57-682: Briançon ( French: [bʁijɑ̃sɔ̃] , Occitan: [bɾjanˈsun] ) is the sole subprefecture of the Hautes-Alpes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in Southeastern France . It is the highest city in France at an altitude of 1,326 metres (4,350 feet), based on the national definition as a community containing more than 2,000 inhabitants. Its most recent population estimate
114-574: A Protestant from La Rochelle , and served Huguenot leader Admiral Coligny , while two of his uncles died in the war with Spain. In 1643, at the age of ten, Vauban was sent to the Carmelite college in Semur-en-Auxois , where he was taught the basics of mathematics, science and geometry. His father's work was also relevant; the design of neo-classical gardens and fortifications were closely linked, since they both concerned managing space. It
171-460: A Royalist patrol and switched sides, serving in the force led by Louis Nicolas de Clerville that took Sainte-Menehould in November 1653. Clerville, later appointed Commissaire général des fortifications , employed him on siege operations and building fortifications. In 1655, Vauban was appointed Ingénieur du Roi or Royal Engineer, and by the time the war with Spain ended in 1659, he was known as
228-632: A disproportionately high number of successful engineers due to the social and educational characteristics of French Protestantism. After the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685, a significant number of these engineers joined the English and Dutch armies to fight in Ireland, Flanders and Spain. Many of his publications, including Traité de l'attaque des places and Traité des mines , were written at
285-517: A proposed line of fortresses known as the Ceinture de fer , or iron belt (see Map). He was made Maréchal de camp in 1676, and succeeded Clerville as Commissaire general des fortifications in 1677. During the Nine Years' War, he supervised the capture of Namur in 1692, the major French achievement of the war, while the 1697 siege of Ath is often considered his offensive masterpiece. He
342-543: A result, French military engineering became ultra-conservative, while many 'new' works used his designs, or professed to do so, such as those built by Louis de Cortmontaigne at Metz in 1728–1733. This persisted into the late 19th century; Fort de Queuleu , built in 1867 near Metz, is recognisably a Vauban-style design. Some French engineers continued to be innovators, notably the Marquis de Montalembert , who published La Fortification perpendiculaire in 1776. A rejection of
399-729: A short-lived infant son. He also had a long-term relationship with Marie-Antoinette de Puy-Montbrun, daughter of an exiled Huguenot officer, usually referred to as 'Mademoiselle de Villefranche.' Vauban died in Paris on 30 March 1707; buried near his home in Bazoches , his grave was destroyed during the French Revolution . In 1808, Napoleon I ordered his heart reburied in Les Invalides , resting place for many of France's most famous soldiers. While his modern fame rests on
456-572: A stage finish 22 times. In 2007 , the town was the finish of the 159.5 km (99.1 mi) stage 9 on 17 July from Val-d'Isère crossing the Col de l'Iseran , the Col du Télégraphe and the Col du Galibier with a 37 km (23 mi) downhill finish to Briançon. The Diables Rouges de Briançon play in the Ligue Magnus , the French top league. Briançon is situated around the confluence of
513-515: A talented engineer of energy and courage. Under the terms of the Treaty of the Pyrenees , Spain ceded much of French Flanders , and Vauban was put in charge of fortifying newly acquired towns such as Dunkirk . This pattern of French territorial gains, followed by fortification of new strongpoints, was followed in the 1667–1668 War of Devolution , 1672–1678 Franco-Dutch War and 1683–1684 War of
570-507: Is twinned with: Briançon has often hosted starts and finishes of stages of the Tour de France , Giro d'Italia and Dauphiné Libéré . In 2017 stage 18 of the Tour de France started here. As Briançon has regularly featured as a stage town in the Tour de France , it is a popular base for cyclists. Since 1947, the town has been the start point for a stage of the Tour 22 times, and has also been
627-681: Is 11,084 (as of 2018) for the commune . Briançon has been part of the Fortifications of Vauban UNESCO World Heritage Sites since they were established in 2008. Briançon was the Brigantium of the Romans and formed part of the kingdom of King Cottius . Brigantium was marked as the first place in Gallia after Alpis Cottia ( Mont Genèvre ). At Brigantium the road branched, to the west through Grenoble to Vienna (modern Vienne ), on
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#1732776006464684-398: Is a strongly fortified town, built by Vauban to defend the region from Austrians in the 17th century. Its streets are very steep and narrow, though picturesque. Briançon lies at the foot of the descent from the Col de Montgenèvre , giving access to Turin, so a great number of other fortifications have been constructed on the surrounding heights, especially towards the east. The Fort Janus
