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| Bastian, etc, Italian Fort architecture, pinrest.com |
This post briefly discusses Bastions, part of the fort complex architecture of past era comprising rampart, bastion, ravelin and glacis etc built by the kingdoms centuries ago for defensive security after the advent of gunpowder, rampant artillery attacks and use of powerful cannons. Bastian is the distinguishing feature of gunpowder age fortification to tackle formidable artillery fire. It fell out of use in the middle of the 19th century.
If you take a look at the history of nations across the globe, forts are still looked upon as visible and tangible reminders of the military might of the kingdoms of past era that were in the forefront. Centuries ago, across India there was constant rise and fall of empires and dynasties, highlighting the transient nature of life, fortune and misfortune on one hand, and the discernable difference between the strong and weak kingdoms who vied with one another to hang on to power and be at top.
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| Kumbhalgarh Fort bastions, Rajasthan, India .wikimedia.org |
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| bastion .quora.com |
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| star-shaped bastion .quora.com |
Bastion, a distinctive structure projecting outward at a certain angle to the main fortification wall in the front, is an integral and indispensable part of fort architecture and, in the past, it played no less crucial role during attacks from the enemy line than conventional forts offering passive resistance and covering long and wide firing range in the age of gunpowder artillery guns. Another feature is walls being low, the earthen ramparts behind them, will absorb incoming artillery shells. Star-shaped fort is used to withstand artillery fire. See the picture above.
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| Ft. William, Kolkata |
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| Enfilading fire en.wikipedia.org |
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| Plan of Aquada, Goa. trekshitiz.com |
Above image: Plan of Aguada fort (1606 CE) of Goa, India built on the northern bank of Mandvi river in the 17th century by the Portuguese with arrow shaped bastions in the corners and is surrounded by a trench from three sides built with rocks. The water tanks in this fort were used to supply water to ocean going merchant ships. There is a huge water tank in the basement room which has a capacity of 90 lakh liters. In the 19th century the Portuguese built a prison on this fort. http://trekshitiz.com/Ei/Aguada-Trek-Goa-District. html...........................
01. Bastion with projected angled front in the main wall would ensure safety and facilitate multiple attacks from different sides from the defenders.
02. It helps the soldiers inside the fort keep an eye on the enemy movements at far distances.
03.The configuration of a bastion is that soldiers can launch attacks on the enemy without being seen by them.
04. Fortification with bastion was common in the mid 16th to mid 19th centuries to tackle artillery fire.
07. We can decipher the differences between forts with mediaeval or Renaissance tower and forts that were built with bastions. It was a better defensive system developed from the understanding of the potential both in attack and defence of gunpowder artillery. The tall towers could be difficult to scale by the offensive army, but they could be easily targeted by them easily. The bastion is lower than a tower, so the damages from increasingly powerful artillery will be far less.
08. The bastion does not usually enclose rooms as a tower would, although there may be gun chambers, magazines and passages buried in it
09. Unlike a tower, a Bastion can cover a large area and allow more cannons to be mounted atop and kept ready-to-fire position and provides enough space for the crew move and operate the cannon.
10. A bastion is never built taller than the rampart. The height will be more or less similar.
11. A bastion has a ditch in front and slope on the opposite side, The sloping feature or ''glacis'' shields most of the bastion from the attacker's cannon and the plus point the top is difficult to climb. The adequate sloping further exposes the attackers to the defenders. So, a bastion will usually be battered
12. In case of artillery attack from the enemy line, the top of the bastion is normally exposed to enemy fire. So, ingeniously, it is covered with soft masonry. When cannonballs hit the outer surface at top, horizontally, upon impact, they will scatter lethal stone shreds, fragments or splinters among the soldiers on the defensive side. This may be fatal and cause severe injuries. In the case of soft masonry, on impact splintering and spalling will be less. Earth mass will resist cannon balls better than stone masonry.
13. Commonly a bastion will be a solid mass of earth and rubble and the ones that survive today are often faced with soft masonry. Many that have eroded away were earthwork only. The purpose was to give protection to the soldiers in the bastion when it is shelled. cannonballs pass through face of the bastion will get absorbed by a greater thickness of hard-packed earth or rubble behind.
14. To minimize the dangers of storming the bastion by enemies, a trench is dug across the rear (gorge) of the bastion, isolating it from the main rampart.
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| tPart of bastion. op: revetment, bottom: derevetment.scribd.com |
Above image: Profiles of construction in revetement and in demi-revetement. This drawing, from Muller, is of ramparts, but applies to the construction of bastion...................
15. In some sections of the masonry-faced bastion like rampart, to avoid stone splinters or pointed fragments, what is called revetment or demi-revetment is set in place on either side, In both cases, the sloping top of the parapet was made of turf, to eliminate the risk of small flying objects.
