker.

Ambarkation point(French embarcation - transport and other small sea vessels) - a section of the sea coast occupied and fortified by a landing force in order to facilitate and ensure the arriving expeditionary force's landing on the enemy shore and its further advance into the country, and in case of failure, to cover its retreat and re-boarding the ships. Currently called landings and, not entirely successfully, a bridgehead or fortification (see).

Embrasure(French embrasure - loophole, window opening in a wall, expanding into the room) - a horizontal cutout in a fortification wall of such a size and shape that the muzzle of a gun or other fire weapon could fit into it. turn to the sides and, if necessary, lower and rise to the required angles. It has the appearance of a truncated pyramid, usually with its wide base facing outward. The lower surface of the gun is called, the side surfaces are called the cheeks of the gun. The part of the embankment or wall below the gun, between its base and the horizon of the gun is called the chair of the gun. The narrowest part of the gun is called the neck of the gun. See also.

Embrasure barrier- a device for protecting the gun crew from enemy rifle fire directed at, and for camouflaging the latter.

Anvelope(French enveloppe - wrapper) - external in, used in the era of smoothbore artillery to cover the scarp walls (see) dry and the main shaft (see) from destruction by enemy artillery fire from. A. was located directly behind and surrounded by a continuous line one or several fronts of the fortress fence. In front of A., an external ditch was built of the same depth as the ditch of the main shaft, but smaller in width and with its longitudinal defense. A. received special development in the 17th and 18th centuries.

Anchor(French ancre - anchor) - a device for holding embankments from collapsing under the influence of earth pressure. It consists of a pointed stake about 1 m long () and a guy wire made of rope, wire or two intertwined. One end of the guy is grabbed by the clothing stake, and the other is tightly pulled to the anchor stake, firmly driven in behind the line of the natural slope of the given soil, usually at a distance of at least 1.5 times the depth of the pit being covered.

Ensemble(French ensemble - together) - large groups connected together by one tactical task and a single fortification solution. Erected on the north-eastern borders of France (at the Maginot Lipney). A., each occupying an area of ​​about 1 km 2, were equipped with fire structures such as reinforced concrete guns and machine guns, armored machine guns and gun mounts and armored observation posts, connected to each other by deep underground communications and surrounded by and. Barracks were built deep underground for the A. garrison, a command post, a power station, warehouses, etc. The A. were created at operationally decisive points and were supposed to have great firepower. The Maginot Line was bypassed by the Germans in 1940 and therefore was not fully tested in combat conditions.

Enfilade fire(French enfilade - cannon salvo along the ship) - firing in the direction of the fortification fronts in order to knock out the guns located nearby. It is a development of Vauban's ricochet fire. With the introduction of and for guns, it turned into flip-flop shooting with the aim of guns. Currently this term is not used.

Anfiling- application.

Ramp(French apparelle - entry) - a flat earthen embankment for communication and for dragging guns onto high embankments, used instead of stairs. A. is also called gentle slopes into various ditches, trenches, shelters, etc.

Aproshi(French approcher - to approach) - wide, erected by the attacker at the fortress to move forward and for safe communication between. For for. shields against longitudinal fire from the A. fortress were carried out in zigzags. Moreover, in places of turns, each knee went slightly beyond the one lying behind, forming dead ends or turns. The work on the construction of the A. was carried out mainly at night or in shift mode. A. were first used by the British during the Hundred Years' War in 1418 during the siege of Rouen and by the French in 1420 during the siege of Melun. Russian name A. - .

Arcobalista (Toxobalista)(Latin arcus - arc, ballo - throw) - ancient and middle ages, in its design reminiscent of large crossbows. A long bow, up to 3.5 m long, made of wood or iron, was attached to a frame located on a pair of large-diameter wheels: the string was pulled by a collar fixed to the frame. Shooting was carried out with ordinary arrows and stone or lead balls. Transported along with the troops.

Artillery shaft- cm. .

Artillery glacis- a glaci-shaped embankment (see), erected between the forts and adapted for placing fortress guns behind them in wartime, and at a certain distance from each other there were niches for shells and charges. Proposed for the first time by Totleben based on the experience of the defense of Sevastopol in 1854 - 55.

Artillery trench- a gun platform buried in the ground to a certain depth, surrounded by a low. Serves to protect the gun crew from being hit and provides better camouflage for the gun. To pull in and pull out the gun, it is arranged behind; in the parapet there is an open one, and on the sides there are ditches for numbers and niches for ammunition.

Rearguard positions- positions that were intended to facilitate the retreat of the main forces in marching (and that in combat) order. Used before the First World War 1914-18.

Boolean Well Attack- destruction of enemy mines, not with counter-mines, but from above, from the surface of the earth -. Possible only if the enemy is completely careless and there are special terrain conditions (invisibility of work for the enemy).

Afghan towers- small round-shaped fortifications located on hills, with a fence made of a dry-built stone wall with a stone or wooden wall attached to it from the inside. Along the wall at the top were battlements made of stone or bags of earth. The entrance to the fortification was blocked by a small ditch with an easily disassembled bridge. Inside there was a wooden barracks for the garrison. They were used by the British for forward posts during the war with Afghanistan in 1877 - 1880. They got their name for their resemblance to similar fortifications in Afghan villages.

Bakul- the name of the ancient lifting fortress gates at the entrances to or to a separate independent part of the fortress.

Balista(Latin ballista - throwing projectile) - ancient, driven by the elasticity of twisted bundles of veins. B. was a long wooden trench mounted on wheels or on a special frame. A transverse frame was attached to the end of the gutter with bundles of strands stretched along its edges, into which a lever was inserted. Both levers were connected by a bowstring. A slider was attached to the latter in the middle, sliding along the groove. The slider was pulled back with the help of the collar, then lowered from the collar, under the influence of tension from the twisted veins, it rushed forward with force. A projectile in the form of a stone or an arrow received a strong blow from the slider and flew out of the groove. B. apparently first appeared among the Phoenicians in the 4th - 3rd centuries. BC e., and then passed on to the Greeks and Romans.

Balistarii (balistiers)- personnel servicing throwing siege engines. In Rus' they corresponded to collars.

Bank(French banc - bench) - part above in field fortifications. When shooting was carried out not through, but over the parapet, it was called “shooting through the bank.”

Banquet(French banquette - attack) - an embankment behind a high fortification for placing shooters on it, shooting from behind this parapet. The height of the B. was made such that, standing on it, one could shoot comfortably, i.e., the B. should be below the line of fire by . In the old days, observation posts were also called observation posts, which were set up at siege and intermediate batteries to monitor the fall of shells and to correct fire.

Tower drum- a cylinder in armored towers on which the tower dome rests.

Barbican(Persian bala-khanch - window, balcony for shooting above the entrance) - an ancient fortification building. During crusades this was the name of the wall in the fortified cities of Palestine. Later, this name was transferred to individual towers that defended the approaches to posts or to the external entrances of fortress fences, and from the fortress gate to the tower there was a stone corridor with walls. In the 15th century B. began to be called a separate wall covering between two towers and having loopholes. Sometimes both the loopholes and themselves were called B.

Barbet- a bulk platform behind the fortifications for the installation of guns and machine guns firing through the parapet or, as they say, “through”.

Barricade(French barricade - barrier) - from various kinds of improvised materials and objects in populated areas across roads, streets and near bridges in order to detain the enemy, mainly his infantry, cavalry and tanks. B. for the latter are made of a special design and must be distinguished by special strength, height and verticality of the barrier.

Barrier gate- wooden gates for locking the exit from field and temporary fortifications (type) and protecting them from accidental attack; sometimes they put .

Basteia- a semicircular stone fortification building of the 16th century, which replaced the fortress towers, for longitudinal shelling of the fortress fence. B. were located mainly in the outgoing corners of the fence, had a large protrusion into the field and an open one. The bastei of Albrecht Dürer (1527) had an open defense at the top, and a closed one at the bottom, at the bottom of the ditch. from solidly built casemates. In ancient Russian fortresses such buildings were called. They appeared here earlier than in the West.

Bastida. 1. Small fortified villages in the south of France in the 12th - 14th centuries, surrounded by a rampart with towers to protect against surprise attacks by small detachments. Sometimes watchtowers on city walls were called B.

2. A wooden tower of 2-3 floors, used in the Middle Ages during sieges. In ancient times these towers were known as .

Bastille. 1. Bridgehead fortification in the form of towers on both sides of the entrance to protect the latter.

2. Fortified castles in the cities of France (in the Middle Ages). intended primarily for protection in the event of popular uprisings; were also called .

3. Individual fortifications made of stones or wood, erected during the siege in the 13th - 16th centuries; sometimes they were connected to each other by earthen ditches and ramparts.