741-469: Is no less than 1,200 m. above the town. The parish church, with its two towers, was built 1703–1726, and occupies a very conspicuous position. The Pont d'Asfeld, east of the town, was built in 1734, and forms an arch of 40 m span, thrown at a height of 56 m across the Durance. The modern town extends in the plain at the southwest foot of the plateau on which the old town is built and forms
798-510: Is short (two or three months in early summer when the snow and glaciers are melting) but the whitewater is reliable during this period. Briançon is the base and lowest altitude station of the large Serre Chevalier ski resort. Most of the city's accommodation is used exclusively in winter, the population tripling during that period. Subprefectures in France In France , a subprefecture ( French : sous-préfecture )
855-430: Is the commune which is the administrative centre of a departmental arrondissement that does not contain the prefecture for its department . The term also applies to the building that houses the administrative headquarters for an arrondissement. The civil servant in charge of a subprefecture is the subprefect , assisted by a general secretary . Between May 1982 and February 1988, subprefects were known instead by
912-570: The Corps royal des ingénieurs militaires , whose curriculum was based on his publications on engineering design, strategy and training. His economic tract, La Dîme royale , used statistics in support of his arguments, making it a precursor of modern economics. Later destroyed by royal decree , it contained radical proposals for a more even distribution of the tax burden. His application of rational and scientific methods to problem-solving, whether engineering or social, anticipated an approach common in
969-678: The Age of Enlightenment . Perhaps the most enduring aspect of Vauban's legacy was his view of France as a geographical entity. His advocacy of giving up territory for a more coherent and defensible border was unusual for the period; the boundaries of the French state he proposed in the north and east have changed very little in the three centuries since. Sébastien le Prestre de Vauban was born in May 1633, in Saint-Léger-de-Foucheret, renamed Saint-Léger-Vauban by Napoleon III in 1867, in
1026-775: The Italian border , in the Serre Chevalier ski area. It is built on a plateau centred on the confluence of the Durance and the Guisane rivers. Briançon station has rail connections to Gap, Marseille, Valence and Paris. Due to its elevation, Briançon features a warm-summer humid continental climate ( Köppen : Dfb ), bordering on an oceanic climate ( Cfb ) under the Köppen system . Summers are warm with cool nights, and winters are cold and snowy. The historical centre
1083-792: The Rhone ; to the south through Ebrodunum (modern Embrun ), to Vapincum (modern Gap ). Both the Antonine Itinerary and the Table give the route from Brigantium to Vapincum. The Table places Brigantium 6 M.P. from Alpis Cottia. Strabo mentions the village Brigantium on a road to Alpis Cottia, but his words are obscure. Ptolemy mentions Brigantium as within the limits of the Segusini , or people of Segusio (modern Susa ), in Piedmont ; but it seems, as D'Anville observes, to be beyond
1140-549: The Spanish Netherlands , of which only Seneffe was unrelated to a siege. Their importance was heightened by Louis XIV, who viewed them as low-risk opportunities for demonstrating his military skill and increasing his prestige; he was present at 20 of those conducted by Vauban. The 'siege parallel' had been in development since the mid-16th century but Vauban brought the idea to practical fulfilment at Maastricht in 1673. Three parallel trenches were dug in front of
1197-590: The Yonne , now part of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté . His parents, Urbain Le Prestre ( c. 1602–1652) and Edmée de Cormignolle (died c. 1651), were members of the minor nobility, from Vauban in Bazoches . In 1570, his grandfather Jacques Le Prestre acquired Château de Bazoches , when he married Françoise de la Perrière, an illegitimate daughter of the Comte de Bazoches, who died intestate . The 30-year legal battle by
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#17327760064641254-689: The 1040s it came into the hands of the counts of Albon and thenceforth shared the fate of the Dauphiné . The Briançonnais included not only the upper valley of the Durance (with those of its affluents, the Gyronde and the Guil) but also the valley of the Dora Riparia (Césanne, Oulx, Bardonnèche and Exilles) and that of the Chisone (Fénestrelles, Pérouse, Pragelas). The glens all lay on the eastern slope of
1311-410: The 1690s, betting on the length of a siege became a popular craze. As few states could afford large standing armies, defenders needed time to mobilise; to provide this, fortresses were designed to absorb the attackers' energies, similar to the use of crumple zones in modern cars. The French defence of Namur in 1695 showed "how one could effectively win a campaign, by losing a fortress, but exhausting