Indian Forts with Bastions:
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| Bastion at Bekal Fort, Kerala en.wikipedia |
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| Bastion at Bekal Fort, Kerala upload.wikimedia.org |
Above image: Bekal fort, Kasaragod Dist., Kerala- Circular Bastion at Bekal Fort and others were later additions. In the later years it was controlled by the British after the fall of Tipu Sultan in 1799. A medieval fort built by Shivappa Nayaka of Keladi in 1650 AD, at Bekal, it is the largest fort in Kerala, spreading over 40 acres..The fort's zigzag entrance and surrounding trenches reveal its better defensive strategy. To dodge firing from different distances, holes on the outer walls are designed to defend the fort effectively from naval attacks. The upper holes to fire at farthest target; lower holes to attack enemies nearer and the lowest holes are for attacking enemy closest to the fort. Bastions were later additions to handle artillery attacks................
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| Chittorgarh fort, Rajasthan with bastions differenttruths.com |
Above image: Chittorgarh fort, Rajasthan - It was a major stronghold of the Rajput State of Medapata. (modern Mewar) The city of Chittorgarh located on the banks of river Gambhiri and Berach is home to the Chittorgarh Fort, the largest fort in India and Asia. The fort has a chequared history. Till 1568, it fort came under the Muslim rulers from Delhi, including Moguls. The Maharana of Mewar, Amar Singh I, accepting the suzerainty of Jahangir controlled it. Finally under the British Raj in 1905, the fort was repaired and renovated. The fort has several bastions to face raids. Because of it vulnerable location, no major improvements were made .................. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chittorgarh.
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| Raigad fort, MH.tourmyindia.com |
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| Raigad fort with bastion, MH, stock.adobe.com |
Above image: Raigad fort walls and bastion, Raigad, Maharashtra, India. 350-year-old majestic fort of Chhatrapati Shivaji is at an elevation of 2700 ft. in the Sahyadri mountain range.with 1737 steps to climb,covering 1,300 acres and the largest fort complexes in India. The Maha Darwaja, the main pathway (now closed) has two huge bastions on both sides of the door which are approximately 20–21 m (65–70 ft) in height. The top of the fort is 180 m (600 ft) above this door..................
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| Bastion of Golconda fort, Hyderabad, India agefotostock.com |
https://www.toppr.com/ask/question/how-many-bastions-did-the-outer-wall-of-golconda-fort-have
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| .Formidable Jhansi fort,UP istockphoto.com |
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| Jhansi fort with bastion and gallery, UP agefotostock.com |
Above image: Jhansi Fort, UP: Constructed by the chief of the Bundela Rajputs and the ruler of the Orchha Kingdom, Veer Singh Ju Deo Bundela around in 1613, it is a formidable, self-contained fort with many bastions and other defensive features. In the heart of Jhansi city, ruler Jhansi Rani Lakshmi Bai gave stiff resistance to the British colonial rule during the great rebellion of 1857. The British army commanded by Hugh Rose wounded her seriously and Rani Lakshmi Bai died in June 1858 The british annexed the kingdom of Jhansi under the doctrine of Lapse ..........................
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| A bastion at Nahargarh Fort in Jaipur, India wikipedia |
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| bastion at Nahargarh Fort in Jaipur, India wikipedia |
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| Aerial view Kumbhalgarh Fort bastions, Rajasthan, raveltriangle.com |
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| Aerial view Kumbhalgarh Fort bastions, Rajasthan, en.wikipedia.org |
Above image: Fort of Kumbhalgarh, Rajasthan is atop a hill 3,600 ft above sea level on the Aravalli range and has perimeter walls that extend 36 km (22 mi), making it among the longest walls in the world. The front walls(15 ft) have seven fortified gateways.with many bastions. Within the fort, there are over 70 temples both Jain and Hindu Temples. One among the several Rajasthani forts on the UNESCO World Heritage Site. Built between 1443 – 1458 AD. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kumbhalgarh......................................... ooo
Corjuem Fort, Goa:
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| Corjuem Fort, Goa, India seawatersports.com |
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| The Aguada fort, North Goa, India.travalour.com |
Above image: The Aguada Fort, Goa, India: The largest Portuguese fort with well built bastions near the mouth of a river to prevent bloksde. A freshwater spring within the fort provided water supply to the ocean going ships that used to stop by. This is how the fort got its name: Aguada, meaning Water......................................
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| Diu fortress,built by Portuguese India en.wikipedia.org |
Above image: Fort of Diu, India: Formally Fortaleza de São Tomé) is a Portuguese-built fortification located on the west coast of India within the Diu island, The fortress-castle, known in Portuguese as 'Praça de Diu', is , on the southern tip of the coast of Gujarat at the mouth of the Gulf of Cambay and was built as part of Portuguese India's defensive fortifications during the 16th century after defense alliance forged by Bahadur Shah, the Sultan of Gujarat and the Portuguese. The latter ruled over this territory from 1537 until the Indian invasion of December 1961. The outer wall of the fort was built along the coastline. The inner wall had bastions on which guns were mounted. A double moat (outer one is a tidal moat) between the outer and inner walls provided extra security to the fort. There is a bastion built earlier in the deep water channel which was strengthened by the Portuguese........................
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