Bastions: Siege Warfare from the 16th to the 18th Century
Session Number
Project ID: HIST 1
Advisor(s)
Dr. Lee Eysturlid; Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy
Discipline
History
Start Date
22-4-2020 8:30 AM
End Date
22-4-2020 8:45 AM
Abstract
The bastion fort was developed in Europe during the early modern period (the 16th-18th centuries). The advancements in artillery in the 15th century made castles obsolete. As such, most of Europe was defenseless. To counter this new artillery, the bastion fort was developed. They are made out of low, thick walls of dirt and stone with pentagonal fortifications called bastions used as hardpoints and artillery platforms. This style of warfare was used for a few centuries, before new technology paved the way for more advancements. We focused on the reasons behind the design, uses, and limitations of bastion fortress. To do this, we delved into the history of the bastion fort, examining historical sieges as well as the military engineer Marshal Vauban’s manuals on the construction of bastion forts. As a capstone to our project, we 3-D printed a bastion fort model for Dr. Eysturlid as an educational tool. We also prepared a basic game system that goes over the process of besieging a bastion fort to interactively display our information to the audience.
Bastions: Siege Warfare from the 16th to the 18th Century
The bastion fort was developed in Europe during the early modern period (the 16th-18th centuries). The advancements in artillery in the 15th century made castles obsolete. As such, most of Europe was defenseless. To counter this new artillery, the bastion fort was developed. They are made out of low, thick walls of dirt and stone with pentagonal fortifications called bastions used as hardpoints and artillery platforms. This style of warfare was used for a few centuries, before new technology paved the way for more advancements. We focused on the reasons behind the design, uses, and limitations of bastion fortress. To do this, we delved into the history of the bastion fort, examining historical sieges as well as the military engineer Marshal Vauban’s manuals on the construction of bastion forts. As a capstone to our project, we 3-D printed a bastion fort model for Dr. Eysturlid as an educational tool. We also prepared a basic game system that goes over the process of besieging a bastion fort to interactively display our information to the audience.