Saint Martin de Ré is the first horizontal military architecture of Le Prestre de Vauban. His idea was that his enemy, arriving on the "glaçis", would discover the importance of the walls of the fortification at the last moment, as they were well hidden by the slope of the glaçis and the ditch.
An ingenious system of ditches and advanced posts, redefining military strategy. Saint Martin de Ré, 2018.
The coast on this side was rocky, so Vauban did not think an attack will come by boat. Saint Martin de Ré, 2018.
Saint Martin de Ré, 2018.
Saint Martin de Ré, near the prison, 2018.
A resting area near the beach, in a place that, after beeing a military post defending Rochefort, was a departure base for convicts heading for a terrible exile in Guyana. Saint Martin de Ré, 2018.
Saint Martin de Ré, Bastion de la mer, 2018. The bastion replaced medieval towers, enabling mutual defense, transforming defensive systems.
Briançon, 2018. The "glaçis"'s purpose was to align the land with the direction of gunfire to kill the most of the attackers.
Briançon, 2018.
Montdauphin, 2018. Using existing rocks, limiting the angles of attacks with carefully selected sites, his mountainous fortifications are highly efficient achievements.
Camaret-sur-Mer, 2018. A the far end of France, looking like a sand castle here.