Bastion(Italian bastionato - any protruding building) - pentagonal in the form, with two, two and open, erected on the corners of the fortress fence and adjacent to it. The halves of two adjacent blocks facing each other and the section of fence connecting them form. The combination of several bastion fronts, reinforced with auxiliary buildings, was called. Inventor B. is unknown. It is only historically certain that the first two battlements were built in 1527 by the Italian engineer San Michele during the fortification of Verona. The predecessor of the bastions of San Michele were the rectangular fortifications of another Italian, Martini, built by him at the end of the 15th century.

Bastion system- cm. .

Bastion corner- the angle formed by the faces.

Batardo- a stone or brick building, built in a fortress moat and intended to hold water in water ditches at the required height, and in dry ditches to intercept projectiles aimed at, in case the enemy could use the mouth of some other ditch for firing. abutting the main one.

Dugout- originally this term was used to describe any covering that protects manpower from damage. Then B. began to be called any field fortification security structure that has one or another degree of protection from damage from above. These buildings included the simplest buildings, ranging from canopies to structures that provided protection from entire heavy artillery shells. Depending on the position of the covering, bombs were divided into horizontal, in which the covering was horizontal, and inclined, in which the covering, covered in front by a high embankment, had an inclined position, falling in the direction of the flight of the projectile. Currently, all security structures erected at some distance from the line of fire are known under the name, and B. refers only to shelters for manpower and fixed assets, arranged near the firing position under or next to it. B. became widespread for the first time in Sevastopol in 1854 - 55.

Armoring- protection from artillery fire for structures intended for various needs of troops or directly for combat. B. usually came down to constructing a ceiling made of hard materials - wood, iron - and covering it with earth.

Siege of the fortress- surrounding the fortress with troops to stop all its external relations. As a result, the garrison is deprived of the opportunity to receive any help from outside and, due to the depletion of life and combat supplies, is eventually forced to surrender the fortress (most often from hunger). In the ancient and Middle Ages, during a blockade, the fortress was usually surrounded by fortifications that made up. In the XIV - XVI centuries. the latter was also called the blockade line and consisted of separate fortifications (and) connected by a ditch and a rampart.

Blockhouse(German: Blockhaus - log structure) - fortification, adapted for all-round fire and for the residence of a garrison in it. The shape and design of the weapon is very diverse and depends on the purpose, the nature of the enemy, the terrain and the availability of certain materials. B. are usually used to protect communications and in forest conditions. Being more or less isolated and having to resist on their own enough for a long time, they usually have strong walls and ceilings that can withstand artillery fire of one or another caliber. for rifles and machine guns, they are cut so that in front of the bomb there are no dead corners (unfired spaces), using which the enemy could safely approach the structure itself. Embrasures for machine guns are made in the most dangerous directions. With a cordon position, each of them must fire at the approaches to the neighboring ones. In 1917, there was an attempt to include under the term “blockhouse” everything of a heavy type, even those not intended for housing. such as machine gun and frontal machine gun fire structures, even mortar fire structures. However, in such an arbitrarily expanded understanding, the term “blockhouse” did not take root, retaining its previous narrower meaning. For the first time, B. appeared in 1778 in Silesia during the War of the Bavarian Succession. Since then they have become widely used. The most widespread use of blockhouses was found in the Anglo-Boer War of 1899 - 1902, when 8,000 blockhouses of various types were erected over 6,000 km to organize defense English communications from the attack of the Boers. During the Great Patriotic War, the Germans also often used B. to protect their communications from partisan attacks.

Combat readiness of fortresses- the readiness of the latter for combat operations during the transition from a peaceful situation to a military one. Based on the definition as a harmonious combination of a garrison, its management, weapons, supplies and long-term fortifications, it was believed that for a military garrison it is necessary:

Regarding troops and their management - so that the troops: 1) are familiar with the terrain in which they will have to operate. 2) firmly adopted the methods of serf warfare. 3) could take up combat positions in a timely manner and meet the enemy, even one who unexpectedly invaded their borders. 4) could provide active support with forays into the flank and rear of the enemy passing by the fortress and the fight for the surrounding area.

In terms of weapons and ammunition - so that the fortress has all the artillery, ammunition and auxiliary equipment assigned according to the artillery defense plan. and were in place or stored in the immediate vicinity.

In terms of food and medical supplies - so that the combat readiness of the fortress is ensured by supplies for the entire duration of the war.

Regarding long-term fortifications - so that there is an accurate and detailed work plan for bringing the fortress to defense, calculated by days and hours, from which each commander would know what and when to do and where to get the labor. materials, tools, etc. The construction of the fortress itself must also proceed according to a certain plan, according to which the fortress, even if not completed, would, to a certain extent, have part of the structures that could be used for defense.

The practice of war showed that not a single fortress at the time of the outbreak of hostilities was, for a number of reasons, completely ready for defense.

Combat line or line of guard units- so during the First World War 1914-18. was called the first rifle line, which dealt with the guard units of the defending troops, abundantly supplied with machine guns. The success of its defense was based primarily on a skillful combination of artificial fire, machine gun fire and counterattacks from nearby supports.

War crest- an inflection of the slope of the terrain, from where, at the range of a valid shot, you can fire at the entire underlying slope and sole without.

Plantar, middle and upper fights- in ancient Russian fortress fences for placing weapons. The bottom and middle battles were called pechurs and each was armed with one weapon. The upper battlements were intended to accommodate shooters, the plantar battlements were intended for flat shelling of the area.

Bolverk (bolverk)- Name ; used in our country in the 18th century. A rarely used term found only in specialized literature.

Bonet- local elevation (0.45 m above the line of fire) with them for rifle fire. Before the Russo-Japanese War, they were installed in fortifications to protect the shooter’s head during shooting.

Bonet caponier- a defensive casematized building in ditches of the 18th and first half of the 19th centuries, which had separate scarp walls and behind them. Placed in the outgoing corner of the wall. B.-k. gave longitudinal rifle defense to the patrol route, served for its defenders and provided them with communication with the interior of the fortification. Also called a bonnet-casemate.

Breaching- artillery fire with the aim of collapsing vertical fortifications or making gaps in them.

breach battery(royal battery) - a battery that, before the appearance, was located opposite the bastion front and was intended to collapse the curtain and make a gap in it for the attacker.

Armor door- a door made of armor to protect entrances to. An armored door for protection against chemical agents is usually made hermetically sealed. A variation of it is an armored shutter, which was previously installed to protect light openings in residential concrete or.

Armor fortification-, which built defenses based on artillery fire from armored installations, and. Appearance in the second half of the 19th century. rifled artillery and high-explosive shells necessitated not only design changes, but also an increase in the diameter of the fortresses, i.e., a change in the nature of the fortress itself. The latter circumstance played a decisive role in the emergence of the ideas of B. f. An increase in diameter caused an increase in the number, and therefore the garrison, required for the fortress. Thus, the question was raised either about increasing the total number of the army, or about increasing the number of serf troops by reducing the field troops. Not a single state could do the latter, and not all countries, especially small ones, could do the former. It is no coincidence, therefore, that the idea of ​​B. f. found application mainly in countries such as Belgium, Holland, Romania, Switzerland, Denmark, and only partially in Germany and France. The ideologists of armored fortification were the Belgian military engineer Brialmont, according to whose ideas Belgium, Romania, in France - Muern, in Germany - Sauer and Schumann were fortified. Its extreme expression B. f. achieved in the ideas of Sauer and Schumann. The first proposed replacing the line of forts with a belt of individual armored towers built at a distance of half a kilometer from one another, or, even better, with a double line of towers at a distance of 1 km from each other. The towers were garrisoned exclusively by artillerymen. Schumann, in order to reduce the garrison of fortresses and the cost of the latter, proposed building forts without infantry, in the form of armored batteries, armed with artillery and machine guns and surrounded by obstacles, and the course of defense was to be directed by pressing the buttons of electrical devices from a central observation station. These ideas, being extremely utopian and unrealistic, did not find application. In Russia, the ideas of B. f. did not receive recognition and the main element of the fortress was still recognized as a stronghold for the active actions of the garrison, and not as an expression of the passive strength of the fortress. The World War showed the correctness of the ideas of Russian fortification, which. Without abandoning the use of armored installations in forts for anti-assault artillery, the basis of defense was still built on the active actions of the garrison.

Armored parapet- a thick metal wall to cover guns (mainly coastal ones), replacing an earthen rampart. B. b. were cast in the form of separate segments connected to each other with bolts, wedges, etc. At the appropriate height, the line was cut through, and the horizontal axis of rotation of the gun was transferred to its muzzle, as a result of which a rather large sector of fire was maintained. The segments were slabs convex towards the enemy, embedded in masonry and equipped with transverse support brackets, which simultaneously served as weapons. B. b. appeared. in the 60s of the XIX century. in England, from where they moved to other countries, including Russia. However, such parapets turned out to be of little convenience, and they were soon abandoned.