1368-468: The 17th through the 20th centuries. While often overlooked, Vauban worked on many civilian infrastructure projects, including rebuilding the ports of Brest , Dunkerque and Toulon . Since his fortifications were designed for mutual support, roads and waterways were an essential part of their design, such as the Canal de la Bruche , a 20-kilometre (12 mi) canal built in 1682 to transport materials for
1425-520: The Allies 12,000 casualties and most of the 1708 campaigning season; the lack of progress between 1706 and 1712 enabled Louis to reach an acceptable deal at Utrecht in 1713, as opposed to the humiliating terms presented in 1707. With more leisure time, Vauban developed a broader view of his role. His fortifications were designed for mutual support, so they required connecting roads, bridges and canals; garrisons needed to be fed, so he prepared maps showing
1482-616: The Asfeld Bridge. Along with Briançon, 11 other sites of fortified buildings in France were classified. Among them is the place-forte of Mont-Dauphin , also in the Hautes-Alpes department. These pieces of art were designed by Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban (1633–1707), a military engineer of King Louis XIV . The following people were either born in Briançon or lived there for a significant portion of their lives. Briançon
1539-838: The Durance river and its tributary the Guisane which are fed with snow melt in the Spring. Tourists come from around Europe to kayak and raft on the resultant whitewater rivers and their tributaries, including the Onde, the Gyronde, the Guil , the Rabioux, the Ubaye and others; often basing themselves in Briançon. Popular white water rivers in the Alps are mainly medium volume glacier -fed rivers with long continuous rapids and few big drops. The season
1596-461: The French army was assigned to garrison duty. Vauban's reputation meant his designs remained in use long after developments in artillery made them obsolete, for example the Dutch fort of Bourtange , built in 1742. The Corps des ingénieurs militaires was based on his teachings; between 1699 and 1743, only 631 new candidates were accepted, the vast majority relatives of existing or former members. As
1653-470: The Grand Battery of 200 guns at Namur in 1695, Vauban preferred a more gradual approach. Both had their supporters; Vauban argued his was less costly in terms of casualties, but it took more time, an important consideration in an age when far more soldiers died from disease than in combat. It was accepted even the strongest fortifications would fall, given time; the process was so well understood by
1710-529: The Le Prestre family to retain the property proved financially ruinous, forcing Urbain to become a forestry worker. He also designed gardens for the local gentry, including the owners of the Château de Ruère, where Vauban spent his early years. His only sister, Charlotte (1638–1645?), died young, but he had many relatives; his cousin, Paul le Prestre (c. 1630 – 1703), was an army officer who supervised construction of Les Invalides . Three of Paul's sons served in
1767-571: The Reunions . The first fortification Vauban designed was the 1673 siege of Maastricht , although he was subordinate to Louis, who ranked as the senior officer present, and thus took credit for its capture. Vauban was rewarded with a large sum of money, which he used to purchase the Château de Bazouches from his cousin in 1675. Post-1673, French strategy in Flanders was based on a memorandum from Vauban to Louvois , Minister of War, setting out
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1824-645: The addition of casemated shoulders and flanks. The principles of Vauban's 'second system' were set out in the 1683 work Le Directeur-Général des fortifications, and used at Landau and Mont-Royal, near Traben-Trarbach ; both were advanced positions, intended as stepping-off points for French offensives into the Rhineland . Located 200 metres (660 ft) above the Moselle , Mont-Royal had main walls 30 metres (98 ft) high, 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) long and space for 12,000 troops; this enormously expensive work
1881-549: The army, two of whom were killed in action in 1676 and 1677. The third, Antoine (1654–1731), became Vauban's assistant and later a lieutenant-general ; in 1710, he was appointed Governor of Béthune for life, while he inherited Vauban's titles and the bulk of his lands. Vauban's family was impacted by the domestic conflict and foreign wars, including the Huguenot rebellions of the 1620s, the 1635–1659 Franco-Spanish War , and 1648 to 1653 Fronde ; his Catholic grandfather married
1938-432: The besiegers." As with the siege parallel, the strength of Vauban's defensive designs was his ability to synthesise and adapt the work of others to create a more powerful whole. His first works used the 'star-shape' or bastion fort design, also known as the trace Italienne , based on the designs of Antoine de Ville (1596–1656) and Blaise Pagan (1603–1665). His subsequent 'systems' strengthened their internal works with
