Forts, Fortifications, Citadels etc.

Vic Balshaw said:

Here is one from the distant, distant past and still standing today.

Krak des Chevaliers, Crusader Castle, Syria. taken March 2010.
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buffnut453 said:

There were a few posts on the Ukraine thread about forts and fortresses and some thought it might be a good idea to create a separate thread...so here goes.

Please post your pics/stories about defensive fortifications in here. They can be of any era and any topic from a castle down to a pillbox. If there are stories associated, then so much the better...whether they be a personal association or just a fond memory from a holiday/vacation.

I'll kick things off with a trip I made a few weeks ago to Fort Purbrook, one of the Victorian defensive forts (often known as "Palmerston's Follies") placed on Portsdown Hill to protect Portsmouth from landward attack. A great x4 uncle was posted there in 1889 as part of the South Lancs Regt and was arrested, and imprisoned for 30 days, for assaulting a police officer and a local man. Today, the Fort is operated as an outward bound activity centre for kids. We were able to get a 2-hr private guided tour, which was simply AWESOME! Here are a few pics.

First up, here's an overview of the Fort courtesy of t'interwebbythingy. The lower right corner is pointing south towards Portsmouth:
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Main entrance located on the far side of the pointy-out section to the right of the above image:
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View over Portsmouth from the main entrance:
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Barrack room near the main entrance where the soldiers would have been billeted:
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Interior of the pointy section which was used as officers' quarters. The soldiers' barrack rooms are on the right, with windows so the officers could see if trouble was occurring. The white paint on the lower walls was to help find doorways in the dark:
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One of many tunnels under the fort. This was used as the brig and, given my relative's track record, it's likely he knew this area intimately. Today, this area is used as a kindergarten, with the cells converted into small classrooms for a teacher plus a few children:
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Another of the long underground tunnels that connect the outer battlements and the magazines to the soldiers' barracks:
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Surviving winch and tray, located at the bottom of an open spiral staircase, for lowering ammunition into the magazines:
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View up the spiral staircase:
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One of the many gun positions (note the heavy anchor eyelets in the wall) with the main gun opening now bricked up. Originally, these were fitted with iron plates to prevent fire entering the gun position:
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View of the interior "moat" area with criss-crossing arcs of fire to prevent any attacking force from gaining a foothold within the fort boundary. Today, it's used as a laser tag range (how cool is that?):

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There are additional defences on the roof of the fort, some of which are more modern. Here a are few pics, together with the most excellent view:
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And, finally, a view across the terrain that the fort was built to defend against. It doesn't look very hostile today:
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There is a museum in one of the other Palmerston Forts on Portsdown Hill but I really liked seeing the rather rough-and-ready nature of Fort Purbrook, particularly given its family association.

Over to other Forum members to add their pictures/memories/stories.

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buffnut453 said:

This place has been in the news a couple of times recently regarding its sale:

WW1 Bull Sand Fort in Humber sold for nearly £500k at auction

The armour-plated building in the Humber estuary was built to withstand gunfire from battleships.

www.bbc.com

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FLYBOYJ said:

Castillo San Felipe del Morro, San Juan Puerto Rico

From my visit in 2017

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A monument commemorating the Battle of San Juan, 1625

Sergeant Mayor Ucleseño Garcia de la Torre Sergeant Mayor of the Plaza de San Juan. He joined the Spanish military at a young age and rose in the ranks. He may have fought for Spain against the Dutch in Flanders near the start of the Thirty Years' War. In 1609 he was Capitán of the infantry at the fortified city of Santo Domingo, Española (now Dominican Republic), and on October 19, 1612 was appointed by the Duke of Frías at Ventosilla, Spain, to Sergeant Mayor of the Plaza de San Juan (now Puerto Rico). He took office in June of 1613, and held it for twelve years. Don Garcia de Torres died on November 4, 1625 from the wound of a musket ball he received while defending against the Dutch invasion at the Battle of San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Ucleseño Garcia deTorres was a Spanish military leader who held commands in Santo Domingo and Puerto Rico between 1600 and 1625. He married Constanza De Vivero Troche (who was the great grand daughter of Juan Ponce de Leon) around 1604 and eventually settled in San Juan and was based at El Morro. Shortly after he was married he fell in disfavor with some of his superiors and was jailed for 13 months. Upon his release it seems he resumed his position within the Spanish Colonial Army.

Between September and November 1625, Ucleseño and his oldest son took part in the Battle of San Juan which defeated an invasion by Dutch forces. Sometime during this campaign Ucleseño was wounded by musket fire and eventually died from his wounds November 4, 1625, two days after the Dutch were driven off the island. Ucleseño and his son were both recognized by the King of Spain for their actions.

Ucleseño Garcia de la Torre was my 10th Great Grandfather

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1. 1915 Soldaten Zeichnung W. Haenel 1. Weltkrieg Schützen-Graben m. Schulterwehren | eBay
2. 1. Weltkrieg Soldaten Zeichnung eines Schützengraben Feldpostkarte World War I. | eBay