A redoubt (historically redout ) is a fort or fort system usually consisting of an enclosed defensive emplacement outside a larger fort, usually relying on earthworks , although some are constructed of stone or brick. It is meant to protect soldiers outside the main defensive line and can be a permanent structure or a hastily constructed temporary fortification. The word means "a place of retreat". Redoubts were a component of the military strategies of most European empires during the colonial era, especially in the outer works of Vauban -style fortresses made popular during the 17th century, although the concept of redoubts has existed since medieval times . A redoubt differs from a redan in that the redan is open in the rear, whereas the redoubt was considered an enclosed work.
27-639: Blockhaus may refer to : blockhouse , a small, isolated fort in the form of a single building to serve as a defensive strong point casemate , a fortified gun emplacement or armored structure from which guns are fired A peak of the Maiella massif in the Central Apennines in Italy Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with
54-863: A palisade with the blockhouse at one corner, and possibly a second tower at the opposite corner. Many historical stone blockhouses have survived, and a few timber ones have been restored at historical sites. In New Zealand, the Cameron Blockhouse , near Whanganui , is one of the few blockhouses to survive from the New Zealand Wars . During the Second Boer War the British forces built a large number of fortifications in South Africa . Around 441 were solid masonry blockhouses, many of which stand today. Different designs were used in
81-508: A few had semi-circular or rectangular platforms. Surviving redoubts with blockhouses include Baħar iċ-Ċagħaq Redoubt and Briconet Redoubt , both of which have a pentagonal plan. A few of the redoubts consisted of a single tower-like blockhouse without a platform, and were known as tour-reduits . Of the four tour-reduits that were built, only the Vendôme Tower survives today. Originally blockhouses were often constructed as part of
108-535: A large plan, to "block" access to vital points in the scheme. But from the Age of Exploration to the nineteenth century standard patterns of blockhouses were constructed for defence in frontier areas, particularly South Africa , New Zealand , Canada , and the United States . Blockhouses may be made of masonry where available, but were commonly made from very heavy timbers , sometimes even logs arranged in
135-598: A modern blockhouse and a bunker is that a bunker is constructed mostly below ground level while a blockhouse is constructed mostly above ground level. Some blockhouses like those constructed in England in 1940 were built in anticipation of a German invasion ; they were often hexagonal in shape and were called " pillboxes ". About 28,000 pillboxes and other hardened field fortifications were constructed, of which about 6,500 still survive. The Admiralty Citadel in London
162-513: A number of fortifications to bombard French positions and repel a possible counterattack. Most of the fortifications were batteries, but at least two redoubts, Windmill Redoubt and Żabbar Redoubt , were also built. In 1799, British forces also built San Rocco Redoubt and San Lucian Redoubt in Malta. No redoubts from the French blockade survive today. In the late 19th century, the British built
189-495: A number of redoubts in Malta , as part of an effort to improve the coastal fortifications of the islands. They were built in the middle of bays to prevent enemy forces from disembarking and outflanking the coastal batteries . The design of the redoubts was influenced by ones built in the French colonies. In all, eleven pentagonal redoubts and a few semi-circular or rectangular ones were built. Most redoubts have been demolished over
216-726: A redoubt near Fomm ir-Riħ as part of the Victoria Lines . The American Revolution defenses at West Point , New York included several redoubts, forts, and the Great Chain with links weighing more than 100 pounds each that Continental Army military engineers stretched across the Hudson River. The purpose behind the West Point defensive system was to prevent the British Army and Royal Navy from gaining control of
243-416: Is a small fortification , usually consisting of one or more rooms with loopholes , allowing its defenders to fire in various directions. It is usually an isolated fort in the form of a single building, serving as a defensive strong point against any enemy that does not possess siege equipment or, in modern times, artillery , air force or cruise missiles . A fortification intended to resist these weapons
270-412: Is more likely to qualify as a fortress or a redoubt , or in modern times, be an underground bunker . However, a blockhouse may also refer to a room within a larger fortification, usually a battery or redoubt. The term blockhouse is of uncertain origin, perhaps related to Middle Dutch blokhus and 18th-century French blocus (blockade). Blockhouses existed in ancient Greece, for example
297-656: Is one of the sturdiest above-ground structures built during World War II. It was constructed in 1940–1941 as a bomb-proof operations centre for the Admiralty , with foundations nine metres deep and a concrete roof six metres thick. It too was intended to serve as a strongpoint in defending against the feared invasion. In Berlin and other cities during World War II some massive blockhouses were built as air-raid shelters and anti-aircraft artillery platforms. They were called Hochbunker (literally, "high bunkers"; better translated as "above ground bunkers", to distinguish them from
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#1732772989731324-598: The Thames Estuary , the Solent , and Plymouth . Often sited in pairs, the blockhouses were not built to a common design, but usually consisted of a stone tower and bastion or gun platform, which could be semi-circular, rectangular or irregular in shape. The last blockhouse of this type was Cromwell's Castle , built in Scilly in 1651. Blockhouses were an ubiquitous feature in Malta 's coastal fortifications built in