1995-412: The chain of the Alps. However the Treaty of Utrecht (1713) handed all of those valleys to Savoy in exchange for that of Barcelonnette, on the west slope of the Alps. In 1815 Briançon successfully withstood a siege of three months at the hands of the Allies, a feat commemorated by an inscription on one of its gates, Le passé répond de l'avenir ("The past guarantees the future"). Briançon is located near
2052-650: The creation of the US Corps of Engineers in 1824. Until 1866, West Point's curriculum was modelled on that of the French Ecole Polytechnique and designed to produce officers with skills in engineering and mathematics. To ensure a steady supply of skilled engineers, in 1690 Vauban established the Corps royal des ingénieurs militaires ; until his death, candidates had to pass an examination administered by Vauban himself. Young French Huguenots made up
2109-484: The defenders, and allow better co-ordination among the assault force; he was supported by Louis, and the attack proved successful. Vauban made several innovations in the use of siege artillery, including ricochet firing , and concentrating on specific parts of the fortifications, rather than targeting multiple targets. His Dutch rival Menno van Coehoorn employed a similar approach. While the 'Van Coehoorn method' sought to overwhelm defences with massive firepower, such as
2166-468: The end of his career to provide a training curriculum for his successors. Vauban's offensive tactics remained relevant for centuries; his principles were clearly identifiable in those used by the Việt Minh at Dien Bien Phu in 1954. His defensive fortifications dated far more quickly, partly due to the enormous investment required; Vauban himself estimated that in 1678, 1694 and 1705, between 40 and 45% of
2223-583: The fortification of Strasbourg . As early as 1684, Vauban published design tables for retaining walls with heights between 3 and 25 metres. Three years later, Vauban, in his role as newly appointed Commissary General of all French fortifications, sent his engineers in the Corps du Génie Militaire his Profil général pour les murs de soutènement in which he presented his retaining wall profiles that were later adopted by engineering offers such as Bélidor (1729), Poncelet (1840) and Wheeler (1870). He also provided advice on
2280-457: The fortifications he built, Vauban's greatest innovations were in offensive operations, an approach he summarised as 'More powder, less blood.' Initially reliant on existing concepts, he later adapted these on lines set out in his memorandum of March 1672, Mémoire pour servir à l'instruction dans la conduite des sièges . In this period, sieges became the dominant form of warfare; during the 1672–1678 Franco-Dutch War , three battles were fought in
2337-424: The location of forges, forests and farms. Since these had to be paid for, he developed an interest in tax policy, and in 1707 published La Dîme royale , documenting the economic misery of the lower classes. His solution was a flat 10% tax on all agricultural and industrial output, and eliminating the exemptions which meant most of the nobility and clergy paid nothing. Although confiscated and destroyed by royal decree,
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2394-534: The most important in European military history. His principles for fortifications were widely used for nearly 100 years, while aspects of his offensive tactics remained in use until the mid-twentieth century. He viewed civilian infrastructure as closely connected to military effectiveness and worked on many of France's major ports, as well as projects like the Canal de la Bruche , which remains in use today. He founded
2451-616: The natural limits of the Segusini. Walckenaer (vol. i. p. 540) justifies Ptolemy in this matter by supposing that he follows a description of Italy made before the new divisions of Augustus , which we know from Pliny . Walckenaer also supports his justification of Ptolemy by the Jerusalem Itinerary , which makes the Alpes Cottiae commence at Rama (near modern La Roche-de-Rame ) between Embrun and Briançon. In
2508-641: The repair and enlargement of the Canal du Midi in 1686. His holistic approach to urban planning, which integrated city defences with layout and infrastructure, is most obvious at Neuf-Brisach. His legacy is recognised in the Vauban district in Freiburg , named after a French army base on the same location, which developed as a model for sustainable neighbourhoods post-1998. Vauban's 'scientific approach' and focus on large infrastructure projects strongly influenced American military and civil engineering and inspired
2565-415: The same sense. Vauban Sébastien Le Prestre, seigneur de Vauban, later styling himself as the marquis de Vauban (baptised 15 May 1633 – 30 March 1707), commonly referred to as Vauban ( French: [vobɑ̃] ), was a French military engineer and Marshal of France who worked under Louis XIV . He is generally considered the greatest engineer of his time, and one of
2622-575: The suburb of Ste Catherine. Briançon is close to the Parc National des Ecrins and the Vallée de la Clarée . On 8 July 2008, several buildings of Briançon were classified by the UNESCO as World Heritage Sites , as part of the " Fortifications of Vauban " group. These buildings are: the city walls, Redoute des Salettes, Fort des Trois-Têtes, Fort du Randouillet, ouvrage de la communication Y and
