Fortifications

[Dobbs]

I've been trying to make fortifications more interesting, adding critical hits like the ships have, and other stuff.

One question I've come up with but don't have an answer for is; was the landward face of forts typically built as strong as the seaward face? It seems unlikely that the landward side would be subject to artillery of the size found on ships, so I could see a case for not building as strong.

Anyone got an opinion on this, or even better, genuine facts?

[David Manley]

As with so many things "it depends", but from what I've seen visiting coastal fortifications around the world the general trend was to design against an infantry assault (so lighter structures, firing ports, interlocking fields of fire, ditches etc.) or nothing if a landward attack wasn't expected (particularly smaller batteries). That said, looking at coastal forts in Spain I got the impression that they simply designed and built to a common standard all round, it was in the placement of artillery that differences were seen.