Bronelafet- a lightweight armored structure for the guns, sometimes associated with the gun carriage machines, which support the dome. There is no drum, and rotation is carried out on a central axis-rack. Used for light weapon systems - howitzers and short, rapid-fire medium-caliber guns.

Armored posts- armor coverings for observers.

Armored belt- advanced armor that encircles the tower room in tower structures and reinforces the concrete mass.

Armored rapid fire- a lowering armored turret for small rapid-fire artillery, intended to repel an assault in. Also called .

Parapet(German brustwehr - chest protection) - a part that represents protection from targeted shots and the enemy’s gaze. In old fortifications, where B. reached a height of 1.4 m or more, it was at the same time an obstacle to the assault along with a ditch in front of it. B. can be earthen, metal, armored, reinforced concrete and generally made of any materials. The thickness of the reinforcement for field fortifications is determined by the condition of indestructibility by a bullet, and for long-term fortifications by the condition of indestructibility by a projectile. B.'s profile is determined by three planes: almost vertical internal, horizontal and external inclined. The inner plane (almost vertical) intersects with the almost horizontal plane. This part of the B. is called the internal steepness of the B. The second segment” between the internal and external planes, inclined to the ground at an angle of 30° - 45° (i.e., at the angle of natural repose of the soil), is called the slope B. The last segment, between slope and the horizon of the earth, is called the front slope of the B. The thickness of the B. is equal to the length of the slope of the B. If the front slope of the B. is a continuation of its slope, that is, if both planes merge, then such a B. is called glaciform or glacis. The ramp is given such an inclination that the bullet of a gun placed on it flies above the horizon no higher than 0.5 m. Other parts of the ramp have the following names: the line of intersection of the internal steepness with the horizon is called the base of the ramp, with the slope - the inner the ridge of the B. or its, the intersection of the slope with the front slope - the outer ridge of the B. Parapets have been known since ancient times. They were made in the form of a vertical wall - with, and in field fortifications - from logs.

Bulevardi- the name of bastions that had retreat and tiered flanks. They were also called bastiles and turions, and among the Germans - bolwerks.

Boolean Wells- vertical wells with a cross-section of about 0.75 m square and up to 4 - 5 m deep, which served to destroy the enemy in the open. VV's house placed at the bottom of the well. The explosive charge was calculated as for obtaining a quadruple funnel, taking the distance from the bottom of the well to the ceiling of the gallery as the line of least resistance. They got their name from the French inventor Captain Boulle. Also called battle wells.

Boulevard- closed earthen fortifications used in the 15th century. during sieges. For the first time, guns were used by the British in 1428 during the siege of Orleans and were square with round projections at the corners, which housed 3 guns that fired through armored guns. Later, the name “boulevard” passed to the line of earthen ramparts in, and after the abolition and demolition of the ramparts, it was retained for the alleys planted in their place.

Defensive curtain- a system of fortifications consisting of a number of large fortifications, between which separate large ones were erected for fire communications, which served to block the main routes of communication. It was proposed to protect the northeastern and eastern borders of France after the war of 1870 - 71. engineer General Sere de Rivière and carried out with some changes. It was the first proposal to completely strengthen state borders in modern times.

Defensive barracks- cm. .

Defensive casemate- cm. .

Defensive guard - simplest form, erected to protect bridges and tunnels from attacks by small enemy parties that penetrated the rear, and saboteurs. It consisted of separate structures and walls that blocked access to the coastal abutments of the bridge or the entrances to the tunnels.

Defensive line- the term has several meanings.

1. In the strategy, this was the name for a line that was difficult for troops to pass, for example, a water barrier, a mountain range, a number of local objects convenient for defense, etc. O. l. - the same, but designed for strategic actions and can have one or another influence on the general course of events in a given theater of war. Therefore, it had to satisfy the same basic requirements that apply to any position, i.e. have flanks secured from envelopment and provide a number of natural or artificial strongholds and convenient exits for going on the offensive with significant forces. Currently, this term has been replaced by the term boundary.

2. In the XVII - XVIII centuries. O. l. a position was called, fortified by a rampart with a ditch, which usually had a leading or tonal, and more often a mixed outline. Such lines had a huge extent - up to hundreds of kilometers. Appearance in the 17th - 18th centuries. such O. l. explained by the inactive nature of the wars of this time, caused by the very nature of the armies (mercenary armies) and weapons, the store supply system and, finally, the reluctance of commanders to risk their armed forces. To defend these lines, entire armies were stretched over enormous distances. If the enemy is indecisive, O. l. achieved their goal, but with enemy activity their value quickly dropped. Revolutionary wars of the French Republic at the end of the 18th century. and Napoleon's wars led to the rapid disappearance of these lines, although in the literature they were still proposed for a long time as a form of fortifying the area.

3. First world war 1914 - 18 O. l. or a position was a strip of terrain equipped with at least two, located at a distance of about 7 - 8 km from each other, and each having about 1 km in width. Thus, the total depth of O. l. reached 9 - 10 km. Currently, such a strengthened O. l. is called .

Defensive lane- a position occupied for defense by military formations - from the rifle brigade to the army inclusive (O. P. of the division, O. P. of the army).

Defensive building- cm. .

Defensive structures- a group intended for firing from them. Currently the term is used.

Defensive walls- separate stone walls during the period of high-explosive bombs, adapted for rifle defense. O. s. They were used mainly as separate scarp walls in fortress ditches. The upper part of the wall was covered with a pitched or gable roof made of iron or a stone slab. were located at a distance of 1.0 m from each other, behind the wall was .

Defensive dugout- a canopy adapted for shooting from through to. It appeared with us during the Russian-Japanese War for protection from shrapnel and shrapnel. Found great use during the war of 1914-18. During the Great Patriotic War, due to the shortcomings inherent in canopies in general, they found little use. O.b., embedded in the front steepness of a trench for 1 - 2 people, was called a nest for shooters.

Defensive glacis- cm. .

Defensive traverse- adapted for defense.

Terrain equipment- a term sometimes used instead of the term fortification of terrain (see), but broader than the latter, since O. m. includes not only purely fortification elements, but also the construction of roads, the construction of dugouts, etc. Thus, it is more correct to say in this case about engineering O. m., the strengthening of the area is similar to the concept of “fortification equipment of the area.”

Reverse glacis- flat earthen with a depth of 1:12. making it possible for the garrison gathered at the bottom of the ditch to easily launch a counter-attack in all directions. Its disadvantage was that for the enemy it also did not represent an obstacle. for example, a regular counter-scarp.

Sprinkling- the top layer of earth above, which has the purpose of weakening the fragmentation effect of means of destruction, limiting and weakening the scattering of stones, pieces of concrete, coating and helping to camouflage the structure. O. thickness is made from 0.3 to 0.5 m.

Bypass ditch- a ditch for communication behind with a bottom width of about 0.7 m.

General retrenchment- cm. .

Firing position- a section of terrain on which a weapon manufactured for combat is located. See also.

Firing point- a fire agent located on and ready for action. This term is sometimes completely incorrectly used to refer to the structure itself, intended to house a fire weapon.

Okolny town- an old Russian term that meant an external defensive fence in cities that had several fences.

Trench- the simplest earthen cover for firing infantry, machine guns or artillery pieces from it. Depending on this, O. are called: trenches for anti-tank rifles, etc. O. coincided with the advent of rifled weapons and high-explosive shells, when the increased damage and accuracy of shooting forced them to dig into the ground. The structures erected before this time cannot be called O. in the modern sense of the word, since at that time mainly bulk structures were practiced, such as fortifications (,) and embankments. This was caused by the need to have a difficult obstacle to overcome for an assault and to most effectively hit the enemy who was advancing in columns as tall as a man (hence, the aiming line had to be raised higher). The only exception was during the siege of fortresses, which were intended mainly for approaching the fortress, and not for shooting. The increase in the power of weapons, which caused a change in the formation of battle formations during attack and defense, the emergence of dashes, as well as the requirements for camouflage, made it necessary to dig into the ground and abandon high embankments. The first types of fire “legalized” by fortifiers appeared during the defense of Sevastopol in 1854 - 55. in the form of various types (artillery, infantry). In America in civil war O., in the form of long trenches, have already been used in large quantities, which was caused by the arming of the Americans with rifled weapons. The appearance of infantry in 1872 and its introduction into equipment in subsequent years in all armies led to the general use of armor along with redoubts and lunettes.

Russo-Japanese War 1901 - 05 finally revealed that noticeable high fortifications are of little use in modern conditions for field warfare and that the only acceptable form is inconspicuous O. with a small . A little earlier, during the Boer War, (Boer trenches) appeared. During the First World War 1914 - 18 The main type of O. was taken to be O. complete profiles. During the Great Patriotic War, the weapon was accepted as a normal type for shooting while standing from the bottom of a ditch, as it was narrower and provided better protection from mortar fire, aircraft and tanks.

During the First World War 1914 - 18 artillery often refused to dig in guns, but the Great Patriotic War, in connection with the development of aviation, showed the need for artillery trenches.