2679-478: The title Deputy Commissioner of the Republic ( commissaire adjoint de la République ). Where the administration of an arrondissement is carried out from a prefecture, the general secretary to the prefect carries out duties equivalent to those of the subprefect. The municipal arrondissements of Paris , Lyon and Marseille are divisions of the commune rather than the prefecture. They are not arrondissements in
2736-589: The use of statistics to support his arguments "... establishes him as a founder of modern economics, and precursor of the Enlightenment 's socially concerned intellectuals." In the course of his career, Vauban supervised or designed the building of more than 300 separate fortifications, and by his own estimate, supervised more than 40 sieges from 1653 to 1697. In 1660, Vauban married Jeanne d'Aunay d'Epiry (ca 1640–1705); they had two daughters, Charlotte (1661–1709) and Jeanne Françoise (1678–1713), as well as
2793-399: The walls, the earth thus excavated being used to create embankments screening the attackers from defensive fire, while bringing them as close to the assault point as possible (see diagram). Artillery was moved into the trenches, allowing them to target the base of the walls at close range, with the defenders unable to depress their own guns enough to counter this; once a breach had been made, it
2850-520: Was arrested by the Regency Council, led by Louis XIV 's mother Anne of Austria and Cardinal Mazarin . After being released in 1652, he and his supporters, among them Vauban and de Montal, went into exile in the Spanish Netherlands and allied with the Spanish. In early 1653, when Vauban worked on the defences of Sainte-Menehould , one of Condé's principal possessions, he was captured by
2907-470: Was common to combine these skills; John Armstrong (1674–1742), Marlborough 's chief military engineer, laid out the lake and gardens at Blenheim Palace . In 1650, Vauban joined the household of his local magnate, the Prince de Condé , where he met de Montal ; a close neighbour from Nièvre , the two were colleagues for many years, and often worked together. During the 1650–1653 Fronde des nobles , Condé
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#17327760064642964-521: Was demolished when the French withdrew after the 1697 Treaty of Ryswick , and only the foundations remain today. Fort-Louis was another new construction, built on an island in the middle of the Rhine ; this allowed Vauban to combine his defensive principles with town planning, although like Mont-Royal, little of it remains. The French retreat from the Rhine after 1697 required new fortresses; Neuf-Brisach
3021-526: Was hard to defend. In December 1672, he wrote to Louvois : "I am not for the greater number of places, we already have too many, and please God we had half of that, but all in good condition!" Many of the fortifications designed by Vauban are still standing; in 2008, twelve groups of Vauban fortifications were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List for their exceptional engineering and influence on military fortifications from
3078-659: Was more beneficial than taking 12 fortresses. The armies of the War of the Spanish Succession averaged around 35,000, and siege warfare superseded by a greater emphasis on mobility. In 1703, Vauban was promoted Maréchal de France , marking the end of his military career, although the Ceinture de fer proved its worth after the French defeat at Ramillies in 1706. Under pressure from superior forces on multiple fronts, France's northern border remained largely intact despite repeated efforts to break it. Capturing Lille cost
3135-624: Was rewarded with money, and made Comte de Vauban, a member of the Order of the Holy Spirit and Order of Saint Louis , and an Honorary Member of the French Academy of Sciences . The numbers needed to conduct a siege, and prevent interference from opponents meant armies of the Nine Years' War often exceeded 100,000 men, sizes unsustainable for pre-industrial societies. It prompted a change in tactics, Marlborough arguing winning one battle
3192-499: Was the most significant, designed on Vauban's 'third system', and completed after his death by Louis de Cormontaigne . Using ideas from Fort-Louis, this incorporated a regular square grid street pattern inside an octagonal fortification; tenement blocks were built inside each curtain wall, strengthening the defensive walls and shielding more expensive houses from cannon fire. To create a more coherent border, Vauban advocated destroying poor fortifications, and relinquishing territory that
3249-430: Was then stormed. This approach was used in offensive operations well into the 20th century. However, Vauban adapted his approach to the situation, and did not use the siege parallel again until Valenciennes in 1677. Always willing to challenge accepted norms, at Valenciennes, he proposed assaulting the breach during the day, rather than at night as was normal practice. He argued this would reduce casualties by surprising
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