Vauban lille

French military engineer (–)

"Vauban" redirects here. For other uses, see Vauban (disambiguation).

Sébastien Le Prestre, seigneur de Vauban, later styling himself as the marquis de Vauban (baptised 15 May &#;&#; 30 March ), 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 the most important in European military history.

His principles for fortifications were widely used for nearly 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 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 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.

Early life and education

Sébastien le Prestre de Vauban was born in May , in Saint-Léger-de-Foucheret, renamed Saint-Léger-Vauban by Napoleon III in , in the Yonne, part of what is now the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region.

His parents, Urbain Le Prestre (c. –) and Edmée de Cormignolle (died c.

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), were a couple of fairly modest means and members of the minor nobility, from Vauban in Bazoches.

In , 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 year legal battle by 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.

Sébastien's only sister, Charlotte (–?), died young, but he had many relatives; his cousin, Paul le Prestre (c. – ), was an army officer who supervised construction of Les Invalides. Three of Paul's sons served in the army, two of them were killed in action in and The third, Antoine (–), became Vauban's assistant and later a lieutenant-general; in , he was appointed Governor of Béthune for life, while he inherited Vauban's titles and the bulk of his lands.

Vauban's earliest years are poorly documented but it is known he learned to ride from a very young age and his family was affected by the domestic conflict and foreign wars, including the Huguenot rebellions of the s, the – Franco-Spanish War, and to Fronde; his Catholic grandfather^[which?] married a Protestant from La Rochelle, and served Huguenot leader Admiral Coligny, while two of his uncles died in the war with Spain.

Career

In , 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 was common to combine these skills; John Armstrong (–), Marlborough's chief military engineer, laid out the lake and gardens at Blenheim Palace.

In , 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 – Fronde des nobles, Condé was arrested by the Regency Council, led by Louis XIV's mother Anne of Austria and Cardinal Mazarin. After being released in , he and his supporters, among them Vauban and de Montal, went into exile in the Spanish Netherlands and allied with the Spanish.

Vauban warframe

Vauban meaning

Sébastien le prestre de vauban trench warfare

Vauban fortress design

Vauban city

At the time, it was common for young men to follow the lead of local powerful magnates which would explain the future eagerness of the crown to offer him service in the royal army. Vauban first saw action at Clermont-en-Argonne and was noticed by Condé as a diligent and energetic soldier that took a keen interest in the practices of siege warfare even at such a young age and he was sometimes entrusted with directing the improvement of local fortifications.^{[citation needed]}

In early , when Vauban worked on the defences of Sainte-Menehould, one of Condé's principal possessions, he was captured by a Royalist patrol and switched sides, serving in the force led by Louis Nicolas de Clerville that took Sainte-Menehould in November Clerville, later appointed Commissaire général des fortifications, employed him on siege operations and building fortifications.

In , Vauban was appointed Ingénieur du Roi or Royal Engineer, and by the time the war with Spain ended in , he was widely known as 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 – War of Devolution, – Franco-Dutch War and – War of the Reunions.^{[citation needed]}

The first fortification Vauban designed was the 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 ^[14]

After , French strategy in Flanders was based on a memorandum from Vauban to Louvois, Minister of War, setting out a proposed line of fortresses known as the Ceinture de fer, or iron belt (see Map).

He was made Maréchal de camp in , and succeeded Clerville as Commissaire general des fortifications in

During the Nine Years' War, Vauban inflicted a stinging defeat on an Anglo-Dutch invasion force at Camaret, supervised the capture of Namur in , the major French achievement of the war, while the siege of Ath is often considered his offensive masterpiece.

He was rewarded with money and rank: he was 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 , men, sizes unsustainable for pre-industrial societies.

This limitation prompted a change in tactics; Marlborough argued that winning one battle was more beneficial than taking 12 fortresses. The armies of the War of the Spanish Succession averaged around 35,, and siege warfare was superseded by a greater emphasis on mobility.

In , Vauban directed his final siege, capturing Alt-Brisach and was promoted to 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 Under pressure from superior forces on multiple fronts, France's northern border remained largely intact despite repeated efforts to break it.

Capturing Lille cost the Allies 12, casualties and most of the campaigning season; the lack of progress between and enabled Louis to negotiate an acceptable peace at Utrecht in , as opposed to the humiliating terms presented in

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 the location of forges, forests and farms.

Since these had to be paid for, he developed an interest in tax policy, and in published La Dîme royale, documenting the economic misery of the lower classes.