Trench fortification profile- a profile, or other similar fortifications, similar to a full profile with a height of 0.5 m. Reinforced with artificial ones (wire, abatis), located in front, in a shallow ditch, closed from the enemy’s ground observer.

Stronghold- an ancient Russian term denoting a fortress fence, i.e. fortress walls or ramparts.

strong point- in the most general sense, a fortified point, the possession of which makes it possible for troops to defend other parts of the position and influence them, and with the loss of which these opportunities are lost. Thus, a fortified area can be an O.P. for an army group, for an army, some fortified village for a regiment or battalion, etc.

In a narrower sense, the operational positions occupied by troops were in the 18th - 19th centuries. individual fortifications - or even . The first were called closed O. p., the second - open, since they were not protected.

During the First World War 1914 - 18 Opportunities were understood to mean individual points equipped for independent defense and, moreover, in such a way that they could be held in one’s hands for a long time, after the enemy had already occupied the areas of the position adjacent to them, and fire from which on these occupied areas could be significantly make it difficult for the enemy to gain a foothold and further spread both in depth and to the flanks. This made it possible to gather forces for a counter-attack. The garrison of the O.P. was permanent, had to always be there and, apart from its direct purpose, did not take part in any actions. O. p. could be permanent or included in or. The garrison of the military unit usually consisted of a company.

Currently, a defensive position is understood to mean a section of terrain in a platoon defense area, the retention of which ensures the strength of the area’s defense. To do this, he adapts to an all-round defense in order to keep the entire zone in front of the front line, inside the defense area and in the rear under fire, as well as to concentrate the fire of all means on the flanks and the most dangerous directions. In charge of several departments with reinforcement equipment. The most important of the platoon ops is the main ops of the company and is most strongly strengthened and reinforced by fire, including anti-tank ones. means and stubbornly held.

Gun cradle- so in the middle of the 19th century. were called .

Main firing position- firing position from which a fire weapon solves the given main fire task in the best possible way.

Prison- that was the name of the small fortified points. erected in Rus' from the 13th century. to protect places of secondary importance, most often on the borders with peoples who are little skilled in military affairs. During the conquest of Siberia, such O. was built by Ermak during his movement into the interior of the country. The O.'s fortifications were a palisade or made of sharpened stakes and a fence up to 6 m high. In the plan, the O. usually had the shape of a quadrangle, at the corners of which wooden towers were erected, and in the middle of one of the sides there was a passage tower for communication with the field. Often the term O. or ostrozhek was used to name mobile ones. Sometimes O. was called the Russians, stationed for the siege of a fortified city.

Scree- an embankment, which was an earthen fence - . An ancient Russian term.

Retaking the fortification- cm. .

Separate fortress position- a long-term position located in a straight line or along an arc of greater or lesser convexity.

Separate fortification- a company fortification located separately from the general position.

Breakaway- the phenomenon of puncturing pieces of concrete in the coating or walls from inside a structure when a shell explodes from the outside. To protect against O., the thickness of the coating or wall is calculated using special formulas, and to reduce the resulting large thickness, anti-spall clothing is used in the form of chain mail mesh or flexible reinforcement, or metal beams installed at intervals of 25 - 40 cm.

Central fence- central fortification, which had a continuous circular fence around it and consisted of ramparts with a ditch in front, connecting individual strongholds - fortresses (,). The ditches received longitudinal defense from the flanking buildings of strong points or from separately located structures. Appointment of C. o. - protect the core of the fortress from attack by open force and serve as a rear position in case the enemy breaks through between.

Chain line of fortifications- continuous fortified lines used in the 18th and partly in the 19th centuries. and consisted either of, or of, connected, or of a combination, or finally of a combination of bastions with curtains, located on ledges (cream lines).

Cyclopean Fortresses- this is the name of the oldest buildings. built for defense purposes from huge stones weighing several tons. They were named so by the Greek traveler Pausanias, who assumed that only Cyclopes, mythical one-eyed creatures with enormous strength, could build such structures. It is incorrect to call the Cyclopean structures fortresses, since they were rather stone fortifications, where the terrain itself dictated the need to build fortifications from stones, and at first they were erected from raw stones, and later, with the advent of slavery and division of labor, they were made from hewn stones. Large stones had the advantage that they provided the necessary verticality of the barrier. There are especially many C.K. in Transcaucasia.

Circumvalation line(Latin circum - around; vallare - to strengthen) - a continuous line of fortifications, erected in the ancient and Middle Ages during the blockade of fortified points to protect against outside attacks on the besieging troops of troops going to the rescue of the besieged. They consisted of a solid rampart and a ditch with separate towers.

Citadel(Italian citadella - small town) - an internal fortification that had independent defense, was a common fortress and served as the last stronghold for the fortress garrison in the event of the fall of the main fortifications. The center must be large enough so that the entire remaining garrison can fit in it, and have sufficient supplies. The original purpose of the church was different: it housed the conqueror’s garrison to keep the population in obedience. With the development of absolutism in cities, buildings for government troops were erected for the same purpose.