351-564: The 18th century by the Order of St. John . Between 1714 and 1716, dozens of batteries and redoubts were built around the coasts of the Maltese Islands, while a few others were built in the subsequent decades. Almost every battery and redoubt had a blockhouse, which served as gun crew accommodation and a place to store munitions. Many of the batteries consisted of a semi-circular or polygonal gun platform, with one or two blockhouses at
378-453: The Hudson and splitting New England off from the mid-Atlantic and southern states. The chain blocked the river, the forts were positioned to fire on ships attempting to approach the chain, and outlying redoubts were well placed to defend land routes into West Point. Examples where redoubts played a crucial role in military history: A national redoubt is an area to which the remnant forces of
405-439: The ceiling, with a bench lining the walls inside for defenders to stand on, so that attackers could not easily reach the loopholes. Blockhouses were normally entered via a sturdy, barred door at ground level. Most blockhouses were roughly square in plan , but some of the more elaborate ones were hexagonal or octagonal , to provide better all-around fire. In some cases, blockhouses became the basis for complete forts, by building
432-577: The construction of these blockhouses, but most were either two or three story structures built using locally quarried stone. However the vast scale of British strategy led the British to develop cheaper, double-skinned corrugated iron structures. These could be prefabricated, delivered to site by armoured train, and then have locally sourced rocks or rubble packed inside the double skin to provide improved protection. A circular design developed by Major Rice in February 1901 had good all round visibility, and
459-422: The cost to build a blockhouse dropped down to £16, compared to several hundred pounds for masonry ones. These blockhouses played a vital role in the protection of the railway lines and bridges that were key to the British military supply lines. During World War I and World War II , many types of blockhouses were built, when time allowed usually constructed of reinforced concrete . The major difference between
486-669: The hill was turned into a redoubt by the Royalists , (the remains of which can be seen today in Fort Royal Hill Park ). During the battle, the Parliamentarians captured the redoubt and turned its guns on Worcester. In so doing they made the defence of the city untenable. That action effectively ended the battle, the last of the English Civil War . From 1715 onwards, the Order of Saint John built
513-449: The lack of corners did away with the need for a substructure. Failure due to wood rot and splintering when hit by bullets or shrapnel were eliminated. The steel door to the blockhouse was sheltered by another piece of corrugated iron. The Major Rice blockhouse could be erected in six hours by six trained men. With the change from square gabled roofs to a circular design, they were given the nickname "Pepperpot blockhouse". With mass production
540-471: The manner of a log cabin . They were usually two or even three floors , with all storeys being provided with embrasures or loopholes, and the uppermost storey would be roofed. If the structure was of timber, usually the upper storey would project outward from the lower so the upper storey defenders could fire on enemies attacking the lower storey, or perhaps pour water on any fires. When the structure had only one storey, its loopholes were often placed close to
567-528: The more effective artillery of the period. Often close to ancient fortifications, there were small hills that overlooked the defences, but in previous centuries, they had been too far from the fortifications to be a threat. A small hill close to Worcester was used as an artillery platform by the Parliamentarians when they successfully besieged Worcester in 1646 . In 1651 before the Battle of Worcester
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#1732772989731594-586: The one near Mycenae . Early blockhouses were designed solely to protect a particular area by the use of artillery, and they had accommodation only for the short-term use of the garrison. The first known example is the Cow Tower, Norwich , built in 1398, which was of brick and had three storeys with the upper storeys pierced for six guns each. The major period of construction was in the maritime defence programmes of Henry VIII between 1539 and 1545. They were built to protect important maritime approaches such as
621-411: The rear. The blockhouses usually had musketry loopholes, and in some cases were linked together by redans . Surviving batteries include Mistra Battery and Ferretti Battery , which both have two blockhouses, and Saint Mary's Battery and Saint Anthony's Battery , which have a single blockhouse. Many of the redoubts consisted of a pentagonal platform with a rectangular blockhouse at the rear, although
648-461: The title Blockhaus . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Blockhaus&oldid=1087972335 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Blockhouse A blockhouse
675-524: The usual deep i.e. underground air raid shelters) and those that functioned as anti-aircraft artillery platforms were also called Flak towers . Some were over six stories high; several survive to this day because of the high cost of demolition. The Hochbunker Pallasstraße [ de ] in Berlin- Schöneberg has a post-war block of flats built over it. During the Cold War the shelter
702-566: The years, but a few still survive, such as Briconet Redoubt , Saint George Redoubt and Ximenes Redoubt . Four tour-reduits were also built. These were redoubts built in the form of a tower, with rows of musketry loopholes. Three were around Marsaxlokk Bay, and one was located in Marsalforn , Gozo . The only one still in existence is Vendôme Tower in Marsaxlokk. During the siege of Malta of 1798–1800 , Maltese insurgents built
729-590: Was in use as a NATO foodstore. In the guerrilla phase of the Irish Civil War (1922–1923), a network of blockhouses was constructed to protect the railways from guerrilla attacks. Blockhouses and coordinated road systems were used in the encirclement campaigns of Chiang Kai-shek against the Chinese Communist Party . Redoubt During the English Civil War , redoubts were frequently built to protect older fortifications from
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