Marie antoinette biography Personnage incontournable du règne de Louis XIV, Sébastien le Prestre (), marquis de Vauban, était un spécialiste des techniques de siège et de fortification. Issu de la petite noblesse, il connaît une carrière riche mais mouvementée au service du Roi-Soleil, pour lequel il exerce ses talents d’ingénieur militaire.

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 his work was confiscated and destroyed by royal decree, 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."^{[citation needed]}

In the course of his career, Vauban supervised or designed the building of more than separate fortifications.^[a] By his own estimate, he supervised more than 40 sieges from to

Personal life and death

In , Vauban married Jeanne d'Aunay d'Epiry (ca –); they had two daughters, Charlotte (–) and Jeanne Françoise (–), as well as 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.'^[25]

Vauban died in Paris on 30 March ; he was buried near his home in Bazoches. His grave was destroyed during the French Revolution. In , Napoleon I ordered his heart reburied in Les Invalides, the resting place of many of France's most famous soldiers.^[26]

Doctrines and legacy

Offensive doctrines; siege warfare

While his modern fame rests on 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 , Mémoire pour servir à l'instruction dans la conduite des sièges.

In this period, sieges became the dominant form of warfare; during the – Franco-Dutch War, three battles were fought in 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 midth century but Vauban brought the idea to practical fulfilment at Maastricht in Three parallel trenches were dug in front of 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 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 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 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 the Grand Battery of guns at Namur in , 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.

Defensive doctrines; fortifications

See also: Fortifications of Vauban UNESCO World Heritage Sites

It was accepted even the strongest fortifications would fall, given time; the process was so well understood by the s, 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 showed "how one could effectively win a campaign, by losing a fortress, but exhausting 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 (–) and Blaise Pagan (–). His subsequent 'systems' strengthened their internal works with the addition of casemated shoulders and flanks.

The principles of Vauban's 'second system' were set out in the 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 metres (&#;ft) above the Moselle, Mont-Royal had main walls 30 metres (98&#;ft) high, 3 kilometres (&#;mi) long and space for 12, troops; this enormously expensive work was demolished when the French withdrew after the Treaty of Ryswick, and only the foundations remain today.^[39]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.^[40]

The French retreat from the Rhine after required new fortresses; Neuf-Brisach 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 was hard to defend.

In December , 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 , twelve groups of Vauban fortifications were inscribed on the UNESCOWorld Heritage List for their exceptional engineering and influence on military fortifications from the 17th through the 20th centuries.^[43]

Infrastructure and engineering

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 kilometre (12&#;mi) canal built in to transport materials for the fortification of Strasbourg.

Vauban architecte de louis xiv biography Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban, marquis de Vauban, dit Vauban, né le 1 er mai à Saint-Léger-de-Foucheret et mort le 30 mars à Paris, est un ingénieur, architecte militaire, urbaniste, hydraulicien et essayiste français. Il est nommé maréchal de France par Louis XIV. Vauban préfigure les philosophes du siècle des Lumières.

As early as , 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 (), Poncelet () and Wheeler ().

He also provided advice on the repair and enlargement of the Canal du Midi in

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

Vauban's 'scientific approach' and focus on large infrastructure projects strongly influenced American military and civil engineering and inspired the creation of the US Corps of Engineers in Until , 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 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 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 , 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 the end of his career to provide a training curriculum for his successors.

Assessment

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 His defensive fortifications dated far more quickly, partly due to the enormous investment required; Vauban himself estimated that in , and , between 40 and 45% of 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 The Corps des ingénieurs militaires was based on his teachings; between and , only new candidates were accepted, the vast majority relatives of existing or former members.

Vauban architecte de louis xiv biography for kids

Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban, marquis de Vauban, dit Vauban, né le 1 er mai à Saint-Léger-de-Foucheret et mort le 30 mars à Paris, est un ingénieur, architecte militaire, urbaniste, hydraulicien et essayiste français. Il est nommé maréchal de France par Louis XIV. Vauban préfigure les philosophes du siècle des Lumières.

As 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 – This persisted into the late 19th century; Fort de Queuleu, built in 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 A rejection of the principles advocated by Vauban and his successors; his ideas became the prevailing orthodoxy in much of Europe but were dismissed in France.

See also

Notes

References

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French nobility
Preceded&#;by first creation	Comte de Vauban –	Succeeded&#;by Antoine le Prestre