And the crossings found on rail and highway routes (Kovna, Thorn, Verdun, Piacenza, Komorn), mountain (Briançon, Fenestrelle, S. Gotthard), lake (Boyen) or swamp (Osovets) gorges. By possessing such points, we facilitate the movement of our troops and supplies in the theater of war as much as we hinder the enemy in this regard. 2). Military centers, which are the concentration of military warehouses, arsenals and factories necessary for the existence and operation of ground forces (Brest-Litovsk, Spandau, Dijon). 3) Maritime centers with their ports, shipyards and other facilities necessary for the existence and operation of the naval forces of the state (Kronstadt, Kiel, Toulon, La Spezia, Pola). 4) Industrial and factory cities, the funds of which can be used by troops in case of war (Warsaw, Cologne, Lyon). 5) Administrative and political centers in which the administration of a country or some region is concentrated, the loss of which is associated with administrative difficulties and unfavorable political consequences (Kyiv, Koenigsberg, Paris, Rome, Krakow). Particularly important strategic points are those that combine several of the above values ​​(Warsaw, Konigsberg, Lyon, Alexandria, Krakow). The natural desire to secure the strategic points of the country forces the construction of cities in them, taking advantage of the fact that the significance of most of these points is determined long before the war on the basis of the general defense plan and military-geographical data. It would be possible to confine ourselves to assigning a permanent detachment of troops to each of the points to be defended - a garrison, chained to this point for the entire duration of the war, without resorting to fortifications. But, bearing in mind that in this case the defender is chained to a certain place without the right to leave it and can be surrounded, cut off from his own by the superior forces of the enemy, that is, he is placed in an extremely unfavorable position in physical and moral relations, it would be necessary to give this garrisons a significant amount. Entire armies would be dedicated to performing an auxiliary task - the defense of strategic points, and for the main actions that decide the fate of the war in the open field, for active, mobile defense, with transitions to the offensive, relatively small forces would remain. By strengthening strategic points, you can reduce the size of their garrisons without compromising the defense. Indeed, there will only be a replacement of part of the living force - the troops - with the dead force of artificial barriers and closures represented by fortifications. The stronger the fortifications, the fewer troops can defend the strategic point they strengthen. The stronger the material of these fortifications, the more solid their size, the more time the attacker will need to concentrate various weapons of destruction in front of them and for the process of destruction itself, and therefore the more persistent the defense can be. At all benefit, The benefit brought by K., as a set of fortifications that secure strategic points, is twofold: 1) K. allows, without compromising the defense, to reduce the number of troops necessary to retain strategic points, thereby accordingly increasing the size of the field army - the main weapon of struggle and 2) K. . increase the duration of the defense of strategic points to limits unattainable without the help of long-term fortifications. K. always bore the imprint of their contemporary state of military art. On general their location was particularly influenced by the size of the armies. Wars of the late XVII and early XIX centuries. They brought into existence armies numbering hundreds of thousands of people in their ranks. It became difficult to defend strategic points with the previous small garrisons of several hundred or thousand people, delaying for quite a long time the advance of hundreds of times stronger enemy armies, even with the help of fortifications. It was necessary to increase the garrisons of strategic points accordingly - K., but the same increase in the number of armies, which made this measure desirable, also provided the means for its implementation. As a result, K.'s garrisons began to increase noticeably already at the end of the last century. The increase in garrisons required the expansion of fortress fences. Initially, new ones began to be added to the existing fences in places, pushed forward and adjoining the ends of their side parts or wings to the old ones (the fortified camp built by Vauban at Dunkirchen). Soon, however, with the further increase in garrisons and the development of the mobility of troops, the need for such a form of expansion of fortifications, which would give greater scope for active, energetic defense with private and strong forays - the only method of action suitable for large and mobile garrisons, began to be realized more and more clearly. This form was the strengthening of the previously existing continuous fortress fences by moving forward intermittent lines of small independent fortifications, which soon received the name forts The space between the forts and the main fortress fence allows the free placement of a large garrison, and the wide gaps between the forts provide the garrison with all the convenience for making forays in significant numbers. On the other hand, the forts themselves, having a closed arrangement, that is, continuous barriers to assault and protection from views and shots from all sides, are not afraid of attack from the rear in the event of the enemy breaking through these gaps. On the contrary, an attacker who dares to make such a breakthrough without taking possession of the forts ends up in a bag, being stopped in front - from the front - by the main fortress fence, exposing his rear and his flanks to the attacks of the mobile part of the garrison and to shots from the forts he neglected. Before the introduction of rifled artillery, forts had no other purpose than to provide the greatest possible freedom of action for strong garrisons (sometimes forts still occupied heights dangerous for defense in front of the main fence) and therefore they were pushed to a distance of only 1/2 verst and up to 2 versts forward from the fence, due to the possibility of fire support from the latter (Koblenz according to the 1815 project and Paris in 1842). In the case of forts supporting each other, the distance between them was about 1 verst. At the same time, they did not worry about bombing due to the short firing range of smooth-walled artillery. In the second half of this century, rifled cannons appeared and allowed the attacker to bombard the fortress from previously unheard of distances of 4 (Gaeta 1860-61), 5 or more (Paris 1870-1871) versts. the reach of artillery fire reaches the 8th century. And since, judging by previous examples, the attacker can safely arrange his batteries at a distance of about 3 versts from the forts, the latter had to be advanced to 8 without 3 or 5 versts. forward from the main fortress fence so that not a single enemy shell hits the central fortress core surrounded by it. The desirability of securing the central fortress core from bombardment follows from the following considerations: if it is only a group of barracks and warehouses, i.e. K. military character, then, by exposing the said core to even just random shells, we deprive the garrison of the only completely safe resting place and risk the loss of combat and food supplies. if it is also a city, especially a crowded one, then the bombing can, in addition, cause panic, indignation, and the commandant will have to spend extra effort on keeping the residents in obedience or, yielding to their demands, surrender the fortress much earlier than necessary, as was done by the commandant of Strasbourg in 1870. As for the distance of the forts from each other, for the possibility of mutual support with artillery fire, with rifled artillery, it was determined by an average figure of 3 versts. Thus the now ubiquitous general type of large modern fortress, shown in the accompanying schematic drawing. Schematic drawing of a large modern fortress. The main or central fortress fences in most modern fortresses, which were gradually created over tens and even hundreds of years, are ancient, built during the era of smooth-walled weapons. the low reality of firing from such weapons forced, in order to intensify the fire, to resort to cross defense through various fractures and angles, which partly explains the relative complexity of the location of such fences (see drawing of the main fortress fence). The fortress main fence, built with smooth artillery. Forts, on the contrary, due to the historical origin of the modern type of fortress explained above, for the most part were built recently, after the advent of rifled weapons, which have quite sufficient force of action even with one frontal fire, directed from only one side, meeting the attacker only from the front, which is why the location they are distinguished by their simplicity (see drawing of the fortress). A fortress fort built after the introduction of rifled artillery. The main fence and forts represent only the skeleton of those defensive structures with which, like muscles, this skeleton must be filled in time of war. Under the protection of fire from impregnable forts occupying the most advantageous points of the outer fortress position for defense, the defender can position his infantry and artillery in relative safety in the most attack-prone spaces between the forts. in this case, his flanks rest against the forts and from the same latter the access to the front of the intermediate position is fired upon, thanks to which here one can limit oneself to those small earthen closures and the simplest barriers to assault that the troops can arrange for themselves in a moment of need. Thus, an organized intermediate position between the forts, having a length of 3 or more miles, can develop strong rifle and artillery fire not only on the terrain in front of it, but also in indirect directions - on the terrain in front of the forts, supporting them with its fire to the same extent, in which she herself is supported by them. Less the threatened gaps between the forts, in order to avoid unnecessary dispersion of forces, may not be occupied at all or occupied much less, since the attacker’s breakthrough of the line of forts, even if it happened, for the reasons explained above does not pose a danger if the most threatened one is behind a heavily occupied and fortified section of the outer fortress position, the defender will concentrate a strong part of the garrison troops - a general reserve capable of rushing to the attacker’s flank and if the fortress has a completely serviceable main fortress fence. Not being able to achieve the goal by breaking through between the forts, the attacker will direct his efforts to take possession of these latter. but since, by their structure, they are protected from an assault - an attack, he will have to undertake a slow gradual attack, accompanied by the sequential destruction of the forts and the destruction of the artillery defense of the fortress by the fire of heavy siege artillery, for the success of the action usually concentrated in front of some two or three forts, on which are actually carrying out such an attack. Transporting siege artillery to the fortress alone would require several weeks of time. observing the preparations of the besieger from balloons or fortress towers, the defender tries to guess the direction of the attack and uses this time to organize the mentioned type of intermediate positions between the forts in new sections of the line of forts, if the previously located positions do not correspond to the expected direction of the gradual attack, otherwise strengthens and develops what has been done before. Generally a defender, having a fortress on the outside. position, ready-made strongholds - forts, and behind them there are good communication routes, can quickly deploy, left in reserve for the time being, the main mass of its troops and guns at any of the intervals between the forts, quite in accordance with the circumstances of the moment, under the cover of fortifications erected by the troops themselves during the siege and then strengthen its position as the energy of attack from the besieger increases. the result is

Olga Vorobyova (Danilova)
Summary of the organized activity “Your city is in your hands!”

Department of Education Administration

Stary Oskolsky urban district of Belgorod region

Municipal budget preschool educational institution

kindergarten No. 42 "Malinka" Stary Oskolsky urban district

Summary of organized activities

« Your city is in your hands!»

preparatory group No. 9 "Forest clearing"

Completed:

Tebenkova Anna Vladimirovna

Danilova Olga Alekseevna

Stary Oskol, 2017

Conversation « Your city is in your hands!»

Target: developing in children a sense of patriotism and love for their family city.

Tasks:

Expand children's understanding of the sights of their native land cities, about the names of neighborhoods and streets.

To develop children's coherent speech, enrich and activate children's vocabulary, encourage them to think freely and fantasize.

To consolidate children's knowledge about various professions of people, their names and gender activities.

Cultivate love for family city, culture of behavior in public places, interest and desire to learn more about one’s native city.

Equipment: laptop, envelope with photographs of Stary Oskol, album with photographs of attractions cities, a poem by Elisha Syrovatsky about Stary Oskol.

Educator: - Guys, today we will go on a trip to our native city. Let's remember what it's called (children's answers). Our faithful friends - books, drawings - will help us on our journey. Of course ours the city is not very big, but there are many different neighborhoods and streets in it. Each neighborhood and street has its own name and history. (Showing a presentation with views of Stary Oskol at different times of the year, familiar to children from excursions and targeted walks).

Educator: - In our city there are still wonderful places, attractions, name them (children's answers). This and city ​​parks, where it is very pleasant to walk, and a museum that can tell about the past. There are many monuments dedicated to soldiers who fought for our Motherland. There is a beautiful fountain in the central square. Many beautiful buildings and structures. People of different professions tried to ensure that our the city was beautiful. Name these professions (children's answers).

Look, what do you see in these photos? (children's answers).

Yes, this is our native Stary Oskol city. Look at the photos of what we have city? (Sewing factory, factories, thermal power plants (at a hint, if the children can’t tell), schools, kindergartens, fountains, monuments, hospitals, Victory Park, public gardens, railway station, ice palace "Arcade",stadium "Promagro" etc.)

Educator: - Who can name the microdistrict in which our kindergarten is located? The neighborhood you live in? (children's answers).

Educator:-. Do you know, children,

There was such a case.

People were driving home from work.

Just got there - what a miracle -

Everyone has forgotten their addresses!

Searching, worrying, watching all around:

“Where is our street? Where is our home?

Drivers are looking for: “Where is our garage?”

Residents are rushing about: “Where is our floor?”

Everything is mixed up, everything is lost,

Fortunately, this only happened in a fairy tale!

Educator: - I purposely told you this poem to check if you know your address. Where was your house built and are you familiar with it? (children's answers (children take turns saying their home address).

Remember, guys, and name what other microdistricts of our cities you know? (children's answers).

Tell me guys what are your favorite places in our city? (children's answers).

Why do you love these particular places?

What do you like about our city?

(children's answers)

Educator: - Guys, I will give you photographs with views of Stary Oskol. I suggest you tell me what is shown on them (listen to children's stories).

Well done guys, you spoke very well about our city. Listen to what a wonderful poem our young Stary Oskol poet Syrovatsky composed Elisha:

“Like a fortress and a military barrier,

Where Oskol and Oskolets met,

Was once laid on the shore

Our glorious city ​​- Warrior and Merchant.

Trade city- teeth were broken on it

In raids, haters are enemies,

He was a shield, but gradually the log houses

They grew around it and along the river.

Centuries have passed and the city has changed,

Now he is modern, young,

Only the coat of arms of "All Rus'" Tsarina

Catherine looms over the head.

Stary Oskol - our glorious, kind city,

There is no fighting here, as there used to be in the old days,

Now in his hands working hammer

And in the Heart there is lava - fiery Steel!

We city miners and steelworkers,

Restless, working people,

Growing streets, parks and boulevards,

And daring, unbridled ideas.

I appreciate you my friend, my young city,

You and I are united by a common destiny,

Grow and prosper, know no peace,

And stay forever young!”

Educator: - Our city very beautiful both in summer and winter. In winter it is covered with white, fluffy "blanket", in silvery frost sparkling in the sun. And in the summer - what beauty! Everything around is green and blooming.

Adults keep our place clean city using different technology: watering machines, cleaning machines, snow removal machines, placing trash cans.

How do you guys help keep things clean? cities? (We clear our area of ​​fallen leaves, help clear it of snow, help water the flowers in the flower beds, etc.)

And in this way you help to make our the city is even more beautiful.

Tell me guys do you love yours city? (children's answers).

Why do you love him? Think about what makes it special. Try to answer in complete sentences (children's answers).

What new did you learn today about your city?

What's happened "sight"?

You already know a lot about our city and you will be able to tell about it to your friends, relatives who live in other cities.

Publications on the topic:

Summary of organized educational activities “The city where you want to live” in the senior group Municipal preschool educational institution "Kindergarten of a combined type No. 131" of the Kirov district, Saratov.

Summary of integrated organized educational activities on cognitive development “Pyatigorsk is a favorite city!” Senior teacher of MBDOU kindergarten No. 23 “Firefly” Maltseva O. P. Summary of integrated organized educational activities.

Summary of organized educational activities on application in the second junior group “Autumn City” Summary of organized educational activities Educational area: artistic and aesthetic development (application) in the 2nd.

Summary of organized educational activities for children of the senior group (5–6 years old) “Love and know your city” Summary of organized educational activities for children of the older group (5-6 years old) on the topic “Love and know your city” Educational.

Summary of organized educational activities on modular design activities “How we built bridges” (4–5 years) Summary of organized educational activities on modular design activities “How we built bridges” (middle group).

(2 years ago) | Add to bookmarks |

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The construction of the Russian military fortress in Tashkent began in August 1865, southeast of the old city on the Til-i-Kirilmas hill, separated from the city fortress wall by the Rakat canal (now in this place Ankhor). The place for the construction of the fortress was indicated to the initiator of its construction, Major General M.G. Chernyaev, by the Tashkent residents themselves, noting that this was an important strategic point, from where at the beginning of the 19th century the Kokand troops of Khan Alim broke through the city’s defenses and where the first citadel of the Tashkent beklyarbeks was located, which was moved kushbegs by Lyashker in 1821 into modern Urdu.

The fortress was built by residents of the old city for a fee; local merchants hired builders. The ramparts are made of clay and stones taken from the partially destroyed defensive wall of the old city.

In October 1865, the following were ready: the fortress rampart, inside it there were premises for six companies of infantry, the commander of one of the battalions, an infirmary with 150 beds, an armory and a powder magazine.

The Russian fortress was built according to classical rules fortification in the form of a hexagon, surrounded by ramparts with corner bastions: northern, eastern and southern. The western bastion was absent, since there was a natural barrier on this side - the Rakat Canal. Later, the ramparts were additionally surrounded by a wall made of mud brick 4 meters high and 1.1 meters thick with vertical loopholes. The fortress had three gates, named after the names of officers who distinguished themselves during the storming of Tashkent: Mesyatsev, Obukh and Shmelev. The main entrance - the eastern one - has survived to this day. The other two entrances were later blocked from the outside by two L-shaped buildings of two-story barracks. The buildings inside the fortress formed short streets intersecting at right angles; in the center there was a parade ground, on which a memorial obelisk with a double-headed eagle was erected in 1915, dedicated to the tenth anniversary of the suppression of the armed uprising that occurred in the fortress on the night of November 15-16, 1905.
From 1867 to 1883, every day at 12 o'clock in the afternoon, a blank shot of the midday cannon was heard from the ramparts - similar to what is customary in the Peter and Paul Fortress of St. Petersburg.

After the events of the Osipovsky rebellion in January 1919, when the fortress played a strategic role for the last time, it lost its military significance and was used as quartermaster warehouses.

In 1964, the fortress was completely abolished, and in its place a multi-storey administrative building was built for the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Uzbekistan (project authors: A. Fainleib, V. Berezin, S. Ishankhodzhaev, Y. Khaldeev, R. Bleze, Y. Zakirova, engineers E. Lenneshmidt, A. Asanov), and there is a children's park nearby.

Two good-quality barracks buildings, which are characteristic examples of Turkestan architecture of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, have been reconstructed and are still in use today.

Unfortunately, an important element of the ensemble of the Russian military fortress has not been preserved: the house built for Major General M.G. Chernyaev in one day on June 17, 1865. This was the first house of the new city; it was located in a park near the modern exhibition hall of the Academy of Arts of Uzbekistan and played the role of a memorial museum. At the beginning of the twentieth century, a monument to M.G. Chernyaev was erected near the house; a bronze bust of the general for this monument was presented to the city by the disgraced Grand Duke Nikolai Konstantinovich.
The bust originally stood on a pyramid of cannonballs in front of the façade of the Grand Duke's Palace.

Prerequisites for the construction of the fortress and the foundation of Ivangorod

By the end of the 15th century. The time of active gathering of Russian lands. The scale of changes during the reign of Ivan the Third was colossal. The order system of government and Code of Laws, the local system and cultural upsurge, the elimination of the power of the Horde khan and large-scale construction. But, perhaps, the main thing that the end of the 15th century is remembered for is the completion of the active phase of collecting Russian lands under the auspices of Moscow. As a result, his successor Grand Duke of all Rus', Ivan the Third left territory three times larger than what he received. Of course, one of the most widespread successes was the subjugation Novgorod land, which had a common border with Livonia in the North-West.

Ivan the Third - founder of Ivangorod and collector of Russian lands

The sharp expansion of controlled territories required the urgent strengthening of state borders, large-scale reconstruction of old and construction of new fortresses in key directions. This circumstance was superimposed on the “revolution” in artillery associated with the spread of gunpowder in Europe, which sharply increased the requirements for the construction of military fortification facilities. Taking these circumstances into account, the Moscow government is rebuilding the Novgorod Kremlin; carries out construction work in the Koporye fortress; reconstructs the military-defensive structures of Pskov, Yam, Staraya Ladoga and, finally, builds a completely new Russian stronghold - the Ivangorod fortress.

The authorities’ “special attention” to the northwestern borders was more than justified. The Livonians had long dreamed of expanding their possessions to the east at the expense of the Pskov-Novgorod lands and cutting off the emerging Russian state from the Baltic Sea coast. In this regard, the scene of particularly violent clashes was the part of the Shelonskaya Pyatina, located between two rivers: the Narova and the Luga. And each time, through the joint efforts of the Novgorodians, Pskovians and the Moscow army, the Livonians were thrown back, while the border with Livonia was established along the Narova River. The numerous truces that were concluded could hardly lull the vigilance of the Moscow state, and additional threats from another neighbor - Sweden - put on the agenda a total revision of everything that was connected with the organization of the internal political life of the annexed Novgorod lands. One of these steps was not only the strengthening of existing fortresses, but also the construction of a new stronghold on the very border with restless Livonia. In addition, the economic development of the unifying state required a strong position on the Baltic coast. The candidates for this role that existed at that time - Izborsk, Gdov, Yam - could not fully fulfill their intended functions, since they were located at a distance from the Baltic coast and did not have a direct connection with the sea. And a completely different matter - a new city in the lower reaches of the Narova, which would not only become a base for ground forces in the event of a fight against the Livonians, but would also control the routes of movement in the lower Narova region, thereby ensuring trade relations of the Russian merchants with Western Europe and covering the routes of penetration into the northwestern territories of Rus'.

The centuries-old struggle between the Novgorodians and the Livonians transformed into a confrontation between the Russians and the Swedes

It should be noted that the construction of a stone fortress under the very nose of opponents was a very extraordinary task. After all, we were talking about the construction of a new facility located at a considerable distance from the center of the country. As a result, it was necessary to choose a suitable location for the fortress, mobilize qualified labor, organize large-scale procurement of building materials, and, most importantly, organize and carry out all the work quickly, under a veil of secrecy.

Understanding perfectly the difficulties of this task, Ivan III took appropriate measures to successfully complete it. First of all, the construction site was chosen. It turned out to be Maiden Mountain, which received its name from the ancient custom of Russian girls to gather here on Fomina’s week and organize games and round dances, at which matchmaking usually took place. It is assumed that Ivangorod was built next to the ancient Russian settlement, which was located in the vicinity of Devichya Gora. There is an assumption that the settlement was located in the area of ​​​​current Pskovskaya Street, which was in the past an integral part of the ancient road to Pskov. In the Pskov Chronicle in 1473, she mentions the Pskov mayors and boyars who were sent to the “New Village on Narova” to the Novgorod ambassadors to meet with the Livonians. At the same time, the chronicle indicates that the Germans “sent their ambassadors to Rugodiv (Narva).” Consequently, the “New Village” was located opposite the city of Narva. Ivangorod then grew on the basis of this village. It is likely that ten years later the Novgorod boyars, sent by Ivan the Third to negotiate with the Nemats, also came to the same village. Who knows, maybe they noticed the optimal place for the fortress that was built nine years later?

One way or another, thanks to the ten-year truce concluded in Narva, the Moscow state had time to strengthen its borders by repairing existing cities and building new fortresses, one of which was the “detinets” on Maiden Mountain opposite Narva, which became one of the most important defensive buildings of Ivan the Third . Without further ado, the name of the fortress was also chosen: the Grand Duke ordered the fortress to be built “in his own name” and sent “his governor” for this purpose.

The fortress was built on the steep and steep bank of the Narova, exactly opposite Narva, and this, of course, cannot be called a mere coincidence. The river played a vital role; it was the first line of defense, which blocked the approaches to the city and at the same time served as the main transport route connecting it with the vital centers of the country. Opposite the Maiden Mountain towered the Livonian Narva. From the Russian fortress it was possible to monitor all the enemy’s actions on the northern section of the Russian-Livonian border and prevent his aggressive aspirations. The largest commercial port of the Baltic states and the most navigable part of the lower reaches of the Narova, together with the bottleneck near the city of Narva, fell under the control of the fortress artillery. In addition, trade routes intersected here: one passed along the Narova to Pskov, and the other, overland, to Novgorod; under the control of the Russian fortress there was an area of ​​​​river rapids, where merchant ships heading down and up the Narova were reloaded and dragged. No place on the river, including its mouth, had such advantages.

In addition, the site chosen for the construction of Ivangorod also met military-strategic requirements. Located inside the Narova water loop, it had the positive qualities of an island location and at the same time did not limit the growth of the settlement at the fortress. The river, which surrounded the fortress on three sides, served as reliable protection from both direct and flank attacks. The speed of the water flow between Narva Castle and Maiden Mountain prevented the river from freezing in winter.

The Maiden Mountain itself played a major role in the defense of the fortress. A water barrier protected it from the south and west; on the other two sides there was a low-lying strip adjacent to it. It was possible to capture Ivangorod, located on the top of a mountain, only through a frontal attack; flanking was excluded. The rocky mountain descending like a cliff to the Narova did not allow the enemy to organize the landing of troops and storm the fortress from the river, and the fast current carried enemy ships far beyond the location of the Ivangorod fortifications.

Devichya Gora has become the optimal place for the construction of a new Russian stronghold

The main danger, therefore, remained the possibility of shelling from Narva Castle without a crossing, because here its channel narrows to 150 meters. This gave rise to metaphors: the distance between the citadel of Narva and the Russian fortress was determined by just a thrown stone, a fired arrow, or a musket shot. But this circumstance did not bother the Ivangorod builders: being very familiar with the capabilities of domestic artillery, they were confident that the “detinets” would be able to counter enemy fire with its more powerful fire and not only suppress enemy fire, but also put the Livonians in difficult conditions. Subsequently, the experience of combat operations confirmed the rightness of the Russian masters.

The most vulnerable direction remained the northeast direction. But even here, for the assault, the enemy was forced, in full view of the defenders, to cross the river and cross the open and flat space between the river and the fortress. At the same time, while the enemy was landing and moving through this space, the garrison of Ivangorod could inflict serious damage to the enemy’s manpower.

In addition to the above, Maiden Mountain had other advantages. From its top, the surrounding area was clearly visible and enemy actions in the Livonian castle and city were visible. On the south-eastern side of the mountain, where the river bed makes a sharp turn, then going around a stone mountain, there was a small creek, convenient for mooring boats and barges. From the south, the creek was covered by a rocky ledge of a steep bank, which was called the Iron Nose.

Thus, nature itself took care of making the Ivangorod fortress impregnable. And indeed, for a century and a half, from its founding until the mid-17th century, Ivangorod was repeatedly subjected to enemy attacks and was never taken by direct assault.

These qualities of Ivangorod's location increased the defensive capacity of its fortifications, built according to the latest fortification technology of that time, and made them almost impregnable. In terms of the degree of successful combination of natural conditions that the Ivangorod fortress had, in Rus' only Kyiv and Nizhny Novgorod could compare with it.

A difficult task during the preparatory period for the construction of the fortress was the procurement of building materials. But here too, nature provided serious help. Although no outcrops of bedrock limestone rocks were found at the source of the Narova, layers of dense light limestone lying under water were already visible downstream of the river. In addition, part of Shelonskaya Pyatina between Narova and Luga is covered with swamps and forests, where a small layer of soil hid the same limestone. In some places it even came straight to the surface.

And today limestone is easy to notice near Ivangorod. In particular, at the bottom of the old Narova riverbed

The builders even managed to turn some of the remoteness of limestone mining from the Maiden Mountain to their advantage, because the dense forest that covered the area helped hide the ongoing work from the Livonians, and the noise from it was muffled by the roar of falling water (thanks to the mills and waterfalls!). The presence of such natural conditions made it possible to keep secret both the upcoming construction project and the nature of the preparatory work.

One way or another, by the spring of 1492 everything preparatory work were completed, and “Great Prince Ivan ordered the city to be built opposite Rugodiv, and began.” We had to hurry; Let us recall that the truce under the “Daniel Charter” was expiring and the emergence of an alliance of the Livonian Order, Sweden and Lithuania, directed against Russia.

Domestic chronicles about the construction of Ivangorod were not slow to respond to this event. In the 2nd Novgorod Chronicle we read: “in the summer of 7000, the great prince Ivan ordered the city to be set up against Rugodiv.”

“The same spring (7000 == 1492) - says the Novgorod (4th) chronicle - by order of Grand Duke Ivan Vasilyevich, he laid a hail of stones on the German borders against Rugodiv, a German city, on the river on the Narova, on the Divichi Mountains on the side of the quadrangular , and he called his name Ivan-grad, in his name.

The form of the Ivangorod fortress states: “By the will of Grand Duke John Vasilyevich III, in 1492 Ivangorod, a strong castle, with a triple wall to the river, high crenellated towers, underground and underwater passages, was built on the Ingrian, or Narva, right bank of the Narova, opposite the Vyshgorod , or the old city, on a high slab-layered mountain called Devichya. The construction was started by craftsmen drawn from the best regions on St. Trinity, and ended on the day of the Dormition of the Most Holy. Mother of God."

Particular attention should be paid to the fact that the chroniclers indicated that the new Russian “city” erected in 1492 on Devichaya Gora was “quadrangular,” which was in no way related to the configuration of the mountain. This indication of the general structure of the fortress is a phenomenon first encountered on the pages of ancient Russian chronicles; There is no such information before in any other chronicle message. The chroniclers emphasized here the fundamental difference between Ivangorod and the defensive structures that were previously built in Rus'. In contrast to their free plan, the Ivangorod fortress received a “regular” plan.

Model of the Ivangorod fortress of 1492. Metal. Museum of Fortresses

How can we explain this innovation? The main reason is significant changes in military engineering associated with the development and improvement of firearms. This circumstance radically changes the tactics of siege and defense of fortresses, which, in turn, affects the fortress structures themselves.

Let us recall that the artillery that appeared in Rus' in the last third of the 15th century was initially little superior in its characteristics to stone-throwing machines. Early cannons were used primarily in defense, and in this regard already at the beginning of the 15th century. The reconstruction of the fortress towers begins so that guns can be installed in them. The increasingly active role of artillery in defense led to the need to increase the number of towers on the floor side of the fortresses. And only by the middle of the 15th century the power of fire artillery became sufficient to use cannons as the main means of besieging fortresses. Against this background, natural barriers are becoming less and less reliable. Now an assault, supported by artillery fire, was possible from all sides of the fortress, regardless of their cover by natural obstacles. As a result, the general organization of the defense of fortresses is changing.

For many centuries, stone throwers served as the main weapon for storming fortresses. In the photo - a Roman stone-throwing machine

First of all, the possibility of storming the fortress from all sides forced the builders to provide the entire perimeter with flanking fire from the towers - the most effective means of repelling the assault. Thus, the “one-way system” is replaced by an even distribution of towers around the perimeter.

From this time on, the towers became the nodes of the all-round defense of the fortress, and the sections of the walls between them (the spindles) began to be straightened to facilitate their flanking shelling. The logical conclusion of this evolution of fortresses is the creation of “regular” cities, rectangular in plan, with towers at the corners.

The first such fortresses are known in the Pskov land, where in the second half of the 15th century the construction of defensive structures was carried out to strengthen the western border of the Russian state. But perfectly finished new scheme defense was expressed during the construction of the fortress in Ivangorod. The successful construction experience served as an example for its wide distribution in Russian military architecture.

It is also quite natural that the leap in the development of artillery led to the final abandonment of wood as a material for the construction of fortress walls and the transition to the construction of stone walls capable of withstanding the impact of cannonballs.

A very interesting innovation dating back to the 15th century was the widespread change in the shape of the loopholes of the fortress towers. Firstly, the loopholes were somewhat expanded in their front, narrow part. Secondly, a significant expansion, such as small chambers, was created in the rear part of the loopholes. And here the development of artillery played a direct role. Stone-throwing machines could be used from the upper platforms of the towers, so the original narrow loopholes were intended for shooting only from bows and crossbows. It turned out to be impossible to place cannons at such loopholes. In order to adapt the loopholes to cannon fire, it was first necessary to widen them so much that the gun barrel could be pushed through the loophole. This was an absolutely necessary condition for firing, since otherwise the powder smoke would have filled the entire inside of the tower, not to mention the fact that in this position, aiming and aimed shooting would have been practically impossible. And for convenient handling of the gun, that is, for installing it on a machine and the ability to rotate it when aiming, wide embrasures were made in the rear part of the loopholes, turning this part of the loopholes into independent small chambers. Similar features of the new type of loopholes in a more developed form can be seen in the fortress towers of the late 15th century, and above all, in Ivangorod. The chambers here are becoming more and more spacious, and the loopholes themselves, for ease of aiming of cannon barrels, are beginning to expand both inward and outward. The expansion of the embrasures made it possible to turn the cannon barrels more sharply and thereby significantly change the direction of fire, which was especially important in the tactical conditions of the second half of the 15th-16th centuries, when it was necessary to ensure the ability to conduct both frontal and flanking fire. Subsequently, the walls of the Moscow Kremlin, the Novgorod Detinets, the fortress in Koporye and other fortifications began to be rebuilt using the same principles.

It is quite natural that in order to ensure the best flanking of the wall sections between the towers, the wall spindles begin to be made short and straight in plan. The logical consequence of these changes in military engineering tactics was an increasing removal of the protective properties of the relief in the solution of the defense system and an increasing strengthening of the role of walls and towers, an increasing geometricization of the fortification plan. The first example of this type of fortress was the Ivangorod “detinets”. In addition to straightening the sections of walls between the towers, in order to more successfully flank the walls, the towers had to protrude quite significantly in front of the front plane of the walls themselves. And if in “Detinets” this requirement is not yet sufficiently observed and the towers protrude from the walls very little, then during the subsequent reconstruction of the fortress, the removal of the towers is already much greater, which we can observe today.

The advent of artillery had a strong influence on approaches to the construction of fortresses

As a result, the significant difference in the military organization of Russian and Western fortresses very clearly affects the differences in their appearance. And this is most clearly seen when comparing two fortresses located opposite each other - Russian Ivangorod and Narva Castle.

For the “sworn neighbors,” the construction of a Russian fortress “under our very noses” turned out to be “a tub of cold water.” What was most surprising was the secrecy and speed with which the Russian builders coped with the difficult task. Foreign chroniclers did not skimp on details: “That same spring,” they pointed out, “by order of the Grand Duke Ivan Vasilievich of All Russia, he laid a city on the German line opposite the German city of Rugodiv, on the river on the Narova, on the Maiden Mountain on the Sluda, quadrangular; and he will call his name Ivangorod.” The Master of the Livonian Order was also notified of this event; On March 11, 1492, he was informed from Narva that the Russians were building a city and fortress on the other side of the river and that construction should be carried out during the summer.

Some authors point out that the builders of Ivangorod “acted unusually successfully” and “completed their duties fairly well,” carrying out the construction “with extraordinary speed.” The construction began “on the day of the Holy Trinity,” the Ivangorod fortress “was completely completed that same year on the day of the Dormition of the Blessed Virgin Mary.” This information is taken from the chronicle of Balthasar Ruessow. The Reval pastor, apparently angry at the boldness of building a Russian fortress in close proximity to the Livonian castle and city, noted the extreme speed of its construction - from the moment of laying the foundation on the day of the “Corpus of the Lord” holiday in 1492 until the complete completion of the main construction work “in the same summer for the Assumption Mother of God." Thus, the construction of Ivangorod was carried out in less than three months - from May 25 to August 22, 1492. But the builders did not have much choice: there was a formidable and well-armed neighbor nearby who could interfere with the construction of the fortress. For this reason, all work had to be completed in one summer season. And the successful solution of this problem speaks of the skill of the builders and the excellent organization of construction work. Created in one construction season, Ivangorod not only surprised the enemy, but also put pressure on the entire policy of the Livonian rulers, sowing confusion in their ranks and disorganizing their actions. That is why the Livonian chronicler Nienstedt was forced to note in his chronicle the threatening and daring proximity of Ivangorod to Narva. “The Muscovite and so,” he wrote with annoyance, “built a strong castle in 1492 on the other side of the Narova River on the very bank, just opposite Narva, so that from the Narva castle it was almost possible to throw a stone into the city [Ivangorod].” It is not for nothing that the Livonians themselves nicknamed the Ivangorod fortress the thunderstorm of Narva - “eine Trutz Narva”.

Created next to the strong military base of the Livonian Order and the major trading port of the Baltic states, Ivangorod became the most important defense hub, strengthening the western border of Rus' in the most threatened place. For one hundred and twenty years, Ivangorod had enormous military-strategic importance for the Moscow state; it served as a base for Russian troops in the West, facilitated the task of supplying the army, saving it from long, grueling marches to the area of ​​active military operations, and eliminated the dependence of the scale of military operations on weather conditions. Moreover, being founded on the banks of the Narova, along which there was intense trade traffic, Ivangorod contributed to the development of foreign trade of the Russian state. providing protection for Russian merchants heading to the Gulf of Finland.

Thus, the small quadrangular fortress, built during the summer of 1492, became a solid bid by the Moscow state for a primary military outpost, on the basis of which it was then planned to form a larger city. If in the first years there were no buildings recorded in the internal space of the fortress, an area of ​​about 1600 m2, then four years after the completion of the fortress’s construction, “courtyards” and “mansions” were already hidden behind its walls, which are mentioned in the chronicles. Who knows whether the small size of this space was the reason for the appearance of the legend of a horse skin cut into narrow straps, which, when tied together, determined the perimeter of the fortress walls and its dimensions?

A few years later, Ivangorod, along with other cities and settlements, was included in the census book of the Shelonskaya Pyatina for 1498. “Ivangorod on the river on the Narova - it is listed here - opposite Gdov (peculiar accuracy: Ivangorod is almost 50 versts from Gdov). Inside the city is the Church of St. Nicholas, and the vicar’s courtyard.” The following is a list of residents, from which we learn that the priest in Ivangorod at that time was Ivan Nikolsky. This was, presumably, the first priest in the newly created fortress. Russians lived both in Ivangorod itself and “on the hem,” that is, in the suburbs (the current Ivangorod suburb). There were 165 of all the households in Ivangorod and “outside the city in the settlement”, and 198 inhabitants. The residents of Ivangorod owned fishing on the Narova for 30 stakes. At the foot of the fortress, on the banks of the Narova, there was also the first Orthodox cemetery. Neighboring villages were assigned to Ivangorod: Tyavzino and Zakhanye, and in addition, in the Ivangorod district “at the mouth of the Narova and Rosona by the sea” there was “the Grand Duke’s village of Narovskoye” (the current village of Venkul ). It had 62 courtyards and 71 inhabitants. However, the Grand Duke owned a third in the village, from which the Yamsk governor collected income, and “two lots” (i.e., the remaining two-thirds) belonged to “their own people,” that is, private owners.

The census book of the Shelonskaya Pyatina meticulously reflected the development of Ivangorod over less than ten years of its existence.

Summing up briefly the first stage of describing the history of the fortress, it should be noted that the founding of Ivangorod and the construction of the fortress on Devichaya Gora were of great importance. The fortress became not only a stronghold of the Moscow state in the North-West, but also made it possible to keep impulsive neighbors along the Baltic coast in check. Certain economic benefits also appeared: Ivangorod began to take over trade, while at the same time making fishing difficult for the Narvians. It is quite natural that the “sworn neighbors” were not going to tolerate this. And now, in the place where the ringing voices of girls had previously been heard, a formidable fortification arose and military trumpets sounded. It became clear that a stormy life awaited the Ivangorod fortress...

Ivangorod fortress in 1492. Reconstruction by V.V. Kostochkina